Sounds Like Love With Ashley Poston

Summary

Barely Famous Podcast Episode Summary Title: Sounds Like Love With Ashley Poston
Host: Kale (Kail Lowry)
Guest: Ashley Poston
Release Date: July 25, 2025

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1. Introduction

In this episode of Barely Famous, host Kale welcomes best-selling author Ashley Poston, known for her diverse range of works from YA romantic comedies like Geekerella to more unconventional titles such as The Dead Romantics. The conversation delves into Ashley's unique journey in the literary world, her creative processes, and how personal experiences shape her storytelling.

2. Ashley Poston's Career Journey

Ashley shares her transition from working in publishing to becoming a full-time writer. With a background in English from the University of South Carolina and experience in marketing design, she naturally gravitated towards writing, her true passion.

• Ashley Poston: "I've always wanted to write books and I've always known that was my end goal." [02:10]

She discusses the challenges of moving from a stable career in publishing to the uncertainties of writing, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to her creating The Dead Romantics.

3. Navigating Publishing Paths

Ashley explains her initial foray into traditional publishing with Geekerella, an IP (Intellectual Property) project for Quirk Books, and how it preceded the sale of her own work, Heart of Iron.

• Ashley Poston: "Paths are always different, you know." [05:55]

She distinguishes IP writing from ghostwriting, emphasizing that while both involve writing under different parameters, IP projects still allow her to infuse her unique voice.

4. Writing Across Genres: YA and Adult Fiction

Ashley discusses the nuances of writing for different audiences. For her YA novels, themes revolve around first experiences and fitting into the larger world, while her adult romances focus on reinventing oneself and deeper emotional connections.

• Ashley Poston: "For me, that's what adult romance is—finding out who you truly are and who you want to surround yourself with." [15:02]

5. Incorporating Personal Experiences

Personal experiences deeply influence Ashley's writing. She candidly talks about incorporating elements of grief and loss into her narratives, using her own feelings and family members as inspiration.

• Ashley Poston: "Writing kind of helps me explore thoughts and feelings that I have, from the outside looking in." [34:37]

Her book The Dead Romantics serves as a cathartic outlet for processing her grandmother's passing, allowing her to weave genuine emotions into her story.

6. Impact on Readers

Ashley highlights the profound connections she forms with her readers, many of whom find solace and understanding in her portrayal of sensitive topics like suicide and grief.

• Ashley Poston: "When people come up to me and say, 'I really appreciated what you wrote...'" [45:39]

She believes in the transformative power of books to bridge the isolation felt during personal struggles.

7. Creative Inspirations: Music and Fanfiction

Music plays a significant role in Ashley's creative process. She often curates playlists that reflect the mood of her chapters, enhancing the reading experience.

• Ashley Poston: "I wanted to write a book that just filled me with the kind of joy that I have when I listen to my favorite song." [30:11]

Additionally, her roots in fanfiction provided a foundation for her storytelling skills, allowing her to experiment freely without the constraints of commercial publishing.

8. Overcoming Writer's Block

During the pandemic-induced creative slump, Ashley revisited fanfiction to rekindle her passion for writing. This approach not only helped her overcome writer's block but also reinforced her ability to craft compelling narratives.

• Ashley Poston: "I wrote a 50,000-word fanfic in two weeks... and it filled me with so much creative energy and joy." [26:32]

9. Advice for Aspiring Authors

Ashley offers valuable advice to new writers, emphasizing the importance of maintaining personal creative projects separate from commercial endeavors to preserve the joy of writing.

• Ashley Poston: "Always keep something sacred just for you... to remember that you love doing this, that this is like freaking awesome." [28:16]

10. Success of "Seven Year Slip"

Seven Year Slip unexpectedly went viral on BookTok, significantly boosting Ashley's readership and bringing attention to her backlist. This surge highlighted the unpredictable nature of literary success and the power of social media in today’s publishing landscape.

• Ashley Poston: "Seven Year Slip is now so many people's favorite books... it was completely by surprise." [44:28]

11. Future Projects and Adaptations

Looking ahead, Ashley is open to the possibility of adapting her work into other mediums, such as film, provided the creative vision aligns with her storytelling ethos.

• Ashley Poston: "If they wanted to make it into a film, I'd 100% sell the rights... it has to have good music." [53:17]

12. Conclusion

The episode wraps up with Ashley sharing where listeners can find her work and connect with her online, including her presence on Instagram and TikTok. Her authentic approach to writing and her ability to intertwine personal experiences with relatable fiction make her a standout author in the contemporary literary scene.

• Ashley Poston: "You can find me online at @AshPoston on Instagram and also @ash_poston on TikTok." [53:43]

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• "I've always wanted to write books and I've always known that was my end goal." [02:10]
• "Paths are always different, you know." [05:55]
• "For me, that's what adult romance is—finding out who you truly are and who you want to surround yourself with." [15:02]
• "Writing kind of helps me explore thoughts and feelings that I have, from the outside looking in." [34:37]
• "Seven Year Slip is now so many people's favorite books... it was completely by surprise." [44:28]
• "Always keep something sacred just for you... to remember that you love doing this, that this is like freaking awesome." [28:16]
• "If they wanted to make it into a film, I'd 100% sell the rights... it has to have good music." [53:17]

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Final Thoughts: Ashley Poston's candid discussion on Barely Famous offers a profound insight into the life of a multifaceted author who navigates various genres while staying true to her personal experiences and emotions. Her ability to connect deeply with her audience through authentic storytelling underscores the timeless power of literature to heal and unite.

