Author Hugh Ashton was born in the UK and graduated from the University of Cambridge. He worked at a wide variety of jobs before settling into his current field in information technology. A long-standing interest in Japan led him to emigrate to that country in 1988, where he has remained ever since.
His book, “Red Wheels Turning,” an alternate history novel, is a prequel to “Beneath Gray Skies.” He released it late summer 2011. The book is mainly set in Russia in 1915-6, and on and under the Baltic Sea (yes, there’s a submarine involved). In the book’s alternate timeline, the American Civil War never took place, but the Confederate States of America and United States of America remain separate nations. This has an affect on the way the Great European War (World War 1, without the Americans) was fought. Hugh says this is ancillary to the plot of “Red Wheels Turning,” but plays a part nonetheless.
“Beneath Gray Skies is all about this divergence, though, and my next book, provisionally entitled Gold on the Tracks, will also exploit this, as well as some other differences in the timeline,” he says.
Hugh feels his strength lies in writing dialog. “Beneath Gray Skies was a challenge – I had to get Southern US, Northern US, British and German styles of speech in there. In ‘Red Wheels Turning,’ I had to deal with Russians and British . . . there are little tricks of grammar and intonation that mark out these different speakers and it’s these, rather than throwing in gratuitous foreign or dialect words, that I use to make the distinctions between nationalities. ‘At the Sharpe End’ used British, American, Indian and Japanese English.”
Readers and reviewers seem to appreciate his writing for what it is—adventure (Hugh says he doesn’t write literature). He says local media show little interest in foreign language books, and the local English media concentrate on books which deal with Japan. His Tokyo thriller “At the Sharpe End,” got a few reviews, but there’s been no Japan-based review of “Beneath Gray Skies” or “Red Wheels Turning,” other than friends’ blog or Amazon reviews. How does an indie start getting mainstream reviews in the UK or USA, if he or she doesn’t live in those countries to promote the book? Hugh says, “I’ve had a good collection of Amazon and other reviews. An average of between 3 and 4 stars, which includes some 1-star reviews where the reviewers admitted they hadn’t actually read the book!”
Hugh says that he often finds inspiration in a relatively minor thing. “If you live in Japan, and you have even the smallest bump of interest in what goes on around you, there’s a novel, or at least a book, there.”
Hugh says that right now, the biggest challenge for him it’s finding the time and energy to write. He researches and writes for a living – journalism and non-fiction – and after a hard day working at the keyboard, says he often doesn’t feel like sitting down and putting in another few hours. “Self-employed people tend to work considerably more than eight-hour days at the best of times, and 12-hour days sitting at a keyboard do not strike me as being a great idea.” He adds that even when he does have a clear afternoon, he often feels (or may be reminded by his wife) there is something else he should be doing.
Hugh uses and values beta readers, but says authors must use caution. “One reader suggests that you’ve really fouled up on a particular part of the plot or a character, which turns out to be the favorite part of the book for the next reader. Of course, if everyone loves something, you can build on that, or if everyone hates it, you take it out. But there are a couple of people whose judgment I value quite highly, and these tend to be the people who get the job of looking through the final drafts. They also act as additional proofreaders. I always consider their suggestions – not that I always take them up, but I always take them seriously.”
Marketing poses special challenges for Hugh. He says there’s a handicap for authors who live outside their main markets. “Local radio and TV are out, as are bookstore signings, though I’ve organized some book launch events here in Japan, which have been pretty successful. The one thing that I have discovered that really does work for me is the Giveaway program from LibraryThing. This is a great way to generate reviews – but I think it’s important to give people the option of a paper copy – it seems to predispose people towards a good review! Giving away an e-book doesn’t have the same effect.”
Hugh has read quite a few fellow indies, chiefly in similar steampunk and techno-thriller genres, and has found some that are quite good. He tries not to divide authors into “indie” and “proper,” and says he’s read some commercial books that are worse than some indies. Can’t we all just get along?
Hugh advises aspiring writers to get someone else to help edit their work. He says, “Too many indie authors think that once you’ve typed THE END and uploaded a file to the Kindle Store, you’ve published a book. That’s not true at all – you’ve gone some of the way toward having produced a book. I would strongly recommend going through the process of making a paper version of your book. It’s not expensive if you do it right. If you really don’t think your book is worth $100 or $200, you have to ask yourself whether you think your book is worth publishing at all, and whether you really have faith in yourself as a writer. And that’s my advice – have confidence in yourself and your abilities, balancing this against as objective a view as you can achieve of your work compared to what’s already out there. If you do that, then you will go through the editing and correction stages of book production without even thinking about it – it will just become part of the process of making the best possible product for your readers.”
Hugh’s books Red Wheels Turning, Beneath Gray Skies, and At the Sharpe End are all available from Amazon. You can find Hugh on Facebook and follow him on Twitter.
Wonderful! I recently met Mr. Ashton in Book Junkies and there is one thing that he failed to mention about himself- he is kind to a fault and he is willing to help other writers when he can! Thanks for giving us a bit more information about yourself, Mr. Ashton, and thank YOU, Steve, for a great write-up!