So You Think My Blog is Dope?

Well, I think that’s pretty dope too. Thanks a whole heap for all the shares, emails and re-blogs! I really love blogging for you and it warms the cold, anti-social, cockles of my heart to know you enjoy reading what I’ve got to say.

Of course, I’m not doing all this blogging just to kill time between episodes of Law & Order: SVU. (Fine, not only to kill time…). I blog to draw your attention to the 6 (SIX) AWESOMELY FUNNY, KICK-ASS Novels, I currently have for sale on Amazon Kindle for bargain prices!!! And hey, if you get a kick out of my blogs, just imagine the wonderful webs I weave when given that kind of space….I’m talking raunchy sex scenes, heart-felt friendships, characters that will stay with you for years to come. I’m talking joy. Pure. Sublime. Joy. And why can I make these lofty declarations about my 6 (SIX) available novels? Because those are the emotions I felt while writing each and every one of them. Like a great chef, or a skilled musician, you will experience everything I felt while writing, when you read. These books are raw and real–just like me.

And….since there are so many of them, I’d like to post links and a couple sentences on why I think each one of these little darlings are worth your valuable time (and dollars!).

Buy me, I rock! (Red Rock!)

NOTE: This is my only novel based in Kingston, Jamaica. The rest take place in NYC and Connecticut.

Why You Should Read It: If you’ve ever been annoyed, as a Jamaican, that you’ve primarily been represented globally by a Rastaman smoking a big spliff and sporting a bigger ding-dong, this is the book for you. You educated, under-paid, middle class, diamonds in the rough! You hard working, wine drinking, looking for a little understanding, mother-lovers, who have always felt you didn’t quite fit in with the sun, sand, Reggae theme, of your beloved island nation–this is the book for you!

Sex Sells, and so does this book!

Why You Should Buy This Book: If you love New York City, interracial romance, gayness–both homosexuality and the frivolous, glittery fun reserved for hallucinogenic drugs–this is your book! This book is a feel-good romp, from start to glorious finish. There is sex, love, narcissism, drama, and good-old youth-envy. This book is not only THE BEST SELLER of all my books, it is my everlasting salute and gratitude to Queen Josephine Himself (based on my real, live, best friend), and the dizzy, silly dance of being young and dumb at the center of the universe–NYC. Buy it, trust me, it will take years off your life, and leave you laughing til you weep.

Now that you’ve read NY Catch, I know you want to see what happens next…

Why You Should Buy This Book: Socialite is the sequel to both Red Rock and NY Catch. We re-meet Jamilla Santos, from Red Rock, in her new element as the queen of NYC society–as she is thrust into the chaotic, colorful world of Jules and Josephine. Friendships form, lines are drawn, and the shiz starts to get real. The kids are growing up, and making a play to live-up to the potential that their expensive Liberal Arts educations always promised. Like real life, sometimes the people who start out on your team, can turn out to be against you when the dust settles. Watch out! The claws are coming out. Oh yes, and there’s more raunchy sex–and even raunchier drama…..

Last book in the series–and it’s a doozy! (Floozy!)

Why You Should Buy This Book: If you, like me, LOVE theatre–musicals–soap operas–and intrigue, you have got to read this book. The dance has taken a few valium, and faces have begun to change. All of a sudden, we’re smack-dab in the middle of Julianne’s drug-soaked masquerade. Sure, it revolves around the opening of a new theatre group, but just like in real life, the real drama goes on backstage…..and you will never believe the surprises I have in store for you here. (Trust me, I was mostly inebriated, and in the midst of a real life funeral, at the writing of this novel. It is funny, surprising, and the furthest thing from what you’d expect).

Do it for the kids….

Why You Should Buy This Book: If you haven’t read any of the New York Books–why not buy all three for the price of one? I’m donating all proceeds from The New York Series to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital. Yes, I know, I said at the top that I write the blog, to make the money from selling the books–but hey–sometimes it’s more important to give than to receive. So, I’d recommend buying this book over all the others.

My latest, and I think, greatest….

Why You Should Buy This Book: No disrespect to NY Catch, but Midlife Wife is (I think), my best work to date. I got better with practice, what can I say? You write four books, and by the fifth one, you’ve got the formula down pat. The characters in this book are sharp, vivid, desperately human, in every way possible. This is the only book I’ve written where the characters are totally stand alone–meaning, I didn’t base them on anyone I knew. I wrote this novel, during a tropical storm, the weekend of my 29th birthday. I was staying in a hotel room, overlooking the ocean, and the power and cable kept coming and going all night. Take from that what you will for the book. It sure keeps you guessing til the very last page…..

