S. W. Raine

Who’s up for an author interview?

My friend and fellow author Holly Ash just published the fifth and final book in her Journey Missions series. I’m so proud of her. I still remember when she pulled the first book of the series, Crystal and Flint, out of her bag one day during our NaNoWriMo write-in at the Panera Bread on the hill in Allen Park, MI.

We were still kind of strangers then, but something magical happened when I got to hold her book. Sure, it took a few more years before I finally reached out to meet up with Holly and discuss how to start my own journey, but getting to hold a book by an amazing, down-to-earth wrimo was just the fuel I needed to push my dream into overdrive.

Holly has since published a five-part series and a duology. And with her latest release, I reached out and asked if she’d like to do an author interviewed for my blog. So I’m thrilled to share with you an exclusive interview with Holly Ash, sci-fi author, amazing friend, and the brilliant mind behind the Journey Missions series.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself and your journey as an author leading up to the Journey Missions series?

Holly Ash: I’ve wanted to be an author for as long as I can remember. I used to sit in my backyard under a tree and make up stories, like I was lost in the woods and had to survive or taking the Oregon Trail out west with my family. I used to rush home from school to write action-adventure stories or fan fiction just for fun before I started my first novel length story at 14 about a girl who was raised with dolphins. Eventually, life got busier as I got older, and the writing kept getting pushed further down the list. My son was two when I finally realized that the characters that had always been in my head were gone. That was the moment I vowed to take my writing seriously. I dug out the manuscript for Crystal and Flint that I had been working on for years and got to work. I haven’t looked back since.

What inspired you to start the Journey Missions series, and how did the idea evolve over time?

Ash: The Journey Missions started as fan fiction for the old 90s show SeaQuest DSV. My friend and I created our own characters, Crystal and Desi, and put them into the underwater world of that show. We eventually stopped writing the fan fiction, but the characters always stayed with me, and I eventually decided to give them their own world. The characters have changed so much from their fanfic days. I created Crystal to be everything I thought I wasn’t. She was strong, smart, witty, and perfect in every way imaginable. She was instantly successful at everything she tried. When I went to start writing the first Journey book, I realized she needed to change because it’s the flaws that make people real and interesting. It’s the dents in the armor that make them relatable and force you to care about them. Once I realized that, the stories took on a life of their own. 

Did you have the entire series planned out from the beginning, or did it develop book by book?

Ash: I had the entire series planned out at a very high level. I actually had very basic plot ideas for 9 books that were eventually whittled down to the 5 stories in the series now. The details of the stories developed organically with each book, but I knew book 1 would be Crystal and Desi meeting and becoming friends; book 2 would be about Crystal’s parents; Book 3 would bring in Earth and Desi’s parents; book 4 would test Crystal and Justin’s relationship; and Book 5 would be the final battle. And in case you’re curious, the storylines that got cut were Crystal and Justin being held by a terrorist group at a vacation resort; Crystal losing her memory in an explosion and being saved by a reclusive island scientist; Desi falling prey to mind control and trying to assassinate the President of the United States; and Justin and Desi being forced to go back to Earth, Justin almost being killed by friendly fire, and Desi being charged with treason. 

What challenges did you encounter while writing a five-book series, and how did you overcome them?

Ash: Burnout was the biggest challenge. By the time I got to writing books 4 and 5, I had so many other story ideas fighting for my attention that it was hard to stay excited about Journey. I would reread my favorite passages from the other books to help keep me excited about the characters and story. I also started the audiobook production for this series around the same time. Experiencing the stories in this new way also really helped me stay focused on completing the series.

How did you come up with the name for Neophia?

Ash: I honestly don’t remember exactly where Neophia came from; I don’t think there was any specific inspiration for it. Honestly, I get super annoyed by crazy, weird spellings in fantasy and sci-fi books because I’m terrible at phonics and can never figure out how they are supposed to be pronounced. So when naming places in my series, I wanted to make sure they were easy to pronounce. I do remember debating between the ph and f and thought the ph was a tiny bit more sci-fi looking. 

