I’m Amanda, and I’m so glad you’re here.
I’m glad you’re here because it means you’re interested in American historical fiction – specifically the kind of fiction that looks into the parts of history that are normally overlooked, abandoned or even a little obscure.
If you want historic romance like the bodice ripping, steamy type… or mysteries that dredge of the horrors of the past… you’re gonna be disappointed here.
The focus of my research and writing is on the interesting stories that are buried or lost to time. I think of history like the layers of an onion: there’s the top level that everyone can see and has probably read about it in their textbooks. But beneath that are little trails, rabbit holes and deviations that go into the whys, whats, hows and whos behind the big events. That’s where the gold is. And that’s where I pull ideas for stories from.
But, before I tell you more about my journey as an author… let me tell you who I am.
Iām a creative and a dreamer. My favorite ways to spend my time (when I’m not writing) are knitting, journaling, memory-keeping, sewing… anything that uses my hands + a little bit of creativity is right up my alley.
I married my college sweetheart in December 2007 on a rainy day in beautiful Northern Kentucky (where I’m from and where we currently reside). Since 2007, my husband, Alex, and I have added four children to our family and lots of fur babies, too: 3 cats (Sage, Colonel and Juniper) and 2 Pomeranians (General Hamilton and… Biscuit lol).
I’m very involved in my childrens’ school as a volunteer, Chess Club and middle grade Academic Team co-coach, room parent and more. As a result of the time I spend there, I’ve become a very passionate advocate for public education and the rights of teachers to fair pay.
We live in a little town that has the feel of Mayberry while being a hop, skip and a jump from Cincinnati: all the benefits of a medium city (where are my The Good Place fans?!) with all the charm of a small one. Our home is also historic (because of course it is), celebrating her 83rd birthday in 2023.
Before I was an author, I worked in marketing.
In college, I studied English Literature and history. You’d think with that combo, I would have graduated with the dream of immediately becoming an author. Wrong!
I thought I would become a college professor (that was my goal, anyway) but after being unable to complete my Master’s degree due to getting pregnant with our firstborn… I shelved that dream and decided I’d pick up freelance writing. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I had a career as a digital marketer, complete with P&G and serving as the Director of Operations for Crest Whitestrips on my resume.
After the birth of our third, though, I decided Corporate America wasn’t the place for me. Yep, your typical soft-hearted creative type gets burnt out by the grind is what happened. Stereotypical? Yes. But it’s very accurate.
I suffered from complete cellular burnout and a level of depression that made me completely stop caring about anything other than the basics.
Something had to change. That change came in the form of stepping back from work altogether for about 6 months, improving my health, and reconnecting to what made me me.
Through the process of rediscovering myself, I picked up an old, secret dream.
Remember when Hamilton was released on Disney+? Alex and I watched it one night after the kids were in bed, and I … like most of America … was immediately obsessed. With the story. The songs. The way Lin-Manuel Miranda had written about someone forgotten. I couldn’t get enough!
It unlocked that part of me that had been so enamored by history all my life that I’d let go in the pursuit of my professional growth.
In the process of doing my own reading about Hamilton, it led me to read more about, of course, Aaron Burr. In the musical, there’s a song entitled “Dear Theodosia” where Hamilton and Burr share their heartfelt hopes and dreams for their firstborn children in the new nation. This is the only mention of Burr’s daughter, Theodosia, in the entire musical… but I was so curious about her: what happened to her? Who was she? How did she deal with having a dad like Burr?
Those questions led me down a rabbit hole of research where I uncovered one of the most fascinating and obscure life stories. Theodosia’s story was center stage for decades, immediately following her mysterious and tragic disappearance at sea at the age of 29. But as generations who were familiar with her died out… so did the interest in who she was.
Even the success of Hamilton didn’t too much to stir up interest in her specifically. I knew her story HAD to be told. And I wanted to be the one to write it.
I was able to secure a publication deal with an independent publisher based in Maryland, Lineage Publishing, on the first chapter alone. Today, as I write this update, I’m in the process of completing the first draft of the novel.
Want to read the first chapter of the upcoming Theodosia novel for free?
I’m giving it away if you’d like to take a look! Grab the free download here.
Publication is slated for Summer 2024. When you get the first chapter free using the link above, you’ll get bi-weekly updates through my newsletter about the progress of the novel, as well as other exclusive looks into it + interesting historical tidbits I pick up through my research.