First of all, congratulations to Amanda Flower: earlier this month, she won her first Agatha Award at Malice Domestic for her middle-grade mystery, Andi Unstoppable. With six series underway and a seventh one starting next year, there doesn't seem to be much that Amanda Flower can't do.
You can find out more about her at AmandaFlower.com and also here on Facebook, where she loves to chat with her fans.
When we talked about her most recent series, the Magical Bookshop Mysteries, we talked about Emily Dickinson, and I wanted to give a shout-out to the poem we discussed, one of my very favorites. Here's the full text of Because I could not stop for Death and here's a link to a charming site, The Emily Dickinson Museum, for those wanting to know more about the poet.
The next book features Edgar Allan Poe, and he, too, has a museum.
If you'd rather read than listen to the interview, simply scroll down for the transcript. Meanwhile, here are her series, in order:
Amish Quilt Shop Mysteries (written as Isabella Alan)
Prequel e-Novella!: Plainly Murder
1 - Murder, Plain and Simple
2 - Murder, Simply Stitched
3 - Murder, Served Simply
4 - Murder, Plainly Read
5 - Murder, Handcrafted
Andi Boggs Mysteries (middle-grade)
1 - Andi Unexpected
2 - Andi Under Pressure
3 - Andi Unstoppable
Appleseed Creek Mysteries (complete)
1 - A Plain Death
2 - A Plain Scandal
3 - A Plain Disappearance
4 - A Plain Malice
India Hayes Mysteries
1 - Maid of Murder
2 - Murder in a Basket
Living History Museum Mysteries
1 - The Final Reveille
2 - The Final Tap
Magical Bookshop Mysteries
1 - Crime and Poetry
2 - Prose and Cons
Transcript for Amanda Flower Interview
Laura Brennan: My guest is USA Today Bestselling author Amanda Flower. Over the past five years, she has published seventeen novels, including the Amish Quilt Shop mystery series, as Isabella Alan.
Her most recent book, Crime and Poetry, launches a new series with a magical touch. She has been nominated for three Agatha Awards, including best first mystery, and this year she won the Agatha for best children’s/young adult novel, Andi Unstoppable.
By day, Amanda is a superhero -- I mean, a librarian, my favorite people in the world. Amanda, thank you for joining me.
Amanda Flower: Thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited.
LB: So first of all, congratulations on your Agatha win!
AF: Thank you. It was incredible, a truly surreal moment. And I cried and I shook, and it was everything you’d imagine winning an award like that would be.
LB: Did you always want to be a writer?
AF: Yes. My first book was Maid of Murder.
LB: So then how did you decide to write about, to write Amish mysteries?
AF: I was pitching ideas to my agent and she didn’t like any of my ideas, some of which I thought are still great. So I said, well, I used to live in Amish country in my early twenties. And her eyes got all big, and she sold the Appleseed Creek series and the Amish Quilt series within a couple months after that. So it was just timing.
LB: One of the things I really like about them is that your heroine in both is not, she’s not Amish. She’s an outsider, but she has deep ties to the community. And there’s a great affection for them, for that community. And I love that you bring a diverse perspective.
AF: Something I learned from living out there is that most people think, Amish -- an Amish person’s an Amish person. There wasn’t that much variety. But that’s not true. The Amish are very different between orders and between districts. It’s just what their bishop says that they’re allowed to do, how they interpret their rules. The Amish have a lot of variety.
LB: You have a new one coming out -- I cannot believe how prolific you are. You’ve had three books come out this year so far already.
AF: I have! Crime and Poetry came out in April. The Final Tap,