36. They say to Write What You Know. Setting aside for a moment the fact that this is terrible advice...what do you Know?
I Know that there are fantastical worlds inside me. I Know that grief drives everything. And I Know that human connection is what provides meaning.
Because I promise I'm not trying to sound mysterious and cool:
Having worlds inside me just means that I fucking love worldbuilding. It's too much fun and you'll never be able to stop me.
Grief driving everything is kind of a new addition to my writing lately, but I think I sum it up in this post better than I could here.
Human connection providing meaning is something I've known for a while. Part of it has to do with my asexuality, and thus the way I approach romance, but I think on the whole I'm just a big fan of intimate friendships. I'll incorporate them anywhere I can.
I'm sorry, the middle emoji isn't showing on my tablet, but I've got those other two!
🍟 — Talk about another writeblr’s WIP that everyone should check out!
I've got a soft spot for kids from some scientific association/institute/etc breaking out and having freedom, so @incandescent-creativity's SOLE Project is one I would definitely rave about! (But check out their others too; LORE sounds super good, and I love to look at all the updates!)
And of course, I can rant and rave for hours, but go check out @theguildedtypewriter and their Newborn City stuff! The characters are all interesting and engaging, and I absolutely adore learning everything I possibly can about them! Also, the Power Switch AU had me cracking up and hoping nearly laughing wouldn't make anyone notice me not paying attention when I was supposed to!
🍿 — Tell you something I really love about my writing!
My own writing? I suppose I love being able to dive into a world and find so many things to play with in it! I mean, I'm not great at focusing on things (which is probably why I have a hard time deciding what to write and end up writing nothing) but I like being able to head into a world and then discover things about it I didn't realize before.
It's been really fun with my Death's Eyes universe, because there is so much to dig into and make and learn, and even if I never finish the WIP, it's a great learning experience and I can still use that "universe" to play with new stories and ideas, so nothing is ever a waste!
Who is the polyamory trio in Wanderlust and what are their dynamics?
I’ve only talked a little bit about Yulia on my blog, but she’s a third of it!
The OT3 consists of my character Yulia, @decantae‘s character Masaru, and @autofoebia‘s character Kai. They’re all Asian! We usually just refer to them as the OT3, but their proper coven name is the Triumvirate. Like the Wanderlust crew, they are on an eternal road trip — instead of a van, they have a blue pickup truck.
Yulia is the heart of the trio. She’s emotional and wears her heart on her sleeve; she’s very collectivistic and values harmony, community, relationships; she’s hippie-esque and spiritual; she’s also super scary when she’s angry. Out of the three she’s arguably the most powerful, with mastery of elemental magic.
Kai is the soul of the trio. He’s very dreamy and free; he’s a huge goofball who tries to cheer people up and make them smile; he rarely gets upset or mad outwardly; he’s very much a ‘water off a duck’s back’ kind of guy. He uses a lot of nature magic like wind, and plants.
Masaru is the rock of the trio. He’s very stoic and doesn’t emote all that often; he’s calm and reliable under pressure; very dry and sarcastic; not a man of many skills, but is really good at what he does; he’s pretty traditional; and he’s the most normal — like, he has the most everyday life skills. He uses a lot of fire magic.
Yulia and Kai are very similar, floating in the air-kinda thing. Masaru grounds them and brings them back to earth, while they make sure he’s not being so serious all the time. There’s a lot of spiritual talks, lots of bickering and teasing, and lots of very open expressions of love. There is never any question that all three of them are ridiculously in love with each other; they make it very obvious.
When they first appear in Wanderlust, they’re all caught up in a somewhat traditional love triangle but with more crushes. They all had feelings for each other, but Kai thought that Masaru and Yulia were in love; Masaru thought that Yulia and Kai were in love; Yulia was just absolutely confused.
By the time they appear in Wanderlust again, they’ve managed to figure out that they’re all in love with each other, and are happily all in a polyamorous relationship.
Tell me about your strong women for International Women's Day!
Happy International Women’s Day everyone!! I’ve been blessed with many amazing, strong woman in my life, (not the least of whom is my very own mom), and it’s absolutely necessary for our literature to reflect the diversity and power of women. So, here’s a few of my own strong literary woman!
Ashalle: Big muscles mean bigger hugs.
A childhood spent working in desert mines where the only escape from life’s monotony was a free-climb up an orange cliff-face has turned Ashalle into nothing but muscle and fire, but that fire burns hottest for the people she loves. When her partner’s sibling is in danger, she decides to cross the universe to rescue and reunite the small, splintered family.
|| Quasi Stellar
Suuki: Strength comes in all shapes and sizes.
Suuki may be more chub than muscle, but she has more than enough intelligence and determination to make up for her lack in physical strength. After this sixteen-year-old science nerd is kidnapped by her kingdom’s worst enemies, she takes matters into her own hands, uncovering secrets that will change her life forever.
|| Iron From Fire
Simone: Everyone needs a mom-friend with a gun.
Being first mate to a kindhearted idiot pirate captain isn’t always a walk in the park, but Simone faces every new adventure with a dose of deadpan wit and deadly protectiveness. When her captain decided to hunt down a vicious inventor, Simone never imagined she would come out the other side equally protective of a blood-thirty siren.
|| Our Bloody Pearl
Mantas: Who needs strength when you have poison?
It was a near-fatal challenge growing up as a blind homeless orphan in the country she was meant to rule, while her family’s murder held the throne, but hardship only drove Mantas to poison first and ask questions later. Though her rebellion seems doomed to fail, she won’t be handing out antidotes until she’s made her country a better and safer place for her people.
I was tagged by @theguildedtypewriter and @ramblingsofabourbondrinker, thank you both so much! 💖
ONE / name / alias: I generally go by as Veronica, my real name, or Asch, my alias. I’ll answer to anything, though--people tend to mix up V names (ie. Victoria/Vanessa/Veronica--I’ve met a number of Veronicas who’ve had the same struggle) and it’s made me truly indifferent to what I’m called lol
FIVE / hobbies: Writing, for sure, although at this point that’s also partially an ideal career and an obsession. But also reading, video games, and eating cooking!
SIX / favorite colors: Purples, teals/cyans/green-blues, and grays.
SEVEN / favourite books: Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov is my all-time favorite, and Nabokov’s The Defense is also one of my dear favorites, as are the First Law Trilogy & The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie. The Hot Zone by Richard Preston, Level 4: Virus Hunters of the CDC by Joseph B McCormick and Susan Fischer-Hoch, and pretty much any other epidemiological book I’ve ever touched are also faves that I can never get enough of.
EIGHT / last song listened to: Funny Little Creatures by Nothing More
NINE / last film watched: I honestly don’t watch many movies, but the last one I watched beginning to end was Night School lmao
TEN / inspiration for muse: Everything. Absolutely everything. Nature / weather / mythology / music / other characters / real people / etc., I’m constantly refilling my well of inspiration.
ELEVEN / dream job: Full time author who can afford her mortgage? Yes. But I’m also very, very enthusiastic about the idea of working in the field of biodefense/biosecurity.
TWELVE / meaning behind your URL: Asch is my pen-name, and I’ve always been--admittedly arbitrarily--drawn to including ink in my usernames, so I settled with aschenink sort of as a play on asch/ash. In hindsight I wish I’d just gone basic with aschwrites or something, but I’m way too deep into this to bother changing my url now, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
From the ask your fave writeblr: 5. What was your first novel called?
Oh jeeez. I actually don’t remember??? At least if we’re going with “first novel I started.” It was something to do with middle school & spies I believe???
If we’re going more recently, first novel I FINISHED, then it was/is called Sapphire Dreaming!
