Engaging Reads With
Strong Female Protagonists

Find out more about Ashley’s books.
Click on the book covers below.

Hardland

Released in Fall 2022

Available on:
Amazon,
IndieBound
Barnes and Noble
Target
BookShop
and your favorite bookseller!

Hardland on Amazon

Buy Eliza Waite or Answer Creek at Amazon.

Buy Eliza Waite or Answer Creek at an independent bookstore by you.

Awards

Eliza Waite wins WILLA Literary Award

WILLA Literary Award
2017 Finalist
Historical Fiction

Eliza Waite wins Sarton Women's Book Award

Sarton Women’s Book Award
Shortlist
2015-2016
Historical Fiction

Answer Creek wins IPPY Awards

Independent Publisher Book Award
2021 West-Mountain Best Regional Fiction, Winner

Answer Creek wins Next Gen Indie Book Award

Next Gen Indie Book Awards
2021 Best Second Novel, Winner

Answer Creek wins New Mexico Arizona Book Award

New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards
2021 Winner, Fiction Historical Other

Anser Creek wins Arizona Authors Association Award

Arizona Authors Association
2020 Literary Contest Winner, Fiction

Answer Creek Wins WILLA Award

WILLA Literary Award
2021 Finalist
Historical Fiction

Hardland wins Arizona Authors Association Award

Arizona Authors Association
Finalist, 2022, Literary Contest

Hardland Wins Independent Press Award for Western Fiction

Independent Press Award for Western Fiction
Winner, 2023, Western Fiction

Hardland is a Finalist in the Next Generation Indie Awards for Historical Fiction Pre 1900s

Next Generation Indie Awards
Finalist, 2023, Historical Fiction Pre 1900s

Hardland Earns a Silver Medal in the IPPY Awards for West-Mountain Best Regional Fiction

Independent Publishers Book Award
Silver Medal, 2023
West-Mountain Best Regional Fiction

New Mexico-Arizona Book Award
2023 Finalist
Fiction Historical Arizona

WILLA Literary Award
2023 Finalist
Historical Fiction

“Gritty and fierce . . . Hardland is a powerful tale.”

Cowgirl Magazine

“One of the top standalone Westerns of 2022.”(for Hardland)

True West Magazine

“Sweeney’s debut novel is a beautifully written work of historical fiction tracing one woman’s life in the wilds of nineteenth-­century America. Readers will be immersed in Eliza’s world, which Sweeney has so authentically and skillfully rendered.”

Booklist

“Meticulously researched, Eliza Waite transports us to the Klondike Gold Rush, where a resourceful young widow searches a more elusive prize: happiness in a re-­forged life.”

Pamela Schoenewaldt, USA Today Bestselling author of When We Were Strangers

“So well researched, one can almost feel the cold of winter and the stifling pain inflicted upon the heart and soul of these courageous pioneers.”

K.S. Jones, Award-­winning author of Shadow of the Hawk

“A powerful and gripping tale of survival and triumph over abuse, misogyny, and economic challenges. It rings as true in the 21st century as it did in the time frame in which it is set. A must-read!”

Jim Jones, Award-­winning author of The Lights of Cimarrón

“Ruby is as vivid and unforgettable as characters come, and you’ll find yourself turning page after page as her life unfolds—because in Sweeney’s hands, Ruby’s life becomes as real as your own.”

Susan Lang, WILLA Literary Award-winning author of Small Rocks Rising