Interview with Mutli-Genre Author, Ashley Nestler

As some of you probably know, I had the pleasure of participating in the Brains to Books Cyber Convention a little over a week ago. In doing this, I had the pleasure of meeting several talented authors and bloggers, and Ashley Nestler was among them.

I will be review her two currently released novels in the near future, but for now, I am sitting down to chat with her a little. Read on and check out her work! :)

TA: First, for those who aren't familiar with your work, talk a little about yourself.

AN: I am a multi-genre author who has been writing all of my life.  I mostly write fantasy mixed with historical fiction of dystopian themes but I also love writing contemporary.  I try to aim my writing towards the young adult audience.  My first novel, “Beautiful Nightmare: Some Dreams Become Your Reality”, was published by SBPRA, an indie publishing company, when I was eighteen years old and graduating high school.  My second novel, “Into The Fog”, on the other hand, was published my Freshman year of college.  Both novels were completed during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and I spent more than two years perfecting each novel.  

TA: Do you recall the first story you ever wrote?

AN: I do recall the first story I ever wrote.  It was actually published by my sixth grade teacher into an actual book.  It was a short novel about these children who were part of the orphan trains.  I remember spending days on end working on that novel, even in class.  I have always been passionate about history.

TA: How would you describe your stories to a person new to your work? What would you hope readers take away after reading your works?

AN: Well, for one thing I write all of my novels to revolve around a theme/message that I want the reader to dig out of it.  I want readers to leave reading my work changed, and that is my ultimate goal.  I would also want readers to understand that every book I write is different and that I rarely write sequels, because I like creating single novels that really pack a punch.  Readers should expect fantasy or contemporary stories from me and they should understand that many times I create my own beings in my novels and thati s how I set my work apart.

TA: How do your novels Into the Fog and A Beautiful Nightmare differ from one another? Are they similar in any way?

AN: Oh, these books are just about polar opposites.  “Beautiful Nightmare” is a Dystopian novel and “Into The Fog” is Historical Fiction Fantasy.  They are similar in their messages about love and relationships, but they differ in the plots.  I did create my own world and population in “Beautiful Nightmare”, but in “Into The Fog” I created my own species within 16th century England.  So I would say that they differ the most in the way that I created the world in “Beautiful Nightmare” but only the species in “Into The Fog”.

TA: Indie publishing or traditional?

AN: I honestly don’t think that one is better than the other.  I think that with traditional publishing you tend to reach a wider audience, but I feel that you have more freedom with indie publishing.  I can’t pick either one over the other, though, because I am in the process of working on getting my third novel published traditionally.

TA: Are there any new projects on the horizon?

AN: Currently I am working on the special editions of “Beautiful Nightmare” and “Into The Fog”.  Both will be re-released this year with bonus content such as concept art, character profiles, and insight from me on the stories.  Both books will also include revamped storylines.  I am also working on getting my third novel traditionally published, but I can’t talk publicly about it yet.   

TA: And finally, where can potential readers find you

AN: Readers can find me on:

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7089809.Ashley_Marie_Nestler

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amnestler/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel

My Blog: https://peachykeenbookreviews.wordpress.com/