Whew! The last month has been a whirlwind of excitement for me; so much so that I truly could not find the time to even post about Thanksgiving. Sorry, Pilgrims, but at least I enjoyed all the traditional foods and most importantly, my family!
(And no, I did NOT make that - unless you consider 'cut and paste' from Google "making it!" Of course, those of you that know me personally were already well aware of that, since I am a woman of many talents, but cooking is sadly not one of them!)
Now here it is, the middle of December and my book blog tour is in full swing. If you would have told me six months ago that this is what I would be doing, I probably would have raised an eyebrow and looked at you as though you just mumbled in a foreign language because "virtual book blog tour" was something that's existence I was completely oblivious to.
Until now.
With the help of some absolutely incredible people, I have been fully baptized into the world of book blog tours and now my blog serves as a "tour stop" for several books! What does this mean, you ask? Well, I have had the chance to meet some truly talented authors, as well as read some incredible books and/or review them that otherwise might have flown under my reading radar. It also is a wonderful way to reach potential readers about my book through the graciousness of other bloggers that host or interview me! A Two-fer! Woo hoo! As a matter of fact, I am the featured author on Janiera's lovely blog, This Is From My Heart where you can sign up to win a signed copy or ebook of Accountable to None.
I am kicking myself now for not writing a book AGES ago!
Now, onto the Blessings!
Blessing #1:
First of all, I want to say what an addition Lindsay Anne Kendal has been in my life! After watching my trailer, she decided to read my book and the next thing I know, I have the green light to submit Accountable to None to her publisher, the fantastic Karen Fuller at World Castle Publishing and suddenly, things started happening fast. I am thrilled, overjoyed, ecstatic, pumped, joyous, excited (yes, I could continue, but I won't--the World Wide Web is only so big) to announce that I am OFFICIALLY a part of the World Castle Team of Authors! (Author Page & All!)
Blessing #2:
Lindsay blessed me AGAIN (isn't she just incredible? - shameless plug - buy her books!) and created a new cover for the re-release of ATN, due out in January-February of 2012. This woman has been such a splendid surprise in my life!
This is a very exciting time to be an Indie Author right now, thanks to the astounding success of self-published authors like Amanda Hocking, John Locke and others, the publishing industry has been turned upside down by individuals that decided to take their works directly to the people. Kudos to them!
All it takes is the excited spark from just one person to ignite a firestorm, or in my case, a small campfire, but I am hopeful the news will spread quickly through the conduit we lovingly call social media.
Blessing #3:
I stepped into this world-o-publishing blind, naive and absurdly under the false impression that writing the book was the hard part! Ah, naivete, how I miss thee now that your innocence has drifted away, replaced with the daunting reality of Twitter, Facebook, websites, radio and blogs! At first, I almost cracked under the pressure, absolutely dizzy from the sensory overload of electronic communication, but after a few muddled attempts and mistakes, I am beginning to make headway thanks to my Droid Bionic - it is AMAZING!
So, where is the blessing in all of this? Well, it is the beautiful people I have the privilege to call "friends" now! A virtual community of other oddballs that pound the keys with just as much fury and passion as I do! Writers that want nothing more than to open the eyes of their readers into the world that previously, only existed in their magnificent minds, now living and breathing between the pages of a novel.
How awesome is that?
Blessing #4:
My husband. Not only did he patiently endure my long nights pecking away at the keyboard while he tried to sleep, but also my incessant rambling about what should happen next as I wrote Accountable to None. Now, he watches while I try to tweet, facebook, blog and write the sequel in supersonic spurts after coming home from work. Each time a review or comment arrives, he is right there celebrating with me; a true testament of his love for me as he just smiles as I bounce off in another direction, doing my best to make my dreams come true.
My rock; my best friend and the love of my life! God truly blessed me when He placed him in my path!
And lastly....
Blessing #5:
Christmas. I may have bypassed Thanksgiving wishes to everyone simply due to my cup spewing over, but I will not let Christmas come and go without taking a few moments to wish everyone:
May the Joy of the Birth of our Savior bless each of you! Thanks to all my family, friends and FANS for your support this past year! (I still get chills when I type that word!)
Love, Ashley
*Ramble off*
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