We chat with author Ashley Woo about Wildwood, which is a chilling debut gothic mystery in the vein of Jason Rekulak and Stacy Willingham about a house with dark secrets beneath its floorboards.
Hi, Ashley! Can you tell our readers a bit about yourself?
Hello! I’m a debut author, originally from Massachusetts and now living in Vermont. As a former English major at Emory University, I had always wanted to be a writer, but I never had an idea that could sustain a full-length book. So the majority of my career was spent in the education nonprofit sector and writing was kept as a hobby. Little vignettes about bad dates that I’d send to my girlfriends and sister, or a murder mystery script I wrote for a friend’s birthday party. But after moving to an old farmhouse in Vermont, my imagination kicked into overdrive and slowly, the bones of a story that would become my debut Wildwood took shape.
My writing leans dark (but not too dark) and gothic, and I love leveraging the gorgeous moodiness of the New England landscape to enhance my plots!
When did you first discover your love for writing and stories?
Oh gosh, since forever? As a kid I devoured books. Babysitters Club, Goosebumps, Nancy Drew, Mary Higgins Clark…Then I think in college I kind of took a hiatus from reading for fun, and it wasn’t until my mid-late twenties that I found my way back and have been a voracious reader ever since. Mainly mysteries and thrillers, some literary fiction.
I think another good indication that writing was my true calling was during my business school program. When I should have been studying for finals, I was instead writing a short story about a few of my classmates and me having an adventure in the White Mountains and encountering a rock monster.
Quick lightning round! Tell us:
- The first book you ever remember reading: A Goosebumps book. I think it was called The Ghost Next Door.
- The one that made you want to become an author: Sarah Pearse’s The Sanatorium. It was my first introduction to modern gothic suspense and I devoured it.
- The one that you can’t stop thinking about: Elizabeth Kostova’s The Historian. I read it on my honeymoon in Transylvania.
Your debut novel, Wildwood, is out now! If you could only describe it in five words, what would they be?
Inheritance. Autumn. Gothic. Witchy. Vermont-y.
What can readers expect?
Wildwood is a slow-burn gothic mystery about an old house with dark secrets beneath its floorboard. Readers can expect the always tantalizing gothic tropes of an old house, ghostly apparitions, cemeteries and a cast of characters that cannot be trusted, with themes of colonialism, feminism, and legacy woven into a story that thrills and chills, while also provoking thought.
Where did the inspiration for Wildwood come from?
From my new hometown! Newfield is like the upside down version of my actual town, which is lovely and charming and like a postcard for Vermont tourism. Shortly after moving here, while I was on maternity leave with my youngest, I began to have little daydreams. Like, what if the nice couple down the street were actually members of a cult? Or what if the cute covered bridge was actually a place where witches were executed? I’m a very joyful person, but I’m drawn to the gothic and mysterious.
The story was also inspired by my lifelong interest in witchcraft, both in the actual Salem Witch Trials and by my interest in the current practice of witchcraft.
Were there any moments or characters you really enjoyed writing or exploring?
I loved writing the fall harvest festival scene! It was so fun describing the decadence and the autumnal overload, pumpkins, apples and maple galore! It was a party I’d love to attend if anyone wants to host!
I also loved writing the Salem scenes, mainly because they gave me an excuse to go back to Salem for research. It’s also just a lovely, historic city, with the most interesting shops and fantastic restaurants.
Did you face any challenges whilst writing? How did you overcome them?
I definitely hit moments of writer’s block, moments of thinking the book was terrible or that I had no idea where to go with it. Whenever that happened. I simply stopped writing. Sometimes for long stretches of time, like six months or longer. At the time, I was truly writing as a passion project, so I didn’t feel any urgency to get it done, and I think taking the time to let the story marinate in my head and to not push through when it didn’t actually feel good to write, really paid off. However, I recognize that taking long blocks of time off of writing is not necessarily feasible if I want to be a career writer. So I’m going to have to come up with other strategies.
This is your debut novel! What was the road to becoming a published author like for you?
The path was relatively smooth. I know so much of this comes down to luck and timing. Ie. The right agent getting the manuscript at the exact right time, same for the editor. So I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to give this a go. I wish I had some magic advice to give, but I think the main thing is just making sure your manuscript is the best it can possibly be before querying.
What’s next for you?
Hopefully many more books! My second book The Loon will be published in fall 2027. The Loon is another gothic suspense, following a woman who goes to take care of an elderly man with dementia at a remote New Hampshire lake house, and an homage to Henry James The Turn of the Screw.
Lastly, what books are you looking forward to picking up? Any you’ve read so far this year that you’ve enjoyed?
I read Before I Forget by Tory Henwood Hoen earlier this year and absolutely loved it and couldn’t stop talking about it with friends and family. It’s a beautiful, heart-felt coming of age story. I can’t wait for “The Forest Bleeds” a debut horror by Rachel Kitch, and Lucy Foley’s Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel.
