Hello everyone! Today I am so excited to welcome the most fabulous Amy Lane to the blog. I adore her books and am so excited to have her come and visit as part of the Joyful Approach Countdown to GRL!
Amy is here to share some thoughts on GRL with us. She has also brought a massive, three-book giveaway for one lucky reader! So please join me in giving her a big welcome!
Evolution by Amy Lane
So, I got to do a podcast interview the other night, and, as always, I was partly embarrassed and partly excited to be given the opportunity to talk about myself for quite so long. When the interview was over, I listened to it again and realized two things.
- Geez, did my voice sound older. When I first started teaching, over twenty years ago, we used to have to film ourselves teaching, and I always thought the woman in the video sounded sort of squeaky and infantile—a lot like Minnie Mouse, but with less authority. I mean, I’d like to look like that person again—she was a lot thinner, had fewer wrinkles, and her red hair didn’t come from a bottle—but her voice. Yeesh. No wonder the kids walked over her!
- I had a lot to talk about. For every question, I had at least three stories or ways to go with the reply. Back to the girl (twenty-three!) in the videos, I remember a lot of “uhms” and a lot of dead space—there were times in front of the students that I just didn’t know what to say.
And there you have it—the benefits of innocence and experience.
The beginnings of something are very often pretty, fresh faced, and enthusiastic. (My enthusiasm right out of college was sort of nauseating, honestly. Hubris. I remember lots and lots of hubris.) As things age, that prettiness takes a little more work, and enthusiasm is tempered by experience, knowledge, and a deepening awareness that not everything you think should be done is going to get done, and that everything and everybody has it’s limitations.
Well, when I put it like that, you’d want to pick innocence over experience every time, wouldn’t you? I mean, the energy levels alone are pretty damned spiffy to have!
But it’s like having kids when you’re younger versus having kids when you’re older—everything’s a trade off. What you give up in energy and playfulness you get in patience and solvency. Yeah—I don’t really want to find the energy to take the kids camping every year, but I do have the resources to take them on vacation with a great hotel and super shopping opportunities and wi-fi! I love camping, but dudes… wi-fi! And honestly? I’m a lot more patient, and a lot more sure of the things I choose to do with my children. The self-questioning of the young is incessant and sometimes damned near paralyzing. That? Over. All gone. If I’m going to fight with my kids about something now, you can bet it’s life or death.
It’s that dichotomy, that trade-off, I think, that makes continuing a tradition and allowing a thing to evolve so very important.
So sure, when I look back at my beginnings, I was cuter, skinnier, and hella less gray and wrinkly—but look at all I’ve learned! My voice is deeper and richer, and I’m a lot more confident in front of a crowd, and I’ve got a plethora of stories to draw from, some happy, some sad, that make me a little more entertaining than I was when I was young, exuberant, and really frickin’ cute.
That doesn’t just happen with people, actually.
Things bigger than people—events, companies, literary groups, schools—they have the same sort of exchange. The first year, the thing is bright, exuberant, fresh and if it was anything like me as a teacher, disorganized and lacking in focus.
But that second year and that third year and so on—well, that’s when that fine-tuning goes on. That balance between raw enthusiasm and attention to detail and focus and mission that turns something bigger than one person into something extraordinary.
So all of this?
Was the long way around to talk about GRL.
I wasn’t there on the ground floor—but then, three years ago, I was not nearly as brave about being an author in public. Last year, I got to see the event as it was evolving—raw enthusiasm and bright, enthusiastic people fine-tuning and tweaking things to make for a better experience.
With the authors I know will be there, and the people I know in charge? I’m pretty sure the sky is the limit for how amazing this is going to be!
Giveaway
For Jay’s giveaway—and to celebrate the release of Ethan Gold in time for GRL, I’m giving e-book copies of Super Sock Man, Chase in Shadow, and Dex in Blue to one lucky winner. If the winner has the books in e-book, I can send a signed paperback copy of either Chase or Dex, so let us know!
Dreamspinner will upload the books into the winner’s DSP account (which you can get for free). All you need to do is leave a comment below to enter. The contest closes on Thursday, September 12th at 11:59 pm EST.
- By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
- Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
- If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
- Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
- Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
- By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
- Readers may only enter once for each contest. Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
- Void where prohibited by law.
And here are some of Amy’s pics from GRL!
Please do NOT enter me to win. I already have all three ebooks and if I had a signed copy of Chase in Shadow signed by the fabulous Amy Lane I would die of heart failure and miss GRL. Oh, alright, enter me. I’ll live on the edge. Loved the interview Jay!
Wow. I loved what you said about experience fine tuning enthusiasm. Finding the balance is the key there. And holy crap. What a give away! I already have all three in ebook but would loved a signed copy of Dex, should I be so formulate to win. Thanks for the giveaway!
FAbulous interview,. I agree Amy, time is one of the most important commodities we have in life and we do waste a heck of a lot of it. Only with time do you gain experience and then grow in confidence. Of course retrospect is also important in these things, you don’t always realise back then, things you will later (if that makes any sense!)
I would love to be entered in this give-away, thank you. xx
I’d love to win a signed copy of Chase. I already have and have read all three e-books. =)
I only have Chase in Shadow of these three so far so it would lovely to win the other two. Thank you for the giveaway.
