Celebrating THE RULES FOR BREAKING release!

I am so excited to announce THE RULES FOR BREAKING, the sequel to THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING, hits shelves today!

Truthfully, I am more proud of this book than the first for one simple reason - it was so much harder to write. When I wrote book one, I did so without an agent, without a publishing contract and without any expectations from readers. But writing Breaking was a totally different experience. Before the first word was written, I knew it would be published and that was super scary. And then when readers would tell me they were really looking forward to the sequel - that was super scary too.

And now it's here - out in the world - and I couldn't be more pleased with it.

Thank you to all the readers who love these characters and this world. I had a blast creating it.

Ashley


To learn more about me, visit www.ashleyelston.com or follow me on twitter!

Today - THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING is only $0.99! Get it here!
To check out THE RULES FOR BREAKING - click here!

12 Days of Mysteries: Day 6

It's Day 6 of our 12 Days of Mysteries! Still shopping for young mystery and thriller fans in your life? Try this suggestion from Sarah Skilton:

THE GIRL IN THE PARK, by Mariah Fredericks.

When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,"Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled." But shy Rain, once Wendy's best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just "party girl." As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder.
Why I recommend it: Ms. Fredericks' books always turn my expectations around regarding character, until every single person in the story has become fully formed and sympathetic by the end of the book, even the villains. This style of writing makes the characters that much harder to say goodbye to when the story's over.

Or how about Ashely Elston's recommendation for a great YA thriller:

THE MADMAN'S DAUGHTER, by Megan Shepherd
In the darkest places, even love is deadly.

Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father's gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

Accompanied by her father's handsome young assistant, Montgomery, and an enigmatic castaway, Edward—both of whom she is deeply drawn to—Juliet travels to the island, only to discover the depths of her father's madness: He has experimented on animals so that they resemble, speak, and behave as humans. And worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island's inhabitants. Torn between horror and scientific curiosity, Juliet knows she must end her father's dangerous experiments and escape her jungle prison before it's too late. Yet as the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father's genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Inspired by H. G. Wells's classic The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Madman's Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we'll do anything to know and the truths we'll go to any lengths to protect. 

Wedding day blues

I was a wedding photographer for years and one thing never changed – the bride spent months and months planning for her one perfect day. There were countless conversations about the perfect time to cut the cake, the most beautiful setting for the bridal portraits, the best song for the father/daughter dance, etc … and sometimes, when the big day finally arrived, I could tell immediately which brides felt a little let down.

Don’t get me wrong, they enjoyed their wedding but there was no way it was ever going to live up the expectations they created months and months ago. The build-up was just too big. Maybe the band didn’t sound as good as they thought they would, or the cake was a little dry or maybe all the groomsmen were drunk and doing the alligator across the floor – whatever the case, there was some disappointment.

 

The same thing can happen when you read a thriller or mystery.

There are many devices we, as writers, use (paranoia, fear, mistrust…) that moves the reader to the edge of their seat. We put our poor characters into insane situations and always hint to sinister forces that lurk in the background.  And getting the reader to that sweet spot of oh-my-goodness-I-can’t-put-this-book-down is quite an achievement. But when the curtain is pulled back and all is made known – there is a make or break moment: Was the pay-off worth it? Or was the build-up just too big?

Because, to me at least, there is nothing more frustrating when reading a thriller or mystery than getting to the big reveal moment and thinking, “That’s it?”

If you hint to sinister forces lurking in the background, then you better make sure you deliver said sinister forces. And maybe a drunken groomsman doing the alligator just for good measure.

Ashley Elston lives in North Louisiana with her husband and three sons. Her debut, THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING, will be published with Disney Hyperion on May 14, 2013.

You can find Ashley here:
Website
Facebook

Twitter

Goodreads
 

WWSSD? (What would Sidney Sheldon do?)

