Amanda Sloothaak writes fantasy novels inspired by nature, the places she traveled and looking deep within herself.
Amanda Sloothaak was born and grew up in a small town in Fryslân, the Netherlands, where she still resides.
She has a deep love for nature, rainy days, and specifically the cold temperatures. Her family nourished creativity all her life, through which she developed a voracious appetite for reading, mythology, history, and creating her own worlds with writing.
When she isn't writing, you can find her taking long walks with her dog in the woods, dragging her photo camera along, trying to narrow down her never-ending TBR, studying mythology and history, or painting and drawing.
Meet Amanda Sloothaak:
If you could be friends with one character in your debut novel, who would it be? Why?
Dawn would be the obvious first answer as she's the Main Character in Fire Fox but then again, she already feels like a friend.
For my second option I would say Heidrún and I would love to have a more in-depth conversation about her family history and situation because there's still some gaps for me there and I'm too curious to not figure it out.
If you could live in any fictional town, city, or world what would it be?
This is such an interesting question and my first go to answer would be Narnia. The magic. The creatures. I just overall loved it all since I read Narnia for the first time as a kid. But then again, Ketterdam from Six of Crows also piques my interest. As someone from the Netherlands, the alternative city of Amsterdam sounds fun to explore.
Do you have any inspirational quotes you live by?
"For there is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so."
—William Shakespeare. This quote is one that I use as a guideline for my life as well in my writing.
What was the first piece you ever wrote? (if you’re comfortable feel free to tell us a little about it).
The first piece I remember writing was when I was between eight and ten years old and it was about a girl that moved to a new city and a small mansion with her parents.
This said mansion was haunted by ghosts. It was around 4 pages and to this day I still try to find it back because I know it still is somewhere, until now I've just haven't found it.
What are some helpful tips you would give a fellow writer who’s having a hard time plotting, developing, etc.?
Allow yourself to work with what you have. Most of the gaps can and will fill itself in as you work through the story or will completely change during edits anyway. So, don't be too hard on yourself if your story doesn't feel complete yet. Allow yourself to write what you know.
What would you tell your younger self not to care about?
Honestly, so many things. I would tell her to not care about what others would think of her. Allow her to dream big and work hard for said dreams. And to always follow her intuition rather than repress it.
Indoors or outdoors?
Can I say both?
Because I love to snuggle up with a comfy blanket and a book on the couch but also love the moments where I will be taking a walk or hike outside through the woods, explore new places during travels and such.
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Have a question you'd like to ask Amanda Sloothaak? Leave a comment below and I'll make sure it gets to her!
Want to learn more about Amanda? Reach her at her Instagram page. She said to feel free to send her a DM and say hello!
And if readers want to find me, the best way to do that is through Instagram & send me DM's there as I'm the most active on there.
What would you like to learn about from other authors? I'd love to know your questions! I have more authors signing up for Meet an Author Monday series every day.
Are you an author or writer? Would you like to be part of the Meet an Author Spotlight? Let me know, I'll send you some questions and we can get started.
Looking forward to hearing from you soon!
All the best,
Kara
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