New and Debut: Amara Lynn

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My guest today is Amara Lynn, author of paranormal novella Masks. Read on to learn more about her and her debut book. There is an excerpt for you to enjoy at the end of this post :)


Meet Amara

1. Tell us about yourself and why did you decide to become a romance writer?
Hi, I'm Amara Lynn. I was born and raised (and am still currently stuck in) the Midwest United States. I've always had a wild imagination with no outlet, taking inspiration from the things around me or in books and TV shows (mostly anime). I was very into art when I was in high school, and just sort of into writing, and now I am somehow the opposite. I've always been drawn to the concept of first loves (and true loves/soul mates!) and happily ever afters. I love writing and reading about that first spark!

2. Can you share some of your favourite books and authors?
My most recent favorite has to be Kay Berrisford and her Landlocked Heart series. The first in the series, The Lonely Merman, was so adorable and sweet with a light smattering of angst, which is the perfect combination in my opinion!

I'm also loving V.E. Schwab at the moment and am currently very, very slowly reading A Gathering of Shadows. My go-to faves are Jordan Castillo Price (Channeling Morpheus and Mnevermind are my most faves), Lynn Flewelling (The Nightrunner Series of course!) and Diana Wynne Jones (Howl's Moving Castle).

3. Who/what do you consider your writing influence/inspiration?
As far as who goes, Lynn Flewelling. She was the biggest influence on my early writing and I hope I can one day make something as amazing as that.

For what, a little bit of everything inspires me. Video games, anime, reading, and most of all music. Music is my biggest source of inspiration. I seem to get the best ideas or sparks of inspiration when I'm listening to new music (and probably somewhere I can't write, as that always seems to be how it works!).

Though I don't get to do much of it at all (next to none really), traveling is also inspiring to me. Getting out and going places I've never been always sparks my creativity.

4. What kind of stories can the readers expect from you (contemporary/historical/sci-fi, adult/NA/YA, etc)?
A little bit of everything! I like to write stories usually with fantasy elements, so some modern/urban fantasy, a little traditional fantasy, and some fairy tale retellings/reimaginings. All of my writing will also be either adult or new adult.

5. Please, introduce your latest/upcoming release.
My debut novella, Masks, was released August 23rd and is a story about not fitting in, learning to trust, and first love, with some supervillain/superhero action thrown in! Avari is an orphan and social outcast with superhuman abilities, trying to navigate college life while staying under the radar. Then he meets Chayton, who is intent on being friends with him. Avari's frustration leads him on a dangerous path, and not only is he balancing college and trying to figure out Chayton, but also a secret identity…


Blurb


Avari has always been a social outcast, which is just fine by him; he has superhuman abilities and hates people. But his lab partner Chayton keeps being so friendly, and Avari can't stop staring at his alluring smile.

When he loses control of his abilities, Avari is faced with a startling revelation about himself—one that's both thrilling and dangerous. As Avari seeks to understand Chayton, he finds himself coming out of his shell, and his connection with Chayton grows deeper.

Meanwhile, a mysterious adversary appears who may hold answers to who Avari really is. Fueled by his curiosity, Avari continues his path of destruction—but he can't help wonder if his secrets will tear apart his shaky new bond with Chayton.

Purchase links: Publisher / Amazon / B&N / Smashwords

Author Bio and Links

Amara Lynn has always been a quiet daydreamer, content getting lost in her own fantasies. From a young age, she was always coming up with characters and worlds with no idea what to do with them until she found an outlet in writing. She has admitted on more than one occasion that she could be left in a room alone with only a notebook and pen and be able to entertain herself all day.

When she isn’t thinking about her own characters, she is usually reading, listening to podcasts, playing video games, or taking way too many pictures of her two cats. She is addicted to writing and music, and gets most of her inspiration when listening to music and going for walks.

Amara loves anything to do with pirates, merpeople, magic, supervillains/superheroes, paranormal, and just about anything else that happens to strike her fancy.

