Monday Mishmash 10/15/18

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. New FB author page  Since I'm going to be writing cozy mysteries, which are very different than the paranormal novels I usually write, I've created a separate FB author page. If you enjoy cozy mysteries, please follow my page here.
2. New FB reader group as well  I've also created Kelly's Cozy Corner, a VIP reader group on Facebook. Members will get sneak peeks at covers and excerpts as well as free advanced e-copies of my cozy mysteries. You can request to join here.
3. A new newsletter too!  If you aren't a paranormal or romance fan, you probably didn't subscribe to my newsletter. But...I now have a cozy mystery newsletter. You'll only get updates about my cozy mysteries. Interested? You can subscribe here.
4. Editing  I'm editing for a client again this week. October is booked solid for me.
5. Saying goodbye to a pet  On Friday morning, I discovered our hermit crab had passed away. My daughter was heartbroken, of course. So now we are a one-pet household. My poor daughter has already had to say goodbye to one dog, our cat, and our hermit crab. We're giving Hadley, our lovable German Shepherd/Greyhound mix (or Shephound as I like to say), lots of extra cuddles to help us get through another loss.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 8/27/18

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. First day of intermediate school  Ayla starts intermediate school today. For those who know me well, I'm quite the helicopter parent. I'm not ashamed of it either. So I need some virtual hugs to get through today, please.
2. Proofreading  I'm doing final proofreading on the paperback ARC of Read Between the Crimes, book two in my Piper Ashwell Psychic P.I. series. (Oh, and this cover is sooooooo pretty!) I want to have book two up for preorder when book one releases in the Death and Damages boxed set in November. 
3. New schedule Since Ayla's school day is two hours longer this year, I will have 10 extra hours a week to work! I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. I like getting extra work done, but that's 10 fewer hours with my daughter. :(
4. Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs  For Ayla's last day of summer, we went to see the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs play. We usually try to get to one game a season.
5. Death and Damages has a new trailer!  Check out this awesome trailer for the boxed set I'm part of. 

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 8/6/18

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Editing  I'm editing for a new client this week.
2. Cozy Mystery Giveaway  I'm banding together with some other cozy mystery authors to host a giveaway for Wedding Cake Crumble by Jenn McKinlay. You can enter here. 
   
3. Water issues  This has been the summer of water issues. I'm hoping to have them all finally fixed this week. Fingers crossed.
4. Publishing schedule  I was going to release my Love Chronicles boxed set at the beginning of this month, but life has been crazy. I might have it ready by the end of the month, but I'm not going to stress to get it out. I'm slowly learning not to kill myself for the sake of getting books published by certain dates.
5. Three weeks left in my summer schedule  My daughter starts school in three weeks, so I'm still on summer hours until then, but this school year, my working hours will increase since the school day is going from six hours to eight!

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 7/30/18

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Editing  I'm finishing up an edit for a client this week and have another coming to me on Wednesday.
2. Back-to-school shopping  I'm almost finished shopping for school clothes for my daughter. They've moved to a uniform policy, which is so hard to follow because I have to count the number of buttons on shirts. How crazy is that? I can't find any with the appropriate number of buttons, which means I have to remove one button from each shirt and sew up the hole since none of the stores by me sell the appropriate number. You can imagine how happy I am about that.
3. New Facebook page for editing/formatting  For a while I've been contemplating a FB page for my editing and formatting, and last week I finally followed through. You can find it here.
4. Branding  Branding is something I've always struggled with (as Kelly not Ashelyn) since I write across genres. I'm contemplating sticking to one from now on but branching out within that genre. For example, I'll write mystery, but that can include paranormal mystery to appease my paranormal fans.
5. Summer  Is it just me or is summer flying by? I knew it would since school let out late this year, but I'm not ready for it to be August this week.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 7/23/18

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Home again  I'm back home after having to flee to Delaware due to a broken pipe. Unfortunately, our bad luck didn't stop at the pipe. Our water heater went as well, and we still have one more water issue to deal with.
2. FREE books with purchase of Death and Damages  The authors in the Death and Damages boxed set have joined together to offer anyone who preorders a bunch of free books with purchase! So if you have ordered or you do preorder, let me know. Proof of purchase will get you a link to all the free books! 
   
3. Revising  Being that I was away all last week, I didn't get to revise my upcoming Ashelyn Drake book. I'll be doing that this week instead.
4. Paperback proof  I got my paper back proof of book two in the Piper Ashwell Psychic P.I. series, and it's sooooo pretty. I still need to do a final proofread on it, but I probably won't get to that until next week.
5. Color Street  I'm hosting a Color Street FB party this week. If you are unfamiliar with Color Street, it's nail polish strips that go on in seconds without any heat at all, and they last for about two week. My last manicure was on for 16 days! If you'd like to check them out and get free samples, let me know. 
   

