Indie Support Sunday: AS Adams

3 days ago
6 min read

For AS Adams, her love of stories started with her grandmother. She built worlds for her grandchildren that expanded Ashley’s mind and imagination. Growing up with that kind of magic, it’s no surprise that during the pandemic, she started writing for fun and when people commented positively on her stories, she decided to take it more seriously. While this isn’t her full time job, Ashley enjoys writing novellas and telling stories about people like herself—plus size folks falling in love.

Pleasin’ Season is a series of novellas that follow couples (and throuples) as they navigate the holidays with love and everything in between. Minutes to Midnight is the newest addition to this series and is a taboo romance between stepsiblings! But that’s not all, after this one is out, the next holiday Ashley’s eyeing is President’s Day and from what she’s shared about the book so far, it sounds like it’s going to be absolutely fantastic.

All of AS Adams’ books are currently available in Kindle Unlimited.

BEING AN AUTHOR

Who or what inspired you to write?

My love of stories was inspired by my grandma. She was our storyteller, and inspiration for all our imaginary playtime. We were explorers, hoteliers, girls living on the prairie. Her house was always filled with books. As I got older I loved creative writing class, I even wrote awful self-insert stories for my friends about their crushes! During the pandemic I started writing again for fun, and as people started commenting on my stories I realized I might be able to do this for real.

What’s the best and worst part about being an indie author?

The best part is definitely readers' reactions. I love when my friends or even random people send me dm’s about their favorite parts of my books.

The worst part is how a lot of the time you don’t know what you’re doing. I’ve had so many conversations with fellow indies that start with “hey did you know about X?” or “what do I do about Y?” There's no manual, no guide. We are all relying on each other to forge the next path for us to follow.

Why did you choose to self-publish instead of going the traditional route?

Mainly inexperience (see the worst part of indie authoring!) And writing is not my full time job, I’m not ruling it out but I don’t have the bandwidth to query right now. Also, I write primarily novellas which don’t seem to have a set home in the trade market.

When you’re not writing, what do you do to get the creative juices flowing?

Doomscroll… no but for real; I’m a big Pinterest girl. I love making moodboards, especially for books I'll never write.

If you were to recommend books to me (in any genre), what would they be?

Ooh that is a loaded question because it demands follow ups. I’m a mood reader so recs are so subjective. What was your last 5 star read? What’s a trope you love no matter what? But, I would say, if you are in a major slump and like a lot of spice, the Bitten and Bound trilogy by Amy Pennza. Vampires, unique magic system, why choose; this book got me out of a two month reading slump. I had DNF’d like five books prior to reading it and now I recommend it to everyone.

What are your top 5 tips or pieces of advice for aspiring authors?

Write what YOU want to read. Not only because you’ll read it 600 times while writing but if you’re not excited you can’t expect readers to be excited.
You need at least one trusted friend to read your book. Not a cheerleader but someone who will take time to look over your work and give you HONEST feedback.
Invest in your writing—hire a beta reader, an editor, take a writing course. Having professional eyes on your work will save you in the long run, and help you become a better writer.
Build an author community where you can. This business is isolating at times; having other people in your corner to bounce ideas off, and cheer each other on is so important.
Document your costs! How will you measure your success (whatever that looks like for you) without knowing how much you’ve invested?

ROMANCE AS A GENRE

Why did you choose romance as the genre to write in? What is your favorite thing about the genre?

I just love LOVE. I’m a big proponent of love stories; my husband often tells me my heart is too big because I’ll be crying over proposal videos. Some of my first adult books I read as a teen were Nora Roberts novels and I was hooked.

My favorite thing about the romance genre is all the different ways we can read the same general plot over and over again. I never get tired of reading about two idiots (affectionate) falling in love.

If not romance/subgenres of romance, what genre would you like to write in?

Maybe sci-fi; I love Star Wars, Doctor Who, and The Fifth Element is one of my favorite movies. But if we're being honest I’m gonna put some space kissing in it!

What are your most and least favorite tropes?

Least fav is easier so I’ll say it first—no bully romances or cheating tropes. I am not going to yuck someone’s yum but they give me so much anxiety.

Most favorite is any taboo trope. I love when two (or three) characters have to sneak around for whatever reason. And the tension of getting caught!

What are some tropes you want to write in the future?

LOL, just look at my WIP drive… They’re probably all in there!!

What are some topics (sensitive and otherwise) that you think should exist more in romance?

We need more bi characters (of any gender) in all romance books/tropes. Especially in straight presenting relationships. Every book I have planned for the near future has one or more bi+ MC’s.

If you write open door romance, why did you choose that and what inspires your sex scenes?

I only write open door romance. I like smut. And when it comes to romance books, the smuttier the better. I take a lot of inspo from everywhere; the books I read, erotic audio apps, spicy voice actors on social media, movies, TV.

YOUR BOOKS

What inspired your published stories? How and when did you come up with these stories and plots?

With my holiday series, I was initially inspired by all the great Christmas romances I was seeing. I often get inspo from other writers. I'll read a book and think “Oh I’d like more of X” and then I'll start to play around with ideas. It went so well for me that I decided to keep writing more holiday stories and the ideas/holidays got more obscure from there.

Can you briefly tell me about your books?

My Pleasin’ Season series is a holiday anthology. Each book follows a different couple (or throuple) and is centered around a specific holiday. My newest release is for New Years Eve and it's called Minutes to Midnight. It’s a spicy taboo romance.

Do you already have a favorite character from the stories you’ve written?

My favorite character is probably Harper from The Missing Piece—that’s my debut novella. She was so fun to write, and so chaotic. I loved everything that came out of her mouth.

If you were to cast your book for a movie/television show, who would you cast in the lead roles?

For Minutes to Midnight I don’t really have a celebrity in mind. But when we get to the Easter story, just know that I’m picturing Jeffery Dean Morgan as the lead.

How much of yourself do you put into these characters?

Probably too much! A lot of my humor goes into my characters, I’m a very silly and sarcastic person so I think that comes through in my writing.

What is a story/stories that you really want to tell?

Well my WIP drive is full of ideas, but I really want to write a rockstar romance. That will probably be my next big project after the holiday series is done.

Is there one common element that readers can find in all your stories?

Plus size characters. I’m a plus size author and I’m going to continue to write characters that look like me and experience the things I experience.

What’s next on the bookshelf for you? Anything you can tell us about a future project?

After NYE I’m jumping right into an odd holiday—President’s Day. It’s a bodyguard romance with a female President and her secret service counterpart.

When you write these stories, what are you hoping your readers will feel?

Fun! If you can take one thing with you from my stories it's a feeling that you had a great time reading them. They are meant to be silly, sexy, and light hearted. Sure they have some serious themes at times, but the heart of them is fun.