Meet Ashley Perez | Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ashley Perez and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
This is a tough one because I struggle with work/life balance all the time. I am a writer with a day job and that makes finding that balance two fold. First, I have to figure out that balance with my day job, which isn’t easy. I work in a very demanding role at my job and as much as I try to prioritize getting out of there on time, sometimes it just doesn’t work. Second, I finally get home and have to balance writing with the needs of being a functioning human, which means eating, drinking water, cleaning, or running errands. I have to balance this as well with being tired at the end of a demanding workday and not wanting to stare at a screen anymore.

I am currently editing a full length book manuscript and that has to factor into my work/life balance conundrum as well. Because of my day job, I can only write at nights during the week or on the weekend. Many nights, I am too tired to work on my writing and I end up beating myself up. However, if I have an external deadline, that is a huge motivating factor to work on it most nights during the week.

My balance has shifted over time as I have gotten older. When I was younger and more of a night owl, I used to be able to stay up until one or two in the morning, get a few hours of sleep and go off to work. I didn’t think much about that balance then. Now, I try to prioritize my health and well-being with that balance of also trying to write and achieve my goals.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a writer that mainly focuses on creative nonfiction in the form of personal essays. I get the most excited about the forms writing can take and the fun that comes with creating. For example, I often work in a fragmentary style (rather than something more traditionally long form) and that is a space where I can experiment and play with, which is one of the main joys of writing creatively I feel.

I am still early on in my writing journey. It is a long haul to be in the writing world and some people get to their goals super fast and for some it takes a little longer. I am someone who is taking a little longer to get to my goal, which is publishing my first book. To me, nothing about writing is easy, but that doesn’t mean it is not rewarding. Anytime I finish a draft or even just when I have a good writing session, I count that as a win on my journey of being a writer. That is a big lesson I am constantly learning. Celebrate any wins you get, big or small. That will help get you through some of the tougher parts of the journey.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
What a fun question! I recently had a friend over for about a week actually and we had such a great time. To eat, I would start off with breakfast over at Millie’s Cafe in Silverlake. We would then go to Fred 62s in Los Feliz for lunch. It has such a great retro diner vibe that is amazing. For dinner, if we were feeling cozy and wanted to stay in, I would order takeout from Thai on Hillhurst also in Los Feliz. They have the best dark soy noodle dish.

To drink, there are three spots I would take them: La Cita in DTLA, Melody Lounge in Chinatown, and The High-Low in Los Feliz.

One of the best things about Los Angeles is the sheer amount of independent bookstores there are. I can list quite a long list of them if I had the time but when my friend visited I took them to Skylight Books in Los Feliz, Stories Books and Cafe in Echo Park, and The Ripped Bodice in Culver City. It was a great time.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are so many people that I would love to shout out but if I am only picking one, I would like to dedicate my shout out to fellow LA writer (and best friend) Rachael Warecki. She has been a constant source of strength and support to me since we met in 2012. Anytime I am falling behind or want to give up, she is right there with encouragement and wisdom. Thank you Rachael for everything you do.

An honorable mention to Megan Stielstra who mentored me through the hardest parts of writing this book.

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Image Credits
1st photo: @CamraRAWPhotography