Transcript

[Unknown Speaker]

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[Kale]

Welcome to the show. Things are going to get weird. It's your fave villain Kale, and you're listening to Barely Famous. All right, today's guest is best selling author Ashley Poston. She's written everything from YA rom coms to ghost smut and today we're going to get into all of it.

[Ashley Poston]

So.

[Kale]

So Ashley has a unique reader audience and I can't wait to get to know her today. Hi Ashley. Thank you for joining us on Barely Famous podcast.

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, I'm so happy to be here.

[Kale]

Yeah. So your newest release is.

[Ashley Poston]

It Sounds Like Love.

[Kale]

I know that Seven Year Slip went viral all over Booktok and that's where I had first heard of you and so. But that's not your only book.

[Ashley Poston]

No, I have, I have a dozen books at least.

[Kale]

And so did that bring up people looking up your, like your back list and stuff when you, when seven Year Slip went viral?

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, yeah. Like, they were like, oh, I didn't know that she wrote Geekerella, which is my first YA book, or that I wrote the Dead Romantics. And then after they found seven Years Slip, they also found novel Love Story, which came out last year. And now everyone's following me to. Sounds Like Love.

[Kale]

I love that. So before you started writing, you worked in publishing, is that right?

[Ashley Poston]

Yes.

[Kale]

What made you make the switch from publishing to writing books?

[Ashley Poston]

I've always wanted to write books and I've always known like that was my end goal. But until I could do that, full really loved like the, the art of like pushing a book and the art of like getting a, like a story into the hands of readers. And so that was just one thing. That was just. It felt natural to just kind of try and figure out a way into it. There's not one, like, path into publishing, really. So I kind of went a roundabout way. When I was in college, I was an English major, but I got into publishing through freelance cover design, and I self taught myself graphic design. Way win. Yeah. And so an opportunity opened up and I became a marketing designer. And so I worked in publishing doing Google Ads and newspaper ads and tote bags and pencils and.

[Kale]

So do you do your own covers then?

[Ashley Poston]

No, I do not. I have. I have a really lovely team at Berkeley.

[Kale]

Okay. I watch. I follow this girl on TikTok who works for, like, she does covers for books, and she walks through the process of, like, where it started and how it ended. And I think that's really cool.

[Ashley Poston]

It is so cool. I also watch a lot of those too, and everyone's process is a little different. And so I love watching other artists process and how they do it.

[Kale]

And you went to usc?

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah, the University of South Carolina.

[Kale]

And when you were going there for English, you knew you wanted to write?

[Ashley Poston]

Yes.

[Kale]

Oh, that's really cool.

[Ashley Poston]

That was one thing that I always knew I wanted to do. And English, I've always loved stories in general, so English just felt like the natural major to have. And it's something that I could use for a multitude of things that I wanted to try and do. So, yeah, I just, I. I just did English and I just kept writing and I wrote while I was working in publishing. And then finally I sold my first book, and I had a talk with my agent, and I was like, hey, do you think I could do this writing in full time? And she was like, yeah, no. Absolutely not. In New York, too. Too expensive.

[Kale]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ashley Poston]

Can't do it. Stars are not in position. So I ended up moving back home to South Carolina, and I lived with my parents for a little while, writing two books a year. And then Covid happened, and my career kind of stalled. Like, a lot of people's careers kind of stalled. And so I was like, holly, I don't know what to do. Holly's my agent. And Holly was like, just write something weird. I'm like, cool, I can do that. So I wrote the Dead Romantics, which at the time was called Ghost Boners, because why not? I label all of my books silly things because I want to remind myself to have fun while I'm doing it. It's not that serious. I can forgive myself for mistakes that happen, because this is something that I do for joy. And then we sold Dead Romantics. And I have been ever since with my lovely editor Amanda at Berkeley, and it's been a dream.

[Kale]

I love that. When did Geekerella.

[Ashley Poston]

Geekerella came out in 2017.

[Kale]

So was that your first?

[Ashley Poston]

It was, yes. It was my first traditionally published novel.

[Kale]

Okay, what was that experience like?

[Ashley Poston]

It was so wild because. So technically, Geekerella is my first novel, but it's an ip, so it was a work for hire for Quirk Books. So I auditioned for the role to write that novel.

[Kale]

Okay.

[Ashley Poston]

And while I was doing that, I was on submission with another book, Heart of Iron, which took another eight months to sell. So I. So we were. We were on submission for a Heart of Iron when I got the offer for Geekerella. So technically, Geekerella sold first, and then eight months later, Heart of Iron sold.

[Kale]

Oh, wow.

[Ashley Poston]

It was. It. Paths are always different, you know.

[Kale]

Would that be similar to ghost writing?

[Ashley Poston]

Kind of. So I. IP writing is. You are still writing mostly as, like, your. Your own stuff. They hire you because of your voice, because of. Because you know the story, because they think you're the best fit for it. And there are a lot of books that are IP projects that are generated in house that they pick authors that have the perfect voice for. For those roles. And. And that's how a lot of books are written.

[Kale]

And you grew up in South Carolina, so how do you think your upbringing and growing up in South Carolina has shaped your voice in becoming an author?

[Ashley Poston]

My parents always told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be. They gave me books when I was like, I love reading, and there's really not much in South Carolina. There's, there's. There's sports, there's a bookstore.

[Kale]

Maybe.

[Ashley Poston]

You know what? There was Borders. I. I spent a lot of time in Borders.

[Kale]

I remember Borders. They closed down a long time ago. And I wonder if they would consider bringing it back.

[Ashley Poston]

Listen, if. If they did, I would be the first one there in. In their manga section, just sitting down, just like, what's manga A mang. A Japanese comic books that you read backwards to front.

