There’s always a story behind the story. If you are curious about the ideas and inspiration and life experiences that built my stories, keep reading. If you are a writer and want to know how other authors “do it”, keep reading. If you are a La Crosse local or a Duluth native, and you want to learn about the ways in which your cities have influenced me, keep reading. And, if you like what you see, click here to subscribe to my blog and receive a weekly dose of knowledge, inspiration and word nerd resources delivered to your inbox.
~ Amanda Zieba
Behind the Scenes of My Stories Blog Posts
You Are Invited the the Destiny by Design Launch Party!!
If you read the acknowledgements at the end of a book (a true sign for me, that I loved a book and don’t want the experience to end) you’ll often see authors expound on the sentiment that writing is a lonely and solitary endeavor. As writers we spend hours alone, creating a world and characters, hoping with every sentence we write, that someone will love them as much as we do.
We’ve reached the part in the milestone of my newest book’s life, when I finally get to share it with you and celebrate. So let me not continue to wax on poetic about the sentiments of writers and get to the point of this blog post… that being… an invitation. To a launch party. To the Champion Chocolatier: Destiny by Design Launch Party.
Champion Chocolatier: Destiny by Design Cover Reveal
Drum roll, please! Wait. Actually, we aren’t ready for that. Let’s back up.
Last week I asked my readers to vote on their favorite book cover design for my soon-to-be-released book, Champion Chocolatier: Destiny by Design, the fourth in the series. And, boy oh boy, did people have opinions. SUPER HELPFUL opinions! Opinions that I gratefully hoarded and then analyzed. Afterward, I went back to Canva and, using some of the feedback I received, made some tweaks to the most popular selection. I moved the location of the title and adjusted the color of the banners and putzed around with the location of some of the images. They weren’t massive changes by any means, but the collection of the changes made an impact… at least I think they did. So before I reveal this, the newest cover of my newest book, I want to say thank you. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, for investing in my final product with your time and for caring about the content I create! Without you, there would be very little purpose to writing these stories. For your readership, I am eternally grateful.
Champion Chocolatier #4 Sneak Peek: First Chapter Reveal!
Today I am thrilled to share the first chapter of the soon-to-be newest release in my Champion Chocolatier series. This book, which doesn’t have a cover and has yet to be titled, will be released in time for the holiday season. But despite all the many steps I have yet to complete for this project, I want to give you a sneak peek of the story!
If you haven’t yet caught up on the series and need to read books 1-3, click here to purchase your copies and get on it! December will be here before we know it and you’ll want to be ready for all the fun, comedic mishaps and entrepreneurial dreams Emmy and Eddie have in store.
Are you ready? I am! For the first time, here, is chapter 1 of Champion Chocolatier #4.
10 Things I Love About Close Quarters: A Pivotal Pause
When I was in high school one of my favorite movies was 10 Things I Hate About You. It had everything I loved. Currently trendy actors/actresses, nerdy references to Shakespeare, a good soundtrack and an underdog storyline. In homage to that 90’s classic, I’m going to tell you 10 Things I LOVE about my newest book, Close Quarters: A Pivotal Pause, which released yesterday (November 2020).
First Chapter Frist Look for Close Quarters: A Pivotal Pause
Almost a year ago I released, Close Quarters, the first book in a new series about four cousins who live in my hometown. A lot has changed in our world since last November, but my love for writing about the Ames cousins and their dreams, relationships and drama has not. In today’s blog post I am thrilled to give you a first look at the next installment of the lives of these ambitious, quirky and fun-loving women.
Champion Chocolatier: For Better or Worse Cover and Chapter Reveal
It’s been a few years since Emmy quit her job and moved to the North Shore. Since then, her life has drastically changed. Now she is a successful business owner and in love. In love! And she’s finally getting married! And me, I am excited to share this cover reveal with you today! Paperback copies of Champion Chocolatier: For Better or Worse will be released on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, but you can pre-order your Kindle copy here. Until then, you can read this sneak peek chapter. I have a bunch of really great launch events planned, but with the current state of affairs in our less than healthy world, I've decided to wait to share them until a later date. But stay tuned!
For now, I proudly present, Champion Chocolatier: For Better or Worse.
Champion Chocolatier: Trivia Scavenger Hunt
The newest book in my Champion Chocolatier series will release next week on April 14. Because of the Covid-Chaos, I am unable to do any of the in person events I had planned. It’s a huge bummer, but I’m making the best of it! Today’s happy distraction involves challenge… a trivia scavenger hunt. You are allowed to use the previously published books, my website… anything you’d like to find the answers to the questions.
