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You can reach me at KatieAshleyRomance at gmail dot com

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Atlanta, GA, United States
I am the New York Times, USA Today, and Amazon Best Selling author of The Proposition, Proposal, Music of the Heart, and Nets and Lies. I am represented by Jane Dystel of Dystel and Goderich for all books except for Proposition and Proposal.
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Monday, September 30, 2013

Teaser Tuesday: Are you strong enough to be my man?

So today's teaser isn't of the hot kind. It's more an insight to what AJ is facing with being with Mia, and in the same token, what Mia is trying to overcome to be with AJ. 

This scene takes place at Jake's farm down by the river and waterfalls on his grandfather's property. 

*Rough draft and subject to change*


With my thighs on each side of her hips, my weight kept her firmly underneath me. Seizing the opportunity, I snatched the keys from her hand. “Ha, gotcha.”

“Let me up, you ass!”

“Nope. Not until I hear you say ‘AJ, you are the master of the universe’.” I quirked my brows before looming over her—my face mere inches from hers.  “On second thought, you need to say, ‘AJ, you are the master of my universe and my master orgasm donor.’”

Even though my tone was completely lighthearted, Mia’s expression transformed into one of panic. Instead of squirming playfully beneath me like before, she began to thrash back and forth. Her eyes took on a wild gleam, like that of a trapped animal. And then something within her snapped. “Get off. Get off. GET OFF!” she screamed, pounding her fists against my chest so hard that she knocked the air from my lungs. 

Wheezing, I stared frozen in disbelief at her erratic behavior. I remained unblinking and unmoving until she sent a stinging slap so hard across my cheek that my jaw popped. Out of my stupor, I finally rolled off her. The instant she realized she was free she leapt to her feet and began sprinting away from me. “Fuck,” I groaned as I hauled up out of the grass to take after her. “Mia!”

She bypassed the four-wheeler, and instead, continued barreling down the overgrown path. “Mia, wait!” When I finally caught up with her, I reached out and grabbed her arm, causing us both to skid to a stop. I realized a second too late that it was the wrong fucking thing to do when she lunged at me, clawing and slapping my face, shoulders, and chest.

Defensively blocking her hits, I then grabbed her shoulders. “Mia, it’s me, AJ.” Her frenzied gaze darted around the clearing. “Look at me,” I commanded. “You’re safe here with me. Nothing or no one is going to hurt you. I swear.”

When her eyes finally locked on mine, the sheer panic in them caused my chest to ache. But slowly that look receded. It was the pain, coupled with embarrassment, shining bright in her eyes that followed that made my stomach muscles clench like I’d taken a physical kick to the gut, rather than an emotional one.

A shaky hand went to cover her mouth as tears streaked down her cheeks. Her head shook so wildly back and forth I feared she might get whiplash. “Oh God…Oh AJ, I…”

“Look, it’s—“

“I’m s-sorry. I’m s-so, so sorry,” she replied, her voice choking off her sobs.

“Baby, you have nothing to apologize about.” Tentatively, I reached out to cup her cheek. When she flinched, I dropped my hand. Feeling a fucking mess of confusion and helplessness, I kicked at a few stray pebbles and waited for her to give me some sign as to what the hell I should do.

“I’msorryI’msorry.I’msorry,” she kept mumbling absently.

“Mia, please don’t say that.”

“It’s just you had me pinned down like he…” A chill ran through her body, causing her to shudder so hard that her teeth chattered.

Closing the distance between us, I ached to wrap her trembling body in my arms.  “Amorcio mio, please talk to me. Tell me what I can do to help you,” I begged.

Her only response was to swipe the back of her hand across her running nose while making these pitiful hiccupping sighs. I started tapping my hands nervously against my short pockets when she became still as a statue. It seemed like she stared dead ahead of us for a small eternity before she finally whispered, “I never wanted you to have to see this side of me.”

This time when I reached out for her, she didn’t cower away from me. Trying to take it slow, I swept a strand of hair out of her face and smiled. “Mia, there isn’t a single side of you I don’t want to see. I want to know every inch of you—inside and out.”

