Phillipa Ashley

Tony(R) Award Winner and Emmy(R) Nominee Kristin Chenoweth to Heat Up the Holidays in Lifetime Television's Twelve Men of Christmas

2009-05-28T04:12:00.000-07:00

Tony(R) Award Winner and Emmy(R) Nominee Kristin Chenoweth to Heat Up the Holidays in Lifetime Television's Twelve Men of Christmas

New website

2006-09-12T00:47:00.000-07:00

Well, I have a website at last. It's been designed by the brilliant Emily from Swank Web Design and I hope you like it.

Reaction so far has been great and I have to admit, Emily hit the nail on the head first time with the design.

I've included some information on there about how I started writing and some answers to FAQ's. I hope to add some writing tips soon plus a pic of me that won't scare the horses.

Please visit www.phillipa-ashley.com.

STOP PRESS: I've been invited to talk about Decent Exposure on Radio Cumbria. More details soon. The book is being launched at Ambleside Library on October 13 if anyone wantsto come along.

I'm on the LBD site!

2006-09-09T11:13:00.000-07:00

Sorry to be like a kid in a sweetie shop, but I'm so excited that Decent Exposure is featured on the Little Black Dress website.

There isn't a chapter sample yet but you can find out more about the book - and win some lovely BeneFit cosmetics - or even find out some recipes for love.

Click here to find out more.

Click here to enter the BeneFit competition. It's very easy !

Little Black Dress

2006-08-29T01:10:00.000-07:00

I've been away from my blog for a while because I've been deep into editing my second LBD book which is going to be called Wish You Were Here and will be on sale next summer. More details closer to... and also I have to finish the edits!

In the meantime I have been reading two fab LBD's - Step On It Cupid by Lorelei Mathias which is a brilliantly witty and contemporary take on the perils of finding true love in the 21st century and by contrast, Daisy's Back in Town by Rachel Gibson. This book is intense, atmospheric, hot and Texan with a big T. I have also realised that Decent Exposure is going to be published in October alongside Rachel Gibson's LBD, I'm In No Mood For Love.

Er... no wonder I love Rachel's writing - so does half of America. Rachel Gibson is one of the biggest names in romance in the world and a RITA award winner (RITA's are the Oscars of the romance writing world - I kid you not).

Visit here: http://www.rachelgibson.com/

PS Congrats to the very pregnant Julie Cohen whose spooky, kooky LBD, Spirit Willing, Flesh Weak is out on September 4th.

Decent Exposure - first look here...

2006-08-03T01:07:00.000-07:00

Well..it's less than eight weeks to go before my first novel hits the shelves of WH Smith, Borders, Ottakars and larger branches of supermarkets. My website is still under construction and will soon have an extract from this novel, a sneak preview of the next and more. (Note to self: the writers who told me to get these things set up before you sell a novel were right - but I was wayyyy too superstitous).

Extract coming soon to www.littleblackdressbooks.co.uk

Bookshop cult heroes

2006-07-31T09:56:00.000-07:00

Just wanted to blog about bookshop staff - and two in particular. These guys really are the unsung heroes of the town centre and many of them are completely mad too.

Let's take a friend of mine - let's call her Tiffany Darcy. This dynamic character is manager of a county town branch of a brilliant bookstore chain. She's an expert on everything from the pop-up kama sutra to Jane Austen and birdwatching. Generous to everyone but shoplifters, she always has a good word for the Big Issue lady outside her shop - and a particular soft spot for firefighters doing tin shakes. Will also be having signed copies of Decent Exposure which proves she has impeccable taste.

Also I must mention the staff of Sutton Coldfield Ottakars where I'm scheduled to take part in a new writers' night in October. They have promised wine, nibbles and a mention on their new blog.

More news soon about events and I'll post my cover jacket, complete with racy blurb.

Dangerous Liaisons

2006-07-17T09:12:00.000-07:00

I went to the Bullring in Brum today and was grinning from ear to ear to see the first Little Black Dress books on the table at the front with all the chicklit. Nearly told a man tidying the shelves but restrained myself.

The last time I went to the romance section, an armed shoplifter was tackled to the ground and arrested. Today we got evacuated from Borders Starbucks because of a 'sinister' power failure. Today I asked if I would I get a refund on my cappuccino and a savage looking assistant told me coffee was the last thing I should be thinking about. Cheeky bugger - I can get very menacing without caffeine.

I was there for research purposes, of course, and also to get some shoes ( I am SO shallow) for the Headline 20th anniversary party on Thursday.

The party invitation was stylish, enigmatic and calculated to have any woman squeaking with anxiety.

Dancing, drinks and canapes - OK, that I can do.
7pm-3am - THREE am? Threeeee.......eeeek!
Dress: well.

Um... dress well?

Should I wear my abseiling outfit?

Hot Stuff

2006-07-16T08:37:00.000-07:00

Whew...

Got back from Corsica yesterday where it was HOT. About 36 C in the shade every day. Far too sizzling to do anything except hot-foot it over the sand to the sea for a gentle swim or watch Mr Bennet windsurf or drink chilled rose wine. Therefore Mr B comes back tanned and toned and I come back tanned and about 5lbs heavier.

