Welcome Ashleigh Reynolds! Today we welcome the author of When the Sun Falls. Ashleigh can you tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up in Northern California with an older brother and a single mom. She always loved reading and horror movies, so I was introduced to both at a young age. I started reading at age 2 and writing shortly after. It wasn’t until a few years ago after I let my husband read one of my stories that he pushed me to publish it. The rest is history!
Now my life is all about the indie writing world. In addition to writing, I also run a design company with my husband. Together, we design covers and the interior formatting. When I’m not doing that I write or beta read for members of my author groups.
The world is filled with many amazing writers, and I’m so happy to be surrounded by it on a daily basis.
Share a short excerpt from your novel with us!
I can’t exactly explain my thought process when I decided to
pack up everything I own and drive back to a town I have no memory of.
I heard many stories over the
years. Many of which revolved around how happy my parents were. None of them
explained the reason behind their hasty decision to move in the middle of the
night, leaving behind everything we owned.
None of it explained the reason
their car barreled down a ravine right on the outskirts of town leaving me the
sole survivor.
If it weren’t for my Aunt Clara, I
would have ended up in the foster system. But, by some twisted form of fate,
she was more than happy to take me in and raise me like her own. All the way to
California, the glorious Golden State, with its abundance of sunshine, where I
lived for twelve years.
So why did I drive back to a town I
don’t remember? It started with my aunt’s death and ended with a box of
postcards I found buried in her closet. Postcards sent from my mother from the
aforementioned town. Postcards with some seriously cryptic messages.
Light breaks through the heavy cloud cover as I roll to a
stop in front of the brick-and-ivy-covered building matching the location on my
GPS. My home for the next few months or however long required to figure out my
life before California.
I squint through the bug-splattered
windshield up at the building. It feels exactly like the moment you meet your
blind date only to realize their picture is fifteen years old and thirty pounds
lighter.
False advertising at its best.
The brick, once red, is graying and
falling out piece by piece. The ivy that looked enchanting online is now brown
and brittle, giving it an ominous vibe. It’s the type of building I would
rather not park in front of, let alone live in.
I twist the diamond ring on my
third finger. I should have begged a little harder until Oliver gave in and
accompanied me. If it wasn’t for his residency, I might have won. But work
comes first right now. I get it, we’re building a better life and all.
He has more ambition in his pinkie
toe than I possess in my whole body. I suppose that’s what happens when your
parents are a top attorney in the Bay Area and a doctor at Berkeley Hospital.
My aunt worked at a diner and was content to live out the rest of her life that
way. College only became a thing when I got sick of hopping from menial job to
menial job. But even then, I never settled on a degree.
I’m flighty on a good day.
It is evident to anyone who meets
us that we are one of the most random matches on the planet. My future in-laws
love reminding me of that above anyone else.
Because, who wants a functional
family, right?
The sun disappears behind another
cluster of clouds, once again graying the world around me. Lovely. The building
looks even less charming in the gloomy light.
Anxiety bubbles in my chest at the
thought of Oliver’s parents, but I swallow it down. Now is not the time. Never
is preferable.
Ashleigh, can you tell us what brought about the idea for your book?
I love vampires. They
are always my go-to when I want to watch something scary. But over the last ten
years or so, they have molded from something scary into more of an anti-hero
and love interest. I wanted to take them back to their roots, back to a time
where they were creatures of the night who would take what they wanted. But I
also wanted my own spin on it. So, after some research on the origins of
vampires from all over the world, and my own unique twist, When the Sun Falls
was born.
I agree vampires are great! I love how each novel can take such a different outlook on them. Who designed the artwork for your cover? Or
did you design it yourself?
I did it myself. When I
first started, I was having my covers designed, but then I realized it wasn’t
translating right. I have a graphic design background, so when my book Chromosomes
was ready to publish, I decided to do it myself. I’m actually branching off
into my own cover design company with my husband, so that’s an exciting thing
coming up in the near future.
That's fantastic good luck with that. Good cover designers are worth their weight in gold. It's the first thing a reader sees. What was your writing process like?
Utter chaos. That’s the
best way to describe it. I’m not a planner. At most I have character names and
a general idea on paper. Then I run with it. I write completely out of order so
when it comes to the end; I have to go back and stich every scene together in a
coherent flow.
I am working on having a little bit more of a plan in my writing. But the bottom line is finding what works for you. What is the easiest part of the writing process? What
is the hardest?
The easiest part for me
is simply writing. Just getting the story out of my head and onto paper. The
hardest part is editing. All you’re doing is looking for what is wrong. For weeks
or months or however long it takes to get right. It can get frustrating.
I am grateful for an editor. I don't have that skill. It's frustrating enough to see how many mistakes I make when writing. I feel for my editor when I send her a manuscript. LOL. Do you have people read your drafts before you publish? How
do you select beta readers?
I do. I have a
fantastic critique partner that usually gets it first. Then I’ll pass it off to
my husband. Neither one of them hold back so I like that. Choosing beta readers
is difficult. I’ve gone through a couple before I found the perfect match, it’s
usually other authors or people close to me.
Since you wrote in this genre, do you think you will
ever write in other genres?
I actually write in
several genres now. My first three books were sci-fi with one falling in YA.
When an idea comes to mind, I never think about fitting it in with a certain
genre. At the end, it falls where it falls. That’s mostly due to the fact that
I read all different genres as well.
Ashleigh can you tell us what got you into writing?
I have loved reading
and writing for as long as I can remember. Honestly, whenever I was in trouble,
my mom would take my books away as punishment. The first time I remember
writing a story was in kindergarten. My mom has saved a couple and I have some
short stories from high school. They’re fun to read from time to time.
Have you been given any helpful advice?
Let your characters make
their own decisions. My husband thinks I’m crazy every time I say that, but
it’s some of the best advice I’ve ever gotten. I can’t say how many times a
story has changed the original path it was on because of a character’s
decision. Bad guys have become good, characters have ended up together, and
stand-alone books have become trilogies. I’m in for as big of a ride as the
reader sometimes.
I think that's great advice. Currently, what are you working on?
Currently, I’m
finishing the 3rd and final book in my Paroxysm series. It also
falls during NANO, so I’m trying to finish it before the end of November.
Thanks so much for sharing with us today Ashleigh. Check out When the Sun Falls and Ashleigh's other works at the links below. Happy Reading!!
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