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash on a Tuesday

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Weekend getaway  We decided to visit my parents in Delaware this past weekend, and since we were traveling home yesterday, I was unable to get Monday Mishmash up on time. We had a great weekend, though.
2. Drafting  I'm working on book three in the Piper Ashwell Psychic PI series. 
3. Cover Design  I got the cover for book two in the Piper Ashwell series over the weekend, and Red Umbrella Designs blew me away. I love when I get a mockup from a designer and I have nothing to request to be changed because it's exactly what I wanted. I can't wait to share it with you all.
4. Reading  I need to fit in more reading time this summer.
5. Losing a challenge  I'm pretty sure I'm in last place for the challenge my boxed set is participating in. I need 5 friends to buy the set on either iBooks or Kobo, and I'm at 0. If you grab this set of 25 mystery/thrillers for only $.99 on either of those platforms, please let me know so I can redeem myself in this challenge. (You can grab it here.)
   

That's it for me. How is your week going?

Monday Mishmash 6/11/18

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Revising  I'm revising the second book in my psychic P.I. series right now after getting edits back from my editor.
2. Knowing when to step away  I was drafting a new WIP. I really love the idea, but at the 10K mark, the words stopped flowing. I hit a wall and realized that even though I love the concept, my mind was still on my psychic P.I. series. So, I decided to put this WIP aside for the time being and go back to my psychic P.I. series. We have to follow our muse, right?
3. A Vision A Day Keeps the Killer Away  Speaking of my psychic P.I. series, I can share the cover of book one now. Check out A Vision A Day Keeps the Killer Away (Piper Ashwell Psychic P.I., book 1), designed by Red Umbrella Graphic Designs. 

   

   Piper Ashwell is no stranger to using her psychic abilities to locate missing persons.

   
   But when her father, Detective Thomas Ashwell, and his new partner enlist her help on the latest case searching for Veronica Castell, daughter of one of the wealthiest businessmen in the country, Piper struggles to piece together the clues.
   

   Piper’s only sure of one thing: Veronica is running out of time. Her kidnapper is intent on collecting his ransom and disposing of Veronica. This time, Piper’s visions might not be enough to bring Veronica home alive.

4. Death and Damages  A Vision A Day Keeps the Killer Away is part of the Death and Damages boxed set releasing this fall. The set contains 25 mystery/thriller books. You can grab it here. (The set is not yet up for preorder on Amazon since Amazon only allows a three-month preorder period.) 
   
5. Last week of school  Friday is my daughter's last day of school and her last day in elementary school. They are having a special presentation during the school day, and parents are invited to attend. Then the entire school claps the fifth grade out of the building. I'm going to be a crying mess. I know it. How is my baby going to intermediate school already?

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 5/28/18

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Memorial Day I hope everyone is having a safe and happy Memorial Day weekend. Saturday was gorgeous here, and my husband, daughter, and I spent a good portion of the day in our pool.
2. Editing  I'm finishing up an edit for a client this week.
3. GDPR  Thanks to GDPR, I actually trimmed my newsletter subscribers from about 3K to under 800. Yikes! I feel like lately, it's become so much more difficult to be an author. (For the sake of full disclosure, I did remove people who were inactive as well.) Anyway, if you would like to subscribe to my newsletter, you can do so here. Your information is never shared, and I don't take any information other than your email address.
4. Publishing  This year is bringing on new changes for me concerning how I publish. I'll be trying new things since previous methods just don't seem to work anymore. For instance, I'll be spontaneously releasing a book very soon with no preorder or cover reveal. So be on the lookout for that.
5. Revising  Once I finish my current client edit, I'll be diving into revisions on the second book in my psychic mystery series. I'm looking forward to it since my editor said I'm becoming her favorite mystery author. :) 

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Fairday Morrow and the Talking Library Cover Reveal!

I'm so excited to share this cover with you because my daughter and I loved the first book in this series and can't wait to read this one. Check out Fairday Morrow and the Talking Library!

Eleven-year-old Fairday Morrow had no clue that moving from Manhattan to the small town of Ashpot, Connecticut, would lead to an unsolved mystery. Her parents’ dream of renovating a crumbling Victorian, called the Begonia House, into a bed and breakfast had seemed like treachery at the time. But Fairday found out that her new house kept secrets, and once inside its twisted front gates, anything was possible.

When mysterious notes start showing up warning that a librarian is in trouble and a bookworm is eating words, Fairday thinks the Begonia House has more skeletons in its closets. She notices a passage in her favorite book has been changed, and she’s certain something is dreadfully wrong. What happens to stories when their words get eaten?

