9/28/11

Author Interview: Ashley March



Please join me in welcoming historical romance author Ashley March to the blog! Her new book, Romancing the Countess, was released earlier in the month.

Why historical romance? 


Thanks so much for having me today, Amber! The simple answer to this question is that it’s the type of romance that hooked me on the genre. I think my first year of reading romance mostly consisted of historicals checked out from my local library, and my favorite authors were Jude Deveraux and Catherine Coulter.

My love in reading historical romance has led me to a love for writing it. But now I realize that I also write it because I love exploring relationships in different time periods and countries. There are a lot of possibilities when the entire world’s history and cultures are open to you.

Are there other genres you're interested in exploring?

Yes! For romance specifically, my first contemporary novella will be released in the SWEET TALK ME anthology out in November of this year. I have plans for a contemporary series after that, but no finalized details yet on when it will be published. I also have a few ideas for YA romance… The funny thing about writing is that it seems the longer you write, the more your mind is open to all sorts of stories.

I also have a few mainstream ideas, although I’m not sure when I’ll have the time to write them. One’s a book of my heart, though, so I hope it’s soon. =)



How do you balance mom duties with writing?

I don’t sleep very much. In fact, as I answer this specific interview question, it’s currently 12:30am. But I’m having fun, and that’s what matters to me the most. =)

Apart from that, I have an absolutely terrific husband. We’re both staying at home right now, and we usually take shifts with the girls during the daytime so that we can each have time to work. At night after the kids go to bed, I work until early morning. He helps out a ton with the cooking and cleaning and other household chores so I can devote most of my free time to writing and the writing business.



Who is your favorite fictional character?


I’ve answered about literary fictional characters in the past, but I’m going to have to answer the question now with a cartoon fictional character. I LOVED Darkwing Duck. =) So much, actually, that I know I’m going to be buying the DVDs for my daughters when they get older.  (I have to admit, though, that Bugs Bunny is a very, very close second.)


Both your hero and heroine in Romancing the Countess have experienced unfaithful marriages. Did that create any special challenges when telling their story?


In my mind I knew this was a very special story right from the beginning. I didn’t want to treat it irreverently and gloss over the characters’ individual pain. But in the end, it’s still a romance, and the most challenging part was at the beginning, when I had to walk a very thin line between allowing the characters space to move on individually before the time came for their romance to start developing. I had to show that, even though they didn’t immediately fall in love, there was still something there between them, an awareness—not a sexual awareness, necessarily—but still something that made them take notice of one another.


You begin each chapter with an excerpt from letters written by the hero's unfaithful wife (and written to the heroine's cheating husband). And throughout the course of the novel, your heroine, Leah, reads them. I thought that a unique (and brave) idea. Did you start out with those epigraphs in mind or were they something you added as the novel progressed?

Thank you. To be honest it was something my editor suggested when the book was finished, so I went back through and added them after the story was already complete. And I think she’s a genius for the idea, because I believe it adds an entirely new depth to the story that we wouldn’t have without it. The deceased spouses become part of their own romance in a way, instead of the typical villains they would have been otherwise.



What are you working on now?

I’m currently hosting a reader-interactive online novella on my website each week (see www.ashleymarch.com/novella), where readers can read a new chapter every Tuesday and then vote for what they want to have happen next in the story. When the novella is finished it will be self-published, with 25% of proceeds going to a charity I choose (probably something to do with children).

I’m also finishing edits for my third Signet book. MY LADY RIVAL is the launch of a new Victorian series called A Belgrave Square Affair, and I’m so excited to share these characters with my readers! It is scheduled to release on May 1, 2012.

I also have a few other projects in the works for both 2011 and 2012. Readers can keep up with all the details for what’s coming next by visiting me at www.ashleymarch.com/coming-soon or by subscribing to my newsletter at www.ashleymarch.com/email.

Alright, I have to hear it. Whether you were born in the first half of the 20th century or the second half, I’m sure you watched cartoons. What is your favorite cartoon character?


