Ashley Bowman {Writer Wednesday}

I'm excited to introduce you to a friend of mine from college, Ashely Bowman. She's a writer, a product reviewer, and most importantly, a sweet sister in Christ!

A little bit about Ashley...
(taken from her blog)

The name is Ashley Bowman.  I’m a runner, lifter, cook, wife, and secretary.  I’ve been happily married for about 3 years to my best friend, my confidant, my partner-in-crime, and the love of my life, Adam. :) We are expecting our first child in October 2013, and we look forward to adding a new member to our family.

How to connect with Ashley...
Follow her blog:  Making my Boast
Follow her on Twitter: @agbaeb

Writer Interview | Ashely Bowman

You & Writing

Tell us a little bit about yourself. 
...My name is Ashley Bowman. I live in upstate NY with my husband of almost 3 years and our two kitties Watson and Cassidy.

How did you start writing?
...I started writing around 10 years old as an escape. I talked, of course, but I didn’t know how to communicate well with that way. As I journaled, I grew to love the art of writing. At a young age, I wrote songs and finished my first “book” at 12 years old (No, it’s not published----it never will be.)

What has kept you writing?
...As I grew older and learned and grew as a Christian, I began to realize that the same overflow of the heart I had experienced and held secretly as a child in my own little journals was given to me for the purpose of bringing God’s glory through my continued writing. Despite my ability to communicate verbally, God has given me the ability to spread Love and the Truth through another medium.

Do you have a favorite book or work that you’ve written? If so, why?
...I wish I could list off a few books of mine that I love that I’ve written, but I think my greatest passions are the blog posts and short stories I have posted. 

Your Writing


Tell us a little bit about your what you’re working on currently? Why are you/did you write it?
...I am in the process of a few different projects. I’m about 80 pages into a work (based on the life of Horatio G. Spafford) which I’ve been stewing over for a few years, but we’ll see what actually becomes of it. I love historical fiction because there’s so much learning that can happen from historical events and so much left to the individual imagination. I am also working on a long piece on fitness and Christianity.


Writing

Where do you find inspiration for your story/characters? Are they based on real life or pure imagination or both?
...I have definitely written stories with characters inspired by real-life people (“The Razor’s Edge”) and those that have simply grown and developed through my never-ceasing imagination. Sometimes, I develop characters, themes, or even story lines from my dreams.

When you write, what is your overall intention with your stories? 

Ashley & her husband

...I don’t always write fiction, but when I do, there is often a message I want to convey or an idea that I want to challenge. For my non-fiction works, I am often inspired by my own running/fitness journey and what God is teaching me through those disciplines. There is so much that God allows us to enjoy or gives us to encounter throughout our lives that reveals our true heart condition, demonstrates the character of the Lord, or challenges us to walk in the ways of the Bible. Married life is also a great way for the Lord to work on my heart, so I try to share those lessons with others through my blog/writing.

What advice would you give to aspiring authors for writing?
...Just keep writing. It’s not about writing one certain genre. I went to school thinking I wanted to write fiction, but the Lord has opened more doors for me through writing non-fiction than I ever planned. Now, I actually enjoy non-fiction writing just as much as allowing myself to be lost in my own imagination. Write in every circumstance: happiness, sadness, pain, anger, love. Some of those will need to be written and then stored for your eyes only, some may need to be deleted right away, but some of them will communicate Truth from a new perspective and help to change someones life.

You

Do you listen to music when you write? If so, what do you listen to?
...You know, in college, I would listen to music when I wrote, and I called it my “zone” music. I often listened to one CD over and over for a semester. Nowadays, I do a lot of thinking/planning while I work around the house, and then I might have Owl City or the like on (something slow, somewhat repetitious, and nothing too rocky.) However, when I sit down to actually write, the music goes off, and it’s just me and the keyboard. Yeah, I don’t really write with a pen/pencil or paper. My handwriting is atrocious, and my mind works faster than my pen, so I’m often focused on my computer screen while my fingers fly on the keyboard.

What is your favorite season and why?
...I am a tank top, shorts, and barefoot kind of girl. I love running and being outside, so I would have to say summer. I really detest winter (and yes, I realize I’m in the wrong state to detest the cold.)

What is your favorite genre to read? Why do you enjoy it?
...While I am a huge historical fiction fan, I can’t say that there’s really a type of book (besides romance) that I wouldn’t at least try to read. I am also a fan of deep, theological, and spiritually challenging books.

____________________

Thank you so much Ashley for this great interview! It was so wonderful to reconnect with you after college, especially on something near and dear to us both - writing! I love how you recommend writing in all stages of feeling - the good and the bad. It's so true! Our feelings and emotions come out in ways we never would have expected but that's what makes our writing so real. 

I am excited for you and your husband with the expectation of your baby in October and hope to hear more from you about writing in the future!

Thinking Thoughts readers, make sure you check out Ashley's awesome blog! I'm sure you'll enjoy her theological posts, fitness focused posts, and her extensive lists of fun recipes!