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!

Are you a believer?

What type of reader are you – one that easily suspends your sense of disbelief and loses yourself in the story no matter how crazy it may get? Or do you question everything and get frustrated over the little details that just seem too far-fetched?

This is the struggle for thriller writers, I think. I’ve spent most of the summer revising book two, a sequel to THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING. Sequels present their own challenges but I’ve decided – the hardest part about writing a thriller (sequel or not) is the believability issue. I think when your story takes place in a world filled with magical and paranormal activity, it’s easier somehow to blur the line that separates believability from just too far-fetched to be real. But for contemporary thrillers, that line that can be as unforgiving as a tight pair of skinny jeans the day after vacation where you may have eaten just a bit more than normal. You have to bend and stretch and work really hard to get those jeans up and buttoned.

Thrillers must have extreme and highly unusual situations and the characters almost always find themselves in a race to save either their own life or someone else’s. There has to be twists and turns and you have to set them up so they don’t come out of left field but don’t give too many hints that the reader can see it coming a mile away. It’s a complicated dance of words and pacing and tension.

Recently, my critique group discovered video chatting and it changed my world. To be able to talk, face to face, and work out plots and character arcs and motivations has helped me more than I ever thought possible. And almost every conversation we have – no matter whose story we’re dissecting – there is always the question, “Will the reader find that believable?”

Because if that answer is no – the story just won’t work. You could have a brilliant plot with complex twists and perfect pacing but if the reader doesn’t trust that world, none of it matters. And then given the fact that every reader has a different level of what they will or will not believe, you can make yourself mad trying to figure out how far to push your story.

Sadly, there is no litmus test for believably, although that would be something I would pay good money for.

 

Ashley Elston lives in Northwest Louisiana with her husband and three sons. Her debut, THE RULES FOR DISAPPEARING, is available now. As you can tell from her post, she is smack dab in the middle of the sequel that will be published by Disney Hyperion in 2014.  

You can find Ashley procrastinating here:
Website
Facebook
Twitter
Goodreads

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.