Her lip trembled like she was about to burst out crying. “Trust me, you don’t want to know this.” Her expression then turned sour, like she had a bad taste in her mouth. Her emotions were ricocheting so fast I could barely keep up. “Dammit, we were just supposed to have that night together—then you wouldn’t have had to see me like this. It wasn’t supposed to turn into me being inadequate for yet another guy!”

My sympathy quickly turned over to frustration, and I threw my hands up in exasperation. “Would you stop lumping me with all the other assholes you’ve had the misfortune of knowing? That’s not me, Mia! Do you see me bailing or shrinking away like some pussy? Fuck no! I’m right here, right now, wanting to know what the hell just happened so I can help you—to comfort you emotionally and physically.”


She cut her eyes over at me, pinning me with a hard stare. “Yeah, I see right through your little ‘knight in shining armor’ routine. You think I’m broken, and by giving me a few moments of your precious time, you might be able to fix me. But trust me, you can’t do shit, AJ! I’m not broken—I’m fucking shattered into a thousand jagged pieces. Pieces that will slice a perfect, pretty boy like you in two.”

Kick-Off to the One Year Anniversary of The Proposition/Kindle Paperwhite Giveaway



People often ask me out of all my books which one is my favorite. As an author, your books are like children--you can't pick a favorite. However, when it comes down to it, there is one book that changed my life, and that is The Proposition. It will always mean the most to me, not just because it made me a New York Times Bestselling author(a dream since childhood) or because it allowed for me to quit teaching and write full-time. No, it is most special because the book and the characters of Aidan and Emma, they saved me in every way possible.

The Proposition wasn't the first book I ever wrote. It wasn't the first one I tried to seek traditional publication with. No, my story starts four years earlier with a literary fiction adult novel called The Road to Damascus(think To Kill a Mockingbird and Fried Green Tomatoes). I then read Twilight and took a detour on the Young Adult path writing the Urban Fantasy, The Guardians. It wasn't until Don't Hate the Player, six months later, that I landed my first literary agent and my first almost publishing deal with Penguin. After the deal fell through in the Summer of 2010, fast forward two years and two new manuscripts later(and a whole lot of heartache of writing dreams being unfulfilled).

Here's where it gets a little personal. I can say that without a doubt 2012 was one of the worst years of my life. In May, I lost my grandmother, Big Mama, unexpectedly to a heart attack. As an only child and after losing my dad to cancer when I was seventeen and my mom, also to cancer, when I was twenty-three, she was the center of my entire world. She lived five minutes from me. I was with her every day, and she was my rock of support, faith, and encouragement. She had walked every step of the way along my writing journey, and she believed in me and my writing, even when I didn't.


With Big Mama at my Road to Damascus signing
In New York at Grease on Broadway

Her death began one of the darkest summers and periods of my life. In truth, I can say I didn't know if I would live to see 2013. The only escape I had was to think about this story I had started back in April--an adult novel that I had even told Big Mama about. I had 15K words written of the book before her passing. When the dark clouds overwhelmed me, I thought of Aidan and Emma. Certain scenes and dialogue would help pass the lonely stretches of time in between being the executor of her estate. 

Three weeks after her passing, my agent got in touch with me and said we had two interested publishing houses for my Young Adult manuscript, Jules, the Bounty Hunter(one was Bloomsbury who pubbed Harry Potter...I was ecstatic ). I couldn't believe it--it looked like I was finally going to achieve my dream of being published. I mean, who could have another "almost" deal with two interested publishing houses?

Yep, me. 

In mid July, my dream was once again shattered. Both publishing houses walked away even though my agent was certain a deal was going to happen. I don't remember much of the time after the deal fell through and I had to go back to teaching. Because of budget cuts, I'd been shifted to another high school. Everything in my life was tumultuous change. I remember crying on the way to school so many mornings. But one thing besides my dark depression remained the same--my love for Aidan and Emma and their story. 

September came and after submitting my agent's requested revisions on Search Me, she decided that she hated the book entirely. I decided I was done with traditional publishing, and I broke ties with her. I put all my energy into finishing The Proposition.

