Happy May!!! I am out of school, summer break is here, and that means that I am spending June and July writing my books. June should hopefully have some news about new releases, and maybe an arc sign-up? You’ll have to stay tuned and find out!
What have I been up to in May?
I am going to be honest with you all – May kicked my butt. The end of the school year comes with stress and challenges, from graduation to clearing out classrooms. Throw in some travel for a LARP event I went to, and having some health issues pop up, and it was a perfect storm of not doing a ton of writing. But the good news is…IT’S SUMMER BREAK! I have two months of writing to do, and I’m going to make the most of it.
Now about that LARP – Outbound Hope was a space adventure that took place in Bay City, Michigan. We used the USS Edson, a decommissioned Navy Ship, as our spaceship the Flame of Liberty. I played Katie McCrobie, who started as the Communications Director for the Attorney General, and ended as the Deputy Governor. And yes, that is quite the promotion that wouldn’t happen without a specific set of circumstances: primarily most of the cabinet (including the Governor of our colony) ended up in a different part of space, and the people actually in the line of succession didn’t want the promotion. Can’t imagine why. It was so much fun watching my former journalist turned government mouthpiece discover what it meant to actually govern, and every action that she did was the good of the entire civilian fleet – or at least the ones who made it through the Bifrost Gate with us. I hope to continue her story next year, because it’s definitely not over yet, and she still has a lot of growing to do.
I picked out the three pictures (all by the INCREDIBLE Matt Norris who is one of the most talented photographers I have ever met) I felt really showed off Katie’s arc this year, and the meme and the look on her face in the middle one was probably my favorite thing I made once the game was over. While not actually writing, LARP is a form of collaborative storytelling I wish people would give more credit, because each person at the game was the main character of their story, each got their own hero moment. And I know the staff is coming up with even more fun (and in-character trauma) for the next event.
In addition, I also got a dog this month! Many people don’t know I lost my dog Elsa to cancer in February, and I had just started feeling ready to get a new dog in the middle of the month. However, I didn’t expect to find a new dog so quickly – but I saw her online, within an hour and a half was meeting her, and the next thing I knew I was bringing her home. Juliet is such a welcome addition to the family, and I am glad that I was able to bring home another pupper.
Last, but I guess not least, I accidentally went viral on Threads for a surprising reason – my academic work! I few years ago, I had written an essay on Zelda Fitzgerald’s Save Me The Waltz, including why her husband the famous F. Scott Fitzgerald is actually trash. People begged to see the essay, so I have put it here on the website! I hope you enjoy learning why this serial plagiarist doesn’t deserve the hype, and why Zelda actually does.
Juliet Pictures of the Month
As I said earlier – I adopted a dog this month! Juliet is a five-year-old bichon frisé I rescued from my local Humane Society! She is a bundle of goofy energy who wants to be in everyone’s business at all times. In fact, she’s currently watching me work on this newsletter to make sure I am doing it properly.
She hasn’t had her first groom yet so she looks EXTRA like a Muppet, but she’s going to get a fresh summer cut as soon as she’s fully healed from her spay surgery. Overall, I am so happy to have a dog again, and she is going to be heavily featured in the newsletter from this point on!
Book I Loved This Month:
This Weekend Doesn’t End Well For Anyone by Catherine Mack
The Vacation Mysteries series is one of my all time favorites. Part comedy, part mystery, part critique of the publishing industry, this series follows Eleanor Dash – mystery author, who unfortunately has a murder happen every time she goes on vacation.
This is the third book in the series, and once again, Catherine Mack convinced me the wrong person was the murderer
(though this time I could at least admit the murderer WAS sus – which did not happen in the first two). I love the way she blends together the mystery, and Eleanor is such a fantastic narrator (complete with breaking the fourth wall footnotes that are ESSENTIAL reads). The crumbling resort was a fantastic setting, especially when the body was found…IN THE PROLOGUE! The vibes of these books are always immaculate – though I am glad I didn’t find myself at this Writer’s Retreat.
My goal in life is to get everyone to read these books, she’s sold three more of them so unfortunately for Eleanor, there’s more murder coming on her next vacation – and I cannot wait to see what happens next!
You can buy This Weekend Doesn’t End Well For Anyone HERE! (though you will want to read Books 1 (Every Time I Go On Vacation Someone Dies) and 2 (No One Was Supposed To Die At This Wedding) first – while the mysteries are all self-contained there are things that progress through the books)
Book Spotlight: Sidekicks
Five years ago, Nikki Caldwell’s world imploded when her father—beloved superhero The Eagle—broke his one rule and killed his archnemesis, Nightshade. Wracked with guilt, he vanished, leaving behind the teenage crime-fighting team he’d assembled… and a daughter burdened with a secret: the man he killed wasn’t Nightshade.
In the years that followed, Nikki buried her sidekick past. But when Nightshade resurfaces, it’s clear it’s with a deadly new plan: to eliminate every member of The Eagle’s former team. As time runs out, Nikki is forced to track down her estranged teammates who have scattered across the country, each trying to escape their past…and each other.
Reconnecting means confronting old wounds, buried secrets, and the one truth none of them are ready for: everything they thought they knew about Nightshade was a lie, and the truth is darker than they expected.
Nikki thought she’d left that life behind.
But some legacies don’t die—they just wait for their moment.
Start Superhero Summer right with Sidekicks – available HERE in paperback, ebook, and Kindle Unlimited.
Upcoming Events:
Superhero Summer Sidekicks PR Box Giveaway – Drawing the Winners on June 1st
Do YOU want to enter to win a Sidekicks PR box (you know that book that’s in the section right about this one?). Do YOU live in the US? (Sorry, it’s only open to the US right now because shipping is expensive). Do YOU follow me on Instagram? If you answered yes to those three questions, you qualify for the SUPERHERO SUMMER PR BOX GIVEAWAY! You can enter to win HERE – and may the odds be ever in your favor!
Sloth Fact of the Month:
Sloth digestion is VERY slow – they only eat a little bit per day because it can take weeks or months to get through their system
That’s all for this month! I know that May was pretty uneventful, but hopefully you’ll get some really exciting updates in June!!!!
XOXO ~ Ash
Ashley Skolrud 
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