more than basics
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amanda lovelace was born in new jersey on november 13th, 1991. her parents raised her in a small house on the jersey shore, where she watched kittens grow up inside of trees & heard seagulls cawing above her all year long. this house was also where she read, watched, & imagined so many of the fairy tales & fantastical stories that went on to inspire her writing.
music was also a huge inspiration for amanda. they took guitar & piano lessons, but they were terrible at both. their passion was writing lyrics, which they started doing as a child. it wasn’t long before they discovered that their lyrics were also poetry. as a pre-teen & teen, they posted their work on online forums. at one point, they even joined an in-person poetry group & read their poems at the local café. later, as a young adult, they decided to post their work on their tumblr blog, where their followers encouraged them to keep going. in 2016, amanda began writing & compiling her first poetry collection. she titled it the princess saves herself in this one, telling the story of her life wrapped up in a fairy tale with some feminist words of wisdom. after a few months of writing & editing, she self-published it through amazon. she didn’t expect anyone to read it, but she hoped someone would. much to her astonishment, countless people began reading & resonating with her book; it received so much attention that the leading poetry publisher, andrews mcmeel, reached out to her & offered to republish her book so she could see it on shelves at bookstores. soon after signing a contract with andrews mcmeel, the self-published edition of the princess saves herself in this one won the 2016 goodreads choice award for best poetry. the expanded edition published with andrews mcmeel would go on to be a usa today & publishers weekly bestseller. it would also become the first book in a poetry series called “women are some kind of magic,” wherein each collection follows similar fairy tale & feminist themes. it includes the following titles: the princess saves herself in this one (2016 for self-published edition, 2017 for traditionally published edition), the witch doesn’t burn in this one (2018, a goodreads choice award winner), & the mermaid’s voice returns in this one (2019, a goodreads choice award nominee). other works in this series include slay those dragons: a journal for writing your own story (2019); believe in your own magic: a 45-card oracle deck & guidebook (2020), co-created with janaina medeiros; & two wall calendars, women are some kind of magic 2019 wall calendar: a year of quotes to empower & women are some kind of magic 2020 wall calendar: a year of quotes to inspire self-love. amanda’s second poetry series, the duology “things that h(a)unt,” is dark, paranormal, & deeply personal. it includes the titles to make monsters out of girls (2018), which explores a toxic romantic relationship with a metaphorical vampire, & to drink coffee with a ghost (2019), which explores a complicated mother-daughter relationship. just as amanda was finishing up the “women are some kind of magic” series, they came up with the idea for the “you are your own fairy tale” trilogy, which is their newest series. like “women are some kind of magic,” “you are your own fairy tale” follows fairy tale & feminist themes, this time relying more heavily on fictional narratives & characters of amanda’s own creation to explore some of their feelings & experiences. it includes the following titles: break your glass slippers (2020, a goodreads choice award nominee), shine your icy crown (2021, a goodreads choice award nominee), & unlock your storybook heart (2022, a goodreads choice award nominee). amanda’s first standalone poetry collection, flower crowns & fearsome things, was published in 2021. inspired by the greek goddess persephone, this collection follows a loose narrative & explores the complexity of modern femininity through alternating “wildflower” & “wildfire” poems. somewhere in between her many projects, amanda married fellow poet & partner parker lee on october 13th, 2017. the two currently live together in a (very) small town on the jersey shore, not too far from the town where amanda grew up, with their three cats. i’m sure you’ll be overjoyed to hear that amanda finally has the home library of her dreams, where she can read as many fairy tales & drink as much tea as she'd like. nowadays, amanda is a full-time poetess & witchy author with dozens of new ideas brewing in their cauldron at any given time. their newest poetry release is the you are your own fairy tale series bound collection, which includes all three previously-published collections in the award-nominated poetry trilogy (break your glass slippers, shine your icy crown, & unlock your storybook heart), along with a newly written introduction. on october 3rd, 2023, she released her first tarot deck, the cozy witch tarot deck, which was co-created with janaina medeiros. on march 5th, 2024, they released their first adult non-fiction book on witchcraft, make your own magic: a beginner's guide to self-empowering witchcraft. your magical journal: a place for self-reflection, spellwork, & making your own magic, an interactive companion to make your own magic, released on june 11th, 2024. your magical life: a young witch's guide to becoming happy, confident, and powerful, a middle grade adaptation of make your own magic, followed on september 24th, 2024. on may 7th, 2024, she released her first coloring book, a companion to the cozy witch tarot deck, the cozy witch tarot coloring book, with art by janaina medeiros & rendered by marty noble. their latest & tenth poetry collection, she followed the moon back to herself, came out on october 29th, 2024. amanda identifies as queer & goes by she/they pronouns. |