Ashley Lynn Willis's Blog, page 2

Teaser Tuesday - Fangirl

 Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
 Amazon 

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Eleanor & Park.
A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?




My Teaser
After another fifty pages, Cath was getting sleepy. At some point, Levi had leaned against her, and then she'd leaned back, and it was hard to think about what was happening on that side of her body because she was busy reading... Though there was almost an entire chapter there where her lips and her eyes were moving, but her brain wasn't keeping track of anything but how warm he was. How warm her roommate's boyfriend was.

Levi is one of my favorite male characters in a novel. He's so real and charming, and yet vulnerable in a way most men aren't. I highly recommend this book. Or anything by Rainbow Rowell for that matter.

Teaser Tuesday - Breakable

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!
 As a child, Landon Lucas Maxfield believed his life was perfect and looked forward to a future filled with promise — until tragedy tore his family apart and made him doubt everything he ever believed.

All he wanted was to leave the past behind. When he met Jacqueline Wallace, his desire to be everything she needed came so easy…

As easy as it could be for a man who learned that the soul is breakable and that everything you hoped for could be ripped away in a heartbeat.

My Teaser
   Her eyes were dark, due to the distance between us and shadows cast by overhead lights. I couldn't make out the perfect blue I knew they were. I couldn't smell her sweet scent. She wasn't laughing or even smiling. She was just a pretty girl.
   But I couldn't see anyone else.

Sigh. Lucas is so dreamy.

Teaser Tuesday - Maybe Someday

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current readOpen to a random pageShare two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that pageBE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

At twenty-two years old, aspiring musician Sydney Blake has a great life: She’s in college, working a steady job, in love with her wonderful boyfriend, Hunter, and rooming with her good friend, Tori. But everything changes when she discovers Hunter cheating on her with Tori—and she is left trying to decide what to do next.

Sydney becomes captivated by her mysterious neighbor, Ridge Lawson. She can’t take her eyes off him or stop listening to the daily guitar playing he does out on his balcony. She can feel the harmony and vibrations in his music. And there’s something about Sydney that Ridge can’t ignore, either: He seems to have finally found his muse. When their inevitable encounter happens, they soon find themselves needing each other in more ways than one…

My TeaserI open the bathroom door and flip on the light... then immediately fall to my knees.Oh, God.Oh, no.No, no, no, no! Does it get anymore dramatic than that? I didn't think so. Nuff said. 

Upcoming New Release

I’m proud to announce I’m finally preparing to release a new novel. Took me long enough, but with three kids sucking all semblance of intelligence from my battered brain, I’m surprised it happened this fast. Three years isn’t that long, right? So, without further ado, here is the working blurb for Summer’s Temptation, a contemporary new adult romance scheduled to release August 12th. Woo Hoo!

If there are only three truths in life, they are these. Women will always try to change a man. Men will always say anything to get a girl in bed. Tyler Mason will always have a long line of girls trying to domesticate him, and none will succeed. If one of these ceases to be true, the world will cease to exist.

These are the rules as college student Cassie Faye knows them, so when she gives up on dating in favor of a man who can satisfy her without tempting her heart, her next-door neighbor Tyler tops the list. Tyler isn’t the type of boy Cassie would fall for, but he’s the perfect guy to teach her how to claim her sexual independence without losing her heart in the process. Too late, Cassie finds out that under his womanizing exterior is an attentive, considerate lover who brings out passions in her that she'd barely glimpsed before.

What if she’s wrong about the third truth? What if the world as she knows it is about to cease to exist?

The novel will probably be out earlier than August 12th, but that’s the official release date. I’ll be doing a book tour in late August. More to come on that later.

The Problem with Writing a Paranormal Series

In May of this year, while in my third trimester, I began to write a new book. I managed to finish before the baby came in July. (Yay me!) The novel is the first in a series that will be at least five books long. (Sheesh, I’m long winded) Anyway, I loved writing it because it’s first person, and I’ve never finished a novel in that POV before.
So, I’m trying to figure out what I want to do with this novel. It needs work. I have to rewrite the first three chapters, add more emotion, and delete a lot of telling. I’m probably going to move it to a college town and have my MC in college as opposed to making her a recent graduate. I’m also going to add more of a mother presence for my heroine, Izzy. She’s going to have body issues brought on by her mom.
Okay, this new novel needs a lot of work, but I was up for that until I started outlining the second novel. You see, it’s an Angel/Demon series and there’s two sects of angels, so there’s two different Angel lore to keep straight and then there’s Demon lore and Fallen Angel lore, and Izzy the heroine comes with all kinds of baggage. The hero’s older than her so he’s got a lot of past drama to keep straight.
When I outlined book two, suddenly, there was another sect of Angels that needed their own lore, and the hero of this novel (Gabriel) had enough background to fill an entire othernovel. Brilliant! I’ll just write a prequel to the series. I’ll tell Gabriel’s story and intertwine it with another storyline that I’m dying to tell and I JUST HAD A BABY! I can’t even remember if I fed my five and six year old breakfast this morning, let alone recall the name of the demon who tried to kill Izzy in chapter seven. Long story short, the cells in my baby-scrambled brain haven’t meandered back to their designated spots. I’m begrudgingly coming to terms with this.  
We all have crazy phases in our lives when there’s hardly enough time to brush our teeth, never mind write a five book series. This is that time in my life, but, I have a solution to this problem, and it will ensure I keep writing. It’s called the Stand Alone Contemporary Romance Novel. The beautiful thing about the Stand Aloneis that when I’m done, I’m done. No prequels, no new characters popping up in book three, no ingenious storyline that appears in book two and requires unanticipated foreshadowing in book one. No more paranormal elements to track or sequential books to outline in order to verify they mesh harmoniously. Now I only have to keep character’s pasts and personality traits straight for one 90k book. Woo Hoo! I can totally do that on three hours of sleep with a baby drooling on my shoulder while I peck one-handed at my keyboard. Yep. Everything’s going to be easy peesy from here on out.
Next week’s blog post: Mutinous Contemporary Romance Characters and the Author who Hates Them. (So much for easy peesy… )     

