Ash Krafton is a writer of all things spec fic. She believes spectacular endings make the best beginnings...
Why not? One billion black holes can't be wrong.
Her first novel BLEEDING HEARTS: Book One of the Demimonde was published in March 2012. The manuscript earned finalist distinction in several Romance Writers of America 2011 competitions and has been awarded several other awards.
In addition to novel-length fiction, Ash enjoys writing poetry and short prose, some of which earned big ups by CNW/FFWA in 2008 and 2011 as well as the Abilene Writers Guild in 2010. Ms. Krafton made her publishing debut in Spring 2009 when her poetry appeared in Poe Little Thing; her work has since appeared in several other journals including Niteblade, Ghostlight Magazine, The Skyline Review, and Silver Blade. One of her poems was selected as a Pushcart prize nominee. She's a Published Member of Pennwriters and is co-editor of her area's Wordpress blog. She also contributes to Query Tracker’s blog.
Ash resides with her family in a rural town in the heart of the Pennsylvania anthracite coal region.
She'll never leave, either, because coal is just another example of a spectacular ending waiting for a brilliant beginning. (It’s kinda fitting.) And because, like a black hole, once you’re in...
you can never get out..
Where did you find the inspiration to write Bleeding Hearts?
It came to me in a dream. *insert tinkling harp
scales here* Well, part of it did, anyway. I awoke from an intense dream and
all I could remember were a few words and a pair of brilliant green eyes rimmed
in lush black lashes. The words eventually became the book's tagline—Saving the
world…one damned person at a time—and the eyes, I knew, belonged to my dark
hero, Marek.
Was there a scene in the book you found particularly hard to write?
There were a few—most often, they were point where Sophie had to step outside her comfort zone. In the beginning, it's a pretty small zone. Thankfully, she grows. :) However, there is a final battle wherein a beloved character is slain. That was hard because, as a writer, not only did I have to watch him die…I also had to be the one to kill him.
Did you get inspiration from someone specific to write your characters?
My family and friends laugh and tell me, "When I read this book, I don't hear my mind voice reading it. I hear you!" I guess Sophie did pick up a few cues from me, in a way. Maybe that's why my husband insists he is the model for Marek. However, I repeat: SOPHIE AND MAREK ARE MADE UP, FOLKS.I do admit…every now and then someone says something so awesome that I tuck it somewhere inside a book. I like when my friends finish reading it and then point out a passage, saying "Heh heh. I remember that."THAT is the neatest thing about being a fiction author. We're all historians, even if most of the history is made up.
The Sophia Myth was really original and interesting, what kind of research did you do?
The idea for the Sophia didn't come along until I was well into writing, even though Sophie's name was Sophie from the very first sentence. However, I love exploring names and their meanings and that proved to be the inspiration for the Sophia folklore that became the keystone of the story. Sophia is Greek for "wisdom"…kind of funny for a gal who didn't know what to do with her life.
Sophie is a strong, independent woman, who is haunted by her past. Will this come to haunt her in the next book?
I certainly hope so! We are all haunted by our pasts in a way…it's what makes us who we are today. However, in BLOOD RUSH, New Business pops up at such an alarming rate that Sophie doesn't have as much time to mope about Old Business. She does, however, need to keep her past in sharp focus so that she doesn't make the same mistakes. She also wants very much to undo Marek's past in order to save him—so perhaps his Old Business should be re-labeled Current Business. Gah. Past, present, future--stupid time, no wonder Einstein rejected you.
Good thing Sophie is as strong as she is—I think she'll be able to find a way to keep the past in perspective so that it only helps her to do the right thing…which is all she's ever wanted to do.
Marek & Rodrian have very different personalities, but they both feel affection for Sophie. Do you think she feels the same way for both?
She does love them both—but not the same way. Marek is her lover, the missing piece of her soul. He is the love for which she's lit her candle each lonely night of her life. Rode is her big brother, her friend, her family. They hold onto each other for support. Their relationship grows exponentially in the second book and we'll see the difference in how Sophie cares for each of them…even when things get, em, complicated.
How did you become a writer?
I've always been. I had a writer's callous on my middle finger by the time I was in fifth grade. I was a reader and a writer all my life and, yes, my mom has the embarrassing newspaper clips of poetry to prove it.
When I was in seventh grade, I told my English teacher I wanted to be a teacher, too and she said "DON'T YOU DARE—you'll never be able to survive on a teacher's salary." So, I did the logical thing and became a pharmacist.
Being a pharmacist means I have a healthy salary—but loads of stress. So, I did the logical thing and began to write again, this time as a hobby to take my mind off more stressful things. The hobby simply became a job.
