Today we’d like to introduce you to Amanda Rowe.
Hi Amanda, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
When my children were young, I was a stay-at-home mom. While I loved being with my children all day, it left me craving an intellectual outlet. So I became a freelance writer, working while my children slept. I wrote greeting cards, slogans, nonfiction articles, and poems. I also wrote personal essays and novels (that were never published).
Years later, I got divorced and got a full-time job. Then in 2017, my children and I moved into a new house. After we were settled, I had some free time. The children were older and more independent, so I decided to resume freelance writing. I wrote a poem for my children, and the more I read it, the more I thought it might make a great children’s book. So I submitted it to a few publishers. I did not expect a response, but I got an email from Familius a few weeks later. They published it as my first children’s book, If There Never Was a You, in 2019. I have a new children’s book, There Goes My Heart, forthcoming with them in 2024. I was fortunate to sign with a wonderful publisher early in my career. Familius publishes incredible books, and they treat their authors like family. I’m thankful to work with them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been so many challenges in my writing career. When my first book was released in 2019, I began a book tour that lasted almost a year. It was a whirlwind – I visited bookstores, schools, libraries, festivals, cafes, and a church. I loved meeting children and their families, but it was exhausting. I’m a single mother and I was working full-time Monday through Friday and traveling to book events on nights and weekends. So I decided to rest after my last book event in December of 2019. My plan was to take a break from promoting my book in person during January and February and then resume my book tour in March 2020. And then, Covid hit. Suddenly in-person book events weren’t an option. I was hesitant to book online events because I’m not tech-savvy, and I wasn’t sure they would be much fun. So I thought I’d wait it out – resume book promotion in a month or two when Covid died down. But Covid never really left, so I took more time off. Eventually, I started doing in-person events again. But they are few and far between now, and there is always a chance they will get canceled. So that has been hard on my writing career.
In addition to the lack of promotional events and sales being down due to Covid, I have an immune-compromised child who has had severe health issues over the last few years. So I’ve been navigating that, plus grieving the death of a close family member that we lost in 2020. It’s been hard, and I have had less time and energy for writing/promotion than I’d like. Balancing a full-time job, single motherhood, and my writing career is an ongoing challenge for me. But I have an excellent job and amazing kids, so it’s not a terrible life, just a busy one.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Some people know me for my children’s book If There Never Was a You. But I also write blog posts, and people seem to resonate with those. I write about love and pain in their many forms. I write about life in all its ugliness and beauty. Some people have reached out to say that my writing has meant a lot to them because I told the truth about struggles and hardships – divorce, single motherhood, cancer, having a chronically ill child, etc. Those messages mean so much to me. But I’ve also gotten some less supportive messages from people criticizing me or questioning my mental health. It’s not easy to publicly bare your soul, but one of my goals as a writer is to encourage other struggling people.
I don’t think I can help anyone else feel less alone if I’m not honest about my pain. So it’s not that I want to write about sadness, but I want to write the truth. And the truth is that life is hard and sad and discouraging sometimes. I’ve had mountaintop moments, but I’ve also been in some deep valleys. And the valleys are where meaningful connections are forged. If I can make someone else feel less alone when they are in the valley, then my story is worth sharing. We all have struggles and stories, and when we share them, we give each other the strength to keep going and hopefully make it to our next mountaintop moment.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
These last few years have been devastating for everyone. People have lost money, businesses, jobs, and loved ones – so many people are struggling financially, physically, or mentally. There is a lot of pain and loss right now, but there is also this strong sense of community – people rallying to help others, to support local businesses, to re-prioritize.
This is a difficult time, but it is also an opportunity to make more intentional choices about what matters and what we want our lives and the world to look like. We aren’t going back to pre-Covid life, that life is over – we have to mourn that loss but also rebuild. Maybe now we can make something better – a world with less hate and more hope. Less judgment and more love. An inclusive environment that fosters creativity and joy. That’s the kind of world I want to live in, so I am trying to do my part to facilitate that.
I appreciate the opportunity to connect with VoyageBaltimore readers. I think what you are doing at VoyageBaltimore is exceptional, and I am honored to be a part of it. Thank you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://amandarowewrites.squarespace.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amandarowewrites/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amandarowewrites
Image Credits
Ben Rowe