How do you maintain consistency across multiple books in terms of writing style, tone, and overarching plot?

Ash: It’s been challenging, and I’ve had to go back and reference the other books in the series a lot to make sure I’m keeping things consistent. I tried to create a series bible when I first started, but I never kept up with it. I think it helps that all of my main characters—Crystal and Desi from Journey and Zoe and Cole from Cleansing Rain—are very different, and since the books are written with scenes from their points of view, their personalities stay consistent in the style and tone of their sections. I always want the reader to know who’s telling what part of the story. So in Journey, Crystal’s chapters are a little more formal feeling than Desi’s because she’s more structured and disciplined. There’s also consistency in who they call by their first names vs. last based on the character’s relationship to the point of view character. Crystal very rarely refers to Desi by her first name and vice versa because they started as military rivals and would have called the other by their last name first. But with Tyler, Crystal uses his first name because he’s her brother, and Desi calls him Price because they were teammates first. Keeping these small details going helps the whole series feel more connected. 

Were there any themes or messages you aimed to explore in this series, and if so, why were they important to you?

Ash: Each book had its own main theme that it focused on. Crystal and Flint was about friendship and pride; Family Binds focused on how your past defines you and your legacy; Thicker Than Blood is about the realization that home and where you belong can change as you do; Shattered Refuge is about love, pain, and forgiveness; and Divided They Fall really captures the overall theme for the whole series, which is how one person can affect the lives of all those around you and how that can change when that one person is gone. While the Journey Mission series was always intended to be a fun, engaging action story, I think these themes really help give the series a heart that the reader can connect with. They ground it in reality even though we have people who can breathe underwater and camouflage themselves. 

Do you have any memorable fan interactions or reactions to the series that stand out to you?

Ash: I’ve had so many amazing fan interactions over the years, but the most memorable and meaningful was shortly after Family Binds came out. The mom of one of my childhood friends, who I hadn’t talked to in probably 15 years, reached out to me. Her granddaughter had read my books and loved them. She also wanted to be a writer, and the mom wanted to know if I’d come over and chat with her while she was in town, which of course I did. 

While we were talking, the granddaughter brought up her favorite scene from Crystal and Flint. It’s when Crystal and Desi first start training their teams together, and someone on Crystal’s team makes some off-color jokes about Desi, and Crystal kicks him off the team on the spot. 

I was a little surprised because to me, this scene wasn’t meant to be a huge moment in the story. The original purpose was to introduce the guy who got kicked off so he could come back as an antagonist later in one of the story ideas I eventually cut. I left the scene in though because it was really the first moment of mutual respect between Crystal and Desi.

So this young girl, probably around 13 at the time, tells me this scene had the biggest impact on her because she wishes this was how sexual jokes and harassment were handled in real life. That this moment shows what zero tolerance should be. The moment floored me. This interaction really showed me the impact I could have with my writing and the responsibility I felt to show people how things can and should be so maybe they can demand the same for themselves in life. 

What’s next for you as an author?

Ash: I have some really exciting projects in the works. The first is part of a brand new trilogy called Sacrificing Serenity and tells the story of a widow mother who has to move her kids to an experimental town to keep them safe from the pollution taking over the rest of the world, only to realize something in the town is affecting their memories. It also takes a look at conditional parental love and approval and how that affects you even as an adult. It’s one of the most complex stories I’ve ever written, and I’m just in love with the characters and their world. 

I’ve also been starting to formulate ideas for a sequel to my Cleansing Rain duology that will take place about 15 years after the events of the original duology, though that will be a little further down the road. 

A huge thank you to Holly Ash for taking the time to share her insights and experiences and allowing me to post this author interview on my blog. If you haven’t started reading the Journey Missions series yet, now is the perfect time to dive in!

You can visit Holly’s website at hollyashwriter.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.

Happy reading!

Raine