How did you become a writer?

I think it was one of those “born that way” situations. I was always a voracious reader and have very early memories of being fascinated by language choice, the rhythm of a sentence, the way it’s more than just the direct signifier of a word that contributes to the feeling you get when you encounter it. For a long time I thought I wanted to be a poet, but I used to stay up late at night telling my siblings elaborate stories, so I probably should have known I’d write books.

Name your writing influences (writers, books, teachers, etc.).

The poets Mary Oliver and Richard Siken have had an enormous influence on the way I write and also my tendencies toward earnestness, intensity, and vulnerability. Hands down the most influential teacher was my fourth-grade teacher Mrs. Ruth, who encouraged my writing to the point I actually gained a self-confidence that has remained fairly stubborn, despite all the rejections in the years since. The power of early support. And I love pop culture, so I have to credit Francine Pascal, Ann M. Martin, and the writers of Buffy, Veronica Mars, and Dark Angel for my obsession with narratives that center complicated, powerful women.

When and where do you write?

I try to write every day, all day, if my attention span will let me. And I write in my guest bedroom, which we’re slowing trying to turn into my office. Right now it’s a lumpy chair, an ottoman, and a side table. I can’t work at a desk to save my life. Feels too much like school.

What are you working on now?

I’m working on several projects: a sequel to my first romance/women’s fiction novel and two new thrillers, one of which is a high-drama feminist murder mystery, and the other is a dark, intense southern gothic. I love being able to switch between different voices and modes. Keeps things interesting.

Have you ever suffered from writer’s block?

If I’m struggling to get words on the page, I’ll either listen to music or take a shower and then I’ll get inspired. Or I ask myself why I’m struggling, and the answer is usually because I’m bored. And if so, that means the plot needs to change to something I’m excited to write and readers will be excited to read. But not being able to get words on the page is a rare problem for me. Much more common is struggling to work out the puzzle pieces of my plot in the earlier plotting phase. But I give myself grace with that because it’s literally just hard to invent a story that will wow and surprise and also feel earned and organic. So when I’m drawing a blank, I feel like that’s pretty earned and I give myself time and space to come to the right answers.

What’s the best writing advice you’ve ever received?

I can’t write books without Lisa Cron’s Story Genius, so I could probably just point to that book as the answer, but something else that has been meaningful to me is the advice that you are who you are and you’re going to write what you’re going to write, and there’s tremendous value in not trying to be like someone else, whether in style or subject matter. I used to worry that the things I was interested in were too feminine or superficial for the crime fiction genre, or too dark and vulnerable for the romance genre, and on and on. But your particular voice and set of interests are strengths, not weaknesses. I’ve learned to embrace “Winstead style” and “Winstead subjects” wholeheartedly.

What’s your advice to new writers?

Embrace your unique lens on the world, first. Second, if you’re like most of us, there’s going to come a point in your writing journey where you feel so overwhelmed by rejection that you can no longer envision a future where you’re successful. It ceases to become a possibility even the most optimistic part of your brain will allow. The writers who do become successful are the ones who keep going, relying on whatever they need to—spite, sheer stubbornness—to push on. If you keep writing and growing, you will have a future.

Ashley Winstead is the author of In My Dreams I Hold a Knife (Sourcebooks Landmark, 2021) and the forthcoming romance Fool Me Once (Graydon House, 2022) and thriller The Last Housewife (Sourcebooks Landmark, 2022). She has a PhD in contemporary American literature and a BA in English and Art History, and lives in Houston with her husband and two beloved cats.