Hi friends,

As you may have seen over on my Instagram, Cosmo revealed the cover of my Summer 2026 Romance! But for those of you who have mercifully escaped the land of social media (I applaud you), I can finally reveal it on my newsletter, too!

So, without further ado…

The new head gardener at the enchanting Lilymoor House stumbles upon a secret garden . . . with a mysterious man trapped inside, in the next magical novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Sounds Like Love and The Seven Year Slip.

When Sophie Drear plans her escape to coastal Maine for the summer—for a temporary job revitalizing the storied grounds at Lilymoor House—she doesn’t expect to fall in love.

But she does: With the beguiling land, the fragrant flowers, and the towering hedge maze. With the quirky staff and the enigmatic woman who owns the place.

And then, the door appears. Never in the same place twice, it leads her to a secret, and unfinished, garden with a frustrated thundercloud of a man trapped inside.

This mysterious garden is not the only sign that the future of Lilymoor is unstable: the foliage resists Sophie’s careful nurturing, vines threaten to strangle the hedges, and the manor’s owner has wild ideas about who will take over when she retires—including her inconveniently attractive nephew who is also there just for the summer.

Despite herself, Sophie has come to care for the residents of Lilymoor just as much as she cares for its grounds. With the help of one man on the outside of the secret garden, and one man on the inside, she might be the only person who can figure out exactly what Lilymoor needs to bloom once more.

pre-order here

This book was a beast to write, but in the best way. It stretched the limits of my creativity and it challenged me to do things I hadn’t done before in a story. It’s quite possibly the rawest I’ve ever been writing a book. The Someday Garden my ode to secret gardens and Maine coastal towns and bittersweet love triangles.

I can’t wait for all of you to meet Sophie and Cyrus and Oliver at Lilymoor.

They’ll be waiting for you. <3

xoxo,
Ash

For a week every year, South Carolina has autumn. At the time of me writing this, we’re in that week. Just before November, just after quite possibly the hottest day all October. The wind is blowing, my neighbor’s pine trees are giving up their nettles all over my driveway, and the inflatable Snoopy dog three doors down is laying face-down on the lawn.

Truly, there’s not a better season than this one week of autumn.

Not that I’ve been able to enjoy most of it, sadly, between shoring up final edits for Star Wars (oh yeah, did you know I’m writing a Star Wars?), losing my way through the romance I have out next June, and a trip to Spain.

Right, yeah—I guess I should talk about Spain.

Urano, my Spanish publisher, invited me over for Amabook Experience and a few events around the country! I had never been to Spain before, so obviously I took my dad, who impossibly knew even less of the language than I did, though my dad is so charismatic it doesn’t matter—people just like him. So with our powers combined, we hunted down some tapas and somehow didn’t get lost in Barcelona. I’d call that a win!

It’s truly such a strange and lovely thing, to be invited to reader events halfway across the world where your books are translated into a different language, and still have that same visceral human experience that draws us all together.

Art reminds me, over and over, just how magical it is.

And anyway, here’s some of my favorite photos from the trip!

Honestly, I’ll be dreaming about those tapas and terracotta-colored alleyways for a very long time.

While I didn’t get the chance to do many touristy things, I did manage to write quite a bit, which is always lovely. There’s something invigorating about traveling to a new place that really helps me shake off my burnout.

Right—yeah. I guess I should talk about that, too.

The whole burnout of it all.

In a perfect world, I’d update this newsletter regularly, and chat about life and goals, writing and career strategies and my favorite books—but I’ve hit the particular kind of burnout where whenever I open my laptop to get anything done, nothing gets done.

It’s quite frustrating.

I’ve always been transparent about my creative process, and the fact that I am—regrettably—just human. I’m not a savant, and I’m not particularly gifted at language, but I’m tenacious like a dog after a bone. And I don’t like to give up until I’ve already chased said bone off the cliff without a parachute.

I think I have, finally, run off that cliff.

Without a parachute.

