Friday, April 22, 2011

YA Indie Spotlight: Amy Jones


Happy Friday, Everyone!

Today's YA Indie Spotlight features Amy Jones, author of the YA Fantasy novel Soul Quest.  



Summary 

Do you remember how horrified you were about the idea of attending high school? I remember ticking off those last miserable days of my summer vacation following my eighth grade year.  Maybe you don’t, maybe you were one of ‘those people.’  You know who I’m talking about, people like Melissa Small, the distinguished District Attorney, Larry Small’s daughter, popular, gorgeous... and absolutely terrifying to someone like me, Liv Glyn. No, I am far from measuring up to the standards required to make Melissa’s crowd. I’m not even close.  I’m just a simple man’s daughter, mostly tolerated by my peers with average looks.  If this isn’t depressing enough for you, stay tuned, it gets worse.  I was commanded with Spirit at birth by the Great Spirit, Hala.  I know, it sounds crazy but it’s true.  If you think it’s difficult being a teenager, try being a teenager who was born destined to save the world from soul sucking Daevas and their mutant progeny Aengels.  There are four of us.  My companions of Spirit are Laith, Brayan and Meena.  Melissa Small is Laith’s step sister and she is always meddling where she doesn’t belong, further complicating our lives.  To make matters even worse, my best friend Jedd is apparently aware of things that are typically undetectable to ordinary humans.  So, I have to lie to Jedd, the boy who has been my constant standby since the third grade, to shield him from the horrible and very dangerous truth.  Did I mention that I think I’m falling in love with him?  The term awkward doesn’t even begin to cover it, trust me. Welcome to the mess that is my life. 

Rating: PG-13 for mild language, minor sensuality, and thematic violence

About Amy

I grew up in the town of York, Pennsylvania and attended York Suburban High School. I enjoyed cheer leading, dancing at Darleen Paddison’s School of Dance and being a giggly and outgoing gal.  It was my 9th grade English teacher, Mr. Stein who inspired me to write and my Health/PE teacher and cheer leading coach who inspired to teach.  I am forever indebted to both.
I am a 1993 graduate of The University of North Carolina at Greensboro where I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Dance Education.  I met my amazing husband of fourteen blissful years at UNCG, but I was too stupid to give him the time of day back then.  Luckily, I met him again a few years later after I started teaching and the rest is history.  We live in the coastal area of beautiful, southeastern North Carolina with our two brilliant and gorgeous children and our dogs, Duke and Odie. I have seventeen years of experience in education and currently teach Dance and Theater Arts to high school students in North Carolina’s public school system.

Dancing, acting and writing are all forms of communication.  Each form requires exceptional creativity and passion to inspire and impress an audience.  I have enjoyed a passion for reading, writing, and the arts since I was a child.  As an adult I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to share my passion for the arts with children.  It only seemed appropriate that delving into the world of teen fiction would be the next logical step in my life.

Soul Quest can be purchased for


and is available at Smashwords

It is priced at $.99. The reviews are strong and it appears to be the first in a trilogy. The second book will be available by the end of summer 2011. If you're interested in Soul Quest-related updates, you can follow Amy here

KK