Author Interview: Meet Ashley E. Sweeney

Feisty Deeds Anthology Author of 'Double Whammy'

Ashley E. Sweeney loves nothing more than sitting at her desk and writing untold women’s stories with universal themes. Her three published books have won multiple awards and she has a new book, The Irish Girl, coming out December 2024. Her previous novels, Eliza Waite, Answer Creek, and Hardland have won a total of 17 awards, including the Nancy Pearl Book Award, Independent Press Award, WILLA Literary Award, and New Mexico-Arizona Book Award. Ashley is a native New Yorker and graduate of Wheaton College who spends winters in Tucson and summers in the Pacific Northwest. She’s also a member of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association.

Ashley’s short story, ‘Double Whammy,’ follows Eva from 1956 to 1972, weaving her loss at an early age, her cancer diagnosis, and and the guilt she carries forward. Eva is instantly someone which I had so much empathy for. Even though you can literally feel her pain by the end of the story you can also feel her hope. The emotions run through you like water written in Ashley’s unique voice. Check out her website, https://ashleysweeneyauthor.com/ for more information. After you read her story, send her a comment or review and let me know if you felt the emotions Ashley’s story left in my heart, too.

Ashley’s Interview: ‘Double Whammy’

1.    How did this story come to you and how did you get the idea for your Feisty Female Character?

Double Whammy is an excerpt from my first--and still as yet unpublished novel, focusing on the long-held guilt Eva Killeen feels over the death of her younger brother sixteen years earlier. I wrote this novel at a dark time in my life and it's still my favorite, although I've published four novels since then.

2.    What’s your writing process/routine?

As a full-time writer, my schedule doesn't differ from other desk jobs. I'm at my desk at 9am and work until the late afternoon with a few short breaks. During this time, I don't access any media to keep my head firmly in the story I'm writing. When I reach a good stopping point, usually by about 4pm, I leave my imaginary world and rejoin the 21st century :)

3.    What was the hardest part of writing this story?

All of us are wounded reeds. To tap into Eva's story, I became vulnerable to my own wounds and entered into Eva's suffering as I wrote her story. I hope readers will be drawn to the story, sad but redemptive.

4.    How do you select your character’s names?

My characters come to me fully formed, as if seen cinematographically. After I see them, I name them accordingly. Like many other authors, I have a book of baby names on my bookshelf I refer to often. There is so much bound up in a name--heritage, traits, the soft or hard sound of it. I have a love for names beginning with vowels (like my own), hence my characters, Eva (from the short story anthology), Eliza (from Eliza Waite), and Ada (from Answer Creek). In Hardland, my protagonist is Ruby Fortune, a tough cowgirl in 1899 Arizona Territory, and in The Irish Girl, Mary Agnes, after my great-grandmother.

5.    Describe your writing space.

Living in a small seaside cottage has its charm, but space is at a premium! My always-cluttered wooden desk sits in the corner of the living room overlooking Skagit Bay in Northwest Washington. In addition to dual monitors (one for writing and one for research) a keyboard, and speakers, there's a brass lamp from an old friend, a small blue plate of rocks and seashells found in NW Washington, a large mug with assorted pens, pencils, and highlighters, my black and white composition notebook filed with notes, a calendar, a book of devotions, inbox brimming with research items, a figurine of an owl given to me years ago from my author-father, and a picture of my beloved gram on her wedding day in 1923. Oh, and lots of index cards! And coffee!

6.    Do you only write only Historical Fiction or do you write other genres?

Historical fiction is my primary genre, although I free write once per month in other genres to test my writing skills. It's fun to write in other genres--contemporary, humor, satire, mystery--although I've never written horror or sci-fi.

7.    What question do you wish someone would ask you about yourself and/or your story and no one has?

No one--not even other authors, let alone readers--has ever asked me how I deal with rejection in writing. Readers have no idea how much rejection authors face. It's not for the faint of heart! To combat this, years ago I separated my persona from my professional life to spare the sting of rejection. It's helped in many ways, including strengthening stories not ready for publication; I want my stories to be the best they can be, and often honing and re-honing produces a much better product. That's an instance when initial rejection is a plus. But if I let rejection get to me personally, I'd crawl under the covers and never write again, so it's healthy to separate myself from my body of work. 

I’d love to hear your thoughts on Ashley’s interview and her story, especially if you’ve read Feisty Deeds: Historical Fictions of Daring Women. Please sign up for our giveaway open June 8-July 8, 2024. It’s available by adding your name to our mailing list at Contact - DW Hogan (She’s collecting the entries.)