Amanda writes witchy books about determined girls with dashes of magic, mystery, romance and adventure stirred in. Her debut novel, The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bondwas inspired by her real-life spirit medium ancestors and was selected as a Barnes & Noble YA Book Club Pick as well as a Rise Feminist Book Project Selection. Her most recent novel, The Lies of Alma Blackwellis a romantic, gothic mystery that draws on her fascination with the enigmatic history of the Winchester Mystery House in Northern California and was named one of PASTE magazine’s Most Anticipated YA Books of the Summer.
A two-time Emmy Award-winning film & television producer, Amanda got a taste of working directly with playwrights on new play development while earning her undergraduate degree in Theater Directing from UCLA. Her love of figuring out what makes a story tick led her to work in film and television development, and she went on to produce and co-produce several feature films and documentaries including the Academy Award-nominated film THE BIG SICK, and the Emmy Award-winning documentaries, The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling and George Carlin’s American Dream for HBO. Curious about what it would be like to write her own stories, Amanda started scribbling in her notebook and went on to earn an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Hamline University.
Growing up in Northern California, Amanda spent most of her time with her nose in a book or putting on plays with friends. She now lives in Los Angeles with her husband Blake and their two cats, Dash and Jenova, who meow in annoyance every time she gets up from her writing chair to get more coffee. When not writing or tumbling down research rabbit holes, she can usually be found curled up with a book and a mug of tea or working alongside young writers as a creative writing mentor through the wonderful organizations the Society of Young Inklings and WriteGirl. If you can’t find her in LA, chances are she’s run off to the mountains.
