The Shift to Writing New Adult Urban Fantasy; Celebrating Amanda Sinatra's Exciting Re-Release

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Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:00

Welcome to Author Express. Thanks for joining us today. I'm Shawna Rodrigues, one of your hosts and the founder of Authentic Connections Podcast Network, which makes this podcast possible. This podcast is where you discover the voice behind the pages of your next favorite book, and I'm excited about the author we have for you today.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:21

Dark fantasy author Amanda Sinatra is ready to reclaim her work and take her stories to a whole new level. And we get to talk with her about that today. So, we're going to start with a special edition of Hollow that we're going to get to learn more about. So welcome, Amanda. We're excited to have you here today.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:00:39

Thank you for having me.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:00:41

Yes. I'm so excited to hear more about this special edition. But we always start with 1 common question, and that is tell me the most interesting thing about where you are from.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:00:51

I am from a little town called Northbridge, Massachusetts, and the most interesting thing is, is that well, there's really nothing. We are so small. We just do our own thing. I'm right 45 minutes away from Boston. So, yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:01:06

The most interesting thing is there's nothing interesting.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:01:09

Yeah. It's a quiet little town, and I love it.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:01:12

Nice.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:01:13

And I love quiet, so that's why I love it. And it's interesting to me.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:01:16

There you go. And you have beautiful foliage because everything there is beautiful in the fall, so.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:01:21

I love it in the fall.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:01:23

Yes. Can't mess with that. You definitely have that going on. I love it. So, what was the last thing that made you laugh really, really hard?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:01:32

I have a habit of saying things before my mind can catch up, so I tend to mix my words up. So, instead of, I don't think I can say it. I think it's a little inappropriate. But I will say I work with children, so I think the funniest thing that made me laugh is when kids give me funny faces. What I'm trying to teach them.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:01:54

You're a teacher then?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:01:55

I work in the special ed department, so I'm a paraprofessional. So, I actually help kids transition through classes, help them modify their work, take them to lunch, recess. They're extra little special person. I follow them around.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:08

Oh, that's so exciting. And, yes, the faces they can make, I'm sure, are very entertaining.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:02:13

Yeah. Especially today. And they make them. They roll their eyes, and you can't help but laugh at them.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:19

I'm sure they appreciate that.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:02:21

Oh, they do.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:23

Yep. The entertainment value, they're like, yep. It's working. I'm right on par. I'm definitely entertaining. So, what's one of the best pieces of advice anyone has ever given to you?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:02:32

Don't settle for the first thing that comes your way. No matter how glitzy and glamour it is, always make sure you know what's behind that closed door of that glamour. That's how I was taught to invest in things or just in general life decisions. Never just take the 1st opportunity because it's never a good opportunity.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:02:54

That's worth considering. I just had a conversation with a friend today about waiting just if you have pizza in front of you, but you really want a steak salad, there's a possibility steak salad next door. You've just got to believe there might be a steak salad. So, if you know what you want, to wait for it because otherwise you're spoilt your appetite with the pizza and maybe the steak salad is a possibility. You just don't know it.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:03:15

Exactly. My opportunity will come, so I'm just doing what I need to do to get there.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:20

Yes. Waiting for the right opportunity and not just taking the first thing that comes along because it's the first thing there, and you don't know yet what else might be available to you if you just wait for it.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:03:30

Exactly.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:31

That makes very good sense. I like that. I definitely like that.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:03:34

Yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:03:35

So, today, we're going to focus on your rerelease of Hollow. So, can you describe for us in 1 sentence, what is Hollow?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:03:44

The most chaotic group of vampires you're ever going to meet. They're from all different eras of time. They're naughty. They're, like, crazy, but they're also very, like, sexual but modest at the same time, and they just they're all over the place, but they're fun. They're fun characters that I wrote.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:04:05

Nice. So, tell us, what was the hardest part about writing this book?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:04:10

I think the hardest part was making sure everything lined up with the time. I couldn't say one thing where there would be, like, a plot hole in the other. So, I was like, okay. I really have to make sure each moment in this book makes sense throughout the rest. Otherwise, it's just going to be chaotic. That was my biggest fear.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:04:29

So, having so much diversity in the characters it sounds like, really meant that you had to keep the plot and the overarching perspective very tight to make it all flow well.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:04:39

Exactly. And I wasn't used to that type of writing when it came to fantasy. I'm very good at writing just like thrillers and stuff. So, when I took the leap to write a fantasy novel, I realize, oh, this is a world building. I really have to make sure this makes sense. Otherwise, it's just going to be hot garbage.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:04:56

Yeah. It's undertaking building a world is not simple.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:04:59

No.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:04:59

So, what made you take this shift over to writing dark fantasy?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:05:03

So, I've been recently watching a lot of the moral instrument series from Shadowhunters by Cassandra Clare. And then I recently got into Sarah J. Maas books, got into 4th Wing from Rebecca Yarros. So, I was like, I think I really want to take the shadow aspect of, like, dark and put it into an urban fantasy, modernize it, because I still love to make things in the now. I've always been better at that than going way back and making a whole new world and getting rid of technology, which I prefer to keep technology in. I think it makes it more interesting to write about. So, this will just be a whole new thing with vampires trying to live in the modern world, keeping up with the times, but also keeping their life a secret. It's not as easy as it was then. It's more difficult now because now you got cameras in your face, so it's like, how can I do this, you know, making more modernized? And I did it, so that's super close.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:05:59