The Truth in My Fiction
It’s no secret that my newest book, Close Quarters, was inspired by my family. As the dedication page says and the story alludes to, we are a loud, interconnected, overstepping group of humans who love each other very much. The memories we have created were the foundation for this story of the Ames cousins, who come together when times got tough. But just how much of the story is true? Today I will use my weekly blog post to point out a few of the absolute truths woven into the fiction and share a few behind the scenes stories as well.
Close Quarters Launch Party Recap
Monday night was an incredible night. I know that a few weeks ago I likened sharing a book with the world to the process of growing and birthing a baby. Well, if I’m going to stick with lifetime milestone event analogies, I’m going to say that the Close Quarters Launch Party felt like a wedding. So, so many of my people… from childhood neighbors and teachers to current co-workers, from my best friends from my prior town to my current Bingo besties. Family and friends. Fellow writers and even a few strangers who took a chance and joined the celebration. Everywhere I looked I was surrounded by kind and supportive people who chose to come and share in the joy of my new book. To say I am grateful is an understatement.
Writing Local
When I created my Champion Chocolatier series, I had so much fun writing about the city of Duluth. I enjoyed reliving vacation memories and my favorite tourist spots. Because the pages were built on a foundation of real experiences, the words came easy and the process of world building, one that is normally time consuming, went a whole lot quicker.As I embarked upon writing my new series, Close Quarters, I fell in love with the idea of placing the story in my hometown of La Crosse. My characters were bound to visit restaurants and hair salons and go on dates, right? Why not use real locations, ones that already held a host of memories fueled by dozens of sensory details that I’d already experienced? The decision was a no-brainer.
Birthing a Book
Many people liken the process of creating a book to the experience of growing and birthing a baby. I would agree on many levels. For the most part growing a baby is a behind the scenes job. Many of the tasks are accomplished beneath the mother’s flesh, unseen to the world, except for the growing bulge of her belly. Even the writers who work in public places and are visible, rarely show their work in progress. It’s all a mystery, until the final reveal.
I do my best to show you where I’m at along the way, and I hope you find these sneak peeks enjoyable and interesting. But today, is one of those big reveal kind of days. The book, the birth, is not happening until Monday, November 11. (Unlike a real birth, I’m 100% certain of its due date!) Today could be compared to one of those gender reveal events. Today I’m going to share with you… the book cover.
Write What You Know (Part 1 and 2)
If you are a writer, you have undoubtedly heard the advice, “write what you know”. Honestly, I’ve always kind of dismissed it. My favorite genres to read and write have always been fantasy and adventure. My middle-class, Midwestern life didn’t’ really seem to match up with the stories I wanted to make up and tell. I could occasionally pull from a vacation location for setting details and mimic my students’ preteen language in my characters’ dialogue, but that didn’t really seem to truly encompass the advice to “write what you know”.
Last week when I started writing scene snippets for a story idea I had involving the relationship of four cousins living in La Crosse, Wisconsin, I think I finally understood. All of a sudden, a lifetime of experiences came rushing out of my head and onto the page. Summers at the cabin, phrases from text message threads, personalities of people I know, motherhood experiences, doctors’ office visits, even a stinky fish tank. I couldn’t get one scene fully fleshed out before another would come hurtling out of nowhere with blinding speed.
Check out this two part blog series all about using your life experiences to tell a story.
Fun Facts
In addition to the final story readers see on the page, there is often one that remains behind the scenes. The research, the muses, the deleted scenes. Today, I’m going to let you in on a few secrets, a few fun facts about my most recent book, Champion Chocolatier: Reality Bites.
Book Launch
Last week, with the help of many family members and friends (both online and in real life) I launched my book, Champion Chocolatier: Reality Bites. It was a week full of exciting surprises (my sister drove all the way from Marshfield for the launch party and the La Crosse Tribune wrote an article about me!) and a plethora of well wishes and affirmations. Overall, I’m happy to say it was a big success. (I’ve sold over 100 copies so far!) Here are a few of my favorite moments from the launch party.
The Big Reveal: A New Book From Amanda Zieba
I’ve been asked many times if there would be a sequel to Emmy’s chocolaty adventures in Duluth and now I can happily say, YES! Today, I want to give you, my loyal blog readers, a chance to take a sneak peek.
From Real Life to Reality Bites
I am typically a visually-inspired writer. An Imax movie stimulated questions and ideas for my underwater novel Breaking the Surface. This image prompted an 80,000 word YA Fantasy manuscript that is still trying to find its way into the world. I use photos from Pinterest to help me describe everything from widow displays to character apparel to dessert. But my newest novella was inspired by something entirely different. Something I hadn’t sued as muse before… REAL LIFE.