One random commenter will be chosen to win a copy of my newest book, ROMANCING THE COUNTESS (open internationally)! Also, find out how to win the ROMANCING THE COUNTESS Book Tour Grand Prize of 50+ romance novels by visiting www.ashleymarch.com!  


34 comments:

  1. Hi Ashley


    I'm still watching cartoons (with the kids, obviously)*g*. I love most of the Disney movies.

    Not so much a character, but I adore Beauty and the Beast, the ending *sigh*.

    btw, get well soon.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I loved Wile E Coyote from the Road Runner cartoons followed closely by Marvin the Martian as seen in some of the Bugs Bunny cartoons.

    Having trouble using my Google signin again so I'm Anon today.

    Karen H in NC
    kareninnc at gmail dot com

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Beebs! I have to admit that my husband and I collect all of the Disney movies--more for us than the kids, really. =) Have you seen Tangled yet? Soo wonderful!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Karen! Now those were the cartoons I remember growing up on. =) Kind of sad they don't come on TV anymore; have been thinking about buying the DVDs for the girls.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I haven't seen Tangled yet. But I've seen the trailers and I keep meaning to cos it looks fantastic.

    ReplyDelete
  6. @Ashley,

    I loved Darkwing Duck! Wasn't Tailspin out around the same time? I'm a big Scooby fan, myself.

    @Karen,

    Sorry for the troubles you've had commenting! I'm not sure why some have trouble and some don't, but it's why I've allowed anonymous comments :)

    @Beebs,

    Nothing wrong with still watching cartoons! So many are being made for both kids and adults because I think most of us don't outgrow them.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'm a sucker for all Disney movies/cartoons. I loved to watch Scrooge McDuck and Donald Duck. :) And I also loved to watch Tom and Jerry. Still makes me laugh!

    claudigc at msn dot com

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love Marvin the Martian, he's so cute. Most of the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoons are fun, and I loved watching the younger versions in Tiny Toons with my son in the afternoons.

    Barbed1951 at aol dot com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hey Ashley! I also enjoy Deveraux. I wish she was doing more historical. Seems like she is switching gears to more contemporary now. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the contemporaries, but not on the same level that I adore the historicals.

    I also loved Darkwing Duck. I used to watch Duck Tales, Tale Spin, & Darkwing Duck. They used to be on all about the same time on Disney. As far as cartoon characters, that is a tough one. My favorite Disney movie is Lion King, so I would have to go with Simba. But cartoons, I always did enjoy the Warner Brothers Cartoons. I guess I would say Daffy Duck because I have a fondness for "sufferin succotash"! LOL

    Congratulations on the release!
    kendraedens@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  10. Beebs--If you have Netflix streaming, I saw it was on there a few weeks ago. I know because I watched it. After finding it and turning to my toddler and screaming with happiness--and having her look at me like I was crazy (which I'm not exactly denying). =)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Amber--I forgot about Tailspin! Yes, it was the same time and I loved that, too! I always thought they had a romance thing going on. =)

    ReplyDelete
  12. And I never could get into Scooby Doo because it was too scary for me. I know, I know, but this is what happens when your parents think it's a fun idea to watch The Exorcist at Halloween when you're 8 years old.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Hi ClaudiaGC! Yes! I miss the old cartoons, although they didn't seem so old when I was little. =P I also remember watching Animaniacs and really loving Pinky and the Brain. =)

    ReplyDelete
  14. I grew up glued to the TV and its cartoons! I particularly loved Tom and Jerry, although Looney Toons was awesome as well. It kind of makes me sad that I don't get to watch them anymore.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Hi Barbara! I remember both of those! Oh, man, you guys are making me want to go buy these for my daughters. =)

    ReplyDelete
  16. Hi GzNKz4evr! I have to admit I haven't read a Deveraux contemporary yet. I, too, am a sucker for the historicals. They'll always be my faves. =) Wasn't the Batman cartoon on around the same time as those? And Chip & Dale Rescue Rangers. Ahh--I don't miss being in school at all, but those were some great shows.

