Coffee With Coastal Magic Featured Author Ashlyn Chase

Sep 26, 2018 | Ashlyn Chase, Blog, Coastal Magic Convention 2019, Coffee With, September 2018

Welcome to the cafe readers. I’d like to introduce you the first of five Featured Authors for the Coastal Magic Convention that I’ll be chatting with before the Convention kicks off February 27, 2019.

This is my first time attending Coastal Magic and I’m excited to also be a Featured Blogger. 

Grab a cup and join us!

Rae: Thank you for hanging out with me. First, if we were meeting at a coffee shop I’d be drinking a Mocha Latte with Coconut Milk. It’s time to switch to something a bit warmer. What would you order?

AC: I like coffee flavored coffee, with non-dairy cream—soy, almond…whatever they have.

Rae: I’m excited to meet you at the Coastal Magic Convention in Daytona Beach in February. New to the world of Coastal Magic? Click here for more info.

AC: I look forward to meeting you and all the fans of paranormal romance!

Rae: On your website you describe your books as comedy. Can you tell us a little bit about your backlist and if the books all have the same level of heat?

AC: It’s funny, I began writing erotic romance, but as the genre got hotter and hotter, I remained the same. Next thing I knew, I was writing mainstream! LOL I didn’t change—the genre did!

Rae: Your next release is out this month, what can readers expect to find in this installment of Phoenix Brothers?

AC: I like to keep readers on their toes and surprise them with something different in every book. This one actually has two heroes and two heroines! My phoenix shifter brothers are best friends, roommates, and work in adjacent firehouses. It was impossible to separate their stories, so I didn’t! Readers get a two-fer!

Rae: What are some of the challenges to writing paranormal romance?

AC: Probably just the same challenges any writer faces… For me the worst is deadlines, and the screaming, hair-pulling panic that comes with them, if the book isn’t cooperating. I plot as much as I can, but the characters always come alive and kidnap the story, taking it places I never expected. Fortunately, because I write paranormal I can get them out of whatever pickle they’ve created for themselves. Flying motorcycle needed? No problem. I enjoy being as imaginative as readers will allow.

Rae: How do you find inspiration for your books?

AC: I blame my muse, Thalia. She whispers some crazy idea in my head, and then I have to write it, or she won’t leave me alone.

Rae: Prior to writing romance you were a Nurse, how does one transition from nursing to writing romance? 

AC: One didn’t have much to do with the other. In fact, I was a creative soul who didn’t get to express much creativity as an RN. I began writing as a way of satisfying that creative urge without hurting anyone.

Rae: When you sit down to write, do you write the old fashioned way or type away at the keyboard? 

AC: I actually dictate my books now. I never learned to type. (I know…I hunted and pecked my way through 30ish books, before I discovered dictation. Gaaaa!) Now I don’t have to sit at a computer.

Rae: Writing all the words is a challenge, do you have a writing ritual or secret location to get the work done?

AC: I love sitting outside on my deck with my little handheld Dictaphone, and as long as no one can see me talking to myself, I’m free to ‘write’ more and faster than I can type.

Rae: Are you the writer who has a notebook for all the words that flow while driving or do you dictate into your phone?

AC: Neither. I used to, but a near accident will kill your inspiration faster than anything. I get ideas in the shower that make me jump out, dripping wet, and run to my computer.

Rae: How do you tackle plotting your series? Is it on a massive board, sheets of paper or just write as you go with a simple outline?

AC: I do what is called ‘storyboarding.’ I have an actual cork board behind me, divided into 3 rows (3 acts,) and 6 boxes in each row (6 chapters per act.) I’m now doing basically the same thing with a chapter by chapter outline, but it all goes on the computer. It’s easy to move scenes around or change them completely when the characters do their own thing.

Rae: I belong to a few Facebook groups for planners and organizing to stay focused and succeed in my personal goals for 2018. How do you keep it all from spiraling out of orbit between the family life and writer life? Are you a planner girl or digital calendar queen?

AC: I write the olde timely way on a calendar. I know. It’s primitive.

Rae: Where can readers find you in the next few months?

