Interview with Amy Sparks

Published 2017-05-11.
What motivated you to become a romance author?
What motivated me to become an author was actually the books that I have been reading ever since I started middle school. I actually hated reading books when I was little because they weren’t exciting. My parents would always push me every day to read books because they would make me smarter and have a better imagination. The books in my library in elementary school weren’t that amazing, so I hardly took out books back then. As soon as I hit middle school I fell in love.Our library was really big and filled with amazing books. They were the right genre of books that I wanted to read, which were romance books. Romance books were seen more at our middle school because everyone was basically growing up and turning into teenagers. Until I hit high school, I read romance books every single day. I took them out and then by the next day I brought it back because I was already done. I just couldn't stop reading the books. I more or less stopped taking books out of the library recently though because I fell in love with the internet. My father would yell at me all the time because I would always read books online. This motivated me because I was young and foolish and I always thought how romance in books was so different than real life. I started thinking about how I think romance would work and how I would write a romance book based on what I think romance is all about.
which authors inspire you to write your romance books?
There are many authors that have inspired me. But the top 5 that I have in my head that have always been an inspiration to me are: Estelle Maskame. Her books have always been an inspiration to me by the way the romance is in them. Love has no power, no labels and so her books change how love is and how people are when it comes to love. Katie McGarry. Her books have changed my heart and my mind in one page. The way she brings the characters together and writes about how they feel. She makes the characters feel alive and makes my imagination spark up when I read her books. Jojo Moyes. Jojo Moyes makes me feel like love has no limits and on how no matter there is a limit to love, you go over it. You don’t care what people feel and on how they feel about you. Love has no limits, let it have as much as they want. Miranda Kenneally. Miranda makes love feel amazing. She makes it feel like love just happens and on how they just change a person. I love how I read all the sides to the characters and on how all the books connect to the other books. Last but not least is Sarah Dessen. Sarah’s books make me feel alive every time I read them. Her books come alive somehow and they truly show how love is. Love is the same for everyone. Boy or girl, they feel the same thing. Hate, pain, love, sadness. I have read all of these authors books and let me tell you that they are amazing. They make love feel more passionate and real. There is not one day that goes by where I am not reading one of their books because it would just kill me if I don’t.
Do you work to an outline or plot, or do you prefer to see where an idea takes you?
I generally just see where an idea takes me. Sometimes I plan ahead a little, like in my latest book, If he loves me if he doesn’t. I had to decide how to introduce the party and what day it was on, what drama it could cause, etc.
What is the hardest thing about writing?
For me, I think that the hardest thing about writing is actually finding out what else to add since I don’t normally do a storyline or outline before writing my books. More drama, problems to add to the story. It’s hard when you have writer’s block. When you have a great idea but then it just doesn’t add up. When I would get stuck I would always ask my best friend on what to add because I really didn’t know how to continue. She would tell me some idea’s which made me think again. It’s always nice when you have someone else with you along the way so that when you get stuck, you always have someone to turn to.
What was your inspiration for your latest book, if he loves me, if he doesn’t?
I actually based the main character, Mia, on myself. Aria, Mia’s best friend, is based on my best friend. We have actually been best friends since grade 3, like in the book. Jackson the boy who falls in love with Mia in the book was actually inspired by my middle school and half of high school crush. Michael the other boy who falls in love with Aria (my best friend) was also her middle school crush. However, none of the events in the book took place in real life. Don’t worry mom and dad. I did not kiss anybody nor did my best friend.
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