Meet Amanda Bentley

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amanda Bentley. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amanda below.

Amanda, thrilled to have you on the platform as I think our readers can really benefit from your insights and experiences. In particular, we’d love to hear about how you think about burnout, avoiding or overcoming burnout, etc.

Burnout has played a huge role in my life. Aside from writing, I homeschool my five-year-old son, assist my husband with one of his businesses, and work as a server on weekends. Basically, I wear a lot of hats, and it’s easy for me to do too much with little to no breaks. I have to be aware of when I’m feeling tired and force myself to stop, even when I don’t want to or feel like I can’t. I have burned out before, and the recovery for that is far worse than taking a day off (even if the to-do list piles up). My husband is the first one to tell me to take the day to relax, reminding me that I come first.

So first, I overcame burnout. I had to literally force myself to take time for me and do something I enjoy—read, go to the pool, take a bath, etc. It was uncomfortable, but I forced myself. Then, my sister taught me how to avoid burnout with this simple question—does it need to be done right now? If it doesn’t (like folding a pile of laundry) I don’t do it if I don’t have the energy. Again, it was hard at first, but it’s become incredibly easy now that I’m used to it. And honestly, it’s freeing!

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I write spicy romance books. I’ve always been an avid reader, and romance is my favorite part of any story. I’d always wanted to write a book, and when my son was little, I’d spend a lot of time on my phone while putting him to sleep or nursing him. I got a journal app, and it asked what one of my life goals was. Every few weeks, it would ask what I’d done to achieve that goal. I attribute that app to finally getting me to take a week off from my corporate job to start my book. I wrote thirty-two thousand words!

Something my first readers consistently said about my books is what later became my brand tag—wild emotions, undeniable chemistry. The feelings of my characters seep through the pages and the passion they carry for each other is, well, undeniable! While homeschooling my son has taken a lot of my time lately, the current work in progress I have is going to be the biggest yet in terms of drama and emotions. I can’t wait to share it!

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

In the practical sense, definitely learning how to type in my sixth grade business class, because it makes me a much faster writer! Learning about and practicing good communication is another one, because it makes it easy for me to convey my points as well as understand why my characters are doing or saying something. But the most important skill I’ve learned for my craft is emotional intelligence—at the end of the day, my characters are people (even if imaginary) and we are all driven in some form by our emotions. Understanding that allows me to write a fully-fledged character and not a superficial story.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

Atomic Habits by James Clear. I love the concept of small, consistent change leading to more growth and success than huge leaps and changes. I think there’s an idea somewhere that we have to do it all at once for anything to matter, but the reality is that most things happen gradually over time. Atomic Habits gives tons of examples about small change over time and how to implement it into your personal life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/AmandaBentleyAuthor
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/amandabentleyauthor
• Other: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Amanda-Bentley/author/B0BCXMBTWN