Today I have Ashelyn Drake (aka Kelly Hashway) on my blog to tell us about her TWO books: Perfect For You and Into The Fire, which released on the same day! Both of these sound like winners to me. Welcome, Ashelyn!
Please tell us about your current release.
Perfect For You is the story of a girl who has to choose
between the guy she’s falling in love with and the guy she’s been crushing on
for the past two years. Here’s the blurb:
Seventeen-year-old Meg Flannigan isn’t very
self-confident, but what girl would be after her sophomore-year boyfriend
dumped her by making out with another girl in front of her locker?
Now a senior, Meg catches the eye of not one, but two
gorgeous guys at school. Sounds good, right? What girl wouldn't want to be in
Meg's shoes? One cute boy happens to be her boyfriend, and the other? Well, he
wants to be. And Meg? She't torn between Ash, the boy she's been with for
nearly five months, and Noah who is pretty irresistible.
But Meg is playing with fire. Pitting two boys against
one another, even if she doesn't intend to, could end badly if she isn't
careful.
Title: Perfect For You
Author: Ashelyn Drake
Genre: Romance
Category: Young Adult
Length: Novella (165 Pages)
Format: eBook only
BOOK LINKS:
***
And Into the Fire is about a Phoenix who is about to be
reborn for the first time:
Seventeen-year-old Cara Tillman’s life is a perfectly
normal one until Logan Schmidt moves to Ashlan Falls. Cara is inexplicably
drawn to him, but she’s not exactly complaining. Logan’s like no boy she’s ever
met, and he brings out a side of Cara that she isn’t used to. As the two get
closer, everything is nearly perfect, and Cara looks forward to the future.
But Cara isn’t a normal girl. She’s a member of a small
group of people descended from the mythical phoenix bird, and her time is
running out. Rebirth is nearing, which means she’ll forget her life up to this
point—she’ll forget Logan and everything they mean to one another. But that may
be the least of Cara’s problems.
A phoenix hunter is on the loose, and he’s determined to
put an end to the lives of people like Cara and her family, once and for all.
Title: Into the Fire
Author: Ashelyn Drake
Series: Birth of the Phoenix (Book One)
Genre: Fantasy/Mythology
Category: Young Adult
Length: Novel (258 Pages)
Format: Print and eBook
Published: September 9th, 2014
BOOK LINKS:
1. How
did you pick the title for your books?
Both guys in Meg’s life
think they are the perfect guy for her and try to convince her of just that. Of
course that makes things even harder for Meg. Perfect For You just seemed
appropriate. For Into the Fire, the title came to me before that actual story,
which is so rare for me because I usually struggle with titles.
2. Gosh, I wish two guys were fighting over me! Why
did you choose the setting for your books?
The setting in Perfect For
You is Treemont High School, which is actually based on my high school. The
layout of the grounds and building are the same. I relived a lot of emotions
from my teenage years when I wrote this book, so setting it in a school like my
high school seemed fitting. The setting in Into the Fire is completely
fictional. I named the town Ashlan Falls, and now that the book is published
under my pen name it kind of makes me cringe because it’s so close to my pen
name. Still, the town is very tiny, like the town in the old TV series, The
Gilmore Girls.
3. I actually think it's neat Ashlan Falls is close to your pen name. How
did you come up with the names for your heroes and heroines?
My characters always come to
me with names. I have no idea why that is, but I never have to wonder what to
name them. I’m thankful for that.
4. What
would women find irresistible about your heroes?
Well there are two main
males in Perfect For You. Meg’s boyfriend, Ash, is the quarterback of the football
team, gorgeous, and extremely loving. He’s sexy but doesn’t know it, which
makes him even more appealing. Meg’s crush, Noah, is one of the most popular
guys at Treemont High. He’s confident, a bit of a bad boy, and goes after what
he wants. Both guys make Meg feel like she’s the center of the universe. For
Into the Fire, Logan is the tough player who really has a heart of gold and is
grieving the death of his mother. I fell hard for him.
5. I'll probably fall hard for Logan, too. What
would we find in your heroines’ purse if we went snooping?
Meg always carries
lip-gloss, just in case. She’d also have a tennis keychain, a picture of Ash,
her cell phone, a mirror, gum, and cash. Cara would have cinnamon gum to cover
up her Phoenix scent, a bikini so she’s always ready to swim, her cell phone,
car keys, and cash.
6. If
you have a pen name, can you explain how you came up with it?
Ashelyn Drake is my romance
pen name. I actually took letters from my full name Kelly Hashway and threw in
my middle and maiden names too, just to give me more letters to choose from. I
kept pulling letters until names appeared. Then I Googled each to make sure no
one else had that name already. I’m the only Kelly Hashway and I like that. I
wanted my pen name to be one of a kind too. That’s actually why I added the “e”
in Ashelyn.
7. What
are a few things we would find in or on your desk?
1. I’m only 5’1” but my
driver’s license says I’m 5’3” because the guy at the DMV felt bad that I was
so short.
