#Ashencrest

[author-a-holmes]

Reddit Cozy Fantasy Tournament 2023

Congrats to all the authors who made it into the Semi-Finals of the Reddit "Cozy Fantasy Tournament 2023"... but especially to the lovely @ashen-crest!! I've already cast my votes for the semi finals, but if you've read A Rival Most Vial, go and help her out by casting your vote HERE And if you haven't read A Rival Most Vial yet... well... what on earth are you waiting for? It's fantastic!!

To see the Full Reddit Competition Thread, Click HERE.

[author-a-holmes]

Waterstones?!

I'm literally in town on Wednesday, I'm gonna ask my local if they'll order it in for me so I can collect it in store!!

(Also my preorder goodies arrived and that Raven sticker is absolutely stunning in person! Guys, the pictures don't do these items justice!!)

Non-US friends: Ingram is slowly but surely updating international bookstores' catalogs to have The Spirit's Curse!

Canada doesn't yet have a paperback option, but my Spirit's Curse buy link now has either ebook or paperback options for the following countries:

Canada

UK

Germany

Australia

And of course, if you want to pre-order but don't see your preferred bookstore or format yet- feel free to fill out the pre-order goodies form anyway! I really don't mind! I've got plenty of goodies to go around. I just like sending them out.

(The pre-order goodies are a sticker, bookmark, and short story about how Emry and Cal first met! I made the sticker and bookmark myself.)

[ID: a photo of a book sitting on a wooden background next to a sticker and a bookmark. The book shows a pink and yellow lute surrounded by green and purple vines and thorns. The sticker shows a raven sitting on a half-wreath of dark green bines, with pink and yellow glints on its throat. The bookmark shows a pink flower surrounded by purple thorns. end ID]

[dru-reblogs-stuff]

Get to Know You tag/ Catchup tag

Thanks for the tag, @eli-writes-sometimes <3

Last song

RISE from the 2018 League of Legends Worlds Championship, by (featuring? never quite clear on that) The Glitch Mob, Mako, and The Word Alive

Last movie

Deadpool & Wolverine - little bit cringey to start, but filled with so many easter eggs, and a good finish

Currently watching

The X-Files. Going back to my fandom roots <3 I'd forgotten it came out in 1993. That means I've had this nickname (DruidX) for nearly 30 years. Moradin's crusty ballsack I feel old XD

Currently reading

Published - A Captured Cauldron by @/ashencrest. I'm loving it so far, as expected.

Fanfic - The Hunt by Minnie K (SarahProblem). It's different from their normal work, a bit AU-y, but written with no less skill and appreciation for the show.

Currently craving

Joint pain relief. (It's the first day of my period and my joints always get inflamed but with the cold wet weather it's worse than usual. Because of reasons I can't take much ibuprofen so instead I suffer)

Last thing I searched for writing purposes

Guttering. I couldn't remember what the downpipe was called. Turns out... it's 'downpipe'.

Tagging @nostalgicyorkshiregirl as per, leaving the tag open to anyone who wants to yoink it - I can't recall who I bothered last with this XD

[writeblrsupport]

I've read both of @ashen-crest 's books and OMG top five favorite authors right now. I can't wait for both series to continue, but I hope that R.K. is taking care and not pushing too much with releasing so often. The characters are all so endearing and I like Ambrose the best by far. I'm collecting all the books on my bookshelf.

[abalonetea]

me, starting another story about three brothers, so soon after finishing the first draft of 85? yeah.

are there werewolves? ....yeah.

but! there are also super cool car chases!!!!!! and racing!!!!!! street racing!!!!! 

and uh i’m outlining it as a treat between my 15k+dr appointment today, but tomorrow i’m going to work on the outline for a few non-werewolf centered things. 

AND i’m doing my work at the library today because i need good internet! so i’ll totally be able to answer questions when they come in, as they come in, and also answer my old question backlog! it’s going to be my 4k word (2 chapter) treat <3 

along with looking at books. so many books.

[author-a-holmes]

Hello!

If you're looking for a FANTASTIC LGBTQ+ Cozy Fantasy, I highly recommend @ashen-crest's "A Rival Most Vial". Absolutely top tier, A+ storytelling right there. (Their other book, The Stray Spirit is also fantastic!)

My current project isn't LGBTQ, but if you're interested in checking out a reverse portal contemporary fantasy with fey and vampires, then my debut, "Changeling" is available for sale basically everywhere.

Self published authors, this one’s for you!

So, I’m looking for some more books to add to my shelf and want to support self published authors at the same time!

I enjoy most genres, tbh, although I do prefer LGBTQ stories! So promo yourself to me and show me your books! ❤️

I’m also looking for more mutuals so I’ll be following all of you back if you choose to follow!

