Guest Post and Giveaway: Ashlyn Chase

Please join me in welcoming author Ashlyn Chase to Debbie's Book Bag today. Ashlyn is promoting her latest book in the Strange Neighbors series, The Werewolf Upstairs. Sourcebooks is graciously offering two copies of her latest release for giveaway, please see details at the end of the post.

Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time…

Ashlyn Chase, romance novelist, decided to try her hand at writing a popular new genre for modern women—hot paranormal romantic comedy. “The romance genre is 55 percent of the paperback market and women really want authors to turn up the heat these days,” she said. Then she went on to say, “Paranormal comedy is a niche market that’s growing. The world needs more laughter and love and paranormal stories are the ultimate escape.”

Ashlyn began by writing screenplays. Hollywood passed on her romantic comedies, and NY was closer to her home in NH, so she tried authoring a book. Her first attempted manuscript landed on a shelf in the back of her closet, but she said it was worth doing as a learning experience. She monitored her reading choices for a while and found she liked reading the ‘hot stuff.’ As soon as she made that admission and stopped blushing, she thought she might try writing it. She began by turning one of her screenplays into a steam bath of an e-novel!

Her reviews were consistently excellent, and her first mass market paperback Strange Neighbors garnered even more positive attention. Publisher’s Weekly wrote such a glowing review it caught the eye of a Hollywood Producer! “That’s one way to make it to Hollywood,” she quipped. Book one was also contracted for a Thai translation. “I’d like to go there someday,” she added.

Even though she finally has traditional books sold in brick and mortar book stores, she is still an advocate of electronic publishing. With the advent of the Kindle and other ereaders, sales of electronic books have skyrocketed. Readers appreciate the convenience of downloading their books instantly, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without a trip to the store. They can carry hundreds of ebooks in their purse or briefcase—and no one has to know what they’re reading. Ashlyn said, “I like to read ebooks on my backlit ipod during those inevitable black-outs or when reading in bed. A back-lit hand-held reading device doesn’t disturb my husband like a bedside lamp would.”

Ashlyn’s happy ending? She found a NY agent and publisher by writing about Vampires, Witches and Werewolves, oh my!

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Sourcebooks has generously offered two copies of The Werewolf Next Door to two lucky winners from Debbie's Book Bag!

There are a few simple rules:

~ You must be a GFC follower to enter.
~ This giveaway is for US and Canadian addresses only, as these books will be sent out directly from the publisher.
~The deadline to enter this giveaway is Midnight EST, March 4th.

1. Please leave a comment on the this post in appreciation to the author for the time she spent preparing this guest post for us.

2. You must fill out this FORM in order to be entered.

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