AMANDA ASHLEY/MADELINE BAKER

CATCH UP ON WHAT AMANDA ASHLEY HAS BEEN DOING RECENTLY

Carol Castellanos: What have you written since our last spotlight?

AmandaAshley: I'm not sure...don't remember when the last one was :)

Carol Castellanos: Has anything new happened in your writing career that you would like your readers to know?

AmandaAshley: I sold a book to Silhouette, which is something I've wanted to do for a long time. At the present time, I don't have a pub date. The book is a contemporary, set on a dude ranch.

Carol Castellanos: What do you have planned in the near future as far as writing?

AmandaAshley: I'd like to finish my book, DARKFEST. I have several readers who are "urging" me to finish it. I have a Western due to Signet next June, and one due to Leisure in August. I'm currently trying to find a home for AFTER SUNDOWN.

Carol Castellanos: Do you have any book signings coming up in the near future?

AmandaAshley: No.

Carol Castellanos: Do you feel your writing has taken you down any new paths since our last interview?

AmandaAshley: Not really. I'm still writing westerns, fantasies, and vampires, and loving it.

Carol Castellanos: Do you have any insights you would like to pass along to new authors?

AmandaAshley: Just to write what you love to read. Don't worry about if anyone else will like it, or what's "hot" in the market, or what anyone else is writing. Just write to please yourself.

GET TO KNOW AMANDA ASHLEY THE PERSON

Below are the questions we have in order to get to know our authors as a person. Many times people have misconceptions about an author and who they really are. Many people don't always think of an author as a real person. Some think authors don't feel the same things or go through the same things as we do. They don't think about the fact that you the person may have had traumas, jobs, a home life and all the other things that we go through in life.

Carol Castellanos: What misconceptions do you think people have about you as a person or a writer?

AmandaAshley: Gee, I don't know. My best friend thinks I'm a little weird, but she's probably right.

Carol Castellanos: Do you have children?

AmandaAshley: Yes, I have 3 terrific sons.

Carol Castellanos: What kinds of things do you like to do in your spare time?

AmandaAshley: Read. Play with my grandkids. Go to the movies. Go to plays. Take long bubble baths (and read til the water gets cold)

Carol Castellanos: What hobbies do you have?

AmandaAshley: I'm an avid collector of anything related to Star Wars, Beauty and the Beast, and Phantom of the Opera. I also collect dragons.

Carol Castellanos: How would you describe yourself?

AmandaAshley: Blessed

Carol Castellanos: What's your favorite color?

AmandaAshley: Definitely Blue!

Carol Castellanos: Do you have any pets and if so what kind?

AmandaAshley: A Pomeranian named Teddi. Cutest dog in the world!!!!

Carol Castellanos: Is there anything you would like the readers to know about you the writer or you the person?

AmandaAshley: Just that we're inseparable!

Carol Castellanos: Have you found you are treated differently now that you are a known published author?

AmandaAshley: LOL... by who?

Carol Castellanos: Do you work out of the house at a job as well as caring for your family and writing? Or is writing your main full time job? Since as we all know caring for your family is also a full time job.

AmandaAshley: I don't work outside my home, and I don't really consider writing work. It's more like a profitable hobby.

Carol Castellanos: Has life become any different for you then it was prior to your writing?

AmandaAshley: Well, I've gained a small degree of fame and fortune and that's been fun...I've won a couple of awards. But, basically, nothing has changed. I'm still me, for better or worse.

Carol Castellanos: What is your favorite food?

AmandaAshley: Spaghetti and bread and chocolate.

Carol Castellanos: What gives you the creeps? What scares you?

AmandaAshley: BUGS! I hate things that jump at you, like crickets. And frogs. I hate frogs. Clowns give me the creeps. Remember that clown in Poltergeist? Scariest thing in the movie! And I've always been afraid of the dark.

Carol Castellanos: As our final question is there anything you would like to tell your readers that I haven't addressed already? Or is there something that I haven't mentioned you would like them to know?

AmandaAshley: I would just like to tell my readers how much I appreciate their letters, cards, and gifts. It's always a joy to hear from them and know that one of my books has touched their lives in some way. I love it when a reader tells me she hasn't read anything in years, but someone gave her one of my books, and now she's reading again, not just my books, but all kinds of books. I love to read and can't imagine anyone who doesn't.