Please help me extend a warm welcome to Amanda Boyd.

Welcome to the PBS Blog!

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What is your name and where are you from?

My name is Amanda Boyd, and I am a lover of erotic literature. I’m a passionate reader of this genre as well as an Indie author and blogger. I spent my childhood in California and then had the opportunity to spend my 20’s in Europe. This was an awesome experience and taught me a lot about different cultures and the way we as a society can live our lives. However, as the United States was and will ever be my home country, I came back some years ago, and I’m now living with my family again in California. So I would say I’m an American Girl with a global background.

What state or country do you never want to go back to?

I was once on holiday in Sharm-El-Sheik, Egypt after an exam session during my time at the University. So I was young, single and a little short of money and therefore went to a rather cheap hotel. The whole week was pure stress: as soon as I left my hotel room, people started to either pitch some cheap stuff to me or tried to flirt with me in a really cheap way. I felt really uncomfortable the whole week and after about two days, I didn’t leave my room anymore.

So my association with Egypt is unfortunately really bad. But I want to be clear here: I really think that there are awesome places and people also in Egypt. I know people who love to go there and always had a great time. Maybe I had just bad luck or that some aspects of the culture there does not fit to my personal values

I would love to visit Egypt one day. Amanda, does blogging help you to write?

Blogging does really help me writing my own stories. The section of my blog where I write about my favorite books helps me as those authors are clearly role models for me. On the other hand, I also do interviews with other authors. These interviews range from debut authors like Kuristien Elizabeth to already established and successful authors like H.L. Swan. The interviews provide inspiration in the sense that I can exchange with other authors and share thoughts about their sources of inspiration, their challenges as authors, and how they stay motivated.

Let’s talk about writing. When did you publish your first book? What was that like?

I published my first short story in September 2020. It was a huge relief and experience. The journey to publishing my first story was long and challenging. I wrote stories for years for myself and really close friends, but to overcome self-doubts that people won’t like your work or maybe ignore it was a long process. To be honest, it takes courage to publish your work! If you fail, you also fail publicly, so I have great respect for every author who accepts all the challenges in order to become a published author! 

The story is about a young woman named Veronica, who is the daughter of a business founder and owner. The men around her are nothing but oversized boys, without serious thoughts yet toward their futures. Their pick-up lines and cheesy attempts at romance do nothing for her, so singlehood is a constant in her world. That is until she is touring her father’s company and meets Mark Grier. Her father’s successful, gorgeous right hand is older than her, but there is something obvious between them from the first handshake.

Why is writing important to you?

First of all, writing is a passion. I just love to do it. That’s why I wrote a lot before starting to publish. Writing fiction always gives you the opportunity to create something. You can shape your own world, develop characters and when you’re really into the writing process, you can more or less just let these characters act in scenarios you design for them. This process is most fascinating for me.

Secondly, sometimes when writing you enter into a writing flow. In this state, a story just evolves in front of you. It’s a state in which you are fully focused on your story and nothing else can disturb you. It’s kind of a meditative condition.

Meditative condition. I’ve never heard of it said that way before. Good stuff. 

Can you tell us more about the genre you write?

I write steamy and erotic romance. I’m a sensual as well as sensitive person, so human interaction and attraction always fascinated me and still does. At least, in my opinion, there is no better feeling than those moments in your love life, when you lose control and just let your love and attraction for your partner flow. I’m not a sex addict, but these moments are pure freedom as you don’t care about any norms or rules and just let your emotions carry you. To put it short, love stories and the sensual parts of a love story between two people fascinate me.

What takes up too much of your time?

I think if I’m honest, it’s procrastination. I think we all suffer from this phenomenon. However, I tried to implement some routines which help me overcome internal barriers. But to be honest with you they don’t always work as efficiently as I wish.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Stay true and pursue your goals, but do it in a clever way. This means focusing on the most important things, trying to do them as good as you can, and listening to the advice of people who already solved similar challenges in their lives. And believe me, almost every problem one can have in life has been solved before. So it is crucial to try to connect to the right people, people who motivate you and do not tear you down.

Life is not always pretty. We all experience hardship every now and again. What is your best advice for reducing stress?

I don’t want to compare my « sort of stress » to those other people in the world have to handle. If one lives in a nice house or flat and has everything in one’s hand for daily life, you can be happy. Especially if you then have a bunch of lovely family members and really good friends too.

What if someone has a nice home/flat and  friends and everything at their fingertips, but they still aren’t happy? What advice would you give this person for finding that sense of fulfillment?

I would go with Monthy Python😊: “Always look on the bright side!” Sometimes we as human beings forget to look at the really good things in life and tend to just focus on the problems. I would suggest that they go on a walk and think about all the good things that have happened to them. And think about the hardships they had to overcome in order to achieve what they now have. So every time I have a hard time or a lot to do, I try to see these things. I have everything I truly need in my life! Everything else is just the icing on the cake.

I love that answer, an attitude of gratitude.

What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

Oh, you mean besides buying some lottery tickets😊?

You right, Hahaha

I think I would do the same as I do today. There is a saying in Europe, “the route is the goal.” I can only be proud of an achievement if I had to overcome some challenges and hardships. Of course, if I knew I could not fail, it would make it easier to gain confidence in a challenging moment. But isn’t it a great feeling when you achieve something, and you know how much work and dedication it has cost you?

This is true.

These are the moments when you can be really proud of yourself. So I think I wouldn’t want to miss that. And furthermore, I think that everybody should fail from time to time to stay humble and empathetic. And humble and empathetic people are, in almost every case, valuable members of our society. But hey, that does not mean that I like failing. Of course, I would really love if my stories finally become a success!

Speaking of which, what does success mean to you?

I always have great respect for people who can live off their passion. I give you an example: a friend of mine is a baker and confectioner. And he is it from the bottom of his heart! When he talks about a new cake or dessert creation, he tells you a story about it in a way that you feel the love and passion he has for his profession. So he does not go to «work» in the morning; he does what he loves. Isn’t that pure freedom and true success?

Achieving freedom in what you are, for me, is a good definition of success. How much does freedom mean to me? I would say a lot. However, I already enjoy the pursuit of my goals as it is. In my view, it’s a privilege to have the opportunity to focus your energy on your personal goals.

Thank you, Amanda, for spending this time with us. We enjoyed you!

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Amanda Boyd was born in 1986 and raised in Mountain View, California. She spent her 20’s in Europe and then came back in 2013 to the United States to build her family. She now lives on the West Coast with her partner and two lovely dogs. 

Amanda writes erotic short stories and describes herself as a passionate lover of erotic literature who understands the importance of high-quality romance books. 

“The days of hiding away our romance novels under the couch cushions or feeling embarrassed to admit that we enjoy sex that goes along with steamy romance are over.”

– Amanda Boyd

That is why Amanda started her classy Erotic Romance Blog www.filthybooks.com as a place for readers to learn more about erotica. 

In addition to getting access to Amanda’s latest work, Filthybooks provides access to all kinds of information about the steamy romance genre. You can find lists and reviews of the latest online and print erotic literature, and no subject matter is off the table. So if you are in the mood of embracing your naughty side, you can find some exciting reading ideas from Amanda. 

Be Sure You Are Following Amanda on Social Media

Website: www.filthybooks.com/

Facebook: facebook.com/Amanda-Boyd-116011026919625

Instagram: instagram.com/aboydbooks/

Tumblr: amandaboyd.tumblr.com/