It Pays to Goodreads…

Published January 7, 2016 by Ashley Townsend

A couple weeks ago, I was perusing Goodreads and found several bloggers whom I totally adored and thought might be interested in reviewing Chasing Shadows. So I hiked up my big-girl pants and sent out messages to a few of them in hopes of gaining some more feedback for the series. This was right before I went on my AMAZING vacation to Denver/Colorado Springs/Breckenridge to visit some besties of 20-odd years. To sum up my trip in a few words: best friends, spectacular, sleigh ride, mountain men, falling snow, Christmas lights, firelight, singing in the car, and Papa Murphey’s in pajamas. Yeah, it was the best!

Anyway, so on my trip, it just made me so happy to discover new reviews waiting in my inbox for both Rising Shadows and Chasing Shadows, and also a hilariously gushy letter from Cassie herself. Much to my shock and joy–especially since I was kind of jumping out on a ledge throwing the stories at these random girls–Cassie loved them! I was so happy these books found their way into the right hands, and needless to say, she’s definitely joining my team of Shadows to pre-read Defying Shadows. 😉 Please take the time to read her reviews and follow Cassie and her friend at the links below.

And, as always, Happy Reading!

http://novelsandnecklaces.blogspot.com/2016/01/book-review-rising-shadows-rising.html#.Vo7fhFLlwfA

http://novelsandnecklaces.blogspot.com/2016/01/book-review-chasing-shadows-rising.html#.Vo7fCFLlwfA

A Little #NaNoWriMo Encouragement….

Published December 2, 2015 by Ashley Townsend

It seems a few of us didn’t quite reach NaNoWriMo Conqueror status this year, although many of us exceeded 50,000 words in previous months. Hey, it’s ebb and flow in the writing process, and we can’t always hit our goals in any given month, no matter how hard we push and slave and abuse our coffee IVs and social network and neglect that thing called “sleep.” So to encourage those who, like me, fell just shy of their goal last month, I thought I’d share this email I received from the NaNo team. I found it to be pretty encouraging, and I hope you do, too. Remember, no one will ever write your novel, and whether you are published or not, as long as you keep writing, no one can ever take your story from you. Be proud of what you accomplished this month, and don’t worry, fellow dreamers. We’ll get ’em next year! ^_^

AND congrats to the winners of NaNoWriMo season–you all worked hard, and I can’t wait to read your WIPs soon!

Dear Writer,

You might not have hit 50,000 words this month, but you did something tremendously important:

You felt a story stirring in your heart, and you began to explore it.
You bravely signed up to make creativity a priority in November.
You created a beginning—a beginning that will lead to other beginnings.

Sometimes an illness or the demands of life can sidetrack a creative endeavor. Sometimes a story just isn’t quite ready to be written. But don’t despair. A novel travels the same labyrinthian and nettlesome path that its main characters do—overcoming setbacks, facing down gnarly antagonists, and then moving forward toward the light. You built a cocoon for your novel this November. A butterfly will emerge.

So I urge you to keep your creative fires burning and ready yourself to reach 50,000 words next NaNoWriMo. Here are three things you can do if you haven’t already:

Donate to celebrate your novel’s genesis—and to finish it!
Keep the writing conversation going in NaNo’s forums (the lights are on all year!)
Sign up for Camp NaNoWriMo in April to renew your creative commitment.

Most importantly, please keep believing in the transformational magic of creativity, and how it can amplify life in all ways. Our stories connect us. Our stories make us who we are. The world needs your novel, so please write it.

Saluting you for your many future NaNo wins!

Grant Faulkner
Executive Director

P.S. Today is #GivingTuesday—a celebration of generosity. You can also donate to support a classroom in NaNo’s Young Writers Program. We sent 2,000 free novel writing kits to classrooms in 2015. In 2016, we’d like to expand our reach by sending 500 more kits to classrooms near and far. After you donate, let the world know.

Well, That was Fun!

Published October 7, 2015 by Ashley Townsend

Thanks to everyone who made the Chasing Shadows 1-Year Celebration my most successful day EVER! Huzzah!

