It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

And no, I don't mean Christmas (although both will make you break out in a cold sweat)

 It's Pitch Wars time!

About Me:

Hi, my name is Ashley. I've always made up stories: from junior high when I told a girl I was the escaped Princess of Ice Land in Mario Bros. 3, to Harry Potter fanfic in my early twenties. H/Hr 4ever.

I love makeup and clothes. I can drop $200 at Sephora, and not even feel queasy. Within the next few weeks, I plan to launch a hashtag on twitter tentatively dubbed #wheelchairfashionista. My hope is to support other wheelchair fashionistas and reduce the stigma surrounding us (no kidding, I've heard people say, "It's too bad she/he is disabled..." when talking about a person in a wheelchair). Disabled doesn't mean less attractive or that it's wasted on us.

After makeup and clothes, TV shows are my obsession. Some favorites:

~Game of Thrones
~Westworld
~Doctor Who
~Sherlock
~Supernatural (heavy influence on my MS)
~The Walking Dead
~Stranger Things
~Orange is the New Black

I also love Star Wars, Marvel movies, and Disney (Cuzco is the best Disney Princess).

My Querying History:

My MS is titled HOW TO CHANGE YOUR STARS. I queried it in May of 2014 and received half a dozen requests for fulls. All ended with a pass. In a fit of desperation, I queried two editors in 2015. Both took it to an acquisitions meeting at their respective publishers. One came back with an R&R. Unsure of how to make those revisions, I shelved the MS. I decided to enter it in Pitch Wars because several YA Mentors mentioned their love of Supernatural. More specifically, how they wouldn't mind a manuscript like the show.

Some Things About My MS:

I pitch it as Return to Oz meets DAUGHTER OF SMOKE AND BONE.

~It features a female protagonist with anxiety disorder (like me)
~Family relationships
~A diverse cast
~Sword fights
~A demon summoning gone awry
~Frock coats
~Jewish folklore
~A frozen world (remember my junior high lie?)
~Cats
~A slightly burned carrot cake


I'll probably add more to this bio later. Thanks for reading!

Last day to vote!

Shades and Shadows made the Top 5 in WriteOnCon/TheReadingRoom.com’s Aspiring Writers Competition. Help me make it to the Top 3. Join the site (easy and free), and vote for S&S. You are automatically entered to win $100 just for voting. Please help! Every vote counts.

http://thereadingroom.com/aspiringwriters/vote

WriteOnCon/TheReadingRoom Aspiring Writers Competition

Hey, guys! Shades and Shadows has made the Top 5 in WriteOnCon/TheReadingRoom.com's Aspiring Writers Competition. Now I need YOUR help! It’s down to members’ votes for the Top 3. Join the site (easy and free), read the entries, and vote for your favorite. Once you’ve joined, go here: http://www.thereadingroom.com/aspiringwriters/vote

Did I mention you can win $100 just for voting? VOTE Shades and Shadows!

First I have nightmares related to Supernatural. Now I fear I'll have one related to The Walking Dead. At least I'm not dreaming about Weeping Angels...yet.

*gulp*

Liebster Award

I've been nominated by Alexandra Annamarie, to whom I send my thanks.

R U L E S :

1. Thank and link back to the giver
2. Answer the award giver’s questions
3. Nominate 5 other blogs that have fewer than 200 followers
4. Ask questions for one’s nominees to answer.
5. Post the Liebster’s Award Picture on your post.


A N S W E R S :

1. Favorite song lyrics? Well I saw you fall back once, love. But I can't stay, stay like this weather swirls. 'Cause you've become sick like this winter... "One More Day," Lydia
2. What book have you read that defied your expectations for it the most? Angelfall, by Susan Ee.
3. What's one place you've always wanted to go? Prague. After growing up in the most haunted town in Texas, I want to see the most haunted city in the world.
4. Why did you start blogging in the first place? I'm writing a book. Some people would find that interesting.
5. Favorite mythical creature? I have two: angels and demons.

Q U E S T I O N S :

1. Who is your favorite fictional character?

2. What books/music/movies/t.v. shows inspire you?

3. Favorite genre to read?

4. Describe your book in one word.

5. How long have you been writing?

I    N O M I N A T E : 

1. Raven Paramour

2. Christine Ko

3. Angel

4. Deirdre Sheridan

5. Kailyn Elyse

If I ever get a movie deal, maybe I can talk them into doing a song for the soundtrack. ;)

What's in a name?

I began writing the outline today for Shudder. The story has grown quite a bit. Within the first half hour of outlining, a new character was born. I feel odd saying “born,” because she is quite grandmotherly. So, between looking over a mass of notes written in various notebooks, on random sheets of loose paper, not to mention in the notepad app on my phone, I’d say things are moving along at a slow and steady pace. Whereas, for a while before, they weren’t moving along at all.

The only snag is I can’t seem to decide on a name for one of my main characters. I’m leaning towards “Sebastian,” but I recently discovered the name “Orin,” and I began to doubt my previous choice. Mind you, this character’s name has been changed no less than four times since 2004, so I wouldn’t be surprised if I see scrawled, ‘For a good time call Edelbert,” on a bathroom stall and decide it would be the perfect name for my guy. That’s a far-fetched scenario though. Probably.