Hi, I'm new! Since this is my first ever post, I thought I'd introduce myself. My name is Andie Newton. I live in Washington state and I write historical fiction set in WWII about badass heroines. I'm the author of The Girl from Vichy (2020), and The Girl I Left Behind (2019). My next novel, The Girls from the Beach, will be released in July 2021.

So, why/how did I start writing?

I had an idea. Seems simple enough. This is where I talk about inspiration. You never know when it will strike. For me, I was doing the laundry, running up the stairs with my laundry basket while my kids were napping. I’d like to point out that up until I wrote those first words, I’d never attempted to write a novel before. I was a complete idiot novice when it came to publishing and writing.

Now, back to that inspiration thing…

The History Channel was on the TV and set to a program about what it was like being German in Nazi Germany. I've seen a hundred programs on Nazi Germany, but this one was different. This show talked about the historic Nuremberg Kunstbunker, a secret art bunker the townsfolk hid from Hitler.

I was intrigued, and I sent the laundry basket down. That's it. That's all it took. The date was October 3, 2009.

Now, I'd like to point out that my first drafts were AWFUL. They really were. But I kept at it. I knew my idea was fantastic, I just needed some time to get my writing up to speed and learn a few tricks and techniques. I literally wrote every day for years. Sometimes just a paragraph, hell, sometimes just one word! Point is, I never gave up.

That novel ended up becoming my debut, The Girl I Left Behind (with Aria Fiction, published in 2019 and part of a 3-book deal), while my second book, The Girl from Vichy, became a USA Today bestseller!

So, inspiration is a very powerful thing. You never know when it will strike, or where it will take you. Has inspiration ever struck you in the strangest of places? Honestly, I never thought laundry would have changed my life. I'm just grateful I get to write every day and it's become my full-time job.

What is your inspiration story? Share in the comments if you'd like.

Wishing everyone a safe and healthy 2021!

Andie Newton