Short
Bio:
Amy Neftzger published her first fiction book Conversations with the
Moon in 2003. Since then she has published books for both children
and adults, including All that the Dog Ever Wanted, Bedtime Stories
for Dogs, Bedtime Stories for Cats, Leftover shorts, Confessions From
a Moving Van, The Orphanage of Miracles, and The Ferryman. She lives
in Nashville with her family and pet gargoyle Newton.
Long
Bio:Amy
Neftzger (born June 23) is an American researcher and author who has
published fiction books, non-fiction books, business articles, and
peer review research. Her works have reached an international
audience.
Amy
was born in Illinois and graduated from Elk Grove High School in Elk
Grove Village, Illinois. She received her bachelors degree from the
University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Florida and her Masters
in Industrial/ Organizational Psychology from Middle Tennessee State
University in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. She graduated from both
Universities with honors.
She
has written numerous business and journal articles, but her fiction
works have been the most commercially successful. In 2003 she
published Conversations with the Moon, which was also translated into
Korean and published in South Korea. In 2005 she collaborated with
her husband, guitarist Tyra Neftzger on a children's book called "All
that the Dog Ever Wanted." The book was designed to introduce
children to jazz music at an early age and included a CD sampler of
jazz tunes. In 2007 she worked as an editor on a business fable
called "The Damned Company." She's also written
"Confessions From a Moving Van" and "Leftover Shorts."
In
2013, Amy released her first Young Adult book called "The
Orphanage of Miracles." The sequel to this book, "The
Orchard of Hope" is scheduled for release in June of 2014, and
The Ferryman (adult fiction) is scheduled for release in October,
2014.
Author
Links - The link for any or all of the following...
Book
Genre: Middle grade fiction/ fantasy
Publisher:
Fields of Gold Publishing, Inc (Imprint Fog Ink)
Release
Date: June 23,
2014
Book
Description:
“Hope
is never gone, but it can be eaten alive. “
A
quest to save hope.
A
kingdom under a spell.
A
wizard in training.
A
gargoyle with a sweet tooth.
The
sequel to The Orphanage of Miracles is filled
with
engaging characters, magic, adventure, and
unusual
circumstance. It’s a story that will
both
entertain and inspire the reader.
Kelsey,
a strong-willed and high spirited young girl, embarks upon another
adventurous quest - this time to save hope, which is being stolen
from the orchard. While the kingdom is still under the spell of the
evil sorcerer who distorts reality in order to gain control, the king
begins training someone who he believes can ultimately defeat the
sorcerer: a young boy named Nicholas. Revisit some of your favorite
characters or meet them for the first time in this volume.
Excerpt:
Hope
is never gone. But it can be eaten alive, and that’s
exactly what was happening in the orchard. The king had told them
about the problem before, but the problem wasn’t
going away. In fact, the problem was getting bigger and becoming
critical, and the king was certain that Kelsey could help. She was
excited about the trip and looking forward to the journey to the
orchard, wherever that might be and however long it would take.
It
wasn’t as if Kelsey hadn’t enjoyed the past 18 months of training
with the king’s army. The battle conditioning had been a wonderful
experience for her, but now she was ready for action. Too much time
spent in one place had made her restless. When the king first
mentioned the quest, Kelsey had jumped up out of her seat with
excitement.
“How
do we save hope?” Kelsey asked with undisguised eagerness. After an
awkward pause she sat down again and waited for an answer. Her
fingers gripped the top of the thick walnut table where she was
seated in the king’s study. Every wall in this room was covered
with bookshelves from floor to ceiling, except for the places where
there were windows, which also stretched the height of the room.
“That’s
a question to which we do not yet have an answer. It’s a bit of a
tricky situation,” the king said as he smiled. He was a tall figure
with broad shoulders and flowing red hair. Although he ruled this
land and was respected by his opponents in battle, Kelsey often
thought about him as something of a father figure. His stature
conveyed his strength, but his eyes and his smile hinted at the
tenderness that Kelsey always saw in him. Of course, she had known
him under different circumstances before she knew he was the king. In
fact, he had been traveling in disguise and appeared to be a small
mute orphan that Kelsey had attempted to help. Only later did she
learn his true identity.
“Why
don’t you simply fence the orchard?” asked Nicholas, who was a
young boy about the same age as Kelsey. He sat upright in his chair,
as if paying attention to a lesson.
“I
wish the solution were that easy,” the king replied solemnly, “but
we don’t fully understand the extent of the situation. Implanting
obstacles, such as a fence, will solve the problem only if it’s a
simple one. However, this issue is complicated.”
Interview with Amy Neftzger
Let’s get to know you a little more. Tell us a about yourself.
I live in Nashville, TN and have been writing for over 15 years.
I’ve published both fiction and nonfiction, but fiction is my first love. I
have a husband (who is awesome, by the way), two teenage children, a dog, and a
pet gargoyle.
What inspired you to write?
I’ve been a writer since I was a child, so I feel like I was
pre-wired to write and tell stories.
Tell me a little about your book. (Title, plot)
The Orchard of Hope is set in a fantasy world where en evil
sorcerer has distorted reality and people find it very difficult to know what’s
real and what isn’t. Many of the people don’t know that they’re under the
spell, which makes it more powerful. To make things worse, wolves are stealing
the kingdom’s hope by devouring it just as it ripens. The kingdom must recover
the hope in order to overcome the spell.
How did you come up with the story?
The story is really an allegory about how some people try to
take hope away form others, as if there’s a limited supply.
Tell me about your main character. Who is he/she, what makes
them special to you?
I have two main characters. Kelsey is a young girl who’s a bit
hot-headed at times and is training to be a soldier to fight the war against
the evil sorcerer. At the same time, Nicholas is a young boy who is training to
be a sorcerer. He is just beginning to discover his talents in this book.
Who has been your greatest writing inspiration?
I’m a huge reader, so there are many authors I admire. J.K.
Rowling is probably the biggest inspiration in this series because the target
age/ audience is similar.
Now a little more about you:
If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would
you bring (excluding family, laptop, or writing utensils)?
First of all, I’d bring a wide brimmed hat because I sunburn
very easily. I’d also want to bring a
camera to take some cool photos of whatever I could find (for as long as the
battery lasted). I would love to have a good book - one that I’d like to read
over and over again. I can’t imagine being without anything to read.
We find out the world is going to end tomorrow. How do you live
your last day?
First of all, I would eat chocolate until it made me throw up.
Then I think I would spend the time with my family just goofing off. Maybe we’d
go on a shopping spree and buy all sorts of fun things just for kicks. I might
fly to New York and try that $10,000 dessert since I’d never have to pay the
bill :)
If we were to make a movie of your life. Who would play the part
of you?
Emma Watson (Probably because I secretly want to be Hermione).
Tell us 5 random things about yourself.
I love the color green.
I like to travel with my gargoyle.
I’m happily married to the love of my life.
I’m a movie junkie.
I prefer brown shoes over black.
What are the three places you have always wanted to visit but
have not yet?
Tokyo.
Russia.
Egypt.
Okay, crystal ball time. Where do you see yourself in 5-10
years?
Still writing. Hopefully on a new series :)
Do you have any questions for me?
What’s your favorite book of all time and why is it your
favorite?
My favorite book has to be the complete works of Edgar Allen Poe, because he was so dark and mysterious with his writing style and still kept you on the edge of your seat. I loved his works and the complete series gave me everything in one book.
Where can our readers find you? (Please provide links for
everything Twitter, Facebook, Blog, Website etc).
http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Neftzger/e/B004VGUPNG/
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