Interview with FATHOM author Ashley L. Knight ~ Part 2
As promised, I am thrilled to post the second half of my interview with Ashley L. Knight. I hope you enjoy this third and final day of FATHOM Fest, my blog's celebration of the release of FATHOM.
As a wife and mother, do you find it hard to balance your writing life and your family life?
It can be a juggle at times. I think it would be much harder for me if I had a conventional "job" rather than being a "stay at home Mom". Frankly, I don't know how those ladies do it – they're superwomen! I try to write when the children take their naps or when they go to bed at night. My husband is a very understanding and patient man. He also knows when I have to write, I HAVE to write, or I'll lose it. So he knows what I'm doing when I throw back the covers of the bed and flee from the room to attack the laptop. When the kids are up and I have the urge to write, I just turn on their favorite movie. They love movies so that's always helpful!
What advice can you give to people who say, "I have this great idea for a book, but I don't have the time to write it."?
I would say, make time. Even if it is for ten minutes a day, get it down on paper, on your laptop – anything. It starts with one foot in front of the other. Once you start the process, you'll be amazed at how easy it is to keep moving forward. I love the saying from Nemo "Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming! Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming!" - only change it to writing. If you don't start, you won't go anywhere and then one day you'll be eighty saying "If only I'd done something"! Don't live with regrets.
Do you hear from your readers much and what kind of feedback do you get from them?
I LOVE hearing from my readers! I hear from some of them in the most unusual ways at times. For instance, once I received a phone call while grocery shopping from a lady who had picked up one of my business cards while at a book signing. She just wanted to talk! It was really sweet. She asked me to hold another signing in that particular town when Fathom was released and begged me to keep writing because she loved Fins. It was really touching. Another fan sent me a Christmas card which I still have and will never throw away because the gesture meant so much to me.
My readers have really enjoyed the new concept of merpeople being able to control when they phase and when they don't. The fact that each one has several different powers and different colored tails has been eagerly accepted. They love that there are Halfling merpeople that have the choice to be human or a merperson. It's quite interesting hearing the dialog between readers – I really enjoy it! It's always such a surprise and so emotional for me when people are so engaged in the book that they cry about it or they want to know back history of the characters or they feel so intensely about one of the characters – it's such an honor to have a reader be so engaged in your story! I've had people get teary eyed at book signings which touches my heart because my simple little tale made them feel something and really, that's all an author could ever ask for!
What would you like to tell your readers?
I love quotes; I have kept a book in which I write quotes I hear and enjoy for years now. Some of the quotes I just heard and don't have the original person who came up with it because it was never announced. But I'd like to share a few of my favorites with my readers because they mean so much to me:
"Failure doesn't come from sinking – it comes from letting your fears stop you."
"Just because people say no to you doesn't mean you should say no to yourself." – Heidi Klum
"Failure? I've never encountered it – All I ever met were temporary setbacks." – Bill Marriott
"Courage is not the absence of fear – it's doing what it takes despite one's fear."
"Don't let anyone steal your dreams – follow your heart no matter what!"
I truly believe the last one with all my heart – I believe it was Ty Murray the PRCA Champion Bullrider who told me that one way back in 1993!
