Claude Ashton

Claude Ashton is a new writer on the scene. His first book, Exiles of Raifor is a Science-Fiction/Fantasy Adventure, and was released on May 11th, 2013. Claude started writing short stories in Middle School, and continued this through High School. During this time he honed his craft on message boards and in online roleplaying games, immersing himself in his characters and in the worlds built by others. He graduated from Red Bank Regional High School in 2005 and started college with the intent of becoming a journalist. Along the way he found that he was much more adept at fixing computers than interviewing others, so he changed his focus to Information Technology. After taking some time in this field, he decided that it was time for him to start building the world he had always dreamed of. What started as a world led to two worlds, which led to a solar system, then a galaxy. This galaxy was the universe of Raifor, a mix of science fiction and fantasy elements. In 2013, after building and shaping the universe, he sat down to write and publish his first book.

When he is not writing, he is usually nose deep in a book, or playing all manner of video games with his friends.

He is currently writing the second book in the Raifor Saga, Heroes of Raifor.

Book(s) By Claude Ashton

Interview

1. Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Claude H. Ashton, I was born and raised in Red Bank New Jersey. I am currently 26 years old, and I am a full time author. I used to work as a technical support consultant, but I spent more time thinking about elves and spaceships than I did trying to fix problems, so that didn't work out. I went to Red Bank Regional High School and graduated in 2005. I still haven't finished college, but it's something I plan on doing soon.

 
2. Describe your book 'Exiles of Raifor (Raifor Saga)' in 30 words or less. 

It's a science fiction/fantasy epic filled with action, magic, space battles, starships, mecha and awesome characters. A must read for anyone who is a fan of soft sci-fi and fantasy.
 

3. What was the hardest part of writing your book?

Ending it. I moved through it nicely, and kept a very comfortable pace, but the ending didn't turn out as I had originally planned. I had other ideas for the characters, but they wanted to go in their own direction. The third act of Exiles of Raifor was meant to be much shorter than it ended up being, because I needed to establish a number of things that I had previously overlooked. Looking back on it, however, I feel the ending may have been rushed.


4. What books have had the greatest influence on you?

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card, Black Sun Rising by C.S. Friedman, The Shadow Rising by Robert Jordan and the entire Icewind Dale trilogy.

 
5. Briefly share with us what you do to market your book?

I use all forms of social media that I can get my hands on. I am active on facebook, twitter and tumblr. I have also done a bit of promotion on reddit and imgur during any free promos that I have had. I tried to blog for a while, but I can't keep up with it consistently. I also don't think it's a very good use of my time to try to drive traffic to a blog to sell a book, when I can just invest that energy into selling the book.

 
6. How do you spend your time when you are not writing?

Like most writers, I read a lot. I also spend a good deal of time browsing the internet, doing research and playing video games.

 
7. What are you working on next?

I have just finished the first draft of Heroes of Raifor, the sequel to Exiles of Raifor, and I will be working on a new novel in a new setting soon.

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