The Act of Creation

Each year, I’m only capable of bringing one creation to fruition. This year, my creation is named Sarah. She’s a blue eyed, rosy cheeked miracle who turns three-months-old at the end of October. Needless to say, I will not release a book this year, including Killing Abel. Hopefully, all will go well next year, and by that I mean Sarah will be a champion napper. If so, I should have another title available next Fall. Fingers crossed.

Winner of December Cover Art Poll

"The Pacific Twilight" - a young adult thriller-romance with a difference and a first for Pacific literature.

"How many times do you come across a book that gives you everything you want in a book? Telesa has it all. There's Leila, the girl that we can all relate to. She's smart and confident, but doesn't always know what to do. She goes to Samoa searching for a place to belong. She didn't expect to meet a boy. A certain boy, who she hates at first, who is also SMOKING hot. Daniel. With his rugby playing abs, amazing muscles, interesting tattoos, and killer smile. He can be vicious and competitive on the rugby field one minute, and sweet and chivalrous the next. But this book is not just about Daniel...This story is the epic tale of Telesa. Leila is a Telesa, but doesn't know it. As she grows to discover her birthright, her powers, her family, and herself, what will she choose? What is her destiny? And does it involve a hot rugby player?" Jillian Dodd, Author of 'That Boy'.

Ancient Pacific mythology tells of Telesa. Spirit women who are guardians of earth and gifted with the elemental powers of Air, Water and Fire.Telesa are vengeful and cruel.Tales to frighten children.Or are they more than that? From Washington D.C, comes Leila, a young woman in search of family,a place to belong. Instead she finds her destiny and it threatens to tear her apart. There is the bewitching call of a telesa sisterhood and there is Daniel. Will Leila embrace her birthright or will she choose the one who offers her his love with a crooked smile and dancing green eyes? Will Daniel be the element that gentles the fire of the Telesa? Or must love burn at the altar of the telesa covenant? There are many different kinds of love. All of them require sacrifice. Who will give everything for the one they love?

Released October 2011 on Amazon.

Book & Cook Holiday Blog Festival: Sister Suz’s Best Sweet Potatoes in Kansas

My sister is famous on all sides of the family for this special dish. I don’t even remember the first time she brought it to a family gathering; I just remember that for the last five years, I’ve been gorging on it Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother’s Day, and Easter. It’s more dessert than accompaniment, but because the base is healthy sweet potatoes, it goes on the plate right beside the turkey or ham.  Hallelujah for that!



Sister Suz’s Best Sweet Potatoes in Kansas Sweet Potatoes 6-8 med sweet potatoes¼  - ½  Cup butter ¼  - ½ Cup Brown sugarBake sweet potatoes and mash while hot with butter and brown sugar. Spread into 12x8 baking dish Topping
2 Tbsp. softened butter¾-cup brown sugar½-cup chopped pecansMix topping ingredients and sprinkle over sweet potatoes. My sister usually does this then decides to double the topping and make another batch. God Bless her because the topping is the best part.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the topping looks cooked. Enjoy!

Book & Cook Holiday Blog Festival: Sister Suz's Best Sweet Potatoes in Kansas

My sister is famous on all sides of the family for this special dish. I don't even remember the first time she brought it to a family gathering; I just remember that for the last five years, I've been gorging on it Thanksgiving, Christmas, Mother's Day, and Easter. It's more dessert than accompaniment, but because the base is healthy sweet potatoes, it goes on the plate right beside the turkey or ham.  Hallelujah for that!



Sister Suz's Best Sweet Potatoes in Kansas Sweet Potatoes 6-8 med sweet potatoes¼  - ½  Cup butter ¼  - ½ Cup Brown sugarBake sweet potatoes and mash while hot with butter and brown sugar. Spread into 12x8 baking dish Topping
2 Tbsp. softened butter¾-cup brown sugar½-cup chopped pecansMix topping ingredients and sprinkle over sweet potatoes. My sister usually does this then decides to double the topping and make another batch. God Bless her because the topping is the best part.
Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until the topping looks cooked. Enjoy!

Where Am I This Week?

Hello everyone! I just thought I'd drop a line and let you know where I can be found this week. If you're interested in going on a zoo trip with me and my two preschoolers, head on over to Tynga's Reviews and join us. You can also find me at My Book Addiction and More! If you have a minute, I'd love to see you on either site. Hope everyone is having a great week!