Amy Daws From Writer’s Block to the Silver Screen!

Anyone who is familiar with Amy Daws' books would expect the author to be a fun person to talk to - and she is that and a whole lot more! Amy's bubbly and fun personality shines through as she talks about her family and her stories... and we will never look at a tire store waiting room the same again! Join our Executive Editor, Katy Nielsen, as she gets to know one of her favorite authors… And see why Amy’s books are so addicting and fun to read. You will laugh out loud - guaranteed!

InD: Tell us a little bit about you. Where were you born, and grew up?

AD: I grew up in Iowa and I went to college there. I am now living in South Dakota, just two hours from my hometown, so I am de=initely a Midwest girl at heart. I grew up on a farm, where we raised animals and all of that stuff. I went to college for Electronic Media Communication. I really wanted to make commercials or do something in television, and I did that for about 10 years in South Dakota before I found my passion with writing.

InD: That is really cool. I bet growing up on a farm you have some funny stories to share.

AD: Yes, de=initely! There was always excitement like roosters chasing you around the acreage and things like that. I was de=initely a Freddy's 4H'er. We had animals in the fair every year. Now that I am such a city girl, I =ind it kind of hard to believe I lived a whole other life for so long.

InD: It is quite the change to go from farm girl to city girl, isn't it? Do you ever wish that you could go back?

AD: No, not necessarily. I kind of like my life the way it is right now.

InD: Did you have siblings getting into trouble with you on the farm?

AD: Yes, I have two sisters, and I am the classic middle child. I was always seeking attention everywhere I would go, and I am de=initely someone who likes to be heard in a room, so that is that middle child coming out of me, I am afraid.

InD: So you are the stereotypical middle child. It’s awesome that you still live so close to your parents.

AD: Yes, it’s great. My dad recently passed away this last summer, so it’s been hard, but it was good to be close. We were all with him in the end, and now we are there for our mom. My two sisters actually live here in South Dakota, in the same town I do, so when my mom comes and visits us, it works out really well.

InD: Wow, that is really cool. So besides being the typical middle child, what were you like when you were younger? What sort of things did you like to do?

AD: I was de=initely a jack of all trades. I did sports. I did theater. I was very musical. I was =irst chair trombone player. I was in choir, and all of that. I almost majored in music in college, but I did not really have a passion for it, it was just something that I was good at, so when I decided to go to college I =igured it was time to =ind my own identity. I was a very active, busy kid, and I always had a job working to earn money, so it was a busy childhood.

InD: Now for the big question… were you a reader?

AD: Oddly enough, I was not! I didn't start reading until I was in college. My older sister handed me a paperback and told me to read it because it was the book that was turned into a movie I liked, "The Wedding Date" with Deborah Messing. The book was called “Asking for Trouble" by Elizabeth Young. I read it, loved it, and became obsessed with British chic-lit. I consumed all sorts of British Romances. They weren't real steamy. They were light and =luffy, but there was always a love story happening and that was what I loved about it. I don't know for sure, but I think that is kind of why my books end up taking place in London or overseas somewhere, because I just enjoyed that extra escape a different location in the novel provided for me. It was almost like a fantasy for me. I had not traveled abroad back then, so it felt like it was a magical place I had never visited, so why would I not want to write about it?

InD: I actually love that about your books because I grew up in the U.K. I was born and raised there, so when I run across some city or town in the U.K. the book is based in, it’s an extra dose of excitement for me, especially if something or somewhere is mentioned that I have been to or seen. I think it’s really great when the author has done such thorough research, or they have actually been there and include it.

AD: Yes, and it is a little bit of both for me. With the =irst book I wrote before actually going there, I had a lot of British theater readers helping me and I did a lot of research. I really try to honor the city in the country of whatever I write to be true to the area. I have been overseas and to London a few times since then, but I am sure there are probably some locals who would criticize some of my lingo.

InD: People say the Americans and British people speak the same language, but we really don't. It is completely different. I was actually pretty impressed that you managed to catch the British lingo, and you actually did it very well.

So going back to that Lirst book from your sister, is that what made you decide to write your own book? Or was there something else that made you decide to delve into the writing world?

