Asha Martin is a delightful young woman and her name suits her as the name Asha means ‘hope’ and also means ‘light’ in Swahili. With such an optimistic meaning to her name, as you would expect, her literature speaks of optimism, and being fantasy fiction her writing makes us believe anything is possible including a world replete in magic and inhabited by magical creatures. Equally Asha’s book is based in the real world and reminds us of how the strength of friendship and love can believe all things.
I met Asha and her mum, and sometime illustrator, June recently to discuss Asha’s new book ‘The Amazing Prism’. Asha already has a volume of poetry to her credit which includes poetry about everyday life and the fantasy world.
Asha has a vision impairment but any impairment in seeing seems to have made her inner sight even more acute and made her more open to visualising an amazing world. Asha achieved a professional children’s writing diploma from the Australian College of Journalism in March 2001 and is also the recipient of the Shugg Memorial Award from Tascare. The award is given to people who enhance or influence others with their positivity.
She works as a teacher’s aide at Richmond Primary school and so is pretty clued in to what children want in literature. She tells me she read the book to the students and they gave it the thumbs up. Asha’s mum also tells me that Asha did a fantastic job on all the voices of the various characters.
Asha became interested in writing when she became hooked on a cartoon program. Each week she would devise what she thought would happen and even if when she had found out what the next episode offered didn’t necessarily align with her own interpretation.
‘The Amazing Prism’ may be fantasy fiction but ultimately it is about friendship. Two girls who move close together physically and become neighbours, but also metaphorically become closer as friends through a shared magical experience. The girl’s story mirrors the story of the two sisters, one of whom lived in the house one of the friends has moved in to. In fact there are clues in the story the girls are as close as sisters as a comment is made that they are ‘mistaken for sisters’.
The girls become amateur detectives in their quest to discover and understand the amazing prism and to give it a fitting conclusion.
Asha says there may be a sequel to the book although at the moment she has another book in the works.
You can meet Asha at the launch of ‘The Amazing Prism’ at Fullers Bookshop’ this Thursday at 5.30pm and you can also join her reading group at Richmond in a lovely environment to foster fantasy fiction writing and discussion as the area possesses an amazing maze where you can lose yourself and maybe find the genesis of that next novel!
Earlier on Tasmanian Times: FULLERS: The Amazing Prism by Asha Martin, Thursday, August 9, 5.30pm
Paula Xiberras
