Amy Sue Nathan lives and writes near Chicago where she hosts the award-winning Women's Fiction Writers blog. She has been published in Chicago Tribune, Writer's Digest, the New York Times and the Washington Post online, and Huffington Post, among many others. Amy has two grown children and is busy writing her next novel. Visit Amy at her website, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Thanks to St. Martin's Press, we have FIVE copies of The Good Neighbor for some lucky readers in the US and/or Canada!
Check out Author Liaison Cindy Roesel's review.
Synopsis of The Good Neighbor:
In this heartwarming story, we meet Izzy Lane, who has always played by the rules. She's an excellent mother, has loyal friends, and a rich career as a school counselor. Fresh from a new divorce, however, Izzy feels like she needs a little fun. So when, on a whim, she starts a blog it seems like a rather benign indulgence. But as her online quips begin to gain traction, Izzy makes a slip. Somehow a new boyfriend winds his way into the picture. The problem? Izzy makes him up.
What, at first, feels like a harmless fib quickly spins out of control and Izzy must figure out how to balance fantasy and reality. Keeping up appearances while managing an absent ex-husband, two very nosy friends, a toddler son, and full-time job soon prove impossible, and Izzy feels utterly lost. It's only when her long-time neighbor and surrogate mother, Mrs. Feldman, re-enters her life that Izzy begins to see the mess she's made. And it's with Mrs. Feldman's guidance that Izzy learns to face reality, find comfort in new norms, and open herself up to the possibility of real love. (Courtesy of St. Martin's Press.)
In one sentence, what was road to publishing like?
My road to publishing was long and had a few forks in it!
Do you base characters on yourself?
No, but I do inform the characters with a tidbit here and there, whether it's a character trait or a favorite food or a pet peeve--and not always just tidbits of me but of others from people I know well to passers by. Frankly if I've ever met you or had an encounter with you, something about you could possibly end up in a book. Creepy, huh? Yep, that's a writer for ya.
Which authors have inspired you?
Meg Waite Clayton and Jennifer Weiner inspired me to write my first novel. Any time I read a novel and think "I wish I'd written that" it inspires me. Currently, Jojo Moyes also comes to mind. I admire many authors. Their work ethic, perseverance, and friendship inspires me as much as their writing.
I don't see faces when I write, but I picture Betty White as Mrs. Feldman in a movie because of her age--but that doesn't mean Mrs. Feldman looks like Betty White. I picture Mrs. Feldman more as a compilation of all my old female teachers from elementary school. I do see Ann Hathaway as Izzy only because since I'm casting -- why not?
Which TV show were you too young to appreciate in the past but would totally watch if it were around now?
I'm a TV addict so I don't think there are any show I want to see that I haven't seen. Plus, at 51, I was around for all the awesome shows of the 60s and 70s and I was a huge fan of "old movies" even when they were just shown on UHF channels on Sunday mornings, not to mention reruns!
If someone were to visit you, what is something they'd HAVE to do while they were in town?
I live near Chicago and Michigan so my must-sees would be Millennium Park in downtown Chicago and St. Joseph, Michigan with its beautiful beach!
Special thanks to Amy for chatting with us and St. Martin's Press for sharing her book with our readers.
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One of my neighbors is like family to us. We have become very close over the years. But it was a rocky start when I first moved here. A couple years ago, they gave us the most thoughtful Christmas gift ever. When I heard the story, I cried. She had made a quilt with cat designs when her children were just kids (they are grown now with children of their own). So, this quilt was used for her kids growing up. She said she felt like me and my husband were their kids too and she wanted me to have the cat quilt. I hung it on the wall instead of using it since it means so much. I don't want it messed up by my cats.
ReplyDeleteI once had a neighbor who was also my landlady. She used to do very thoughtful things like bring me a plate of dinner if I got home late from work and looked like I had a stressful day. She did not work and was home all day so she would get packages for me and things. She never complained about my loud music and sometimes would knock on the door and dance with me. She bought little treats for my grandkids. But she wasn't nosey or intrusive.
ReplyDeleteOur strangest neighbors turned out to be selling drugs! We had noticed that there were a lot of cars going in and out of there! However, we were surprised when the police showed up there and arrested them. They are no longer our neighbors since they were hauled off to jail!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was first married there was a very sweet older couple next door who would send over home baked treats and things from their garden. It was lovely!
ReplyDeleteBest neighbor = my sister!
ReplyDeleteMy best neighbor lives next door to me now. They are so nice and always bringing us stuff.