I talked at length during my tour this year about writing Sounds Like Love through burnout, and how fanfic revitalized me last year. Fanfic still, often, does bring me back from the dead, but it’s become harder and harder to revive me each time. It’s not that I don’t have confidence in my writing, or that I’ve let in so much outside noise that I’m paralyzed with indecision.

No, I think I’m simply tired, and I don’t have the time to rest.

I have, at this moment, written three books this year on top of finishing pass pages for Sounds Like Love in January. That’s a lot for anyone, though some authors write more and are happy doing it. Truth be told, I thought I was one of those people. I mean, I guess I used to be. The last time I found myself in this kind of a pickle, it was in 2022 when I had to finish The Bewitching Hour, Bishop Takes King… and The Seven Year Slip.

I don’t remember it being half as hard. Then again, maybe I just blocked it out of my memory.

Thankfully, my plan for the next few books on the docket is a bit different—and I’ll tell you all about those later—but right now let’s suffice to say that after this final book this year, I’m going to go dark for a month or so. Shake myself out of this coil of anxiety and expectation, and figure out what shape I’m supposed to be.

I can’t recall what shape I used to be.

Maybe that shape isn’t applicable anymore. Maybe I have to make a new one.

Either way, there’s a lot of Floor Time in my future, and video games, and books — so many good books! I can’t wait to get there.

But first, as always, I need to finish this book and meet this deadline, so I’m going to go wander back into this garden of words that keeps trying to ensnare me, its thorns scraping at my skin. And hopefully, I can figure my way through it.

It might seem like I’m complaining, but I love a good challenge even when I’m burnt out, and I love this book something fierce. It’s raw and soft and inquisitive, and I hope I can make it bloom on page the way it has in my head.

And anyway, as has been my mantra over the last few months—

The only way out is through.

In rder: Don’t Forget to Breathe, Julia Song is Undateable, Say It Out Loud, Good Spirits, All Superheroes Need PR, Female Fantasy

If you missed the last newsletter, I’m writing a Star Wars Romance! How cool is that?? Someone should definitely pinch me, because I’m still not sure how I conned my way into a galaxy far, far away.

November 18th - Lovestruck Books in Boston, MA - celebrating Good Spirits with BK Borison!

December 1st - M. Judson in Greenville, SC - celebrating And Then There Was You with Sophie Cousens!

I think that’s it for this newsletter. Substack is already warning me that it’s “almost at email limit”—whatever that means—so I hope to see you at one of my events in the near future.

And as always, happy reading!

xoxo,
Ash

I have a secret. A secret I can now, after the Lucasfilm Publishing panel at NYCC, can now share!

I’m going to a galaxy far, far away!!

From the announcement:

New York Times best-selling author Ashley Poston is writing the first official Star Wars romance novel, Eyes Like Stars. NYCC got the first look at the dreamlike cover for the young adult novel, which features a couple in search of their happily ever after in the galaxy far, far away. The charming young adult romance, set about a year and a half before Star Wars: The Force Awakens, features all-new characters, a mysterious artifact, and the fearsome First Order. (Summer 2026)

Someone pinch me! I am over the (galactic) moon to finally share this story with y’all. When my editor, Emeli Juhlin, asked me to lunch one sunny day in August of 2023 and, halfway through eating, leaned in and asked how I felt about Star Wars…

It feels like a dream come true.

Star Wars has been such a deep and integral part of my life for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, Dad and I went to see every prequel trilogy movie at our local theater, with a big buttery popcorn and a coke. On weekends, reruns of the Star Wars original trilogy always played in the background of chores. Whenever Dad and I went to the grocery store, we’d force-move the automatic doors open. I’d wait expectantly every week for the new episode of The Clone Wars on Cartoon Network. I remember playing pretend as Jedis with my childhood friend Joseph, in epic lightsaber battles on chilly autumn evenings in our front yards.

Even when I started writing my own scifi epic in my Iron Kingdom duology, I pulled heavily from my love of the galaxy far, far away. There are nods to Star Wars in my Once Upon a Con trilogy as well. I’d written Star Wars fanfics on AO31, but I never imagined that I’d actually be asked to make my love for it canon.

