We flipped the script this week and brought our very own Mashashy aka author Ash Hester in for a chat ahead of her latest novel release, A Guard’s Request.
Ash is Yorkshire-born, but spent her formative years on the Isle of Arran in Scotland. Since then her antics have taken her all over the UK, but she has always stated the community she has found as the leader of Treat Your Geek as her true haven. Beginning her career in animation and comic books, Ash has worked her way through many aspects of the publishing and entertainment industry and uses her vast arsenal of experience to fuel her creations.
Here’s what she had to say to our questions;
A Passion For Creation
Tan00ks: How did you get your ideas for what to write?
Ash: Things like Avatar: The Last Airbender, Star Trek, and Lord of the Rings clearly had some influence on my characters and setting, but I think my world building and writing style are more influenced by JRPGs. Falcom’s The Legend of Heroes series is a masterclass on effortless exposition and worldbuilding, and I do love a good “Hidden Puppet Master” trope that leads into the “Omega-Boss” ending.
It’s not something to admit proudly, but I spend a lot of time daydreaming. There was a time when I didn’t have the Internet or friends to hang out with, and I was left alone with my thoughts a lot. In many ways, the characters I write about in The Light of Miera were my imaginary friends. I watched their stories play out in my head before bed and changed the narrative until I found the perfect way to write a scene. Naturally, these choices were influenced by other things, but I generally didn’t notice until later on.
Tan00ks: What surprised you most when writing your book?
Ash: I wouldn’t say it surprised me, but there was a moment at the beginning when I realised just how big The Light of Miera was going to become and it truly scared me. That realization itself was a bit of a surprise to me. It all started with this silly idea to do a “50 Shades of Elf” story to pass the time and fast became this epic journey of love and loyalty. It was so daunting to know that I had this story trapped inside me, when I didn’t feel I had the skill to achieve it.
Tan00ks: So, how did you overcome that feeling?
Ash: I studied… And, I studied hard. I watched every video and lecture I could get my hands on. From Brandon Sanderson to Jenna Moreci, any kind of BookTuber and writing website, you could bet I was there. While I was doing this, I read classics and popular fiction, never sticking with a single author for more than a book or two to analyse what I liked about their writing, and what I didn’t.
And finally, I wrote and critiqued the writing of fellow would-be-authors. We had a hard-core critique club we affectionately called the “Shark Tank” and I beta-tested my stories on Twitch to get live feedback. It was one heck of a journey, and that feeling is still there, but I’ve slowly equipped myself with the tools to face it and achieve something that I’m proud of.
Tan00ks: How do you handle writer’s block?
Ash: This might lose me a few friends, but I don’t believe in writer’s block – at least not how most people use it. I believe that there are things that make it harder to write, certainly, but I don’t like to call them writer’s block. I find people tend to use writer’s block to describe a lot of things, without actually figuring out the cause. Sometimes, the cause is as simple as you being too tired or stressed from work. Other times, there could be a fault with your story or you’re just not feeling your characters. These are surely things that can slow you down, but I wouldn’t consider them writer’s block.
Taking time to recover your energy and reassess your story is a part of the process. If you feel you cannot progress with a story, then ask yourself “why?” Be honest with yourself and give yourself grace. Writing is a marathon that can take years to complete and many of us started running without any form of training or guidance. It’s a challenge every author must overcome, but you can do it with enough determination. You just need to keep writing.
The Epic Fantasy Series You Didn’t Know You Needed
Ash is the author behind The Light of Miera, a powerful epic fantasy series that is set to span over seven novels and two short story collections. It is set in the Valnyr Galaxy on the planet of Alamantra as witches poison the Manastream. The plot is filled with compelling characters, shocking twists and fast-paced action. The latest addition to the series, A Guard’s Request, is set to release at the end of August 2025.
Tan00ks: What did you find most difficult about writing A Guard’s Request?