I also return more chilled and relaxed than I have been for ages even though I did write about 15,000 words of my new book, sitting on the beach, longhand. It's set in Corsica and there was ample inspiration. I even went for a dip in a mountain pool as research which was far more pleasant than abseiling on a wet BH Monday.

I also returned to find the page proofs of Decent Exposure in the post. Even though we got back late I had to look at them there and then. I think seeing my book in print at last was even more exciting than seeing the cover. I’ll try and post an extract very soon and also, hopefully, my website will be up and running. There was even an ad for one Julie Cohen at the back…

While I’ve been away. Little Black Dress has launched its website …it's great fun and very light-hearted so please visit www.littleblackdressbooks.co.uk to find out all about this gorgeous new imprint. The first books are in the shops now and the launch is being featured in the press.

I’ve also been invited by the very nice people at Ottakars in Sutton Coldfield to do a signing and take part in a New Writers Night in October. Dates and details of this event and the two launches, North and South, will be posted soon.

Happily, I returned to two rather nice cheques - one was from Jenny Haddon, chair of the RNA, with my returned NewWriters Scheme sub which I never got to use this year because I got published. (Big smiley) She also sent a lovely note congratulating me on becoming a full member. The other was my advance. Whoop, scream, rushes off to buy the entire Chelsea team and Chawton House.

On a final note I am having great trouble editing the links on this blog so here are some now!

www.littleblackdressbooks.co.uk

www.madaboutbooks.co.uk/ - The main Headline site for readers and authors

http://www.nelldixon.com/home.aspx - friend, author and book marketing guru and tea room expert

http://jessicaraymond.blogspot.com/ - ditto!

http://www.rna-uk.org/

And last but not least...to order your very own Will, sans clothes, click here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/0755334612/026-7154101-8629239?v=glance&n=266239

You don't have to...

2006-06-21T09:36:00.000-07:00

Hurrah!

Here is sneaky preview of the hilarious cover for Decent Exposure. I love it and I really think it's great fun. It was designed by an illustrator who does work for FHM, the Guardian and Conde Nast as well as publishers and I'm 'absolutely thrilled' with it, as Emma would say. Don't know what Will would say though... but those arms are something else.

I also have some news very soon about launch events.

Love

Pip x

Just saw my cover!

2006-06-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

This evening, I got an email with the jacket for Decent Exposure and it is absolutely hilarious! I can't share it with you just yet but it will be posted very soon. Watch this space.

It's witty, funny and ever so slightly risque...what a surprise considering the book is about a nude calendar.

I now have a promise to exact from a very nice person and fellow Headline author who kindly vowed to read the book in an unusual place. I hope to post a pic of her doing just that in October. Be careful what you wish for RT, that's what I say.

The overbearing master...or how it all began.

2006-06-12T06:37:00.000-07:00

Some people (having had their arms firmly twisted) have asked me how I came to write my first novel and how it got published. It still feels weird to talk about it ..like it has happened to someone else, but here goes.

I actually started writing when I was four, my first attempt to get published being a joke sent off by my mum to the Topper (yes - I'm that old). When I was nine, I won a runner's up prize in a Daily Mirror children's literary competition. Thanks to an inspirational English teacher at the local comprehensive, I later got a place to read English Language & Literature at Oxford. Special interests included Jane Austen and hot rum punch at The Turf Tavern.

After leaving uni worked (briefly) in a food factory, as a copywriter, a regional journalist and now runs a freelance copywriting business. The best part has been writing non-fiction articles including interviews with authors, actors and sportspeople.

I never dreamed of writing any fiction - far too difficult, I thought (it was and is) and very stressful (it was and isn't quite so much now).

In January 2005 I met up with a group of wonderful women on the BBC Drama message board, and became one of the members of an internet literary/writing site called C19. My first piece of fiction was a 'fanfic' called, imaginatively N&S 2005. It was a sexy, funny ( I hope) ‘modern’ take on the Mrs Gaskell’s North & South, without the multiple deaths and politics.

Which all gives me an excuse to post another gorgeous bloke. Mr 'Overbearing Master' himself, star of North & South ....Richard Armitage. (Sorry, Richard if you ever come across this but you have to shoulder some of the blame...and what broad shoulders they are.)

Over the edge - part 2

2006-05-29T11:26:00.000-07:00

Eventually, I managed to get into position i.e. leaning backwards over the cliff and then... I slipped on the wet moss and overbalanced sideways. Fortunately, Phil had hold of the rope and stopped me from doing any damage but it didn’t help matters. Another ten minutes and I tried again and this time, agonisingly slowly, I got my boots over the edge again. The moment I had to let to go of Phil and step back over the edge, was probably the worst. It really was much easier from there but there was no way on earth I was going to look down. I kept my eyes riveted on the metal ring and rope and in no time I had walked, Batman-like, down the rock face and was at the bottom.