What a great interview. Thank you so much. And thanks for the chance to win. I already have Dex in Blue, but I don’t have the other two.
I’m still on the end of that young and (sometimes) innocent spectrum, fortunately without the squeaky voice, but damn, that self-questioning stuff can be done anytime now… Anytime.
Anyway, I’ve read and adore Chase in Shadow and Dex in Blue. I’m so excited for Ethan’s story!
Great post, Amy! I haven’t actually read any of the ebooks in the giveaway, so please enter me. ^^ Also, great pictures ^_^
Really looking forward to the new book! Chase and Dex are two of my favorites so a signed copy would be a treasure!
It seems a pity that we can’t have both the enthusiasm and the experience at the same time- just think how much fun life would be 😀
Still got your books on my wishlist, for when I finally get the courage to rob a bank and buy them 😀
Perspective is a great thing, but I still have my wide-eyed moments distressingly often! I have an ebook of DEX, but have yet to read the others…sounds fantastic!
I haven’t read any of these 3 books, but the blurbs sound great and I would love to win the e-books! Please enter me into the giveaway (:
Ahh! I’m a huge Amy Lane fan! I cannot wait to read the newest one!
Great interview! Would love a copy of Dex to go with my copy of Chase!! Can’t wait for the next one!!
I wish we could have the experience AND the energy! Oh well, it’s all a bit of give and take I guess. I haven’t read your work yet but I went looking and they sound good. 🙂
Wow! An awful lot of you have these already! I’m really sort of awed by that 🙂 And yeah– I would LOVE to be young AND skinny AND brave AND confident… I don’t think NEARLY enough people wish for that when they get magic lamps!
Amy you so spoil us!!! I have been waiting for Ethan and I’m so glad he is almost here! I of course already have those ebooks (I’m a big fangirl) but I haven’t been able to get the Chase paperback (He’s my favorite) so I would love to win him for my own! 😉 Thank you so much for the post and prizes!
Thank you for the post and giveaway. I loved Dex in Blue and just started Chase in Shadow. Really excited about Ethan’s story though. I just wanted to hug him and squeeze him and call him, well, Evan. 😉
Please count me in! I have the three ebooks, so a hard copy of Chase or Dex would be seriously cool.
Love Amy Lane, but I don’t have those books yet. Pick me please 🙂
Entering.
Fan of her work but have yet to pick these up. Thank you for the chance!
I love Amy Lane and have had my eye on this series for awhile now. I would love to win a copy of the books!
Great giveaway!
I have all of these and preordered Ethan!!…whoot…but would love the signed paperback!!…
Please count me in! Thanks for the giveaway.
Please count me in. Thanks. I don’t have any of the books.
Thanks for sharing and the giveaways!
I’m sitting here pondering the fact that, aside from being a teacher or an amazing author, I could have written nearly the same things. Right down to the red hair that used to not come from a bottle. (The curse of the ginger graying early) I feel a little bit better about myself now. Thanks 😀 I already have all of the ebooks but I would probably squeal for a signed Chase. Please add me to the list.
Thanks so much for sharing Amy. I’m at the inexperienced stage of life right now, and all I want to do is grow up, get some experience, so that I can have all the answers. So that when the kids draw on the walls with crayon, I know what to do and how to handle everything. And, on a totally random side note, I love that you were a teacher, as I’m currently earning my education and teaching degrees. It’s always nice to meet a fellow teacher 🙂
Oh, and I would love a signed copy of Chase.
tiger-chick-1(at)hotmail(dot)com
Thanks for sharing about how far you’ve come Amy. There are times I wish I had more experience and knew how to deal with certain situations better. But life is all about learning and experiencing new things so I suppose we should all just sit back and see what new things we still have to learn.
Count me in please, thank you.
This is a wonderful guest post. Will the podcast be free..I would love to win. good luck every, 1
Please count me in. And I had my daughter when I was older also, so I know what you mean about battles being the big things, and letting a lot more (or all!) of the little stuff go. 🙂 Can’t wait to meet you at GRL!
Wow! What an awesome giveaway!
I already have all 3 books in ebook so I would love to win a signed paperback copy of Dex in Blue 🙂 But I live in Hungary so probably that would be a problem.
So I just want to say that Amy you are an amazing writer and I love your books 🙂 And of course I can’t wait to read your upcoming books as well 🙂
My enthusiasm for Ethan has been well documented. (Ethannnnn! I can’t wait.) Like others, I have all three ebooks, but I’d love a paperback of either Chase or Dex.
Yes, the difference between youth and age is always there, no matter how many years you’ve been on this planet. The twenty-something can look back at the teens and see the growth and lament about what they didn’t know, and then right on up until the hundreds probably. That’s why I always think we better appreciate who we are now, whether that’s innocent and enthusiastic or weathered and knowledgeable. We should just recognize how great we are at each year of our life.
Looks like GRL is a whole lot of fun, and I hope everyone who goes appreciates it!
Thank you for the giveaway, Amy, and yeah, I’m another in the “I’ll have to take a paperback” camp, and I’m so looking forward to Ethan in Gold. This series has just blown me away.