Thanks for joining us here at YALC. We would love you to introduce yourself
Thanks for having me! My name is Amy Mae Baxter; and my first novel, The Between-Worlds B&B, is publishing May 7 with HarperFire. I’m also a book editor by day, I publish mostly romance and romantasy, and I’m a huge fan of all things cosy (as you can probably tell by the books I publish, as well as what I write!), and the Real Housewives.
– Can you give our readers an overview of your YA novel The Between Worlds B&B?
The Between-Worlds B&B is the story of Margo, who is having a boring summer holiday. When she accidentally gets locked out of home one night, she stumbles upon a B&B that definitely shouldn’t be there, and is actually full of magical beings. But Margo doesn’t have any magic, so why is the B&B letting her stay? There’s a cast of magical characters, a little romance, baked goods, and also a magic cat…
– And, if you could do it in just 5 words or less, what would they be?
Cosy magic chaos with cat!
– What originally inspired you to create The Between Worlds B&B?
I absolutely love cosy fantasy; in recent years it’s been such a pleasure to see so many books published in the genre, and I was inspired to give it a go myself! When I was growing up, I loved reading escapist novels too, like Ella Enchanted and The Magic Faraway Tree – I suppose B&B is my attempt at creating a fictional world that can take you away from reality!
– Who was your favourite character to write and why?
I love Titania very much; she’s a fairy princess who is very much an ‘oldest daughter’ in the way she feels pressure to organise and support the people around her. Every scene I wrote with her, my heart hurt a little for her – I’m hoping readers will love her as much as I do!
– Is there a character that you relate to?
Finn I find really relatable! He knows exactly what it is he wants to do with himself, but sometimes lacks the ambition or the vision to be able to go on and do it. I’m always cheering for him throughout the book.
– When you write a novel, do you plan the story from start to end, or do you see how it evolves as you write?
I’m definitely a planner! Having edited so many authors throughout my career, I’ve learned from some of the best: having an idea of where you’re going with each chapter really helps. That being said, sometimes the characters do take on a life of their own, and also, I get edited too! So I always start with a plan, even if that’s not where the book ends up.
– Why did you choose a between worlds setting to tell this story?
I always love reading about ‘other’ places in novels; whether that’s a third space or a literal other world. When I was trying to understand how the B&B could exist in many places at once, in magical worlds as well as the human ones, it made sense that the B&B could just sort of float between them all.
– How did you come up with the different worlds?
With great joy! In the world of the book, there are endless magical beings from many cultures and mythologies, and so the worlds are full of references to creatures I grew up hearing about, as well as learned about in my book writing research. I will say it was one of the most fun parts of book writing, learning more about myths that span different times and traditions.
– Margo struggles with anxiety, was this an important element to add into her character? If so why?
Margo is so different to me in so many ways; particularly in the fact that she doesn’t know what she wants to do with her life, or what she wants from the world. I think her anxiety was a natural follow-on from that, as she questions herself and her actions as well as everyone around her. As someone who deals with anxiety daily, I was really pleased I’ve been able to keep this aspect of her character in the finished book.
– I love the chapter ‘titles’ what gave you this idea?
Thank you so much! At first they started as a way to guide myself as I wrote – to set the tone of each chapter, so I knew what I was trying to write. I was expecting someone to tell me that they weren’t funny and to take them out at some point, but they stayed. I’m so pleased you liked them.
– Did you listen to music while writing? If so, what kind?
Annoyingly I can’t listen to music with lyrics while I’m writing, or I just end up transcribing them instead of writing a book. I mostly listen to jazz music for writing.
– Who would you cast as the main characters if your book was turned into a movie?
The dream question! I think Avantika Vandanapu would do such a good job as Margo; I’m not sure on Finn! They’d have to have lovely chemistry…
– When scene do you think the readers will enjoy the most?
I think the scene where Margo realises the B&B is magic for the first time is one of my favourites, and I hope readers will enjoy too – there’s a lovely moment when the reader knows exactly what’s going on, and Margo finally clicks. I hope it works.
– Do you think there will be more stories to come set in this universe?
I hope so. There are endless worlds in the book, and I’d love to write more standalones happening in different worlds.
– Where do you write?
At my kitchen table, or a café. My best friend Soraya is also an author, so most weekends you can find us tucked away at a café table somewhere, muttering about books.
– What is your favourite genre to read?
I’ll never get tired of fantasy, or romance! But really it depends on the day.
– Where can our readers find you on social media?
I’m @amymaebaxter on Instagram and Tiktok
– Finally can you give us your favourite quote from a novel (it can be yours!)?
I am terrible at remembering quotes, but I just read I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I’m Trapped in a Rom-Com by Kimberly Lemming, and it’s a wonderful rom-com, and there was one line that really stuck with me: ‘You make the mundane precious.’ I thought it was such a beautiful way of saying I love you and I see you. Ah. Makes me sappy just thinking about it.