2. I struggle with anemia.
3. I can recite the alphabet
backwards, and faster than forwards. ;)
9. Your advice to new writers.
Don’t be in a hurry to get a
book published. Some of the best moments are the ones along the journey. Once
your book is out, it’s out. Enjoy the process of meeting new characters,
writing their stories, and perfecting your craft. Achieving the end goal is
great, but so is the road leading up to it. Don’t forget that.
About the Author:
Kelly Hashway grew up
reading R.L. Stein’s Fear Street novels and writing stories of her own, so it
was no surprise to her family when she majored in English and later obtained a
masters degree in English Secondary Education from East Stroudsburg University.
After teaching middle school language arts for seven years, Hashway went back
to school and focused specifically on writing. She is now the author of three
young adult series, one middle grade series, and several picture books. She
also writes contemporary romance under the pen name Ashelyn Drake. When she
isn’t writing, Hashway works as a freelance editor for small presses as well as
for her own list of clients. In her spare time, she enjoys running, traveling,
and volunteering with the PTO. Hashway currently resides in Pennsylvania with
her husband, daughter, and two pets. Hashway is represented by Sarah Negovetich
of Corvisiero Literary Agency.
Kelly Hashway Links:
Ashelyn Drake Links:
Thank you for taking the time to create this mega interview
for Write with Fey, Ashelyn! I am always happy to host you and look forward to
your future releases. :)
Please leave Ashelyn a comment about one or both of her books!
lmao never knew the guys at the dmv could feel bad, they are usually just grouchy.
ReplyDeleteThis guy was pretty funny, believe it or not.
DeleteThanks for having me, Chrys!
ReplyDeleteYou're very welcome, Kelly!
DeleteAs always a wonderful interview. I'm sure the book will do well.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy your week-end.
Thanks for stopping by, Yvonne!
DeleteI'm 5'1" also! And I had a nice DMV worker too. The girl told me to move my hair to one side, and took the picture three times (I didn't ask her too, she was just very sweet) ..and your books are amazing Kelly, and the covers are perfect. :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for leaving Kelly a comment, Beth! I hope she sees it. :)
Deleteliked your interview. interesting subjects. i don't know if anyone ever wrote a Phoenix book character. hope it goes well.
ReplyDeleteInto the Fire is definitely unique. :)
DeleteI'm 5'1" too, and the girl at the DMV in town here is not so nice, would not do a retake once when I had to renew my license. So the last time, I went to a DMV in another town, and a guy waited on me. Much better. :-)
ReplyDeleteBoth books sound great, but I think I have to read INTO THE FIRE first. Like right away. :-)
Deb@ http://debioneille.blogspot.com
Thanks for leaving Kelly a comment and telling her about your experience at the DMV, Debi!
DeleteLovely interview. By the way, I just read your contribution to the IWSG book and loved it.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked my article on character development, Vanessa! :D
DeleteGreat interview Kelly and Chrys!! Like Kelly, I too, was surprised when my current WIP's title came to me before I actually started writing it. This helps because I also struggle with titles, especially for my children's books.
ReplyDeleteI have Perfect for You awaiting me in my Kindle. I'm planning on reading it over the break and leaving Kelly lots of reviews=) Yay for Kelly!
Kelly will be lucky to get a lot of reviews from you, Gina. :)
DeleteKelly has a great pen name and I enjoy her books under both names. The two featured are wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy her books under both names, too. :)
DeleteExcellent interview, Chrys! Love the pen name, though I'm curious as to why since your real name is so pretty, Kelly :-) Congrats on both books! The covers are terrific and the blurbs are quite compelling. It's interesting that you don't typically have a title as your write. I may have a story churning in my mind but can't begin to type until I come up with at least a 'working' title.
ReplyDeleteP.S.
I can empathize with all you 5'1" ladies as I thought I'd never make it to 5'0"!
If Kelly sees your comment, I'm sure she could explain this much better than I, but I remember a blog post of hers where she explained it was for branding reasons; to separate her YA books from her NA books. Thanks for commenting, Diedre!
DeleteCool books. Into the Fire sounds interesting.
ReplyDeleteIt sure does!
DeleteCongratulations to Kelly! (Ashlyn Drake)
ReplyDeleteLoved reading this interview.
Thanks for stopping by!
DeleteVery awesome that you released two books on the same day! What a huge achievement :) But I imagine you must be feeling frazzled? hehe
ReplyDeleteCongrats!
I can't even image how stressful it would've been for her. But she handled it with grace. :)
DeleteThat's funny about the DMV guy. I also struggle coming up with titles. Two books at once. That's amazing and probably stressful. Best of luck.
ReplyDeleteThanks for leaving Kelly a comment, TBM!
DeleteOh my gosh, what a talented young lady. I've been stressing for months over one book, and that's just to finish the first draft! Congratulations to Kelly!
ReplyDeleteAnd you too Chrys! It's been a lovely year for you, and your blog continues to impress - I'm still struggling to get ahead of the pre-scheduled posts, but you and Pat Hatt have it mastered!
Wishing you and yours a lovely holiday season, and the most prosperous of New Year's!
Kelly is very talented.
DeleteThank you for the lovely compliment, Yolanda. I work really hard on my blog. :)
Happy Holidays, Yolanda! I hope 2015 is a great year for you!