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!
Buy Eliza Waite or Answer Creek at Amazon.
Buy Eliza Waite or Answer Creek at an independent bookstore by you.
Awards
for Eliza Waite
Nancy Pearl Book Award
2017 Winner
WILLA Literary Award
2017 Finalist
Historical Fiction
Sarton Women’s Book Award
Shortlist
2015-2016
Historical Fiction
for Answer Creek
Independent Publisher Book Award
2021 West-Mountain Best Regional Fiction, Winner
Next Gen Indie Book Awards
2021 Best Second Novel, Winner
New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards
2021 Winner, Fiction Historical Other
Arizona Authors Association
2020 Literary Contest Winner, Fiction
Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Awards
2020 Finalist
WILLA Literary Award
2021 Finalist
Historical Fiction
for Hardland
Arizona Authors Association
Finalist, 2022, Literary Contest
Independent Press Award for Western Fiction
Winner, 2023, Western Fiction
Next Generation Indie Awards
Finalist, 2023, Historical Fiction Pre 1900s
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.”
“One of the top standalone Westerns of 2022.”(for Hardland)
“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.”
“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.”
“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.”
“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!”
“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.”