Author Visit: ASHLYN MATHEWS

 

I'm excited to share something new with you today.  I'm interviewing Ashlyn Mathews!  She's a sister author at Crimson Romance and she's agreed to take a minute and answer some questions for us today!  She has two books, one of which, Shadow Watcher, is available now.  The other, If Only, will be available in December.  And, of course, she's busy at work on another!  (Or two!)

Hi Ashlyn!  It's great to have you with us today!

Hi Robyn, thank you for having me on your blog.  I feel special to be your first guest J.

Please make yourself comfortable.  Then, if you will, tell us three interesting things about you.

I’m actually a very boring person, so here goes. I love to watch Japanese Anime. In a past life, I was an ER/trauma nurse. I absolutely love roses, and my favorite is the Blue Girl.

What is one of your favorite quotes?

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise,” by Victor Hugo from Les Miserables.  This is one of my favorite quotes because when I rewrote and revised Shadow Watcher, the quote spoke to me. No matter how much our characters misbehave or give us the silent treatment, the dark moments do end and a new day begins.  BTW, this works in my non-writing life too, lol.

It's funny how our characters can come to life in our minds, isn't it - and take on certain irritating characteristics!

What  do you think is the best and worst part of being a writer?

The best part is all the stories in my head that I would love to put on paper. The worst part? Not having the time to write. I have four active young boys and a very involved husband plus a full-time job. Our weekends are filled with soccer games while week days are practices and school work.

Sounds like you are are busy lady!

Do you have a favorite resource site you can share?

I wouldn’t say a site, but my two RWA (Romance Writers of America) chapter groups, the Greater Seattle RWA and Rose City RWA’s yahoo loops, are my favorite resources. They’ve been a wealth of information. That’s how I found my current publisher, Crimson Romance!

Do you have a specific writing style or genre?

Currently I write paranormal and contemporary romance. I love to world-build and stretch my imagination with paranormals while contemporary gives me an outlet for the angst I went through during my high school years – the insecurities, wondering if I’d find the right guy, searching for who or what I wanted to be, and learning how to live and interact in the real world. That’s why the heroines in my contemporaries will be in their early twenties.

Do you write other things besides novels?

Aside from posts on my blog, no.

How did you come up with your title?

Shadow Watcher is the name of the supernatural fighters in my paranormal romance. Since this is the first book in a series, I felt the title was appropriate to introduce the series.  Each book will have a different couple searching for their happily-ever-after while the world-building from the previous book remains the same.

Is there a message in your novel that you want readers to grasp?

My message for Shadow Watcher is that greater good should prevail, even over love, when one is born to protect the weak from the strong ,while a compromise between parties can lead to a happily-ever-after.  In the end, my heroine chooses to stick with her duty to protect humans from demons for the greater good of mankind while my hero chooses to compromise. By compromising, he gets his woman (my stubborn, noble heroine), and they live happily-ever-after.

That sounds awesome!

What are your current projects?  Can you share a little of those here?

My current project is the second book in my Shadow Watcher series. It’s entitled 'Echo UnMarked' and is still in the early stages. I’ll also be starting on another contemporary novella as part of my Willowbrook (a small fictional town in Oregon) series.

Here's a strange question.  If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in your latest book?

I’d make my contemporary novella, If Only, longer and with more hot sex scenes. If Only releases December 3^rd.  An excerpt is available on my blog along with a piece from 'Echo UnMarked'.

Last question.  There will be a lot of writers reading this.  Do you have any advice for them?

My advice is to never doubt yourself or let others’ doubts in you get you down. Surround yourself with people who have your best interests at heart, and if you work hard enough and seek the answers rather than waiting for the answers to come to you, then you will realize your dreams of becoming an author.


Thanks so much for stopping by, Ashlyn!  If people want more information, where should they look?

 

Feel free to stalk me at the following sites. J

Blog: www.ashlynmathews.com

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ashlynmathewsauthor

Twitter: @ashlynmathews

I’m also on Pinterest and Goodreads. On Pinterest, check out my Happily Ever After models. The men and women pinned are my inspiration for my characters. I also have two boards titled Fairy Tales and Fast Rides. The title says it all .

Thank you Robyn!

Have a great day, Ashlyn!  Happy writing -- and much success with all of your books! 

robyn

 

~ Ashlyn is currently hosting a contest for

FREE BOOKS on her blog! ~

** Check it out! **

 

***

 

Learning I Have a Lot to Learn...

LEARNING and GROWING!

Well, I’m getting a fast lesson in marketing with the release of my ebook, Melinda Heads West!  Did you know that when you purchase a book at Amazon there are all kinds of things you can do to help ensure the author’s success while you’re there?  It’s true!

Near the title of the book, there’s a ‘Like’ button, similar to the one on Facebook.  By clicking it you help advance that item up the charts when people are doing searches.  Encourage your friends to do the same.

Next, waaayyy down at the bottom of the page are ‘tags’.  By clicking on the tags you think correspond to the book you again help it move up the ranks.  It’s amazing how these little things add up! 

And reviews are so important.  Even 10-20 words, in your own everyday speech do wonders!   –  Don’t be intimidated by those folk who write the equivalent of a novel!  People  who are considering buying a book are more likely to read the smaller chunks of writing anyway! 

HOW ARE SALES?

People keep asking me how sales are going, and to tell the truth, I have no idea.  If I counted the actual people who have TOLD me they’ve purchased books, I would say there have been about 50 sold!  But I hope there’s been more than that.  It’s a scary thing.  I just have to post notices on Facebook, send a few emails, and then sit back and cross my fingers.  I’m not too good at that!  *smile*

How’s NEW YORK, Robyn?

