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. 

Real Housewives? Meet The Real Duchesses Of London

Before there were Housewives there were The Real Duchesses of London...

I freely admit it. I am a Bravo Real Housewives junkie. I did hide it for awhile, feeling there were so many other things that I could be watching -- and that I probably should actually be writing. It always seemed slightly discreditable, like eating ice cream in bed. And it certainly didn’t help that my husband would roll his eyes and say -- that again -- when I turned it on.

And then I realized what a great character study it was. Yes, all these women know they are being filmed and would probably act differently if they weren’t -- and yes, it is clear that the conflict is set-up to create better television. However, even with the set-up, real personalities definitely shine through. (Have to admit that it is just hot, catty, and fun as well.)

I particularly felt that way with The Real House Wives of Beverly Hills. They almost all lived in what could truly be called palaces (the beginnings of my The Real Duchesses of London idea) and they were clearly all appearing on Real Housewives simply because they wanted to. It was interesting to watch who wanted to play peacemaker, who wanted to be a peacemaker, and who wanted to pretend to be queen and live in her mansion on the hill. And then there were the clothes -- and the shopping -- and the jewelry.


Watching them play dress-up is what truly formed my idea. I watched these women getting ready for party after party (only to be outdone by the NY Housewives this last season) and it reminded me of what life must have been like during the Season in Regency England. I started to imagine a bunch of Regency women being filmed as they went about their daily lives and squabbled and made up.


Obviously, I couldn’t have the benefit of filming during the Regency and so I turned to my other, and much less disreputable, favorite, Downton Abby. I’d loved watching the original Upstairs, Downstairs when I was a child, and Downton Abby reaffirmed my love of watching the servants watching their "betters".

I began to wonder if I couldn’t have the servants watching my duchesses the way TV viewers watch Housewives. It was so much fun thinking about what was really going on in my duchesses’ lives, compared with what the maids thought was happening. I’d love to play around with this idea at longer length someday.


In the meantime, some of the characters from The Real Duchesess of London also appear in my release this coming October, What a Duke Wants.

Thanks you for having me over for coffee, Sia. It’s been fun.

I’d love to give away a copy of the first of my Real Duchesses novellas and one of the cute t-shirts with the cartoon from the book trailer.

And all I want to know is: Mr. Darcy? Or Jaime from Outlander? I definitely have my own favorite in mind.

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THE REAL DUCHESSES OF LONDON
Regency England just got real(ity)



Episode 1: How Kathryn Got Her Passion Back (June 2011)


Kathryn, Duchess of Harrington, has the perfect life: a handsome duke for a husband, riches to spare, a house in Mayfair, and the right group of friends. The only thing she doesn’t have is her husband in her bed. But she’s about to change that. Enlisting the aid of her best friend, Linnette, who knows about these things even though she’s a duchess herself, Kathryn begins her seduction plan.


But Linnette knows a secret and it involves Kathryn’s husband. And, when that comes out, Kathryn’s marriage isn’t the only thing at stake. Can you say Afternoon Tea Catfight?




Episode 2: The One with the Fake Baby (August 2011)


Rumors abound – everyone has heard that Linnette, the Dowager Duchess of Doveshire is pregnant. Beautiful, young, with more freedom than any respectable woman should want; Linnette is no stranger to a little gossip. But her friends can't help her brave the fallout, because this time Linnette has done something naughty...

BUY: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders

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Most days Lavinia Kent loves her life and knows that she has found her own happily-ever-after with her husband and three children But on those other days (you know which ones!), she is very glad for the wonderful romances, sensuous gowns, and tall, sexy men that fill her mind – and then her computer.

Lavinia lives in Washington, DC, with her family and an ever-changing menagerie of pets. She attended Wellesley College as an undergraduate and holds an MBA from Georgetown University.

What a Duke Wants is Lavinia’s fourth book from Avon Romance. She also has a fun and sexy serial of e-novellas, The Real Duchesses of London, available from Avon Impulse.

.Lavinia Kent WEBSITE

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