Ezra Talks #1

Hello lovelies, so, I was originally supposed to do an Easter themed freebie short for you guys but I couldn’t choose a couple to revisit. So, instead I thought I’d do something a little different to maybe answer some questions I know you lovelies have. What sparked this decision was a conversation I had with a new author who only has three books out but is dipping her toes into a different genre with her next book and with that toe dip, comes the worry/fear that no one will like it. It happens to all of us, and the one thing I tried to stress upon most with her is that you can’t please everyone. There will always be someone who doesn’t like what you’ve written and if you worry about it too much, it’ll stifle your creativity. Which, made me think of a review I got on my first MM book a few years ago. It wasn’t a bad review, the reader enjoyed the book, but the part of the review that stuck with me was this: Asphalt Bay, Really? And at first, I was confused, but then it hit me. This reader thought naming my series Asphalt Bay was odd. And that reminder is what sparked this post. So, I’ll be explaining my reasoning behind the name and maybe answer some questions as to why that I know you lovelies have but never ask. That’s the goal of these posts. Think of it like a Q&A, if you read this, and have something you’d like to know, about me or my guys, submit any questions to me on Facebook or through the contact page on my website and I’ll answer them in the next post. Now, let’s talk Asphalt Bay. Asphalt Bay was the kickstart to my MM writing career. Originally, I was writing MF romance but it didn’t feel right. I’d been reading and enjoying both MM and MF books for years and thought MF contemporary was the way to go. Then I stumbled across and MM writer of paranormal stories whose books became an instant favorite. All it took was me telling her about the story I had in my head and she encouraged me to listen to the voices telling me what to write. Not only did the first book in the Asphalt Bay series come from that conversation, but a flame of passion for the genre was ignited that has sparked a number of different series and books. I also gained an amazing friendship out of it with the author who encouraged me. Anyways, when I was in the early stages of writing An Alpha for the Demigod, I knew I wanted it to be a series of at least four books. With that decision came the need for coming up with a series title. I had a very long list of different names but I didn’t want to be like everyone else. When it comes to paranormal series, especially one that revolves around wolves, you tend to see a lot of series names that have a name for water/land in it along with the words Moon, Silver, Wolf, or other words associated with the myths about werewolves and shifters in the title. I didn’t want to be like everyone else. I wanted my titles to be so unique that when you search them, they’re the only ones that pop up. So far, I’ve succeeded in doing that. Now at this point, I bet you’re wondering why in the world I chose a word like Asphalt to be in my series title and that’s an easy answer. My parents. I have the best parents anyone could ask for. They’re extremely supportive of my writing and were there for me when I decided to quit my job as a hair stylist to pursue writing full time. So, naturally when I switched genres I wanted to honor their support and love of me somehow. For almost thirty years, my parents have worked in the asphalt business and I thought using Asphalt in the title would be a great idea. I’ve also done the same thing with another series of mine Paranormals of Rockydale. There’s a Rockydale Quarry that provides the stone and such the company my parents work for uses to make asphalt. So now you know. I hope you enjoyed reading this post and getting a little bit of insight into how my mind works. And remember, if you ever have any questions for me, feel free to submit them via my author page on Facebook or the contact page here on my site. Links below. Have a lovely day lovelies, and I look forward to hearing from you ;)

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ezradawnauthor

In case you missed it, here's the link to The Mistake, my most recent release and a spin-off story of the graveyard shift series: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07RC6RHRP