Friday, September 16, 2022

The Return of the Book Fair

This Week's Newsletter
YA Romance Whodunit
Ashleigh's YA Reads           Ashleigh's Romance Reads          Ashleigh's Whodunits

This week's newsletter contains the following features:
(Feel free to skip ahead to what you want to read)

What's new with Ashleigh?

First of all, I would like to thank everyone for your great advice about book reviews. After much consideration, I have decided to change the way I use Goodreads.

I have created a new blog for writing book reviews, one that is not related to my author names. I will be using this new name for any future book reviews I write. Additionally, when someone reviews one of my books, I will not comment (unless they ask me a question), but merely "like" the post.

Although I have not been able to reply to each email I received, I promise I did read them all and greatly appreciate all the advice.

Now, to completely change the topic, today I want to talk about book fairs. This summer, I read a book about successful marketing strategies and the author primarily focused on selling books in person at book fairs and conventions. In the past, I have only attended one book fair a year: an Indie Author Day at a library about 5 towns away. Sales were mediocre, but I only had two books to sell.

After reading the book, I grew excited about attending book fairs again. So excited, in fact, that I decided to base my next novel on it. My main character is testing my new strategies for me. (So far, they're working well.)

My local library is finally resuming Indie Author Day in person and I will be able to try some of Amber's strategies. Now, I know it's still seven weeks away, but I ordered all my paperbacks to make sure they arrive in time. I've received three of my five shipments this week (the last two are due in next week) and I am getting super excited.

As the books arrive, I'm starting to focus my mental energy on my marketing strategy and I have some great ideas. One of them involves a scavenger hunt. However, I would love to hear from you.

Even if it's been awhile, have you attended book fairs (or fairs where at least some of the vendors were selling books)? What were some features of the display that really caught your attention? Do you like when authors initiate conversation or do you find that makes you less apt to buy their books?

Feel free to email me your answers to this question, or leave a comment on this conversation on my blog.

Hartfield Chronicles

Hartford Chronicles
Season 4 of Hartfield Chronicles has arrived!

When Melinda is invited to join a new dance class, she sees this as her big break, a chance to advance her skills. Before she can accept, however, another kind of break stops her in her tracks.

Pat wants to be the supportive boyfriend, but his efforts seem to be making Melinda uncomfortable. He can’t go to his own friends for advice, because they can’t understand.

After Melinda calls for another type of break, she and Pat must examine their relationship to determine whether they are meant for each other.

Hartfield Chronicles follows the lives of Melinda, Pat, and their friends as they navigate their way through boarding school life. Each episode features two stories, one from Melinda's point of view and one from Pat's, along with an excerpt from Melinda's writing journal. New episodes are published every Friday.

Here's what you missed:

Episode 95:
Hartford Chronicles
Episode 96:
Hartford Chronicles
When Pat returns to school, he has a falling out with his roommates
Melinda confronts Pat about skipping classes

Want to receive email updates
when the next episode is released?

Sign up for email updates and, as a thank you,
you will receive access to bonus chapters from the Hartfield Chronicles.

Want early access?

Members of the Hammerhead club receive episodes one month early.
Check out the website for more information.


Free Books


Booted


Booted
A Castlewood High Origin Story

The origin story of Linda Monnark, the ruinous teacher in Team Peabrain, CHT #2.

Booted from her old life, Carol finds herself...

Welcome to the second short story in the Castlewood High Origin Stories, a companion series of origin stories of characters within the Castlewood High Tales, a retold clean & wholesome high school romance series.

"Booted" is a retold version of "Puss in Boots" by Giovanni Francesco Straparola, and focuses on the origin story of Linda Monnark, the teacher determined to ruin Bronwyn Clancy's life in Team Peabrain, the second book of the Castlewood High Tales series.



Carol's Paradise Found


Carol's Paradise Found
Take a trip to Carol's Paradise Found in beautiful North Key Largo, Florida

Ready to visit Paradise? Welcome to the Florida Keys!

Take a trip with Carol as she departs New York to begin a new adventure on the sunny shores of North Key Largo, Florida, where she creates her own ‘Paradise Found’ called Viera Key Cottages!

Carol’s Paradise Found recounts Carol Bartowan’s journey of how she and her husband, Jim, founded their bed and breakfast in Throgs Neck, New York. After running the B&B solo for a couple of years after Jim’s passing, she accepts an offer to sell.

Carol starts anew by renovating a run-down compound of cottages on the quaint island key of North Key Largo, Florida, where she now lives—and happily shares—her newly-created cottage-paradise of sunshine, sandy beaches, and palm trees galore, with her intriguing guests.

