Friday, February 24, 2017

Friday Previews



A plot bunny + hours of YouTube clips featuring famous ice skaters like Johnny Weir = Enforcing Emory. It released in 2015 and continues to be one of my bestsellers. Here's a short excerpt.  


     “Did that man really tell you to stay away from his family?”
     Nikolai nodded an affirmative but immediately realized he should have lied. His mother was fiercely protective of her children, especially Nikolai, her only son. She loved her three daughters unconditionally, but they didn’t have to struggle for recognition or live up to the ideal Igor had saddled on her Kolya. She’d never tolerate anyone who thought he was better than her boy.
     “What’s the guy’s name?” Irina asked. She was two years younger than Nik and had taken to Western society like a duck to water. Hooked on social media, she was never far from her iPad. “Let’s google the creep.”
     Nikolai snorted. Irina considered Wikipedia and Google the sources of all information, and if she couldn’t find her answer with a few keystrokes, it didn’t exist. She whistled in astonishment after she typed in Emory Lowe and hundreds of links popped up. Images of the saucy young man in every costume imaginable filled her screen, and everyone looked over her shoulders to see what was so shocking. There were photos of Emory caught leaping in the air, frozen in time as the camera captured him performing one intricate move after another. When Irina looked him up on YouTube, they watched him perform his short program at Nationals, and the room hushed as the sound of Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet filled the room. Nikolai couldn’t take his eyes off the tiny screen, mesmerized by the graceful movements.
     The gangly youth was artistic on the ice, a fluid nymph who appeared oblivious to the huge crowd staring down at him. He owned the performance, one minute soft and tender, the next fiercely determined to win his prize, executing the complicated number with a series of jumps, including a quad, and ending the program with an I-spin that seemed to go on forever. The applause when he stopped and posed without wavering was loud and heartfelt, and that funny grin Emory seemed to have mastered appeared through the heavy makeup. Nikolai felt something twist deep down in the pit of his stomach. Christ, the figure skater wasn’t just bragging—he was dead serious. The guy was fantastic, and Nikolai felt like a lumbering oaf comparing his skills to Emory’s immense talent.
     He looked up from the handheld device sheepishly. “I guess he wasn’t lying.”
     “Bah!” Igor said loudly. “He’s a poofter!”

Buy Links:

DSP:  https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/enforcing-emory-by-mickie-b-ashling-5251-b

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Enforcing-Emory-Mickie-B-Ashling-ebook/dp/B00XWW3DAC/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8



Friday, February 17, 2017

Friday Previews



Here's an excerpt from Yesterday, a period piece that takes place during the last few months of the Pahlavi dynasty. The year is 1978 and the setting is Karachi, Pakistan. My main characters come from two very different backgrounds and, despite all the warnings, start a friendship that changes their lives forever.  During this tumultuous time  in our history, I think it's more important than ever to focus on our similarities rather than our differences. Love is love.   


     We got to the round table, and he pulled out the chair for me. I was taken aback by the gesture; I didn’t think royals did that sort of thing. I obviously had some preconceived notions I’d have to discard.
     Once we were settled, he asked, “What would you like to see today?”
     “How about I let you decide?”
     “All right,” he agreed. “Why don’t we stroll through Empress Market for starters?”
     “What is it?”
     “The oldest, filthiest, most congested bazaar in the world, but it’s a wonderful and interesting place to visit. You can film anything you want and shop as well. How does that sound?”
     “Perfect,” I replied. “Then what?”
     “They’re preparing lunch for us at my place.” Candidly, he mentioned, “I thought I’d show off my animals. You did say you were interested in the homing pigeons, correct?”
     “Among other things,” I replied.
     He reached over and took off my sunglasses. “That’s better. It’s hard to know if you speak the truth without looking into your eyes.”
     “What do you see, Kamran?” Hopefully not what I’m thinking, I added to myself. He was better-looking in the daylight, and I realized I would throw caution to the wind if he so much as hinted at the possibility. We were far enough from Iran to be safe, I rationalized. Why would anyone bother with me and a royal so far down the line of succession they’d have to obliterate the shah’s entire family for Kamran to stand any kind of chance at claiming the throne? As usual, my mind was off on a tangent, imagining one exciting scenario after another. Good thing I was going into filmmaking.
     “The obvious is that which is never seen until someone expresses it simply,” he said softly.
     “Gibran again?”
     “His communication skills are far better than mine,” Kamran stated.
     “But you’re alive,” I countered. “I’d prefer to hear your own thoughts.”
     Kamran stood and held out his hand. “Why don’t you go and change. I’ll be waiting for you in the white Land Rover that’s parked at the hotel entrance.”