It’s wild. It’s wonderful.

Never in my career did I think I would be here. Never. It makes my fangirl heart sing.

I can’t tell y’all very much about Eyes Like Stars yet other than its part of a brand new Initiative bringing you stories in all sorts of different genres—thriller, horror, mystery—and my Romance2 novel is only the first. There are more amazing stories coming down the pipeline, and I hope new readers to the Star Wars universe will fall in love with them and this wide, wonderful galaxy, too.

Hopefully I can share more great news soon!

Until then, I’ll just be over here with my head in the Bespin clouds.

xoxo,
Ash

So, I have a garden, and in this garden I have tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, strawberries, squash, and watermelon. The squash died earlier this year after a classic South Carolina heat wave. The peppers got taken by the crows. I got to enjoy a few cucumbers, excited for my chance to eat a fresh tomato and some watermelon—

And then the raccoon came.

He got into my peanuts first — the peanuts that I bought specifically to lure the crows into being my friends. In the crow feeder, I also added balls of tinfoil because crows like sparkly shit, and I like sparkly shit, and apparently the raccoons also like sparkly shit because I keep finding the balls of tinfoil scattered around my yard like an abandoned game of soccer.

I was fine with the raccoon eating the peanuts, because that’s what they’re there for. And I was fine with the cucumbers because they weren’t that great…

But it takes a long time to grow a watermelon. I’d been keeping an eye on that sucker for weeks now as it grew. Only a few more days, and I’d pick it off the vine and cut it up and serve myself a nice refreshing snack.

Then yesterday as I went out to check on Buddy (I named it because it was my child, okay? I watered that thing, I talked to it, I told it to grow up big and strong.) and Buddy was cracked open and completely—and I mean completely—hollowed out.

Dispair washed over me, then anger, and finally acceptance.

Fine, I thought. This is war.

And so now every night I leave out a little raccuterie board filled with roasted peanuts, fruit, dog food, and fresh water. If the raccoon wants food, I’ll give the raccoon food.

That’ll teach him.

Also, for those of you not on Instagram, I am no longer attending RomanceCon. I am sorry to everyone who I promised to meet there, but as always if you would like a signed copy of my novels, please visit All Good Books.

I am currently editing one of the (unannounced) novels out next year, and it’s hella fun. I can’t wait to chat more about it in the future, but as of the moment all I can say about future projects is that:

1. Yes! I do have a romance out next year!1

2. Actually, I have two romances out next year! The second is the unnanounced one, and it is not adult, though it has almost my entire heart. I’m sure I’ll be able to talk about it soon…

3. I am up to my eyeballs in deadlines, so if you need me and cannot reach me, know that I am probably either furiously editing a manuscript with at least three old cups of coffee on my desk or I am having Floor Time2.

Otherwise, I’m traveling a bit for my own pleasure, and spending time with my cats, and trying to get my house organized for the first time this year. Sadly, however, I am not very good at organizing and my cats would rather sleep and my body is rebelling against travel.

So.

Can’t win ‘em all, I guess!

Currently Reading…

How to Find a Nameless Fae by AJ Lancaster. Finished this yesterday and honestly, it’s so refreshing to read a romantasy about a 40-year-old Tired of Shit. Good job. 10/10.

Currently Watching…

Secrets of the Silent Witch. Incredibly cool magic system and cozy political intruige. And the animation is lovely.

Currently Listening To…

Audio: Disney Adults: Exploring (and Falling In Love With) a Magical Subculture by AJ Wolfe. Obviously as a millennial who loves the Disney Parks, this piqued my interest.

Music: You Know Who the Fuck We Are, Motion City Soundtrack.

Don’t forget to follow me over on Instagram, where I do monthly bathtub rec videos so you can find your next favorite read!

Until next time!

xoxo,
Ash

A few months ago, I had the absolutely pleasure to work with Colin Donnell and Patti Murin on a very real and very cool project — one that turned into an actual song!

