-THE AUSTRALIAN AUTHOR'S OFFICIAL SITE-
KRIS ASHTON
Biography
An Australian author and journalist, Kris Ashton has published nearly forty short stories in a range of high-profile fiction titles including Argosy, Aurealis, Andromeda Spaceways, Antipodean SF and Dark Moon Digest. His story ‘Highway Memorials’ claimed third prize in The Fiction Desk’s 2018 Ghost Story Competition, while ‘Howling Mad’, which appeared in Aurealis #106, was selected for Tangent Online’s 2017 Recommended Reading List.
​
His sci-fi/horror novel, Invasion at Bald Eagle, which appeared in October 2018 through Canada’s Digital Fiction Publishing Corp, received a glowing review from author Megan Kelly in Aurealis #118 and has enjoyed consistently good sales.
​
Kris has also published numerous book reviews and essays, and his writing features in a scholarly work, Writing Speculative Fiction: Creative and Critical Approaches (Macmillan International), by academic and author Eugen Bacon.
​
Kris graduated from Western Sydney University in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in creative writing and literature, and has been a journalist for more than twenty years. He is a noted travel writer and often incorporates his extensive knowledge of regional Australia into his stories and novels.
​
In his spare time Kris enjoys reading, writing, film and television (he is a former film critic), and fitness. His favourite authors include Stephen King, Liane Moriarty, Mark Childress, Dan Simmons, John O’Grady, Henry Lawson, M. L. Stedman, John Wyndham and John Steinbeck. He lives in the wilds of south-western Sydney with his wife, two children and a crippling mortgage.
Praise for Invasion At Bald Eagle...
“Ashton draws on the cultural anxieties of the 1960s, including nuclear fears and an anti-establishment counterculture, to create a nostalgic backdrop... The text is filled with pop-culture references, and eloquent narrative sits quietly behind historically accurate dialogue to reinforce the setting.” – Megan Kelly in Aurealis #118
​
“If you enjoy a good mystery turned horror-thriller, you’ll like Invasion At Bald Eagle. I know I did." – Gilbert M. Stack
​
“...it was very good. There is definitely room for a sequel and I really hope there will be.” – Audible review
​
“[Invasion at Bald Eagle] is a good old-fashioned science fiction story that has a few twists and turns to keep you interested all the way to the end.”– T. W. Brown, author of the DEAD zombie horror series
​
​
Praise for Kris Ashton’s short fiction...
“The unexpected twists in this tale will keep the reader captivated until the end. It was a nicely crafted story.” – Kevin P. Hallett, Tangent Online, on ‘Howling Mad’ in Aurealis #106
​
“Overall, [‘Night Feeds’] is probably the most memorable story in Creepy Campfire Stories (for Grownups).” – Adrian Ludens, Horror Writers Association
“I doffs me hat to the editors for their selections and the collation of the work... Kris Ashton’s ‘The Midway Hotel’ hits a little close to home with my long commute to work.” – Goodreads on Next
​
“Ashton builds the suspense in his story impeccably and elicits sympathy for his narrator effortlessly. Those two elements facilitate an ending that is both shocking and heartbreaking.” – Dreadful Tales on ‘Threshold’ from Corrupts Absolutely?