As a high school teacher, Katie Ashley was born out of necessity. I wanted to keep my same initials for my pen name. Katie was a girl's name I'd always like(in the original Don't Hate the Player, Maddie was named Katie), and then my real last name is Ashe. So huzzah, I had a pen name!

When I hit publish on October 30th, I never envisioned any of this. In the end, I just wanted validation for my work and for people to read and enjoy what I had written. I had been down the road too many times to believe that something extraordinary and life-altering was about to happen. On Halloween, I remember getting a message from a writer buddy telling me that The Proposition had debuted at 240. I was in shock. I'd put out Road to Damascus and The Guardians by then with ranks in the 100,000's. That evening as Trick or Treater's overran my neighborhood, I remember sitting in front of my laptop in shock. 

And almost a year later, I'm still in shock. I've been blessed beyond all measure. I've been able to quit teaching and write full time, I've been able to travel around the country, and soon to be world, meeting readers and fellow writers. I'm a multiple New York Times and USA Today Best-seller, and The Proposition will debut in Brazil in October while following soon in other countries.

Sometimes I wonder what it was about The Proposition that resonated with readers. It's an odd little book when you think about it--a desperate single gal, a manwhore, and some sperm, lol. But fundamentally it's much deeper than just that. Emma is me in so many ways--her struggles along with her hopes and dreams. The love of family and friends is what I've been blessed to experience in my life. 

So dear readers, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. Without you, there would be none of these amazing blessings in my life. To show some of my appreciation, I'm running a month long anniversary celebration. Each week, I'll be doing a giveaway for a grand total of 2 Kindle Paperwhites and 2 Kindle Fire's along with some other prizes like signed books and swag. 






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Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Teaser Tuesday: AJ and Mia do the Rumba


So, in only a few short weeks, October 17th to be exact, I'll be unleashing Beat of the Heart on the world. 

When you met him in Music of the Heart, you knew that AJ loved to dance. So here he is with Mia on their first date trying to teach her how to do the Rumba, even though she's a little dance challenged. 



As he moved, my eyes honed in on the flourishing movements of his hips. With his blazer off, I could see his back muscles flexing through his shirt. Moist heat burned between my legs at the way the rhythm moved so effortlessly through every inch of him. My mind couldn’t help wandering to what those hips and shoulders might feel like moving above me, my hands running up and down his corded back muscles as he thrust in and out of me….


AJ’s voice brought me out of my fantasy. “Got it?”


“What?”


He laughed. “Come on, Mia. This is the easiest part I could show you without blowing your mind with the complications.”


“It wouldn’t take much.”


“Let’s try it together.” Once again, he took the remote out of his pocket. He scanned through several songs. When a sultry, Latin beat came from the speakers, he shoved the remote back into his pocket. He then slid his arm around my back while the other went to clasp my hand. He waited for the music to pick up at the right place. 
“Slow. Quick, quick, slow,” he instructed, his breath fanning across my cheek.


While the rhythm rippled easily through AJ’s body, I wasn’t quite getting the upper body flow or the swishing of the hips.


“Keep your frame locked, don’t slouch.”


I rolled my eyes. “Jesus, I feel like I stepped into Dirty Dancing.”


AJ laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been likened to Patrick Swayze, but hey, I’ll take it. The man had some serious moves.”


When I caught my reflection in the mirror, I tensed up. “AJ, I can’t do this. I’m completely robotic compared to you!”


“No, you’re not.”


“I tried to tell you before that I just don’t have it in me.” I dropped my arms from his shoulder and started to stalk off, but AJ tightened his grip on my hand before whirling me back against him.


“Yes, you do have it in you, Mia. And I’m going to show you.” He turned me to face the mirror before sliding behind me. His hands came to rest on my shoulders. “First of all, you’re way too tense. You need to loosen up. You have to let the music flow through you.” His deft fingers began massaging my neck and shoulders. His dark eyes locked on mine. “That’s it. Let the tension go. It’s only you and me here. No one is judging you.”


“But you—”


He shook his head. “You’re the one doubting yourself, not me.”