AC: I have 4 major appearances in 2019, beginning with Coastal Magic! Then in April, Barbara Vey’s reader/author luncheon, then in May I’ll be at the new Book Lovers Con in New Orleans. In October, readers will find me putting my blood, sweat, and tears into my own conference! Fall in Love with New England is the only 2 day Romance Reader/Author conference in New England. We didn’t have one I could drive to, so I started one myself! 2019 will be our third, and it will be better than ever. 

Rae: What can we expect in 2019? Do you have other projects in the works?

AC: I expect to move from NH to FL, so my writing will be on hiatus for a time. As soon as we get settled, I imagine Thalia will begin beating my funny-bone with a stick. I already have ideas for four series. Who knows which I’ll write first? Any requests? Chic-lit; YA fantasy; paranormal bodyguards; or Witches?

Rae: Thank you for hanging out in the cafe today.

AC: Thanks for having me!

1. What is a must read book and why? Outlander. Because it’s captivating, intelligent, and full of adventure.

2. What is one place that I should see if I visit your hometown? Boston. My hometown, Reading, is pretty boring unless you hop on the train heading into the city.

3. Do you take-in or cook? If so, what is your “go-to” dish? I’m a terrible cook. But I have a go-to dish. Chicken, apples, and leeks. That’s it. The whole recipe. You’re welcome.

4. What is one thing readers would be surprised to know about you? Maybe that I’ve been married 3 times? I finally got it right. Mr. Amazing and I will celebrate 25 years of marriage in January. Our song? You Make Lovin’ Fun!

5. Hard Rock or Classical? Favorite Band or Artist? Classical, instrumentals, new age, or any music without words.

6. If you had an all expenses paid trip anywhere in the world for research, where would you go? New Caledonia. Not sure why. I’ve just felt this weird pull to that island. But if I’m going all that way, I’ll stop off a New Zealand and Australia too.

7. What is your guilty pleasure? Watching HGTV

8. What are you afraid of? Horses (no joke)

9. Tats or No Tats? If tats, how many and what did you choose for your first one? I only have one. It’s a 5 inch lotus blossom nestled in my cleavage.

10. Organized or Free Floating? Organized Chaos

11. Binge watcher or weekly viewer? Which show(s)? Never binge. Everything in moderation. Shows—eclectic mix of dramas and comedies.

12. What’s on your playlist? I don’t have one.

13. What play or musical do you want to see next? Trans Siberian Light Orchestra

14. Are you a crafter? Yes. I make jewelry and decorate seashells.

15. What’s your favorite TV show and why? Project Runway. I love to see creativity at work, and that show really pushes people to their creative limits.

16. If you could pick a book you’ve read and make it into a movie, which book would it be (besides yours 🙂 )? Well, Outlander has already been made into a movie (TV series) but Gerry Bartlett has a series: Real Vampires. With titles like Real Vampires Hate Their Thighs; Real Vampires say Read My Hips; Real Vampires Don’t Wear Size Six; Real Vampires Have Curves; I would be SO up for watching that!

17. What’s your favorite movie of all time and why? Chocolat. (Spelling is correct.) Johnny Depp as a gypsy, Juliette Binoche as a chocolatier… A message about tolerance. What’s not to love?

18. Would you rather see a movie in the theater or at home on DVD and why? Home, where my fridge and bathroom are nearby and my remote has a pause button.

19. What is the one thing you can’t live without? Entertainment!

20. If you could invite 5 people to dinner (not friends and family – that’s too easy) who would be at your table? Where would you eat? Do they have to be real people? I think I’d like to sit down with some of my favorite Disney characters in a field of lavender with a picnic prepared by a French chef.

21. If you could try any career for a day, what would it be? Cruise Ship Captain

22. Person you admire and why? My mom. She lived about a dozen lives and overcame challenge after challenge. She was so incredibly mature, but still had a wicked sense of humor.

Ashlyn Chase describes herself as an Almond Joy bar.  A little nutty, a little flaky, but sweet, wanting only to give readers satisfying stories that leave them smiling. 

She worked as an RN for 20 years, but now writes full time. She’s a multi-published, award winning author of paranormal romantic comedies, represented by the Seymour Agency.

She lives in NH with her true superhero husband Mr. Amazing (who looks like Hugh Jackman if you squint.)

Where there’s fire, there’s Ash

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