I feel like this year has just flown by!
First off, thank you all for following along with my author’s journey. It’s been a busy year, but 2022 is going to be just as chaotic and crazy, so stick with me. There’s more to come!
Updates on The Bright One Series:
First off, my debut novel, Through the Silent Forest Book One of The Bright One Series released in November. That was quite a rollercoaster of emotions for me publishing my first book, but there are more on the way!
The second book of The Bright One Series, Across the Darkest Realm, will be published sometime in 2022. It’s still too early for a release date, but it is in the works.
In January, I will be announcing that I need Beta readers for my second book. So if you have already read Through the Silent Forest and enjoyed it, I would really appreciate you signing up as a beta reader when the time comes.
It starts off right where Through the Silent Forest ends, so it’s imperative my readers have read the first book so they understand what’s going on in the second one and aren’t super confused.
If you haven’t read Through the Silent Forest yet but would like to, it will be continuously on sale on my website starting today for .99c until the foreseeable future to allow as many readers as possible to read it before book two releases.
https://ashleylcastillo.wordpress.com/shop/
You and I: A stand-alone erotica
While publishing and editing Through the Silent Forest consumed most of my time in 2021, it is not the only project I was working on.
You and I is an erotic fantasy book compiled of seven individual stories that explore the main character’s introduction into a BSDM relationship.
It is set in a dream-like setting, and while the stories are somewhat congruent with the character’s development, there are gaps, and the stories are not necessarily cohesive.
This is my first time writing, let alone attempting to publish a novel such as this one. It doesn’t fall into the Adventure/ Fantasy genre, but I’m hoping to expand myself beyond just one.
If you enjoyed my previous stories and aren’t afraid to get a little naughty, you can sign up to be a beta reader here.
https://forms.gle/hKfQ71gW9fsE2XVW6
Future works :
The Bright One Series is a set of 5 novels, so there are several more on the way. As it happens to work out as of now, with my editing and book cover process, it’s looking to be about one a year between book releases for this series.
I have also been working on a Beauty and the Beast retelling that will be another stand-alone novel. I hope to finish writing and editing this book early this year and get it in the works for Beta readers and professional editing and publication soon.
I do have several more projects that are still tentative, so more on those to come soon.
What am I doing all the time?
So those of you that follow my social media accounts will see me all over the place. And most of the time, I’m sure you wonder why I’m always in various “hotel” rooms. I swear it’s not what it looks like. Haha.
My husband is a traveling nurse, so we pack up, pets included, and move somewhere different every three months. So packing and moving and relocating and exploring our new surroundings takes up a lot of my free time.
When I’m not writing or editing my own works, I have been busy helping various other authors in the indie author community.
My writing buddy Alex and I started our own website, Scripts and Reviews, which has been an incredible experience for me, compacting everything I was doing individually to help other authors out all into one website.
So we do everything from Beta reading and ARC reading to traditional reviews and doing spotlights on their books and interview questions to help them gain exposure.
The only thing is I never realized how time-consuming it was going to be or how many authors needed help. So it’s been a little overwhelming! Due to this, my writing has taken a bit of a back seat for the moment while I sort my new projects out.
I’m hoping to add more readers as part of our website, allowing
authors to have multiple reviews from one site. So if you enjoy reading as much as I do and are interested in writing reviews in exchange for free books, please click the link here. I’d love to have you as part of my team!
https://forms.gle/dsBPeMUggvvw2N5E8
Thanks again for following along. Your support really means a lot to a fledgling author!
Wishing you all Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year!
Keep in touch,
Ashley
Ashley L. Castillo 