AJ’s fingers slid down, teasing along my clavicle. I felt the muscles in my neck and shoulders go limp. My eyelids started fluttering closed as he continued massaging me. “Mia, when will you get it through your thick, stubborn, Sicilian skull that your body is made for dancing…and for fucking.”


I popped my eyes open to stare open mouthed at his reflection. He winked at me. “Now for the lower half.” His hands slid down the side of my body, slightly catching the sides of my breasts, before coming to grip my hips. His hands rose up and down on my flesh, causing my hips to roll forward and backward. “That’s right.”


When he eased up on his grip, I kept up the same pace of undulating my hips. “Very nice.” He met my gaze in the mirror and grinned. “See, you don’t suck.” Keeping his eyes locked on mine, he slid his hands slowly back up my torso. My breath hitched when they paused above my ribs to tease the underside of my boobs. Surveying my reaction, he then splayed out his fingers to fully cup my breasts.


I raised my brows at him. “And when did groping second base get added to the rumba?” I questioned breathlessly.


His head dipped to nuzzle my neck. “It’s all part of my rumba.”


“I see.”


“Do you like it?” he asked, as his thumb and forefinger pebbled my nipple under the dress’s fabric.

“It’s not bad.”

“Hmm, ‘not bad’? That’s not exactly good, is it? Guess I better work on my moves.” His right hand released my breast and trailed down my side before coming to rest between my legs. “Think I might be able to sell you on third base better?”

A shudder rippled over me as he cupped and stroked me over my dress. Even through the fabric, I could feel the heat of his fingers. “Pretty good.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” When his hand left me, I moaned at the loss of sensation. In a flash, AJ was tugging at my hemline. My eyes widened when I watched his hand trail up my bare thigh.


Trying to steady my erratic heartbeat I sucked in a breath when his hand delved into my panties. “AJ—”


“Don’t fight it. Just feel.”


His fingers stroked my clit, causing me to whimper. My gaze darted over to the door, fearing that at any moment the instructor was going to walk in on us. As if he could read my mind, AJ said, “Don’t think about her. Just think about what my fingers feel like against your warm, wet pussy.”


I opened my mouth to protest, but AJ silenced me by sliding two fingers deep inside me. “Oh God,” I murmured. My eyes locked on AJ’s hooded gaze in the mirror. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t tear myself away from looking at what he was doing to me.

“Do you like watching me touch you?”


“Yes,” I panted.


“I like watching you react to me—the way your eyes widen, the way your chest rises and falls, the way your hips move.” He dipped his head to where his breath burned fiery against my ear. “I can’t wait until it’s my dick, not my fingers, that’s inside you.”


With my first male induced orgasm in six months within reach, I no longer cared that we were standing in a public place or that AJ had a thing for dirty talk unlike any of my other lovers. All I cared about in that moment was getting off. My arms went behind me to grasp onto his hips that were moving against my ass. 

“Mmm, I’m close. Make me come, AJ,” I commanded. 
Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Waiting on Wednesday: Teaser from Beat of the Heart

Here's a little snip from Mia and AJ's first date. If you missed their first meeting, you can find it here...

http://katieashleybooks.blogspot.com/2013/09/teaser-tuesday-aj-and-mias-meet.html


                                                                                                                                                                 

"Tell me about yourself." 

Swirling the wine around in her glass, Mia shrugged. “Not much to tell.”

I arched my brows at her. “Yeah, right. Don’t make me start in with some lame-ass get to know you questions.”

She grinned. “And what would those be?”

Even though I knew it would probably irk a woman like Mia—one who was refined and cared about class and style, I leaned in on the table with my elbows. “What do you like do when you’re not mending hearts?” I asked, my tone serious like an interviewer.

“Hmm,” she murmured, closing her eyes to think. After a few seconds, she popped them open and replied, “I like Pina Coladas and walks in the rain.”

It was my turn to tsk at her. “Not getting off that easy, Miss Martinelli.”

“Fine then. What I enjoy doing is probably a huge bore to you, but you asked for it.”

“Yep, hit me with it.”

“I like the usual stuff like books, movies, and TV. I like traveling. And…” A little flush filled her cheeks.

“And what?”

