It's a New Year - 2015 Is Here!

Welcome, I’m Judith Ashley author of The Sacred Women’s Circle series. I write contemporary romantic fiction that celebrates spiritual practices that nourish the soul and honors the journey from relationship to romance.

It’s time to take a look at what I want to create in 2015. There are things I want to do. The big ones are spend over two weeks in Ohio with my friend; spend four days at the coast in April with two other friends; travel to Las Vegas in July for the US Conference for The William Glasser Institute; and attend Emerald City Writers Conference in October. Each of these events will take planning and will have an attendant expense.

Smaller activities are monthly gathering with my own women’s circle, the monthly Dark Moon gatherings, building community within my neighborhood with like-minded women, and staying connected to other people I’ve met on this journey.

Sponsoring and teaching at least two Basic Intensive Trainings for The William Glasser Institute is also on my ‘Things to do in 2015’ list. I love to teach and plan to write articles showing how the basic concepts of Dr. Glasser can be used to enhance our lives bringing us more of what we want. I’ve already created a couple of workshops for writers to use these concepts in their writing lives and in their writing but somewhere along the line stopped promoting them.

While these are all activities I’ll enjoy, what is uppermost – actually at the top of the list – is completing the last three novels in The Sacred Women’s Circle series.  Hunter, Gabriella and Sophia each have stories to be told. If you’ve been reading the earlier books in the series, you’ve met these women and may even have an idea of what their story will be about, who will end up with who – I promise you this, at this point even I don’t know who Gabriella will marry – only that she will.

The incomparable Christy at Gilded Heart Design is working on the cover for Hunter. I’ve got my own work to do before she can finish the covers for Gabriella and Sophia. You may want to read her post on Cover Design to see what it takes to put a great cover together.

You can also check out my author page at Windtree Press to see her work as well as click here to visit my website.

My goals for 2015 are doable if I stay focused and on track.

Do you set goals for yourself? How do you stay focused to maximize your success? I’m always ready to try out new ideas, so please share.

Help! I Need Help With Branding!!!

By Judith Ashley

No, not the kind made with a hot iron or a tattoo.

I need help with my author branding.

2014 has been a busy year for me. By January 1, 2015 I’ll have published 4 full length novels and 5 short stories with a 6th one coming out by mid-January. In addition, by that time, I’ll have participated in 4 book signings. But most important, I’ve attended 2 writer’s conferences and several workshops as well as read a couple of author marketing books.

The author marketing books and several of the workshops talk about creating an ‘author brand’. This is where I need help—your help to be more specific.

What I’ve already done:

Named my series. Not an easy task. It took over a year to finally settle on The Sacred Women’s Circle series.

Hired Christy Caughie’s Gilded Heart Design to create the book covers for my The Sacred Women’s Circle series. My covers all have a cohesive design and if you look closely, you’ll see the ‘overlay’ which conveys the mystical/spiritual element that is in all the books. Check out the upper left-hand corner to see one of my favorite cover elements.

Hired Christy’s Gilded Heart Design to update my website and create a ‘new look’ that is part of my author brand.

Purchased Joel Friedlander’s Media Kit and created varied length bio’s.

But then I attended Emerald City Writer’s Conference in October and realized I need to be even more focused regarding my brand. One of the important pieces is to consistently label/market yourself. You’ll see excellent examples with B.A. Binns and Pippa Jay’s posts. Each post starts out with their name and their genre – a bit about what they write.

Here’s where you come in. I’ve written three short introductions (19 – 22 words) and I’d like your input as to which one best showcases my brand. BTW: the experts say 20 words is best because of how search engines like Google scan for content.

1. Welcome, I’m Judith Ashley, author of contemporary romantic women’s fiction and spiritual romance: stories that celebrate the journey from Relationship to Romance. (22 words)

2. Judith Ashley’s twenty plus years in sacred women’s circles gives her stories an authenticity that enhances a reader’s experience. (19 words)

3. Hi, I’m Judith Ashley. I write romantic women’s fiction with spiritual elements. My stories are all about journeys from Relationship to Romance. (22 words)

If you have other ideas, please share! Commenters will be entered into a drawing for a $5.00 gift card for Starbucks. Please be sure I have your email address so I can contact you if you are the winner! Drawing will be held 12/10/2014. If you want to know who the winner is, I’ll post it at on my Judith Ashley blog.

