"It comes from lots of places. I do a lot of reading - newspapers, Discovery Magazine, New Scientist and the like. I've always been a science geek so that has influenced the direction of my life, but what I really like about Science Fiction and what I do is when the 'gadgetry' - the science - and the human merge. The idea of discovering new technological things in the future and how we would react to that is fascinating. For instance, in Learning Curve it was the nanites in the brain. If you could have nanites in your brain what could we do with that? The whole plot came from an idea, which started when I read somewhere that certain animals supposedly could learn by eating the brains of other animals. It's a complete fantasy, of course, but it's where my concept - that if you could transfer knowledge - started life."

Hastily moving on from a conversation about cannibals eating the brains of their enemies and ending up with CJD, Ash admits that the stimulation of her imagination being triggered by common place and not so usual events "never stops. I'll be watching TV, yet I'll be thinking about a project I'm working on or a notion that's been intriguing me for some time. The ideas just go round and round in my head until I coax them into some format."

For Stargate SG-1 the ideas seemed to flow very naturally, once she was kick-started that is. "I had never seen the show when they asked me to pitch [submit a story idea]. It's a classic example of one of those weird Hollywood situations," she smiles. "I was agent hunting and went to talk to many in this city and one of them had seen an audition piece I wrote for the Outer Limits. (It wasn't a real episode - just a sample to show what I could do). The agent I showed it to had a friend over at MGM and said, 'I don't represent this artiste but you should see her work'. The friend was so impressed he sent it to Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner." The executive producers of Stargate SG-1 were so impressed themselves, they asked to see some ideas for their show. "Even though I was working full time in a producer's office, I typed up two two-page single space story ideas, faxed them up to Vancouver, and Jonathan called me to say 'We want to buy one', which was Learning Curve."

After the euphoria of that initial call, Ash succumbed to the scourge of every writer - the agonies of self-doubt. "They asked me to write an outline - which is what most producers have to do so they can cut you off at any point in case you're really bad, I mean, just because you write a good sample doesn't mean you're any good at actually writing scripts time after time. But I did what they asked of me and got their comments back and re-wrote the outline and then they said 'OK, Let's go to first draft' and I was so overwhelmed I thought, 'My career is over! They'll never hire me! What were they thinking?'"

Fortunately, all doubts were unfounded. "The guys called that day whilst I was at work and said, 'This is great. We'd like you on staff. Now!'" Ash recalls the moment as one of the happiest of her life. "I was sitting there thinking, 'I can quit to go do what I really want to do'. It was just the best moment ever. That and calling my mother, who was so happy she cried."

Asked if the transition from a few lines a piece of paper to full-blown script has continued to be so effortless, Ash releases a heartfelt sigh. "Oh, if only it were all that easy. The changes within Learning Curve were minor and the re-writers I did ended up as the first draft, which is a very unusual circumstance in this business. Foothold took months. We just could not get that concept. It was one of the more difficult scripts for us and it changed in major ways from draft to draft.

"We wanted to get the characters out of the base but knew we couldn't really let Teal'c [Christopher Judge] out on his own, so it was a challenge to work out what we were going to do with him." A friend of the actor, Ash teasingly remarks, "It's a neverending problem figuring out what do we do with him!" Continuing, she says, "Foothold became more of a Carter episode and I think Amanda [Tapping] really liked it because she got to kick some butt. The other actors, however, did hate me for having them hang from the ceiling for hours." Hearing no offers of sympathy for the group of individuals who I only ever see standing about telling each other jokes, lying around watching videos or stealing sweets from the workers' sweetie jars, Ash goes on to confess, "Teryl Rothery [Dr. Janet Frasier] said the day when they were just hanging from the harnesses covered in sloppy goo was one of the most uncomfortable experiences they've ever had."

Revealing just how stroppy the SG-1 team can be when roused, Ash grins, "They threatened to show me just how uncomfortable it was but I managed to stage a speedy retreat to my office." En route, she had to pass Don S. Davis [General Hammond]. "He's the sweetest man," confirms Ash, "and I've never heard a word of complaint come out of his mouth, but even he just looked at me and drawled, 'Sometimes I wonder what goes on in your mind.'"

Minor cast disruptions aside, Ash admits Foothold is her favorite episode. "Everything about it was really cool. The director, Andy Mikita, did just the best job. The actors were great and it was a big visual effects piece too. Learing Curve is my first child, so to speak, so it has a special place in my heart, especially because of the amount of sensitivity Richard Dean Anderson [Jack O'Neill] brought to the role, but my favorite overall episode has to be Foothold." Needless to say, there are many times when things don't come together immediately. "New Ground was a difficult episode to get a handle on. What I'd had in mind originally wasn't intrinsically Stargate SG-1, so it went through a lot of changes. However, the really great thing about the episode was Christopher Judge.

"When I first arrived in Vancouver he would tease me by saying, 'Remember Teal'c' and I'd say - 'You got lots of time in Learing Curve'. Next time he'd see me in the corridor he'd shout 'Remember Teal'c' and I'd shout 'What? Foothold wasn't good enough? You got to write around in pain, what are you looking for?' Eventually New Ground was more his chance and it really worked. He was great. The whole relationship with the alien guy was really the heart of the episode for me."

Given that she's written "something for everyone", Ash does admit that she has a particular fondness toward writing for Carter and Dr. Daniel Jackson [Micheal Shanks]. "I love writing for Carter, not because she's a girl but because she's a science geek and I have a soft for Daniel for a similar reason. He's a little different - not a military man - and I've tried to give him back that sense of wonder; the little kid jumping up and down at each discovery factor." Although many people at her high school thought she would go on to become a scientist, Ash knew that she wanted to write. "I have my grade teacher, Ruth Pekkala to thank for the encouragement. When I was little she would say 'Here's a Raggedy Ann scenerio - go write a story about it,' so I guess I was television writing from the start."

"I'd love her to know she started me off on this path. I actually called the teacher in Learning Curve after my second grade teacher Mrs. Struble because she was such an inspiration too." Inspired to ask what we can look forward to in her Season Four episode Beneath the Surface, Ash dryly replies, "Like I'd tell you!" Relenting, she grins, "Basically, SG-1 in an underground factory. That's it!" Fortunately, the new season begins on Sky 1 soon so we don't have too long to hang around.