Treat Your Geek are proud to be the home of many creative people, the foremost being our founder, Mashashy aka Ash Hester. For the last few years, she has shared her magical world with our community on Twitch. As such, it was only natural she would publish her epic fantasy series under TYG too.
“I was going to read my writing aloud to see how the sentences flowed anyway, so I figured why not do it on Twitch? That way my friends got to share in my journey even if they weren’t big readers. It was scary, for sure, but I could never have imagined the community and fandom that would spawn from this.
– Ash Hester
After sharing her stories on Twitch and Wattpad, Ash inspired others to begin writing too. She began sharing her knowledge with those in her community and encouraging them to start their own writing journeys, eventually taking to TikTok to share her tips.
“I always warn people when they join TYG that my muse is too powerful for me to contain. I take no responsibility for what you may be inspired to make in my presence.”
The Light of Miera is an epic fantasy series with a diverse cast and compelling plot. Over the years the world of Alamantra grew from a threadbare draft to a vast and vibrant world. Set to include seven mainline books, with A Prelude To Light serving as a prequel, Ash is currently writing the final book in the series, A Legend Rests.
“Originally, I just planned to write a trashy, fifty-shades-of-elf novella to keep me busy when I didn’t have the Internet. It turns out I don’t really enjoy writing smut though, and what I ended up writing became so much more.”
Having no Internet and finding herself bedbound, Ash began writing without realising just how big this project would become. After initially drafting The Light of Miera as one book, she soon found herself with a vague outline of what would later become the first four books in the series.
Beginning with the Guard arc, the series follows several characters from Alamantra as witches poison the Manastream. A Guard’s Refrain sets up the series and builds upon A Prelude to Light as we look forward to an epic quest and dangerous politics. While A Prelude To Light is considered “a love letter” to Ash’s supporters, the mainline series delves into darker themes.
“It wasn’t something I set out to do, but in giving my characters faults of my own, they naturally developed similar struggles. This forced me to be brutally honest with myself and re-evaluate my own relationship with health and addiction.”
Drawing upon her love of video games and anime, Ash’s character driven narratives allows her to touch upon deeper subjects in a relatable and emotional manner. She sites Avatar the Last Airbender and Final Fantasy as major influences and hopes one day to inspire others with her world the same way.
As A Guard’s Refrain hits the shops, Ash is looking to the future with the sequel, A Guard’s Request and the TYG short story collection, An Adventurer’s Guide To Love, Life & Villainy.
“Our community has so many budding writers and I’m looking forward to showcasing their stories in this collection. I encourage everyone to give it a go. Even if their submissions aren’t accepted, short stories are a great way to practice your writing skills and lead to ideas you can develop in the future.”
You can purchase A Prelude to Light exclusively on Amazon kindle and paperback, and A Guard’s Refrain on ebook and paperback from all good book retailers including Blackwell’s and Fishpond Books.
Ash Hester is also on X (Twitter) and has a website you can keep up-to-date on all her latest releases.
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