Today I have another Brain to Books Cyber Convention author
feature. Remember, this great event for authors and readers alike is coming to
Goodreads this April, on the 8th, 9th and 10th.
Be sure to check out
all the details and pertinent links for the event here:
Now on with the main event, our Brain
to Books author feature.
Today I have a terrific interview with horror/fantasy author Ash Krafton.
Interview With Ash Krafton
Why don’t you
begin by sharing a little about yourself.
Let’s see…I’m a dog mom with the heart of a crazy
cat lady. I collect comics, skulls and ravens, and Indian saris. I’m a tea
afficianado (Spring Darjeeling, please) and am quite possibly the most
enthusiastic fan of prog rock and metal on the planet. (Rush and Blind Guardian
are my madrigals. And, yes. I *do* heart Geddy Lee.)
I’m also a speculative fiction author from northeast
Pennsylvania. My work ranges from scifaiku small to trilogy-of-urban fantasy
novels long, and lots in between. Most recently I released THE HEARTBEAT THIEF
under the pen name AJ Krafton.
Could you tell
us a bit about your latest book?
THE HEARTBEAT THIEF is an historical fantasy that
combines the styles of Jane Austen with Edgar Allan Poe.
It started with a single scene, a conversation
between a young woman and a mysterious stranger who steals up beside her at a
funeral.
A lot of my stories start out like this, a single
scene with no other context. It’s as if I happen across a conversation between
strangers and only see one tiny snippet of their story.
Sometimes, the scenes get written and tucked away in
an “ideas” folder on my hard drive, lying dormant. Sometimes, a trickle of life
stirs within, and a story grows out of that tiny seed.
Sometimes, the seed germinates and grows and blooms
into a novel. That’s what happened with that first passage—it was the seed that
grew into The Heartbeat Thief.
I went back to the oldest draft of the story and
found that original seed. Here is the passage as I’d first written it:
***
That frightens
you, doesn't?
She didn't turn to look at him. His presence was
like a thick fog, tenuous yet flowing, something she felt along her skin. She
didn't need to look at him—she knew right where he was. That sense of nearness,
something she recognized even for all his strangeness.
She knew him. Didn't know why, or how. And she
didn't care. It was simply what was.
She pinched her lips together, watching a woman bent
in grief, clutching a handkerchief to her mouth. “Doesn't it frighten everyone?
Dying--in such a sudden way—“
Ah, it's not the
suddenness, or the surprise, or even the shock. It's the brick wall at the end
of the road of life. You don't like the ending, no matter how it comes.
She tilted her head, just enough that she could
capture him in her periphery. “No. I don't like the ending.”
He drifted closer, hovering just over her shoulder,
like an umbrella. His mouth close to her ear, he chuckled a sonorous tone. Why would you? Your beauty, faded? Your
charms, withered? Your friends and admirers, all gone away? You'll die alone,
bienaimee. Everyone dies alone.
She tugged her shawl tighter about her shoulders.
“Don't say that.”
But it is truth.
Oh, if only there was a way to avoid all that.
“No one lives forever.”
Do they not?
His voice held such a curious tone, a tease in the
words that caught her attention. “In the afterlife, yes.”
In this life.
She faced him, locking her gaze with his. His dark
eyes glittered and a smile tugged at the corners of him mouth. “Why would you
say things, here?”
Where better to
admit the truth? He stole behind her, trailing his finger along her
shoulders. In this place, life meets
death. They stare each other in the face. The only difference between them is
that the dead no longer care.
He drew back, his sudden withdrawal leaving a cold
mist on her skin. The only question that
remains is…do you still care, bienaimee?
She wrinkled her nose. “Of course, I still care.”
Then, he
said, his voice deepening into a throaty chuckle. Don't die.
She turned to admonish him for his audacity but,
when she spun around, he was gone.
***
No way could something like this stay dormant in a
dusty old file. The stranger’s mystery and his shadowy threat and the promise
of eternal life simply held me captive, and I knew it would haunt me until I
wrote it.
That was where The
Heartbeat Thief came to life.
How long have you been writing, and how many
books have you published to date?
Like most writers, I’d say I’d always been a writer;
I simply didn’t start publishing until fairly recently. I began working on a
novel idea, which I discarded in favor of a different story that eventually
became my first book, BLEEDING HEARTS (Demimonde #1). While writing the book, I
also wrote poetry and short fiction. My first piece, a poem called “Note To
Self:” appeared in Poe Little Thing in the spring of 2009. BLEEDING HEARTS came
out in 2012.
Since then, my published list has grown to five
novels, one novella, about 100 poems and short stories, and several articles. I
also self-publish (mainly under the imprint Red Fist Fiction). So far, I’ve
released one novel, a poetry collection that recently came out in paperback, a
stand-alone fantasy short story, three anthologies, as well as dozens of
articles on writing and publishing.
