Hello, I’m Ashley.
I’m an Australian living in Spain.
After many years of working a miscellany of government office administration jobs in Melbourne, I’m in the midst of shifting my career into freelance writing and other affiliated undertakings. And because a mid-life career change didn’t feel daunting enough, I also decided to move to another continent in August 2023. And then get married shortly afterwards.
I have a Master of International Relations degree from The University of Melbourne, and a Bachelor of Asian Studies (Hons) from La Trobe University. I wrote my Honours thesis about the abduction of Japanese citizens in the 70s and 80s by North Korean agents. If you have a strangely pressing urge to read about this topic, get in touch and I’ll dig it up!
I’ve also done a bit of volunteer voiceover and reading work for Vision Australia Library and Vision Australia Radio, and I spent eight years as a performing member of Wadaiko Rindo, a Melbourne-based Japanese taiko drumming group.
Furthermore, upon revision of an earlier version of this page, one of my friends informed me that I’d failed to add “founding member of seminal Australian doom band Clagg” - perhaps my most dubious credential of all.
Hang on, what’s “Loh-Fi”…?
It’s a wordplay on my surname. I experienced some indecision when attempting to name this enterprise, and so my neighbour suggested “Loh-Fi”. There’s a certain charm to the quirks and imperfections of lo-fi production, but I can still create some polished copy when called upon. :)
You know how every freelancer writer has a welcoming, professional headshot of themselves on their website? I’ve discovered I’m rather lacking in such images, so in the meantime, here’s a photo of me drinking some (allegedly) sample-sized pours of wine in Madeira.