After a hearty gulp of wine, she replied in a low voice, “I like to knit.”

I couldn’t help laughing. “You’re shitting me.”

She narrowed her black eyes. “No, I’m not. My late grandmother taught me how to knit and crotchet.”

At her still seething anger and embarrassment, I held up my hands. “I’m sorry I found it so shocking that a smoking hot woman like yourself did something so old-school and nerdy as knit.”

She shrugged. “You asked, so I was honest.”

“You’re right, I did.” Grabbing another breadstick out of the basket, I grinned at her.  “You think you would ever make me something?”

“Hmm, like a dick cozy for those cold nights when no woman wants to put up with your bullshit?” she asked with fake sweetness.

Choking on the breadstick, I fumbled for my wine before taking a long swig. When I recovered, I couldn’t help laughing at her fiery response. “I would be honored if you would make me a dick cozy. I would wear it with pride and think fondly of you.”

“Oh you would, would you?” she asked, her lips curving upward.

“Yes, I would.” With a wink, I added, “But be sure to make it extra-large because I want it to fit.”

Mia snickered. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Teaser Tuesday: AJ and Mia Meet




So between coming home from Vegas, getting a heinous stomach bug, and then proceeding to come don with some truly heinous viral consumption that took a steroid shot and a week of antibiotics to conquer, I'm finally back to Teaser Tuesday! 

Beat of the Heart has a release date as well--October 17th--my late mother's birthday. 

Today's scene is where AJ and Mia meet for the first time. To recap, Mia is a cardiac nurse at St. Joseph's, and the guys, minus Jake and Brayden, have come to see Frank. 


As Frank went to work devouring a chili dog, Rhys jumped up on the ledge in front of the window, swinging his legs back and forth, while I plopped down into the heinously uncomfortable chair next to Frank’s bed.  We were just shooting the shit on all that had happened while he had been gone when the door swung open. Immediately, I got a swift kick in the pants of the most delicious kind. A tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed goddess of a nurse strode into the room. Through her standard blue scrubs, I detected she possessed every attribute that gave me instant wood—wide, curvy hips, thick thighs, a voluptuous ass, and a full, natural rack.

“Oh shit!” Frank exclaimed. His panicked gaze swept right and then left as if he were trying to think of a speedy getaway. I couldn’t imagine from the way his Angel of Mercy nurse looked, not to mention her genuinely caring expression, that she could possibly be worthy of such fear. He was acting like she was Nurse Ratched out of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest or something. 

She only smiled at his reaction. “Now Mr. Patterson, that’s not your usual greeting. You’re always so happy to see me.”

“I can see why,” Rhys muttered under his breath.

“No shit,” I replied.

“Er, uh…I’m sorry, Mia.” Frank gave her a reassuring smile. “I promise I’m very grateful for the care you have been giving me.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Her gaze flicked over to Rhys and me. “You must be Frank’s grandsons. He said you were coming in from out of town.”

Frank chuckled. “Actually, those knuckleheads are my bosses.”

Mia’s dark brows popped up at his summation. “Really?”

With a nod, Frank said, “Yep, that’s AJ Resendiz and Rhys McGowan.” He gazed over at us. “Boys, this is the most amazing nurse any man could ever hope for, Mia Martinelli.”

“You’re such a flatterer, Mr. Patterson,” Mia replied, before giving Rhys and me a wave. “Oh wait, now I remember. You’re the guys my nursing partner was telling me about. The ones in the band.”

Pursing my lips into my signature smirk, I replied, “Well, we’re not just in any band. We’re in Runaway Train. We were nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy’s last year.”

“I’m sorry, but I hadn’t heard of you before,” she replied, appearing genuinely apologetic.

Ouch. That statement was a different kick in the pants. I couldn’t remember the last time a chick hadn’t instantly recognized us or at least been utterly star-struck by being in our presence. I leaned forward in my chair. “Maybe you’ll give us a listen?”

She smiled. “Of course I will. It’s not every day I come into contact with a Grammy nominated band.”

“Thank you,” Rhys replied, giving Mia his own seductive smile. I fought the urge to knock it off his face.

