Interview with Author Belle Ami

Belle Ami join The Author Encounter in September of this year. She was feature in the blog article New Authors from September.  In this interview with Author Belle Ami, she talks about the 2020 Rone Awards and her inspiration for writing thrillers and time-travel science fiction.

Tell us about the 2020 RONE Awards it was a virtual event connected to a conference. Did you get to attend?

The RONE Awards have been lucky for me. In 2018 my romance/thriller Escape (Tip of the Spear series) was a Finalist, and in 2019 my novel The Girl Who Knew Da Vinci won the RONE Award for Suspense/Thriller/Mystery Cover Design and was the RONE Award Runner Up in Paranormal Mystery Audiobook. I’m delighted to announce The Girl Who Loved Caravaggio is the 2020 Runner Up for Time-travel and Science Fiction. 

Who knows, maybe next year I’ll win it!

Romantic Thrillers are so much fun this time of year. Tell us about your inspiration for  your thriller series Tip of the Spear.

Cyrus is the sexy hero of Escape, Vengeance, Ransom and the soon to be published Exposed. He’s an Iranian born nuclear physicist, who’s conscripted by Mossad to become a deep cover agent, and then to lead a team of assassins and uber agents. He’s a James Bond, super spy, who is forced to blow his cover when he’s given a mission to rescue an American student when she’s kidnapped by the Iranians in Dubai and taken to Tehran. Cyrus rescues Layla, and her love saves him from a loveless and cold existence. Cyrus is devoted to making the world a safer place. He passionately loves his wife and muse, Layla, and his daughter, Cerise. He risks his life in terrifying missions with his team, fighting terrorism, and stopping nuclear threats around the world. I dare you not to fall in love with him.

In your bio(link here) you mention your furry family? My furry family includes Cindy Crawford, Giorgio Armani, Pebbles, and Coco Chanel (who just happen to be a horse, two Chihuahua’s, and the sweetest Pit Bull in the world) Do you ever use them as inspiration for your books?

My four-legged menagerie inspire me in many ways, but to date I’ve never written a book about my pets. However, in the Tip of the Spear series Cyrus, who has never owned a dog, falls in love with a yellow ball of fur when his daughter Cerise adopts a lab she names, Norit, which means buttercup in Hebrew.

Where does the inspiration for your writing come from?

Inspiration is everywhere. All we have to do is open our eyes and look about the world we live in. The news, articles, the books we read, the movies we watch, the people who inspire us. Life is a constant source. Much of what I write about comes from the universe, I’m called to it by dreams and visions. The well of ideas never runs dry and I hope it never will.

How did you publish your first book? Have you changed your publishing process since then?

I self-published my first book and it was a Finalist in the National Jewish Book Awards. That success inspired me to write more. I’ve published with two small press presses, but I decided to return to self-publishing for a lot of different reasons. I wanted control over my own destiny. A million mistakes later, I now have a fantastic team. My author assistant and editor, Joanna D’Angelo. She’s brought out the best in my writing. I also have a first-class cover designer, copyeditor, and formatter who make my books shine. I hope this is my year to land an agent and secure a publishing deal.

What’s the future hold for you as a writer? Any new books coming out we should look for?

As I write this, I have a book coming out that will publish as a serial. The Blue Coat is a time-travel journey into the past that is part historical fiction woven through the darkness of war. It is a mystery/thriller that takes place in two eras and in two lifetimes. It is also a love story—or rather two love stories, both poignant and soul-stirring. And finally, it is a metaphoric guide—that shows us the empowering strength that can pass down from generation to generation— so long as we keep telling our stories. 

My fourth book in the Tip of the Spear series, Exposed is in edit and ready to be published. I’ve planned the fourth book in my Out of Time series, The Girl Who Revered…(artist to be revealed in the future), and I have a stand-a-lone historical dual timeline novel that will take place during the Renaissance and WWII that I’m in the process of outlining. I’m also writing a domestic thriller, which I’m about halfway done with, so I have a lot on the shelf for 2021. So many stories, so little time to tell them all.

Thank you, Author Encounter for interviewing me. I look forward to our future relationship.