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A.R. Ashworth

Goodreads Author

Born

The United States

Website

http://www.arashworth.com

Genre

Crime, Suspense, Thriller

Member Since

July 2016

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/arashworth

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Popular Answered Questions

Do you always know going into a story who will end up being your protagonist?

A.R. Ashworth I thought I did, for my first novel, Souls of Men. It started as a story about Peter Willend, a scarred character finding his way back from tragic los…moreI thought I did, for my first novel, Souls of Men. It started as a story about Peter Willend, a scarred character finding his way back from tragic loss and PTSD. Yet as the story matured, Elaine Hope, initially an antagonist but who became Peter’s love interest, was such an interesting character that she took over the protagonist role. She gave me several reasons for switching.

As the story progressed, most scenes were viewed through Elaine’s eyes and mind. Elaine’s character initiated important action. She directed the plot.

Elaine’s arc was strong enough to carry her and Peter into the sequel and beyond. Peter’s arc would have finished at the end of the book.

Now, when I begin a story, I use those criteria to determine my protagonist.
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What came first for you in writing Souls of Men, the characters or the plot? And would you say that writing from a female point of view was challenging?

A.R. Ashworth Thanks for two good questions, Deb. The answers are related.
The character I call Peter came first. I had been thinking about how relatively ordinary p…moreThanks for two good questions, Deb. The answers are related.
The character I call Peter came first. I had been thinking about how relatively ordinary people can help each other recover from physical and psychological trauma. I wanted a protagonist who had lost nearly everything that mattered, who had been to the depths of despair. Peter would be rebuilding his life when something happens to take even more from him. How would he stay afloat? I wrote Elaine as Peter's antagonist. She's confident, competent, with no ambitions of romance, given her self-contained personality and demanding profession. What would happen if he washed up on her shore? As I recall, I was about 15K words into the book when Elaine leaned over my desk and insisted SHE was the real protagonist. I responded that if she wanted that, I would make her arc a very dark one, indeed. In true Elaine style, she smiled and said, “Bring it on, mate.” So I scrapped most of what I’d written and started over. The characters, especially Elaine, dictated the plot.
My challenge with Elaine was to convey a strong, intelligent, independent woman without overly emphasizing her womanhood. Rather, I wanted to convey Elaine’s contradictory traits and stress her essential humanity. She’s strong and compassionate, but she can be a bully, too. She’s a logical thinker and planner, but she can be impetuous. She’s almost given up on romance, but she’s willing to take a chance if she thinks the man’s worth it. She’s got a steel backbone, but she admits she sometimes “needs a soft place to fall.” More than one female early reader has told me that when she first read the manuscript, she forgot it was written by a man. So I think I met the challenge.(less)

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A.R. Ashworth’s books

Average rating: 3.56 · 101 ratings · 34 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	Souls of Men (An Elaine Hope Mystery, #1) 3.53 avg rating — 74 ratings — published 2017 — 5 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Two Faced (An Elaine Hope Mystery #2) 3.67 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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A.R. Ashworth's Blog

About the Perpetrator

I haven't always been a writer. I don't know whether that's lucky for me, or not. I worked my way through university as an auto mechanic, got a degree in History, took a shot at grad school, and then floated around for a while. That was the '70s.In the early '80s I came to my senses, in a manner of speaking, as did many other Austin hippies. I took some computer science courses, which resulted in Read more of this blog post »

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Published on November 12, 2016 15:00

Series by A.R. Ashworth

An Elaine Hope Mystery (2 books)
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A.R. Ashworth (Goodreads Author)

3.56 avg rating — 101 ratings

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It Falls Gently All Around and Other Stories

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