Exclusive Interview & Excerpt with Ashley Munoz
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I am so excited to have a chance to chat with Ashely Munoz ahead of her latest release, Tennessee Truths. A standalone enemies to lovers romance novel.
HEA Novel Thoughts: What is your favorite thing to do when you aren’t wearing your author hat?
Ashley Munoz: I love spending time with my family- movie nights- park dates- walking- just playing in the yard. Or hiking with my husband.
HEA: What is the most recent book to make you cry?
Ashley: Hate You (Not) by Ella James – Such a good book!
HEA: What would you choose as your mascot/avatar/spirit animal? Why?
Ashley: I’ve always wanted it to be a wolf- ever since I was little, I was obsessed with wolves, but I’m not the alpha or the lone wolf. I’m a beta. I do well in a pack, with loyal people- I like taking care of people, but I don’t want all the responsibility to rest on my shoulders, and I’m loyal to a fault once you’ve got me in your corner.
HEA: What’s the most difficult thing about writing characters from the opposite sex?
Ashley: I think what goes on inside their head regarding romance- I know several different types of men who all think and act so vastly different from one another. There’s definitely no “one size fits all” and regarding alphas: I’m not a fan of writing them because I grew up with them. I chose not to marry one because that behavior in real life is way too toxic for me, but I love reading about them. The only thing is; most alpha’s I know in real life- act nothing like what I read in books- so I struggle with authenticity in creating a believable hero’s- It’s work to ensure he’s not too feminine but relatable to the reader, because just like me, most women love reading about a swoony male who secretly loves his woman who’s also slightly obsessed with her.
HEA: Do you hide any secrets in your books that only a few people will find?
Ashley: I do- I mention whiskey in every book that I have written because it’s my favorite alcoholic beverage- I also mention the term Criss Cross Applesauce- (as in sitting cross legged) I do this because it drives my best friend, and fellow author: Brittany Taylor crazy and now I just can’t seem to stop. I also overly use the Office as a culture reference when my characters are watching television because I can literally re-watch that show over and over and over again and feel it should be immortalized.
HEA: How long on average does it take you to write a book?
Ashley: It depends on the book- if it’s a standalone contemp romance- 60K words and more ( then usually three to five months) If it’s a series book- it could be cut down to two months. It depends on the timeline I give myself and what I have going on in my life. Fantasy takes me much- much longer because world building is hard, but I have two fantasy books in the work at the moment.
HEA: If you could go back and give your younger self advice, what would it be?
Ashley: So many things, but I’d start with telling myself to smile more- and believe that I’m beautiful just the way I am- I’d also tell myself to remember that most people don’t deserve my loyalty and to guard it- not offer it freely.
HEA: Do you have any tips or hacks that help you stay organized in life, writing or social media?
Ashley: Hire an amazing PA. Honestly that’s my biggest hack, my PA keeps my schedule together and keeps me from falling apart – I also keep two calendars, I use excel sheets like my life depends on it, because come tax season: it literally does. I look at social media like an investment- sure, it’s taxing and exhausting but it’s a part of the job and it deserves to be well tended and not neglected.
HEA: Do you relate more to one of your characters than the others?
Ashley: I’d say my character Ramsey- a lot of her reactions and decision making skills came from real life characteristics of mine. It being my debut, I didn’t exactly know that it wasn’t a good idea to not fashion a character after myself. I couldn’t really help it, but through writing her character, I also found a lot of self-love.
HEA: If a reader discovers your books today, where would you recommend they start reading?
Ashley: Honestly, I’d suggest The Rest of Me– it is the first book that I wrote with my phenomenal editor C. Marie (she’s life changing)- it’s also the first book that I truly wrote without limits- without expectations and without any concern over who might be reading it. It’s to-date the one book people message me about the most and are shocked at how much of my heart and soul reflect in the story.
About Tennessee Truths
Faith:
Our story was classic.
A typical fairytale.
Two young kids falling in love under an onyx sky.
He was my dream …and I naively thought I was his.
Until he bartered our love and sold me a lie.
Now, I’m returning to the life I once knew…but not as the pathetic mess that left five years ago.
I’m a married woman, wed to the richest man in Nashville.
But it seems I wasn’t the only one who changed during my time away…
Hardened by life, Jace Walker’s glares drip with heat and derision.
He has war in his eyes and venom in his veins.
I thought I would be safe coming back home, but it seems I only ran from my present to be caught in the crosshairs of my past.
Jace:
I traded my future for a life.
I knew what was on the line when I made the deal, I knew what I could lose, but I also knew that I didn’t really have a choice.
I gambled and lost.
Now the one person I had dreamed of having a future with was walking back into my life bearing the last name and wearing the ring of another man.
Lips painted red, hair that same honey gold and there against her creamy throat was our promise to one another, still dangling, reminding me that I may have lied, but she ran.
I was a liar, she was a coward.
Now she was home, and she wasn’t mine.
As if the air around the room shifted, I knew my time was up. His arrival always felt like the beginning of a hurricane, the few seconds I had to prepare myself was like standing in the center. Peaceful and calm.
Quick as lightning, I was tugging my books free, and situating my English essay. The last thing I wanted was to ruin my homework before classes even started. I was nearly situated, when I heard someone yell from the other end of the hall, “Seeds!”
‘Tennessee Truths’ by Ashely Munoz
I forced my eyes shut, shoving the nerves down like I did every day.
I didn’t have to look to know that people were following him. Guys were offering their palms for high-fives, girls were smiling and vying for his attention. Jace divided the throng, like a wave, like nothing and no one was of any consequence, at least not enough to stop him or snag his attention.
Except me.
I was the stone he crashed upon with force and destruction.
“Seeds.” His southern lilt drew my eyes up. Striking blue orbs assessed me from under dark, drawn brows.
“Jace,” I exhaled, hoping he couldn’t hear the heavy thud in my chest at his presence. I hated him. I prayed he would get swept away in the Mississippi river on a regular basis…but more reverently, more secretly I also wrote out the spelling of his last name in a thousand different fonts, testing to see how it would look attached to my first.
