Wattpad Author Interviews

10. AshersMom247

We all know how hard it is to find quality Liam fics, right? Well, look no further that this month's interviewee AshersMom247 who has given us an entire series, starting with For Now and Always, and has just started working on a new AU, Second Chances! We were super excited to find out more about her, so here's what she had to say...

Where are you from and what do you do for a living?

So, I spend my days teaching second grade in Michigan, along the shores of Lake Huron. I'm married and I have one son.

Tell us about your pseudonym. What does it mean and why have you chosen it?

I use AshersMom247 for everything, twitter, instagram. Asher is my son and I'm his mom, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And my name is NOT Evangeline Payne, but I wish it was!

You write about real-life Liam in your trilogy. As a writer, how do you decide how much real-life material to include as you take him into this fictional plot with Eva?

When I first started to write For Now and Always, I was trying to match up everything he had really done in the Fall of 2013, because that was when I decided the story started. After I was about half way through, I gave up on the idea because it was too hard. Liam seems to change continents the way some people change shoes! Also, as Eva couldn't go with by the middle of the second book, I stopped even trying to make it close to real life. I did, however, leave his birthday in the same cities, because it worked for the story and because I was at the Detroit concert (I got to sign Happy Birthday to Liam! *heart eyes*) and it gave me a chance to show people more about Eva's life. All of the places they go when they are with her family are real places, including her house.

As a reader, do you prefer alternate universe (au) or real-life plots? Why?

I prefer real life Liam because it seems to me in most of the FanFic I found about Liam he was a complete jerk. I can't stand thinking of him as a bad person. I actually wrote For Now and Always because I couldn't find what I wanted to read. In my mind, he is a very sweet, attentive boyfriend type of guy. I could just never buy into the idea of him being 'bad.' That being said, now I have written real life Liam, I am thinking about an AU fiction. So, who knows, right?

Describe your thoughts when you first posted your writing online for the public.

Honestly, right after the first time hitting 'publish', I thought "What would my mother think if she saw this?" I nearly took it down.

What type of scenes are your fav to write, and why? What type of scenes do you struggle with?

I really love overly dramatic break up scenes. I love reading them and I love writing them. I don't think it's good enough until I've made myself cry! I think it's because I spend so much time crafting them in my head that I am excited to write them down finally!

I am not really good at love scenes. Like, how many different ways can you say, "So, they had sex." I feel like I just repeat myself over and over in those. I spend tons of time looking on http://thesaurus.com for words other than moan! They take me forever! Lol!

It's pretty tough to find good Liam fanfiction (aside from yours of course). Why do you think there's such a dearth? And what are some of your favorite Liam fics?

I wonder the same thing about Liam fics. He is obviously the best member of 1D (hehe) and really doesn't seem to get noticed much. I have a friend who says it's not that he's under-appreciated, he's just well behaved! The idea of dating Harry or Lou seems exciting because they always make headlines for doing 'bad' things. Dating Liam seems like it might be almost normal, except the whole people taking your picture thing.

The best Liam fics I have read are ones that I think have been abandoned, which is the cruelest thing to do to a reader! I love Emergency Airport Boyfriend by NarniaSailor, but she hasn't updated for ever. Same for Wasted by KyyLewis.

Who are some of your fav authors outside of wattpad, and why?

I'm a chick lit person. Jennifer Weiner, Jodi Picoult, Elin Hilderbrand and Elizabeth Berg are all authors I read without even bothering to see what the book is about. It's them, so I know it's good. I just finished The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer. Amazing! And I'm reading Victoria Aveyard right now. Her first book is called Red Queen and now I'm reading the second book Glass Sword. Think, Hunger Games meets Joan of Arc. Love it!

What has been your proudest moment as a writer/on wattpad? Why?

Seriously, my proudest moment was when you tweeted about my story! I don't have many reads, so I was surprised you found it AND liked it. I felt validated. Like, I wasn't wasting my time. Someone other than my bestie read my book!

And finally, tell us a little bit about your book Lost.

Right now, I am just about done with my new book Lost. It's another Liam and I really like this one. I set it at my most favorite place in the world, Oscoda, Michigan and I feel close to this story because I'm writing about a place I love. I had a hard time writing about London, because I just wasn't sure how things really were. I only had pictures. I've been to Oscoda tons of times and I love it. I love the house where my main character, Penny, lives. I love the beach. I love the small town feel it has. It's just a great place. I also really like this story because I spent more time plotting out how the story would end. I write so much better when I know exactly where I am going and how it's supposed to end. I have two other stories on WattPad that I am not fond of because I didn't do enough preplanning and they went in odd directions that I wasn't expecting. Whenever someone asks me for advice about writing, I always say to make sure you know the end before you start the story. I spend so much time writing in my head that when I do go to type it out, it just flows. Lost has been that way for me!

Thank you so much for asking me to do this! Super fun!

Thank you for taking part!

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