I have the pleasure of having fellow Beachwalk Press author Ashlynn Monroe here today! Let's get to know her a little better.Ashlynn, tell us about yourself.
Ashlynn Monroe has been dreaming up stories all her
life. She started to put them on paper
at thirteen, but it wasn’t until she was thirty that she decided to share them
with others. She’s a busy mom with a
full time job, fantastic friends, and a unique sense of humor. She’s just a regular girl who’s in love with
the idea of happily-ever-after. She’s
honored to be multi-published by some of the best electronic publishers in the
industry. Ashlynn survives each day by
dreaming up her next tale of romance. She loves her readers and can’t thank
them enough for the wonderful support they give her.
Do you prefer
Milk chocolate or Dark?
Milk Chocolate
Coffee or tea? Coffee
Vodka or tequila? Tequila
Romance or a Thriller? Romance
Mystery or Horror?
Horror
Did you always want to be an author?
My dream of being an author began
when I was thirteen, but I was thirty when it came true.
What authors had
an impact on you growing up and as an adult?
My grandmother would give me garbage
bags full of Harlequin romance novels.
I’d say every Harlequin author of the eighties and early nineties were a
big inspiration. I was eleven when I
started reading them. I’d never let my
daughter read half the books that I was reading at her age. I never read young adult until I was in my
twenties. I guess I’m a bit backwards!
Did anyone in your life
influence you or encouraged you to be a writer?
When I was thirteen, I wrote a
terrible novel in a binder of loose-leaf notebook paper. It was a cross between the blue lagoon and
star wars…horrible! At the time, I
thought it was great and my cousins read it.
They loved it and encouraged me to write more stories. The praise they gave me was an incredible
gift.
What is your
writing atmosphere like?
Chaos and cramped are the two words
that come to mind. The only spot I have
to myself is right next to my side of the bed.
I’m stuck between the bathroom door and my bed on a little rickety table
with my netbook. I have kids, a job, and
I’m a student so I don’t sleep much to get it all done.
What is your favorite aspect or
writing? Your Least Favorite?
Reader reviews are amazing. It’s also fun when someone you don’t know
friends you on facebook or likes the fan page.
I love meeting people and my books are an amazing vehicle for the
journey. My least favorite part would be
waiting. I’m terrible at having patience to hear back on a submission.
Your current book your promoting is:
Given, published by Beachwalk Press.
In a world without choices, one woman will find herself caught in the middle of six men and the emotions they develop for her.
Krista Damiani is one of the last women on Earth, and her patriotic duty is to make babies. On her twenty-first birthday, the government holds a lottery drawing to determine the men who will control her destiny. Her "six", the men who win the right to call her their own, know they have to impregnate her quickly or risk losing her to a new "six".
As society fills with additional violence and unrest, her men keep her sheltered in a fortress of maximum security. When a mysterious man arrives and offers her the chance for freedom, will she be willing to leave the life she knows behind or will she remain "given"?
Content Warning: contains voyeurism, multiple partners, and anal sex
How did you come up with your story
line?
I’d played around with this one for
over a year in my head. I wanted to
write a story about a woman who belonged to six men, but wanted to find her way
to peace. I really enjoyed the different
variations on the story line, but when I came up with the one, I used it felt
like a homerun for my muse. The story
started out as a novella, but blossomed into a novel.
How do you choose
your characters names?
I steal them from customers at the
day job or use a name book. I have hundreds of little folded post it notes with
first names written on them. Sometimes I
steal a unique last name too. Every
character in Given has a stolen name.
~GIVEN~
In a world without choices, one woman will find herself caught in the middle of six men and the emotions they develop for her.
Krista
Damiani is one of the last women on Earth,
and her patriotic duty is to make babies. On her twenty-first birthday, the
government holds a lottery drawing to determine the men who will control her
destiny. Her “six”, the men who win the right to call her their own, know they
have to impregnate her quickly or risk losing her to a new “six”.
As
society fills with additional violence and unrest, her men keep her sheltered
in a fortress of maximum security. When a mysterious man arrives and offers her
the chance for freedom, will she be willing to leave the life she knows behind
or will she remain “given”?
Content
Warning: contains voyeurism, multiple partners, ménage and anal sex
Excerpt:
"She's here." Jared's words came out in a whoosh of anticipation. They watched the black SUV with tinted windows as it pulled up to the front of the building. They stood in front of the grand capital tense, quiet—waiting.
A uniformed solider opened the front passenger side door and stood, surveying the crowd. He opened the back door. Max sucked in a deep breath and the sound broke the spell the other five men seemed to be under.
The crowd suddenly began shouting and the rabble of voices grew chaotic. The six men turned to watch a tall, grubby-looking man sprinting across the green grass of the capital lawn, running toward the SUV and their woman. A police officer tackled the man and the two rolled onto the ground. More officers swarmed the desperate man.
"I just want to touch her!" the wild-eyed man wailed as they cuffed him.
* * * *
Krista stepped out, and the screaming men frightened her. She saw a police officer tackle a man only a few yards away. She started to get back into the SUV, but one of the soldiers grabbed her arm gently.
"It's time, miss."
"I'm afraid."
"We'll protect you. It'll be all right. It's always like this on Giving Day. Don't worry. We will see you safely until you are under the guard of your private security."
This was everything she'd feared, only worse. She hadn't expected the protesters. Someone shouted the word "whore"; she knew the man's hateful word meant her. How any of them could think she'd asked for this was beyond her imagination.
Six young, well-dressed men stood in front of the steps of the large, white, domed building. They were looking at her with…possessiveness. The moment she saw them she knew that these men were her six, or more accurately, she was theirs.
Everything had been sort of slow motion, but then as the crowd grew more agitated, the soldiers quickly ushered her up the sidewalk. The governor didn't come out for the official ceremonial signing of The Giving right, too many threats to his life and ugly behavior had changed this day. As men who couldn't qualify grew angrier with the government, The Giving ceremony became less pomp and more circumstance; and the circumstance was, until they had the woman away from the crowd, they were all in danger. A secretary rushed out and handed the men the last of the paperwork to sign.
There wasn't a single introduction as the security, soldiers, and six young men surrounded Krista and rushed her around the corner and into a waiting limousine. They all hurried to get inside as the soldiers held back the men running toward them. Even inside the car, Krista could hear the angry shouting. The trunk slammed shut. Krista saw the driver slide into the front seat and the engine roared to life.
****
They left her alone. She sat down on the bed and air whooshed from her lungs. She shook a little due to nervous anticipation. Oh God, who should I pick? Choosing felt so very wrong to her. She may belong to these men for a long time, and the idea of alienating any of them, or getting off on a bad start, twisted her stomach in knots of nervous anxiety. She stood up and unpacked her few belongings. The closet looked so empty after she'd put her scant possessions into it. She began walking down the stairs and she heard their voices. Krista paused to listen, feeling a bit evil for eavesdropping.
"It's only right that she pick."
"We've all waited so long, shouldn't we draw straws or something?"
"For God's sake, she's a human being, not a new toy. Let the girl have her pick. We'll all have a chance."
"What if we all share her tonight? Then it's fair to all of us."
"It wouldn't be fair to Krista. If she was your new bride, would you want to pass her around to five other guys?"
"There's no more marriage, so the question isn't valid. The world isn't nice and romantic. The fact is, she'll have to sleep with all of us."
About the Author:
Ashlynn Monroe is a busy wife and mom. She enjoys writing about anything and everything paranormal or fantasy related. She spends most of her time daydreaming up her next tale of romance.
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