Amanda Havard

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Amanda Havard (born June 10, 1986) is an American writer of young adult fiction,^[1] songwriter, Creative Director of the Immersedition transmedia studio, the creators of the Immersedition interactive book apps.^[2] Havard is most recognized for the paranormal romance series, The Survivors, a five book series featuring history, mythology, and paranormal beings like witches, vampires, and shapeshifters.^{[3][better source needed]}

Amanda Havard was born in Shreveport, Louisiana to L.C. and Anneal Havard. She grew up in Dallas, TX and attended the Parish Episcopal School and the Hockaday School for girls.^[4] Upon graduation, Havard attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee^[5] where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees in early childhood development^[2] from Peabody College of Education and Human Development.^[6] Havard now lives in Nashville, Tennessee.^[5]

The Survivors was published on March 28, 2011 by independent publisher Chafie Press.^{[7][better source needed]} The Survivors is also the pilot version of the Immersedition book app.^[8] The Immersedition version includes original music (written by Havard), maps, photos, music videos, historical and mythological background information, author commentary, and other relevant additions to the story world.^[9] The Survivors was also released in syndication on Wattpad throughout 2011^[10] and has received over 5 million reads.^[11]

The Survivors was a recipient of Independent Publisher's 2011 Editor's Choice Award, the 2011 Moonbeam Children's Book Award bronze medal for Young Adult Horror/Mystery,^[12] US Review of Books’ Eric Hoffer Lit Award 1st Runner-Up (YA),^[13] and eLit Awards' bronze medal in Young Adult and bronze medal in Fantasy/Sci-Fi.^[14]

Point of Origin is the second book in The Survivors series and was published in 2012. It was awarded the Review Direct Title of Special Note.^{[citation needed]}

Body & Blood is the third book in The Survivors series.

In 2011, Havard was named Creative Director of Immersedition, an interactive book app.^[2][9]

Havard's own work, The Survivors, was released on Immersedition.^[15] Havard has spoken on several media and transmedia panels across the country on the future of storytelling via multiple platforms and especially interactive books, including Digital Hollywood,^[16] Mediabistro's Pub App Expo,^[5] UtopYACon,^[17] and the New York Film Festival (2012). In April 2012, Wired (magazine) featured Havard and Immersedition™ among the independent publishers "leading the way" in the development of interactive books.^[9]

Havard has worked on an educational Immersedition project using William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet, intended for classroom usage in schools.^{[18][better source needed]}

Havard has written and co-written songs that have been performed and produced to accompany The Survivors series. Havard used songwriting as a tool in the writing process to help articulate key scenes.^[19]

The first song written by Havard and Deanna Walker (songwriter and songwriting professor at Vanderbilt University^[20]) was "Pretty Girl" performed by The Voice Season 2 finalist, Chris Mann.^[21] "Pretty Girl" was released in April 2011^[22] and was written from the perspective of the male lead, Everett Winter.^[23]

The second single written for the series was co-written by Havard and Walker and titled "Breaking".^[24] "Breaking" was recorded by Jess Moskaluke.^[25] "Breaking" debuted on August 3, 2011 and has over 300,000 views on YouTube.^[26]

The third single written for The Survivors was co-written by Havard, Walker, Rick Beresford (BMI Award winner),^[27] and Tiffany Vartanyan.^[28] "Who You Are" is a duet performed by The Voice Season 1 contestant Patrick Thomas^[29] and Jenny Gill (daughter of Vince Gill^[30]). "Who You Are" was released on November 12, 2011.^[22]

The fourth single, recorded for Point of Origin, was written by Havard, Walker, and Beresford and is performed by singer/songwriter Elle Maze. "Play Nice" was released on November 12, 2012.^[19]

• thesurvivorsseries.com
• Amanda Havard at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database