Carol Ashby: Author Interview, a Giveaway, & More

Please help me welcome Biblical Fiction author Carol Ashby to my blog this week. Carol is sharing about her latest novel, Truth and Honor, and is offering an ebook copy as a giveaway.

Be sure to scroll to the bottom of this post and leave your comment by May 9 for a chance to win!

Welcome, Carol! Tell us a little about yourself and your family. 

I met my husband at college in Idaho when he came up from Texas to get his masters degree and his wife. We have a grown son and daughter. She and her husband have a new baby. We babysit while she’s working part time.

I know from experience time with the grandbaby is such a blessing. How and when did you start writing? 

My first book was my thesis, and my job always involved a lot of technical writing. I never intended to write fiction. But I started writing my first novel the last Friday in September 2013, a few months before I retired.

What genre do you write and what inspired you to write that particular genre? 

I write Roman-era Early Church fiction. ISIS was murdering Christians in the Middle East in 2013, and I’d been thinking about the amazing people who were willing to die for following Jesus. The plot for Blind Ambition came to me, and I started writing. It was the first story I wrote but the second one published. I learned from the ACFW Genesis contest that my omniscient narrator books would never get published, so I rewrote it as 3rd person limited to make it fit to publish in today’s market.

I love that your first Early Church novel was inspired by current events. Do you have any hobbies? Have you incorporated any of them into your books?

I enjoy watching birds and lizards, playing piano, reading, sewing and needle crafts, and trying out recipes I’ve never made before at potlucks. If they’re yummy, I find out quickly, and if they aren’t, no one had to eat more than one scoop. But only one hobby is part of my books. I love ancient history, so I go way deeper in my research than most authors would and delight in following rabbit trails.

Speaking of research, how do you go about it? 

I like to use books and journal articles by academic authors who study Roman times. My WIP is my first set in Roman Egypt, so I was super excited to find a whole book called “Life in Egypt under Roman Rule.” I also write a Roman history website that I keep PG-13 or cleaner so teachers and students can use it. My husband built me four roll-around bookcases for my research collection. Confession of a bookaholic obsessed with historical accuracy: I have about 150 books now, so I need another bookcase.

I wish I enjoyed research like you do. I’m terrible at remembering details and dates. Tell us about your current novel’s setting.

I’m setting the next adventure in Roman Egypt in the late 120s. Alexandria on the coast and several locations up the Nile will be featured. I’m a bit obsessive about getting the details of each location and the culture historically accurate. Egypt had a lot of special rules because it was the personal property of the emperor, so I had the perfect reason to add more books to my library to keep it “real.”

That sounds interesting. How do you incorporate Christ and hope into your writing?

The stories are set in a time when Rome had declared Christianity illegal, so some of my characters know following Jesus might get them killed. But nonbelievers who get to know them wrestle with whether their faith is true, and if it is, should they also risk dying for the Truth.

I’m drawn to fiction that challenges my faith and helps me dig deeper into what I really believe. If you wrote in a different genre than your current one, which would you choose and why? 

Suspense. My last three novels featured tribunes of the Urban Cohort, which was the police force in Rome and Roman Carthage. I had so much fun having them hunt some murderers and would-be assassins while trying to decide whether loyalty to Rome or accepting the truth was more important.

Seems like a logical choice. If you could only publish one book in your lifetime, which of your novels would you choose?

Based on feedback from readers who told me how the book made a difference to their faith, I’d pick The Legacy. It’s not my personal favorite of the twelve, but it might be serving God better than any other.

Wonderful! How long, on average, does it take you to write a book? 

I used to release two novels a year. The last one took almost a year to be ready. We babysit our granddaughter two days a week, so the 9-12 month schedule is likely to stay for a while. I’ll never reduce quality just to meet a too-tight schedule.

Yes, quality is better than quantity! What is a favorite quote from one of your books?

Here’s one that readers highlight in the Kindle version of Honor Bound. “If I buy you something and tell you which shop it’s at and what to do to get it, your failure to pick it up is the only thing that can keep you from enjoying my gift. That’s what Jesus did. He told us all we have to do is believe He paid the price, and His gifts of freedom from our sins and eternal life with Him are ours. But you have to decide you want that and make the first move to get it.” He took one more step and looked back over his shoulder. “He won’t make you take it, but I hope you do.”

You can’t go wrong sharing about God’s gift of salvation. Has a reader ever blessed your socks off? How? 

One young man shared in a FB readers’ group that he’d decided to be baptized after reading several of my novels. 

That’s a blessing for sure! I hope you publish many more life-changing books, Carol. Thanks so much for sharing on the blog today.

Join the conversation. Do you like reading Roman-era Biblical Fiction? Have you read any of Carol’s books? Which is your favorite? Do you have any questions or comments for Carol?

Be sure to comment below by May 9 for a chance to win an ebook of Truth and Honor. (Open internationally)

Please share Carol’s interview on social media to help spread the word about her books!

Check out my recent interviews with Barbara M. Britton, Regina Rudd Merrick, and Heather Greer.