“Maybe you could sign something for me?” she suggested.

My gaze honed in on her breasts, and I knew exactly where I wanted to sign. “Sure, I’d love to.”

Mia cleared her throat, and I snapped my gaze to hers. The expression on her face told me she knew exactly where my one track mind had gone. “Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of you bringing me a signed CD or—” Mia sniffed the air suspiciously. Her dark eyes bulged at the sight of the opened Varsity containers in front of Frank. “Mr. Patterson, please tell me that just three days after you underwent triple bypass that I am hallucinating the artery clogging food in front of you?”

Frank’s face turned the color of an overripe tomato at her admonishment. “Maybe,” he replied weakly.

Crossing her arms over her ample cleavage, Mia shook her head back and forth so fast I figured she would get whiplash. “How many times have we been over your diet since you were discharged from ICU?”

Cowering a little, Frank replied, “Several.”

“I’m so disappointed in you,” Mia admonished. Her wrathful gaze turned on Rhys and me. “Since this food didn’t materialize out of thin air, I suppose you two are to blame?”

“We just wanted to bring him his favorite food,” Rhys replied.

Mia’s eyes narrowed. “He just had by-pass surgery! He can’t eat stuff like this.”

I shrugged. “We didn’t know that.”

“Did you leave your brains in your guitar case?”

“I play the drums,” I corrected.

“Whatever,” Mia snapped. She grabbed Frank’s box of chili dogs and fries and slammed them into the trash. “I suppose you would think it was a good idea to take a bottle of champagne to someone just discharged from rehab, huh?” She started to swipe the drink off as well, but it bounced off the trash can lid and landed straight into my lap. Busting on impact, the ice cold orange soda coated my crotch, stinging like tiny daggers over my skin. “Fuck!” I shouted, leaping to my feet.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry,” Mia apologized.

What happened next could only be expressed as something out of a warped fantasy. With a wad of napkins in hand, Mia dropped to her knees before me—my dick eye-level with her gorgeous face. She began furiously toweling off the front of my jeans. It took all of two seconds for the visual, along with her ministrations, to have me at half-mast.

“Umm,” I began.

“Sorry, but this will stain if we don’t get it off.”

When I dared glancing over at Rhys, his hand covered mouth, smothering the laughter that caused his whole body to shake. Frank wore an expression of amused horror. Okay, so Florence Nightingale couldn’t take a hint. I guess I was going to have to make it as plain as I could. Leaning over, I whispered into Mia’s ear. “Carino, if you don’t stop with the rubdown, you’re going to make another mess to clean up. Inside my pants.”

She jerked her head up and stared into my eyes. I watched as the realization of my words, along with what she had been doing, washed over her. My breath hitched as waited for the usual signs of extreme mortification to follow—reddened cheeks, stammering speech, avoiding making eye contact. All the things that would make it easy for me to move in for the kill and have her in my bed by midnight. 

But I got none of those.

Instead, Mia rose up and smacked the soggy napkins against my chest. As I fumbled to grasp them, she replied, “I’m so terribly sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She then proceeded to give me a sickeningly, sweet smile—one that reminded me of Abby right before she gave one us a verbal smack-down. When she edged closer to me, I knew I was in for it and then some. She cocked one brown brow. “How terribly embarrassing and inconvenient it must be for you to have such a sensitivity problem down there. I mean, chicks expect a night of passion with Mr. Latin Lover, and they get mere seconds.” She made a tisking sound in the back of her throat. “Pity.”

My mouth gaped open, and instead of a witty, maybe even scathing, come-back, I could only open and close it like a dying fish out of water. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been rendered completely speechless by a female outside of my mother and abuela.

Mia eyed me one final time before turning to Frank. “Mr. Patterson, I’ll be back to check on you on the hour,” she replied before quickly side-stepping me and stomping out the room.

When the door closed behind her, Rhys and Frank howled with laugher. “Holy shit, dude! I can’t believe what she just said to you!” Rhys exclaimed, wiping the tears from his eyes.

I stared momentarily at the closed door before a smile spread across my cheeks. “Now that, gentlemen, is the future Mrs. Resendiz, right there.”