Carol’s Paradise Found is the prequel to "May Your Journey Always Lead You Home" - inspiration for Viera Key Cottages series by Sara Branmore.



Parsley, Sage, Rose, Mary & Wine


Parsley, Sage, Rose, Mary & Wine
Red Line Coffee Mystery Prequel

Lemon Sage seeks a fresh start in a small town and discovers another dead body.

Sheriff Wyatt wants Sage. So does a killer.

Lemon Sage Benton moves to rural Kentucky horse country for a second chance at her dream. What she finds shocks Sheriff Wyatt Gordon back to life. His aspirations don't jive with Sage's, and she refuses to try and change him, like his ex-wife. His daughter hates her. Wyatt wants her, but so does a killer.


Would you like some free books in exchange for an honest review?

Tales to Review Promotion Clean Romance Review
Romance and all its parts

Want more free books? Check out these giveaways!

Contemporary Giveaway Free Reads of all Genres for Early Fall
Sweet Romance Sweet September
September to Remember Free Thrilling Reads for Fall
Mystery & Thriller Giveaway September Romance Giveaway

Do you have Kindle Unlimited? These books are free for you!

Unmissable Reads for Unlimited REaders

Other Books on Sale


Cheerfully Playing Quarterback


Cheerfully Playing Quarterback
Carrying the Captain's Reputation
Swapped Lives Book 5

Madison Cleaver and Tyson Dekker want nothing to do with each other. In fact, they’d be happy to never cross paths again before graduation. Which is difficult to do when she’s always cheering at his football games.

One fateful stormy day, Maddy and Ty find themselves in each other’s bodies! Now they’re desperate to switch back while simultaneously claiming they could easily live the other person’s life. When Ty and Maddy start peeling back the layers of defenses they’ve built up, they realize there’s more at stake than the upcoming football game. But with everything on the line, how will they play the perfect roles—without falling for each other?



The War Council


The War Council
University Chronicles Book 1

Ever wonder what it would be like to be able to hire the team from “Mission: Impossible” to solve your relationship woes? A young communications professor attempts to make that happen in “The War Council.”

After the love of her life leaves her for a job on the other side of the world, Professor Maggie McGrew is devastated. To Maggie, his leaving—and not taking her with him—was just not logical.

Instead of merely mourning the breakup, Maggie pours herself into the study of love. She comes up with the concept of a paramilitary-style relationship counseling service that she calls “The War Council,” because, as they say, all is fair in love and war. Maggie then enlists her friends and colleagues—from fellow professors to a university psychologist and the rugby coach—to serve in a variety of roles on the council.

Maggie’s best friend Kathy (the psychologist) hates everything about the War Council but reluctantly agrees to be a member. Kathy also wants to help Maggie get over the boyfriend that left so she uses some of Maggie’s own concepts to set her up with a new beau. When Maggie discovers the truth about the new man in her life and Kathy’s role in bringing them together and the ex-boyfriend suddenly returns, she learns that love is anything but logical.

In this humorous look at love—the first in the University Chronicles series—each of the main characters tells their version of the events that surround the creation of the War Council and the effect it had on their lives.



In the Beginning, There was a Murder

In The Beginning, There Was a Murder
An Amateur Female Sleuth Historical Cozy Mystery

A secret liaison. A baffling murder. Can one woman solve the crime without joining the body count?

Northern England, 1953. Pauline Riddell has grand ambitions for her future at the armament factory. So, when her closest workmate reveals a salacious affair with a married man, Pauline refuses to risk her career by listening to the scandal. But she’s shaken to her core when the police arrive with news of her best friend’s homicide.

Desperate for justice, Pauline’s insistent poking into the investigation only makes her the prime suspect. And now to clear her name, she must unravel a web of deadly clues entangling her in a sinister plot. Can Pauline catch the killer before they strike again?

In The Beginning, There Was a Murder is a riveting mystery novel. If you like whip-smart heroines, intriguing twists and turns, and nail-biting danger, then you’ll love P.C. James’s sensational story. Also Available in Large Print.


You may also be interested in these books

Young Adult Book Sale All Genre Book Sale
Clean & Light Page Turners Discover something New
Women Authors Celebration Sale Fall in Love with a New Book
Romance a New Read Second Chance Romance
Strong Female Leads The Path Less Travelled
Why Choose Mystery & Thriller Sale
September Thrills

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Check out my books

Adjusting to a New Life A New Home Innocent Bystander Camp Piquaqua Elephant on My Chest
Mooncrossed Kayaks, Kisses & Monsters One Night in Sedona

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