I love sitting down and getting to know indie authors. When I was a reporter, I learned that everyone has a story to tell, even if they think their life is mundane and boring. Ironically, this seems to be especially true of authors… they weave incredible threads every single day, but they often overlook just how interesting their own life is. That’s why I love pulling a story out of figures like Harriet Ashford, a native of Houston, Texas who lives with her husband, two boys, and a rambunctious blue heeler.
Harriet has been a writer since fourth grade, and she has a soft spot for reading romance and “catching that second-hand falling-in-love feeling,” which has to be the most eloquent summation of reading romance I’ve ever heard. When she’s not reading or writing, she can be found embroidering (semi-inappropriate) messages onto her latest cross-stitch project.
Harriet’s debut novel, The Trouble With Love and Ink, comes out May 6, 2024. To learn more about the book and this emerging author, I chatted with Harriet.
Nikki: Thanks so much for joining me, Harriet! I want to hear all about your writing journey. You’re self-published, right?
Harriet: I’m self-publishing my debut novel this May. The funny thing is, if you had asked me five years ago, I would have told you I refused to be published unless it was traditional. With this second novel, though, I didn’t even query. It’s not that I’m so against traditional publishing or that I’d never consider it again, but I re-evaluated my goals and realized what I wanted, more than anything, was to hold my book. I knew the only way to guarantee that would happen was to take matters into my own hands.
I don’t know how things will pan out with my reviews or sales, but holding the paperback proof in my hands was an absolute dream come true, one that I’d been fantasizing about for years.
I know how that feels! Congratulations on reaching this milestone in your writing career. Now, this is the first book you’ve published, but is it the first you’ve written?
My first novel was Hive. It took me over a decade to write. Mostly because I didn’t know I was trying to write a book. I just got sucked into scenes and the writing exhilarated me. After filling up several notebooks, I decided to try and string those scenes together and make a story. Well, that was an absolute cluster, if I’m being honest, and is exactly why I’m now an avid plotter with 30,000 word outlines.
Anyway, I adored that story, and I really thought it was the only story I had in me. I’d been fantasizing about these characters for the entirety of my twenties. I didn’t think there was much creativity to spare after that. Long sob story short, I queried to over forty agents and got nothing but cookie-cutter rejections. So, I spent six months basically rewriting the entire book. It was so much better after. This time, I queried to over eighty agents. Two of them asked me to send my full manuscript. I was so proud. I laughed. I cried. I stared into space in disbelief.
And then nothing happened. Nothing came of it.
I was crushed. This is going to sound dramatic, but flinging something I poured my soul in out to the world only to receive radial silence was the coldest, loneliest feeling.
I know lots of people face this. My situation isn’t unique, but it completely took the wind out of my sails.
So I tried to quit writing.
(Harriet laughs)
I remember one day seeing a friend post about a romcom she’d read, and I stuck my nose in the air. After the intensity and world-building in Hive, I thought writing a light-hearted romance would be the easiest thing.
Then this little voice in my head said, “If it’s so easy, do it.”
And here’s the thing, I’d maybe read one romcom at this point, so I knew I’d have to do my research. Thus began the journey of reading every romcom I could get my paws on. I not only fell in love with the genre but also became more natural at writing. I was forced into reading more, which meant my writing directly benefitted.
Now, I’ve had so much fun writing The Trouble With Love and Ink, I don’t know how I’ll write anything other than romcoms. I’m completely addicted to the second-hand butterfly/falling-in-love feeling.
That is such a beautiful way to frame that feeling. Who doesn’t love love?! Speaking of love, though, I’m guessing you have some fun romance tropes in your work! Which are your favorites?
Enemies to lovers, fake dating, and forbidden love are so stinking fun! I adore reading and writing them. I will say, there are some tropes that get a lot of shade on Booktok and Bookstagram, and sometimes it seems unwarranted. Unfortunately, I’m part of the problem. I made a video joking about how one trope was unlovable. But, in all seriousness, I think it’s about the execution. Just about any trope can work if it’s carefully planned and written.
Agreed, that’s a certain level of tact required to pull off a good trope. What have your readers told you about your work?
I had a beta reader say this about The Trouble With Love and Ink: “I don’t get butterflies and mushy, I don’t actively search those feelings out but something with these characters just made me melt into it.”
