Chasing Shadows Has a New Look!

Published June 11, 2017 by Ashley Townsend

At long last!! I am proud and excited to announce that Chasing Shadows has a new look, and there’s also a giveaway for the entire series at the end of this post. *let the medieval flutes and trumpets toot a happy jig*

There’s no cause for alarm—Chasing Shadows is just as beautiful as it has always been. But while I love the cover unconditionally, the book itself was originally printed in a different size and format than the rest of the series, and my OCD would act up every time I saw it towering above the others on my bookshelf. So thanks to Lisa M. (visit her new blog here!), who revamped the cover to include the series title while I burned my eyes with countless hours of editing, the second edition of Chasing Shadows is available, and it’s perfectly uniform!! (get it from Barnes & Noble today)

Revisiting the pages of Chasing Shadows was like having coffee with a best friend—comforting, delightful, and full of deep conversations. . . . And Will and Damien. Yeah, there’s that. ~_^ It was fabulous being reminded of all the adventures these characters have been on and how far they came in the end, and also how fantastic these opposing gentlemen are. *le sigh*

You can find the book anywhere, and Amazon is great, but I love supporting local bookstores and Barnes & Noble, so feel free to use those 20% off coupons and order Chasing Shadows online or request that your favorite local bookstore pick up the series.

***OR if you love winning free books, because let’s be real, who DOESN’T? Well, you will be entered to win the entire Rising Shadows Trilogy plus swag if you sign up for Mandy Fender’s newsletter (click here to follow the easy instructions). She gives a Christian book box every month to one lucky follower, and if an entire book series and free swag aren’t motivation enough to click the link below, just remember that Mandy is doing an amazing thing by supporting writers AND readers by getting free books into their hands. Sounds awesome? So follow the link above and enter to win!!

http://mandyfender.com/christian-book-box

#FanArtFriday Round 4!

Published October 30, 2015 by Ashley Townsend

What’s this? Fan Art Friday on a Friday?!!!! Imagine that. ^_~ So this is the last Friday of Chasing Shadows‘ birth month, where we celebrated a year of reading by giving away copies of Chasing Shadows, swag, gift cards, plenty of fan art, and also new pieces of art created for Defying Shadows that I released every week. This next piece of art was designed specifically to torture you guys, but I have a couple things to cover before I get into the gorgeousness that has been created for the final “official” Fan Art Friday. But fret not, dear Hooders! There will be more agony and tempting teasers to come, especially since four Fridays of fan art is certainly not enough for my liking. 😉

The winners of the Chasing Shadows 1-Year Celebration all received their packages–yay!–and posted pics of their prizes on Twitter. I hope you enjoy the series, ladies! #TeamHood

Also, my good friend and award-winning author (and dancer!) Nadine Brandes recently released her second book in her Out of Time series, a Christian dystopian trilogy that is absolutely incredible. A Time to Speak is amazing, moving, and all around a fantastic ride. You can order your copy on Amazon here, and if you haven’t yet read A Time to Die, you can find it here. Keep an eye out for my name in the acknowledgements page on Book I; yes, I did get to read these books before anyone else, and let me tell you, they were just as powerful and entertaining the second and third time around. You won’t want to miss them!

And some of you know that I got to work directly with Roan Carter on the cover of Chasing Shadows, which was amazing to be able to have total creative control of a project that meant so much to me. But yesterday, I had the pleasure of literally getting hands-on training in the creative process of cover designing by Lisa M., also known as the Elegant Stylus on Facebook and Etsy. I always imagined that artists spent all their time immersed in creative projects in little elvish caves far below ground, with candles for mood lighting and dramatic music echoing through their little hovel of creativity. Not so. We spent the afternoon with our feet propped up on the ottoman, munching on snacks while we researched fonts and played around with images and lighting and fangirled over our little project. It was the best crash-course in designing ever! Lisa is currently in the process of making me drool and giggle and squeal every five minutes with her designs for the cover of Defying Shadows. You’re going to be blown away!

And, finally, today’s Fan Art Friday reveal:

Care for another little teaser? How about a quote between booooop and booooop that shortly follows this scene (I can’t tell you who’s involved in the conversation–that would be cheating!).

“No, not goodbye. It will never be goodbye between us.”

“What then?” she asked, voice catching. “How are we supposed to do this?”

He smiled softly, though his eyes filled with tears. She felt the band tighten painfully around her heart at the thought that this would be the last time she ever looked into those eyes or felt his hand on her cheek. Inhaling a shuddering breath, he whispered, “I shall see you in my dreams.”

#FanArtFriday … Well, Sort Of

Published October 24, 2015 by Ashley Townsend

So because I live in a fantasy world Monday-Sunday during all of my waking and sleeping hours, I may or may not have forgotten that yesterday was Friday—hence, Fan Art Friday on a Saturday. Umm, yeah. I spent all day writing/rewriting/perpetually adding extra lines to an intense, time travel-heavy scene and got a teensy bit caught up in the awesomeness of it all.

So, now that the distraction has passed—that is, until I start writing again as soon as we’re finished here—brace yourselves for some slightly spoily fan art that is, let’s face it, drool worthy.

I know, right?!!! 0.0 And I’m working with this artist on the cover design concept for Defying Shadows next week, so I am ridiculously excited to get started on that. *excited clapping*

And in case you’re wondering, the winners of the Chasing Shadows Celebration were all notified via social media last weekend, and their packages mailed out to them. I felt like Santa Claus wrapping up swag and signing copies of Chasing Shadows with special messages inside. For those of you who didn’t win this time, fret not, dear Hooders! There will be plenty more opportunities to win Chasing Shadows and goodies again soon.

