Ashley Paul is a traveler, runner, and baker. She is an Everlasting Bookworm and Culture Maven. She is passionate about supporting high school juniors and seniors to write compelling stories for their post-secondary careers. She loves stories with social commentary, atmospheric writing, and compelling characters.
Louise Hare
Author Interview, Blog

Regrets and World Building with Louise Hare

[cw: drugs, child prostitution, murder] Louise Hare wrote the compelling novel Miss Aldridge Regrets. This work of historical fiction kicks off in 1936, a time in which protagonist Lena Aldridge is a nightclub singer in London. She is offered a life-changing opportunity but is suspicious of why she is receiving it. Yet life has always […]

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Kimberla Lawson Roby's headshot alongside the Sister Friends Forever book cover
Author Interview, Blog

Faith and Friendship with Kimberla Lawson Roby

In Kimberla Lawson Roby’s novel, Sister Friends Forever, Lynette, Michelle, Serena, and Kenya are “sister friends” living life on their terms. The story is a powerful testament to loving yourself and rebuking societal and personal expectations. My conversation with Kimberla Lawson Roby circled around writing characters and faith, who inspired her to write this story,

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Blog, Book Reviews

Book Review: Harlem Sunset by Nekesa Afia

Synopsis  Content Warning: Murder, Kidnapping, Abuse Harlem Sunset by Nekesa Afia is part of her Harlem Renaissance Mystery series.  In Harlem 1927, Twenty-seven-year-old Louis Lloyd, a Black woman, became manager of the Dove, a club, owned by her close friend, Rafael Moreno. After a night of drinking and talking with Rafael, Rosa Maria, and Louise,

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Blog

Ghosting *is* Communication

Everyone in your life is temporary.  Ghosting is defined as “the practice of ending a personal relationship with someone by suddenly and without explanation withdrawing from all communication.”  Everyone you come across in life is not going to have the communication capability to articulate how they feel. I see people upset that the person they

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Author Interview, Blog

Interview with Imogen Crimp about her novel A Very Nice Girl

 A Very Nice Girl, the debut novel by Imogen Crimp, is a steeping tea of a novel. The novel builds with intrigue, humor, and discovery.  In A Very Nice Girl, Anna is a 24-year-old student at a music conservatory in London. Living in a cramped and personally uncomfortable space and embarking on a relationship with

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