Friday, August 5, 2011

Strange Neighbors and The Glitch


My guest is Ashlyn Chase. Ashlyn writes zany romantic comedies of the paranormal persuasion.


Writing a good book isn't always smooth sailing. We face various difficulties and glitches getting the story, so clear in our head, down on paper. Sometimes the transition isn't always smooth.


Ashlyn shares with us some of difficulties she faced transitioning from writing novella sized books to full length novels. Speaking of glitches, Ashlyn's characters face many on their way to Happy Ever After.


Sounds like a Harry Potter title, doesn’t it? Well, I was asked to share any glitches I may have encountered while writing The Vampire Next Door and I can only think of a couple.

First, I didn’t know if I could write it at all! Based on book 1, my editor contracted 2 sequels. The frightening part was writing a book that long. I’m a novella girl. That’s my favorite length to read as well as write. I don’t get into pages of flowery description. I like my writing tight and my pace fast. Loads of detail can really bog down the reader.

Strange Neighbors was a mass-market paperback and had to be about 90,000 words. Do you have any idea how hard it is to come up with a story complex enough to sustain it for over 350 or so pages? Eek! I was so out of my comfort zone, I had to add a note at the end of book 1 to crow about it. (snicker)

So, book 1 felt like a fluke. Then book 2 was my second miracle, but could I do it a third time? Odds were against it. To my sheer delight, my characters were old friends by this time and practically wrote the book for me. Whew! Once it got going…

There was a second almost glitch. I didn’t know which witch would be my vampire’s heroine. They both wanted him. Either one would have been great fun to write, but I had to let the hero decide. It didn’t take long before he made his choice. I knew Sly was a smart cookie and he’d choose well. He did. He looked past the superficial younger, prettier witch and picked the one who was a better match for him intellectually and emotionally. Fortunately, he considered her beautiful and made her realize she was every bit as pretty as her vivacious, flirtatious cousin.

I love men like that. I’m sure a lot of guys start out drooling over the pretty young things, but as they mature other things become important in a real relationship. Perhaps because my husband overlooked a lot of younger prettier women to be with me, I’m partial to this type of hero. He’s 13 years my junior, but we were right for each other when he was a mature 23 year old, fed up with fickle, flighty, giggly girls.

We’re still right for each other many years later. Mine is a very happy marriage, so I believe they can and do happen. What I think is key to a happy relationship is maturity. Age has nothing to do with it. I’ve seen emotionally immature seventy year-olds.


  • So, what do you think is the key to a true and lasting love?   

THE VAMPIRE NEXT DOOR BY ASHLYN CHASE – IN STORES AUGUST 2011

Room for Rent: Normal need not apply

This old Boston brownstone is not known for quiet living… first the shapeshifter meets his nurse, then the werewolf falls for his sassy lawyer, but now the vampire is looking for love with a witch who’s afraid of the dark… and you thought your neighbors had issues!

Undead Sly is content playing vigilante vampire, keeping the neighborhood safe from human criminals, until Morgaine moves in upstairs. Suddenly he finds himself weak with desire, which isn’t a good place for a vampire to be. And Morgaine isn’t exactly without her own issues—will the two of them be able to get past their deepest fears before their chance at “normal” slips away? Excerpt 

You can see the trailer of her first book, Strange Neighbors here



Multi-published author Ashlyn Chase specializes in characters who reinvent themselves, having reinvented herself numerous times. She has worked as a psychiatric nurse, for the Red Cross, and has a degree in behavioral sciences. The first two books in the Strange Neighbors series are Strange Neighbors and The Werewolf Upstairs, which are both available now! She lives with her true-life hero husband in beautiful New Hampshire. For more information, please visit www.ashlynchase.com