ReplyDeleteEveryone I lived near in my complex 2 years ago - it was horrible!
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor now is pretty cool. She brought me soup the other day. We'll give them cookies when we make a lot.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've had any bad ones. Thank goodness.
A wonderful neighbor was the kindest woman and her entire family. She was warm, caring, loving and took care of my two little boys when I had an appointment. They loved visiting since she baked and cooked delectable meals and treats. We moved and I miss her sweetness everyday.
ReplyDeleteAs I live in the touristy town of Fort Myers, Florida, anyone that visits goes to the beaches. It's especially nice as our beaches are very warm in winter.
ReplyDeleteI've been lucky and always had nice neighbors. My neighbor right now is great when it comes to picking up my mail when I go out of town.
ReplyDeleteIn our first starter home, my husband and I were on a tight budget. Soon, I was pregnant with our first. Our neighbor to our right was a kindergarten teacher and was very welcoming. She always stopped by to say hello and loved talking to our girls. She traveled a lot and hired us to look after her house and do some garden care. She really appreciated us being there to help out and at the same time, she was helpful to us by bringing by some produce, books, and other little things for us.
ReplyDeletebluedawn95864 at gmail dot com
neighbors bakes food to share for the holidays
ReplyDeleteHe's STILL our next door neighbor, you know the guy, sends his wife off to work and stays home all day so he can perform his duties as self-appointed street monitor. He must be wearing out because he's been pretty quiet for the past couple of years. But we can still count on it that if we congregate for any reason at all in our front yard he will soon come out and start mowing his lawn. Get a life.
ReplyDeleteWhen my son was a little boy we moved next to a wonderful family with three teenage girls perfect baby sitters
ReplyDeleteWe have the best neighbors now. They share vegetables from their garden with us. They always have a funny or interesting story to share with us. We are blessed with great neighbors.
ReplyDeleteLuckily, I haven't had to deal with anything worse than loud music or a lot of cars parked around during a party.
ReplyDeleteI have one now that is extremely grumpy. He has a pirate skeleton at the foot of his driveway with a No Trespassing sign.
ReplyDeleteThe one who always made weird groaning noises through the shared wall of our townhouse.
ReplyDeleteMy next door neighbor married this woman who was an alcoholic. She would be drunk out of her mind every night and then the husband would leave home and she'd do crazy things like get in her car and drive drunk looking for him. My neighbors and I ended up taking her keys away numerous times and eventually the police had to get involved because she was disturbing the peace. She's gone now, so less drama.
ReplyDeleteSuzy
I live in a condo association and I have some wonderful neighbors. The couple I share a front porch and yard with are pretty great. I am 51 and disabled. My neighbor lady (in her 80's) loves to garden, so in the summer, she plants and takes care of all of the flowers in our front yard. She does an amazing job so our yard looks beautiful. I just have to sit back and enjoy it. She and her husband have also been very good to me when I have been sick otherwise incapacitated. It's really nice to know they are there.
ReplyDeleteIn our old neighborhood the SWAT team visited my neighbor, for good reason! We moved back to my cozy hometown shortly after that. Big men with big guns - not in my neighborhood!
ReplyDeleteThere have been a few bad neighbors in my apartment complex lately.
ReplyDeleteMy next door neighbors had these really noisy Christmas decoration that played Christmas Carols loudly all day long until around 10:00 at night.
ReplyDeleteMy next door neighbor an hour ago who just came outside and started screaming "Madness, madness, madness" getting increasingly louder and insane. Angela
ReplyDeleteMy neighbor next door is a complete psychotic creep. He grew up with my dad and when my parents first started dating, she would ask my aunts why they never hooked up with the "boy next door" and they said "Wait till you get to know him. You'll understand why." The stories I could tell about this man...you'd have to live it to believe it.
ReplyDeleteI've been very lucky to have great neighbors!
ReplyDeleteWhen we were first married (over 30 years ago), we moved into our first house and had a back-door neighbor who "mentored" me as a young wife. Yes, she always had advice and listened to my stories, but the best part was that she shared lots of recipes and coffee!
ReplyDeleteWhen my son was in kindergarten, our neighbors daughter was also in his classroom. She would always have her daughter come over and would leave her at my home for hours. She would check to see if I was home so I had to hide my car, she would have her daughter call my phone and ask me if she could come over, and when we would set a drop off time for them to pick her up they wouldn't show up, so I had to drop her off just to have them not open the door. It was such a pain and because of this experience I no longer allow play dates.
ReplyDelete