Interview with Ashley Roberston!!!

Book blurb with Good Reads Add:
Guardian angel Selene was close to becoming an archangel—until she fell in love a vampire. Now her dark lover has been kidnapped and the only way to save him is by abandoning her human charge. But her choice to save him doesn’t come without a price. Selene must push her dwindling angel abilities to where she risks becoming fallen, praying she can save the ones she loves before her fate is sealed.
Add to your Good Reads shelf: HERE

Ashley Robertson resides in sunny Orlando, Florida and loves reading and writing about everything urban fantasy and paranormal romance. When she isn't writing you'll find her spending time with family and friends, training in her home gym, traveling and exploring new places, drinking fine red wines, and making gourmet coffees with her Nespresso machine.

Hi guys! I am so excited to give you the chance to meet the awesome Ashley Robertson. She is the author of two awesome books that both Kami and I have read and reviewed here. She is also going to give away 2 copies of her newest book UnGuarded. A big THANK YOU to her!!!

See my review of UnGuarded Here and Kami's Review Here!! So with out further ado here is my (Lori's) interview with Ashley!



LP:When did you know that you wanted to write? Is it something you have always known you wanted to do?

AR:Ever since I was a young girl, I’ve always loved to write, especially about everything going on in my so-calledlife. It began with songs and poems that eventually—as I got older—turned into short stories and plays. I loved my high school English classes, and my teachers always gave me accolades (and good grades) on my essays, and not long after that, those essays began evolving into things with a more fictional twist. And once my college English professors expressed the same satisfaction with my work as my high school teachers did, I knew this might be a career to pursue. But God obviously had other plans for me in the form of a real-estate job. So fast-forward fifteen years from then (and me working 24/7 as a realtor)to when I was finally given an amazing opportunity by my husband: to abandon a career that consumed all of my time and focus on one that was more flexible and would allow me more time with my family. I have one poetry book published and two urban fantasy/paranormal romance thrillers—both of them falling into a YA or Mature YA sub-genre.

LP:Why did you decide to go the self-publishing route with your novels? (we <3 Indie authors!)

AP:At first, I wasn’t too happy with it. **sighs** I mean, who would enjoy being rejected by countless literary agencies? Even though lately it seems that most of the literary agents are targeting successful indie books anyway (take, for example, The Hunger Games and the 50 Shades trilogy). But another thing I’ve learned is that alot of literary agencies are sick of vampires, and anything to do with them is an automatic “no,” so with the few personalized rejections I received—yes, mos trejections are generic, impersonal “no thank you’s”—responding with “I like your writing style, do you have something else you can submit to me?” that actually motivated me to self-publish. I knew I couldn’t just put my book to the side and abandon it; there had to be others out there just like me that still loved the mysterious, sexy, and sometimes malevolent undead. So I moved forward to publish Crimson Groves,learning everything I could about the indie industry along the way. By the time I had UnGuarded ready to publish,the whole process was a LOT easier. Thankfully I’ve formed a system to the madness of self-pubbing, and so far, it seems to be working. I have a wonderfu leditor (Stephen Delaney with Close Reader Editing Services) and an amazing graphic designer that does my book covers (Claudia with PhatpuppyArt). Yes,these are additional expenses to your book, but they are essential for your success as an author. Recently, I discovered Jessica Gibson, who is also known as the Release Party Diva. My first big book release party with her for UnGuarded is scheduled for Friday, July 20, 2012 from 12-8 Eastern Time (US). So far she’s been amazing to work with, and has lots of awesome ideas and unbelievable organizational skills. I encourage anyone on Facebook to participate at the party as little or as much as they’d like. There are lots of cool prizes and free books up for grabs.

LP:What inspires you to write? When you write do you use an outline? Or do you free form write?

AP:I’m a freestyler for sure—I actually wrote an article for another blog about thiscalled “Freestylin’.” I’ve never done an outline, and whenever a synopsis is asked of me, I totally cringe. Basically, I just write what’s in my head.Currently, I’m working on the sequel to Crimson Groves and trying my best to tell the story exactly how Abby wants me to.

LP:***Spoiler alert*** When writing UnGuarded, did you ever think Selene was going to fall? Wasthere ever a point when you thought this is it...she’s really done it now?Because I was on my toes the whole time thinking she had finally reached andcrossed the line?

AR: This is a great question and one I have not been asked before, and I’ll try my best to answer it without giving too much away.The original plot for UnGuarded did haveSelene becoming a fallen angel, but as I moved through her story and tried to put myself in her shoes, I actually found a soft spot for her and grew to admire her character.

LP: Selene can seem like she’s a selfish person but in the end she’s just following her heart. Was it her preference to her human form that led her to have these human emotions and make these, sometimes, bad decisions?

AR: Selene is a guardian angel who can take human form at will, which is how she befriends her human charge and ends up falling in love with Cole, a vampire. But her human side takes a toll on her, giving her emotions she’d never have felt if she’d just stayed invisible to the physical world around her. But instead of wallowing in regret for her mistakes, all Selene wants to do is remedy the situation and make things right again. Only every time she tries to fix something, it seems to create more problems for her. And thus the reason why her outcome changed—slightly, but my fans will have to read the book to find out how…and trust me, it’s worth it. (grins)

LP: Most of her fellow angels seemed shocked or disgusted byher behaviour. Is that a direct result from them preferring their angel forms when guarding their charges?

AR: Mostly they were disgusted with her relationship with a vampire, and that gossip spread all over Europa—the world where angels live—like a virus outbreak.

LP:What’s next for you? Have you ever considered writing a zombie novel (LOL)?

AR: Next for me is the sequel to Crimson Groves—Book #2 in the Crimson Series due out in the winter of 2013, Crimson Flames (formally titled Crimson Rain)—which will pick up right where we left Abby and her quest to learn more about the sorceress powers that were awakened inside her when she was turned into a vampire—making her a whole new hybrid species. There’s a group of rogue vamps banding together and forming a Resistance against the vampire governing body,The Head Council, and Abby’s newly discovered powers are the key to the Council’s victory. Now the Resistance will do anything possible to remove the hybrid threat, and with no other options, Abby is forced to rely on the aid of the Council, yet can she trust the very vampires that hunt for her human lover?And even worse, can she fight the unwelcome attraction that’s growing between her and one of those ancient vampire rulers?

After that, I plan to start an adult novella series about a succubus and hope to have two books completed by the end of 2013.

With regards to zombies (ahem), I can definitely see them in some of my future books. (smiles)

WOW!!! That blurb of Crimson Flames sounds all sorts of awesomesauce!!! I cannot wait!!! Succubus stories are few and far between so that should be amazing too!!
Thank you again Ashley for taking the time with us.

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