Fabulous Feature-Amy Leigh Simpson, Beauty for Ashes

Today we welcome author:

Amy Leigh Simpson

THREE commenters will win an eBook copy of
Amy's book:

 When Fall Fades

International Readers Invited to enter!
Scroll down to see how.

Mary here. Amy is more than a kindred friend to me. She is a fellow Alley Cat from the Writers Alley Blog, a gifted writer, a tremendous singer and more. You'll see what I mean as you read how God has led her on her writing journey. I expect we will see many books with her name in the future. And now, I present Amy:

Beauty for Ashes

Ever had a dream wither away? 

For most of my life, starting from the first few notes hummed from my carseat until college, all of my dreams hinged around becoming a … singer. Gasp! Wait, you thought this was a blog about writers, right? Yep, it’s true. I’m not one of those true-blue, writer-from-the-crib types of writers who cut their baby teeth on the bindings of the classics and wrote their first enchanted tale with a crayon on the dining room wall. I was a songbird. 

I spent my youth cultivating my love of music from musical theater to worship teams, voice lessons to cutting demos. The dream had even become a part of my identity until one day I was mature enough to realize that dream was starting to clash with dreams that held so much more value.

You see, life as a struggling musician is a long, lonely road of sacrifice and rejection. Sacrificing time with my new husband to be on tour. Sacrificing the family I wanted to start young to perform and claw my way up a very unsteady ladder. Sacrificing the stability I craved in a home. The dream I’d envisioned as a girl was definitely one of hard work and unlikely odds. I wasn’t naive to the overwhelming size of my ambition. I knew it going in. 

The reality of the life I would have to lead while chasing that dream though, was not one I was prepared to see through to the bitter end. Now I still love to sing and worship and use the gift God gave me in other ways, but that dream of making it as a singer, that flame that kept the dream alive for so many years was snuffed out. The dream lay in ashes. And my very fulfilling life as a wife and mother became the reality I wanted to live in.

Mary here: I've stood next to Amy during a church worship time. Her voice is lovely, blending gorgeous harmony into the melody. Yep, she has a true gift of song. I've also been to Amy's house and saw such a deep, sincere love for her family.

But there are times when a dream dies when you feel the void of all that passion you held for so long grow into a cavernous hole in your heart, making you wonder what you are meant to do with the creativity that stirs in your veins without the dream to fuel the fire. For me, God’s promise in Isaiah 61 came when he gifted me a new dream … ironically, through my dreams.

I began to dream up stories. Stories I knew I was unqualified to write. I knew nothing about novels, other than I loved reading them. I hadn’t even take a creative writing class, since … ever! How on earth was I going to write a book?

What came next was a wrestling match. I wrestled with those persistent characters in my head. Wrestled with the stories infiltrating my dreams. I wrestled with God about my ability to actually write a novel. But I figured I’d give it a shot, more than likely vomit out 20 pages of dribble and call it a failed experiment.

Six weeks, probably twelve hours of sleep, and over 80k not entirely terrible words later and I had a story. Maybe not a great one, but I’d learn to make it great. I was a writer and it was a dream I could chase and keep my priorities in tact. So I dove into the craft, found writer friends and encouragers. Signed on with a superstar agent who believed in me. And I let all those stories I’d tried to ignore pour out of my head (and heart) in the most amazing labor or love. Bringing me so much more joy than writing songs ever did.

Who knew that dream was meant to run its course so I could find my true calling? God did. Because he is the giver of new dreams. He breathes life into barrenness. He takes the broken pieces of our hearts and fashions them into something beautiful and brand new. 

It’s not too late to find your dream. 

Sometimes you just have to let go and let God lead you into the beautiful unknown. It might be scary, but I promise you, it’s worth it!

My first book When Fall Fades (originally titled Beauty for Ashes) was born of that lesson God was teaching me four years ago. It is releasing on October 30th! We will be drawing a winner from the comments for a free e-copy of my book.

Just follow the instructions below to enter and, if you’re up for it, tell me about what became of your childhood dream to enter. I’d be so honored to hear about your journey!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Amy Leigh Simpson writes romantic mysteries with honesty and humor, sweetness and spice, and gritty reality covered by grace. When she’s not stealing moments at naptime to squeeze out a few more adventures in storyland, she’s chasing around two tow-headed miscreants (Ahem)—boys, playing dress up with one sweet princess baby, and being the very blessed wife to the coolest, most swoon-worthy man alive. Amy is a Midwestern-girl, a singer, blogger, runner, coffee-addict, and foodie. Her Sports Medicine degree is wasted patching up daily boo boo’s, but whatever is left usually finds its way onto the page with fluttering hearts, blood and guts, and scars that lead to happily ever after.  

Amy says: 
I’d be delighted to connect with you on Facebook and completely tickled if you checked out my book!

Facebook|  Website  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One dying secret. One missing truth. And a whole lot of trouble…

Sadie Carson is an expert on unfinished business. Five years after the derailment of her dreams she’s just barely existing, using her job as a hospice nurse to give others the one thing she can’t seem to find—closure. So when her elderly neighbor Charlie, a brilliant conspiracy nut known for harassing the FBI, is murdered, Sadie suspects Charlie might’ve been onto something and intends to make sure someone solves the mystery of her friend’s death, even if it’s her.

The feisty little blonde may have found the victim’s body, but FBI Special Agent Archer Hayes has no intention of letting some nosy civilian interfere with his investigation. The guilt he feels is bad enough. The last thing Archer needs is another distraction to haunt him. Especially one as beautiful and beguiling as the girl next door.

But throw in a mountain of hoarded evidence and suspiciously coded journals and the case takes a puzzling turn toward a decades old conspiracy cover-up from World War II—one only the victim’s closest confidant can help untangle. Sadie and Archer reluctantly join forces to decode the riddle of secrets Charlie carried to his grave. Or did he? Someone is after a dangerous truth. But to uncover it or bury it is a question that leads the unlikely pair on a quest for redemption that lands Sadie in the crosshairs of a desperate killer. And when the dangers of the past and present collide Archer must fight to save the life of the woman he’s falling for . . . only to discover he might be the one in need of saving.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Enter the contest to win an Advanced Reader's eBook copy of Amy's book:

When Fall Fades

here is how:

leave a comment (and email address)

AND sign up to receive posts by email
AND/OR sign up to receive my newsletter

if you aren't already

International Readers are invited to enter!!

The winner will be announced on my Facebook page

Thank you, Amy, for joining us this weekend!

We enjoy chatting with you and are looking forward to reading your comments and questions. Or at least your hi, hello, or hey.

Thanks for stopping by!

Don't forget to comment!