Student Success Stories: Amanda Malek-Ahmadi

Myrna: What is your background? 

Amanda: I have been a bit of a jack of all trades: a dance teacher (at studios, the public school system, and community college), third grade teacher, corporate events dancer for PowerNow LLC, AZ and Busch Gardens-Tampa, a wife, a mother and a few more dabbles here and there. With each position I’ve held, they’ve all incorporated one or multiple threads: dance, children, education, entertainment, and writing. 

Dance was my first passion. When people ask “When did you start dancing?” I respond, “the womb,” giggle, and then admit that I officially started dancing when I was five. As for writing I started when everyone else does…elementary school! Just like dance, the passion for writing stuck.

Myrna: What made you want to start writing children’s books?

Amanda: When I was in elementary school, we had Mister Tom share his book MESSY CAT during library time. I remember being so enthralled during the visit. And I still own my autographed copy. I imagine many children were interested in writing books after that day.

Throughout school, I wrote. During my senior year of high school, I took a mail-in aptitude for writing test with the Institute of Children’s Literature. I was accepted but then became distracted by the opportunity to work with a talent agency. That led to me being an extra in a Lifetime movie, JANE’S COMING OUT PARTY, in 2000, and doing promotional events dressed as Barbie for her 40th Anniversary celebration in 1999 (one of those aforementioned dabbles).

Myrna: What a cool thing to dabble in!

Amanda: The next time I seriously pursued writing was in 2002 when I sent one of my manuscripts off. Then life just took over, and I focused on teaching, became a mom in 2009, and life just kept chugging along. I would occasionally write journal entries, and occasionally the urge to write would spring up. I’d get a notebook and begin, only to set it down once more.

Then in January of 2017, I chose to pursue writing again; after experiencing a miscarriage (October 2016) and my husband having a heart attack (December 2016), I was seeking something that would bring joy back into my life. In November of 2016, I found Michelle Nelson-Schmidt’s “Story Time Live” on Facebook. Hearing her each week was just what I needed. She is so encouraging and real about life. Michelle inspired me to start writing again.

Myrna: What can you tell us about the book you have coming out?

Amanda: How much time do you have?

10 BALLET DANCERS combines my two biggest passions dance and writing. This story had been dormant for so long. I’d written other dance stories, and one of them was critiqued by Arree during the second workshop I attended! That was a thrilling, nerve wracking, yet beneficial experience.

The story of 10 BALLET DANCERS finally surfaced during Tara Lazar’s, “Storystorm” in 2019. I started her 30-Day Challenge in 2018, but had wandered off the path of keeping up with the daily posts. In 2019 I was determined to finish all 30 days of reading the blog posts and getting my 30 ideas written down. I’m happy to announce I achieved that goal! On the first day I wrote down seven ideas, and 10 BALLERINAS was idea number five.

Myrna: I love Tara and Storystorm!

Amanda: Then 10 BALLERINAS poured out. I was grateful to finally see it on paper. When I look back at my initial copy, whew am I glad I have an amazing critique group, who helped finesse word choice, and a drummer for a husband, who confirmed the rhythm of the book.

Perhaps I should address that title change! When I was planning to approach The Small Tooth Dog Publishing Group, I thought it would be a great idea to have pictures of dancers in the dummy. I knew my story had a lot of technical jargon and movement that a non-dancer may not be able to envision. I wanted the publisher to be able to see the possibility of my manuscript and fall in love with it just as I had.

At the time, the company I perform with, Wight Noise Dance Company, was getting ready for our March show, so I asked the director, Rachel Wight, if I could have the dancers pose for a few pictures before the show. She and the dancers agreed. About a week or so before we took the pics I thought: The title can’t be ballerinas! It needs to be ballet dancers. There are guys in our company, and if we did a traveling school show, the guys need to be represented. And boys dance! Luckily switching the title did not affect the story, since both ballerinas and ballet dancers have four syllables.