Get ready to learn more about the book Rising From Ash in this discussion with sapphic author Jax Meyer.
Join us for an exclusive peek behind the scenes as we quiz Jax Meyer about Rising From Ash, writing, reading, and more.
This book is part of the Antarctica, North Pole, & South Pole category in the 2026 IHS Reading Challenge.
Why did you write Rising From Ash?
Rising From Ash is the first book where I began with the setting and discovered the characters second. I was lucky enough to spend two weeks at the South Pole over winter break in 2002/2003 and knew it would be a unique, closed quarters setting.
After some brainstorming, I decided to take inspiration from my marriage. Phoenix shares a lot of qualities with my wife, from a rough, abusive childhood to using sex for coping and healing. And of course, the most interesting partner was someone like me, a demisexual science nerd.
In the end, I wanted people who struggle with their past like my wife to see that they are lovable, along with those who are on the asexual spectrum to see that they are lovable just as they are. I also aimed to show that disparate needs can be worked through. This book is incredibly dear to my heart.
Who is your favorite character in the book?
Phoenix is my favorite because she’s based on my wife, who I’ve loved for decades (and lifetimes.) What I love the most is how much Phoenix cares and shows that caring in the gifts she makes for Ash.
What was the biggest challenge writing this book?
My biggest challenge is true for all of my books. Conflict. I want my characters to be happy all the time, but that makes for a flat story. The conflict in this story took at least three full rewrites to hit the right notes for myself and my editor. It was worth it in the end.
What part of Rising From Ash was the most fun to write?
There are so many scenes that were fun to write, but I have to choose the scene in the climbing room. Ash’s admiration of Phoenix’s muscles remains a highlight for me.
How much research did you need to do for Rising From Ash?
When I visited the Pole, the new station was under construction, so that aspect required research. Thankfully, YouTube had multiple station walk throughs to understand the layout. What YouTube didn’t have were details on the smells and sounds of the station. For that information I spoke with a woman who’d recently over wintered and was part of the research program Ash and I were a part of. The most important aspect to research was the food Phoenix would be making. Thankfully, I found a few blogs that provided the insight I needed. Overall, I made the story as authentic as I could to give the reader a taste of Antarctica.
If you’re planning a sequel, can you share a tiny bit about your plans for it?
Rising From Ash ends with them happily together as winter kicks off at the South Pole. Book two will take them back to the real world where they’ll have to deal with Phoenix’s insecurity, Ash’s intense schedule, family struggles, jobs, and the general challenges of building a life together. The sequel is up next after I finish my sixth book.
What is your writing process like?
At this point in my career, I’m a plantser, but at that point I was still a pantser. I’ll never be a true plotter because the interactions between characters defines how the story plays out. This is also why I write in order. I’ll occasionally write a scene to find out more about the characters, but the scenes always change by the time they are properly written into the story.
In this book, I wrote a moment of tension between Phoenix and Ash early in the story that was a lot more confrontational the first time around. However, I realized that Ash wouldn’t have been so emotional given her long term goals, so the scene changed. Without that scene I’m not sure I would have dialed Ash in as quickly as I did.
What’s your favorite writing snack or drink?
I’m rather boring when I write. It’s just me, the computer (or phone), a bottle of ice water, and silence. I’ve experimented a few times when I struggled to write a sex scene and drank enough alcohol to feel a buzz, but it didn’t tend to work so I stick to my water.
Do you have a pet who helps/hinders your typing?
I’ve had multiple feline writing partners who usually gave me the space to write. Since I have an office, two of our cats tend to hang out in the room at the same time providing moral support. They are the best!
My current writing buddies include River, age 7, who is most bonded to me. He’s a big, fluffy boy who loves to cuddle. My daughter’s cat is Fi or Phoenix, age 5, but the name comes from a Legend of Zelda video game, not my book. We have another cat named Zelda who is 6, but she’s mostly deaf and skittish so she doesn’t often hang out with us humans. And finally, my 3-year-old pittie Rosco. She tries to be a good writing/work dog, but she doesn’t seem to have the patience for it yet. I love it when any of our pets hang out with me while I write!
