We want to welcome Ashlyn Chase to our blog today. Thanks for being here Ashlyn. Before we get started can you tell us a little about your latest book The Werewolf Upstairs?
AC: The Werewolf Upstairs is book 2 in the Strange Neighbors series, which revolves around an apartment building in Boston that attracts paranormal misfits. Book one, Strange Neighbors, was about the shapeshifter landlord who happens to be a major league pitcher, and Merry—an unsuspecting nurse who moves in. In The Werewolf Upstairs we follow the exploits of our werewolf resident Konrad and Merry’s best friend Roz, both of whom we met in the previous book. Roz moves into Merry’s old apartment and finds herself attracted to her handsome upstairs neighbor, who seems to be harboring a sercret…
TBRG: Who has been the biggest influence on your writing?
AC: Wow, tough question. A lot of people. Every person who has ever critiqued my work. The authors of every book I’ve read. Readers who encourage me, offer suggestions or ask for a sequel. Oh, and my husband who reads what I write and offers the same comment each time…more sex!
TBRG: What is the one thing your readers would be the most surprised to know about you?
AC: That I’m “normal.”
TBRG: Where is the one place you have always wanted to go, a place on your bucket list?
AC: The South Pacific…Bali, Tahiti, Fiji etc.
TBRG: Who are some of your go to authors, and what are you reading right now?
AC: Mary Janice Davidson is my number 1 “go-to” author. I had the opportunity to meet her last year. She cracks me up in person as well as on the written page.
What am I reading now? I usually have at least 2 or 3 books going at once. On my iPod I’m reading Leslie Kelly’s Slow Hands. In paperback, Home to Harmony by Dawn Atkins—a Harlequin large print (I’m farsighted and can’t adjust print size in paperbacks.)
TBRG: If you weren’t writing and keeping us in books (thanks for that by the way), what would you be doing?
AC: LOL. As I’ve said elsewhere, my greatest fear is having to get a “real job.” I have no idea what I’d do. Chances are, I’d either be bad at it, or hate it, or both.
TBRG: Who is on your playlist when you are writing?
AC: No one. I don’t write to music. I need the white noise of my computer so I can hear the voices in my head (laughs manically).
TBRG: Where do your ideas/characters come from?
AC: I blame everything on Thalia—the muse of comedy.
TBRG: Are you a planner or a fly by the seat author?
AC: Both. I usually write for about 3 chapters before I get a sense of who my characters are and where they need to go. Then I draw a map (also called an outline) to be sure we get there.
TBRG: The Werewolf Upstairs is book 2 in your series about an apartment building with some rather strange tenants. How did you come up with this story, and all these quirky tenants? Will we be seeing more of these characters?
AC: The story stemmed from a tid-bit of information. I learned that Tom Brady, quarterback for the New England Patriots, owned and lived in a building in my old Boston neighborhood. His building was converted to condos. I wanted the possibility of eviction hanging over my characters, so made my place an apartment building. Every story needs “stakes.” Book 3 in this series, The Vampire Next Door, will be in stores in August!
TBRG: What are you working on now?
AC: I don’t like to write two books at once, but that’s what I’m doing now. One is a long-awaited sequel to Vampire Vintage for Ellora’s Cave. The other is a book I brainstormed with my agent. Both are light paranormal romances.
THE WEREWOLF UPSTAIRS BY ASHLYN CHASE – IN STORES FEBRAURY 2011
Petty Crime Never Looked So Good…
Alpha werewolf Konrad Wolfensen sees it as his duty to protect the citizens of Boston, even if it means breaking into their businesses just to prove their security systems don’t’ work. But when his unsolicited services land him in trouble with the lay, he’ll have to turn to his sexy new neighbor for help.
She Should Know Better…
Attorney Roz Wells is bored. She used to have such a knack for attracting the weird and unexpected,. But ever since she took a job as a public defender, the quirky quotient is her life has taken a serious hit. Until her sexy werewolf neighbor starting coming around…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
A multi-published author with Ellora’s Cave/Cerridwen Press, Ashlyn Chase specializes in characters who reinvent themselves, having reinvented herself numerous times. She has worked as a psychiatric nurse, and for the Red Cross, and has a degree in behavioral sciences. She lives with her true-life hero husband in beautiful New Hampshire. The third book in her Strange Neighbors series, The Vampire Next Door, is set to release in August 2011. For more information, please visit http://ashlynchase.com/.
**2 Lucky commenter’s will receive a copy of Ashlyn’s new book The Werewolf Upstairs, contest ends on Saturday March 5th**
Great interview. Can’t wait to add Ashlyn’s books to my book collection. Thanks for sharing this with us all.
Hey there good luck with your releases 🙂
Hi Kristen,
I hope you enjoy them!
Ash
Enjoyed the interview. The series sounds intriguing. Humor and paranormal beings–gives a whole new side to them.
What inspired you to write the series? You chose Boston to base your characters. Was there a reason why?
I had the chance to visit Boston. I absolutely loved the city. So full of history.
I wish you the best!
I read your interview on Amberkatze’s blog last week too. I do look forward to reading this series, I think they are right up my alley :). Good luck with your next books!
Hi Ash! I’m here again hoping to win a copy for one of my best friends this time. She’s got Strange neighbors now and is almost done with a series and I can’t wait to
hear how much she loved it so I tell you what she said. She’s excitied about it. That “friends” quaility and the humor she thinks she’ll like better than the first 2 paranormal series she’s read/reading. It’s so great to have books to talk about with her now. 😉
Also Interesting choice of travel. Do you think you’ll ever get there and if you do, will you continue writing while on that vacation or leave it all at home?
Hi Karen,
I chose to set the apartment building right in my old neighborhood where I lived when I was working at my first job in the city. Actually, I rented a couple of places on Beacon Street in Boston. It’s such a pretty place. I went back there as I was writing this to see if much had changed. Nope. It was just the way I left it. Maybe even nicer.
I’m so glad you enjoyed your visit to Boston. It is an interesting tourist destination, especially for history buffs. I hope you came in summer when the public gardens are in bloom and the swan boats are running.
Aurien and Christine,
Thanks for your support! Good lick in the drawing.
Ash
Oops. That was supposed to say good LUCK, not good lick. LOL!
I love that the series takes place in Boston, it is one of my favorite places in the country.
Hi Heather,
Yes, I feel lucky to have been born and raised in Massachusetts. I grew up in the suburbs, but we had history and culture a short jaunt away. It made for a lot of interesting school field trips. By the time I was deciding where to go to college. I was already fairly familiar with the city. It was an easy transition.
Sounds like a fun book and a good series. I tend to read the dark side of paranormal, sometimes bordering on horror. Sometimes it’s more fun to read the lighter side.
Hi Carol,
I’ve had difficulties with people “expecting” dark when all they read is “paranormal” and then getting upset about it! IF you decide to try it, I hope you’ll keep an open mind. Either that or expect some sillyness!
Carol, I read the dark side of paranormal as well, but I also really enjoy the lighter side.
Ashlyn, thanks again for letting us host you today. It has been a lot of fun.
Ashlynn- congrats on all the success with your books and great interview
I love all stories involving wolves, werewolves. Hence the handle I’ve had for 12 years…*S*
If I had known 3 years ago there was such a genre I would have been reading them all along. Thank you Ashlynn for the chance, and I hope I haven’t missed it….*S*
Great interview!