One last plea: Ya’ll, if you really like reading my blog, then please, please, please buy the books and share this particular blog so others can learn about these awesome indie books too–or else, I might actually have to get a full-time job, that doesn’t allow for things like blogging and novel-writing. Catch my drift? No more blogs. Amanda needs to pay for her inevitable boob job and no doubt, a liver transplant in the foreseeable future.

And again–thanks for all the facebook love! You really are quite dope.

Summer Reading List

If you haven’t already had the pleasure, do add the following to your summer reading list….trust me, they are wonderful both pool, and beachside….

Leave your thoughts in the comments, or email me directly at amandahanna01@gmail.com. I’d love to hear what you think of ma’ books, yo!  🙂

It’s 2 AM and I Can’t Sleep

As predicted, another sleepless night is upon me. I say predicted because I knew since I got up at nine in the morning, yesterday, that I was going into another twenty-four hours of restlessness. The thing is–I have to write another book. It’s no longer a choice. If I don’t write then I don’t sleep, no matter how many exercise DVD’s I manage to sweat through. My mind is restless.

After finishing Candace Busnell’s “One Fifth” for the fifth time (ironically), I reached for a collection of short stories by Amy Hempel. Amy Hemphil is an extraordinary short story writer. Her talent is boundless. As I read her stories, I can only imagine the length and breath of her sleeping troubles. If a mediocre writer like me, suffers the way I do, I would never want to be her.

My favorite story of hers’ is this one: The Most Girl Part of Me. As you read it, notice how she only gives you three or four pieces of solid information. Everything else is a small detail that groups together to tell a bigger story, a story perhaps bigger and even more incredible, because it’s never told outright. Of course, by the end, it’s all so clear. That’s her gift. She’s like an artist with an array of fine, stiff, paint brushes. She uses tiny strokes and at the end–whalla!–it’s a meadow! It’s a burning bush! It’s the face of Jesus!

She really is extraordinary.

The first time I ever heard about Amy Hemphil was in a writers workshop in New York. For weeks before the workshop, I’d been ravenous, writing furiously, day and night, a novel I’d started sophomore year of college. I thought I was literally on fire. The words and descriptions were flowing so endlessly, all the while, the pages forming a tidy pile on the carpet by my feet. On the day of the workshop, I felt almost as if I didn’t need it. Things were going so well for me. I had an agent–not just any agent, one who’s client had won a Pultizer Prize–interested in reading an advanced copy of my debut novel. I’d churned out six beefy chapters, a remarkable sixty-three pages, single spaced, and had to force myself to step away from the computer. Yes, you could say I felt fairly confident in my ability as a composer of words.

Then I started to read Amy Hemphil, and felt immediately dwarfed by her effortless ability to create something out of nothing.

I never wrote another word of that novel. After Amy, I looked at my writing with fresh eyes, and saw it for what it really was: severely lacking. It was such a revolutionary moment, that I ended up deleting and shredding, all my work from the prior weeks, taking me back to the first chapter, the one I’d written one sleepless night, sophomore year.

I admit now that my actions were melodramatic. It’s never healthy to compare yourself to someone else, and besides, there was already somebody out there–an agent!–who thought I had something worthwhile to say. Still, it wasn’t good enough for me. That’s why it’s so hard for me to write a ‘serious novel’. Every time I try, I end up with the novels that I’ve published so far–light, fun comedy. Sure, these types of books have their place, but I’m never going to be satisfied until I’m able to write what I set out to write in the first place.

Maybe I’ll be able to finally spit it out. Maybe not, who knows? Until then I have Amy and her incredible sentences, to keep my eye on the bar. If you’ve never read it, I hope after reading this blog, you will. The link is below AGAIN. This time, click on it!

The Most Girl Part of Me by Amy Hemphil

DIG MY BLOG? CHECK OUT MY NEWLY RE-FORMATTED KINDLE NOVELS: THE NEW YORK CATCH, THE NEW YORK SOCIALITE, THE NEW NEW YORK, THE RED ROCK CAFE & MID LIFE WIFE