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Kristen Ashley is an award-winning author that writes erotica, romance, fantasy, and paranormal romance. Born in Gary, Indiana in 1968, Ashley had an umbilical cord around her neck when she left her mother’s womb.
The complication almost claimed both of their lives. She was six when her mother moved her and Ashley’s siblings to her grandparent’s home. The author’s life on their small farm was quite eventful. She has fond memories of Whitesnake, Glenn Miller, REO Speedwagon, and the like.
Ashley fell in love with the romance genre when she was twelve. The author would routinely borrow her mother’s Harlequin novels. It did not take her long to realize that she wanted to write fiction for a living.
However, the publishers she approached were not as enthusiastic about her work as she would have liked. A former student at Purdue University, Kristen Ashley worked at the Rocky Mountain MS Center and the Colorado Neurological Institute for several years.
She also found work at the Pituitary Foundation. Because her employers kept her quite busy, she had to wait until she got home to write. The author wrote more than two dozen books over the course of fifteen years.
Not only was the feat impressive but it should have discouraged her from pursuing a career in publishing. This is because every effort she made to find an agent or to get her novels traditionally published was met with failure.
The internet was her salvation. She might have given up if she hadn’t realized that she could self-publish her manuscripts on Kindle. Ashley had no idea what to expect when she released the first four books. She was surprised to stumble upon an excited collection of readers that couldn’t wait to consume her work.
So she started releasing multiple novels each month. Her fanbase grew in response to the consistency of her releases. Ashley’s renown rose even further when one of her novels (Sweet Dreams) received a review from a major blogger.
By this point in time, Ashley had to work 16 hours every single day to achieve the objectives of her publishing efforts as well as her day job. Eventually, with her novels selling at a respectable rate, she went ahead and hired help, adding graphic designers, editors, and proofreaders to her team.
Traditional publishing finally entered the picture in 2013. The author drew the attention of Grand Central Publishing. The company offered her a publishing contract. However, Ashley wasn’t quite ready to abandon self-publishing.
She was excited to enter the traditional publishing arena because she wanted the opportunity to collaborate with experienced publishing professionals, especially the editors. But she also enjoyed the freedom the self-publishing field offered, which is why she operates as a hybrid author that has her toes in both indie and traditional publishing.
Ashley’s books feature many of the common romance genre tropes. But she isn’t afraid to let her protagonists take unexpected turns. Her ideas come from television, movies, the things she reads, and the people she sees as she lives her life.
Kristen Ashley Awards
Ashley has won the RT Reviewers Choice and Romantic Reviews Reader’s Choice Awards.
Kristen Ashley Books into Movies
‘The Will’ became a live-action movie of the same name in 2020.
Best Kristen Ashley Books
Even though she categorizes her novels as romance, her stories feature themes like family, sisterhood, and friendship. Kristen Ashley’s best books include:
Mystery Man: Gwen thought that Hawk was the perfect man. Not only was he sexy but he was more than happy to participate in several nights of meaningless but passionate intercourse. Their arrangement should have been a one-night affair. But it stretched on for months.
But for all his gifts, Gwen couldn’t figure out the mystery behind Hawk, specifically why he only ever appeared at night. Hawk, for his part, wasn’t so keen on revealing the truth to Gwen because he knew that his demons would most likely scare her off.
The Gamble: Max was nursing a broken heart when Nina turned up on his door. Nina wanted a quiet moment to reevaluate her engagement. She did not expect to find a gorgeous man at the cabin. When Nina fell ill, Max went to great lengths to care for her.
Before long, the pair couldn’t deny their attraction for one another. But Max had a secret, one so dangerous that it would end his relationship with Nina if it surfaced.
When Does The Next Kristen Ashley book come out?
The next book by Kristen Ashley is Sky\'s Edge and will be released on August, 18th 2026. It is the newest book in the The Four Realms Series.