From Boarding School Dreams to Bestselling Novels
Kimberley Ash, a British expat in New Jersey, writes compelling contemporary romance novels inspired by her life experiences, blending serious issues with heartfelt love stories.
Kimberley Ash is a British expat who has called New Jersey home for the past 30 years. Her writing, often centered around fish-out-of-water characters, explores the unexpected places where people find belonging. When she’s not crafting contemporary romance or romantic women’s fiction, Kimberley is busy managing the chaos of her household, which includes two large, white, furry dogs and her slightly less furry children.
In this interview, Kimberley shares her journey from penning romance stories in her English boarding school dormitory to becoming a published author after a 25-year hiatus. She discusses the inspiration behind her debut novel, “Breathe,” which delves into contemporary issues like the #MeToo movement and celebrity privacy, and how she balances these serious topics with compelling love stories. Kimberley also opens up about the creation of the Van Allen Brothers trilogy, revealing the intricate development of the brothers’ distinct personalities and interconnected romances.
As a British expat, Kimberley’s personal experiences have significantly influenced her writing, particularly her fish-out-of-water characters and the settings of her novels. She reflects on how her life in America has shaped her storytelling and the joy she finds in incorporating aspects of her expat life into her work. Additionally, Kimberley discusses her novella “Champion,” which blends elements of Regency romances with a contemporary setting, and the challenges she faced in merging these two worlds.
Finally, Kimberley delves into the themes of past regrets and second chances in “Forgive Me,” the first book in The Van Allen Brothers series. She explains how she creates authentic and relatable emotional journeys for her characters and what she hopes readers will take away from Piper and Lucas’s story. Join us as we explore the fascinating world of Kimberley Ash and her heartfelt, engaging novels.
Your journey to becoming an author began with writing romance stories in your English boarding school dormitory. How did those early experiences shape your approach to storytelling, and what ultimately reignited your passion for writing after a 25-year hiatus?
I think I might still be writing for those friends of mine! We wanted strong, independent heroines and hunky yet squishy heroes who weren’t afraid of a bit of groveling. Back then, though, there was no way I would be encouraged to make a living out of writing. But I never really forgot about it. I took classes in New York in my 20s, and after I had my kids, I realized that, thanks to the Internet and my local community college, I could actually seriously learn how to do this. The story I wrote back in boarding school eventually became Breathe, so you could say my dream of entertaining my dorm-mates came true!
Your debut novel Breathe tackles issues like the #MeToo movement and celebrity privacy. What inspired you to weave these contemporary issues into your romantic suspense narrative, and how do you balance addressing serious topics with crafting a compelling love story?
Sometimes the conflicts come to you, rather than you looking for them. I’m not sure when Ellen’s backstory became so traumatic or when Kane’s business started being attacked, but authors are famous for being cruel to our characters, and pushing these two to their limits made for a more compelling story! And the story doesn’t end there—in Megan’s story, Rise, we learn the consequences of Kane’s notoriety for the rest of this family.
The Van Allen Brothers trilogy has been well-received by readers. Can you share what inspired this series, and how you developed the distinct personalities and stories of the brothers to create engaging, interconnected romances?
Okay, here’s a secret: Lucas in Forgive Me was originally Carl in Breathe. For reasons, my agent and I decided to separate the two stories into two different series, and Tule Publishing loved Lucas so much, they asked me to give him brothers. So Lucas’ character was already there in Breathe—a sweet, cinnamon-roll hero who treats women with respect. But what if Lucas had a darker side? And what if that darker side was his father, whom Lucas has never known? And what if that father had other sons Lucas never knew about? And what if those brothers are also cinnamon roll heroes with the same problems with the father as Lucas? And what if we got to see the journey these men have to finding each other and making peace with their dad? The last couple of scenes of Free Me give one of my most satisfying endings.
As a British expat living in New Jersey, how have your personal experiences influenced your fish-out-of-water characters and the settings of your novels? Are there specific aspects of your expat life that you enjoy incorporating into your stories?
Yes, definitely being a Brit in America has informed my writing. Whether it’s my own personality, or just what I had to do to thrive in this new culture, I’m now extremely observant of people, and particularly their reactions to life events. So I love giving my characters difficult, unfamiliar situations to cope with and watch them work through them to find their happily-ever-afters.
Your novella Champion brings elements of Regency romances into the 21st century. What motivated you to blend these historical romance elements with a contemporary setting, and what challenges did you face in merging these two worlds?
My main inspiration for this story was my mum. She was extremely cultured and intelligent, and loved stately homes, horses, and all the pomp and circumstance that went with the aristocracy. So Champion was really written for her. Then there was the challenge of bringing the challenges of Regency romances into today. But there are always problems with wills and estate taxes, and when your estate is literally an Estate, those problems multiply! So I gave Patricia a big pile of trouble.
Forgive Me, the first book in The Van Allen Brothers series, explores themes of past regrets and second chances. How do you create authentic and relatable emotional journeys for your characters, and what do you hope readers take away from Piper and Lucas’s story?
Romance authors have to be amateur psychologists. There’s nothing worse than a character who reacts to a situation completely unrealistically. That takes the reader out of the story right away. So we have to learn about different human personalities, so we can portray how they’d react in a way readers will accept, even recognize. For all the Van Allen Brothers, I did a lot of research into adult children of alcoholics. Certain traits run through them all, and I was able to give them to my characters in varying degrees. For Lucas, who only knows his father as a monster, the burden of that weighs heavily on him and informs how he treats everyone. For Jonah, who saw his father leave his mother for another woman and now has to watch that son have a good dad, his life is spent trying to knock the chip off his own shoulder. Finally Matt, who had the good version of their father, can’t understand Jonah’s hostility, and reacts accordingly, being extra sunny to everyone, not realizing he does that to try and get his brother to like him. It was interesting for me to explore all these different ways of seeing a parent at different stages in his life. That series also asked the question: how much can you forgive someone? Does the father deserve forgiveness? I hope readers are satisfied with the decisions the brothers make in the end.
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