Isabel Archer
asked
Kristen Ashley:
Listening to Beyonce's new album, I got really bummed about infidelity and IMMEDIATELY had to return to Chaos to cleanse myself with heroes who value their women. 2 questions: Does an actual fragrance inspire the perfume Lanie wears (& Hop obsesses over)? Did you consciously try to distinguish Chaos from other biker books? You balance badassery without crossing line into overt misogyny in a way other series fail to
Kristen Ashley
Hey darlin',
As for Lanie's perfume, I'm gonna be honest and say it's been a few years since I wrote that and now I can't remember what the inspiration was. However, considering Hop obsesses over it, it might be Agent Provocateur (in the pink lace bottle). This is one of the fragrances I wear and we'll just say I get a goodly number of compliments on it from a certain type o' man. Once had a rough, bearded, awesome guy say he wanted to buy it so he could wear it himself, he liked it so much. Since my grandmother wore men's cologne because she said, "I like the way men smell much better than women so why wouldn't I take that smell with me all day?" I get that guy wanting some AP!
As for consciously trying to distinguish Chaos from other biker books, when I created Tack in MYSTERY MAN and then went on to MOTORCYCLE MAN, I may be wrong, I didn't do the research, but I don't think there WERE any other biker books. I can't officially claim the biker book rush since it for sure had a heckuva lot more to do with Sons of Anarchy than Tack Allen and his Chaos boys but that prefaces the answer of...no. I've actually only ever read one other biker book.
In the end, in all things, I tend to go my own way. I do what I want, write the stories I want and I do this by letting my characters sweep me away. They tell their stories through me.
And the inspiration for this wasn't SoA either (although I loved SoA) as I was living in England at the time Tack and Chaos were born and we didn't have SoA then. It was about what I experienced around real bikers when I spent a goodly amount of time with them at a rally in Sturgis. They were very gentlemanly and protective. One of my favorite stories is that they'd even watch my girls and my purses while we danced!
Not to mention, I got a little tipsy and a dude got in my space that one of our protectors, Bear, did not like and he really didn't like that the guy grabbed my ass in a way it was not his to grab. To say Bear divested me of this problem quicker than a blink is the god's honest truth.
So after that amazing experience, I thought I had to write about bikers. I thought they were (and are) very misunderstood. I do realize there are many different bikers but there are also many different people and it is a big mistake to paint everyone with the same brush, no matter they straddle a Harley or they work in an office. You don't know that person, you don't know the soul they carry. And I wanted to tell the story of the men I met who were fun to party with and safe to party with...because they made it that way.
Thus, I gave these things to my Chaos boys. Respect. Protection. Good times. Family.
And so it goes... xx
As for Lanie's perfume, I'm gonna be honest and say it's been a few years since I wrote that and now I can't remember what the inspiration was. However, considering Hop obsesses over it, it might be Agent Provocateur (in the pink lace bottle). This is one of the fragrances I wear and we'll just say I get a goodly number of compliments on it from a certain type o' man. Once had a rough, bearded, awesome guy say he wanted to buy it so he could wear it himself, he liked it so much. Since my grandmother wore men's cologne because she said, "I like the way men smell much better than women so why wouldn't I take that smell with me all day?" I get that guy wanting some AP!
As for consciously trying to distinguish Chaos from other biker books, when I created Tack in MYSTERY MAN and then went on to MOTORCYCLE MAN, I may be wrong, I didn't do the research, but I don't think there WERE any other biker books. I can't officially claim the biker book rush since it for sure had a heckuva lot more to do with Sons of Anarchy than Tack Allen and his Chaos boys but that prefaces the answer of...no. I've actually only ever read one other biker book.
In the end, in all things, I tend to go my own way. I do what I want, write the stories I want and I do this by letting my characters sweep me away. They tell their stories through me.
And the inspiration for this wasn't SoA either (although I loved SoA) as I was living in England at the time Tack and Chaos were born and we didn't have SoA then. It was about what I experienced around real bikers when I spent a goodly amount of time with them at a rally in Sturgis. They were very gentlemanly and protective. One of my favorite stories is that they'd even watch my girls and my purses while we danced!
Not to mention, I got a little tipsy and a dude got in my space that one of our protectors, Bear, did not like and he really didn't like that the guy grabbed my ass in a way it was not his to grab. To say Bear divested me of this problem quicker than a blink is the god's honest truth.
So after that amazing experience, I thought I had to write about bikers. I thought they were (and are) very misunderstood. I do realize there are many different bikers but there are also many different people and it is a big mistake to paint everyone with the same brush, no matter they straddle a Harley or they work in an office. You don't know that person, you don't know the soul they carry. And I wanted to tell the story of the men I met who were fun to party with and safe to party with...because they made it that way.
Thus, I gave these things to my Chaos boys. Respect. Protection. Good times. Family.
And so it goes... xx
More Answered Questions
Ashley
asked
Kristen Ashley:
Just wanted to say how encouraging and AWESOME it is that you are doing this! Thank you! Your books got me through some amazingly dark times and the fact that you do this says so much! Also...a random thought...I was born with two first names (as most people tell me) and Ashley was the first:) and it's always neat to see others with it also!? You are amazing!!!!
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