I think about what she said every single day. Making someone feel with just my words. That’s powerful. That’s magic.
That’s pure magic. Connecting with people through writing is a magic like no other. So, when did you first get the writing bug?
I fell in love with writing in the fourth grade. The teachers would sit all of us in the cafeteria and make us write for an hour to prepare for standardized testing. All the other kids would moan and complain, and I kept wondering how they didn’t see writing for what it was: pure magic.
Even though I loved writing and continued to write in notebooks throughout my life, I never really considered writing a book or becoming an author. It didn’t even cross my mind, which is crazy, looking back.
It wasn’t until the second half of my twenties that I realized writing a book was even possible for me.
And now you’re nearing the publication date! How are you keeping busy? Are you working on your next novel?
The Trouble With Love and Ink comes out on May 6, so, if I’m being honest, my focus has been on proofreading, formatting, and marketing over actual writing. I know. Here’s my wrist. Someone get a ruler to whack it.
I do, however, have a OneNote with an outline for my next novel, so thick that it really could count as a scrawny first draft.
The plan is to make this a series but not one that you have to read in order. It will just shift focus to one of the side characters. This is going to be so much fun because if you read the first book, you’ll already be introduced to the MMC and you’ll get delicious life updates on the original couple.
I love that! So I have to ask, since my characters often get under my skin… do you like your characters?
I don’t like my characters. I LOVE them. I’m obsessed. It’s unhealthy how often I think about them.
Ha! I love the honesty. And you’re from Texas, right? Is the story set there?
I live in Houston and yes, my characters are from around these parts. Don’t worry; they don’t say “y’all” or “howdy” like I do.
I won’t lie, a sassy “y’all” would be hilarious in a romcom. I know you’re a romance gal to the core… so tell me, what’s your favorite book?
Vicious by V.E. Schwab, which is hilarious because I’m a sucker for romance, and it has none. I just adore how messed up the main character is.
We stan messed up main characters in these parts. What other authors are on your radar? Are there any indies you love?
Yes! Melissa Dymond, Katie Van Brunt, DL Hammons, and Cate Paige.
Beautiful, we’ll all have to check out their work! Now that you’re joining the ranks of published authors, do you have any advice for aspiring authors?
The two things you need to be doing as a writer are reading and writing. I know . . . duh. But seriously. If you wait to write until you are inspired, your WIPs are going to suffer.
About reading, I’ve always loved to read, but I didn’t get serious about it until the start of 2023. Since then, I’ve noticed a huge difference in my writing. Now, my pacing is more natural and the figurative language rolls out so much easier.
Most of all, don’t quit. You can pivot from a story or take a mental health break, but if writing gives you joy, don’t give up. Keep working and improving and writing the scenes that make your pulse gallop.
Amazing! Thanks so much for chatting with me, Harriet. It’s been great getting to know you! Just one more question… what’s your favorite genre of music?
I love just about anything, but my jam is rock. I like it when there is a little bit of that growly screaming, but not so much that there isn’t a melody. The moodier, the better. I’m all about the drama.
In addition to being all about the drama, author Harriet Ashford is all about the romance. Her debut novel comes out in May, and it’s one to keep on your radar. Here’s a blurb:
Emily Lane is supposed to be on vacation. Instead, she’s in a meeting where a new hire steals the promotion she’s been slotted for. To make matters worse, the promotion thief is a bit of a jerk both inside and outside cubicle walls.
THE TROUBLE WITH LOVE AND INK, Harriet Ashford
Needing an escape, Emily takes on her sister’s dare to work for her calligraphy company. After all, Emily has been perfecting her pointed pen skills for over a decade. The only caveat: she will have to pretend she’s her sister while finishing the projects for a high-profile client’s wedding.
It’s all going according to plan until Emily discovers the client’s brother is none other than Beckett—Beck—Atteridge, office jerk and promotion thief. He will keep her true identity a secret on one condition: she has to be his fake date for the wedding in Costa Rica.
As lines are blurred between what’s fake and reality, this vacation will either be the escape Emily’s been looking for or a heartbreak she doesn’t need.
To connect with Harriet, check out her linktree. She’s on Goodreads, so if you pick up a copy of The Trouble With Love and Ink, be sure to leave her a review!
Want to learn more about other indie authors to know? Keep an eye on my Indie Author Spotlight Series for more.