Ashlyn Chase | My Path to Publication… (More like my rocky road.)

I’ve always been extremely creative. I missed the clues that I might enjoy
writing…like loving my creative writing class in high school and even earning an
A+ from a tough teacher, but like I said—Duh. I had already decided to pursue
fine art, so I stubbornly stuck to that goal. But at Mass College of Art I
discovered there were far more talented people than I, and we were all going to
starve. LOL

Fast forward several years with twists and turns like marriage, birth, divorce,
and I became an RN to put food on the table. In nursing, creativity is highly
discouraged by doctors who want you to follow their orders to the letter.
Sheesh. I needed an outlet!

I took a course in screenwriting. That taught me how to tell stories, but
Hollywood passed on my romantic comedies. Oh well. I lived closer to New York,
anyway. So I turned my ‘movies’ into novels and found where I fit in.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, “Well behaved women rarely make history.” Well, I don’t
have to worry about that! I monitored my reading tastes to see what I might like
to spend months writing. (Novels are a hellova lot longer and more difficult to
write than screenplays.) I discovered that I liked reading the hot stuff! When I
accepted this (and stopped blushing) I tried writing a steambath of a novel.

Back in the early part of this century, traditional publishers held the reigns.
ebooks were almost unheard of. I had joined RWA (Romance Writers of America) and
was trying the traditional route along with everyone else. I received a lot of
good advice and continued to practice my craft, while submitting my first
finished novel and getting a slew of rejection letters. Many self-published
authors have missed this awesome opportunity to thicken their skin. There’s
nothing like being told, ‘Thanks but no thanks’ to boost your self-esteem. (Pass
the chocolate, please.)

Anyway, a fellow author who liked my writing but knew what I was up against,
mentioned I might try epublishing. I didn’t know what it was. Heck, nobody did
back in 2002. So, I looked into it and researched a few electronic publishers. I
narrowed it down to three and submitted my manuscript. (Not the story that was
rejected everywhere. By then I had taken the hint.) But I used what I’d learned
from it and wrote a better book. I wasn’t letting rejection discourage me.

My ego finally got a boost when all three epublishers offered contracts! Oh my
goodness. I picked one and began publishing. Let’s fast forward again. My ebooks
were doing well. Reviews were positive and my romantic comedies were being
nominated for (and winning) awards! I was having fun! Cool. I got from my
readers what I didn’t get from a lot of my fellow writers. Respect. Epublished
authors at the time were considered inferior. Erotica authors were considered
the red-headed stepchildren. I was both.

Time to fast forward again. I kept trying to find a publisher that would put my
books on the shelves at Barnes and Noble, make bookmarks for me, contract
non-English translations…in other words, someone to make me world famous. LOL.
I’m nothing if not a big dreamer. But it’s a funny thing about dreams. They
won’t come true if you let them go. Eventually I wound up in the right place at
the right time with the right idea. Lo and behold, I received “the call!” Yes.
Editors used to call, not email. Some still do.

In 2010 my first mass market paperback came out. It was the start of a series. The series did well and garnered a spin-off series. The spin-off did well and they contracted another spin-off! Okay…we’re nine books into this thing (as of the August 1^st 2017 release, NEVER DARE A DRAGON.)

Are we done? Not by a long shot. I’m calling my Sourcebooks titles “The series
that never ends.” I’m working on book 2 of another spin-off now. I’ll give you
the run-down in easily digestible bites.

STRANGE NEIGHBORS – the name of the book and series that started it all. Book 2 is THE WEREWOLF UPSTAIRS and book 3 is THE VAMPIRE NEXT DOOR. 1^st Spin off series: Flirting with Fangs. Book 1 is FLIRTING UNDER A FULL MOON; Book 2 is HOW TO DATE A DRAGON; Book 3 is KISSING WITH FANGS. 2^nd Spin off series: Boston Dragons. Book 1 is I DREAM OF DRAGONS; Book 2 is MY WILD IRISH DRAGON; and book 3 is NEVER DARE A DRAGON. Here, we’re up to date—publishing-wise. 3^rd spin off series under contract: Phoenix Brothers. Book 1 is HOOKED ON A PHOENIX. Finished and sent to my editor. What am I working on now? Book 2. Title? I don’t really know yet. I’m calling it Wing-men. I’ve rarely kept the titles I started with, so I’ll have to get back to you on that.

By the titles alone, I hope you can tell what I write. Light paranormal romance.
And I’m not just an epublished or traditionally published author. Now I’m
considered a hybrid author. The rights to several of my old epublished books
have reverted to me. So, I’m updating, rewriting, and rereleasing many of these
books, independently.

The roller coaster ride continues. I have an agent next to me now. She keeps me
from screaming too loud or demanding the ride stop, because I can’t take it anymore.

Advice to the newbie… Yikes! Are you sure you want to do this? If no one can
talk you out of it, no matter how many sensible arguments they throw at you, you
just might make it. Ignore the haters and hang in there.

And if you’d like some company, I’ve started a wonderful conference for readers
and writers that takes place in New England, smack dab in the middle of foliage
season! Check it out!