[Unknown Speaker]

Yeah.

[Kale]

Oh, that's cool. Is that like, your favorite?

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, I love manga so much. It is. I always have. Ever since I was like, in middle school when I first found it, I was like, oh, this is so cool.

[Kale]

This is so cool.

[Ashley Poston]

And like, these, like, there's like 20 volumes in this story that goes on forever. I love this. And so as like a kid, I, like, ate it up. And now that I'm an adult, I still like, you know, I Still like to read it. And I love to, like, read the things that bring me joy, for sure.

[Kale]

And fanfic is one of those.

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, yeah.

[Kale]

I had to have the girls explain to me what fanfiction was. Cause I actually didn't know.

[Ashley Poston]

Are you kidding me?

[Kale]

No. I live under a rock.

[Ashley Poston]

It must be a very nice rock, though.

[Kale]

I mean, so what is fanfiction?

[Ashley Poston]

Okay, so fanfiction is basically when you have. It's when you write your own story based on, like, a book or a piece of media that you really like. So say you like Twilight, and you're like, man, I like Twilight. But I have a different story for Edward and Bella. I'm going to write that other story and I'm going to, like, elaborate on it. Yeah, yeah. And see where it goes. Or say, I don't like Bella with Edward. I think Bella should have been with Alice, which is what should have happened. And so you can write that in this fanfic space. And there's a community around that. And that's actually where I got my start writing was because there was nothing in South Carolina. I ended up finding a fanfiction community online for my favorite fandom. And I just started writing, like, the Wendible's Eye. Right. I wrote so many different fanfics. I found so many different friends in fandom. I explored who I was and who I wanted to be in this community. And it basically opened up my entire world in this, like, very, very small town of South Carolina.

[Kale]

But I love that. And you did theater too.

[Ashley Poston]

I did.

[Kale]

And so how did that shape your voice as a. As a storyteller?

[Ashley Poston]

In high school, I did a lot of tech theater, but I also did playwriting. And so I won a state championship for playwriting. And I was going to go to SCAD for their screenwriting and playwriting. And then the 2008 recession happened, and my mom lost her job, and I had a scholarship, but wasn't enough, and I wanted to stay close to home, so I chose the University of South Carolina. It ended up being the perfect. The perfect fit for me because I ended up finding a mentor who helped me get. Get my first, like, internship in publishing. And, you know, fast forward 15 years and here I am.

[Kale]

No, I. Congratulations. And so your. Your first novel, Geekerella, is that also based on fanfic?

[Ashley Poston]

Well, okay, so the ip.

[Kale]

I know you said it was ip and it was. It's different, but is it fanfic or no?

[Ashley Poston]

Well, I. You can argue that any Cinderella retelling is fanfic. I mean like very loosely, sure, but I would not consider it fanfic. Like I, I think like, like the fanfic like label should be reserved for like transformative works that you find on AO3 or wattpad or fanfic or like fanfiction.net whereas if you retell something that is in like the public sphere like like Cinderella or Beauty and the Beast or the Count of Monte Cristo, then that's like more of a retelling than than fanfic. But like technically in like loose broad terms. Yeah, they are both transfer transformative works.

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[Kale]

You also write ya and also, you know, adult fiction. So how do you switch your mindset when you're writing between the genres? Because I would imagine they're pretty different.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah, they are pretty different, but like in a lot of ways they are really similar as well. For my YA books, a lot of young adult is about like first time experiences and so like middle grade I like. So for me middle grade is like finding as like a main character, finding where they fit in and like, like, like, like, like, like who they are and like fit in in their, their small community and their family. For like ya, it's like how do you fit in with like the larger world? Like how do you engage with, with relationships? And that's where first kisses come in and first relationships and first crushes. And with an adult, it's still the same thing. You're still finding first obviously. And you're also reinventing yourself over and over again. So you're trying to find who you are again. And for me that's what adult romance is. Finding out who you truly are and who you want to be and who you want to surround yourself with. Because I think that's something that we as humans have to constantly like navigate in. Like the real world as well.

[Kale]

Yeah.

[Ashley Poston]

And so that, that's like a through line between both like, like middle grade YA and adult. Is that finding where you fit in in this human experience?

[Kale]

Do you ever take personal experiences and incorporate them in either YA or adult romance?

[Ashley Poston]

Always.

[Kale]

And what is that like? Do people that know you ever read your books and you're like, wait, this sounds familiar.

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, oh yeah, quite, quite often actually. There was one book, I'm not sure which one, but there was a margarita mixer that is in real life and it's like a lawnmower engine attached to a Blender. And you have to crank it to start it. And so I put it into one of my novels. And my parents, beach crew that they always see every summer, they're like, hey, you added the margarita mixer. And I'm like, yeah, I did. You also killed your dad again in this one.

[Kale]

Did you kill your dad in a book?

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, like, three of them.

[Kale]

Is he alive in real life?

[Ashley Poston]

He's super alive.

[Kale]

I don't know if that's bad juju or does he know you kill him all?

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah.

[Kale]

Oh, how does he feel about that?

[Ashley Poston]

So he listens to every one of my books, and so before he goes into them, he's like, did you kill me in this one again?

[Kale]

Oh, it's like a running joke. So he's not offended?

[Ashley Poston]

No, he's not.

[Kale]

Did you kill off any other family members that we should know about?

[Ashley Poston]

You know what? It sounds like love. I think I might have killed off my mom.

[Kale]

Okay.

[Ashley Poston]

It's fine.

[Kale]

Is she okay with it?

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, she's good. She's like. She was like, finally.

