Amy: Please help me welcome Fisher Amelie to the blog today. Fisher is the author of The Leaving series and her latest work, Callum & Harper. Welcome on board, Fisher! Why don’t you start by telling us a little bit about yourself.
Fisher: I'm *smashes hand over mouth* years old. I'm married to a wonderful guy who might be slightly insane himself to put up with my crazy butt. I also procreated with said husband and now we have a kickin' two year old who rules our house. I'm a copywriter by day and an author by night. I wear my sunglasses at night. So I can, So I can...something. What does he even say there?
Amy: It’s an incomplete sentence so we can just fill in the blanks, LOL! Scary thought, right?
Speaking of filling in blanks, just exactly how long have you been a writer and what inspired you to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard)?
Fisher: I've been writing for close to ten years but only started writing books in late 2010.
The reason I started writing books? Hmm. Ever had one of those moments where things just 'click'? I mean, you're moseying along and suddenly cogs start turning in that old brain of yours and maybe you weren't even the one who wound the key, but somehow it dawns on you that you should have realized that this most important idea churning inside your head should have been brought forth, not now, but at birth; that the idea was always at the tip of your conscience but never came forth until it was ready to be cultivated. That was what writing books was for me. Stories were something I'd always done well, always loved, always appreciated but I never 'realized' until the day my brain 'clicked' that others might like them as well.
Amy: You’re my kindred spirit, Fisher! Seriously, I feel the same way. Perhaps when we’re younger we lack the emotional maturity or depth to take on such an endeavor. Who knows…
What is your favorite book genre? Why does this genre appeal to you more than the others?
Fisher: Romance. I love to be in love and love to see others in the same predicament. I get a sick kind of thrill, too, when characters tentatively discover each other, when both are afraid to make their move but their hearts are aching to wrap their arms around the other.
Amy: OK, so when you go to the movies do you prefer thrillers or chic flicks?
Fisher: Chic-flicks, baby! Although, I do love a good thriller, romance always trumps it.
Amy: How did I know you were going to say that? Chick flicks rule! I really hate to fall victim to a stereotype but this time we are guilty as charged!
What is your favorite song or type of music?
Fisher: Right now, my fav songs are Who Are You, Really? And, I love you (I Always Have) by Mikky Ekko. I generally listen to Alternative but I am fairly eclectic with my taste. Start with a little Vitamin String Quartet and end it with a little Copperpot...that's my range, man.
Amy: Awesome! Please tell us 5 random facts about yourself.
Fisher:
1. I never clean unless I am absolutely forced to.
2. I've played the violin poorly for over fifteen years.
3. Heels were invented by the devil himself but I wear them anyway. I have no idea why.
4. I love to put the random stuff my family says into my books.
5. When I'm done writing a character, I feel a sense of loss.
Amy: If you could be a fictional character, who would you be and why?
Fisher: I'd be the female version of Puck from Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey Series. Puck is so freaking fun! I love mischief. Love it...as long as it's not cruel. Hate cruel mischief, love ornery mischief.
Amy: Tee hee, me too!
OK, so you’re getting ready to release Callum & Harper. Can you tell us what inspired the idea of this book?
Fisher: When the hubs and I tied the knot, we searched the city in hopes of finding something affordable yet beautiful. Not an easy feat, right? Exactly. We booked the YWCA. I know, I know. Super romantic, right? But give me a chance. The YWCA near my town is this old brick building built in the eighteen hundreds. It's got these fantastic plaster ceilings and old, dark wood floors. It is incredible. It is also affordable.
So, we booked it but you won't believe the back story behind the reception hall.
I'll give you a little knowledge, folks. Did you know, that in most states in America, when kids are shuffled through the state foster system, if their foster parents don't decide to keep them on out of the kindness of their hearts, they're turned out into the streets the second they turn eighteen with nothing but a hundred dollar check?
Yeah, that's what I said! The lady at my reception hall told the hubs and I this story and I was balling half way through.
So, where do these kids go? I don't know about you but when I was eighteen I was definitely not ready for the real world and the YWCA agreed. That's why the top two floors of the building my reception was at are apartments for orphans who are turned out at eighteen. They pay their way for them, find them jobs, set them up for the real world, so to speak.
And all the proceeds from the reception hall is what gives them this second chance. Let me tell you, I couldn't sign on the dotted line fast enough. And all the orphans had to do to earn their way, was clean up the reception hall every Friday and Saturday night. I met a few of these kids and I have to say, their stories shattered my heart in heavy, splintered pieces right at their feet.
