Bookpleasures.com is pleased to have as our guest, Ashley Elliott co-author of The Demon In Disguise.

Ashley was raised in Conway, Arkansas. A survivor and an advocate for victims, she devoted more than a decade to her quest for justice after her father’s murder and mother’s kidnapping.

She holds a BS in Organizational Communication from the University of Utah, and is an avid hiker, athlete, bodybuilder who has competed in and won medals in various competitions. She lives in Utah with her husband and children.

Good day Ashley and thanks for taking part in our interview.

Norm: What is the one thing other people always seem to get wrong about you?

Ashley: The one thing people tend to get wrong about me is that I am not a nice person and unapproachable. I am very direct in my speech and it can be off-putting to most. I am also an introvert, shy, guarded and that doesn’t help. It takes a while to get to know me.

Norm: If you could go back ten years and give yourself one piece of advice what would that advice be?

Ashley: I am a control freak so I would tell myself to relax. Life is much more enjoyable if you loosen the death grip on everything and relax. It’s a practice that I work on daily.

Norm: When did the idea for The Demon in Disguise first emerge?

Ashley: When Michael Coffino, my co-author, and I set out on this journey it wasn’t our intent to publish a book titled The Demon in Disguise. It was to write a book about the events in my life, it was an outlet for me and it was a form of therapy. It was cathartic. 

Norm: What was the time-line between the time you decided to write your book and publication? What were the major events along the way?  

Ashley: I believe Michael and I started in February 2020. We then submitted The Demon in Disguise in December to about 10 different publishers. Michael and I decided on a publisher in January 2021 and here we are with a publication date of September 24, 2021. 

We did not encounter any major events. I believed we unearthed more injustice. For example, Dick died in prison but due to laws I was unable to find out what caused his death.

I simply cannot rectify in my head how a criminal, a murderer has rights even after he is dead. I tried to obtain a death certificate and could not, even though I was, at one time, his step-daughter. 

There are other questions that still remain unanswered. Why was my mother not notified by V.I.N.E ((Victim Information and Notification Everyday) of Dick’s early release or even by the state of Nevada?

Why was the state of Arkansas unaware of Dick’s early release? Why was Dick receiving an early release? Who made these decisions?

These are just a few of the many questions that will remain a mystery.

Norm: What purpose do you believe your story serves and what matters to you about the story?  

Ashley:  To me, the purpose of my story was to know what happened to my family. I want my children to know what happened. I want them to know that despite all that our family has been through that these things do not define us and we are resilient. 

Norm: How did you collaborate with Michael J. Coffino in the writing of the book? As a follow up, did you write more by logic or intuition, or some combination of the two? Please summarize your writing process.  

Ashley: I found Michael on guru.com. I went to his web page and checked him out. I reached out to him and we scheduled a phone call. I knew right away he was the man for the job. He was a lawyer, private investigator, straight forward, easy to talk to and a published writer.

I believe we wrote by both logic and intuition. In the beginning, I would email Michael my attempts to sit down and write. These were more like extremely emotional journal entries. 

Then Michael and I would spend an hour or two on the phone once or twice a week and talk about different topics. He would record our call and have them transcribed.

We made a list of individuals to interview, submitted FOIA’s requests, and gathered everything we needed to construct a timeline of each crime. 

As he wrote the chapters of the book he would send them to me to review. I would make any changes until we came to the end of the book. It was a very cathartic process.

Norm: Can you share some stories about people you met while researching this book? What are some of the references that you used while researching this book?  

Ashley: I pretty much knew everyone I was writing about. They had all been in my life at one point or another, therefore I don’t really have any stories to tell per se. 

Michael and I sent out FOIA requests to various offices to obtain all the files we needed to develop and establish each crime.

The Faulkner County Prosecutor's office was most helpful in supplying us with all the files from my father and Timmy Wayne’s murders and so was Douglas County for the kidnapping of my mother.

The state of Utah, I feel, was least help and that was a disappointment.

Lieutenant Barrett, of the Conway Police Department, was the lead investigator on my dad’s case and he agreed to be interviewed for the book. He is an incredible man. He helped me the most overcome so many unanswered questions.

Norm: What was one of the most surprising things you learned in writing the book?  

Ashley: The events of my mother’s kidnapping were one of the most surprising things I learned about. In my head, I had my version of what happened. However, based on the files that I received from Douglas County, it was nothing like I imagined.

Norm: Did you think about your reading public when you write the book? Did you imagine a specific reader when you wrote the book?

Ashley: I would imagine Michael had a reader in mind but I did not. I wrote this book for myself. I needed to process what happened to my family in the most logical format possible.

Norm: In your opinion, what was the most difficult part of the writing process?

Ashley: I think the most difficult part of the writing process was having to read The Demon In Disguise over and over again.

Each time I read it I relived the most painful days of my life. I also feel that publishing my story is difficult.

I am literally putting the most vulnerable portion of my life on display to anyone that wants to read it. It feels scary to put yourself out there. 

Norm: Where did the title The Demon in Disguise come from?

Ashley: Dick Conte is The Demon In Disguise. He came into my life disguised as a caretaker, loving husband to my mom, my uncle's best friend, an ER doctor, volunteer for the S.W.A.T. team, a military man and a mercenary.

Skeptical as I was, I allowed him to slither his way into our lives. In the end, Dick came into my life to kill, steal and destroy all that I held so precious.

Norm: Where can our readers find out more about you and The Demon in Disguise? 

Ashley: Social Media. I try to keep my content different on each platform. My WEBSITE, is the main hub of information. My FACEBOOK AUTHOR PAGE  is mainly quotes, events and I do book giveaways.

My INSTAGRAM AUTHOR is more personal. I love pictures so I tend to post more on Instagram. 

Norm; What is next for Ashley Elliott?

Ashley: I would love to attempt to write another book but for right now I will be focusing on family.

Norm: As this interview comes to an end, if you could change one thing about the world what would it be? How would it change you?

Ashley: I would like to have transparency within our government agencies. Transparency would hold those individuals who have power over me accountable for their choices and actions. They would no longer be able to hide behind a position of power and cover up what I perceive to be wrongdoings. 

Norm: Thanks once again and good luck with The Demon in Disguise.

Follow Here To Read Norm's Review of The Demon in Disguise