We hit an all-time high for total views, you guys were blowing up social media with #TeamHood & #ChasingShadowsBook, and I could not believe how many entries we hit for the Rafflecopter (enter here every day through Oct 16!). You guys are amazing!

Yeah, Kates, this one is for you!

Also, the party and celebration spurred some of you to start creating fan art for the trilogy, and let me tell you, I am loving the gorgeous images that have been pouring in on Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook. I pinned everything to my Rising Shadows Trilogy board for you to check out, which is slowly being re-created with the help of fans. It still pains me that Pinterest deleted years of work and inspiration from the original board at random *barf face, then quickly recovers*, but your support has been awesome! #HugglesForMyHooders!!!

Okay, so because my Hooders are just plain ol’ spectacular, I’ve decided to make Fridays #FanArtFriday. If you follow my Facebook page, you can find an entire album that I created for the fan art that started pouring in during the celebration (click here to see the album!), but a new piece—or two or three—will be released here every Friday during October in celebration of Chasing Shadows’ birth month. And who knows? Maybe there will be some fan art for Defying Shadows soon and another sneak-peak during the month.

Word to the wise: Creating your own fan art for any of the books in the series is worth 2x the points toward the social media prizes, which will increase your odds of winning. Yippee! The images you create or alter can include direct quotes from Rising Shadows, Chasing Shadows, or the excerpt you saw from Defying Shadows, famous quotes that you feel are appropriate for the series, or just images that you splice and create inspired by the trilogy. Just tag me on Twitter or Pinterest @TownsendTales and use #TeamHood, and if you want, add #ChasingShadowsBook #CSBook. You can even include a link to the Rafflecopter to help people enter the Grand Prize! http://bit.ly/1Lizfzt

So be sure to keep visiting each day, sharing, and #TeamHood -ing it up on social media! And I’m sure I’ll see you back here this week for #FanArtFriday. While you’re here, you might as well just enter again to win some free stuff. Sound good? I thought so!

Only 9 days left to enter to win the Rafflectoper (click here to enter!). You can earn entries into the Grand Prize and social media prizes every day until Friday, October 16th. I’ll announce the winners here and on social media that weekend, so be sure to check back to see if you’ve won. Good luck, Hooders! And keep #TeamHood -ing it up! ^_^

Are You Ready to Rumblllleeee?

Published October 4, 2015 by Ashley Townsend

The Chasing Shadows 1-Year Celebration giveaway and party will begin in just a few minutes!

Dean O'Gorman in The Almighty Johnsons | His face is like, "Food you say?" Lolololololo! That's my face half the time. literally. Lolololol!

I know, it’s pretty exciting. Gift cards and free books and questions and excerpts and fan art and just–BAH! So grab a coffee, strap yourself in, and get your fingers ready for some serious giveaway/reading/not so spoily spoiler fun!

I’m guessing I’ll see you back here in a few minutes.

to make me feel better when i'm having a bad day. Eye of the Tiger, baby! haha! #BestGIFEver

Goodreads Event Created

Published October 1, 2015 by Ashley Townsend

I just created the Chasing Shadows 1-Year celebration on Goodreads for people to join! (I have no idea why I haven’t thought to add it for previous events) I sent out invites to all my Goodreads friends, but anyone can join by following the link below, and I think you should be able to invite your friends, as well, or at least share the link with them (if you share via a blog post, give me a pingback or email me the link at ashleytownsend.author@yahoo.com). The celebration has been getting tons of attention on social media, especially Twitter and Pinterest. I think I have a feeling who the Most Social Hooder Grand Prize is going to be, but keep using #TeamHood and tagging @TownsendTales on social media to gain entries toward both prizes (re-blogging this post counts! Just leave the link and your name in the comments below). And stop by here on October 4th for the grand celebration kick-off and to enter the Rafflectoper, which you can enter every day until October 16th.

Until next time, Team Hood!

https://www.goodreads.com/event/show/973714-chasing-shadows-1-year-celebration-giveaway