[greenbriar-j]

day 2 of daily sprints!

Bella goes quiet, feeling the pain sharpen in the depths of her heart. As she processes her feelings, Kohl dials the phone again. From across the table, Bella can count the dial tones. When the phone sends him to voicemail, Bella holds her breath, fearful of overstepping her non-existent bounds.

“Hi, mom,” Kohl says after a while. There’s a softness in his eyes that counteracts the hardness of his voice. “Just wanted to let you know I’ll be home for all the holidays. I’m bring my-” he halts. “I’m bringing Bella. I told you about her? Aunt Shizuka is shit talking me again, and I’ll shut her up good this time. Or. Bella will do it for me. Okay. Call me when you get off work. Love you, bye.”

The moment the phone hits the table, Kohl’s chopsticks are back in his hand, finishing off the last of his ramen before picking up the bowl to slurp at the soup. He goes through a series of other motions as Bella watches: wipes his face with a napkin, props his chopsticks on the rim of the bowl, chugs the last of his beer, holds his hand out for Bella to place hers into.

“I’m not a dog,” she mutters, placing her hand in it anyway. Kohl’s thumb rubs the back of her hand absently. “You tell your mom about me? Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“What do you mean?”

“We’re… You know.” Perhaps it works differently for men, but the idea of calling her mom to say, Hey, I met this guy and he’s super cute and we fuck on a biweekly basis seems like the worst idea in the history of mankind. 

Kohl tips his head like a retriever, like he’s the dog here. “Yeah, I know. She knows we’re work partners.”

taglist: @halleiswriting @wordwizards @ashencrest

[vellichor-virgo]

manuscript search xviii

@mel-writes-with-her-dragons and i tagged each other in a manuscript search at the same time which i find very funny. thanks for the tag! :) 

i had this queued and accidentally posted it while trying to edit it on mobile, so here it is a little early lmao

my words are face, deep, proud, & melody

face x2 + bonus deep (Iliana’s first appearance; she just tripped Maia 3 seconds ago): 

“It seems you still haven’t learned how to walk in a gown and heels,” the girl goes on, her tone sugary and simpering. “Perhaps you should be returning to protocol lessons, hm?”

“And perhaps you should go back to your little Tyrin manor, instead of blackmailing your way through the court ranks,” Maia spits, silver-blue eyes burning. Her jaw clenches in clear anger, rage transforming her delicate face. This cannot be just because of the stumble—this is some old feud. Who is this?

Curious to find out, I look up.

Sharp, sloping cheekbones, knowing brown eyes staring out from beneath elegantly-arched eyebrows, a sculpted, perfect nose, and a sensuous, inviting mouth painted in bold, deep red combine to create a face of astonishing, splendid beauty. 

deep (this is just a few moments after the scene above, which is why Maia’s still so irritated):

“Well, well, well. The damsel cleans up rather nicely.”

I recognize that sly, mischief-tinted voice without turning around. Maia’s grilling about protocol flutters through my head. “Good evening, Lord Alcott.”

“That would be my father, but feel free to call me lord whenever you feel like it.”

I turn to face Pollux just as an emerald eye drops closed in a wink. His hair gleams like burnished copper under the bright chandeliers, only slightly neater than it had been earlier in the day. It offsets the deep green tunic he wears, embroidered with fine gold thread and bringing out the colour of his eyes.

Maia makes a sound of exasperation. “Oh, shove off, you worthless flirt. I’m going to get a drink.”

proud:

Eamon’s low chuckle of amusement cuts me off, making me raise my head to look at him. I was right when I guessed his age last night—he is definitely a year or two younger than me. You wouldn’t guess that he’s the younger person out of the pair of us, though; not by the way he holds himself, so proud and bold. It’s different from Aedan’s confidence—that is a calmer, quieter, rarer thing, confined to himself. Eamon’s confidence seems to spill out from him until you cannot help but notice it, until your own self-assurance seems to dwindle in comparison.  

This next one is one of my favourite scenes, so it’s a pretty long excerpt. I’ll put it under the cut:

melody:

Iliana is sitting on the lip of the fountain. She is dressed in a long-sleeved gown the colour of molten bronze, her hair braided in a crown around her head. Her fingers move delicately over the strings of a lyre, playing a slow melody that is equal parts sweet and haunting.

I stop dead in my tracks. Against my will, I find myself enraptured.

Iliana is staring off into the distance, seemingly aware of my presence. I’m reminded of the night before last, the way she’d looked as we teased each other, as I made her laugh. She wears the same open, stripped-back expression now, without a trace of cunning or viciousness.

As I watch, a dove alights on the top of the fountain. Its plumage is nearly the same colour as the edges of the dimming sky. It eyes Iliana curiously for a moment, then croons. The sound echoes, as lovely and sad as the music.