AD: For sure! Actually, stepping back a little further, my husband and I had struggled with fertility issues for almost =ive years and suffered through a lot of miscarriages. I have lost six babies, but I have a beautiful 10-year-old daughter, now. The =irst book I wrote was a memoir about those struggles, “Chasing Hope”, and it covered the experience of pregnancy loss and the struggle that goes along with it. I kind of wrote that for myself.

It was sort of therapeutic and it helped me out, and when I =inished it, I had learned so much about the publishing industry and self-publishing, so I thought I would like to try my hand at =iction because I have always been kind of a creative person. I was making TV ads at the time and reading copy for script, and I enjoyed the writing process so I decided "What if I could take my experience with infertility and apply it to a romance novel?"

That was when I wrote my =irst book called “Broken Us”, which was my =irst =iction novel. That one was almost an alternate ending for my life, because my husband and I were struggling with fertility so much, I had a fantasy of, "What if I left everything behind and moved overseas and started a new life? One where I was not this Midwest girl focusing on starting a family and all the pressures coming from where I live and just moved overseas…"

I wrote a book about a heroine who breaks up with her partner and moves to London to stay with her best friend, and of course it includes a second chance romance after she goes through a lot of her infertility emotions. The majority of the book was set over there. That was how it started, and it basically grew like crazy from there. I kind of got stuck in London with all of the secondary characters she met while she was on her journey.

InD: And of course, they needed their own stories, didn’t they?

AD: Exactly.

InD: Having suffered through miscarriages myself, I would imagine that was hard to write in some ways, because of having to draw on your own experiences and getting re-immersed in all of the emotions you went through at the time. Was it hard for you in that way, or was it just more therapeutic than anything else? You made it incredibly realistic and heartbreaking, that’s for sure.

AD: When you look at the early books from my London Lover’s series, they are very angsty, very emotional, and you can tell I was still really working through a trauma, as I am sure you can relate. I was just healing through the act of writing. So as my books progressed – there are 22 out there now – they get lighter and brighter and funnier. Still, there is always still a trace of emotion in all of my books. I think that if you live with the trauma of suffering a great loss, that trauma always stays with you a little bit, and you’re always connected to that part of you. That touch of angst will probably be in my books forever, but de=initely my brand has shifted more towards comedy and they’re a bit more light with touches of emotion, whereas in the beginning, they were very emotional romances.

InD: You get all of these feelings out and put them on paper, and it helps you heal in ways you never would have thought. And people say that books are not therapy… I think they are wrong.

AD: Oh yeah, and it was very therapeutic for me. InD: Tell us about this husband of yours. How did you guys meet?

AD: Oddly enough, he went to the Community College in my hometown when I was still in high school, and we met at a party. I kind of knew him from around town, but I was not even in college yet. Then, he had moved on to a four-year school when I reached college age and I thought I would never see him again. But three years later we ran into each other, and I said, "I met you at a party when I was in high school." At this time I learned we happened to be going to the same college. He was a few years older and I was a freshman, so it was this sort of crazy second chance romance, not that there was a romance when we =irst met, but there were sparks. It's kind of funny how the universe put us back in each other's path when we were both ready.

InD: Fate or Destiny at its Linest, right?

AD: Yes, de=initely!

InD: That’s awesome! Did how you met play a role in the characters you create now and how their relationships begin?

AD: Oh gosh, I don't know. I love an interesting meetcute, but I actually really hate writing Second Chance Romance! I have written a couple, and I hated them every time. I don't know why… they just torture me in a way no other Romances do. Since my own romance was a little bit of a second chance romance, I can't say it has in=luenced me a lot, but it has de=initely helped in other ways because there are things that are funny that have happened to both of us in our relationship, and I'm like “I have to put this in a book!”

InD: Can you give us an example?

AD: Some jokes we have with each other, and we act very goofy and funny with each other, but I'm blanking on speci=ic examples… the only one I can currently remember is kind of dumb. [both laughing]

InD: Like inside jokes between you that make it into some of your books?

AD: Yes, just inside jokes and the banter and ribbing each other. A lot of my characters are tough on their friends, and I =ind that’s a way to show the closeness between two characters and still feel safe in the relationship. So, that is de=initely inspired by what I have with my husband.

