1. How did you get started writing?
After I retired from the US Air Force, I spent about three years doing very little except reading–I needed the recovery time. It was a very stressful period. One day I was reading a “military” romance and it was really obvious the author had never spoken to a military person or knew how to use Google. I thought: I can do better!
Spoiler Alert: I couldn’t. Not then.
After three years of writing, I finally got my space opera idea and started writing the Folding Space Series. I published my first book at the still-young age of 54 and I haven’t looked back.
2. Out of all your books, which one is your favourite and why?
I think my newsletter signup giveaway, Lightwave: Nexus Station, is my favorite. It’s such a fun adventure–it almost wrote itself.
3. If your friends were asked to describe you in one word, what would it be?
Tall.
4. What is your favorite thing to do outside of writing?
Reading! After that, hiking or skiing, depending on the season.
5. What do you love most about the genre you write?
I love making up new worlds and the people who inhabit them.
6. What do you want readers to take from your books?
Mostly entertainment, but I do include some of the seamier sides of life as a warning. I know I have teenage readers and it’s important for them to know this world includes a lot of predators, but also a lot of helpers.
7. Describe yourself in 3 words.
Bookworm, Determined, Volunteer.
8. What made you decide to write in your current genre?
A real-world Tweet from NASA about launching a deep-space version of GPS. My first job in the US Air Force was GPS command and control. Did you know GPS relies on atomic clocks and they require maintenance and tuning? So, I started thinking about who was going to maintain the NASA satellite and the nature of time and space. If space can be folded, and time is just another dimension, wouldn’t we need to know what time it was where we were going? Otherwise, we’d be time travelers. Who’s going to maintain those clocks? I ended up with an alien race tied to an alternate reality that knows what time it is everywhere.
Don’t worry–you don’t need to know any math or physics to enjoy my books!
9. Tell us about your current release/or new release?
The Folding Space Series is finished and ready for binge-reading, but I’ve started a spin-off series called Quantum Fold. I’m running the first one on my website as a free serial right now–I post a chapter each Sunday.
10. What does your writing space look like?
I use an adjustable standing desk–which I love. The top is a slab of white walnut I finished myself. Here’s a blog post about it: https://www.amscottwrites.com/
The desk is in an office area but it’s part of the open plan living/dining/kitchen. Our family is me, my husband The Amazing Sleeping Man, and our dog, Zoe, so it’s important for us to be together even when we’re working on separate things. For the other two, that’s mostly sleeping while I write!
11. What’s the one piece of technology you can’t live without?
My laptop! Followed by my e-reader.
12. Do you find it hard to kill off your characters?
Yes. I haven’t killed off a main character yet and I’m not sure I ever will.
13. How much of your characters are based on your traits or someone you know personally?
Usually, my characters are a mix of traits, but sometimes my main characters are a lot like me. It’s hard to avoid that, I think.
14. What are you working on now? Can you share a teaser of it with our readers?
I’m running a free serial on my website!
Start Quantum Fold Book 1, Quinn of Cygnus: Lift Off, right here: https://www.amscottwrites.com/
15. Is there one genre that you have not written in yet, but would love to try writing?
I’d love to write urban fantasy but I haven’t found the right hook yet.
16. What do you do when a flash of inspiration hits you at an inopportune moment?
Take notes discretely on my phone!
17. What keeps you going while writing?
Coffee and dark chocolate! And the knowledge that my German Shepherd, Zoe, will only sleep for a little while before she demands play time. Check out my Instagram for Zoe pics and video–she’s adorable.
18. What’s next for you?
I’ll be writing the Quantum Fold series. But I have some contemporary military romance novels I’m revising and publishing soonish as Anne M. Scott. I planned to have them out already, but the Coronavirus and my volunteer work with Team Rubicon took about four months out of my schedule, so I’m not making any promises.
Depending on the severity of hurricane and/or fire season, I may deploy to a disaster zone to run a chainsaw for Team Rubicon, a veteran-led voluntary Disaster Response organization. Helping homeowners recover is awesome!
19. Where can we find you on the internet?
If I’m not out adventuring, find me here:
Website: https://www.amscottwrites.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AM_
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/
Email: am@amscottwrites.com
I love to hear from readers—the good, the bad, and the ugly!