Of all the books
you've written, do you have a favourite?
They are like children…so if I pick a favorite, the
others will resent me and I’ll end up in a crooked nursing home when I’m old
and feeble.
I can say that writing each of them was a unique
experience, especially when it came to research. Researching a story is almost
as much fun as writing it and there was no end to all the cool things I got to
do for the sake of “research”. I even got to visit Boston, Massachusetts for
the first time in order to lay groundwork for my most recent project.
Why did you
decide to write speculative fiction?
I’ve always been the far out kid, the creepy chick,
the girl who believed in dragons. Growing up I read a lot of fantasy and horror
so it seems my brain is tuned that way. Speculative fiction encompasses
everything I love to read—fantasy, horror, science fiction. Anything make makes
a person say “What if…?”
What is the
hardest part of writing urban fantasy?
It’s important to stay well-read so you can come up
with fresh, new ideas. There are so many excellent authors in the field today
so the bar is set nose-bleedingly high.
How do you
research your books?
Thank goodness for the Internet. I have the whole
world, all its culture and history, right at my fingertips.
The majority of my research comes from reading, both
on and offline. I also should write off Netflix as a business expense because
films help a lot, too. Since I write a lot of fantasy, I do make up a lot of
stuff…but even settings need research. Day trips to key locales helps
immensely.
I’ve done interviews and consultations with experts,
especially for Words That Bind, a paranormal romance featuring a social worker.
I felt that, considering the subject matter—the details of a therapist’s
practice as well as the concerns of her clientele—I had a responsibility to get
the details right and to treat the subject with sensitivity, rather than bend
and shape characters to fit my story.
What advice
would you give beginning writers?
There is a huge
learning curve in the beginning and I think a lot of us go into this business
with an established set of expectations. Trouble is, the first lesson you learn
is to forget what you think you know.There is a huge
learning curve in the beginning and I think a lot of us go into this business
with an established set of expectations. Trouble is, the first lesson you learn
is to forget what you think you know.
Take time to observe others who are ahead of you on
the path to publication. Learn from their highs and their lows. Learn the craft
of writing. Learn the ins and outs of the business itself. Reset your
expectations and the keep writing, keep submitting, keep getting your stories
out there.
Just persevere.
Are you working
on another book?
Right now, I’m publishing a serial. The first of
this new urban fantasy series is up on Wattpad, where readers can read for free
and chat about the story as they do so. CHARM CITY is about Simon Alliant, a
demonologist/exorcist from Boston. I’m thrilled to say that it’s been selected
as a Featured Story and will be promoted by Wattpad starting the last week of
April.
Here’s a blurb for CHARM CITY:
The darkness is rising and one man stands against it: the exorcist mage
Simon Alliant. But in Baltimore, he finally meets his match...a part-mortal
divinity with the power to whisper away demons.
Simon Alliant is an exorcist who battles demons, whether he wants to or
not. Sometimes it's not so bad...he gets to play with magic, after all. But for
Simon, magic represents a demon of another kind. He's addicted to magic and it
takes more than a handful of charms to keep that particular demon at bay.
Chiara is part Light, part Dark, and stubbornly mortal. The woman has a way
with words: she literally talks demons into abandoning their human hosts. Simon
thinks that's not the only trick she has up her sleeve-and that's pretty high
praise coming from a mage like him.
As intriguing as that may be, Simon has too many reasons to distrust
her...one of them being his more-or-less partner, an angelic Watcher. Amidst
all the celestial warnings of the rising dark comes a new prophesy that makes
him wonder: is Chiara a threat to him and all of mankind?
Or will she be his salvation?
I have four or five stories planned for the series,
called “The Demon Whisperer”. The second book MURDER THE LIGHT is in progress,
as is a prequel STRAITJACKETS AND HOLY WATER. It’s a little disconcerting
writing the before and the after stories simultaneously but still great fun.
Although I really planned for each one to be a 20k
word novella, released in serial, I have a feeling that each story will end up
full length.
Any plans for future
releases?
I’ve got two other novel projects in the works for
AJ Krafton, and I’ve been back to the poetry notebooks. Happy to say I’ve had
several recent publications of flash fiction and poetry with several more on
the way.
Where can readers find you?
Oh, all the usual online haunts: Facebook, Twitter,
Blogger, Pinterest, Instagram…
I'm always happy to invite readers to stop by my
website, www.AshKrafton.com.
Lots of books to see, news to read, and links to click. Come on over!
I'd also love it if you'd stop by to check out my
newest story on Wattpad. CHARM CITY is here:
https://www.wattpad.com/story/56172477-charm-city-the-demon-whisperer-1
I'd like to thank Ask Krafton for stopping by today, and
be sure to check out her virtual booth at the convention this April.
