Why Your Best Art Might Come Later ft. Lee Ash

Novelist Lee Ash shares her perspective on the balance between motherhood, her publishing career, her lifelong dream of being a novelist, and so much more! Check out her debut Favor Angeles & The Rise of the Hidden Ones_ out now! Chapters 00:00 - Intro, author reveal, and the Lee Ash name confusion 00:54 - Amanda Ashworth introduces herself and her debut novel 03:07 - Publishing background and the origin of Epiphany Press 04:11 - Why she writes fiction with hidden meaning and spiritual layers 06:34 - Fiction, culture, and the neuroscience of what we consume 08:53 - Naming Favor Angelus and the Rise of the Hidden Ones 10:16 - Favor’s disability, strengths, and NVLD 12:12 - Neuroplasticity, thought patterns, and repeated self-perception 14:23 - Anxiety, social media pressure, and modern adolescence 16:08 - The novel’s tension between technology and tradition 17:06 - Classical education, the great books, and division in society 19:01 - Becoming a reader and deciding to study English 21:26 - South Africa, life experience, and finding a voice 23:14 - What success as an author looked like early on 24:32 - Why authorship feels powerful through invisibility 26:07 - Learning to take criticism seriously without losing yourself 27:45 - School, grading, and why performance culture can be harmful 29:45 - Writing before publication and the road from publishing to novels 31:03 - Building a trilogy and balancing art with family life 32:25 - Harriet Beecher Stowe, unintended meaning, and authorial responsibility 33:43 - Motherhood, artistic identity, and rejecting the either-or mindset 37:47 - Timing, age, and why artistic value does not depend on youth 40:38 - Writing as healing, processing life through art, and giving back later 43:34 - Motherhood as a central theme, biological and chosen 45:42 - Finding joy outside art through novelty and projects 48:22 - What surprised her most about author life and meeting readers 49:39 - Teen readers, being seen, and cross-generational conversation 53:00 - How the novel was written and finding her voice 54:38 - Single POV, suspense, and how the book handles villains 55:38 - Planning versus intuition in writing 56:59 - Introvert and extrovert dynamics while writing a novel 58:55 - Protecting writing time and refilling the subconscious 62:10 - Seasonal writing rhythms and preparing for book two 64:14 - Editing, perfectionism, and the long work after drafting 67:12 - How Amanda defines artistic success now 69:06 - A listener response: forgiveness as the book’s most powerful theme 74:54 - The show’s vocal warm-up and the “Mandelily Cynthia Ash” finale   / epiphanypressbooks