    ReplyDelete
  17. (Posting for Diane who is having technical difficulties with the comment form)

    Hi Ashley,

    My favorite cartoon from when I was a kid was "Popeye and Olive Oyl". I know, I'm showing my age here. Growing up in England, we didn't have T.V. during the day and, when we did, it was very limited. We had only a couple of cartoons to watch. Popeye was always good for a laugh.

    Thank you for this opportunity. I would love to win "Romancing The Countess".
    dpd333 AT aol dot com

    Diane

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love all the Disney princess movies but since my boys don't really like those, don't get to watch those much lol. We watch Spiderman. Awesome. lol

    When I was younger my favorites were Tweety and Sylvester and I loved to get home from school to watch Tiny Toon Adventures :) Ah, so many good cartoons from the 90s!!
    (And please don't enter me)

    ReplyDelete
  19. My favorite cartoons were The Flintstones and The Jetsons.

    kamwh1207(at)att(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  20. Thanks Diane (via BBB)! I watched Popeye when I was little, so that must mean you're... 30? ;) And I envy you for growing up in England! I have a thing for hot British guys and their accents. =)

    ReplyDelete
  21. Hi Lisa! I have to admit that I much prefer Batman to Spiderman. ;) I feel ya, though. My husband is a huge comic fan and I'm so glad we don't have any boys right now, lol. I agree--I liked the 90s cartoons much better than the ones on TV now. But I think that means I'm getting old. =)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Hi Tina! Thanks for dropping by. =) I don't think we watched the Jetsons that much, but I remember many an episode of the Flintstones. I enjoyed that one, too. =)

    ReplyDelete
  23. Hi Ashley, I will tell Darkwing Duck Hi for you on Saturday. Are your daughters interested in the princesses?

    ReplyDelete
  24. I was always a huge fan of Scooby Doo. My other favorite was Speed Racer. Interestingly, I was never much into the Disney cartoons and my favorite Disney movie was actually Fantasia, which isn't really a cartoon at all.

    jen at delux dot com

    ReplyDelete
  25. Did you ever see that cartoon Gargoyles? I remember thinking that Goliath was so handsome in his own way, and he seemed so heroic. It was a pretty dark cartoon but I loved it!

    ReplyDelete
  26. I love most of the Disney cartoons, my fav being Beauty n the Beast & now Entangled too. One of the things I like about the Disney are the songs/music. I can listen to them everyday.

    thumbelinda03@yahoo.com

    ReplyDelete
  27. My favorite cartoon character would have to be Wile E. Coyote. LOVED the Acme products. Just once I would have loved to have seen the Roadrunner get his comeuppance.

    marypres(AT)gmail(DOT)com

    ReplyDelete
  28. Scooby Doo!

    @marybelle have you seen the skit floating about the web which has Wile E defeating the RR and then going into a decline becaus his life no longer has meaning?

    Hankts AT internode DOT on DOT net

    ReplyDelete
  29. O.K., I'm really showing my age here, but I always liked Mr. Magoo who was seen most often in the theatre when they used to show a cartoon before the movie!
    I hope I win your book. It sounds like my kind of book--friends who become lovers.
    quiltlady44-bks2(at)yahoo(dot)com

    ReplyDelete
  30. Well, I always liked the Chipmunks and the Muppet Babies cartoons.

    I'm looking forward to reading the books!

    ReplyDelete
  31. (Posting for Terri due to more glitches with the comment form)

    "I don't have a favorite character but the Smurfs are my favorite!

    Thanks,
    Terri C.
    niteofblu at gmail dot com"

    ReplyDelete
  32. (Posting for LSU Reader)

    LSUReader said...
    I've always been partial to the Tasmanian Devil...not sure why!

    I'm looking forward to your contemp. novella. Take care.

    mochfly(@)swbell(dot)net

    ReplyDelete
  33. I like Turanga Leela from Futurama. She's a very strong character in any sense of the word but she does have her flaws and insecurities. She is also very idealistic too at times.

    melorabrock {at} gmail {dot} com

    ReplyDelete