I’m probably showing my age but the first adult thriller book I fell in love with was IF TOMORROW COMES by Sidney Sheldon. I was right out of high school and wanted to read something in the adult genre, because . . . you know, I was finally an adult. My mother was a big fan and had a few of his books. I knew Sidney Sheldon also wrote one of my favorite TV shows, I DREAM OF JEANNIE (see, there’s really no doubt just how old I am now), so I gave it a try.

 

I was mesmerized. As much as I loved the books from my childhood, they weren’t anything like this. IF TOMORROW COMES was so cleverly written. I remember, toward the end, I was a nervous wreck. You see, there was this really horrible man after Tracy, the main character. He was just about to catch her and she had no idea. I was so sucked into to the story and so scared for the heroine that I couldn’t go to sleep until I found out what happened.  

And then the most amazing thing – there was a twist. Sheldon flipped the story on me and nothing was what it seemed. (I really don’t want to ruin the ending because even though it’s 20+ years old, this is a fabulous book and you should definitely check it out). I can remember how stunned I was. This was not the first book I’d read where a plot twist was used but it was the first twist I never saw coming. Now, being new to the genre, it probably wasn’t hard to blindside me but I was utterly impressed all the same and my love of the unexpected was born.

That is really the key to a great thriller – suck the reader in and then . . . BAM! . . . total surprise twist that changes everything. It’s a simple concept but tough to pull off. You need to drop a few hints so the twist doesn’t feels far-fetched and phony but you can’t give too much away that everyone sees the twist coming. It’s a delicate balance.

So when I start plotting a story, I always ask myself, “What would Sidney Sheldon do?”  

For more info on IF TOMORROW COMES, click here!  

 

Ashley Elston lives in North Louisiana with her husband and three sons. Her debut, THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING, will be published by Disney-Hyperion on May 14, 2013. Ashley has read IF TOMORROW COMES approximately 6 times and will probably re-read again as soon as she finishes typing this bio.

 

You can find Ashley here:

Website * Facebook * Twitter * Goodreads

Fresh Blood: Ashley Elston

First, I’d like to say thanks for the warm welcome! I’m so excited to be a part of this group.

 A little about me and how I ended up here:

I’ll read just about anything but I love thrillers. And what I love most about thrillers is that edge of your seat feeling when danger is only a step or two away and the bad guy turns out to be the one person you least expected.

I didn’t expect to write a thriller, though. I spent years working as a wedding photographer and I really thought if I ever got lucky enough to publish a book; it would be a romantic comedy using some of the more amusing scenes I’d witnessed through my lens. But then I had this idea that just stuck in my head. It was really just a scene, and one so clear it was like I was back behind the camera.

These are the images that were lodged in my brain: A girl in a dark bathroom with just a single bare-bulbed light overhead. She is hopeless. Her long, blonde hair is chopped off and what remains is dyed a really dark black. Color contacts are put in place to change her eyes. Her appearance transforms as she watches from the mirror and with each change, the girl looks more and more broken. You don’t know her name or why these drastic changes are being made to her appearance but you know she is trying to disappear.

Where is she? Who is after her? Why does she look so broken? I built THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING around that scene because I had to know the rest of the story.

Will I ever get to that romantic comedy? Maybe. But for now, I’m thrilled to write thrillers.

Ashley Elston lives in Northwest Louisiana with her husband and three sons. Her debut, THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING, will be published by Disney Hyperion on May 14, 2013. She’s hard at work on the sequel. Check out her website or look for her on Twitter or Facebook. You can also add THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING to your shelf on Goodreads.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fresh Blood!

Happy New Year! We're back from our holiday break . . . and we're bigger! (And not in the ate-too-many-holiday-desserts way). (Though some of us might have done that too). (Oops).

Well. We are thrilled to announce some big changes here on the Sleuths Spies & Alibis blog!