1-Year Celebration Giveaway Details

Published September 24, 2015 by Ashley Townsend

After much deliberation and some serious use of the ol’ noggin (and also picking my sisters’ brains), I pulled together all of the prize details and entry rules for the Chasing Shadows 1-Year Celebration, which begins Sunday, October 4^th, 2015. I extended the timeframe (the 4^th to the 16^th of Oct.) to give people more time to earn entries, but don’t forget to stop by on that Sunday when it begins, because I’ll be posting behind the scenes info about the series, sharing my favorite quotes from Chasing Shadows, and giving special glimpses Defying Shadows *squeal of delight*. I’m also adding a Rafflecopter for the Chasing Shadows Grand Prize and switching up the two social media prizes, as well—all of the details and conditions are below. And don’t forget that you will earn entries toward the Most Social Hooder Grand Prize by sharing about the celebration on social media. We want as many people as possible to have the chance to enter!

Tag @TownsendTales

Use #TeamHood

#ChasingShadowsBook

#CSBook

All 3 winners will be announced on here, Twitter, and Facebook on Sunday, October 18^th, 2015. If your name is announced, you must email me at ashleytownsend.author@yahoo.com within 72 hours of announcement to claim your prize package, otherwise a different winner will be selected.

Rafflecopter Grand Prize:

1 (one) entrant will receive the Chasing Shadows Grand prize from the Rafflecopter giveaway.

Package details:

—1 signed paperback copy of Chasing Shadows

—1 $20 Amazon e-gift card

—goodies & book swag

—a never before seen sneak peak at Defying Shadows

—a special message from me!

Rafflecopter goes live October 4^th (Sunday). You can enter each day until it closes at 11:59pm (PST) on Friday, October 16^th.

Most Social Hooder Grand Prize:

The Hooder who shares and has the most mentions of the giveaway celebration on social media will be selected. 1 (one) winner will be chosen for this prize after all entries are counted.

Package details:

—1 signed paperback copy of Chasing Shadows

—your choice of 1 (one) $10 Amazon OR $10 Barnes & Noble e-gift card

Begin earning entries now through October 16^th (11:59pm PST)!

TeamHood Winner:

1 (one) winner will be randomly selected. Your odds increase the more you share/reblog and mention the giveaway using #TeamHood.

Package details:

— 1 ebook copy of Chasing Shadows

—your choice of 1 (one) $5 Amazon or Barnes & Noble e-gift card

Begin earning entries now through October 16^th (11:59pm PST)!

Social media:

Let’s get this party started by letting people know about it before it begins Oct. 4^th! You’ll earn one entry toward the social media prizes each time you mention the giveaway celebration online. To receive credit, tag @TownsendTales and use #TeamHood #ChasingShadowsBook and #CSBook.

Blogging:

You can also earn entries toward the social media prizes by creating posts about the giveaway celebration and reblogging posts from friends and myself that contain #TeamHood, starting now through the end of the celebration on October 16^th at 11:59pm (PST). Each fresh or reblogged post earns one entry. Make sure that you leave you first name, last initial, and social media handle (if applicable) in the comments section on my blog, either on the post you reblogged or any of my posts that contain #TeamHood (when you create your own or reblog from somewhere else). If I don’t know who you are, I won’t know to combine your entries!

Note: Liking doesn’t count toward bonus entries—you must reblog directly from www.ashley-townsend.com or from someone else who blogged about it, or you can create your own eligible entry. Posts that contain #TeamHood anywhere in the text and link back to the giveaway are eligible.

Conditions: All entrants must live within the continental United States (no Alaska or Hawaii residents—sorry!). Social media prizes are open to all ages, but you must be 13 and older to participate in the Rafflecopter Grand Prize.

Giveaway? Why, yes, please!

Published September 22, 2015 by Ashley Townsend

The best part of my birthday being a week from Saturday is that I know the next day (Oct 4) Chasing Shadows turns 1-year-old!

Make sure to stop by here, Twitter, my Facebook page (www.facebook.com/ashleytownsend.author) over the next week and a half for updates on the 1 Year Palooza Celebration I’ll be having that Sunday (again, Oct 4–PUT IT ON YOUR CALENDARS!!!), where you might just win free copies of Chasing Shadows and swag and ebooks and special glimpses Defying Shadows that NO ONE has seen yet and *sucks in a deep breath* a secret behind the scenes message from me and bonus goodies and so much more!

Also, there are prizes (and a grand prize) for my team of Hooders who help to promote the event on social media and their blogs (I can keep track when you share my blog posts, but if you do a fresh post yourself, be sure to email the link to me at ashleytownsend.author@yahoo.com so you get credit). Starting today, earn brownie points by retweeting my posts about the event that have #TeamHood on them, tagging me on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest (@TownsendTales) and using‪ #‎ChasingShadowsBook‬ ‪#‎CSBook‬ #TeamHood (especially this one, because it’s adorable) to spread the word about the giveaways and celebration on the 4th. Each time you share/retweet, tag me, and use these hashtags, it’ll earn you one more entry into the social media contest. There are 2 social media prizes (grand and a runner-up, both randomly selected, so having those extra entries helps) and also a prize for the giveaway I’ll be doing on Chasing Shadows’ birthday. You’ll have all the details, prize packages, and contest rules on Thursday, so stay tuned! Winners will be announce Friday, October 9, 2015.
Or if you’re an impatient book lover like me and just need it now, I also pasted the Amazon link to CS below. You’re welcome in advance. ^_~

http://amzn.to/1nfW7pi