InD: What’s life without a little bit of teasing?

AD: Yes, exactly.

InD: It’s great that you can draw upon your own experiences and add them to your characters. It makes them more realistic.

AD: Yeah, I’m constantly searching for realism. I'll ask my reader group for input sometimes.

InD: For what kinds of things?

AD: I'll ask what their hobbies are and why they like to do them, because I also hate to write only from my own lived experiences. For instance, if I had never written a knitting character, I would try to =ind someone that actually knits and put that in as a character trait and get some real insight on what it is like to knit. But yes, I de=initely pull from all sources in my life to give my characters their own unique twist.

InD: I think it’s fabulous you can do that. Having a reader group seems like a built-in source of information! Have any of your family members inspired characters or character traits?

AD: Yes, for sure. In the beginning of my early works, pretty much all of the friends were based on someone I knew in real life. The best friends of my heroine went over to live in London. I had a best friend who lived in Barcelona at the time, so I based so much of her character and her collectiveness on that friend. I think when you =irst start out with writing, you sort of write what you know because it's easier, but as I've grown as an author, I have had to push myself beyond that because I don't want to write the same character over and over. As my writing has progressed I’ve written more differentiated characters.

InD: I love that about your books because there aren't any two that are the same, and everybody's different. One of my favorite things about your books is that your heroines are usually sassy and hilarious. I have had my kids look at me like I’m crazy because I’ve been laughing out loud at something I’ve read, and their typical response now is “Oh, Mama's reading again!” and my reply is usually “Yeah, this author is funny!”

AD: Thanks, I appreciate that.

InD: Do you have an all-time favorite character you have written?

AD: I love them all for different reasons, but I de=initely think Kate from “Wait with Me” is the most like me. Not just because she's a Romance novelist, but because she's very bold in how she speaks and she is very brave, and puts it all out there. I may not be like that all the time, but it's what I aspire to be, so de=initely a lot of Kate, and her quirkiness and comedy came from me.

InD: She's actually one of my favorites, and I'm Linishing up that book again right now. I have laughed my way through it!

AD: Yeah, she's a wild one and she says whatever is on her mind. That one was fun to write.

InD: In your bio there is something about a tire store and you writing a book?

AD: Yes, the book “Wait with Me” is based on my own experience. It is about a Romance novelist who sneaks into a tire shop’s customer waiting area, working on her next novel, and she gets busted by a hot mechanic. I think it's been =ive years now since I =irst quit my day job and decided I was going to be a full-time writer. I was suffering from a horrible case of writer's block and I think the pressure of doing this full time got to me. I was sitting at home every day, unable to write, so I was searching for different coffee shops and places like that to try to =ind my mojo, and nothing was working! One day I had to go to a place called Tires, Tires, Tires for a new set of wheels, and all of a sudden, I could write!

They had this beautiful waiting area with free coffee and cookies, and I opened my laptop and the words just started =lowing. I actually kept going back, bringing in other people's cars for service! When I ran out of other people’s cars to take, I was sneaking in. I was doing anything I could, because when you =ind that streak or lucky spot, you don’t want to let it go, but the whole thing kind of blew up from there. Buzz Feed ended up doing a report about it because I was posting about it on social media, I thought it was pretty funny. The manager of the store found out and he thought it was hilarious, and so this whole hilarious situation just kind of blew up! All of a sudden, my agent was all “Why are you not writing a book about a Romance novelist who sneaks into a tire store’s waiting room to write and gets caught?!” And I go, “Oh my gosh, that is a genius idea! Let me see if I can write something like that.” At that point, I had been writing Sports Romance, and my British soccerplaying mother and I were pretty focused on that series, but my agent’s idea sounded kind of fun to try. So, I wrote that entire book in 13 days because it really was my narrative. It started a whole new series. InD: It blew those Lloodgates wide open!

AD: Yes, the scent of new rubber inspired me. [both laughing]

InD: Please tell me you didn't go and buy a rubber scented candle?

AD: I did not, but I did have a reader send me burned scented wax. I got a lot of funny gifts from readers during that crazy time. I was doing news interviews from stations all over the United States, and my sneaking into the tire store, which completely changed the trajectory of my career in a really cool way.

