Prose Interviews NYT Bestselling Author Kristen Ashley
This week we talk to the New York Times Bestselling Author Kristen Ashley.
All Kristen ever wanted to do was write. Somehow, she got into the charity biz and found another calling. She worked for the Rocky Mountain MS Center and the Colorado Neurological Institute before moving to England. Now she does both, working for The Pituitary Foundation in Bristol, UK by day, sitting at her computer typing out stories by night.
She has released well over 40 and has a huge following for her variety of contemporary romance series of novels and characters. You only have to glance at her Amazon reviews to see the plethora of five stars she is regularly showered with by her loyal fans; a success reflected in her many awards, nominations and accolades.
We ask Kristen what inspired her to become an author.
“This is a great question and honestly one I’ve never thought of, I think, because it just happened. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a reader. I was always pulling from the shelf and opening those big, hardback, Disney books with the illustrated stories from my earliest memories. I segued into reading romance novels — Harlequin Presents that I nicked from my mother — when I was around twelve and I was hooked. I was that kid who wrote to relatives. Always got notecards and stationery from my mom for birthdays and Christmas, I wrote so much. Who knows what I had to say as a kid? I was just compelled to do it. Thinking on all that, I imagine that I was just born to write. And luckily, I followed that compulsion! “
We question whether she prefers reading or writing, and if she does prefer one, why?
“This is like asking me if I prefer chocolate or cashews. I love them both! If I had to choose one over the other for the rest of the time I have breathing on this earth, it’d be difficult. Alas, with writing now my “day job,” by the end of that day, I’ve typed and read so much, the last thing I want to do is be focused on text. But that was how it was when I was keeping a rather unhealthy schedule of working for ten to sixteen hours a day. Now, I force myself to leave my desk at a decent time to get a warm meal in me and relax, and I’ve been fortunate to be able to pick up some books, discovering gems from Jenn Bennett and Joey W. Hill, amongst others. This holiday season, I’ve decided to dive into some of my vintage favorites that I haven’t read in years, Warrior Woman by Johanna Lindsey, my many favorites from Judith McNaught.”
“Honestly, I fall into both and am happy as a clam doing either. I’m never as content as I am when the writing is flowing and I’m deep into the heads of my hero and heroine. But there’s a release to sitting down with a good book and letting a talented writer sweep me away. So chocolate and cashews, I couldn’t live without either!”
Kristen rocks the internet. We wonder what social medium is her favorite to engage readers.
“Wow, another great question that I really have to think about! I definitely dig Facebook. I essentially blog on Facebook, for the most part, sharing my life and funny stories, able through that medium to connect with readers in a deeper way because you can like and respond so easily to their comments, and your posts are not limited in characters. I totally dig Instagram too. Pictures speak a thousand words and I haven’t turned off notifications. There’s something very beautiful about seeing a stream of notifications come up on the screen of my phone that folks have liked or commented on something I’ve shared. It’s like getting hundreds of texts from folks just saying “Hey!” So those two are the best, in my opinion.”
She has achieved so much. We ask Kristen how it feels being a bestseller.
“Truth be told, I never thought I’d get there. It didn’t even occur to me that was something that could possibly happen. I’m a dreamer and I let my dreams fly free, no matter how crazy or outrageous they can get. I understand if it happens, it does, I can work to it or I can just be open to it. And there are some really big ones that have come true. But if it doesn’t happen, I’ve still beat the system, not letting anything get me down, continuing to dream.”
“But that, well, that seemed even too far-fetched for me! So when my book, Raid, hit the USA Today bestseller list, I don’t even think I processed it. Then my editor at Grand Central Publishing, Amy Pierpont, phoned to let me know that Own the Wind made the NYT list, my response was pretty blank. She was doing verbal cartwheels and I was all, “That’s nice.”
“A couple of days later, in the evening, I opened my fridge to get a Fresca and it hit me. My books were hitting the lists. I just froze right there, staring unseeing into my fridge, a huge smile spreading on my face. There I was, after a decade and a half of writing, submitting to publishers and agents, getting rejected time and time again, and my books were hitting the bestseller lists.”
“I’m a crier but I didn’t start crying, which is surprising. But that might be because I couldn’t quit smiling. Though I did start dancing in my kitchen.”
“So we can just say it feels beautiful. Absolutely.”
Is she at all worried about the future of books/writing/publishing?
“Nope. From my perspective, this is an extremely exciting time with this writing and publishing gig. Extremely exciting. The ease writers have through independently publishing to get their work out there. Voices that would not have been heard if we were still in the zone of the only option being traditional publishing (quite frankly, mine included, from experience with rejections, if I had not found success independently, no publishing house would touch me).”
“I do hope that some of the shifts that are happening, which are quite seismic, reverberate further. Digital royalties through traditional publishers are very low, and although the Author’s Guild has asked for them to be increased, I’ve not seen that happening through those channels. Partnering with marketing through social media is allowing authors to be more involved in reaching out more easily to their readers — the connection between writers and readers because of this is stronger than ever before — so authors are an integral part of assisting in sales. And vendors that stock/sell independently published books and indie groups are exceptionally savvy about marketing getting new names out there and celebrating accomplishments of folks who take this path in their writing journey. It’d be nice to see a better equilibrium, I hope that happens, and I have faith it will, so it doesn’t cause me worry. I think it would be beneficial to everyone involved, obviously most particularly the writer, which is what I am, the group I belong to and advocate for.”
“But readers read. They’ll always be readers who read, thank God. And if a reader is a reader, they read tons! So even in these times of change, I’ve no doubt it’ll work itself out.”
Huge thanks to Kristen for taking the time out of her busy days to answer our questions. ‘Walk through Fire’ is available to buy now, and you can check out her website here, and her Amazon Author page is located here.
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Originally published at blog.theprose.com on December 16, 2015.