Afterwards, I thought of the experience of having to endure what they'd endured and the story rolled off my tongue in less than five minutes. The hubs thought it was , and I quote, "the best idea you've ever had" which I didn't know whether to take as a compliment or not but ultimately decided to take it as a positive thing. *wink, wink* (I tell you, writers are a cynical lot.)
Amy: What an incredible experience for you and your husband to share. You know, I never knew that about foster kids. I bet many people have no clue but now that you’ve written Callum & Harper maybe your story will shed some light on the situation.
Which character in this story inspires or impresses you the most and why?
Fisher: Harper Bailey inspires me the most. Although Callum comes from a crappy background, he hasn't had to endure the hardships Harper has. She still came out a strong, capable, intelligent girl. She has enough sense of her own self-worth to really defend herself. She's amazing.
Amy: If Callum and Harper was made into a movie, who would you cast for it?
Fisher: So funny you ask this because I wrote a whole blog post on it! LOL! Here's my Dream Cast!
Amy: How convenient is that?
Are you currently working on anything new? Can you tell us a little bit about it?
Fisher: I'm in between projects right now. The Canopy, second book of The Leaving Series, hits Summer 2012 because I want a break from the series to cultivate my new love of Contemporary Romance. I can't decide between a novella of a few characters in Callum & Harper or a new, bigger project that I've been secretly harboring an obsession with about a girl and boy who pretend they hate each other but totally don't. LOL! Want to help me decide?
Amy: Everything sounds great but I’m quite intrigued by the last idea. What does the blogging world think? Let Fisher know.
Now, the moment we’ve all been waiting for, the big reveal!!!
"The 25 Day Tour of Bad Aces"
Author Bio:
Fisher Amelie resides in the South with her kick ace husband slash soul mate. She earned her first 'mama' patch in 2009. She also lives with her Weim, 'Jonah', and her Beta, 'Whale'. All these living creatures keep the belly of her life full, sometimes to the point of gluttony, but she doesn't mind all that much because life isn't worth living if it isn't entertaining, right?
Fisher grew up writing. She secretly hid notebooks and notebooks of dribble in a large Tupperware storag container in her closet as a kid. She didn't put two and two together until after college where it suddenly dawned on her,
"Hey, I like writing". She's a bit dense.
"No, I'm not."
"Yes, you are. Put down that Oreo, your butt can't take any more."
"You're rude."
"Yeah, yeah."
Anyway, she likes to write and has finally beaten her self-esteem into submission enough to allow herself to be scrutinized under the 'other readers' microscope. "No! No! Not a cover slip! Last time it gave me a ra...." (mumbling)
Callum & Harper description:
Life sucks for orphans Callum Tate and Harper Bailey.
Kicked out of their foster homes because they suffer the 'eighteen disease' with nothing but a hundred dollar check from the government and a pat on the back, they're forced to rely on a system that failed them miserably.
So they sit. They sit inside Social Services, waiting for their social workers to call their names and offer them the miracle they know will never come but they sit anyway because they have nowhere else to go, no other options on their very literal and figurative empty plates.
But as they sit, they notice the other. Although captivated, they each come to the conclusion that life is complicated enough without throwing in a boiling tension that can't ever be acted upon because they're both too busy thinking about where their next meal will come from but when their names are called and both are placed on a year long waiting list for permanent housing, suddenly relying on each other seems like a very viable plan B.
And, oh, how lovely Plan B's can be.
Well, except for the psycho from Harper's past that haunts her and, oh, yeah, there's the little issue that neither of them knows they're in love with the other.
Needless to say, Callum & Harper's life just got a bit more complicated.
“One day, you and I are gonna’ wake up and be alright. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow but one day. One day. I promise you.” - Callum Tate
Links and such:
Fisher is running a contest for the length of her book tour! To win a signed copy of Callum & Harper just click here
Visit Fisher at her website.
www.fisheramelie.com
Watch her Book Trailers
here
Find Fisher on
Goodreads
Find Fisher on
Amazon
Find Fisher on
Barnes&Noble
Find Fisher on
Facebook
Find Fisher on
Twitter
Feel like talking to her in private? We don't blame you, she is easily persuaded into doing illegal things. E-mail her at
fisher@fisheramelie.com. Don't worry, she's put up a firewall that no government agency could penetrate.
Read and excerpt from Callum & Harper right here at Amy Jones Young Adult Fantasy Fiction!
Oh dear Lord, we’re leaving at the same time. If she hadn’t stopped attempting to hide her smile, I would’ve been forced to reveal my plans to toss the stranger outside against the brick and kiss her face until the sun set.
She passed ahead of me and I caught a whiff of her shampoo, involuntarily sending my eyes into the back of my head. This chick was a walking version of the Pixie’s “Where Is My Mind?”. Sexy. As. Hell. Though, now that I think about it. Is hell sexy? I’m guessing not. I continued to watch. Her hips could have kept time with the damn beat.