Patti lends her voice to Joni in the audiobook, and truly I couldn’t ask for a better person to bring her to life.

Patti and Colin combined their talents into this lovely demo of Sounds Like Love, which you can now listen to wherever you get your music!

Happy listening!

Spotify!

Apple Music

Everywhere Else!

Truly, what a strange sort of life authors lead.

One day I’m sitting on the couch eating Doritos in my pajamas, a cat on my chest, and the next I’m standing in front of over 300 people in a church, musing about ghost boners and what if Hozier had daddy issues and—well—you know.

It’s truly a strange life, and I’m so incredibly thankful to be able to do this.

Sounds Like Love was one of those books I’ve been waiting my whole life to write, and then when I finally got the chance to write it… I couldn’t. Like, not literally. I could sit down and type some words out, but every time I tried to dig into the story and make a nest there, it never felt comfortable. It never felt good.

It had no idea why.

Sounds Like Love was supposed to be my homecoming to the kind of book that started my career—a celebrity romance with a twist. (Pour one out for Geekerella.) But it felt wrong. I didn’t know why.

It was like I kept slamming my face against a brick wall, over and over again.

One draft, two drafts—

They were never good enough.

So, I gave up.

I quit writing (for, like, two weeks) and I fled into the one safe haven that felt good:

Fanfiction.

I’ve been a lifelong connoisseur of fanfic, ever since I was eleven and found a message board linking me to a fix-it fic for my favorite anime. After that, I was hooked. Fanfic is my home away from home—my cave, my nest, my island of misfit toys. It’s where I go to unzip from my Ashley Poston persona and exist in the space of anonymous for a little while.

Anonymous has no deadlines.

No contracts.

No inbox full of emails related to writing but are never actually about writing.

Anonymous might have readers, sure, but those readers also don’t have names or faces. They unzip themselves out of their daily lives and meet in this nebulous water cooler called AO3.

So, that’s where I went.

And there, in a 50,000-word fanfic, I remembered something that I’d forgotten in all of the deadlines and the emails and the contracts and the career of it all—

I’d forgotten that this was supposed to be fun.

Obviously not all the time, and obviously not the same kind of fun that it had been when I first started out—but still fun. Still… joyful. Because let me tell you, that 50,000-word fic was fun as hell. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d kicked my feet and cackled over a line of dialogue (even though it had just been the year before), the last time I’d swooned over a scene (again, the year before)—but there I was, remembering how to.

What a wild thing, to forget something so suddenly, only to remember it in the strangest rarepair you’ve ever written.

So, I went back to Sounds Like Love, and I gathered all of my favorite things together, and I wrote it again.

Third time’s the charm, it seemed.

(Each book is a different challenge. The Seven Year Slip took seven drafts, A Novel Love Story took two. The Dead Romantics was the only book I’ve ever gotten on the first try.)

The third draft of Sounds Like Love became an ode to the exact thing I’d been fighting—creative burnout. It’s about what happens when your well runs dry, and you aren’t quite sure how to refill it again when the things that you usually use stop working. It’s also about my love for music, and how live shows feel often like a spiritual experience, strangers singing their favorite songs together.

Sounds Like Love is my love song to all the concerts I’ve been to, and all the sheet music I’ve cried over, and all of the cover bands who proved to me that you don’t have to be better than the original—you just have to be you.

And in the end? That’s enough.

It’s always enough.

I hope, if you are burnt out and searching for something to fill your creative well, you find some solace in Sounds Like Love. Because I see you, and it’s rough, and you’re thirsty—don’t give up.

You’ll find your spark again.

Authors and Events!

To celebrate Sounds Like Love, I want to showcase all of the lovely authors who will be at the events with me!

They are truly the MVPs of this tour!!

