Friday, February 18, 2011

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.

Extra Entries: (These will be asked about on the form)

+5 for following me on Twitter (sidebar)
+5 for being an Old follower
+3 for being a New follower
+5 for putting this giveaway on your sidebar
+10 for putting my button on your sidebar
+10 for subscribing via E-mail
+25 for getting the word out about this giveaway, via blog post, twitter, facebook, etc.
+50 for signing up to participate in the 2011 Cozy Mystery Challenge (sidebar)

14 comments:

Desiree Holt said...

HI Ash! Can I just say I love your writing?

Alyssa Maxwell said...

Hey, Ash, my sista! :-) Congratulations on your success, girl, and I'll say right now it couldn't have happened to a nicer person. I already have Strange Neighbors and will be running out for Werewolf. Looking forward to a fun and lighter paranormal read!

Jocelyn Modo said...

Hiya! Looking forward to reading all of your books. Congrats on all your success! ♥♥♥

Hot Ash Romance Novels said...

Hey, Des. You can, am I'm glad you did! LOL

Allison, sweetheart! So nice of you to drop in and support me!

Jocelyn, Thanks for trying my brand of paranormal romance! I hope you'll enjoy it.

Beverly said...

Sounds like a great read! Thanks!

DL Thomas said...

Ashlyn, I've not had the opportunity to read your books yet, but they sound great and I will read them as soon as I can.

They are on the top of my TBB and TBR lists.

Deb
mammy4423ATyahooDOTcom

Linda Henderson said...

I've really been wanting to read this series, thank you so much for the giveaway.

seriousreader at live dot com

Ammy Belle said...

Awesome! Thanks for the guest post! :D

Victoria said...

I'm half way through STRANGE NEIGHBORS and love it. Can't wait to get into this one. So much fun as well as a good story.
vsloboda(at)gmail(dot)com

Zelda Benjamin said...

Can't wait to read your latest books. I don't have an e- reader, but I think the new Color Nook is on my list for Mother's Day.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the giveaway. Sounds like a good book. Tore923@aol.com

StephTheBookworm said...

I really liked Strange Neighbors so I can't wait to read this one!

Anita Yancey said...

Love to read this book. It sounds wonderful.

ayancey(at)dishmail(dot)net

Jacki C. said...

I love this series!