Good evening, readers! Today we have Ashley McCann, who is a writer for Lewis University’s newspaper and was a former volunteer for JFR.
Ashley McCann is a junior at Lewis University. She is majoring in English Language Arts and Secondary Education, with minors in Creative Writing and Theology. Her favorite authors are Neil Gaiman, Chuck Palahniuk, Sylvia Plath, and George Saunders. Her favorite movie is Forrest Gump, and she uses Tom Hanks, in his many roles, as inspiration for most of the characters in her own creative pieces. She is a Marine Corps veteran, and although she has been to many different countries, she now hopes to travel the world in a more leisurely manner. Upon graduation, she wants to teach English, ultimately at the collegiate level.
Who are you and what is your role in the Jet Fuel Review?
I am currently a junior at Lewis University majoring in English and secondary education with minors in creative writing and theology. I am the layout and design editor for Jet Fuel, as well as an editor for fiction and non-fiction.
What book might we find on your nightstand right now?
I’m currently reading Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman and Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy. I am also rereading The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
If you had the chance to co-write with one author, who would you choose? Why?
I would choose Chuck Palahniuk because I admire his eccentric and highly descriptive writing style. He has an excellent command of language, and I would appreciate the opportunity to learn from him in a one on one setting.
Describe your perfect reading atmosphere.
My perfect reading atmosphere is anywhere I’m alone, and it is quiet.
What might your personal library look like?
My personal library is my night stand, littered with books because I have yet to buy a bookshelf. I have texts by Neil Gaiman, George Saunders, Chuck Palahniuk, Sylvia Plath, Junot Diaz, T. S. Eliot, etc. as well as writing composition books and examples of student essays. I want to be an English teacher, so acquiring a wide variety of texts is important to me.
If you could “re-make” a poorly written movie that was based on a book, what movie would it be?
I honestly can’t think of a book turned poorly written movie. However, some of my favorite book-to-movie examples are The Secret Garden, Harriet the Spy, and Girl, Interrupted.
What piece of literature can you reread over and over again?
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
Give us a quote from your favorite (or any) book/movie.
“I lived in books more than I lived anywhere else.” – Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane
If you were invited to have coffee with any fictional character, who would you most like to meet? Why?
Satan from John Milton’s Paradise Lost so I can ask him what it was like to be portrayed as a hero for once.
Share your top five favorite pieces of writing (anything included, be it movies, books, etc.).
- American Gods, by Neil Gaiman
- The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
- Diary, by Chuck Palahniuk
- The Wasteland, by T. S. Eliot
- The Semplica-Girl Diaries, by George Saunders
Join us next week for our next editor!
