Meet Amanda Hughes

We recently connected with Amanda Hughes and have shared our conversation below.

Amanda, so excited to have you with us today. So much we can chat about, but one of the questions we are most interested in is how you have managed to keep your creativity alive.
As you can imagine, my creativity comes from a variety of places, but two images spring to mind when I am crafting a story. For me, it is like the black box challenge in the reality chef shows where the chef has to make a great meal from only the ingredients in a box. The first thing that goes into my creativity box is the time period of my historical novel. Next, I choose the ethnicity of my female protagonist. Then I put in a variety of lesser-known historical events that I would like to include in the book. Now, I have to, like the chef, come up with an enticing product that will blow away the judges. It is not always easy. For example, in my latest story, I have a Turkish American woman who lives during the American Civil War, and the setting is Kansas. It is a very challenging twist that requires a lot of creativity, but with my research, I will hopefully create a credible, intriguing tale that will blow away the readers.
The other way I foster creativity is to immerse myself in research and walk in the shoes of my characters. I look through a sort of a spyglass deep into the past. What I see always starts out blurry, but over time the pictures become clearer and clearer until I am able to see the entire story through their eyes.

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 historical fiction about bold women through the centuries, with each book being a stand-alone novel. My books are considered outlier fiction. I did not set out to be a genre buster, but I knew readers were ready for something different. I certainly was. I was so dissatisfied with what I was reading. I found historical fiction to be dry and fact-filled with little character development and historical romances full of unrealistic, sentimental stories that romanticized history. And stories about women and their adventures were practically non-existent! I saw a niche, and I filled it.
My books are always set in America, and they span the 17th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Centuries. So take your pick! They are always about a woman’s struggle to survive and thrive.
For me, the key to career happiness is that I write to please myself. I don’t cater to recent trends, and I absolutely love research. I’m always uncovering some part of history that has been neglected.
It has been a long road to success and has taken many years of blood, sweat, and tears, but a little voice kept telling me to carry on. So I did, and at last, I have a wide reading audience, thousands of positive reviews, and many followers around the world.
To date, I have written thirteen novels and two novelettes. My latest book is entitled Intoxicating and is about a bold woman during the 1920s in Prohibition America.
You can find my books on Amazon.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
I am passionate about what I do. I keep my original goals in sight, and I have always been tenacious about my writing. I never give up and neither do my Bold Women. If you want stories of success in the face of adversity, read my books!

My advice?
I believe passion is the most important quality you can have for success. If you love what you do, it will keep you going for a lifetime.
Don’t be afraid to change your idea of what is success for you. Adjust it, higher or lower.
Be open to change, but don’t lose sight of what you set out to do, no matter what they say.
And last but not least, be tenacious. Hold on tight and don’t let go.

Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
Wearing so many hats. Most people don’t realize that writers do not just write. We are business people and self-promoters. We are our own I.T. department dealing with Microsoft Word, graphic arts, and software troubleshooting. We must be our own publicists and networkers. But in acting, I drew the line. Years ago, I was asked to act out a scene from my book Beyond the Cliffs of Kerry in an event profiling writers at Minnesota’s Celtic Junction Center. I really dreaded it. I was stiff and nervous and uncomfortable, and a terrible actor. (see the photo). After that, I forgave myself for not being great at everything and realized that I did NOT have to accept every challenge and moved on.

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