You accomplished it. You managed to bring it all in and do that and to follow that path through. That’s very exciting. So, have you decided that you want to stick with dark fantasy, or what do you find is where you really want to be with your writing?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:06:11

I definitely want to stick with the dark urban fantasy, and I definitely want to stick with thrillers. I think I thrive with both of them and trickle in the romance because I love me a good smutty book. Who doesn't? Right? So, now all my books are new adult content. It's nothing middle grade anymore. It's nothing YA. It's where I love the most. Just take it, and I put it in my own book, so.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:06:36

So, it's Hollow new adult then. Is that where it falls?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:06:39

Yes. Now it's new adult. There is exclusive content. It's more cutthroat than it was when it was a YA, so it changed the whole vibe of the book.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:06:50

That's a big shift. Was it very exciting for you to be able to kind of embrace being able to do those pieces of it?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:06:57

I felt like I had a weight on my shoulders, and when I finally took it off, I was like, I feel, like, more freeing that I was able to expand more in the new adult. Having less restrictions, but be able to put the trigger warnings in the beginning so people are aware, okay. This is sensitive. Here's a heads up, but this is what I did, just so you know.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:07:16

Yes. Yeah. To put it out there so people know what they're getting into, but you can kind of find where your voice was and where your characters weren't to be able to make that authentic and kind of go through there. So, when did you first know you wanted to be a writer?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:07:29

When I was 12.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:07:32

Really?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:07:33

Yes. My English teacher, he covered a bookshelf with a sheet, which he didn't know at the time was a bookshelf. And he wanted us to write our own short story about what was behind that bookshelf or behind that sheet. And I made it into, like, this most elaborate thing where I snuck into the school one night to use the computer and then all of a sudden, I see the shelf behind it. I open it up, and it's like this basement, and then you go into a new world. It just, I did this whole creative process to it. I think I loved the idea of taking something so mundane and twisting it around to this magical place.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:08:10

That's so exciting. And it's kind of fun because it kind of ties into the fantasy piece of what you're doing with your work now, being able to really tap into the potential of what things can be.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:08:20

Exactly.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:08:21

That's so exciting. So, with this rerelease, it's almost like giving Hollow has its brand-new life. You're bringing 2 books together into 1.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:08:29

Yes.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:08:29

Right? Yes. And you're going to be doing a book signing with that release in Westborough, Ma. Is that right?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:08:35

Correct. That's where I'll be from 1 to 4 at Tatnuck Bookseller in Westborough, Ma.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:08:41

That’s so exciting on February 17th. So that's so exciting to celebrate this rerelease and kind of bringing it together as a hardcover, as a new adult book that's kind of taking on this new life and it's got extra heft to it, more of a story to it, and kind of bringing it together and doing that. That is so exciting. Congratulations, Amanda.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:09:01

Thank you.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:09:03

And what are you currently working on for what's next?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:09:06

I just announced that I will be releasing in September of this year my dark urban fantasy about demon hunters based in New York City called Deck of Scarlets.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:09:16

Oh, I like that name.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:09:17

Yes. So far, actually, the book has, it's a 4-book series. Can't give away the rest of the names, but that's the first one. I've been working on this for two and a half years. I was in the trenches with this book because whatever I did then is totally different from where it's now, and it has evolved into a life of its own. And I'm so excited because I don't think we have demon hunters anymore on the market. Like, books like that because I really wanted to make a twist and make it a new adult coming of age, but still have the aspects of the fantasy elements to it.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:09:51

That is so exciting. So, you're doing some original things that are definitely your own. That is so exciting.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:09:57

Yes. Thank you.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:09:58

Yes. Well, where is the best place for folks to find you and follow you and be able to connect as things get closer to the release of that book?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:10:04

Oh, TikTok, Instagram. I have a Facebook page. I have everything, so.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:10:10

Awesome.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:10:11

Yeah.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:10:12

Yeah. What's your TikTok link?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:10:13

Author Amanda Sinatra. Instagram is Amanda M Sinatra, and my Facebook is Amanda Sinatra - Author. So, you can find me on there. I constantly update. I let everybody know what's coming out.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:10:25

That's awesome. So, we'll definitely have this all in the show notes so that people can find you and connect with you and do that. So, what book or story has inspired you the most in life?

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:10:36

I think the one book that really solidified just inspiration from the get go was The Giver. I don't know why or how it came to be, but I think it was the fact that it's a dystopian novel. It was in an almost modern way, but so twisted that it was just inspiring. Like, I think one day I could do this. Like, I read it and thought I could write something like this. That's how much I loved it.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:11:05

Yeah. That's exciting, and then it sticks with you to be able to know that that's something you could be capable of. That’s so exciting. Thank you so much for being here with us, Amanda, and sharing with us about the rerelease of Hollow and for the exciting things ahead for you.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:11:17

Oh, thank you for having me. I hope everyone enjoys it if they buy it. So, appreciate it.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:11:22

Yes. And we'll have the link because preorder's available on Barnes and Noble, so we'll have the preorder link for Hollow in the notes.

Amanda Sinatra [: 00:11:28

Thank you.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:11:29

Awesome. Thank you.

Shawna Rodrigues [: 00:11:31

Thanks for joining us. I hope you take a second to give us a review or a couple of stars on your favorite podcasting platform, and we'll be here again next Wednesday. Follow us on Instagram at Author Express podcast to see who's coming up next. Don't forget. Keep it express, but keep it interesting.