Interview Q&A with Ash Douglas
@Written_In_Ash
We offer our first and exclusive Q&A Interview with Ash Douglas, a writer whose literary works have been featured on our Spillwords pages as well as being Author of the Month of April 2024.
- What does it mean to be selected as Author of The Month?
It means everything to me to be honest and I have been smiling ear to ear since the honour was bestowed upon me. I feel as a writer, certain accolades and achievements serve as place markers for your literary journey. Being Author of the Month is one of the place markers for me. Another one of the goals that I can now say with that ear-to-ear smile on my face that I accomplished. I only wonder what’s next.
- How have your friends and/or family influenced your writing?
They are my writing a lot of the time. My poetry comes from the deepest realms of my heart where my family lives daily, so it only makes sense that they are the context of some of my work. If my poetry is not about them, my poetry is because of the push from them. They love my writing and are my biggest fans.
- What inspires and motivates you to write?
The life that I have lived to date. My story up to this point of my existence. My blog is Earth to Ash which is fundamentally built on my thoughts, feelings, and emotions to the world around me. I use those three things to transcribe the world through my eyes by way of the written word. Inspiration and motivation are already inside of me, I only need the world around me to unlock it.
- Can you tell us about the catalyst that sparked your writing journey?
Blogging. My blog started nine years ago as a “what if,” a “let’s see what happens.” The more comfortable I got just communicating my day-to-day stories of old to the digital universe, the more the door opened for me to start releasing my poetry for the masses to absorb. After the first few nervous blog posts that were of my poetry garnered some overwhelming positive responses it was then that I was reassured and reinforced in my confidence to continue to allow my heart to speak for me. It was then my journey began.
- Please share a glimpse into your writing process.
My process is both active and reactive. I love poetry but I also dabble in other genres, so the answer is mixed. What I mean by active is for all my writing I must allot and make time for it. If I have a bunch of work-in-progress stories, I need to work on them daily. Only, with poetry, I do not sit down and say “Ok, I am going to write a poem now.” No, with my poetry it’s in the moment. When I am in a ponder, for a walk, seeing or remembering someone or something that’s when I am hit with an inspirational emotionally charged dart and my poems are the result.
- What do you find most fulfilling about the act of writing?
Engagement from those who have read something that I have written. When I get a response or passerby comment on my writing I am absolutely floored. Instant smile. To think that someone somewhere has gotten even the littlest something from what I have written is not only why I started my writing journey, but it’s also what continues my story. If you are touched by reading my poems, then know, so am I from hearing you were.
- How does the use of imagery contribute to conveying your story?
I am very particular in my choice of pictures for my poems. It must be the perfect image for me to allow it to be married to my poetry forever. There’s a relationship. The picture for me is as important because a lot of the time it’s what strikes the first chord of my emotional strings. Imagery is not always necessary, but when I use it, it adds the “between the lines” for the story I’m telling.
- What is your favorite reading genre?
I am open to almost anything, but I am a lover of crime thrillers. You give me a serial killer and broken in some way detective, throw in a love interest, and then you can go ahead and take my money.
- What human being has inspired you the most?
My mother and grandmother. When my grandmother was alive she used to say that she would see me in the future holding a pen and paper sitting behind a desk. I thought at one point in my life that it was a vision of my current career in the legal world, but now I know for a fact that it was the writer in me that she had seen and foretold. I only wish she could have seen how her vision came true. Then my mom, who transferred her talent and love of the written word to me unconsciously by DNA and planted the seed where one day my love of writing would bloom and grow to become what it is today.
- What message would you have for the Spillwords Press community that voted for you?
A message of a great big thank you. I always say that if it were not for those who read my work, I would be a voice in a void of nothingness. Words lost in silence. It’s surreal knowing not only are they reading my poetry, but they are also celebrating it. And in the center of that celebration is me and they put me there. I can only tell all of them that I will be forever grateful for their help on my journey of becoming a great writer.
- What would you like your legacy as a writer to be?
My legacy is that I hope that if something I’ve written makes someone think, helps them channel a memory, inspires them or simply stirs up emotion or two, then, that for me…is “Mission Accomplished!” My words are mine, and I’m only happy to share them.
- Is there anything else you would like to add?
Writing has allowed me to communicate my soul with the world. Thanks, Spillwords for giving me a stage. You know, I look at writing as therapy for me in a strong sense and when I get celebrated like this Author of the Month, it makes me feel like I am being applauded in a circle of my friends. Thank you, all my friends from the bottom of my heart. Until…
- Deadman’s Cove - September 10, 2024
- The Devil’s Hold - June 23, 2024
- Interview Q&A With Ash Douglas - May 16, 2024