The Detective Mystery Squad is ready to investigate! Fairday, Lizzy, and Marcus take off on a sticky trail and tumble into Nowhere. Like Alice in Wonderland, Fairday finds herself in a world where nothing makes sense and the lines of reality are blurred.

The three sleuths discover amazing things about themselves as they unravel more secrets within the walls of the Begonia House. Follow along with Fairday and friends as they open the next case in the DMS files to unlock the mystery of the Talking Library.

~ ONE ~

Strange Notes

Fairday Morrow woke to a loud crack of thunder. As she bolted upright in bed, her gray eyes flew open. Rain pelted against the window. Electricity charged the air. Lightning flashed, and she saw the old willow tree in her backyard lurching wildly. A whip-like branch smashed the glass and the storm raged into her room. BOOM! The sky lit up. The wind blew in like a tornado, tossing wet leaves and sticks around. Fairday shrieked and ducked under the covers.
“Fairday! Are you okay?” her dad shouted from the hallway.
Auntie Em, the family pug, was barking her head off.
“Yeah, I’m alright,” Fairday answered in a shaky voice. She peeked out from the blankets as a burst of light split the dark. For an instant, glass shards twinkled like stars across the tattered lion-and-unicorn carpet; the heavy drapes flapped, twisting in the wind. On the next lightning strike, Fairday saw a paper blow in through the broken window. But the second she glimpsed it, thunder boomed, the house shook, and everything blacked out.

Fairday Morrow and the Talking Library

Jessica Haight & Stephanie Robinson, Co-authors 

Jessica Haight and Stephanie Robinson have been friends since they met freshman year of high school. After discovering they both loved the same books, their friendship grew, and they went on to co-author The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow. The first mystery in the Fairday Morrow series, released with Delacorte Press in December 2015. Stephanie and Jess are excited to present the next case in the DMS files. Having the brilliant illustrations created by their close high school friend, David SanAngelo, has made bringing the story to life magical. To contact Stephanie and Jess or learn more about their journey, please visit: fairdaysfiles.com

David SanAngelo, Illustrator

David SanAngelo is an award winning illustrator, and a two-time Emmy nominated director of animated shows for children and he won a kite flying contest in the fourth grade. Dave attended high school with Jessica and Stephanie, and they've all been friends for a billion years. Some of Dave's favorite things are: old monster movies, superheros and shred-a-licious rock music. Although he grew up in New England, Dave currently lives with his wife and sons in Decatur, GA. To learn more about Dave's illustrations, please visit: davidsanangelo.com

Fairday Morrow and the Talking Library 

Book 2: Fairday Morrow series

Release date: October 2017

Age Range: 8 years old and up

Grade Level: 3-9

Publisher: Willow Press

PRE-ORDER THE BOOK!

Catch the first mystery before the next case in the DMS files opens on October 23rd!

The Secret Files of Fairday Morrow

Publish date: December 2015

Age Range: 8 years old and up

Grade Level: 3-9
Publisher: Delacorte Press

PICK UP A COPY OF BOOK 1

Secrets We Keep Cover Reveal!

SECRETS WE KEEP is coming October 2nd! 

Make sure you don’t miss the preorder! http://bit.ly/2pvYT07

Madison Kramer’s life is finally coming together. With her
boyfriend and publicist, Trevor, by her side, her career as a best-
selling author is sure to really take off.
But one thing hasn’t changed. Death follows Maddie wherever
she goes, and a night that should have been nothing but
celebrating the New Year in the arms of the man she loves, turns
into the scene of another murder.

The bodies are piling up, and the murder suspect wants Maddie’s
help in freeing his name. Her secret past continues to come to the
surface, putting her life at risk in a deadly game where Maddie
doesn’t know whom she can trust.

*Cover by Uplifting Designs*

If you haven't read Lies We Tell (book 1) yet, you can grab a FREE copy here, but hurry because this offer ends August 21st!

Monday Mishmash 7/31/17

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. FREE Copy of Lies We Tell!  For a limited time, you can grab my adult mystery/suspense Lies We Tell for FREE!!! Don't wait because this deal will expire. Grab your copy here. 
   
2. Revisions  I have one book left to revise, but this one has already been edited, so I'm getting it ready for publication. It's way ahead of schedule since it's a 2018 release.
3. Editing  August is packed with client edits, so that's what I'll be doing.
4. August?  Seriously, how is tomorrow August already? Where is the summer going?
5. Secrets We Keep Cover Reveal  If you'd like to participate in the cover reveal for Secrets We Keep, the second book in the Lies We Tell trilogy, you can sign up here. It will be held August 9 through August 11. (I LOVE this cover!)

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Friday Feature: Psychic Eye Series

Today I'm sharing a book I recently read and really enjoyed. I'm working on a psychic mystery series now, and the fact that the Psychic Eye series is written by an actual psychic hooked me instantly! This one is definitely worth your time.