InD: It deLinitely did! I would imagine you went from a lady who was freaking out from quitting her full-time job, “Oh my gosh, I have to write full time and I can't write anything!” and then, there you were, on news stations everywhere! It must have been kind of surreal.

AD: Oh, it was completely unreal. Every day I would get an email request for an interview, and I was like, “How is this my life right now?” Plus, I got the book done so fast. It was a fun whirlwind of a moment. It was really fun for the whole Romance community too, because so many people knew me because my situation was blowing up into an international story! It was just fun to watch. It was a fun time.

InD: Did your husband think it was funny as well?

AD: Oh yes. Every time I got an interview request I would go, “Oh my gosh, someone in Chicago wants to interview me!” You know, just funny things like that. But he is kind of used to me being his zany, quirky wife, so he was very supportive, but not surprised.

InD: It’s fabulous he’s so supportive of you being a writer. Does he read your books?

AD: He is not a big reader but he does enjoy listening to my audiobooks, especially when he is mowing the lawns and doing stuff like that. He likes the Sports Romance better. Those are de=initely his favorite.

InD: I don't think a lot of people, especially if they're not readers, get how books can be such a big deal. My husband isn’t a book guy at all, and I’m still wondering how I married someone who does not understand that books are a huge deal! [both laughing]

AD: My whole family is supportive of my writing. My mom reads my books, and so does my grandma, but I had to cut her off because I thought they were too spicy for her. She is so cute. She buys the paperback copy and donates it to her local library with every single release, so she is very supportive and loves seeing all the pictures showing what I get up to with book signings, movie deals, and things like that. It has been fun.

InD: Oh, talk to us about the movie deal! That must have been another full dose of surreal right there!

AD: Oh, yeah. They optioned the tire shop book, “Wait With Me”. Quirky and unique ideas are universal! So about three years ago we were in talks with Passion=lix (the company that optioned the book), and then the pandemic hit, so then it seemed like it was never going to happen. But then, they emailed me this past fall, telling me they are now running with the production and are going to send me a link for it. They wanted my input for as much of it as I would be available for, so it has been crazy! They were going to shoot it in a threeweek time period, and I got to be on set the whole time. It was a life-changing experience, I am so grateful to have had.

InD: What was your favorite thing about it? Seeing your characters as real people? Or just knowing that even nonreaders were actually going to get to see your funny tire store story?

AD: There were so many highs from that whole experience that it is hard to even pick one! Obviously the =irst day on set was a huge one. They were already shooting when I arrived, so I got ushered behind the set of what they call “video village”, where the Director, the Videographer, and the Director of Photography sit. Kate Miles and Andrew Madison (the actor and actress) were on set already, but they stopped real quick and came and hugged me. I'm like "Oh my gosh, I'm really hugging them, and they're dressed up as my characters!"

I got behind the screen and I'm watching them and I'm thinking, “I can't believe it is actually happening”! I looked over at the Marketing and she was recording me. My eyes were watering up and I was just crying, as I was looking at the screen, and saw was getting caught on camera. I'm kind of glad because this is something I want to remember forever.

InD: That must be just a shock all the way around. You went from struggling to write a book to actually writing a book about your tire store escapade, and now it's going to be on the big screen for everyone to see! That has got to be an unbelievably huge shock, but really cool at the same time.

AD: Oh yeah. During the entire time I spent on set, every 20 minutes or so, I would get a rush of adrenaline because I'm looking around and there’s 30 or 40 crew-members all working to turn this story of mine into a movie. I couldn't believe how professional it all felt. I don't know why I thought it wouldn't feel that way. I just had no idea what to expect! To see that many people who have worked in the movie business for years and know what they're doing turn my little book into a movie… it was just super humbling.

InD: I bet. Wow! So did your previous career working with TV commercials lend any understanding to you? Did that experience ever inspire any of your stories to go a whole different route? Because I am sure so many of us know nothing about how cameras and behind the scenes at movie shoots are done, so it would be really interesting to read about.