I couldn't pick one job over the other—each one is too satisfying.
Do you have a writing process/schedule?
I don't have a set process—the Demimonde books are very by-the-seat-of-my-pants because I allow the story to happen and write it down as it does. The books are very organically arranged. My other projects are developing differently—I have a paranormal romance on a storyboard, precisely planned and a New Adult magic realism that is being written from an outline. The story dictates the process. As for a schedule… I have a full-time job as a pharmacist and another as a full-time mom. Writing sometimes gets squeezed around the other jobs, sometimes it happens in a more comfortable, simultaneous manner. (Like right now—hubby is playing Skyrim on the Xbox so, with him happily occupied, I'm free to chat with you)
I like mornings to write and evenings to ponder. It works for me and my writer's brain...
Is there a particular place you feel more inspired to write?
I know of many places I'd love to sit down and write at if only I had the time or the opportunity…so I carry a notebook to at least get my inspirations down for later retrieval. Mostly, I am best off on a comfy couch with good music and a cup of Darjeeling. That can happen just about anywhere. It's my little Nirvana.
What is the most satisfying part of being an author?
Re-reading what I've written just to re-live it. I love going back to visit my old words to feel once more what I felt when I wrote it. I know it's a rather ego-centric response but it's true. I've written a great deal of poetry and many of the pieces were an effort to capture a fleeting moment and preserve it, like a butterfly under glass. To go back and read something I'd written and enjoy reading it—that's my satisfaction.
I do have to mention that, because of my writing, I've met a great group of fabulous people—readers and writers and editors who enjoy the same things I do. My world is bigger today because I am a writer. That is very satisfying, too.
What do you usually do when you're not writing?
I play slave to a bossy German Shepherd and watch Bollywood movies. J
I like to travel with my family—we are visiting Niagara Falls, New York in a few weeks and going back to Disney Orlando at the end of the year. Our less extravagant trips are usually to historical cities to enjoy the past and the repast—we love trying new cuisines and my middle-school aged children are regular foodies now.
Are you working on any new projects at the moment?
I'm writing WOLF'S BANE, the third installment of the Demimonde right now. I've always got that para rom in the back of my head and will be hitting that once I get a chance. Being a contracted author is a lot different than being a hobby writer—these deadlines are a bugger!I'm always writing poetry and short fiction, too, and have several new pieces out this summer. Poetry in Bete Noire #7 is out, as well as a short story in Nine #2…there's a story coming out in Mad Scientist Journal, a reprint in an anthology, and a few more poems. It'll be a fun summer for my short stuff.
What advice would you give to anyone who wants to start writing?
Persevere. Don't let rejections or critics or other excuses keep you from doing what you love. Improve your craft, let people read what you write, and most of all—persevere.
That reminds me…I need to get a copy of Bleeding Hearts to my old seventh grade teacher. :) I need to show her I persevered and I'm a better person for it.
Was there a scene in the book you found particularly hard to write?
There were a few—most often, they were point where Sophie had to step outside her comfort zone. In the beginning, it's a pretty small zone. Thankfully, she grows. :) However, there is a final battle wherein a beloved character is slain. That was hard because, as a writer, not only did I have to watch him die…I also had to be the one to kill him.
Did you get inspiration from someone specific to write your characters?
My family and friends laugh and tell me, "When I read this book, I don't hear my mind voice reading it. I hear you!" I guess Sophie did pick up a few cues from me, in a way. Maybe that's why my husband insists he is the model for Marek. However, I repeat: SOPHIE AND MAREK ARE MADE UP, FOLKS.I do admit…every now and then someone says something so awesome that I tuck it somewhere inside a book. I like when my friends finish reading it and then point out a passage, saying "Heh heh. I remember that."THAT is the neatest thing about being a fiction author. We're all historians, even if most of the history is made up.
The Sophia Myth was really original and interesting, what kind of research did you do?
The idea for the Sophia didn't come along until I was well into writing, even though Sophie's name was Sophie from the very first sentence. However, I love exploring names and their meanings and that proved to be the inspiration for the Sophia folklore that became the keystone of the story. Sophia is Greek for "wisdom"…kind of funny for a gal who didn't know what to do with her life.
Sophie is a strong, independent woman, who is haunted by her past. Will this come to haunt her in the next book?
I certainly hope so! We are all haunted by our pasts in a way…it's what makes us who we are today. However, in BLOOD RUSH, New Business pops up at such an alarming rate that Sophie doesn't have as much time to mope about Old Business. She does, however, need to keep her past in sharp focus so that she doesn't make the same mistakes. She also wants very much to undo Marek's past in order to save him—so perhaps his Old Business should be re-labeled Current Business. Gah. Past, present, future--stupid time, no wonder Einstein rejected you.
