Amy Campbell is an multi series author and that cool librarian you always wished you had. She was nice enough to take a pause from her writing to talk with us
1 I saw that you have a kickstarter currently running could you give the lowdown on the Airship Dragons series?
The Airship Dragons series is about a young man named Elazar who works on a dragon-hunting airship. When a new recruit comes aboard and claims that Elazar is a dragon, Elazar thinks it’s a ridiculous claim. But when the new recruit pushes him overboard and Elazar turns into a dragon instead of dying–well, maybe there was some truth to that after all! In the first book, Dragon Latitudes, Elazar embarks on a desperate search to reclaim his humanity, all while being hunted by his former airship crewmates and the Jade Empress, a fierce dragon seeking vengeance.
In Book 2, Dragon Meridians, to appease the Jade Empress and save his found family, Elazar and his friends hunt for the Forgotten Library. But the deeper he delves, the more he realizes the library was meant to remain lost. Some secrets are best left buried…And some destinies can’t be escaped.
2. Your day job is as a librarian. What made you decide to take the leap to author?
Sadly, I had to leave my librarian job last year to be a full-time mom to my son with autism. But I’ve always loved writing, and I wanted to be an author from the time I was 7 and wrote my first “book” (inspired by Walter Farley’s The Black Stallion.) I wrote all through my teen years and into college, but when I became an adult writing and publishing a book seemed to become out of reach. So I stopped writing for about 15 years. Then covid struck, and I was afraid that I might die without ever having accomplished my dream. In April of 2020, I sat my butt in my chair, put my fingers to keyboard, and haven’t looked back since!
3. Your other series the Outlaw Mages, is a western themed fantasy project did growing up in Houston have an effect on your creative inspiration?
Sort of! The first draft of book one (Breaker) was nothing like the end result–it was closer to a magical academy fantasy than anything else. But I thought that was boring, and for years (during the span when I was writing) I had this idea in my head that a fantasy book with western elements would be a lot of fun to write. Because really, that’s an underused combination and most of the time when we see it, there’s more elements of horror involved. (Weird western seems like a horror-centric genre, which is why I don’t like to call mine Weird Westerns.) I’ve always been a horse girl, so I wanted my characters to ride snarky telepathic pegasi. They use western saddles and say “y’all” so there are lots of Texas elements! The area where the main character grew up is directly influenced by Brenham, Texas (in the hill country where my parents grew up.)
4 Who were your favorite authors or books growing up?
Walter Farley’s The Black Stallion series and Mercedes Lackey’s Valdemar books were huge influences in my reading and writing!
5 You have had a couple highly successful kickstarters, any tips for up-and-coming writers?
Decide if you want to write as a hobby or professionally. They’re different, with different commitments. You can still write professionally (as I do) and love it and your characters! But a professional writer treats this as a business–which means I make decisions based on this being a business. My covers and editing must be professional. I strive to give my readers the best possible product. That also means studying your genre and any platforms you may want to use to sell your books and market to readers. Kickstarter is wildly different from Amazon, for example.
Both are valid choices. But if you choose to become a professional writer, know that there’s a lot more to it than just sitting around writing all day. (I know, that’s disappointing, haha!)
6. Do you have any idea what your next project is going to be, will you be continuing the Airship Dragons or Outlaw Mages series or trying something new?
I love irritating writing about my outlaw mages and dragons. I’m currently working on Outlaw Mages Book 6 (Heartseeker) and Airship Dragons 3 (no final title yet). But I also have some really fun projects waiting in the wings: one is a cross between Schitt’s Creek and Fourth Wing and the other was inspired by What We Do in the Shadows but with Fae. The Schitt’s Creek x Fourth Wing book has more of my passion right now so it’ll probably be worked on in tandem with the Outlaw Mages and Airship Dragons!
7. If people want more info about your projects, where should they go?
My website is always a great place! People can see my books there and sign up for my newsletter, which will snag them a free short story as well! I keep my newsletter up-to-date with all of my book happenings. https://www.amycampbell.info/
I’m on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter/X, and TikTok but am most active on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@amycampbellauthor
Final four questions –we ask everybody
Q) When the zombies take over the world where will you be?
You mean they haven’t already? It feels like it sometimes! I’ll probably be sitting at my computer writing about magical worlds without a clue. (Unless I find out about it on TikTok.)
Q ) What is your favorite Fandom
That’s tough. I love Marvel–they’ve really done some great things. But I’m getting back into Pokemon now because of my kids, and I will admit that I have been a Pokemon Trainer in costume at several recent conventions!
Q) What piece of art, be it in the form of music, a book, a film or picture, do you think people must experience before they die?
The animated version of The Lion King. It gave Young Amy so many feels.
Q) Give one fact that most people would not believe about you?
When I was 17 I wrote and submitted a script for The X-Files to a writer for the show at Fox. It was not accepted but I got a really nice letter back from the writer!
Paper Phoenix ink 