Amy Weinland Daughters
A native Houstonian and a graduate of Texas Tech University, Amy W. Daughters has been a freelance writer for more than a decade — mostly covering college football and sometimes talking about her feelings. Her debut novel, You Cannot Mess This Up: A True Story That Never Happened (She Writes Press), was selected as the Silver Winner for Humor in the 2019 Foreword INDIES and the Overall Winner for Humor/Comedy in the 2020 Next Generation Indie Awards. Her second book, Dear Dana: That time I went crazy and wrote all 580 of my Facebook friends a handwritten letter (She Writes Press, 2022), has won several awards, including the 2023 Reader’s Favorite Gold Medal for NonFiction Relationships, and caught the attention of Kelly Clarkson! She lives in Tomball, Texas, a suburb of Houston. She is married to a foxy computer person, Willie, and is the lucky mother of two amazing sons, Will and Matthew.
Facebook: @amyweinlanddaughtersauthor
Twitter/X: @DaughtersAmy
LinkedIn: @amy-w-daughters-16352a227/
Instagram: @smokinhotamys/
Is there a genre of music that influences your writing/thinking? Do you listen to music while you write?
I have a playlist entitled “Write Like the Wind” on my phone that I listen to when I write. While I don’t always have it on in the background, I do find it helpful later in the day if I’ve been writing for hours or when I’m writing through an especially difficult part of a project.
The selections on the list are mostly instrumental, more than half of which are related to film and/or television productions. Among my favorites are the soundtracks to the movies Rudy and Hoosiers (both by Jerry Goldsmith), Steel Magnolias, Forrest Gump, Terms of Endearment, and television’s Call the Midwife.
Have you ever experienced Imposter Syndrome?
Though I didn’t learn of the term “Imposter Syndrome” until just a few years ago, I believe I’ve experienced some form of it throughout most of my writing career. Though it likely has to do with how I am hard wired, I also think the fact that I wasn’t trained to be a writer is a contributing factor (my degree is in Business). It took me forever to even call myself a writer, which is unfortunate not in terms of my self-value but because it held me back. The real turning point in my writing came when I started seeing myself as a writer.
Is there another profession you would like to try?
I would love to be a history professor, a stand-up comedian, or an archeologist.
If you could create a museum exhibition, what would be the theme?
I’ve walked outside every single day the weather allows me to for the past several years. Along the way I started picking up items off the roads/paths/sidewalks that people have either discarded or lost. I’ve collected everything from keys, car parts, toys, name badges, locks, tools, and jewelry. I’d love to create an exhibit of my urban archeological finds!
What brings you great joy?
The two things that bring me the most joy in life are: (1). Making another human being laugh and (2). Making another human being feel valued.
