John Ashley

I think the furthest back I can remember showing an interest in writing fiction was about ten years old. Even at that age I can remember telling my mom and dad that I was going to publish a book one day, and I had started on several before losing interest. At twelve years old, I began writing The Scrolls of Xavier--the first novel I would go on to publish four years later. Of course it endured so many rewrites along the way that I don't think there are more than a few surviving sentences that I wrote when I was twelve, but I'm still happy to have got such an early start on my writing career.

The first book I ever sat down and read cover to cover was Rakkety Tam by Brian Jacques. It was a whimsical, adventurous story about small woodland creatures who built castles, carried medieval weaponry, and had to defend themselves against evil creatures such as foxes and weasels. After reading Rakkety Tam, I went on to read every other book in the Redwall series and fell in love with storytelling along the way. Those books provided the spark my imagination needed, and it was from that point forward that I knew I wanted to be a writer.