Iliana looks up at the bird, a hint of a smile touching her mouth, and plays on. The dove coos twice more, then flits down from its perch. When it lands on the lip of the fountain, only inches away from where she sits, a smile unfurls across her face like a blossoming rose. Her face is bright with quiet joy.

This girl does not look like someone who would scheme and bully her way to a crown. She does not look like someone who would send me threats or poison my drink.

She does not look like anything I know about her. Here, face limned with the glow of the sunset, fingers spinning a beautiful tune like gold out of straw, smiling so delightedly at a little bird, she looks like a completely different person.

I don’t know what to make of the sudden fluttering in my stomach. 

tagging @sleepyowlwrites @ashencrest @viskafrer & @cream-and-tea! new words: sweet, spill, sly, & stumble (that alliteration is just for you sleepy)

[author-a-holmes]

@ashen-crest

If you are accepting strongly worded letters I might have to get on that, because I'm still not over that moment when... [Redacted Scenes]!!!

for months now i’ve been adding to this list of things i wanted to do when the next portion of my book advance arrived and most of them are terribly boring like Buy New Tires or Upgrade Filing System but some of them are fun and most often they are the things on the list that get added to my mental checklist and then disappear into the ether

anyhow the advance finally arrived yesterday (woohoo!) and then last night at just past midnight i sat bolt upright in bed wide awake because i remembered one of those things was buying a copy of @ashen-crest’s a rival most vial

guess what’s coming in the mail😎

[author-a-holmes]

ARC Review: A Rival Most Vial by R. K. Ashwick

I received a free copy of this book from the author (@ashen-crest) and am voluntarily leaving an honest review. However, I now have a paperback copy on order because Holy Sh-- this was so good!!

R. K. Ashwick made herself comfortable on my list of favourite authors after her debut novel, 'The Stray Spirit'. There's a freshness to her authorial voice that makes her books an utter delight to read, and time slips away from me the moment I start the first page.

With 'A Rival Most Vial' she's cemented her spot in my top ten favourite authors. I didn't anticipate buying any paperbacks this year, I've got bills and a holiday to save for, but I simply had to shuffle around some finances to add this one to my shelf.

The rivalry between Ambrose and Eli is perfectly balanced. It doesn't cross into anything groan-worthy, and I didn't get second-hand embarrassment for either of them, which is a common reason romance-rivalry's aren't commonly a favourite trope of mine.

But, as usual, Ashwick had me falling in love with all her characters. Ambrose and Eli, of course, but also all the other members of Rosemond street. Dawn is a delight, Tom's freaking adorable, Sherry's brilliant and Banneker is a laugh, but besides the main characters, Grim's quiet protectiveness might be my favourite.

I don't know what else to tell you without giving away spoilers, because this plot was so perfectly woven together that every element I want to gush about, leads to another that I want you to read and discover on your own.

All in all, I adored this read. It's my first paperback purchase of the year; potentially my only paperback purchase of the year, and another of Ashwick's wonderful stories to add to my collection.

[author-a-holmes]

My Preorder Goodies Arrived!

@ashen-crest I think the stamp across the seal is the cutest thing ever, I knew what it was before I even flipped it over to see if it was a letter for me or mum!

As with the preorder lovelies from Stray Spirit, I've stuck the sticker and message on the inside cover to keep them together!

If you'd like to get your hands on these pretties, check out the preorder page on Ashwick's website <3

[writeblrsupport]

@ashen-crest is such a talented and wonderful person, and it is a pleasure and joy to read her stories

[author-a-holmes]

All of the above posts are absolute ***Moods*** and if you're reading this, and you haven't checked out any of Ashen's books yet, that's a crime and you should work on fixing that egregious error asap :D

HELLO I HAVE JUST READ THE STRAY SPIRIT BY @ashen-crest IN TWO DAYS AFTER NOT FINISHING A SINGLE BOOK IN YEARS

I would’ve been done in one day but we don’t have any power and I ran out of daylight yesterday 😒

It is fantastic and everyone should read it!! Time to dive into A Rival Most Vial

[writeblrsupport]

I literally LOVE @ashen-crest Rival Potion Shops WIP, it's so fun and interesting and I'm dying to read it. It has such amazing characters, and the worldbuilding is awesome! Also I would die for Eli and Ambrose <3

[author-a-holmes]

I'm sorry to say you simply don't have a choice. You have to go and edit The Spirit Well, because, well...

will someone tell me to please go edit The Spirit Well???

[author-a-holmes]

Agreed, but somehow I think it's going to fail spectacularly...

“This should work,” Aspen whispered. “What is it?” “I don’t know.”

Emry and Aspen are doing great