Author Interview: AJ Ashton
- Sarah Emmer
- Jun 10
- 4 min read
Tell us a little about your books.
My books are all High Fantasy Romantic Adventures. I have two series available: the Tarrenfall Chronicles (Book 3 of the trilogy will be out this summer!) and the Ranger Chronicles, which is a duology.
But the books are even more than two separate series. They are all set in the same world and there are easter eggs to each story and crossovers. My books can be read in series order or you can read them in timeline order. So you could read Ranger or Tarrenfall first, or with the timeline order you can read Tarrenfall books 1 and 2, then Ranger Books 1 and 2 and then Tarrenfall book 3. The choice is yours. None have cliffhangers and are self contained stories but do continue the main characters journeys.
What themes do you include in your stories?
My books are full of adventure, action, creatures, destiny and entangled with a love story of soulmates. I am a sucker for soulmates and destiny but I also like to write strong female characters. Lately I have even been writing more mature female characters. Partly due to the fact my characters have grown older over the series of the books and I feel the older character isn’t covered as much.
Sarah: This is something I really appreciate in your books, especially in Quest of the Broken Stone where Evie was over forty years old. I LOVED that.
Regarding CREATURES...
Y'all.
AJ has an entire bestiary brought to life by the talented artist, Gary Trow. Click here to take a look!
Who should read your books? (What are your readers like?)
Well I am aiming for the female market, maybe 25 and up to be honest...women like me who love romance but also like action. But men have also read my books and enjoyed them as well. One male reader said, "You write romance, but it also isn’t romance."
Sarah: That's funny! I have to agree, though. While your books, at least the Ranger Chronicles duology that I've read, have love stories and spice in them (yum), I wouldn't categorize them as romances. They're high fantasy!
(Though Quest for the Broken Stone follows some of those romance tropes more closely. *swoon* Book two of the Ranger Chronicles is my favorite, okay?)
Are any characters based on real people? If so, who?
My main female characters are partially based on me. Or perhaps more of what I would love to do if I found myself cast into fantasy world.
But Evie Ranger is very closely based on me--more than Lara Tarrenfall is. Especially in Book 2 of the Ranger Chronicles. Evie is in her mid-forties in Quest for the Broken Stone and with me being in my fifties, I gave her more of the confidence I now have and wished I had at her age.
Also my best mate has a small role in the second book in the Tarrenfall Chronicles, along with someone at work who was very supportive. And my partner also has a role of a side character in both Ranger Chronicles volumes.
Sarah: Ahhhhh! I didn't know that! I love that you've got some buddies in there.
What inspired you to write your books?
Well it was watching Star Wars at 7 years old in the late 1970s. I never realised till then that a princess could fight back and this was what got me into writing strong female leads. I also get inspiration from playing open world games.
Sarah: I knew I liked you. Star Wars is literally the friggen best. Also--I love that you're a gamer! I think it adds a unique experience and perspective to your writing that non-gamers (like me) don't have.
What is one thing you’d like readers to know about you?
Ooo lets see...probably that I live and breathe my writing and my characters. It makes me so happy when people read my books and find themselves immersed in my world and loving the characters as much as I do. And probably even crying at the same moments I cried at when writing those scenes.
Sarah: And hopefully you don't mind your author friends dming you at all hours to shriek over a plot point. Right? RIGHT?!
When you aren’t writing, what do you do?
The most important part is having time with my son and just talking about anything and everything. Also I love gaming. From Witcher 3, Baldur's Gate, Dragon Age, God of War, Horizon 1 or 2 the list goes on. I love open world RPGs and end up getting hours and hours of game time. I also go to the gym where I can totally switch off. And I also love to read. I have tried to support my fellow indie authors by reading their books, but also read some mainstream traditional published ones as well. But all are usually fantasy or Sci fi.
Sarah: You are one of the most supportive indie authors I know. I could list so many examples, but I'll just keep it simple with--I appreciate you and so do a lot of our peers.
Do you have a newsletter we can sign up for?
Yes I do. It goes out once a month. Click here to sign up.
Do you have a website or shopping spot where readers can purchase books or merch straight from you?
I have a website: www.ajashton.com and I am hoping when I get brave enough to start selling my books directly from my website as well. But I do have some pages that are like a companion to my books which include the maps of my lands and a bestiary.
If you'd like to follow AJ on social media, check out her Instagram and Facebook pages:
Facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/ajashtonauthor
You can look up AJ's books on Amazon by clicking below:
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