Interview With Author Amy Friedl
Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
Hello! I’m a runaway 7th grade teacher working on a personal rebrand. Having taught off & on for the last 22 years, I got to a point where I needed a new story for myself. I needed to put my time and energy into things I valued and brought me joy, rather than chasing a state test and being professionally gaslit by 12-year-olds.
I’ve written a couple of books in my rebranding efforts but am the most excited about my upcoming children’s book series, Strong Girls Travel. You can find my Adventure Tracker on Amazon if you’re a list maker and working to define your own adventure. You can also find my personal memoir and workbook (Refocus: A Story of Growth & Self-Discovery) if you’re looking for some support in redefining yourself.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
Strong Girls Travel is a book series showcasing a young girl’s adventures in America’s National Parks. Each book finds her learning something new about herself, her world, and her part in it all.
In my own mental & physical journey to get healthy again after a bout with depression, I learned how fulfilling time spent in nature can be and how much I still have to learn about myself and the world around me. Strong Girls Travel came from that desire to help young girls learn the same thing but at an earlier age. I want any girl to be inspired to explore and learn in our national parks!
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
I tend to be the most productive when I feel like I’m surrounded by life. That could be nature or ambient social noise. So you’ll find me writing and making progress on my balcony listening to birds, at a coffee shop listening to steamed milk, or at our local brewery patio listening to laughter.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
My favorite author is Lewis Carroll. I was always inspired by his seamless way of making the ridiculous believable and engaging. As an adult, I appreciate any book that can create mental pictures easily. If I have to work hard to keep the characters straight, I’ll usually abandon the book.
I’m also smitten with books by Dan Gemeinhart. He writes engaging characters in such a way that I can only hear the character’s voice – I have no idea what Dan’s author voice sounds like.
What are you working on now?
Right now, I’m working to promote the first Strong Girls Travel series book, AJ’s Adventures at Indiana Dunes. But I’m also getting ready to start the second book which will take place in Mammoth Caves National Park, Kentucky.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
Do you have any advice for new authors?
Take your goals and break them down into manageable steps. And then every week, work time into your schedule to complete those steps. Goals are only accomplished if we keep moving forward; otherwise, they are just dreams.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
You either WANT to do something or NEED to do something. Don’t waste time SHOULDing on yourself.
What are you reading now?
Feral by Emily Pennington – what a fantastic journey through her adventure and America’s national park landscapes!
What’s next for you as a writer?
My next steps are to continue building Strong Girls Travel as a children’s book series. There is also an online energy, interviewing inspiring women doing brave, intimidating things, that I will continue to pursue. After I interview women, I write up articles about their story and hope that it helps other women start to craft their own life stories!
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
1. The Complete Works of Lewis Carroll – so I have plenty to read.
2. Any book from the Little House on the Prairie series – so I could connect to my childhood and potentially find survival tricks.
3. The Complete Oxford English Dictionary – so I have plenty of kindling.
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