WHAT'S NEXT?

I have been extremely busy with so many different projects that I sometimes think that my head is going to spin off.

At the moment, I am preparing for a number of events and publicity interviews for my upcoming release:  Rope: A History of the Hanged The book actually moves away from the usual serial killer topics I write about and examines the interesting events related to hangings, from botched executions to daring escapes.  When I started thinking about the book, I really thought it would be dry, but it was so thoroughly interesting, and at times, though mostly tragic, it was quite funny.

I am also waiting for the final edit of my 4th in my fiction series and then that can also b

e released.  I can't wait to share more details with you on that book, but for now, I will let you know that those that have read it have called it a "real page turner" and that is something every author wants to hear.

I've also been working hard on my YouTube Channel and that has taken me in a few different directions, but I am still, after a year trying to find my feet, though with more than 2.1 million views, I must be doing something right.

As well as writing and YouTube, I am also nearing the half way point in my Masters Degree in Writing at University. I've done well so far and it is really challenging my skills as a writer, pushing me out of my comfort zone and into genres and topics I don't normally find interesting.

So with all of that on my plate, as well as working full-time and raising a fantastic family, I've decided to branch out into hosting other authors on my blog. It will be kind of a Q&A scenario, where authors will get to showcase their new books and tell us a bit about their writing processes and other interesting tidbits.  I think it will be a great experience for me as well as the other authors and of course my readers. So let's begin a new journey.

Thanks reading!
Amanda

Rope: A History of the Hanged

The rumblings before the storm - once your book is released... what happens next?

As an author, I obviously enjoy writing. Granted it is extremely lonely.  No-one else is on the journey with you except for your characters, or as in the book I am about to release, the ghosts of those I am writing about. But once that is all finished, once you have signed the final release, then the journey takes on a very different mood.

Earlier this week, I received the email from my publicist, Lucia. I have worked with her on the past three books I released. She is incredible and I enjoy working with her. Yet the email from her signals the next part of the writing journey - the publicity tour. Gone is the pyjamas-clad slob of an author who sits in her darkened room with copious amounts of coffee and wine (depending on the time of the day), madly bashing away at the keyboard. In her place is someone primed and polished, all smiles for the camera ready to be charming and witty on the publicity trail.

Even after 17 books, I forget that this part comes with the book's release. As I said at the beginning, I love to write, I write because it is part of my essence, but the publicity trail always makes me tremble with dread. I worry about the curve ball questions, the interviewer who has no interest in my book and so fumbles over questions, or worse those who love true crime just a little too much.

Over the years I have learnt to manage the publicity tour a little better. I have done many live to air radio and television interviews as well as pre-recorded segments and newspaper articles. I used to be so sick with terror and nerves, I liked the comfort of my writing room, not the bright lights of the television studio but I have learned that they come hand in hand if your work is good enough.  I know it's an absolute honour to be involved in such segments. Very few authors get to experience what I've been lucky to have experienced and so I now know to enjoy myself and have as much fun as I can - when talking about executions, murder and serial killers.

So, I wait with bated breath to see what Lucia has in store when Rope: A History of the Hanged is released in June, 2016. So far I have a few speaking engagements as well as a newspaper article to come but I know that over the next few months there will be radio and newspaper interviews and if I am very lucky a few more television spots.

Wish me luck!

Amanda

To Venture Towards a New Frontier in Social Media.

I am an obsessed Youtube viewer. I find myself spending hours researching, watching, engaging in all manner of clips from exercise videos to serial murder to funny cats and fails. There isn't a lot I don't at least glance at.

I find it far more stimulating than television where you are stuck watching what they think you want and not what you want.  I also enjoy the anthologies that Youtube puts together at the end of the year, looking back at social phenomena like the ice bucket challenge, top Youtubers from across the globe, as well as the best songs of the year.

It was watching 2013's anthology that I put the challenge out to my teenage son to be in the 'best of' video by 2015. He laughed at me and stated data on the subscribers of such channels as Pewdie Pie and Jenna Marbles. So instead, I challenged myself.  It was time to create my own channel.

Equipped with very little skill in editing videos, I decided to see what I could do with what I had and without having to put my face on the screen - just yet.

The result was my first clip, ok so the music cuts out and my son hates the font choice, but really, I am proud of the effort.  Have a look yourself and let me know what you think. It will be the first of many, I hope.

Thanks for reading (and viewing)

The Man Behind The Serial Killer

It was in 1989 that my life collided with the world of the serial killer.

At the time I was in high school, dreaming of performing on the world's stage as a dancer and singer. I was a lot smaller then compared to now but then my life was one of adrenalin and music. Every waking moment was spent dancing, singing, playing instruments, or anything that came under the umbrella of performing.

Dance, drama and performance would remain part of my life for another four years, but it was slowly consumed by a darker world, I guess you could call it the world behind the curtain.  I lived in Sydney. One of the most beautiful places on earth and a place that will always be home, but in 1989 it was also the home to a serial killer.

In early 1989 an elderly lady was found bludgeoned to death. Her murder was reported in the media, as most cases of murder in Sydney are, but she was the first of at least six women who fell prey to the killer known as The Granny Killer. At the time, criminal profiling in Australia was in its infancy and an attempt was made to profile the serial killer. The profile claimed that the killer would be a young man, probably a skateboarder. However when the killer, a 50 year old man, was captured, my whole world seemed to circle in around me.

The idea that the serial killer was a genial older gentleman was incredulous. I could not believe it, he looked like my own father. He actually was a father, to two teenage girls.  I was hooked at that very moment. No more did I believe that killers were the Freddy Kruegers of this world. They were the fathers, the brothers, the uncles and even the mothers that walked among us.

This was how my 'life of crime' commenced. Gone went the dancing costumes and performance ideas, and instead, in their place were criminology exams and interviews with serial killers.

Since my new career path started I have interviewed dozens of serial killers, but nothing I have done will ever compare to that done by the serial killer expert himself Robert Ressler.  Along with another hero of mine, John Douglas, Ressler has interviewed the most infamous serial killers in America. He has, as he put it, looked into the abyss.  His numerous books taught me more than my university degree ever could regarding the criminal mind and the way it worked.

I have had some pretty exhilarating experiences with serial killers over the years, including death threats and recipes where I was one of the ingredients, but had it not been for Ressler, Douglas and their co-horts, would I be looking into the abyss now? Would my life be the one it is  with eight books on true crime published and many more to come? Serial killers have always been a part of history, and always will, but it was the need and ability to understand the mind of a killer that has compelled many of us to peer over that edge and to see what stares back.

Ressler passed away earlier this year, but for those who walk in the shadow of serial killers, he will forever live on.

Photo credit: criminalminds.wikia.com

Books 9 and 10

I think that 2013 has seen me write more than I have in any other year. So far this year I have

• completed Ritual: The Elements of Murder,
• written A Killer in the Family,
• about complete Ritual: A Thousand Cuts,
• I have written a dozen short stories,
• started a new book on capital punishment,
• and revisited and commenced editing a book on serial killers. 

In all that writing, I think I've written about one million words.  No wonder my poor fingers hurt :) 

By Christmas you will be able to purchase A Killer in the Family and Ritual: The Elements of Murder, they are my ninth and tenth books respectively.  I never thought I would make it there. When I commenced writing my first book, I thought I might end up writing a second book one day. Yet, here I am, ten years later, book 9 and 10 are done and at the publishers, I am about to complete book 11, book 12 is ready for a dramatic edit, book 13 is already in the pipeline and I am planning a trip to London to help me with book 14. 

I guess with all that work still to do, I should really get off my blog and back into writing. 

Thanks for reading!

Amanda