Author Interview- Griffin Asher

“My birth was ordinary; full of a woman’s pain and blood. I didn’t mean to kill her, but I was frightened and I was dying.” – Farseer

When Griffin Asher sent me this book I let it linger in my inbox waiting for time to sit and give it my full attention. And then I mentally kicked myself for waiting so long to read it because it was very enjoyable. I am thrilled to share not only about her newest book, but an interview with the author herself.

1) When did you decide to start writing?

That’s actually a two fold question. I’ve been telling stories for as long as I can remember. To my parents. To my friends. To the dog (if my parents and my friends were tired of listening to me). But because of my dyslexia I didn’t actually start reading and writing until I was older. For a long time too I thought I couldn’t be a writer because I had so much trouble with the Dyslexia, but story telling was something I really loved and that gave me the courage to keep going.

I always liked the quote from Winston Churchill:
“Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm.”

2) I know you are a fan of happy endings, which I completely agree with by the way, do you think you’d ever write a story that didn’t have a happily ever after?

No…Well, maybe…but probably not. I would have to have a very specific reason for it and I can’t come up with an example of what that would be.

3) What was the first spark of an idea for Farseer?

The whole idea behind Farseer was to write a character who was quiet, but not angsty. I’d just read several novels where the hero was quiet, but angsty and brooding and melodramatic. I wanted to see if I could break that stereotype.

4) What is the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

“Write the book you would want to read.” I don’t know where I first picked that up, but it’s been the best advice I’ve ever had.

5) Your penname. What is the story behind Griffin Asher?

Honestly, I just woke up one day and decided I wanted a pen name. I was on a couple forums at the time as Griffin, so I just added Asher (the Hebrew name meaning “Blessed”). It wasn’t that I thought my real name is bad, but I thought Griffin Asher sounded better for a fantasy writer (and it’s fun to confuse people who automatically assume I’m a guy).

6)You are a woman of many talents and are one of the most driven people I’ve ever met. What accomplishment are you most proud of?

My bookshelves. I mean, yes, technically I built my whole house, but the floor to ceiling bookshelves in my den are my favorite thing I’ve ever made. They came out exactly like I wanted them to (not something I can say for most my projects :P).

Farseer is available for FREE on Amazon and Smashwords. It’s awesome. Go download it.