[Kale]

Do you have a favorite author or favorite book?

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, I feel like, yes, I do. I love Howls of Encastle by Diana Wynne Jones. It is. It's always. It's the same exact answer to this question I get all the time. And they're like, ashley, don't you have, like, more than one favorite book? And I'm like, yes, but Howls of Incastle by Diana Wynne Jones was, like. Was instrumental in me becoming an author. It was one of the reasons. Because I read it when I was 12. And Dynowyn Jones, if you haven't read her, she has this really witty, wry kind of voice to her writing. That is impeccable. It's so good. It reminds me of Terry Pratchett. Terry Pratchett is also a fantastic fantasy author. And. And I fell in love with the book. And then I read everything else that she ever wrote, and I was like, I want to be an author that can make me laugh and cry at the exact same time.

[Kale]

I love that.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah.

[Kale]

We were just talking about that earlier today, that once you find an author that you love, you'll buy your entire catalog of books and titles. And so that's cool that you just mentioned that as well.

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, man. Yeah. And she passed on in 2014. So sad. There will never be any more books from her. But now I'm, like, collecting first editions, so we're on the next level now.

[Kale]

Right? Right. Do any of your books have different covers?

[Ashley Poston]

Okay, so technically, yes. So some foreign editions have different covers, but I also. There's a Fairyloot special edition of my adult romances that are just really beautiful. They're packed pastel. They are technically the same covers, the same design, but they're just different colors.

[Kale]

Okay.

[Ashley Poston]

And they have, like, pretty painted edges and they have, like, embossing. Oh, they're just. They're beautiful packaging.

[Kale]

Your covers are really, really pretty.

[Ashley Poston]

Thank you. Yeah. Sometimes books. Books are repackaged to, like, find a different audience.

[Kale]

Sure.

[Ashley Poston]

So that. That's kind of usually how that happens.

[Kale]

Do you have any books that you have written that you would build a series off of? Any standalones that you would build a series off of?

[Ashley Poston]

I don't think so. Not yet. Just because most of my ya, they're pretty, like, they're wrapped up pretty well. And my adult contemporaries, they're all sort of interconnected anyway. They have characters that kind of pop in between each other. So not really. I get asked sometimes whether or not I'm going to write a sequel to the Dead Romantics.

[Kale]

And are you?

[Ashley Poston]

I don't know. We'll see. Maybe. I mean, if the right story comes to me, absolutely. But I'm not going to sit down and be like, okay, I'm gonna write a sequel. If I'm gonna write a sequel, it's going to have to be a good story, because I absolutely hate a sequel that breaks up the main characters after you go through an entire book, getting them together just to have them have a miscommunication and then just break up in the second one just to get back together again. I truly abhor that.

[Kale]

Well, I hate that in real life. So let's also not put it in a book. Yeah, yeah, yeah. No, I get that.

[Ashley Poston]

I'm like, what? You know, romances, like, deserve happy endings where they just stay happy, where, like, they're in a stasis at the end.

[Kale]

Yeah.

[Ashley Poston]

And, like, I think that's why a lot of readers, like, gravitate to romance. Because, you know, like, even with everything that happens, all the betrayal, all the drama, you know, at the end, there's going to be a happy ending.

[Kale]

Always.

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, in romance. Yes. If, like, a book is, like, shelved in the romance section, it pretty much has to have a happy ending.

[Kale]

Wait, I didn't know that because I was like. I was recently reading a book. I think it was like, may. And I was like, how is this going to end? Like, I did not know. Know. I didn't know that they have. They have happy endings because. So when she said that. I was like, is that a spoiler?

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, no, no, absolutely not. Like, it is, like, baked into, into the entire genre. Like, if it's romance, it's gonna have a happy ending.

[Kale]

So if it's not having a happy ending, what type of genre would that be?

[Ashley Poston]

It would probably be women's fiction, or it would be like, I think there's some, like, dark romance, but it's not like, like, capital R romance.

[Kale]

Okay. And then for, like, as far as books go, like, when I was asking you about Inner, you said interconnected series, or would you ever build off into a series you're not contracted. Could you. If you don't have a contract for a series, could you decide, hey, like, I want to do a sequel to this?

[Ashley Poston]

I mean, I, I could, I could.

[Kale]

Like, how does that. Do you have the freedom to do that? Or how does that work?

[Ashley Poston]

I mean, I, I, I think I would have the freedom to do that, but I don't think I would want to. So all of my books are, are like a team effort between me and, and my amazing editor. And so, like, they wouldn't be half as good as they are without her. So I don't think I would want to go on any journey with beside me. But I'm pretty sure that if I wanted to, Shenanigan, Amanda would definitely shenanigan with me.

[Kale]

What is Shenanigan?

[Ashley Poston]

Goof off. Do a fun.

[Kale]

Your first ever, the Geekerella was published through someone else. Well, your next novel was the Dead.

[Ashley Poston]

Romantics, so it was Geekerella. And then there were two, Two sequels. The Princess and the Fangirl and Bookish and the Beast. And then I also published, with Harper, I published a space fantasy, Heart of Iron and Soul. It was a duology. And I published a standalone young adult fantasy called among the Beasts and Briars. And then Covid and then the Dead Romantics with Berkeley.

[Kale]

So you never really self published then? Did you ever think about self publishing?

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, I did. I self published back in 2012.

[Kale]

Okay.

[Ashley Poston]

Realized very quickly was not for me.

[Kale]

Why, why do you say that?

[Ashley Poston]

Because I am very good at writing the book. I am not good at marketing myself. I am very bad at, like, my own, my own marketer.

[Kale]

Okay.