First up, there’s Kerry Winfrey who I spoke with last night at Wild Geese Bookshop, whose tension-soaked, sweet-as-apple-pie romances remind me of the best of Nora Ephron. Waiting for Tom Hanks was my introduction to her work, a masterclass in tongue-in-cheek wit and starstruck flirting, and I’ve devoured almost every book since. The companion book, Not Like the Movies, was a perfect follow-up. Speaking of Nora Ephron, Very Sincerely Yours is the quintessential contemporary version of You’ve Got Mail. But if you want to stay on the music theme, Just Another Love Song is the perfect country-flavored chaser to Sounds Like Love. Seriously, Kerry has a book for all of your witty rom-com needs, including a Christmas book for all you weird Christmas-in-July people. (Me, I’m weird.)

Next up is the immaculate Jenna Levine at A Novel Romance, and I am convinced that with our combined love for the Muppets we might just convince Disney to make Muppet Pride and Prejudice. Or could you imagine a Muppet Dracula? Amazing. Speaking of vampires—and trust, I am always speaking of vampires, I lust for vampires—I fell in love with Jenna’s My Roommate is a Vampire because, hello, who doesn’t want to room with a hot vampire who respects your autonomy and doesn’t steal the engine out of your truck and watch you while you sleep?? And somehow, her next novel, My Vampire Plus-One, made me fall even harder for her cinnamon-rolls-who-can-suck-you-dry vampires. So obviously, when I got an ARC of her next book, Road Trip with a Vampire, I immediately dropped all of my responsibilities like a Normal Person and devoured it. (Much like I want Peter to devour me.)

Then in New York City, I have the esteemed pleasure of chatting with Casey McQuiston, who needs no introduction. (Though if you haven’t read The Pairing, what are you waiting for?? Food, messy queers, more food, European mistakes, more food—did I mention loves of my life and messes beyond measure, Theo and Kit??)

In Rhinebeck, New York, I am going to fangirl so hard over Patti Murin who is the voice of Joni in the audiobook, and also the voice of countless other heart-rending romances. (Also, there may just be a song-shaped surprise for everyone in attendance!)

[Dance break]

Next up at Changing Hands is the swoony and satisfying Jen DeLuca, whose Renn Faire romances reeled me in with their charm. And now she’s writing haunted romances? Be still my ghost boner heart! I might’ve blurbed Haunted Ever After, and the upcoming Ghost Business is sure to cement itself in my rival-haunted-tour-guide-romance at the top of the list.

In Seattle, at Third Place Books, Jo Segura and I are going to venture our way into hidden temples and the ancient arts of flirtation — and trust, she’s a pro. With such artifacts as Raiders of the Lost Heart, Temple of Swoon, and the upcoming The Lust Crusade, it’s sure to be a thrilling time. But elevator pitch aside—I really love these books. They’re the perfect blend of Indiana Jones and the Uncharted video games with badass heroines who could go toe-to-toe with Lara Croft. And the chemistry!! Oh, *chef’s kiss*.

Then down in LA at The Ripped Bodice—and again in Minneapolis at Tropes and Trifles—I’ll be teaming up with my buddy, my pal, my fanfiction mistress and vampire queen Julie Soto. Obviously if you like sweet tension and sexy romances, Forget-Me-Not and Not Another Long Song are your perfect summer escapes. But if you’re looking to read about people escaping from certain death? The Thrashers is your book. Nevermind her romantasy coming out in July, Rose in Chains!! Have read and can confirm, you will be chained to that book until the very last page.

For the last leg of my trip, I’ll be chatting with D.L. Soria at M. Judson, and y’all. Let me tell you about the gospel of The Cottage Around the Corner. Do you like Nora Ephron? Emily Henry? This one glorious life? Have you spent hours upon hours playing Stardew Valley and wondering what a romance with the heir of the evil Jojamart would look like? This is it, and it’s just as magical and just as lovely as you’d imagine. D.L. Soria has been in this game a while (we both have—queue the “It’s been 84 years” gif) and so she has a whole backlist of titles including Thief, Liar, Lady, which is a Cinderella retelling with a bite, as well as three amazing YA novels— Iron Cast, a historical fantasy where two magical partners-in-crime must go on the run or face the consequences, Fire With Fire, a fantasy about two sisters who find themselves on the opposite side of a war when one forms a magical bond with a dragon, and Beneath the Citadel, another fantasy where the daughter of rebels must topple a terrible prophecy to save her city.