All my novels are currently 25% off at Dreamspinner Press. Check out my back list here. 

https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/searchresults?q=mickie+b.+ashling

Friday, February 10, 2017

Friday Previews



I've been immersed in Chyna's universe for the last few months. The sequel has been completed and sent off to my pub for consideration. Now I'm writing the spin-off featuring a new couple. Last week I watched Katie Couric's National Geographic special called Gender Revolution. She shared a lot of good information, and it was especially gratifying for me, as an author. to know I wrote my first intersex character accurately. If you're interested, here's a snippet from the book Chyna Doll and the buy links. Dreamspinner Press is having a special sale on paperbacks for a week. As with all their books, if you buy a paperback you get the e-book for free.

Here's the excerpt of Chyna Doll

     All Chyna wanted was to fit in. She’d have given anything to be one of her dumpy half sisters or adorable like Chip, but that wasn’t the hand she was dealt. So why not turn lemons into lemonade? If she were to become a supermodel, no one would give a shit if she were as tall as a Christmas tree and just as colorful. She’d be idolized, and the paparazzi would stalk her on her way to and from work, thinking she was doing them a favor by letting them take a photo. Maybe then Luca might think of her as more than Chip’s baby sister. She wasn’t sure when her feelings for her brother’s best friend had begun to change, but they sure as heck had shifted in the last few months. In the past Luca had simply been a part of the landscape. Now he was the main reason she hung around the football field. A smile in her direction made her tummy flop, and the urge to cross her legs and squeeze was also new and unexpected. Suddenly Luca had a leading role in all of her daydreams.
     She could be his Gisele Bündchen. He’d be the next Tom Brady. They’d date; she’d perfect her blowjob skills to hold him off until the wedding and send him topless selfies to keep him happy. Instead of real sex, she’d turn into his gorgeous slirgin, the slutty virgin girlfriend he could fantasize about while jerking off. Finally, he’d cave and propose, and after the biggest, most elaborate wedding in the universe, he’d whisk her off in his private jet to an island somewhere in the Caribbean. Then he’d peel off the beautiful designer blouse, suck on her man-made boobs, and tell her she was the most desirable woman in the world. He’d carry her to bed, the one on the raised dais draped with mosquito netting like the kind she saw on a Sandals Resort commercial. He’d call her his glorious Amazon, his warrior queen, his incredible woman, and then he’d take off her pants—and the fairy tale would turn into a nightmare.
     Luca would hack her into pieces, and no jury on earth would convict him. How could they? Seeing a dick when expecting a regular hoo-ha was just cause for murder.

.
Buy Links:
DSP: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/chyna-doll-by-mickie-b-ashling-2168-b

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Chyna-Doll-Horizons-Book-4-ebook/dp/B00TM97M4W/ref=sr_1_10?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1486732418&sr=1-10&keywords=mickie+b.+ashling

Friday, February 3, 2017

Friday Previews



While sitting in traffic on the way home that afternoon, Bryce sifted through his memories of Owen, trying to figure out what his next move would be. Admittedly, the young man he’d known back in college was nothing like the jaded adult he’d become; however, Owen had always blamed everyone but himself for any slight, real or imagined. Accepting responsibility for his failures had never occurred to him. Those basic characteristic traits hadn’t changed over the years. His delusional sense of entitlement was the only catalyst he needed to justify his illicit behavior. Bryce was certain Owen wouldn’t quit until he won the next round. So far he was zero for two, and scores like that were unacceptable to a man who considered himself superior in every way.
     For one fleeting moment, Bryce thought about keeping this new information from Seth, but the second he walked through the front door, he decided it would be foolish to even try. Seth could read him like a book and he knew something was wrong.
     “What happened?” he asked after pecking Bryce on the cheek. “Bad day?”
     Seth listened soberly while Bryce caught him up-to-date, paling with each new revelation. At the end, he was shaking and his breathing had turned erratic. Bryce gathered him close, and they clung together wordlessly. There really wasn’t much he could say to make the situation any better. Apparently he was wrong.

Open Case and the other two books in the Open Series are now available for purchase.

Amazon:https://www.amazon.com/-/e/B004QSCN3E

DSP: https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/books/open-case-by-mickie-b-ashling-8112-b