Exclusive Interview: Ashley Poston Discusses ‘Geekerella’, ‘Soul of Stars’, and Fandom

There is a special sort of glee that happens when fangirls meet. I sort of picture it like when the Enterprise jumps into warp drive — there is a brief moment of calm, and then away you go, soaring into the stars and discussing at length all of the nerdy things you love. I had a chance to sit down with author Ashley Poston and talk about the very serious, real issues you talk about at a comic convention: Disney, Star Trek, and of course, her two book series.

I’m a huge fan of Geekerella, the fanish retelling of Cinderella involving a sci-fi convention, one handsome (fanboy) Carmindor, and a fangirl that finds herself finally the lead of her own beautiful story. The sequel, the Princess and the Fangirl, is also out now and she teased a third book, tentatively titled Bookish and the Beast. Being that Ashley is a fangirl herself, she speaks our language, and her stories are full of inside jokes, memes and the best kind of humor.

She also talked to me about her other series, The Iron Kingdom Duology. Soul of Stars, the latest in the series, came out just last week. Since I adored the Once Upon a Con series, I was curious what she could tell me about this one. “Do you like murder-bot romances?” she asked. SAY NO MORE!

Both this series and the Once Upon a Con series feature many LGBT characters. This decision was second nature to her, being queer herself and having many queer friends. Indeed, in reading her stories, the characters’ sexuality seamlessly fit into the rest of the narrative, and are never a plot point. Instead, it gives dimension and color to already interesting characters.

You can check out our interview with Ashley below. And if you haven’t gotten a chance to read any of her books yet, you can find them on Amazon or your local library!