Starting A New Journey...
Surrounded by my favorite people and a frequent source of inspiration.
My name is Ashley, and I am a writer. Just putting those word together sends a chill through me! I have wanted to be a writer since I was a kid in school, but I didn’t go after a creative writing degree in college because I was always told that the only thing you can do with a liberal arts degree is teach. I may not have been sure about a lot of things at eighteen years old, but I was absolutely positive I didn’t have what it takes to do that. Teachers are amazingly patient saints that walk among us, and I knew myself just well enough to know that didn’t describe me.
I moved to Austin after high school and it was here that I met a great guy named Josh. We dated for a really long time (almost three whole months) before we got married! While we were dating, we found out that Josh would be deploying overseas and even though we were really young, we knew we were ready to start our forever together before he left the country. A week and half long engagement later and we had tied the knot! I have no regrets, but readers, don’t do this to your families! Date for longer than your underpants last! Be engaged long enough to not cause your sweet kind mother to not sleep for a week straight arranging florals and talking to caterers! Our parents are amazing, and they scrambled at the last minute to put a beautiful wedding together for us, but we didn’t make it easy. We will be celebrating our 17 year anniversary this year and I can’t believe how spectatular our journey has been!
Josh and I have two amazing sons and I have been a stay at home mom during most of that time. They are both in middle school this year and I can’t believe how fast the time has gone. Clayton is open, kind, and adventurous. Blake is determined, inclusive, and funny. They make me laugh and sometimes make me crazy. Ok, a lot of the time they make me crazy! But that seems to be an important part of being a teenager. And I’d hate to deny them that right of passage.
Celebrating 17 years of
Laughing and growing together.
And look how handsome he is!
Obligitory Pre-Deployment Photo
I have loved being a stay-at-home mom, but my kiddos are older and I’m ready to jump into something new. I’m ready to pursue my dreams. And it’s a crazy one! I want to be a writer. I want to put words on paper that create the worlds and characters and scenes that I see all around me. I told my husband about being ready to pursue my passion and he encouraged me to check out some classes to grow my skills and see what was out there. So now, here I am, an almost forty year old mom attending classes at Austin Community College, and heading off to Texas State in the fall. And I want to share my journey with you. The ups and downs. The successes and the hilarious failures. Because this journey is just as important to me as the destination.
Whether you are considering taking a crazy leap like I am, or you are just starting to consider what it may look like for you dream big again, follow along with me. Along the way I will be posting on topics that are meaningful to me, like feminism, my faith, and fiction but always with the goal of being vulnerable and sharing that journey with you. I will focus a lot on what it is like to start pursuing a dream at forty years old, and the frequently hilarious way that turns out for me. I will categorize my post by topic, so you can find the types of post you want to follow. And through all of it, I will be stretching myself as a writer. You can also click on my flash-fiction and short-stories tabs to read fiction pieces. Flash-fiction is a story told in 1500 words or less. So you can read a quick story when you only have a brief break. Short-stories are a bit longer, but dive deeper into character development. I will also have some short-stories and flash-fiction that I will release as a series. So, if there is a short-story or flash-fiction piece you really loved, make sure to comment on it so I know which ones you would like to read more of. Under each fiction piece and every blog post dedicated to writing there will be a short writing prompt for you to stretch your writing muscles with me. I would love to read your final piece so be sure to send them to me at: info@ashleystowers.com. I will choose a few pieces to feature on my website periodically.
Writing and finding inspiration
Now, I would love to hear from you! What crazy leap are you taking? Or what crazy dream do you have? Comment below so I can get to know you!
This page photo credit: Glynis Morris