Ash: That’s a little difficult to pinpoint, because I love every stage of the writing process, even if it is a little difficult at times. The things I find the most difficult in writing tend to be more technical things. Getting my descriptions to flow naturally or making sure I used words the correct way. That kind of thing. But, if I were to look a little deeper, it’s nothing to do with writing at all.
The hardest part was allowing myself to be vulnerable and honest with myself enough to understand how I would deal with the situations I put my characters in and why. It’s great for character development, but often difficult to face, especially given some of the topics in A Guard’s Request specifically.
Tan00ks: Is there a particular part of The Light Of Miera that you’re proud of?
Ash: In many ways I’d like to say all of it, but I know that’s probably not the answer you’re looking for. I think the feedback is definitely something I’m proud of. Being able to hear fan theories and have them gush about their favourite characters is always a joy, but I cannot deny the pleasure I take in the heartache I cause too.
Tan00ls: Which character do you most closely identify with?
Ash: It’s a little hard to choose just one character from the TLOM series to identify with. I gave a piece of myself to every character, be that my anxiety, my family history or even my disabilities. This gave them something real I could build the character from by adding in different tropes and traits I found suited the situations most.
I think, perhaps, the character with whom I most identify with from my own writing is actually Thea in my story from An Adventurer’s Guide To Love, Life & Villainy. She was inspired by my character from a D&D campaign on Ampersand Productions and holds a lot more of my character traits than I would like to admit.
A Woman Of Many Talents
Ash has been a part of many TTRPGs on Twitch and YouTube over the last few years. She now spearheads several TYG TTRPG projects, including the TYG My Little Pony: Tails of Equestria series as the GM. She combines her love of role-play and world building to create engaging and believable characters, lending her storytelling skills to such TTRPG projects as Abbadon and STONE: A Dwarven Saga for Lost Haven Art.
Tan00ks: How has your writing evolved?
Ash: It’s strange to look back on my old work and see the difference between then and now, but at the same time, that writing was never considered “finished” to me. My writing has improved ten-fold over the last few years and there were some definite moments where I levelled-up, but it wasn’t until I released A Prelude To Light that I ever finished anything. I still see some differences though.
I think the biggest change came through role-playing and TTRPGs. There were so many times my fellow players did things that I would have never considered and others where they solved puzzles in ridiculous ways. It gave me a lot to draw from when guiding my characters through different scenarios.
Tan00ks: How do you handle feedback?
Ash: I’d like to say that I handle it well, but I don’t get a lot of negative feedback so it’s hard to tell. (That’s not a humble brag, I don’t get a lot of feedback and reviews are for readers) I’ve been reviewing and critiquing for TYG since its conception in 2012, before then even, so it would be a bit hypocritical of me to take constructive, well-meaning feedback poorly. At the moment though, everyone just shouts at me for making them feel things, and I’m okay with that.
Tan00ks: What do you hope will be taken away from your book by the readers?
Ash: I just hope my readers enjoy the ride. I didn’t set out to write anything deep and meaningful, writing was just a healthy way for me to express myself in a time where I didn’t have a whole lot of anything else to keep me company. Alamantra was my escape and it’s kinda cool that I get to share it with everyone.
Using Her Skills To Uplift Others
Ash is the driving force behind our short story anthology series, and contributed two stories to An Adventurer’s Guide To Love, Life & Villainy. She started this series as a means to help writers in the TYG community take their first step towards publishing their own novels and dip their toes into the publishing industry. Alongside the release of her upcoming novel, A Guard’s Request, she’s also gathering the troops for another anthology; A Witch’s Guide to Brooms, Swoons & Sorcery!
Tan00ks: What advice would you give a first-time author?
Ash: Just get to the end of your draft. It doesn’t matter if you just write down bullet points or scribble it all out in spider charts. Get it on the page and give your brain the space to start working on all the other bits that you’ve not even thought about yet.
Writing is an artform, a discipline. Nurture your project, hone your skills and learn from your mistakes. And most importantly of all: Never. Stop. Writing.
You can grab copies of all Ash Hester’s work on paperback and ebook in all good book retailers and pre-order A Guard’s Request at the following link today!
About the Author