[Ashley Poston]

I just, I am not equipped to do that.

[Kale]

You do a good job on social media.

[Ashley Poston]

Thank you. Because I have someone behind the scenes to help me.

[Kale]

Same. Yeah, same.

[Ashley Poston]

But I am very bad at promoting myself because I'm like, why should I promote myself when there are these other amazing books that I am reading that I'm loving that. I also want to promote.

[Kale]

Right.

[Ashley Poston]

So that balance is hard.

[Kale]

I mean, I definitely think that social media has changed the game for self publishing and marketing because there you can and essentially do it for free. So I think that's really harder than. No, for sure it's harder. And I would imagine that it would be hard too because you've worked with publishers and so you know what, you know the game plan is. And so when you do it for yourself, it's gonna be a little bit harder and different.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah. And like you have to be, you have to be your own marketer, you have to be your own publicist. Like you are, you are wearing a billion different hats at once and you might not get paid for it. And so, and so it's all like a passion project until it isn't. And it's just I have so much respect for indie authors because they are the whole kit and caboodle.

[Kale]

Ye. I've talked to a couple indie authors and they just, and they're so sweet and I'm like, how can I help you?

[Ashley Poston]

Right? It's like, let me help you, please.

[Kale]

Yeah, like I just want to help them.

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[Kale]

What do you do when there's writer's block? When you said Covid hit and you were kind of going through like a limbo, a period of limbo, like what do you do for writer's block? What do you do when you're not writing?

[Ashley Poston]

I usually try to refill the well anytime, like any way I can. I like watch movies, I play video games. I have a long list of video games that I am like waiting to actually play until I have like time to play them. And then I will just tear through all of them and then I will go back to writing again. And so I do a lot of that. I read a whole lot of fanfic, a disgusting amount of fanfic. It is truly abhorrent how much fanfic that I read. But yeah, I just pursue whatever brings me joy and for sounds like love. It was really hard for me to write that one just because I was so creatively burnt out because I had been going nonstop for like three years at that Point. And so I hit a brick wall and I did not know how to write this book. And so I took a little bit of time off, a little bit, like two weeks, right. And I decided to go back to what I did best, which was writing fanfic. So I went back to AO3 archive of our own and I wrote like a 50,000 word fanfic in two weeks. And I remembered, oh, I know how to tell a story. I love these characters. I love how to write. This is amazing. And it, it filled me with so much creative energy and joy just to not have the shackles of deadlines and a contract and things that. Deliverables that I had to turn in just to have something for me. And so now whenever a new author or an aspiring author asks me what is. Oh, what's the word? I'm blanking.

[Kale]

Advice.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah, advice. Thank you.

[Kale]

Yeah, yeah.

[Ashley Poston]

Words. I get paid for them. Weird.

[Kale]

That's how I feel every day. Like, I get paid for this. Like, what is going on?

[Ashley Poston]

It's like, I know this word. This is a word that I know. Where is it going? It's just, it's gone. It's a whoosh. When new authors ask for advice, I always tell them, keep something sacred just for you. Because the industry is one thing and your creative endeavor is another. And so always keep like a story or keep, keep like, like your username and like as your fanfic. Just keep, keep one thing just for yourself that you don't want to monetize, that you don't want to show to the public. So you can remember that you. That you love doing this, that this is like freaking awesome.

[Kale]

And that's actually really good advice. I don't think I've ever heard that. Any author that I've talked to has never said anything like that.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah, it's.

[Kale]

I think that could be true.

[Ashley Poston]

And error. Right?

[Kale]

It could be true for so many career paths. Right. It's not just writing. It could be for anything. Keep something for you.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah. Especially in like this day and age where like, like content and everything can be like sold and marketed. Like just, just keep something that's just for you that you're not going to let anyone else see or if they do, you're going to be anonymous like, like on AO3. And that's, that's been like basically like a godsend for me. And so I go back to fanfic whenever I really need to refill the well and it keeps me from creative burnout.

[Kale]

So then once you did that and you Took your two weeks, you wrote the fanfic and then you were like, I can tell stories. What truly inspired Sounds like Love.

[Ashley Poston]

It was the idea of two people communicating telepathically. Because you see that a lot in Romanasy. Like, like how like two fated maids, they can like, you know, hear each other's thoughts or like, you know, a main character and her dragon or something. And I'm like, well, what would that look like in a contemporary setting? Because I love that trope so much in fanfic. And it's like very popular in fanfic.

[Kale]

Telepathy. Yeah, telepathy.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah. And so I was like, well, what does that look like in like a romance book? And I also really love music. I grew up going to concerts. I think my first concert was a Jimmy Buffett concert. Just my parents are major parrot heads and they took me to Elton John and Aerosmith and all of those Divorced dad rock. So that's the songs that I still listen to is a lot of Divorced dad Rock. And so I wanted to write a book that just filled me with the kind of joy that I have when I listen to my fiance favorite song. And I turn it up to 11. I can, I can. And I can feel it rattling in my chest, you know, and it's like that loud. And I wanted to write a book that kind of reminded me of that feeling.

[Kale]

I love that.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah.

[Kale]

And you wrote the Dead Romantics. I am during after Covet or before COVID or during.

[Ashley Poston]

Technically during.

[Kale]

But it was Ghost Boners before. How did it evolve into the Dead Romantics being a best selling?

[Ashley Poston]

Well, first it was a Reylofic for like a hot second.

[Kale]

What is that?

[Ashley Poston]

It was Rey and Kylo Ren. So it was a fanfic for like three chapters.

[Kale]

Star Wars.

