A Slice of Cake with... Ashley J Barner and Jennifer Sanders

At the start of 2020, I am delighted to have a slice of cake with author duo Ashley J. Barner and Jennifer Sanders.

Jen and Ashley met in 2014 over an RP blog on Tumblr and hit it off as writing partners immediately. They finished their first novel together, Force Majeure, in 2016 and began the arduous process of trying to find a traditional publisher. After several positive but noncommittal responses and a couple of 'this is great but our schedule is full, try again next year' they decided to try independent publishing and established their own publishing company, Notus Publishing, in early 2019. A little more polishing and Force Majeure launched in May of 2019, followed by Freeing Fortune in July. The sequel to Force Majeure, Playing with Fire, is anticipated for this fall.

Ashley J. Barner is a fantasy author and literary scholar from rural Pennsylvania. She earned her PhD in literature at Ohio University with a dissertation on fanfiction. She is the author of two other books: the medieval fantasy Blue Feathers (Loconeal) and the nonfiction book The Case for Fanfiction (McFarland).

Jennifer Sanders is a professional editor and researcher who loves to write. She lives in southeastern Pennsylvania, and with her rather ancient degree in marketing and skill at learning on the fly, is currently handling the marketing and sales end of Notus Publishing.

What kind of stories do you write?

Ash: We write about everyday people who find themselves in extraordinary and magical circumstances.

Jen: We also write about extraordinary people who are facing everyday problems, and how they can’t always be solved easily, even with magic. Our focus is on contemporary fantasy, putting magic in the context of the modern day.

Can you describe your writing why?

Ash: We enjoy creating new characters and putting them in new and crazy situations—and then watching them fall in love!

Jen: We do, though we don’t exclusively write romance. But you’ll always find a romantic thread in whatever we write. I think we just enjoy the ‘what if’ of it all. And writing together is so rewarding—it’s connecting on a whole new level with someone. We joke that we share a brain cell, because we often veer in the same directions in our storytelling. For me, too, I love when we’ve set up an almost impossible situation and then it suddenly becomes clear how the story is going to move forward. That’s a very sweet spot.

Share with us your favourite passage from the book you enjoyed writing the most

Probably in Freeing Fortune when Ben and Linnea confront Moribund and Virulea:

A thump from behind them caught Linnea’s attention, followed by a masculine grunt. She turned to glimpse Ben dodging his uncle’s fist. He grabbed it and twisted the older man’s arm, spinning him around to shove him into the wall. Linnea opened her mouth to protest—

“MR. FORTUNE!” Virulea trumpeted like an elephant calling to its mate across a particularly rowdy stretch of the Serengeti. 

Ben appeared, breathless, a moment later, his neckcloth completely skewed to the side. “Ma’am?” Moribund loomed behind him, a streak of dust on his face.

The old virago’s lips stretched into a grotesquely complacent smile. “Come, you need not dawdle over your port, or whatever it is you men do,” she said archly, her lashes fluttering like a coquettish lizard’s. “Surely you do not intend to neglect your guests?”

Ben’s own well-cut mouth twisted; after a moment he managed, “Of course not, Miss Cavanaugh.” Behind him, his uncle’s scowl deepened, but the two men followed the ladies into the drawing room.

Linnea took the opportunity to straighten Ben’s neckcloth, only partially because of the expression of outrage it provoked on Virulea’s jowly, ruddy face. “Are you all right?” Linnea murmured, making rather a business of tidying him up.

His gaze as she looked up into his face was warm indeed. “Fine. I’ve thirty years and three stone on the man. And the militia should be here soon.”

Virulea harrumphed her indignation at having to witness a married couple (so far as she knew) behaving like a married couple. “If you have quite finished valeting your husband, madam?”

Araminta winced at this emphasis. “Surely, Aunt,” she began. “I do think—”

“Well, you should not, my gel. It is not a skill you possess.” Virulea turned her lorgnette on her niece, who got up suddenly and crossed to where Sophia stood by the fireplace. 

Strathmore made an unexpected entrance, distracting everyone from the cloud of awkwardness that had settled thickly about them. “Sir—Mr. Fortune?” he began, looking from Ben to Moribund and back.

“Yes?” they answered in unison, each glaring at the other.

“Lord Frumpington has arrived, and brought with him some persons,” Strathmore said feelingly before melting away.

Ben smirked; Moribund frowned. “Persons?” snapped the latter.

“Militia,” Ben clarified gleefully. “You’re finished, old man.”

Tell us about your latest project

Our current WIP is the sequel to our first book, Force Majeure. The series, called the LifeWard Legacy, centers on a magical family in modern-day New York, and the fallout from a murder which has shaken their community down to the foundations. The first book began the tale of Hulda van Dusen, a young woman who is trying to come to terms with the murder of her grandfather, her inheritance, and her own powers. The current book, Playing with Fire, takes the characters farther along their journey and is largely the story of Hulda’s sister, Jubilee: why she’s so estranged from her family and what happens to bring her home at last.

What is your favourite cake?

Ash: Plain ole white sheet cake with LOTS of buttercream icing.

Jen: Pound cake, and Ashley can have my icing.

Great cake choices! You can keep up to date with Notus Publishing on their website.

Join me next week when I will be chatting with Sam Kates.

If you would like to take part in A Slice of Cake With... please fill in the form found here. I'd be delighted to have you.

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Claire Buss is a multi-genre author and poet, completely addicted to cake. Find all her books on Amazon. Join the discussion in her Facebook group Buss's Book Stop.