Good thing Sophie is as strong as she is—I think she'll be able to find a way to keep the past in perspective so that it only helps her to do the right thing…which is all she's ever wanted to do.
Marek & Rodrian have very different personalities, but they both feel affection for Sophie. Do you think she feels the same way for both?
She does love them both—but not the same way. Marek is her lover, the missing piece of her soul. He is the love for which she's lit her candle each lonely night of her life. Rode is her big brother, her friend, her family. They hold onto each other for support. Their relationship grows exponentially in the second book and we'll see the difference in how Sophie cares for each of them…even when things get, em, complicated.
How did you become a writer?
I've always been. I had a writer's callous on my middle finger by the time I was in fifth grade. I was a reader and a writer all my life and, yes, my mom has the embarrassing newspaper clips of poetry to prove it.
When I was in seventh grade, I told my English teacher I wanted to be a teacher, too and she said "DON'T YOU DARE—you'll never be able to survive on a teacher's salary." So, I did the logical thing and became a pharmacist.
Being a pharmacist means I have a healthy salary—but loads of stress. So, I did the logical thing and began to write again, this time as a hobby to take my mind off more stressful things. The hobby simply became a job.
I couldn't pick one job over the other—each one is too satisfying.
Do you have a writing process/schedule?
I don't have a set process—the Demimonde books are very by-the-seat-of-my-pants because I allow the story to happen and write it down as it does. The books are very organically arranged. My other projects are developing differently—I have a paranormal romance on a storyboard, precisely planned and a New Adult magic realism that is being written from an outline. The story dictates the process. As for a schedule… I have a full-time job as a pharmacist and another as a full-time mom. Writing sometimes gets squeezed around the other jobs, sometimes it happens in a more comfortable, simultaneous manner. (Like right now—hubby is playing Skyrim on the Xbox so, with him happily occupied, I'm free to chat with you)
I like mornings to write and evenings to ponder. It works for me and my writer's brain...
Is there a particular place you feel more inspired to write?
I know of many places I'd love to sit down and write at if only I had the time or the opportunity…so I carry a notebook to at least get my inspirations down for later retrieval. Mostly, I am best off on a comfy couch with good music and a cup of Darjeeling. That can happen just about anywhere. It's my little Nirvana.
What is the most satisfying part of being an author?
Re-reading what I've written just to re-live it. I love going back to visit my old words to feel once more what I felt when I wrote it. I know it's a rather ego-centric response but it's true. I've written a great deal of poetry and many of the pieces were an effort to capture a fleeting moment and preserve it, like a butterfly under glass. To go back and read something I'd written and enjoy reading it—that's my satisfaction.
I do have to mention that, because of my writing, I've met a great group of fabulous people—readers and writers and editors who enjoy the same things I do. My world is bigger today because I am a writer. That is very satisfying, too.
What do you usually do when you're not writing?
I play slave to a bossy German Shepherd and watch Bollywood movies. J
I like to travel with my family—we are visiting Niagara Falls, New York in a few weeks and going back to Disney Orlando at the end of the year. Our less extravagant trips are usually to historical cities to enjoy the past and the repast—we love trying new cuisines and my middle-school aged children are regular foodies now.
Are you working on any new projects at the moment?
I'm writing WOLF'S BANE, the third installment of the Demimonde right now. I've always got that para rom in the back of my head and will be hitting that once I get a chance. Being a contracted author is a lot different than being a hobby writer—these deadlines are a bugger!I'm always writing poetry and short fiction, too, and have several new pieces out this summer. Poetry in Bete Noire #7 is out, as well as a short story in Nine #2…there's a story coming out in Mad Scientist Journal, a reprint in an anthology, and a few more poems. It'll be a fun summer for my short stuff.
What advice would you give to anyone who wants to start writing?
Persevere. Don't let rejections or critics or other excuses keep you from doing what you love. Improve your craft, let people read what you write, and most of all—persevere.
That reminds me…I need to get a copy of Bleeding Hearts to my old seventh grade teacher. :) I need to show her I persevered and I'm a better person for it.
Thanks for having me over for a visit, Franny--I love another excuse to kick up my heels and hang out at your page!
ReplyDeleteThis week I saw the first cover sketches to Demimonde #2 BLOOD RUSH...there may be a cover reveal soon. It is STRIKING...I can't wait to see the final piece. Duncan Eagleson does breathtaking work. I'm so lucky to work with him.
Cheers!
Ash