Saturday, July 12, 2014

Reinventing and now Resurrecting Myself




In some of my bios, I mention the idea of the writer’s theme. It’s not the theme of a book; it’s the theme of all that author’s books. Whether or not we writers realize it, an all-over pervasive theme usually emerges in every book by a particular author. I’ve come to realize my theme has to do with characters who reinvent themselves.

I’m well qualified to write it too. I’ve reinvented myself many times—both as a writer and a person. I began by attending Massachusetts College of Art, hoping to become a famous artist and travel the world showing in premier galleries. Then I got real.

Reinvention number one: From artist to nurse. Nursing doesn’t allow for a lot of creativity. In fact, it’s actively discouraged. You follow doctor’s orders, period. And if they get “too creative” it’s your job to reel them in. But as you might have guessed, I’m a creative person and that trait doesn’t stay buried easily. Most artists will tell you they become very uncomfortable—physically, emotionally, apiritually—if they can’t create. I’m no different. To satisfy my creative urges, I took a course in screenwriting. It wasn’t as messy as painting and I had since married a neat-nick.

Reinvention number two: From nurse to writer. I tried a couple of other things along the way. I trained as a hypnotherapist and an interior designer, but for some reason my clients eventually began smoking or gaining weight again, and it was discouraging. I never earned a dime with my Interior Design training. There were just too many pitfalls, so I used my knowledge to design my own home and offer opinions to friends—if asked. But it was writing that stuck.

Reinvention number three: From hot suspense to hot comedy. I was a published author. I had a few devoted followers and some great reviews, but something was missing. My joy and spontaneity. I wasn’t having as much fun as I would have liked. Writing these books had turned into work. Then I had an experience that changed me again. I wrote my first erotic comedy. I let myself go buck wild, and it just poured out of me. What resulted was an off-the-wall novella that every reader and reviewer loved. It was nominated for a CAPA and an Eppie award. And I loved it too, plus I loved the experience of writing it. The story was Oh My God.

Reinvention number four: From short to long: I had heard that what readers and publishers wanted were not one, but several related books in a series. So I tried to come up with an idea for a hot humorous series. Let’s see…write what you know…use your voice…and try to make it a long, rich storyline that can go on and on and on…

The Strange Neighbors series set in Boston began and was followed by a spin-off series. Flirting with Fangs. These were loooong books and took forever to write. Six months each. Yup. Six months of my life for one of those suckers and a voracious reader will devour it in a day. What? Wha…?

I’m in mid-reinvention again. I want to write shorter and more. My story Oh My God was happily resurrected, rewritten to dovetail nicely with a storyline by my dear friend Dalton Diaz, and then we were fortunate enough to score a bonus story by USA Today Bestseller Terry Spear!  

Thus, Gods Gone Wild was born and Oh My God was reborn. I hope you love it as much as we do!


Gods Gone Wild

Ashlyn Chase
Dalton Diaz
Bonus story from USA Today Bestselling Author Terry Spear



Two Gods are in big trouble with Zeus. Gods will be gods and when these two taunt Pele for their own entertainment, she erupts, literally, creating a whole new Hawaiian island. But Zeus is not amused and must teach them a lesson they won't forget. Who knew their punishment would lead to finding the loves of their lives?


Great Zeus! (Dalton Diaz)

Epimetheus knows he screwed up. Well, he knows it since Zeus pointed it out with a lightning bolt or two. He’s willing to take his punishment like a Titan, but all bets are off when his beloved dead wife Pandora shows up. Pandy has no memory of him. Epimetheus has no powers, and no forethought. What could possibly go wrong?


Oh My God (Ashlyn Chase) Rewritten and expanded version of 2009 Eppie nominee, same title

The Greek God of wine, women, and party, falls off a balcony during Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Now he has amnesia. All he knows is that they call him 'Big D', and he drinks too much and ought to give up alcohol for Lent.

Mandy and Brenda flashed Dionysus right before he fell. They're nice enough to take him to an AA meeting, and then back to their homes until he recovers his memory. Fortunately, they're not too nice to be naughty.



Bonus Story: Goddess in Training (Terry Spear) Previously published 2010 Indie, same title

In a game of the gods, librarian Lisandra, who has never been loved, is chosen to be the goddess of fertility. The demi-god of pleasure, Assarian is ordered by Zeus to train her in the hallowed halls of Mount Olympus to prove to his wife, Hera, goddess of marriage, mortals and immortals alike only need be physically satisfied to find fulfillment, to which Hera disagrees—all creatures must have love to be whole.

This book is getting lots of 5 star reviews! If you enjoy erotic comedy, please pick up a copy and feel free to leave a review of your own.
Amazon http://tinyurl.com/qdpsaby  B&N http://tinyurl.com/q5cytzn

Thank you!


5 comments:

Unknown said...

Lots of reinventions. Interesting life.
Book sounds great.
Tweeted.

Victoria said...

You weren't kidding about re-inventing yourself. You must be gutsy too to have done so much. I'll state that I am very happy that you've been so proactive in your life :). Thanks.

Dalton Diaz said...

You're amazing, but I already knew that!

VenusBookluvr said...

You are fascinating! Congrats on the new release :-)

Ash said...

Thanks for looking at it that way. For a while I wondered why some people climbed a single ladder all the way to the top, and I kept switching ladders. LOL