The first thing I noticed, apart from trembling legs was that my fingers were throbbing from getting wet and cold and from gripping the rope as if my life depended on it.

Mr Bennet, to my surprise and envy, skipped down the cliff like an old pro – you’d never know it was his first time. He reckons it was scarier helping his dad re-tile their roof. But he did give me a very big hug and buy me a very large glass of wine.

If you want to make a donation to the LAMRT, please visit www.lamrt.org.uk or if you know my address, please send me a cheque payable to LAMRT or email me for details.

Thanks so much for your encouragement and support, moral and financial

Love

Pip xxx

Over the edge - part 1

2006-05-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

It was just another ordinary Bank Holiday Monday.

I read the Sunday Times, ate a bowl of Alpen …then got into my abseiling outfit (old trackies and walking boots) ready to do the most stupid thing I’ve ever done: climb down a cliff to raise money for the LAMRT and juice up a scene from Decent Exposure.

I knew things weren’t going to be easy when the CD started to play to ‘Don’t Fear the Reaper’ just at the moment it decided to hail in Biblical fashion. The car temperature gauge read 7^oC. This, for the benefit of readers from places like Brisbane and California our summer time begins officially in 22 days.

Like …yeah.

We were about five minutes from the weird yet magnificent outcrops of rock they call The Roaches. Some people may recall that Lizzy Bennet stands there, looking out serenely over the Peak District in the BBC Pride & Prejudice - in a full-length dress and corset no less.

The reality was somewhat different. The rain eased a little and we got out of the car. Phil Barber, my abseiling instructor (he’s the one with the ponytail) looked cheerfully unconcerned. Not surprising really, he has a Guinness Book of Records certificate for abseiling 878 feet off a TV mast. My OH (let’s call him Mr Bennet) was also doing his bit by offering to take the plunge too.

Some kind souls had already nabbed the ‘easy’ crag Phil had in mind, so we had one that as slightly trickier access. And as Phil pointed out, conditions were a bit ‘greasy’ (a technical mountaineering term, eh Phil?). If you’re been abseiling, you may not be that impressed by the height which we descended from. But from the top, with the rain lashing and my fingers numb with cold, it looked one hell of a long way down. No words can describe how scared I was. I was literally frozen with fear and that was just from trying to climb over the rocks to get onto the ledge. I actually wept with terror, I don’t mind admitting and I haven’t gripped a man’s hand so tightly since I gave birth to my daughter.

And did my bum look big in the harness?

YOU BET IT DID!

Pip takes the plunge

2006-05-26T04:14:00.000-07:00

This morning, I had a very nice experience: several lovely cheques through the post. Unfortunately they weren't for me but for the LAMRT - the Langdale & Ambleside Mountain Rescue team.

On Monday, shine or probably rain, I'm going to dangling off a rope at The Roaches. No, not a giant insect theme park, but a stunning upland area of Staffordshire, on the edge of the Peak District.

I'm going to be abseiling - which is a key scene in Decent Exposure - to raise money for the LAMRT, which is entirely funded by voluntary donations. So far we have enough money to kit out some lucky soul in lightweight waterproofs (see their wish list on www.lamrt.org.uk).

If you know my address and think you could help, please send me a cheque payable to LAMRT and I'll forward it to the team. Otherwise, please visit their site for details of how to donate.

All this has been made possible by Phil Barber, who runs an outdoor pursuits shop (www.outdoorco-op.co.uk) and also happens to have featured in the Guinness Book of Records for abseiling down a TV mast.

I'll post the pics here if and when I live to tell the tale.

Pip xx

PS -For a panoramic and rather worrying view visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/stoke/360/roaches_2.shtml

Suffering from Gerarditis

2006-05-16T01:43:00.000-07:00

Losing IT...

2006-05-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

I hope that's got your attention!

Hi and welcome to my blogging debut

I'm a 'virgin' novelist. Whew, that sounds weird. The thing is, I've always been a writer, mostly of articles, brochures and ads etc but it wasn't until January 2005 that I decided to try and write some fiction.

I finished my first novel, Decent Exposure later that year and finally plucked up the courage to send it to an agent in spring 2006. She loved the book, signed me up and a few weeks later sold the book to Headline Publishing for their gorgeous Little Black Dress series.

I'm a blog virgin so please bear with me. It has taken me a week to find out how to clear my cache - it required an extensive course of antibiotics but I've finally cracked it. The symptoms involved multiple postings of Gerard Butler. He is exactly what I have in mind for Will Tennant, the mountain rescue hero of my book. So, risking catching the disease again, I've posted a pic of Gerard looking mean and moody.

Oops.... looks like I caught Gerarditis again.

Well, you get the idea. 'Will's' forearms are one of the first things Emma (the heroine) notices about him. If you'd like to find out what else she likes - and hates - you'll have to wait until October 2nd 2006 but you can pre-order the book now online at Amazon, Waterstones, Borders, WH Smith and Tesco.

More news soon about the abseiling challenge I'm taking part in to raise money for the Langdale & Ambleside Mountain Rescue Team, who helped me with the technical research for Decent Exposure.