What is the most valuable piece of advice you’ve been given about writing, and by whom?
Over the years I’ve received plenty of advice, but the most valuable is some version of, don’t edit while you write. Until this past year in the GCLS Writing Academy 2 class, I didn’t fully understand what that meant because reworking a section is often required before moving on. Otherwise, something in that scene could change and impact the rest of the story. Doing it too late means a lot more work.
What I needed was to know the difference between editing and development. Spending five minutes on a single sentence because I want to avoid -ly words is editing and a waste of time. Spending five minutes on dialogue isn’t necessarily a waste of time. I’ve finally learned to feel the difference when I write.
Shout out to Finnian Burnett and Kimberly Cooper Griffin for this lesson, and to Tammy Bird for leading my Writing Academy 2 cohort to strengthen our writing and storytelling!
What do you do to get inside your character’s heads?
My answer depends on where I am with the character and story. When the characters are new I imagine them in a situation with either their love interest or another character and see how they’d interact. If I’m unsure, I draw on people I know as inspiration until I can find the character independent of that inspiration.
One example occurred during writing academy. The two characters discussed food choices which led to a new understanding for one of the characters. I’m so glad I kept notes or I’d have forgotten it by now.
Another trick I use is to lie down and get into a light meditative state. Then I bring the characters to mind and see what happens when I’m not directing them. This technique often reduces writer’s block.
Sometimes nothing works unless I reach out to discuss the challenge with a friend. Their questions clarify my ideas quickly. Having easy access to sapphic readers and writers via slack is what I most miss of that community.
Are there any books or authors that inspired you to become a writer?
Growing up, there weren’t easily accessible books with lesbian main characters. It wasn’t until 2017 that I finally found a few sapphic audiobooks. The first was Melissa Brayden’s Waiting in the Wings. It gutted me, and I loved it, but I’m also a marshmallow and wasn’t ready for more angst quite yet. A month or two later I discovered sapphic books in the Audible plus area, which opened up so many more books!
Bridget Essex’s books were a warm hug with soul mates, lesbian knights, and minimal angst. She balanced out Elle Spencer’s Casting Lacey which had so much angst. Within the first few months of 2018 I’d listened to at least 100 books, so when I had that dream that made me curious, my brain was primed for writing romance.
It’s been many years now and sapphic romance audiobooks are 99% of my reading. There are so many authors and books that provide inspiration in general, but I’d like to spotlight those that made the largest impact on me as a person.
Jae was not only my first mentor, providing feedback on my first paragraphs and encouraging me to keep writing, she wrote Perfect Rhythm which helped me understand my asexuality. Without that book, Rising From Ash wouldn’t exist.
Not many authors wrote autistic characters until recently, though they remain minority characters. Cara Malone’s Rulebook series and Nicole Pyland’s All the Love Songs helped me feel seen in a new way. I’ll also add TB Markinson’s A Woman Lost series to this list. Those books gave me the confidence to write about autism from my perspective.
I’m grateful to everyone I’ve read. Please keep writing!
What books have you read more than once in your life?
I rarely read books more than once, but the ones I do are exceptional in some way. Even then, I wait long enough to forget the details so my ADHD doesn’t lose interest.
Casting Lacey by Elle Spencer was the first I listened to multiple times, though there were many months between listens.
The next few books are from Lee Winter. The Brutal Truth’s writing is exceptional, especially the change from the story voice to Maddie’s blog posts and I return to it more often than others. Requiem for Immortals and Shattered are also on my list because they are such good stories.
The next author on my reread list is EJ Noyes. Alone and the Ask, Tell series are all books I’ve listened to multiple times. EJ’s stories pull me in so deeply. I’d love to be able to do the same.
The last books I’ll list are sports books where I can live vicariously through the characters. EJ Noyes Gold and Rachel Spangler’s Edge of Glory feel so real that I expect the characters to show up in the Olympics. I tend to pull these out every few years when I’m missing the real life Olympics.
