Amy Harmon: Rich Stories Poetically Told That Never Leave the Heart!

Every once in a while, one comes across an author who can not only tell the most riveting of stories, but whose actual written words are an absolute beauty to read. That is Amy Harmon.  I was first caught in her almost poetic paragraphs while devouring her addicting stories! Upon meeting her however, I didn’t find the expected upper-crust literary genius I expected, but a truly down-to-earth, small-town girl who is both warm and wonderful to visit with! She is an everywoman who just happens to have an unbelievable gift to share. Let us introduce you!

InD: Of course, we have to start with where you were born. Your parents were from California but they moved to Levan, Utah, which is a little town of about 400 to 500 people.
AH: [laughing] It is bigger now. It may even be a few thousand.
InD: So what prompted your parents to move from California to that tiny, tiny, little town out in the middle of nowhere, Utah?
AH: Well, my dad and mom met at BYU, where my dad played football. They were both California kids, but my dad ended up doing business with some college friends and moved to Idaho. That business didn’t work out and he found a job in Utah, so we all moved. I was just shy of six years old. We actually found a house outside of Levan, so I lived in the boondocks of the boondocks. I didn't have a neighbor for a mile. Our house was just dropped in the middle of a field. 
InD: What did your dad do?
AH: He taught Seminary; religious classes that work in conjunction with the school district so a kid can take a religion class right on the school campus. It is not required, of course. He taught that the whole time I was growing up.
InD: There's not a school in Levan, so where did he teach?
AH: In a town called Nephi, which is about 20 minutes north of Levan. It’s another small town, but the school services other small towns in the area. All of us were bused in from all of the little towns and farms. Utah has seen an explosion in growth since. My parents live in Nephi now.
InD: What was that like for you as a kid?
AH: I had five siblings, so they were my best friends. I didn’t have anyone else. Books were also a big thing for me. We did not have a television; I had my siblings and books.
InD: Why did you not have a television?
AH: I don't think we were able to get reception, so what was the point? I think I was twelve before we got a television, and even then, it was so we could watch videos. There was a traveling book mobile that used to come to all of the small towns. We lived for that day! It would stop at the church every two weeks or so, and we did not miss it. I probably read every book in that bookmobile, and my mom, bless her heart, did not say, “You cannot read this,” so I probably read things I shouldn't. In fact, the book mobile driver told me once I couldn’t check a book out, and I was like, “My mom never said I couldn't!”
So, that's what I did until high school, when I had a little bit more of a social life. Still, books were my life. They were where I learned to write.
InD: What were your dreams in life, at that time?
AH: I knew, even then, I had an ability with words, and that was my thing. Music was also a big part of my life. I wrote song lyrics and stuff like that. I did not have lofty dreams. I wanted to grow up, have a family, and I wanted to fall in love. I wrote poetry and stories, song lyrics and journal entries.
InD: That does not surprise me at all. There are authors who tell great stories, then there are authors who just have this gift with the written word, that makes the actual words in the story beautiful. You are in that category. It is a gift.
AH: Thank you, I would agree. Writing does come easily, but writing books does not!
InD: So what were you like in high school like?
AH: I don't think I've changed all that much. I think anyone who knew me then and knows me now would think I’m pretty much the same. I’m not a very complicated person. I have always been steady and down-to-earth. My mom always says, “You’re an old soul, where did you get your wisdom?” I was an easy kid to raise. I didn’t make a lot of waves, I never stuck my head up too much, and so all of my creative energy and noise is in my books. I got a message from an old English teacher the other day who had read one of my books and remembered me.

Read the entire interview in the April 2021 issue of InD'Tale magazine.

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