Amanda Carlson (edit name/settings)

Marcella-Louise edited the bio of Amanda Carlson Tuesday, July 31, 2012.

• Edited Place of Birth: ,Minnesota ,USA
• Edited Gender: Female
• Edited Nationality: American
• Edited Official Website: http://www.amandacarlson.com/
• Genres: Urban Fantasy, Paranormal

Marcella-Louise changed Amanda Carlson's author image Tuesday, July 31, 2012.

Marcella-Louise edited the overview of Amanda Carlson Tuesday, July 31, 2012.

• I’m a Minnesota girl, born and bred. I started writing stories about teenage girls and their social missteps when I was in high school. I still have the handwritten spiral notebooks to prove it.

  I started writing in earnest after my second child was born. After purchasing our first computer, I thought to myself, what better way to spend my time than e-mailing unsuspecting family members super cute stories about my exceptionally darling children? Isn’t that what computers were made for anyway?

  The writer in me stretched and gave a defiant shove. I was hooked.

  I jumped into writing classes, joined local writing chapters, organized author book signings, joined critique groups and participated in conferences. I had a blast writing a column in a local food & wine publication, and eventually tied together all my parenting stories into one full compilation.

  My first fiction attempt was a contemporary romance, but I couldn’t seem to find the story. After my kids starting bringing home YA urban fantasy, I suddenly knew where my passion for fiction writing had been hiding. It was inside the action packed pages of an Urban Fantasy novel. Reading each new series was so much fun, I quickly realized this genre brought something to the storyline I hadn’t really seen before. It brought a hefty shot of adrenaline combined with a side of female kickass, all combined with that element of “other” I found so intriguing.

  After reading YA, I picked up every adult UF I could get my hands on and I’ve been fully immersed in this genre ever since. On occasion I still pick up a “regular” book. But for the most part I find them lacking in superpowers and the excitement of the unexpected.

  I started FULL BLOODED because kickass heroines rock and I love shifters of all kinds. There aren’t enough warm-blooded girls to go around, in my opinion. I fell into Jessica’s story and had such a great time writing it. I couldn’t imagine writing anything other than urban fantasy now.

  When you’re creating a story in this fantastic genre, it can contain almost any elements you can dream up. Creatively, for me, there’s nothing better.

  Now I think it’s about time to share it with all of you.

  Amanda is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, with a BA in both Speech and Hearing Science & Child Development. She went on to get an A.A.S in Sign Language Interpreting and worked as an interpreter until her first child was born. She enjoys playing Scrabble to an unhealthy degree, shopping trips to Ikea and has a great weakness for tropical beaches. She lives in Minneapolis with her husband and three kids.