Dragon Soul Press sat down to interview Fairytale Dragons Author Ashley L. Hunt.

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1. Where do you get your inspiration?

My inspiration comes from a lot of places. Sometimes it’s a way I had wished another story ended. Some of it is adventures I would have loved going on, if they were possible. (Anyone know where I can team up with a dragon?) Sometimes characters just form and they need places to go.

2. When did you start writing?

I was very young, I remember that. When I was 3 or 4, my brother and I would get all our toys and we would send them on these long epic odyssey to reach a goal. I didn’t think to set my stories to paper until I was 9 or so.

3. What does success mean to you? What is the definition of success?

Success to me is completing a task and getting some acknowledgement for it. It’s probably on the smaller scale of what success means to others, but it’s good for me.

4. How much ‘world building’ takes place before you start writing?

It’s a little bit before and some after. I leave space to build as I go, but I have enough foundation for a solid world.

5. Describe your perfect book hero or heroine.

A perfect book hero is someone who is flawed, someone who gets scared or isn’t always sure, but does their best anyway. For me, they need to do what they can to make the world better, and they learn a lesson on the way.

6. What was the inspiration for the Fairytale Dragons story?

I’ve been studying fairy tales since I was a child and I absolutely love dragons. Cinderella is easy to mock because in today’s day and age she looks weak. It’s not fair because she was a brave and courageous young woman who stands up and she bears her part well. She deserves better and I hope I gave her that.

7. What were the key challenges you faced when writing this story?

In the original, Cinderella is passive and docile. She reacts to the plot rather than inspiring it. The plot happens around her. So I had to give her an active role in the story. Her godmother is also this strange shadow in the background who shows up randomly then vanishes from the story again. (According to the French telling, she’s absent in the German and Italian) so an added challenge was to show a relationship with Cinderella and her godmother while giving her a reason to not help Cinderella.

8. Who is your favorite author and why?

Favorite author is harder to pin because there are so many for a million different reasons. Madame Du’alnoy stands out among fairytale writers because she has a particular style to her writing that is rich but doesn’t bog down the story. My favorite book is the Wizard of Oz, by Lymen Frank Baum so of course he has a special place on.

9. What was your dream job when you were younger?

I wanted to be a singer, but I can’t hold a note. My dog runs up to check if I’m dying.

10. Where can readers learn more about you?

You can find me on Facebook.

View at Medium.com