Abby Cooper is a P.I., psychic intuitive. But her insight failed her when she didn't foresee the death of one of her clients-or that the lead investigator for the case is the gorgeous blind date she just met. Now, with the police suspicious of her abilities and a killer on the loose, Abby's future looks more uncertain than ever.

Real-life professional psychic Victoria Laurie drew from her career as a gifted clairvoyant and police psychic to create the character of Abigail Cooper. She lives in Arlington, Massachusetts, with her two spoiled dachshunds, Lilly and Toby. For information about upcoming novels and appointments for readings, visit her Web site at www.VictoriaLaurie.com.

*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Friday Feature: Lies We Tell Cover Reveal

It's cover reveal time! Check out the cover of my adult suspense coming out April 10, 2017!

Madison Kramer thought her past was behind her. With a new name and a career as a best-selling author, what could go wrong?

She never expected Trevor Lockhardt to walk into her book signing, offering his services as her publicist, or that she’d end up falling for him. But what she really didn’t expect was a stalker sending her messages, both written and in the form of dead bodies.

Madison can’t escape her parents’ murder any longer. But is it their killer coming to finish what he started fifteen years ago? How long can she keep her past a secret before her lies come back to get her?

You can add the book on Goodreads.

*Want your YA, NA, or MG book featured on my blog? Contact me here and we'll set it up.

Monday Mishmash 1/9/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Fading Into the Shadows  I can't believe Fading Into the Shadows releases one week from today! Where did the time go?
2. Lies We Tell  My first adult mystery/suspense will release on April 10th. Sign-ups for the Cover Reveal, Release Week Social Media Blitz, and e-ARCs have all gone live. Feel free to click on any or all of these to sign up. :)
3. Editing  As usual, I'm editing for a client right now.
4. Final Proof  Lies We Tell is finally proofed and ready. E-ARCs will go out on February 8th, so make sure you sign up here if you'd like to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
5. Organizing  I organized my office this past weekend. My daughter and I somehow managed to get all my books (stock) into the appropriate boxes and in my closet. I also organized my bookshelves. I feel like I can be more productive now.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 12/26/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Christmas I had a great Christmas and I hope you did too if you celebrate it.
2. Proofing  I finished proofing Lies We Tell. I'm very excited to venture into adult mystery/suspense. The book will release in April.
3. Winter Break  My daughter is home for Christmas break this week, so I'll be spending most of my time with her, which is why this Mishmash is shorter than usual.

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Monday Mishmash 12/19/16

Happy Monday! Monday Mishmash is a weekly meme dedicated to sharing what's on your mind. Feel free to grab the button and post your own Mishmash.

Here's what's on my mind today:

1. Sunday is Christmas! It's Practically Here!  Can you tell I'm a fan of the Grinch? I love the original cartoon movie. I'm all ready for Sunday.
2. Editing  I'll be doing a client edit this week before the holidays.
3. Publishing  Since Fading Into the Shadows is ready to go for it's January 16, 2017 release, I'm busy getting my April release ready. The digital proof of Lies We Tell has been proofed, and the paperback proof has been ordered!
4. Taxes  It's getting to be that time again where I need to update my expense and earning logs for taxes. Ick!
5. Snow  I'm done with snow and winter hasn't even officially begun yet. :(

That's it for me. What's on your mind today?

Writer Wednesday: Two Become One

In my Monday Mishmash and all over social media last week, I announced that I'm merging Ashelyn Drake and Kelly Hashway. Why you ask?

When I initially launched the pen name, Ashelyn Drake, I wanted to make sure I could stand on my own two feet as a romance author, separate from Kelly Hashway. Once I did that, I revealed Ashelyn Drake and Kelly Hashway are the same person. And since then, I've been using this banner to show that I'm still one person even though I write under two names: 


The problem is, I wasn't acting like one person. I have separate Facebook pages, Twitter handles, and blogs for Kelly and Ashelyn. Why? My website, newsletter, and Instagram are for both names, so why aren't my other social media accounts?

From now on, they will be. I'm moving Ashelyn over to Kelly. You'll notice my Facebook page now has both names listed. As does my blog. Twitter won't allow enough characters to display both names, but you'll see this banner and Ashelyn's name appear in my bio.

Very soon, Ashelyn's accounts will disappear, so make sure you're following the new links below to stay up to date on my Ashelyn Drake romance books as well as my Kelly paranormal and upcoming mystery/suspense/thrillers (Yes, I'm branching out!):

Facebook
Twitter
Blog
Google+

Look at that. Kelly and Ashelyn are truly merging into one author with two names, just like the slogan says. :)

*If you have a question you'd like me to answer from the other side of the editor's desk, feel free to leave it in the comments and I'll schedule it for a future post.