Have you read the new fanfiction-turned-novel by the teen author, Ashley Royer? After reviewing her book, Remember To Forget, we got the chance to chat with the rising author about her journey to publishing her first book!
Hi, Ashley and welcome to CelebMix! Thank you so much for lending us a little bit of your time to have a chat about your first published book! It’s been a month since Remember To Forget first hit the stores, have you already gotten the hang of it or has it still not sunk in?
“To me, this is all normal. I’ve always wanted to do something like this, and I kind of always had a feeling that I would do something like, publish a book. I never expected to do it at 17 years old, though! When I think about my life and all the amazing things that have happened, it feels like a dream. But while I’m in the moment, for example at a book signing, it’s second nature to me, like I was born to do it. I love that this is my life, and I’m able to do all these awesome things!”
You started writing fanfictions on Wattpad at the age of thirteen, and I believe RTF wasn’t your first completed fiction under your list. Has the drive in writing stories always lingered in the back of your mind way before you published your work online or was it something you just tried out back then?
“I actually wrote my first book when I was in the first grade! There’s a company that you can send your book to and they’ll make a book
! I drew all the pictures and told my mom what to write. But before I started writing on Wattpad, I had an overwhelming amount of ideas in my head. I would start stories and never finish them. I always hoped to write a full book and publish one someday.”
Now let’s move on to your book. Knowing that you first wrote Remember To Forget as a 5 Seconds of Summer fanfiction, where did the book inspire from in terms of its plot and theme?
“How I thought of it is pretty random. For some reason, I always get my best ideas before I fall asleep. That’s when I tend to think the most and get the most creative ideas. Right before I fell asleep one night, I thought of the idea to write a book where a boy didn’t speak. Every week that I updated, the plot grew. I would think of the ideas throughout the week and then write at the end of the week.”
Did you ever think that your story would get as far as getting published?
“I never thought it would get published! The first story I published, I was expecting 10 reads. I’ve gone far over that expectation! Getting a book published was just a dream of mine and now it’s a reality.”
With RTF getting published in print under Harper Collins, a few certain things had to be changed to lift it out from being a “fanfiction” to a young-adult novel. Can you tell us more on what’s been added and revised?
“Since it was originally a fanfiction of 5SOS, the names have been changed to Levi, Mitchell, Caleb, and Aiden. There has been about five added chapters and a prologue. The whole book has been edited, but the plot is the same, just with some more exciting events and twists.”
Prior to its release, you’ve announced before about the five added chapters into the print version. Can you give the readers a little bit of insight on where these chapters were put and how it affected the whole story technically and plot-wise?
I, unfortunately, do not know where these chapters were put because I added them a year ago. But, there’s a very popular quote that was in the description on Wattpad, and I never put in the fanfic version. The quote is…
“Why do you like the rain so much?”
“It reminds me that I’m still alive.”
When I found out that RTF was going to get published, I had ideas I knew I would keep out, and I kept that quote out! So now the popular quote is in there. There’s also a little drama in the added chapters.
Thank you so much for your time and a huge congratulations to you for having a successful kick-start for your first published book! What is in-store for Ashley Royer in the future?
“Right now, the future is somewhat unclear. I’m still a junior in high school, so I have a lot of time! I hope to continue writing though. I’m going to see what the next year brings me because the past few months have been unbelievable!”
Have you grabbed your copy of Ashley Royer’s book? Tweet us @CelebMix and tell us your favorite part!