Don’t clean your bathrooms.
I did that in January, came up with a new book idea, and haven’t slept since.
Here is the result: My next two books are nothing like anything I’ve published.
This is not the Science Fiction of Freida’s nation. We’re leaving the slice of life of Lea’s moms groups and friendship apps behind. Where we’re going next has a little more magic in it.
The New Series
It’s urban romantasy. A book influencer gets pulled into a supernatural world she didn’t know existed, and once you’re in, you don’t just get to leave.
That’s all I’m saying for now. Except that it’s been living in my head for a while, and it is fun in a way that feels new to me; different stakes, different rules, a different kind of longing at the center of it. The domestic warmth of I Was Just So Lonely isn’t gone, exactly. It’s just been relocated somewhere stranger.
But First: You Can Hear It Live
I’m a member of the Neuse River Writers here in New Bern, NC, and this year our group is publishing an anthology of short stories. I have a piece in it- a short story set in this new series, and I’ll be reading the first draft of it aloud at our May meeting on Tuesday, May 12 at the New Bern Public Library.
If you’re local and curious, come hear the very first version of this world before it becomes a book. That’s a rare thing to get to witness — the rough edges and all.
During my next two book signings, I’ll be handing out decorated gift bags related to the new series with each purchase. More info here!
I’m genuinely excited about this one in a way that feels like the beginning of something. I Was Just So Lonely taught me how to write the quiet, real, human stuff. This next series is going to let me find out what happens when I turn the volume up.
Stay tuned.
– Ashley
Ashley Crookham's Writing 
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