Shadowed Seats by Marguerite Ashton Book Tour, Guest Post, & Giveaway! {Ends 2/16/23

Feb 5, 2023 | 2 comments

 

Shadowed Seats
Marguerite Ashton
(Oliana Mercer, #1)
Publication date: August 21st 2017
Genres: Mystery, Young Adult

Oliana knows that every family has a secret, but she never expected hers to come from the grave.

High school senior Oliana Mercer dreams of attending the prestigious Reyersen Drama Academy and pursuing her acting career. But when tragedy strikes, Oliana discovers secrets hidden from her by her adopted parents, dimming the lights on her perfect world. As the sins of the past surface, Oliana finds herself caught up in a tug-of-war between two families while the love for her boyfriend is tested. Determined to find some form of happiness in life, Oliana becomes student director in the high school’s senior play. When her best friend, Devin Worthy, dies during dress rehearsal, Oliana is re-cast as the lead. Everyone thinks the death was a suicide, except Oliana, whose search for clues may be enough motive for the killer to murder again.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo

Guest Post:

10 Things I Wish I Knew About Being an Author I Didn’t Know Before

The ten things I wished I’d known about being an author before deciding to make it a career are not centered around a list. For me, I had to incorporate a process of evaluation. I had a lot of unpacking to do when I completed my second novel, Promised Lies. 

In the beginning, I dedicated every hour that I could between raising kids and getting through life while finding time to write. I’m thinking; I’ve got this. Later I realized that wasn’t true. My plan had failed.

However, writing kept me focused. Weird to say, I know. But writing was something that I looked forward to doing as much as I could. It went from a hobby to wanting to write full-time. Then it dawned on me that I was in a tough industry. Unless I was able to sign with a literary agent, there was no way to compete with an already saturated market.

So, rather than give up, I decided to treat my writing as a business and put together an LLC, allowing me to write and publish the books. I have worked with wonderful editors and cover artists who helped me to keep my dream alive.

But then I hit a wall. They say that most authors are responsible to help with marketing. I did what I could, but it didn’t go well. I thought I’d come this far, and there’s no way I’m giving up now. Then in 2020, my mom passed away. One of the cheerleaders’ who encouraged me to keep on writing was ripped from my life.  As a momma’s girl, I was crushed. There would be no more mother-daughter dates at Starbucks or breakfast, lunch, or dinners. My momma was gone.

I had two books that were due to be released that year. The whole, keep your publishing obligations no matter what went out the window. As a one-person team, I had to step back and breathe. The main thing that sat in my head was that I couldn’t write. Normally, I could write my way through the chaos. Not this time.

So, I’m hoping that the above can give you a hint of what I’m about to say regarding the things I wished I’d known before taking the leap into an author’s world.

The most important thing for me is that writing is like food. I love it! I learned that writing a book is not easy. Rewrites are my favorite thing to do because that’s the moment where you get to go back and fill in what was missing. Rewrite and create a better scene for my main character. But when it’s time to package the completed manuscript, I always feel a sense of joy, and oh crap, will my book make my readers happy. Whether it’s my writing style or the story itself, I have learned there will be people who aren’t interested in my books. My little sticky note on my laptop says, “Keep writing! Don’t read reviews and learn something new every day about writing.”

 Writing is what I do. It’s my job!

Meet the Author:

When Marguerite Ashton was in her twenties, she took up acting but realized she preferred to work behind the camera, writing crime fiction. A few years later, she married an IT Geek and settled down with her role as wife, mom, and writer!

Her blog, Criminal Lines: Settled Writer Past 40 is her outlet while building dollhouses and plotting out her next book.

Marguerite lives in Wisconsin and enjoys RVing.

Website ~ GoodReads ~ twitter ~ Facebook

 

Author Marguerite Ashton

Tour Schedule:

February 6th
A Soccer Mom’s Book Blog >> Excerpt
Twirling Book Princess >> Playlist
Rockin’ Book Reviews >> Guest Post
The Avid Reader >> Interview

February 7th
Celticlady’s Reviews >> Excerpt
Candlelight Reading >> Interview
Mythical Books >> Review
The Book Countess >> Excerpt

February 8th
fundinmental >> Excerpt
Bookworm for Kids >> Review
Adventures in Writing >> Excerpt
The Phantom Paragrapher >> Review

February 9th
Diane’s Book Journal >> Excerpt
Guatemala Paula Loves to Read >> Review
Kelsey Ketch >> Guest Post
Brandi Danielle Davis >> Review

February 10th
Honey Can Do It >> Excerpt
Teach Read Inspire >> Review
Valerie Ullmer | Romance Author >> Excerpt

Giveaway Details:

Tour-wide giveaway (INT)
  • $25 Amazon gift card

Enter the Giveaway below:

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2 Comments
  1. Nancy

    Intriguing title

  2. Anne

    Captivating and intriguing story. Interesting post about author.

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