1. We're expanding our subject matter to include THRILLERS. 

You'll still find plenty of mystery talk here -- blog posts about the craft of mystery writing, recent and forthcoming books we're excited about, and interviews with new and established authors. But there are so many books where the mystery and thriller genres converge, we decided not to limit ourselves. If a book's mysterious, thrilling, or dealing with crime, we'll consider it on our beat. Besides, there are just so many great thrillers out there now for younger readers, and many more coming in 2013 and 2104. We can't wait to share our reading lists -- and find out what you're reading too! (You can click here for a previous discussion of mysteries vs. thrillers on this blog).

2. Fresh Blood: FIVE new authors joined our blogging team!

These fantastic YA and MG authors have recently published their first books or are soon-to-debut.

This brings our total to 13 authors on this blog, which seems particularly auspicious for 2013!

Starting tomorrow, we'll be blogging every Tuesday and Thursday, as before, with Interrogation Room interviews and guest posts added at whim. We'll let our new recruits introduce themselves more fully in their first posts, but for now, here are some mug shots and rap sheets! (Oh wait, these are the good guys -- here are their dazzling author photos and bios!)

ASHLEY ELSTON lives in Northwest Louisiana with her husband and three sons. She spent ten years working as a wedding photographer but quit to focus on her writing. She has been in cake withdrawal ever since. Her YA debut, THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING, will be published by Disney/Hyperion in May 2013, and the sequel in Spring 2014.

ELLE COSIMANO is the daughter of a prison warden and an elementary school teacher who rides a Harley. As a teen, she spent summers working on a fishing boat, baiting hooks and lugging buckets of bait. She majored in Psychology at St. Mary's College of Maryland, and set aside a successful real-estate career to pursue writing. She live with her husband and two young sons, and divides her time between her home near Washington, DC and a jungle tree house in the Mayan Riveria. Her YA novel NEARLY GONE will be published by Kathy Dawson Books/Penguin in Winter 2014, with a sequel (NEARLY LOST) coming in 2015; she is also working on two other YA thrillers.

DERON HICKS is a lifelong resident of the state of Georgia who currently resides in Warm Springs, Georgia with his wife and children. Deron is a proud graduate of the University of Georgia, where he obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting. Having obtained a degree in painting, Deron took the next logical step in life -- he went to law school (more specifically, Mercer Law School, which he loved). Deron currently serves as the Inspector General for the State of Georgia. His first MG novel, THE SECRETS OF SHAKESPEARE'S GRAVE (Book 1 in the Letterford Mysteries series) was published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2012.

MARY McCOY is a librarian at the Los Angeles Public Library, and has been a contributor to On Bunker Hill and the 1947project, where she wrote stories about Los Angeles's notorious past. Mary grew up in western Pennsylvania and holds degrees from Rhodes College and the University of Wisconsin; she currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband. Her debut novel, DEAD TO ME, will be published by Disney/Hyperion in 2014. It's a YA mystery set in Golden Age Hollywood about a teenage girl who uncovers some sinister business while trying to get to the bottom of her aspiring film star sister's disappearance.

SARAH SKILTON After growing up in the suburbs of Chicago and graduating with a TV/Radio degree from Ithaca College in upstate New York, Sarah moved to sunny Los Angeles, where her blood promptly thinned out, preventing her from returning to either location. Kicking around Hollywood for ten years, Sarah worked as a movie-of-the-week production assistant, a TV extra, a freelance writer, a film reviewer, and a blogger at a Japanese marketing group. She currently reads TV and film scripts for a company that streamlines the casting process for agents and actors. She and her husband, a magician, live in Santa Clara, CA, with their young son. Sarah is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, a fact that came in handy while writing her martial arts-themed debut YA novel, BRUISED (Amulet Books, March 5, 2013). Her second book, HIGH AND DRY (Amulet, 2014) is a YA mystery about corruption in high school.



To find out more about their books (as well as those of the other eight sleuths here), please see the "Our Books" tab at the top of our blog!

And please join us in welcoming our new Sleuths!