My name is Ashley and I live in a small town in the beautiful state of Alabama. I am 24 years old with a Bachelor’s degree in Human Development and Family Studies.
The fall semester of my senior year of college, one of my instructors asked, “What is the one thing you would do if you were guaranteed to be successful at it?” I had heard that question before, of course, but had never given it any serious thought. That day, I did, and “WRITE!” was my immediate answer.
So here I am, a few years later, still writing, still fleshing out ideas, and still trying to get at least one of my several manuscripts-in-progress to a point where I feel I could proudly seek representation.
If I’m being honest, there are times when I wonder why I bother at all. It’s slow (and often frustrating!) work and the chances of publication are slim.
But there’s just nothing in the world that I enjoy more than I enjoy creating characters and giving them histories, relationships, dreams, and obstacles to overcome to achieve them.
I guess, to me, saying that “I write” is synonymous with saying “I spend hours of my day playing make-believe”
And I absolutely love it. 
Hi Ash!
I’ll be honest, I’m not quite sure what the genre of young adult fantasy is about. It is similar to Harry Potter? I’m so lame, I know. But I’m curious to find out. I’ll definitely be stopping by on a regular basis to read your updates and such. Good luck. Writing is something I love to do, but I’ve totally let it get away from me. Kudos to you for pursuing your dreams.
Hey, Tracey!
Thanks for the comment; it will be great to have you around here!!
Yes, Harry Potter is young adult fantasy – at least some of the later books are. Since the stories get darker as they progress, it may be that the earlier books are children’s fantasy while the later books are young adult. I’m not really sure [I actually haven’t even read them but I have a family member who is a big fan).
Basically, young adult fantasy is a story featuring fantastical creatures (fairies, wizards, goblins, etc.) with content slightly more mature than what you might find in The Chronicles of Narnia but not quite as dark and in-depth as what you would find in The Lord of the Rings.
Does that help?
Totally. I love that type of thing because it stretches your imagination, you know? Takes you to a completely different world. I still haven’t finished the last HP installment, but once I complete it, I might check out Narnia or LOTR. I’m very GREEN when it comes to this genre, but it’s got all the “ingredients” I like, so I’m anxious to read more.
Hi Ash! I read a couple of your excerpts and they are intriguing. I’ll be popping in regularly to visit you and share in your writing journey.
Tracey – if you like the fantasy thing, you should definitely check out Narnia and/or Lord of the Rings. I still haven’t read all of the Narnia books (even though my husband loves them and we own them. I always mean to finish the series but never seem to get around to it) But those that I have read are so much fun. And I LOVE the character of Peter. He was actually the inspiration for my William character in manuscript 2.
Now, Lord of the Rings, I can’t count how many times I’ve read those – and The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. I looooooove Tolkien. Tolkien tends to get a little wordy at times (especially with names and cities) but it is amazing to me the way he created such a rich, detailed, descriptive world.
I would recommend one more author if you ever wish to continue to expand your fantasy reading. George MacDonald is not very well known (he actually died in the early 1900′s) but he was one of the authors who inspired both Lewis and Tolkien. The language in his books is obviously slightly outdated but nothing really difficult. He has some amazing fantasy/fairy tales. The Princess and the Goblins, and The Princess and Curdie are great. But, At the Back of the North Wind is by far my favorite. It has to be my favorite book outside of Tolkien’s works. At the Back of the North Wind is beautiful and moving and definitely worth looking into if you enjoy fantasy.
Oh man, sorry that was so long. That was probably more info. than you wanted or needed (and I actually took some stuff out!!) but.. this is obviously something I’m passionate about and could talk about it all day.
Hey, Brie! Thanks for checking the site out! I look forward to hearing, or I guess reading, your input whenever you feel like chiming in!!
Congratulations on following your passion! Your blog site is nicely done. The excerpts have left me curious for more. I enjoy reading Fantasy. I admit that I waited with giddy anticipation for the UPS to truck to deliver my copy of a Harry Potter book and had the package ripped open before I reached the house.
I also have read Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia and enjoyed them immensely. Tolkien’s LOTR, I struggled with. I found that Shakespeare was an easier read for me. The characters were fabulous and the stories intriguing, but the inclusion of the different languages I found painful. I read and reread passages and chapters to make sure that I understood. I did persevere and made trough all the books eventually.
I’m curious about your choice of character names in the excerpts. Did you research names to use or are they ones you had seen before? Did the meaning of the names play into the use of them? In naming our children, my husband and I found the meaning to play a role in what we chose for them. Having an Irish ancestry I like your use of the Gaelic.
Hello, JG!!
I completely understand your feelings about Tolkien. I am a HUGE fan but there are still some parts that I skim through because it is difficult for me to follow along. I think Tolkien was too intelligent for his own good.
As far as the names, I chose them because I have Irish ancestry as well. On my mother’s side and my father’s side. (My white, white skin can attest to this!!) I spent hours searching for names and their meanings before picking the ones I did. So yes, the names describe the characters in some way.
I was very hesitant about “Aislinn” at first. I originally thought it was pronounced how it looks but then discovered it was pronounced “ashling” which is pretty dang similar to Ashley! I didn’t want it to look like I was writing myself as the princess but then I saw the name on two separate occasions after that and saw it as a sign that I should just stick with it
Ah….yes the Gaelic is quite different in pronunciation….there is a site I came across in some of my genaeology reasearch that went into some translations. Being an active language I’m sure there are more resources available for your writing research.