Update on the Life of this Author (Win a signed paperback of my novel!)

A photo posted by Ashley R. Carlson (@ashleyrcarlson1) on Feb 8, 2015 at 9:36pm PST

Wow. I haven't written a blog post in over a month. *kisses your feet in apology.*
Why have I been so MIA lately?

BECAUSE I'VE BEEN WORKING FULLTIME AT A RESTAURANT. How does ANYONE get ANYTHING done with a fulltime job?! ("Time management, you imbecile," is what you're probably thinking.)

A photo posted by Ashley R. Carlson (@ashleyrcarlson1) on Jan 10, 2015 at 1:23pm PST

January was quite possibly the BUSIEST month in all of time for a Seahawks bar (Seattle fans are INSANE, the Seahawks were in the Super Bowl, and it JUST so happened to be IN PHOENIX THIS YEAR), and I was clocking 50- and even 70-hour weeks. Yeah.
Besides that, I've also been working freelance for Arizona Foothills Magazine, and am planning on offering editing services through Fiverr.com (look for future updates on this soon) and was also offered a position with my friends Jessica Schmeidler's and Marissa Fuller's new company, PostScript Services.

I WILL NOT WORK AT A RESTAURANT A DAY LONGER THAN I HAVE TO.

With all of this in the works, I've been severely neglecting my novella, Misery and Marlene. But now that things have died down a little I plan to devote ALL of my free time to finishing it and sending it to my beta readers by the end of February. (want to be one? Email me!)

I WAS in the Fountain Hills Times newspaper in January, which was very exciting,
and I gave a presentation about "How To Live The Life You Dream Of" at my old high school last week to rave reviews.

A photo posted by Ashley R. Carlson (@ashleyrcarlson1) on Jan 14, 2015 at 10:50am PST

A photo posted by Ashley R. Carlson (@ashleyrcarlson1) on Feb 11, 2015 at 9:20am PST

I plan to take this presentation to high schools across the state, hopefully to inspire kids with my personal story of academic struggles in college, a degree I'm not using, quitting my job to write a book ten months ago and the final result: LIVING A LIFE THAT I LOVE (most days).
Want me to present at your school/function/event/grandmother's house? Email me!
I've also actually gotten "The Charismatics" on a store's shelf! A friend of mine who works at The Poisoned Pen in Scottsdale agreed to carry a copy of my novel, so it is in a PHYSICAL store. It also has 18 reviews on Amazon so far! I am so thankful to everyone who has read it and reviewed. If you haven't yet, here's the link to Amazon, or email me for a free copy!

I've also made a couple of fantastic friends in the last few weeks: a super reader who has been SO supportive of "The Charismatics" (even going to the lengths of buying more copies to GIVE to friends at Changing Hands Bookstore, another location that I may be able to sell my book at), and gifts me with works of some of his other favorite authors. He is a fantastic person, and a fan that I hope every author is lucky enough to have in their career.

A photo posted by Ashley R. Carlson (@ashleyrcarlson1) on Feb 2, 2015 at 4:40pm PST

I also recently met another indie author named Jesse Walters, who will be publishing a memoir entitled "The Church Next Door: My Cult Experience and How to Get Out While Staying Close to God," about his harrowing experiences in a cult disguised as a Christian church sometime this summer. Apparently this is a serious, widespread issue throughout the U.S. and the world, where churches with dysfunctional belief systems and cult-like behaviors infiltrate the minds of attendees and can tear families apart, many times causing serious emotional and mental instabilities in church-goers.
Jesse suffered this and got out, and has now made it his mission to help those in the same situation. Let's support him! He's also pretty easy on the eyes. So there's that...
AND finally....

I THINK IT'S TIME FOR A GIVEAWAY.

I just got a shipment of "The Charismatics" paperbacks, and I think one of my newsletter subscribers (who lives in the U.S.) should GET A SIGNED COPY, and perhaps maybe another newsletter subscriber should get a $25 Amazon giftcard!
Sound good?! GOOD.
So if you haven't subscribed yet, go do it. Takes a minute. And look for my newsletter in your inbox NEXT weekend, with THREE easy questions about my short story "Cruel" and/or maybe how many animals I have (hint, hint.) Whoever answers correctly first WILL WIN!
I'll be hard at work on #MiseryandMarlene for you all as well as getting your prizes ready.

If you want a free copy of "Cruel" to brush up, email me!