Ashley Duongtran
I’ve read over 500 books in five years. Many of them more than once, and some of them eight times (and counting).
It’s true: I do read to escape reality. Sometimes it’s easier to deal with someone else’s problems than being in my own head. But reading speculative fiction also lets me sit with lessons I might not understand or “get” in the real world, and the fantasy frame makes it easier to look directly at hard things. Especially when something that never quite landed in real life suddenly clicks.
When I find a world I love, I move in. I reread Anne Bishop’s The Others series the way some people rewatch comfort shows. (Don’t misunderstand: I have comfort shows too. I lost count of how many times I rewatched Bones.)
I remember storylines years later—not always the character names, but the shape of the plot, the emotional beats, and the moment everything shifted. That’s how my brain holds stories: by structure and feeling, not just detail.
That’s also how I approach the work I do with authors. I care about the architecture underneath—why a story holds together or falls apart, how readers experience pacing and tension, and what makes a character’s voice land in audio. I trained in editorial work through UCLA Extension’s editing program and spent years in pharmaceutical advertising before following my dreams into fiction.
The audiobook narration came from the same place: wanting to give voice to the worlds I already love living in, and another excuse way for me (and my listeners) to read more. It came after a few false starts, though. I admit I fell for the “just use your voice, easy money” pitch, and it did take me three tries to commit. The honest truth? At first, I hated the sound of my own voice, and then acting required me to access some feelings I wasn’t ready to explore, but the wanting was always there (and the easy money was a lie). Doing it just took a lot of self-awareness, long hours, and commitment.
I specialize in speculative and romantic fantasy because that’s what I read: paranormal romance, romantasy, urban fantasy, and dark fantasy. When I work on your book, I already live there.
Outside of books: I onewheel to dinner reservations, plan trips around where I want to eat, and try to balance adulting, instant gratification, and self-love (aka, being human).
A random fun fact about me: Bad Batch has a piece of my soul. (If you know, you know.)
When I find something new I love, I dive in with my whole heart (which is either a personality trait or a warning, depending on how you look at it).
That’s the same energy I bring to client work. When I take on a project, I’m moving in. Your world gets the same attention I give the ones I return to on my own shelves.
If you’re an author in my genres looking for someone who gets it, I’d love to hear about your project. If your genres are not on my shelves, let’s make some space for them. A story is a story, and I’ll be honest if your story is not for me.