[Ashley Poston]

Star Wars. Yes. Yes. Star Wars.

[Kale]

I knew it.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah.

[Kale]

I still haven't watched it, but I'll get to it at some point.

[Ashley Poston]

It's fine, it's fine.

[Kale]

I have not watched Star wars yet. But how did that evolve into what it is today?

[Ashley Poston]

So it. I wrote the first three chapters and it was was like an alternate universe. So there was no Star Warsy ness in it. There weren't space wizards or anything. And I was like, oh, this is really fun. It's like a ghost and it's a ghostwriter and it's in publishing. And I am really enjoying writing this. I think I'm going to not write this as a fanfic and I'm going to take this plot and move it over here. And so I. I divorced it from the fanfic of it all. And I just wrote a book about my feelings on kind of like being stagnant and stuck in a place in my career that I wasn't quite sure how to get out of. And I just wanted to write the feeling of I love you, but I can't touch you. That is. That is. That is just so addictive to me. Yeah, it's just. It's so powerful, right? Yeah.

[Kale]

Because, I mean, if you think about it in real life, like when people pass away or whatever, you're like, I love you so much, but I can't touch you.

[Ashley Poston]

Exactly, exactly. And then also, like, when you're like, in love with someone who. Who like you, you know, you have this, like, electric connection with. But they're a ghost and they're dead, and you don't know what to do about those people feelings. Right. And I also was exploring at the time my grandmother had passed away, and it was. It wasn't sudden, but it was during a time when I was on the. It was in 2019, and my. I was on the road for. I think it was Princess and the Fangirl. And so she got sick very quickly. And then I went to San Diego Comic Con, and the night I flew home was the night she passed away. And so I never got to say goodbye to her. And that had been weighing on me for a while, and I didn't know how to process that grief. And so when I started to write the Dead Romantics and it was turning into this kind of story about grief and longing and saying goodbye when you don't think you have the chance to, I realized, oh, this is. This is me talking about my own feelings. This is me exploring, like, the things that I have kept bottled up for. For years at this point. And it was just really cathartic for me. And then I ended up kind of writing my. My grandmother into. Into the book, and I got to say goodbye to her, and it was just so nice.

[Kale]

I was going to ask you if it was cathartic, but you already answered that, so that. That worked out for you. And how did your own experience, experience your own experiences through life sort of shape the way that you write? Because it sounds like you put your family members in the books and you put your own feelings in the book. So how has that been therapeutic?

[Ashley Poston]

It's been. It's been cheaper than therapy.

[Kale]

I would imagine. I just paid my therapist yesterday and I was like, oh, right, yikes.

[Ashley Poston]

It's, you know. Yeah, it's it's, it's joking aside, it's. It's how I see the world. I'm like, I'm, I'm anxious all the time and I'm neurodivergent. And so writing is a way for me to explore thoughts and feelings that I have, like, from the outside looking in. So I am writing about things that I am trying to puzzle out myself, but I don't know exactly how to. And so writing kind of helps me do that sometimes.

[Kale]

Do you get that? Do your readers and your audience, like, tell you the same thing, that you've helped them do exactly what you're trying to do through your books all the time? Yeah.

[Ashley Poston]

And it's so lovely because, like, when, when you're going through these big emotions, you feel like you're alone in it. And then to have, like, someone else come up to me, like, oh, you wrote the exact thing I was feeling. It's like, oh, you too. Come over to my island. We can, we can like, be like, weird and mourn together, you know, and it's just, it's so nice to know that, like, in this world that, like, isolates you so much, so much of the time, you're not actually as alone as you think you are.

[Kale]

Right.

[Ashley Poston]

And I think books have the transformative power to do that.

[Kale]

I think sometimes when you're going through something and you don't exactly have words, like, you can't put your thoughts or your feelings into words. The a book by an author who's gone through the same thing or is writing about the same thing can put it into words for you. And you're like, oh, that's what that was.

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, yeah.

[Kale]

Which is helpful.

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[Kale]

How did you pick your chapter song titles? Was it the dad Divorce?

[Ashley Poston]

What?

[Kale]

Was it Divorce Dad Rock.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So I always make playlists as I'm writing the book and so sounds like Love has like a huge playlist on Spotify. It's public, people can find it if they want to. And so I had to choose song titles, songs that had the title in the song because the chapter titles are lyrics but there's like the song title in the lyric. And not every song has like the title in the song actually, which is something that I, that I found out while I was trying to find song titles. Well, chapter titles.

[Kale]

So just songs that you liked or.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah, songs that I like. Songs that, that, that would be like a good listen while you're actually reading the chapter. Songs that have the same vibe. Songs that are just kind of fun. Like I think the Cheeseburger in Paradise 1J boss profit is like when they go to a restaurant or they're at a bar.

[Kale]

Yeah.

[Ashley Poston]

So kind of like that. We.

[Kale]

When we run book club, we always talk about the books that have soundtracks or sound like playlists. We love that. We think it's a really cool element. So really love that.

[Ashley Poston]

I think. I think my favorite, like, iteration of that is. Oh, gosh, a Butcher. And Blackbird has, like, the playlist at the end.

[Kale]

Oh, Emily is a big fan of Butcher.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah.

[Kale]

And Blackbird. I haven't read it yet, but, um, I'll get to it eventually. My TBR is too long, and I keep adding more books to it. So I'm like, what do I do? It's like, I can't. I can only read on my Kindle, a physical copy. And listen to so many books at the same time.

[Ashley Poston]

Exactly. Like, you only have so many hands.

[Kale]

What is your favorite medium? Medium to read? To read or to consume a book?

