Amanda Havard

Early life

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. Upon graduation, Havard attended Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee where she received her bachelor's and master's degrees in early childhood development from the top-ranked Peabody College of Education and Human Development. Havard now resides in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Survivors

The Survivors was published on March 28, 2011 by independent publisher Chafie Press,. The idea for the series came to life in June 2009 while Havard was driving to a friend's wedding in Tupelo, Mississippi. The writing process for the first book took only 27 days from idea to end while Havard was still obtaining her advanced degree from Vanderbilt University. The Survivors is also the pilot version of the Immersedition™ book app. 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. The Survivors was also released in syndication on Wattpad throughout 2011 and has received over 5 million reads.

In The Survivors, readers follow a dark protagonist, Sadie Matthau, on her quest for answers about her supernatural family and, essentially, immortality. Her family are survivors of the Salem Witch Trials that were exiled instead of executed who happened to survive due to supernatural abilities. In order to find the secrets kept by her family, Sadie finds other supernatural beings, including Everett Winter and his family of veiczy (vampires), and proof of impending danger to her family.

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, US Review of Books’ Eric Hoffer Lit Award 1st Runner-Up (YA), and eLit Awards' bronze medal in Young Adult and bronze medal in Fantasy/Sci-Fi.

Point of Origin

Point of Origin is the second book in The Survivors series and was published on June 10, 2012. The second book picks up quickly where The Survivors ended and immediately poses more questions and theories behind Sadie and her family's existence.

Point of Origin was awarded the Review Direct Title of Special Note.

Body & Blood

Body & Blood is the third book in The Survivors series and is expected to be released on July 23, 2013.

Creative Director

In 2011, Havard was named Creative Director of Immersedition™. The idea behind the Immersedition™ interactive book app was essentially Havard's own creation, for which, the transmedia studio was created to produce the app and its content, including writing and recording original music, video production, and all other content production.

Fiction

The first Immersedition™ of Havard's own work, The Survivors showcases the potential behind the platform. 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, Mediabistro's Pub App Expo, UtopYACon, 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.

Education

Havard recently spearheaded an educational Immersedition™ project using William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet intended for classroom usage in schools. The educational tool will "provide a way to guarantee high quality, thought-provoking information and discussion to anyone who reads the book." The first educational Immersedition™ is currently pending release.

Songwriting

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

Pretty Girl

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

Breaking

The second single written for the series was co-written by Havard and Walker and titled Breaking. Breaking was recorded by Jess Moskaluke, the winner of the 2011 Canadian Country Music Awards New Artist Showcase. Moskaluke is also a well known for her covers of well-known songs on YouTube with singer/songwriter Tyler Ward. Breaking debuted on August 3, 2011 and has over 300,000 views on YouTube.

Who You Are

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

Play Nice

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.