Built from Bridgeport: Meet Author T. Ashley
The April 2026 Artist of the Month reflects on identity, growth, and telling stories that feel lived-in
Story and interview by Jason A. Coombs
This April, the Bridgeport Art Trail is proud to spotlight local indie author T. Ashley as our Artist of the Month, a storyteller whose work is deeply rooted in the complexity, resilience, and quiet strength of the city she calls home. Her writing embraces contradiction, humanity, and growth, creating space for stories that feel honest, layered, and lived-in!
We sat down with T. Ashley to talk about how Bridgeport shaped her voice, the unexpected lessons her characters have taught her, and what it really means to navigate the writing life as an independent author. From redefining success to letting go of perfection, she offers a thoughtful and refreshing perspective on creativity, identity, and staying true to your work.
Growing up in Bridgeport, what aspects of the city, its people, or your own experiences here have most influenced your voice as a writer and the stories you choose to tell?
Growing up in Bridgeport taught me how to see the beauty in contradiction. It’s a city that doesn’t always get softened for the world—there’s grit here, history here, resilience woven into everyday life. And the people reflect that. There’s a kind of quiet strength, a humor, a way we hold each other up even when things feel heavy.
But a big part of who I became creatively was shaped in high school. Being in a theatre arts program gave me space to explore storytelling in a real, tangible way—and more importantly, it gave me my people. The friendships I built there were rooted in creativity, expression, and honesty. We were all trying to figure out who we were, and art became the language we used to do it.
That experience stayed with me. It taught me how to build characters, how to sit in emotion, how to tell stories that feel lived-in.
Combined with everything Bridgeport gave me—the grit, the resilience, the complexity—it shaped my voice into something that doesn’t shy away from layered, human stories.
I write the way I do because of where I’m from…and because of who I was surrounded by while I was becoming.
Writing can often be a very personal act. Has there ever been a story or character that surprised you while you were creating it or taught you something unexpected about yourself?
Yesterday, from Better Than Yesterday, surprised me the most. Writing her became a form of therapy I didn’t expect.
I can’t relate to every detail of her story, but I deeply understand what it means to carry expectations that don’t belong to you—to live a life that looks right from the outside but doesn’t always feel like your own.
Through her, I was able to explore what it looks like to stop performing and start choosing yourself. That process challenged me just as much as it freed me.
She didn’t just teach me about storytelling—she forced me to confront parts of myself that were still learning how to be honest, how to be brave, and how to let go of who I thought I had to be.
She reminded me that growth isn’t about becoming someone new—it’s about allowing yourself to be who you’ve always been.
Bringing characters and stories to life can be both exciting and challenging! What has been the most difficult part of the writing process for you, and how have you learned to work through it?
One of the most difficult parts of the writing process for me hasn’t been the writing itself—it’s everything that comes with it. Marketing, visibility, and carrying the weight of being a one-woman show.
As an independent author, you’re not just creating the work—you’re also responsible for making sure it’s seen, supported, and sustained. And it’s easy to fall into the trap of measuring your success by numbers—book sales, engagement, how loudly people show up for you.
I had to unlearn that.
Because if I’m honest, that mindset can take the joy out of creating. It can make something deeply personal start to feel transactional. What I’ve learned is that success isn’t just in how many books I sell—it’s in the fact that I’m doing the work at all. That I’ve committed to telling stories that matter to me, that I’ve built something from the ground up, that I continue to show up even when it’s hard or uncertain. I’ve had to redefine success for myself. And for me, it’s not just about being seen—it’s about being true to the work, and trusting that the right people will find it.
You had the opportunity to participate in BookCon 2026 in New York City, one of the largest book conventions in the country! What was that experience like for you, and what was the biggest thing you took away from being surrounded by so many readers, writers, and creators?
Being at BookCon 2026 is honestly a high I’m still coming down from. There’s something electric about being surrounded by that many people who all showed up for the same reason—words.
Indie Alley, especially, was inspiring in a way I didn’t expect. You’re not just standing behind a table—you’re watching people build something in real time. There was an author across from me who had just gotten the opportunity to be there days before the event. She had one book. ONE! And she made it happen. That alone stayed with me. It was a reminder that if you want it, you find a way.
What I took away the most was how much there is to learn just by being present. I paid attention to how other indie authors pitched their books, how they connected with readers, how readers responded—and I found myself adjusting in real time.
I didn’t go just to sell. I went to learn. And that experience shifted how I see this journey. It reminded me that growth doesn’t only happen behind the page—it happens in the spaces where you’re willing to observe, adapt, and keep showing up.
As Bridgeport Art Trail’s Artist of the Month for April, what does it mean to represent both your work and your hometown, and what do you hope readers in the Bridgeport community take away from your stories?
Being named Artist of the Month for the Bridgeport Art Trail means a lot to me, because it feels like a full-circle moment. This is the city that shaped me. To be able to represent both my work and my hometown in this way is something I don’t take lightly.
What I hope readers in the Bridgeport community take away from my stories is permission—to be human. To be messy, to be flawed, to be in the middle of figuring things out without shame.
But also, to be intentional.
Because we’re all carrying something on the inside. We’re all navigating our own complexities. What matters is how we move through the world despite that—how we treat people, how we show up, how we choose to grow.
If my stories do anything, I hope they remind people that you can be a work in progress and still be worthy, still be kind, still be becoming something better.
Any advice for other creative people who may be stuck or unsure how to get their ideas down on the page?
It may sound cliché, but you really do just have to start. To just do it, so to speak.
Not with a perfect outline or a fully formed idea—just with something. A moment, a sentence, a feeling. Find a point in the story that speaks to you and build from there. The rest will come. The structure, the connections, the “meat and bones”—that all develops as you keep going.
I think we get stuck trying to begin the “right” way, like every story needs a perfect opening. But it doesn’t have to start with once upon a time—it just has to start with you. Also, let's be honest, there is no "right" way. Yes, grammar and what not but there are so many ways to tell a story, you just have to go at it.
Give yourself permission to write imperfectly. That’s where the real story begins.
What can readers look forward to next from you? Are there any upcoming books, projects, or ideas you are especially excited to share?
Readers can definitely look forward to a lot.
My novel Better Than Yesterday is on the way next month and I’m really excited for people to experience that story—it’s one that means a lot to me personally. I also have two collaborative novellas coming out this year. One will be released in July for Pages in the City in Queens, New York, and the other will be part of an anthology dropping in October.
I’m currently doing a soft query on a thriller I wrote, just to see where that journey leads, which has been an exciting shift creatively. And later this year, I’m planning to release Book Two in the Rosewater Bend Collection, which I can’t wait to return to. Beyond that, I’d love to continue participating in more intimate book events and connecting with readers in person. Right now, I’m just staying open and letting the work—and life—guide what comes next.
At the heart of T. Ashley’s work is a quiet but powerful reminder that growth is not about becoming someone new, but about allowing yourself to fully step into who you already are. Her stories invite readers to sit with complexity, embrace imperfection, and move through the world with intention and honesty. As she continues to expand her body of work with upcoming releases and new creative directions, there is a clear sense that her journey is only just beginning, and that her voice will continue to resonate with those who are still finding their own.
Support T. Ashley:
Instagram: www.instagram.com/authort.ashley
Facebook: www.facebook.com/author.t.ashley
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3g5SZMb
Goodreads: www.goodreads.com/tashley
BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/profile/t-ashley
Twitter: www.twitter.com/authortashley1
TikTok: https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMJQqLhHa/
Threads: https://www.threads.com/@authort.ashley