AD: I de=initely have a more critical eye with a picture layout and things like that. I designed most of my book covers because I have a graphic background to go along with the TV background, so I would say I de=initely have a more critical eye than some authors would have. I just try to stay humble and realize that these people are professionals in the industry and they're doing the job they know how to do. I am just the writer.

InD: You are just there trying to hold back your inner happy dance.

AD: Yes, and they did seek out my input quite a bit. More than I expected, honestly. There were some quick rewrites we did to the script when things weren't working, so it was really valuable for me to be on the set, I think. But, for the most part, the production and crew members did a really beautiful job.

InD: When is that going to be released for all of us to watch it?

AD: It was released on March 30th on Passion=lix. We did a private red carpet premiere in Denver the night before it dropped, where I got see the actors again and give them hugs, then we all watched it together in the theater. It was so exciting!

InD: What was the whole red carpet experience like?

AD: Absolutely incredible. Like a dream that I still can't believe happened to me. I felt like the belle of the ball in my evening gown, rubbing elbows with the actors and answering questions after the premiere. To hear the audience's reaction to my actual words was surreal on so many levels. What a dream come true to see my story on the big screen, and I feel so lucky that I had such an amazing cast and crew to make that movie magic happen.

InD: Did your husband go with you?

AD: Yes, he sure did, but not my daughter. I think it is a little bit too spicy for her. She is only 10, so she stayed home with Grandma. InD: That is so awesome! I am so excited for you. It has got to be the best feeling in the world that one of your books got optioned for a movie.

AD: Yes, it is crazy, and I still have a hard time believing it!

InD: I bet. Back to the beginning for a minute, what made you pick Romance out of all the genres you could write?

AD: I just love it. Honestly, it's like I said, I used to read the British Chic-Lit books and there was always a love story. It wasn't necessarily steamy or spicy, graphic scenes, but I just love them. Even in movies, like "The Hunger Games" or the Divergent series, the thing I care about the most is the love stories that develop while the world is falling apart around them. It is literally just what I like. I always look for something with that content. I can consume it in TV shows, the movies, anywhere. I can't imagine writing anything else, and have no desire to do so. I don't even have a desire to write Paranormal Romance. I am in the lane I want to be in, and I am very happy there.

InD: So it's deLinitely a case of you write what you like to read.

AD: Yes, de=initely.

InD: Does your daughter know you are an author? And does she understand the whole scope of what it is that you do?

AD: Oh, yes. She understands and she loves to brainstorm with me. She really loved brainstorming the nanny books I wrote a while ago. She thought it was so fun that the dad was going to fall in love with the nanny and the little girl was going to get a bonus mom. She was just really into that story. She was very mad that she did not get to go to the movie premiere.

InD: I think she's a little bit too young for that one, too.

AD: Yes, and she knows why. She knows the books are for grownups and there are certain movies we don't let her watch because they are for grownups, but she wants to be a part of it all.

InD: That's awesome, and hopefully she'll be even more of an inspiration for you as she gets older. I am sure you will be able to put teenage shenanigans in one of your books somewhere.

AD: Yes, de=initely.

InD: Is there any particular sub-genre you would like to write in that you haven't written yet?

AD: I am working on releasing a new mountain man series. I am not very far in the =irst book yet, but I'm excited about the small town romance with mountain men. I am very excited for that. There will be quite a bit of outdoorsy-type stuff.

InD: Are you basing this on a real place?

AD: It is kind of a spin-off of my “Wait With Me” series. In book =ive of that series, called “Last on the List”, the hero has three brothers who live in a compound up in the mountains and they all have their own individual cabins, and that's where I introduced them. They are not in the town of Boulder, Colorado, where the other ones are, but in Jamestown, which is a small town about 30 minutes north.

InD: Oh, nice! Have you ever lived in Colorado to base your series there?

AD: No, I sure haven't. When I picked Boulder, Colorado, for my “Wait with Me” book, I remember thinking I didn't want the location to be a huge place, but something kind of like where I live, so I needed a little-big town. You know, someplace where the population is big enough, but not a super big metropolis. I don't know… I think I picked it because I like the outdoorsy aspect of it and the scenery up there. Similar reasons to why I picked London.

InD: When are you hoping to release your next book?

