Local Author Spotlight: Dr. Ashley Baker, Author of The Furious Others

 

The Furious Others by Ashley Baker

In her newly released novel The Furious Others, Dr. Ashley Baker describes the final hours in the lives of ten young women who have been the victims of a serial killer.  

Rather than telling the story from the perspective of the killer, The Furious Others flips the traditional horror novel format and begins in Purgatory, where the killer stands condemned for multiple murders. Chapter by chapter, the book reveals the sinister side of Jason LeDown through the eyes of his victims and the few lucky souls who survived their encounters with the brainy, awkward, and angry young man. 

In a cruel irony, Dr. Baker’s own life was impacted by violence when her father was killed by a family member in 2023. In the preface to The Furious Others, she shares her motivation for publishing the book.  

As a writer, I yearned to create a better ending for my dad, a sweet and airy oblivion, quick as a blink, to send a hardworking man off into the heavens. 

 

I met Dr. Baker in 2019 when she shared one of her stories at our library writers' group. Even among the talented writers who have brought their work to our program, Dr. Baker immediately stood out as a gifted and sensitive storyteller.

Born in the small town of Paintsville, Kentucky, Dr. Baker moved to Boone, North Carolina in her teens. In 2020, she self published her debut psychological suspense novel, A Father’s Sin, which will be republished next year by Genius Books. She is currently working on a third novel for a 2025 publication; one she hopes will leave readers with a realistic and positive image of the people of Appalachia. 

As the two-year anniversary of her father’s death approaches, Dr. Baker talks lovingly of her dad and credits him for fostering her love of reading by promising to buy her a book in any bookstore they visited. 

John Boswell's offer proved to be a wise investment. At age thirteen, his daughter discovered John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany, which remains one of her favorite stories. Even while working as a clinical psychologist, writing, promoting her work, and parenting her two children, Dr. Baker still reads an impressive one hundred books each year. Her recent favorites include All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker, Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar, and You Like it Darker by Stephen King. 

To aspiring writers, Dr. Baker advises, “Don’t give up.”  And to people dealing with personal tragedies she adds, “There are no perfect words but silence is worse. Talking about loss is okay.” 

Dr. Baker offered a final thought on her motivation for writing The Furious Others, "Victims’ lives matter. Don’t romanticize monsters.” 

Follow Dr. Ashley Baker's writing journey on AshleyBaker.net, Goodreads, or Instagram where she shares her reading recommendations, inspirations, and advice for dealing with grief. 

 

Alicia Cavitt

Information Specialist