“Here, let me get that for you,” I said, throwing open the door. The sun cascaded down her copper hair and made her eyes feel transparent.
“Thank you,” she shyly said but offered up a cute lopsided grin as if to say ‘good boy’. Thanks for the bone, buttercup.
She took the wrought iron steps down to the sidewalk two at a time, which told me she was in a hurry and since it was nearly sunset, I was willing to bet that she and I were heading in the same direction. I scrambled at what to say while her feet scurried along the pavement.
Say something! “Where you headed?” Clever.
She stopped and turned.
“Uh,” she said, seeming embarrassed. She thought twice for a moment before stiffening her body and raising her chin. “I’m headed to..” Confusion set in. She glanced down at the same piece of paper I, as fate would have it, held in my own hand. “Hope House, on One Hundred and Second,” she finished.
“What a coincidence,” I teased with a slight grin.
“You too?” She asked, one eyebrow raised. Cynical, a product of the system.
“Yup, what can I say? Looks like we share the same amount of luck.”
“Which would be?” She asked.
“Nil, if you’re going to Hope House.”
She laughed at our dire situations which was pretty much all you could do.
“Want a ride?” I asked. She didn’t answer me, obviously not willing to trust me, so I offered, “Listen, by the time you walk there they’ll be closed and definitely won’t have any spaces open. If you ride with me, at least we have a chance of getting a spot for the night.”
She sighed. “A valid point,” she said, looking around for my car.
I’m embarrassed by this. “Uh, “ I said, scratching the stubble on my chin with the backs of my fingers. “I don’t actually own a car.” I point to my vintage nineteen-fifty Indian motorcycle. “Come on. It’s better than walking, right?” I stuck my hands out in offering.
She smiled slowly in appreciation, her mouth curling up at the sides and her eyes squinting into the sun. Her head bobbed slowly up and down on her neck. A silent yes. “I’d probably pick this over any car on this street.” She stood back and admired it. “Solid black,” she said. I nodded, intrigued. “Nice,” she simply added.
“You think so? I plan on fixing her up when I get the time and, of course, the money. She’s been good to me, though,” I said, patting the handlebars. “She’s pretty much all I have in this world.” Harper looked at me as if in pity or maybe it was understanding. I really hoped it was understanding because if a girl that beautiful pitied me, I didn’t think I could stand it. “Hop on,” I said. She straddled the back of the leather seat and slid her duffel across her chest to sit behind her. “Uh, you might want to, uh,” I said awkwardly, struggling with how to ask her to push her hair back so I could fit my helmet on her.
Instead, I set the helmet on the seat between her legs and brazenly ran my fingers through her hair. It flowed off her shoulders and settled onto her back. The scent of her shampoo bombarded me one more time and I swayed slightly at the assault but regained my stance. I grabbed the helmet off her lap and fit it onto her head. She giggled at the awkward familiarity of it.
“Sorry,” I said. “But I wouldn’t dream of putting you on the back of my bike without this.”
“It’s alright,” she said, but paused. “Why? Are you an unsafe driver?”
"No, uh, my parents died in a car accident when I was four,” I said matter-of-factly.
"Oh, I'm so sorry.” She had the decency to look sincere. That was pretty refreshing, actually.
"It's alright," I sighed, shrugging my shoulders. "I barely remember them."
"I don't know anything about mine," she said, studying her feet, then realized what she was doing. "Harper Bailey," she said cheerfully, holding out her hand, revealing a dimpled grin.
I buckled the clasp around her delicate chin, resting my hands on the top of the helmet playfully. "My name is Callum Tate and I’m going to take care of you, Harper Bailey."
Her extended hand dropped into her lap. Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. "Wh...what did you say?"
Shit. Was that was too forward? "I'm sorry,” I said, shaking my head. “I'm Callum Tate. It's a pleasure to meet you, Harper Bailey." I grabbed her thin hand and a shot of warmth crept up my veins and shocked my heart into a frenzy.
The smile that had so quickly faded before came back with a vengeance. She squeezed my hand in greeting and whispered, "It's very nice to meet you, Callum."
I climbed on to the front part of the seat and started the engine. Harper settled her hands on the side of my ribs and I couldn't think of anything I wanted more than her arms wound tight against my chest. Suddenly, I couldn't get on the road fast enough.
Thank you, Fisher Amelie for hanging around on Amy Jones Young Fantasy Fiction. There is never a dull moment when you're around. Best of luck with your book. I just know it is going to be a great success! I, for one, am dieing to read it!