AD: I have been trying to write for months. When my dad passed away this past summer, I had just released “Last on the List”. That book was =inished and ready to go right when my dad went into the hospital. I managed the release while I was sitting with my dad in the hospital everyday for several weeks. I don't know, it has just been hard to get back into the writing chair, and then the movie thing popped up and that took my attention away.

In some ways, that was a gift because I feel like I needed something to distract me. The writing felt too hard. The movie turned out to be a big, enjoyable distraction, and I have been riding the movie train since then. Luckily, I've been busy with other things since the writing has been slow, but hopefully I can get another book out this summer and make everybody happy.

InD: That would be awesome. I'm sure you have readers emailing you, demanding, "Just give me another book already!"

AD: Especially when I teased the three mountain men brothers in my last release. I think they =igured out I was teasing my next release and they were right, I just needed to get going on it.

InD: What is the easiest part of writing a book for you?

AD: I wouldn't say any part of writing a book is easy. Honestly, it's the hardest, most challenging part of the job for me. But I do enjoy a good epilogue.

InD: What is the hardest part for you?

AD: Every single part is hard! Haha. The breakup scene, the beginning... all of it!

InD: Do you have a favorite book out of the ones you've written?

AD: I will always have a special place in my heart for “Blindsided”.

InD: Why that one?

AD: I gave a lot of my own experiences living as a plussized person to my heroine, Freya. I really got a lot of wonderful messages from readers who related to a lot of Freya's inner thoughts and feelings about her body. InD: As a reader, it’s always an extra special experience when you can relate so much to a character you are reading about. Is there any place in particular you'd love to visit for research, so you can set a book/series there?

AD: I will never say no to a trip to London. London has been the home for so many of my stories, but I think it'd be fun to write a small English village type of story. Going somewhere remote and staying for a week and learning what the community is like sounds so fun. Total “The Holiday" vibes. [both laughing]

InD: What is your favorite time of day to write?

AD: Nighttime actually, which is sometimes why I think I get behind on my words because I screw around all day, and then something comes up for us to do that night and so we go out or do something and I don't get my words in.

InD: Where do you think you draw your main inspiration from?

AD: I am de=initely a character driven author. Once I’ve =igured out the characters’ backstories and things like that, the inspiration =lows from there.

InD: So you are deLinitely one of those "Don't make the author angry because she'll put you in a book and kill you" kind of authors?

AD: Yeah, sure. Maybe not kill exactly, but karma’s going to get you. [both laughing]

InD: Now let me ask you some favorites. What is your favorite dessert?

AD: Cheesecake.

InD: Any particular Llavor?

AD: No. Pretty much the classic, or an Oreo, or crè me brû lé e, or with coffee… that is pretty good, too.

InD: Oh coffee, are you a coffee girl?

AD: Yes, I do love my coffee. As long as it is complimentary, I love it. [both laughing]

InD: From the tire shop, of course! What is your all-time favorite food?

AD: Oh gosh, I love everything, but we could say pizza today.

InD: Do you have a favorite color?

AD: I have always been partial to red.

InD: Why red?

AD: I don't know. Maybe it's because it is the color of love and it's bright and bold.

InD: It suits your personality. It is vibrant, fun and you can't miss it. What is best piece of advice you’ve been given, whether it's from your personal life or professional life?

AD: When I was going through my miscarriages, people used to say to me “Everything happens for a reason”. I just hated hearing that because when you have a baby loss after being 18 weeks pregnant, it is NOT very comforting. But, oddly enough, now that I've seen the big picture and I am a bit further removed from the pain, it does mean a lot to me.

I kind of avoid talking about why I wrote “Chasing Hope” because I never forgot what was bad that happened to me, but the bad got me to the good, and things are really good right now and I hope they stay that way. But if not, I hope there's another turn around the corner where things are going to get better.

InD: Do you use that in your professional life as a writer as well as in your personal life?

AD: I try. Usually everything happens for a reason. Like for me, if I'm not writing or a scene is not coming together, I usually tell myself there is a reason for it, like maybe there's something off with the character and I need to reconsider something because there's something blocking me. So that advice does apply to writing as well.

InD: Absolutely! Thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us.