The Lives that Touch Our Lives

With life comes death. It's a natural part of living, yet why does it impact us so deeply? That question has been debated for centuries by the greatest thinkers and yet no definitive answer has ever been given. I don't want to start off the month of love depressing, but my local RWA chapter recently lost two people very close to our members, Connie Brockheart and Jeff Jacobs. My way to honor such joyful caring people is to dedicate this post to them.
Though my interactions with them was limited, just knowing them made my life different. Connie always had a smile, despite any pain she was feeling from polio. I later learned she was the oldest person still living that had polio. What a record, right?  She always had a kind word for everyone. Connie's manuscript was the first manuscript I had seen unpublished, besides my own. Being a visual person I absorbed everything I read as I reentered it into the computer for her. It was fascinating and encouraging. It took me two weeks to get the full ms transcribed for her and she was thrilled when I handed her the flash drive.
My encounters with Jeff left me light hearted and full of laughter at his smart-alec comments and glad to have known him. He drove me up to Emerald City with a couple of friends for two years in a row and was a delight. I know his wife will miss him terribly. He adored her and encouraged her to live her dreams. What more could someone want?
It's amazing how people come into our lives and leave so expectantly. And the amount of impact they leave. I hope that when I do leave this plane of existence I will have left such an impression as these two wonderful loving people have.


Who in your life has left an impression on you? What were those impressions?

5 Con Tips from an Attendee

As most of my readers know I love attending fan cons and since this is a brand new year, I thought it would be a good idea to offer 5 Tips for attending a con.

1.) Plan ahead
        At the beginning of each year I look at what Cons will be happening locally. I tend to keep it as local as possible for various reasons, which I'll get into in each tip. I go to Google and type in Cons near my town and see what pops up. I sometimes will also ask people who are interested in the same subject I am if there is anything coming up near me. Make note of the dates, places and costs associated with each one.

2.) Budget
        Here's the tricky part. Everyone, especially these days, is on a budget. It's not like we can spend thousands and thousands of dollars on these Cons, unless you have that kind of money. Once you've made a list of the Cons that interest you, figure out how much each will cost. Factor in not only the Con fee but traveling, food, hotel, and free money for souvenirs for each one on the list. Then figure out how much you have, or are willing, to spend on Cons for the year.

3.) Pick which ones
       Once you have your list of the ones you're interested in and the cost associated with each, sit down and pick them out. Keep in mind if you're a writer or small business, would any of the Cons listed be beneficial to you and what you do? What are the workshops or networking opportunities offered? Since I am a Steampunk writer, I can use the Steampunk Cons as a write off. The same for any writing cons. For 2013 I'll be attending: GearCon, which is a Steampunk Con in Portland, OR; Kumoricon which is Anime in Vancouver, WA; Emerald City Writer's Conference in Seattle, WA (not a fan con); and possibly OryCon, which is a Sci-fi Con in Portland, OR. Each of these Cons offer workshops from writing to costuming to just the general thought process. Last year at GearCon I was able to sit in a class of Bartisu, which is a type of martial arts that uses canes. Sherlock Holmes used this style of fighting that was very popular with gentlemen of the Victorian era. Kumoricon was more about my children, but I learned some great costume ideas for women my size.
4.) What to take
        Make a list of the things you should take and what you need to take. Think about whether you're spending the night or the weekend. Or you might decide to go for only a day which means you only need to take what you need for that single day. If your money is tight and the registration fee doesn't include food, most Cons don't mind you bringing your own. Costumes, and how you are going to store them is something else to think about. When I go to Emerald City, my budget is usually just enough for dinner on Saturday night and becuse I'm usually up before anyone else, I take my own breakfast, usually bagels with cream cheese. When we go to a Con for a day we take a lunch and drinks.

5.) Have Fun
      And the best advice I can give you, is to have fun. These cons are meant to be a fun way to enjoy being with other people who enjoy the same thing as you. Sometimes lifelong friendships will start at a Con. You'll be amazed at the freedom it gives you.



Now here's a challenge for you. What Cons happen in your area? I'd also be happy to answer any questions you have.