[Ashley Poston]

Okay. It really all depends on the book. Like, some books are better in audio. They just are. Like, I. I think so. One good example is I tried to read Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett. And I tried, like, two or three times, and I just could not get into it. And then I listened to the audiobook, and it. And I could not stop listening to it. I was, like, walking around the house, just pacing, just listening to this audiobook, trying to find something to do. And, like, there are some books that are just better as audiobooks, I think.

[Unknown Speaker]

For sure.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah. And like, same with a Murderbot. The Murderbot series by Martha Wells. Fantastic audiobooks.

[Kale]

Okay.

[Ashley Poston]

Absolutely.

[Kale]

I did. I listened to Remarkably Bright Creatures on audio. Daisy Jones and the Six.

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, Daisy Jones. Six is fantastic on audio.

[Kale]

Well, I just feel like that book in and of itself is. Should only be like, obviously it's a book, but I. The audio was so good.

[Ashley Poston]

So good.

[Kale]

This is like, a full cast. Do you ever have a hand in. Who does your audiobooks?

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah, I work pretty closely with. With the producers of, like, the audiobook and for Sounds Like Love, actually, I got to request Patti Murin, who is amazing, and we met in January, and she's like, I'm such a big fan of yours. And I'm like, I'm such a big fan of yours because she's read for Katherine Sinner's books, and she's also a Broadway star, and she's amazing. And I was like, I would love you to read for Joanie. She's like, I would love to read for Joanie.

[Kale]

Oh, that's so sweet.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah. And so we actually managed to make it happen. And so Patti Murin is the voice of Joni in Sounds Like Love. And then she and her husband, they actually wrote the song Sounds Like Love. And you can hear it on, like, Spotify and, like, anywhere you can, like, find music. And it's just, like, so cool because it's a song that was in my head and now it's real.

[Kale]

Yeah.

[Ashley Poston]

Which is something that usually does not happen to, like, authors because we're like, oh, we have this thing in our head and we'll just write it down and then that's it. Nothing else.

[Kale]

Yeah.

[Ashley Poston]

And it's just. It's so cool to see other people creating things from something that you've created. Like, even like that. Or fanfic or, like, fan art. I love all of it.

[Kale]

And how did you name your characters? Joanie and Sebastian?

[Ashley Poston]

Joanie. So in the book, Joni has a brother, so I named them Joni and Mitchell. Or Joni Mitchell. Yeah, that's it. And so for Sebastian, I actually had the. So his nickname is Sasha. That's what everyone calls him. Well, everyone who likes him calls him. And so I kind of, like, reverse engineered that. I was like, okay, what's a name that had. That's like the nickname Sasha. So one's Alexander and the. Than, like a deep cut one. Yeah, weirdly. Yeah.

[Kale]

But I wouldn't even get Sasha from Sebastian.

[Ashley Poston]

Exactly. But, like, that's like. That is. That is another one. Like, like, because, like. Because a shortening of Sebastian is just Bastion, and then, like, there's like, a weird translation that goes to Sasha.

[Kale]

Okay.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah. It's like, three times removed.

[Kale]

Okay. Okay. And then your other books, like, how do you name the characters in your other books?

[Ashley Poston]

So for. For a novel, love story, it's Eileen and Anders, but Eileen goes by Elsie. And it's from Come on, Eileen. Because Dad, Rock. There's a theme for the Seven Year Slip. I knew I wanted to name her Clementine, but I didn't know what I wanted her nickname to be because I didn't want to be Clemmy. Because that's like, Flemmy. Right? It's just Clemmy. No. So I was like, okay, what Clementine? Lemon. Lemon's great. So she goes by Lemon. And I named her Clementine because there was in a previous draft, like, a reoccurring motif of oh, my darling Clementine.

[Kale]

Okay.

[Ashley Poston]

And then for Florence. I think I just named her after Florence Pugh.

[Kale]

I forgot. Honest. Did you expect the success of Seven Year Slip? Like, did you. Did you feel okay. This is gonna go viral. This is gonna be big.

[Ashley Poston]

No, no, not at all. It took me completely by surprise.

[Kale]

And do you ever get that feeling like you're like, I'm putting out this book, this is gonna be the one. Do you ever get that feeling?

[Ashley Poston]

No, I try not to think about it for being honest.

[Kale]

So then you were shocked when Seven Year Slip took off?

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah, I was, I was very, very shocked because for the first six months it really didn't, it sold well, but it, it wasn't like super well. Right. And then it made a few end of year lists and then booktok took it and ran with it and that was it. It's been fantastic. And Seven Year Slip is now so many people's favorite books. And so many people found me through Seven Year Slip and a lot of people have like, have come to me and said, hey, I really appreciated what you wrote in Seven Year Slip because Seven Year Slip involves a family member's death by suicide and I have personal experience with that. And so. And like suicide is always something that like feels taboo to talk about. And so a lot of people don't talk about it and don't know how to talk about it.

[Kale]

Right.

[Ashley Poston]

And so a lot of people come up to me and go, thank you so much for talking for like talking about it for like not making it like, like a no go subject, you know, it's because it's something that's very real and something that we all kind of have to deal with or like some of us do have to deal with and some of us have like repercussions from it.

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[Kale]

So you've talked about grief, suicide, dementia, dementia.

[Ashley Poston]

There is, there is dementia and dementia rep and sounds like love. Yes.

[Kale]

Do what makes you want to talk about the topics that people don't want to talk about?