In the meantime, I’ve been spending a great deal of time in New York, at least in my mind.  That’s where my newest book takes place.  And I love it!  I’ve been doing so much research!  You know, a historical romance takes a ton of work.  For the last few chapters, it seems like I’ve researched two days for each paragraph of writing!  But in the end, I hope it will be worth it.  I love to read a book and learn something at the same time, and I hope my readers will feel the same way…of course, that is, if I’m lucky enough to get “Ama” published.

It’s the story of a girl who grows up in  the tenements of New York with her younger stepbrother and stepsister.  Their life is not pretty.  It’s the late 1800s and times are hard.  Living conditions are barely tolerable.  Most of us can’t imagine an existence like this. 

I’ll keep you posted on the story line.  From the reviews I’ve had so far, it has potential.  I just have to do the story the justice it deserves. 

Until next time -- I'm going to leave you with a 'thinking poem' I wrote recently called,

 

 

Faith in the Fall

 

does that one falling leaf
look back?

or does it rejoice
in the experience of
the fall?

exhilarating
in the twists and turns
of its new journey?

does it pine
for lost aquaintances?

or reach out to earth
where millions of new
friends await?

does it mourn what was?

or see what will be?

- robyn corum

10/12/2012

 

 

Thanks for stopping by!  Please leave a comment to let me know you were here.  Tell me what YOUR favorite part of Fall is.   

 

 

To check out Melinda, go to: 

to order



Facebook: Melinda Heads West

Make it a great day!

A Crazy, Blessed Week!

WHAT A WEEK! 

 

This week has been hectic but wonderful.  It's official, my cup of blessings runneth over.   This past Monday, my historical romance, Melinda Heads West, finally debuted in e-format with Amazon, iTunes and other vendors. 

To mark the event, Monday morning I planned to have a very small group of women (4) to my home to share the moment as I downloaded my own copy.  Hurray!  Then we took turns reading through several of the short chapters.  I offered the ladies a delightful (catered) lunch on a rose-laden table with flowers fresh-picked from my garden -- and then forced them to listen a bit more as I read them the first five chapters of the novel I am currently working on.   To me, it was a heavenly way to spend a couple of hours!  I imagine my friends (DEAR friends) could have found something more productive to do.  But…that’s what good friends are for.  Right? 

The ‘celebration’ continued Monday night!

My eldest daughter planned a little ‘get-together’ with a few friends in honor of the book release and my birthday.  (It was a big one.  My 50^th birthday was on Wednesday, October 10^th).  The ‘theme’ was mixed and fun:  “Melinda Heads West and Robyn Heads Over the Hill!” 

The cake, as you can see in the picture, was amazing!  It looked EXACTLY like a book – my book!  As a matter of fact, one of my guests tried to open it and only found their mistake when they got a bit of icing on them! 

Once again – my dear friends (some of them were the same from the morning!  EEK!) allowed me to read them a few sample chapters from the book.  Am I blessed with good friends, or what? 

A local celebrity!   -  ME! -

On Wednesday, my birthday, an article appeared in our local newspaper featuring yours truly. (I’m afraid I’m going to be a sad case next week when no one is paying any attention to me! *smile*) It spoke about Melinda and the poetry book that’s due out in November,entitled, Pieces of Her Mind.  More information about it follows.  It was a great article. 

Whew!  What a week! 

A definite distraction …

On October 1^st, I started a new book project that I’m really excited about.  It’s features a young woman named Ama who ends up being a mail order bride.  Her story starts out in the gritty tenements of 1870’s New York City.  It’s not a pretty beginning.  It’s a tough story to put into words and I really want to tell it well.  I’ve entered a contest to write 50,000 of the words in 50 days!  That's an average of 1,000 words a day, and needless to say, this week has put me off my mark.  With all the hoopla and carryings-on – I’m 5,000 words behind schedule!  UGH.  That will mean several days of doubling up, but it can be done. 

Wish me luck, please!

 

***

 

For more information on Melinda Heads West, my newly released e-book, please check out the following:

For “Look Inside”/Reviews/Ordering info:

http://www.amazon.com/Melinda-Heads-West-ebook/dp/B009979330/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1350085930&sr=1-1&keywords=melinda+heads+west

For my Facebook Fan page about the book, where you can WIN a FREE BOOK or GREAT WESTERN JEWELRY:

http://www.facebook.com/MelindaHeadsWest?ref=hl

 ***

For more information about Pieces of Her Mind, the poetry book dedicated to Japanese short-form poetry written with seventeen other women-poets, please check out the following:

 

http://www.facebook.com/PiecesofHerMind

 

http://www.missy-piecesofhermind.blogspot.com

 

***

 

Thanks so much for tagging along today.  I appreciate you!  Please don't forget to leave your email address at the top of the page (beneath the magnolia blossom) to receive these posts on a regular basis, or sign up with the Google+ button. 

 

Please notice that I've added more 'idea' and prompt links, so we should never be without ideas for our writing! 

 

I know today is a long post, but if you'll indulge me, I felt that the following poem was appropriate for this 'colorful,' extraordinary week.  May God bless you as you follow your dreams! 

 

 

My Life in Color

 

 

It’s time to live my life in color!
No more washed out black and white ~
I long for bold and vivid brushstrokes...
That can’t fail to bring delight.

I want a grand and massive canvas -
I want to cover it with paint!
I’m tired of timid, pastel palettes,
And there’ll be no more restraint...

I’m tired of hiding in the shadows --
So I’m stepping in the light,
Where the blues and greens and yellows
Entertain, tease and excite ~

So I’ll do away with sepia -
Say goodbye to puce and rust!
It’s time to live my life in color!
 - My new life, full and robust -

--by robyn corum, 8/31/2012

 

(Leave a comment and tell me what your most immediate dream is right now!  I'm crossing my fingers for you!)  And don't forget to feed the fishes!  Make it a great day!   robyn