I was born to read, so the legends say.
It was foretold one would come to slay the monsters. The careless creature-commas. The demons of diction. The three-headed homophonic horrors of there, their, and they're.
A word wizard. An atmospheric alchemist. Call me what you like, but my given name is Ashley.
I was an eerily early reader—age four marked my obsession with the written word, a fascination that only consumed me further as the years passed.
My lore began as an exploration in empathy, crafted and forged by the Finches, the Lorax, and members of the Fellowship of the Ring. Through immersing myself in worlds not my own, I was transported to alternate dimensions and exposed to new ways of thinking through tales woven by folks across the realms.
But reading was only the beginning. As prophesied, there were beasts in need of taming within others' literary dreamscapes.
The prophecy began to unfold, revealing its truths.
The path to Wyrd Wit was... well... weird.
A professional past riddled with side quests in chemistry, engineering, and recruiting—nearly a decade of aimless wandering for the purpose of survival.
Fate, as it is wont to do, chose the opportune time to intervene. A bookbinding class and an encounter with an indie author created a fissure in my reality, opening up a portal of possibilities.
I realized I prefer the alchemy of words to that of chemical reactions. The scaffolds of stories over those of skyscrapers. I was tired of battling corporate overlords—of filling kings' coffers instead of people's minds.
Writers are spell-weavers. What beauty (or horrors) might they birth into the world if encouraged to invoke their innate incantations?
And that is where we lay our scene—
Me, an indie editor.
You, an indie author.
Us, creating something magical together.
