To write the rough draft of “Elaty Riaf”, I used my Neo by Alphasmart. This was the first time I have done this. Here are my observations:
Positives:
Negatives:
Overall, I would use this again, especially during times where I am on a strict schedule for writing. However it did not change my life enough to insist on use.
Have you used this before? Something similar? What did you think?
Dr. Dale A Grove took time from writing his latest novel Outlier Revolutions to interview Ashley about her soon-to-be-published short story.
Here is a little more information about Dale:
“Dr. Dale A. Grove is a product developer by day and a writer by night. He has worked for such firms as Owens Corning, Johns Manville, LNP Engineering Plastics, Tekni-Plex, and US Silica. He possesses a vivid imagination in creating new stories and new products with over ten US patents.
In his spare time, Dr. Grove has written four books in the science fiction genre entitled, Gray Maneuvers, Gray Extraction, ELIZA, and most recently Loose Strings. His next book entitled Outlier Revolutions will be coming out in 2017. It’s the story of a mentally deranged, yet gifted female transporter that battles for evolutionary dominance on a frigid ice world.
For further information on these and other short stories check out his website, or go to Amazon.com or Goodreads.com and search for books by Dr. Dale A. Grove.”
Interview 11/27/16
Ashley: One day, as I navigated the oceans of online dating, I thought about how much easier it would be if fairy godmothers were real. Then I had a pessimistic thought about the usefulness of magical godparents. That became the crux of this story.
Ashley: Read her name from end to beginning.
Ashley: I have personally experienced the role of activities director and saw no reason Elaty couldn’t be in the same position. My passion for this story comes from the life lessons taught to me by the elderly people I’ve worked for.
Ashley: That was the most fun part of writing this. Some of the lines were straight out of my dating inbox. I just altered them with fairy tale references. A good use for some of those negative experiences. One I couldn’t fit in was “I want to sniff your glass slipper”.
Ashley: I took time from editing Gender Chasm to write “Elaty Riaf”. My novel is a new adult fiction about a girl named Frieda who tries to save her brother. The theme is Men’s Rights. In their world, the nation has been divided into two sides: one ruled by Men, and one ruled by Women.
Ashley: Yes. You can live ever happily if you find someone who loves you for you. You both need to want to be besotted. If you have those things, and the same life goals, I believe all dragons can be defeated.
Most of my writing time since April has gone into work and my activities blog. You can catch up with my life as an activities director here: http://ashleyflashley.blogspot.com/
My fairy tale short story is coming along though. If I don’t finish editing before the anthology gets submitted, I will post it for free.
Taken from the blog of Dr. Dale Grove
Lost Man Interview7/4/2016 This is an interview about an upcoming short story entitled Lost Man that that will be included of the upcoming Western Maryland Writers Anthology that focuses on fairy tales. Ashley Crookham will also be publishing a short fairy tale, and she took on the role of one of her characters, Elaty Riaf, in the interview that follows. ELATY: How excited were you about this anthology’s fairy tale theme? ELATY: Your main character’s name is Winston. How did he get his name and did anyone in particular inspire him? ELATY: Why did you choose Peter Pan as the fairy tale on which to base your short story? ELATY: Why did you add so much humor in your story and how did you think it up? ELATY: Tell us about when/where you mostly spent your time writing this story? Did you do anything different from your using writing practices? ELATY: Last question then I’ll let you get back to counting all of your patents. Do you believe in fairy tale endings? |
The writing highlight of April was the book signing. My fellow authors and editor of the Western Maryland Writers Group 2015 Anthology dressed up to complement our short stories. We each introduced our pieces and did a brief reading. Questions from the audience followed, and everyone seemed to have a great time. Many thanks to the Hagerstown Public Library for the event.
My story for the 2016 Anthology is writing itself. I have been privileged to give feedback to other contributors this year, and I feel sure this book will be a great read.
This morning I will have the last breakfast in my twenty-three acre country home.
This is where I learned to drive manual, collected too many eggs from my chickens, made elderberry tincture, and went fishing with my cat. I rode in a front end loader in four feet of snow around the cliff edge of my driveway, bred mice, and hiked with a friend made too late. I drank thousands of cups of coffee made in the sunroom, shot a raccoon with my bow, hosted two Hunger Games parties, and wrote my first novel.
I’m lovesick for this place, but it’s time for a raw infatuation.
My new apartment, lacking the sounds of swollen streams in the morning and baby coyotes practicing their howls at night, is fresh and shiny and safe.
Tonight I will have the first dinner there.
5:30 PM
Washington County Library- Community Room
100 South Potomac Street
Hagerstown, MD 21740
Editing is still underway for Gender Chasm. I’ve been getting useful and positive feedback from members of my writer’s group. Here is a quote they enjoyed:
“…Our storage barn is a carcass of wooden bones and peeling paint. Sunbeams above the red tin roof glow like a flashlight inside a cheek…”
For the next week and a half, I’ll need to practice reading for the Book Signing on April 20th. My business cards are in, and I can’t wait to share this with my fellow authors and editor. I’m especially looking forward to the theatrics of Dr. Dale Grove.
My focus for the rest of April is to put together the first draft of my Fairy Tale for the 2016 Anthology. What are some of your favorite fantasy stories from childhood?
You may have noticed a new photo on the home page.
At the end of January, with my driveway full of ice craters, Shane crunched and skidded his way to take my author headshots.
I chose him because he can stop time.
As usual, Shane made me feel comfortable. I told him what I wanted and let him take control. We trekked to different parts of the property. He made me laugh, and he captured my smiles.
Which photo is your favorite? When are you going to schedule your own photographs?
Ashley Crookham's Writing 