Hi, I’m Judith Ashley, author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series, soul
nourishing romantic women’s fiction with light paranormal elements. My stories
show you what life could be like if you had a place like The Circle where you
are unconditionally accepted, supported and loved. And where, with this
support, you make choices to overcome the darkest nights and choose love and
light.
This month the Genre-istas
are sharing their perspective on either, or maybe both topics: Old Stories or Romance
Awareness Month.
August is National (USA) Romance Awareness Month. Independent books
stores across the United States have planned signings and other events to
showcase authors (especially local ones) who write in this popular genre. Most
likely you are reading this early in the month as it goes live on August 5th.
You can check your local indie book store or, if you can check out https://bookstoreromanceday.org/
for more information.
Old Stories?
Old Stories is
the other topic. Many authors, when asked about when they first started
writing, will talk about elementary or high school, maybe college. Others will
talk about their first novel, buried
under the bed or the back of a closet or drawer never to see the light of day.
There are many thoughts
about those old
stories. Here are mine.
While
I’ve spent a great deal of my professional life writing (court reports, case
notes, adoption home studies, post placement reports, and training programs
complete with instructor and participant manuals, I never wrote fiction until
late 1999/early 2000 when the visions, dreams and dialogue surrounding the
seven women who are the main characters in The Sacred Women’s Circle series showed up.
I’ve
no old
stories to dig out and rewrite or
polish. I do have a non-fiction book based on a training I developed that is
waiting for me to rewrite or polish i.e. finish. And I do have the cover!
There
are writers who thoughtfully consider story elements, do character studies,
plot out each chapter, write synopses – in other words they have their story
outlined before they start the actual book. Other writers are more like me.
They sit down and see what shows up on the page.
I will admit that when I was
writing Gabriella:
Chaos and Symmetry, Sophia: Every Ending Is A Beginning and the first
book in the “Visions” spinoff series, Visions of Happiness, I had to keep track so the story line, time
line and characters were congruent with what had come before. It’s very
disconcerting as a reader to find a character’s hair and eye color change from
one book to the next much less their age or another element of their life.
Dreams,
Visions and Dialogue
The dreams, visions and
dialogue that, at times, kept me up until all hours of the night, were my old stories.
I’ve worked over fifty years in social services as well as survived some rocky
spots in my own personal life. My characters are like many of us who have or
are still facing issues: divorce, infidelity, domestic violence, single
parenting, financial struggles, abandonment, overcoming childhood abuse, death
of a spouse and then there are the physical challenges of recovery from a major
accident or injury and recurrent breast cancer.
In many ways I share traits
with these women. There is a piece of me in every story…more of me in some than
in others. And no, I’ve not danced like Hunter: The Dancer and The Drum and I’ve made
drums. I’ve not had a luscious garden like Sophia, but I love gardens and I
have taught in a public high school. I’ve survived domestic violence, infidelity
and divorce, raised a son and grandchildren, weathered financial struggles,
dealt with cancer although not breast cancer. And once I had my own circle of women
who accepted, supported and loved me, as well as my spiritual practices
that bring me peace, all the trials and tribulations that still occur in my
life are easier.
When you read
my Sacred Women’s Circle series you
meet seven women who will remind you of yourself or someone you know or someone
you love who also struggles with these everyday issues. You will learn how
Lily, Elizabeth, Diana, Ashley, Hunter, Gabriella and Sophia overcome those
obstacles and with the acceptance and support of The Circle find their
Happily-Ever-After.
My non-fiction: Staying Sane in a Crazy World, provides you with a template to create
your Personal Staying Sane Plan to help you through the challenging times.
You can find all of my
books at your favorite e-book vendor. Be sure to ask your local library if you’d
prefer to read my books through that resource. If you want a print copy? Ask
your local independent bookstore to order it for you. If you are in the
Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, my books are carried at Jan’s Paperbacks
and Arte Soleil.
Learn more about Judith's The Sacred Women’s
Circle series at JudithAshley.net
Follow Judith on Twitter: JudithAshley19
Check out Judith’s Windtree Press author page.
You can also find Judith
on FB!
© 2022 Judith Ashley