Twitter / Facebook / Blog  

Excerpt

I flicked my fingers in and out of the Bunsen burner’s flame, flirting with the flickering orange and purple and grinning with amusement. I’ve always felt akin to fire. It was so beautiful and brilliant, yet destructive. Fire could give and it could take.

“You know you could burn yourself doing that,” said a voice, rudely jolting me out of my fire fueled reverie.

I looked up at the intruder. I’d seen him before in chemistry class. With that bronzed skin, that black hair, and those dark eyes, he was hard not to recognize. Not that it really mattered. He was still just another student. Aside from his few defining features, he was just like everyone else.

Narrowing my eyes at him, I hoped he would just go away. I turned my attention back to the flame and resumed what I was doing, a clear dismissal. Instead of going away, he took the seat beside me. How obnoxious. Nobody ever sat by me.

“I’m Chayton,” he said.

I turned my glare back on him and frowned. “Okay… And?” He was smiling, which made my scowl deepen.

“You’re Avari Terran, right? We’re lab partners.”

Sighing and rolling my eyes, I looked at the burner again. Why did I need a lab partner? I was perfectly capable of doing all of the labs by myself. A lab partner would just get in the way, and mess things up. Did the phrase “doesn’t work well with others” that high school teachers so loved to put on report cards mean nothing to these blockheaded university professors?

“Just stay out of my way and don’t screw things up,” I snapped at him. When I heard him chuckling, I looked up. “What are you laughing at?” I growled. Maybe if I concentrated hard, his shirt would catch fire. If I was mad enough, I could easily do that.

“Sorry, it’s just…” Chayton trailed off as he fought back a few more laughs. “You’re so serious.”

Because this was a very serious matter! I failed to see why it was so amusing for me to be serious about my schoolwork. “Is there a problem with that?” I asked, frowning deeply, and wishing he’d go away already.

“You need to loosen up a little,” he said, leaning back in his seat and putting his arms behind his head.

I snorted. “Why?” I really wanted to ask why in the hell he even cared, but I stopped myself short.

“It’s not good for you, being serious all the time,” he said, smiling at me.

“And who says I’m serious all the time?” I countered his smile with a scowl.

Chayton leaned closer, and I caught a whiff of campfire smoke and pine. “Are you?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” I blurted quickly, meeting his midnight eyes sternly.

“Oh? What do you do for fun, then?”

“None of your business,” I replied, tearing my gaze from him then. Who did he think he was, interrogating me like this? I owed him no explanations or assurances about my behavior or hobbies during my leisure time.


“Okay, okay.” Chayton raised his hands in surrender.

The lab started, forcing Chayton to drop his line of questioning and focus, for which I was grateful. Of course I did well on the assignment. I didn’t credit any of my success to Chayton, though I guess he did help a little, which was much better than him screwing something up.

As soon as class ended, I threw my stuff in my bag and walked out. Footsteps ran up behind me, and I looked back to see Chayton following me. What did he think he was doing? Couldn’t he just buzz off? Why was he trying to catch up with me?

I stopped walking and turned completely around, glaring at him and crossing my arms. “Can I help you with something?”

“So, since we’re lab partners, we need to be able to get in touch with each other. We should exchange numbers.”

Immediately I frowned. It wasn’t that I didn’t have a phone. I did, mostly out of necessity. Places like the school needed a phone number on file. I would just as soon not have one, because I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I really wasn’t too keen on the idea of giving my phone number so freely to him, but clearly there was no avoiding it. I sighed and took out my phone. “Fine. What’s your number?” I keyed in the digits as he said them and then called him so he’d get my number.

“Maybe we’ll see each other around the campus,” said Chayton with a smile.

“I hope not,” I mumbled.

I turned away and stared at my phone screen, pretending to look interested in something on it like most of the other students on campus often did. In reality, the only thing on my screen was Chayton’s phone number. I started to save it to my contacts. How was “Chayton” spelled? What kind of name was that anyway? I guess I would just save it as “C” for now and figure out how it was spelled later.
I returned to my dorm room. Locking the door behind me, I let out a heavy sigh.

Finally. Alone at last.

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