Location Profile: Ashville

Books: Sins of Ashville Series

Type of Location: Fictional city in Ohio

Ashville is a fictional city in Ohio created from an amalgamation of locations throughout Ohio including Cincinnati, Cleveland, Kent, Youngstown, and Portsmouth. Geographically, it sits on the Ohio river at a junction with a smaller tributary.

 

Ashville Point

Ashville Point is a section in the north of town formerly home to a thriving steel business. After the decline of this business, much of the city and surrounding areas experienced a rise in poverty which made it a prime location for shady businessmen, drugs, and crime. The corrupt landscape made it a prime location for The Retreat (Irrevocable & Unbreakable), the Gold Family (Redline), and the Devils of Ashville MC (She-Devil) to grow and thrive. 

Ashville PD

Under the leadership of Chief Lewis, the various districts of the Ashville PD have made great strides in infiltrating and bringing many of these groups to justice, but the city has a long road of recovery ahead. There are six districts under Chief Lewis’s command. The downtown district is led by Captain Elizabeth Thorne who was thrust into a leadership position as an interim after a corruption scandal within the department. Detectives Trent Davis, James Carter, and officer Ryan Corell work in her district. Rose Baldwin sometimes steps in as a victim’s advocate, using her experience to help women escaping from traumatic situations. The Ashville Point district falls under the command of Captain Ainsley. 

Why Ohio?
Partly I have set my stories in Ohio because it is a region I know well. I chose to create a fictional town because it would allow me to easily combine elements of multiple areas and generally have fun and free creative license over the locations and events. 
I started writing Irrevocable on pure impulse, but as I started to wrap it up, I realized I needed a location to anchor it down. Well, no one is going to believe this much insanity can happen in Ohio, I thought. We have numerous issues with drugs and human trafficking in my small town, but an operation of the size that appears in the book? I didn’t realize how wide-spread this was until I started researching. 
Ohio is actually considered one of the “Dirty Dozen” in terms of human trafficking laws, and was the fourth in the nation in the number of cases in 2016. Yes, Ohio is that bad. It can happen here, and it does every day. While the events in my books are highly fictionalized, we shouldn’t lose sight that these crimes are out there. Comparatively, my characters have it easy, but I’m drawn to write about the resiliency to survive and find opportunities to overcome dark situations and the inner strength to heal afterward. For more information, you can find links on my Mental Health and Abuse Resources page. 

Sins of Ashville 1

“Dark, sensual, and at times overwhelming, Irrevocable will bring you on a dark journey that you will never forget.” 

Shayna Renee’s Spicy Reads, TOP PICK of 2014

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