Happy Fall, Readers!

Hope your summer was filled with sun and family and friends and memorable experiences. We escaped to the Gulf Islands of British Columbia for the month of July and entertained friends from far and near in August. Our gardens have been lush and a needed shady respite on hot Pacific Northwest days. As the sun sets earlier now (still past 8 p.m.!), I’m reminded to enjoy these last warm days before fall sets in.

HARDLAND RELEASE DATE 9/13/22

The time has come for Ruby Fortune’s story to go out into the world! Launch date is September 13, although many of you will be receiving copies earlier if you preordered online. Bookstore sales begin on the publishing date—exciting! If you haven’t purchased yet, call or visit your local bookstore to request a copy. And don’t forget to request at your local library as well. Here are specifics:

HARDLAND: A NOVEL
Ashley E. Sweeney
She Writes Press
9/13/22
ISBN: 978-1-64742-233-2
$17.95

 

In tandem with the book’s release, I’ll be debuting a platform of Domestic Violence Awareness across social media. Watch for posts in October, Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

BOOK TOUR DATES

Mark your calendars! I’ll be doing a swing through the Southwest and Colorado in September and October and then be back in the Pacific Northwest later this fall. I’d love to see you along the way!

If you can’t catch a live event or signing, consider joining my virtual launch at 6 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday, Sept. 20 sponsored through Village Books in Bellingham, WA (register at villagebooks.com) and/or an interview with author Mark C. Jackson, sponsored by our publicist, Blue Cottage Agency, on Tuesday, Sept. 27 (TBA).

Check my website’s event page for updated times and additional events at ashleysweeneyauthor.com/events

Saturday, Sept 17: Peregrine Book Company, Prescott, AZ (live event)

Tuesday, Sept. 20: Virtual Launch through Village Books, Bellingham, WA

Saturday, Sept 24: Bisbee Books and Music, Bisbee, AZ (book signing)

Tuesday, Sept. 27: Virtual Author Talk through Blue Cottage Agency

Sunday, Oct. 2: Barnes & Noble, Pueblo, CO (book signing)

Friday, Oct. 7: Barnes & Noble, Denver/Lakewood, CO (book signing)

Saturday, Oct. 8: Barnes & Noble, Grand Junction, CO (book signing)

Thursday, Oct. 20: Seaport Books, La Conner, WA (book signing)

Monday, Nov. 14: Third Place Books, Seattle/Lake Forest Park, WA (live event)

Saturday, Nov. 26: Watermark Books, Anacortes, WA (book signing)

CONTEST WINNER!

The winner of all three of my novels, Eliza Waite, Answer Creek, and Hardland, and chosen by random number generator, is Janet Smith of Michigan! Congratulations, Janet!

SOME OF MY SUMMER READS

The Paris Library, by Janet Skeslien Charles

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Lost Apothecary, by Sarah Penner

Attribution, by Linda Moore

Waterbury Winter, by Linda Henley

The Physician’s Daughter, by Martha Conway

 

PARTING THOUGHTS

The current push to ban books in libraries and schools is nothing short of chilling. According to the American Library Association (ALA), in 2022 so far, there have been more than 700 book challenges targeting 1,600 titles, doubling figures since the ALA has been recording data in 2000.

Included in these challenges are classics such as:

  • To Kill A Mockingbird
  • The Catcher in the Rye
  • Grapes of Wrath
  • The Color Purple
  • 1984, Brave New World
  • Native Son
  • Slaughterhouse-Five
  • A Separate Peace
  • The Lord of the Flies
  • A Handmaid’s Tale

Many of these, and other, titles I taught in high school English. What is it that readers object to? Race? Sex? Violence? Gender identity?

Or is it Truth, in all its ugliness and beauty? Author James Baldwin said, “It is certain, in any case, that ignorance, allied with power, is the most ferocious enemy justice can have.”

In an era where 54% of adults in the U.S. have a literacy rate below a 6th grade level and where adults in 80% of U.S. households have not read a book in the past five years, those of us who champion reading need to speak up and speak out. It is only through knowledge (i.e. reading) that a civilized society can flourish.

With that, enjoy a fruitful fall and Happy Reading (and hope to see you along the way)!

Ashley