[Ashley Poston]

Because like I guess it's because I do love a really good romance that where everything is perfect and nothing hurts. But I don't think that's reflective of like life in general. And I also think that it's, it's like not genuine to the human experience. I mean neither is telepathic connection obviously. I mean when you're close enough with someone you can start to think yeah, I know what this person's going to say. But that's like after a long time, right? Sometimes, I mean sometimes you have that immediate and magnetic connection. But yeah, I think it's because I love like discovering and talking about and like feeling my way through like the different stages of like life that we all go through. A lot of us will have a parent that has dementia. A lot of us will have someone who dies by suicide or knows someone who knows someone who has been affected by that. Same with like the sudden loss of like a parent or like a sudden like or like like even in a, even in a novel love story sometimes the loss of a loved one or like a divorce or, or like there's There's. There's so many different things. And I think that romance is not just, you know, kissing and, like, intimate moments. Romance is also like the romance between a friendship or the romance between, like. Like, just, like the relationships and the connections between people. Because you can't have grief without love, and you can't have love without grief of losing it. So I love writing about, like, that dichotomy.

[Kale]

I was always scared to get into romance novels for that reason, because I was like, I don't want to read about, like, this, like, seamless love story. Because I always just felt like that was impossible and just unachievable. So when I started to dip my toes in the note in the romance world, it was like, okay, one of them was, like, less than seamless, and one of them was a little bumpy. And so I can really appreciate that in a romance novel.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah, me too. And I'm like, oh. Like, everything is not perfect, but everything turns out fine.

[Kale]

And I love that.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah.

[Kale]

Because it will turn out fine at some point.

[Ashley Poston]

It's like, sometimes we just need some assurance that. Yeah, like shit's. But shit's.

[Kale]

That's the title of this episode. No, I'm kidding. I'm kidding.

[Ashley Poston]

Yeah. Nailed it.

[Kale]

Are you a paner or a plotter? What is it? Plotter or pomegranate? Amodoro.

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, I am. Okay. So. So, So I wish I was a pantser, but I can't be a panster because I have too many deadlines and I have to meet those deadlines usually. So I plot, but I can't plot too much or else I get bored. And getting bored is the worst thing I can do for a book. So I have to plot enough that I don't get bored, but I can't just not plot at all. So it's like a weird in between. I just do enough to just get a vibe, you know, I slap a song at the bottom. Like, this is the vibe of it and this is what happens next. And then they bone, you know.

[Kale]

And then they.

[Ashley Poston]

I don't know if I could say that word.

[Kale]

No, you can say it here. I don't know if your publisher will like it, but. Or your agents, but we don't. We cuss all the time.

[Ashley Poston]

I mean, there's. There's. There's. There's fucking in my novel. So we're fine, right?

[Kale]

I can't listen to those. Like, I can't listen to the smut scenes. Right. Like, I can only read it. I don't want to Hear it.

[Ashley Poston]

Hear it. No, I have. Whenever I'm listening to my own, like, books back to me, I have to walk away or I have to, like, yeah, yeah. I'm just like, listen. If I start listening to this and there is a mysterious, like, fifth hand somewhere in this sex scene, I'm going to lose it.

[Kale]

So it sounds like love was to become a film. Do you have a dream cast in my mind?

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, I actually do not because I try. I like, I don't. My brain doesn't cast characters as, like, actors because I like Frankenstein characters together. So why Frankenstein monster characters together, but so not really. I just think, hey, they just have to. They just. Just have to sing.

[Kale]

Would you. Would you sell the rights to a book if they wanted to make it?

[Ashley Poston]

Oh, 100%, absolutely. And I think it'd be so, so fun just. Just to have, like, Joanie and Sasha just. Just, you know, up. Up there on, like, film just communicating with each other through, like, telepathic connection and just like, all the, like, like, like the revelry, the. The. The concert venue and everything and the live music. Like, the only sticking point is it has to be good music.

[Kale]

Yeah, for sure.

[Ashley Poston]

It has to be, like, not, like, I'm okay with not including too much.

[Kale]

Dad rock, but that's like a pivotal.

[Ashley Poston]

You at least need Piano man or, like, Tiny Dancer or something. And just give me, like, some Elton John or, like, some Bruce Springsteen. We're good.

[Kale]

Where can people find your books? And where can people find you?

[Ashley Poston]

People can find my books online or wherever books are sold by Barnes and Noble Books. A million. Your local indie will probably point you right to them. And you can find me online at. Hey, Ash Poston on Instagram and also. Hey, ash Poston on TikTok.

[Kale]

Thank you so much for joining us.

[Ashley Poston]

Thank you so much. This was so much fun.

[Hayden Cohen]

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[Unknown Speaker]

Hi, guys. My name is Hayden, and a lot of you have been asking me to start a podcast. Okay, I'm totally kidding. Nobody asked me to start a podcast. The world did absolutely not need another podcast. But I wanted to, because there's no place on the Internet where I can yap for 30 to 45 minutes straight with my best friends, you guys, and just shoot the shit, talk about all of my favorite things like social media, pop culture, reality, reality TV influencers. We all know I love a good influencer and that's what you can expect from my new podcast. A lot of you have been asking. This is a space for some real conversations with some of my favorite creators, reality stars, maybe even a celebrity or two if they answer my dm. This is all about the world behind the curtain that I really want to share with you guys. Allow me to ask the questions that you've been dying to know the answers too. And allow me to tell my guests that a lot of you have been asking. You guys can listen to, follow, rate and review A lot of you have been asking with me. Hayden Cohen Wherever you get podcasts in.

[Hayden Cohen]

The time it takes you to actually.

[Kale]

Board a flight from Group 8 now.

[Unknown Speaker]

Boarding Premier Altitude Elite Club members.

[Kale]

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