At Eagle Eye Bookshop in Decatur, GA, Julian Winters and I will be plotting a (currently ridiculous) cross-country road trip in an RV. Julian’s got dibs in the AUX cable, I’m at the wheel—who’s with us? For those who are unfamiliar with my love for Julian and his work, I never miss a chance to shout about I Think They Love You, which is basically Succession if Succession was a rom-com and had a baby with Schitt’s Creek. The way Julian writes about queerness and community truly shines. Last First Kiss hasn’t come out yet, but I have A GREAT NEED because, again, I’m a Christmas-in-July kind of gal. Julian’s also known for his award-winning YA as well—Prince of the Palisades, As You Walk On By, Right Where I Left You If you’re looking for a book to rekindle your faith in the kindness of being, pick up a book by Julian Winters.

And last but not least is an extra-special guest in Orlando at The New Romantics—Alicia Thompson!! Which, I will have you know, just ALSO came out with a new book, Never Been Shipped, about a band reunion on a cruise ship and let me tell you, they might’ve never been shipped but I ship Micah and John so hard. But if you’re more of a theme park girlie, With Love, From Cold World, is such a fun romp through amusement park shenanigans. Love in the Time of Serial Killers is for all you true crime fans out there convinced that your neighbor might just be a murderer. And, don’t worry, if you’re into that whole sports thing, The Art of Catching Feelings is the baseball rom-com of your dreams. Heck, it even made me look up the rules of baseball! I don’t even like baseball! But when Alicia Thompson writes it? I’m in love.

I hope you’ve at least come away from this post with one new book on your TBR! And I hope to see you soon at one of the events!

There are still tickets left to some tour stops, so get them before they sell out!

A Surprise—

I have two more newsletters coming this week! One to profess my love for a certain song from Sounds Like Love, and the other is an exclusive short story with everyone’s favorite chef and his lemon.

So stay tuned for those newsletters! One is, actually, coming later today!

Until then, never forget to chase your joy.

xoxo,
Ash

My cat, Moose, likes to chase the light.

It doesn’t matter what kind it is—a sun ray, a laser pointer, a reflection off a watch face… he chases them all with reckless abandon.

Right into walls, sometimes.

I have been in the trenches of deadlines these last few weeks, though let’s be honest, I’m always in the deadline trenches these days—not that I’m complaining! Rather the opposite. I love the books I’ve written this year. I love how different they are, and I hope I can talk about them soon, but sometimes when I draft I feel like Moose when he finds his noggin’ smacking up against a wall.

And no matter what, like Moose, I’ve yet to catch the light—and I don’t think I ever will, really. I don’t think the point is to catch the light. The point is the chase.

The fun of it.

The adventure.

So, I will keep chasing these stories and smacking my face into walls over and over again even though it hurts on the hard days.

So, thank you for being patient with me while I’ve been rather radio silent these last few months on here (aside from the tour post). Just imagine me chasing a light with Moose, and smacking into newly-painted walls, and that is probably where I will be.

At least until tour.

And speaking of which…

Wanna come see me on tour??

Tour!

June 16
HOUSTON, TX
Blue Willow Bookshop

June 17
FRANKLIN, IN
Wild Geese w/ Kerry Winfrey

June 18
ST. LOUIS, MO
Novel Neighbor - SOLD OUT!

June 19
LOUISVILLE, KY
A Novel Romance w/ Jenna Levine

June 21
NEW YORK CITY
B&N Union Square w/ Casey McQuiston - SOLD OUT!

June 22
RHINECLIFF, NY
Oblong Books w/ audiobook narrator Patti Murin

June 24
TEMPE, AZ
Changing Hands w/ Jen DeLuca - SIGNING LINE ONLY AVAILABLE!

June 25
SEATTLE, WA
Third Place Books w/ Jo Segura

June 26
LOS ANGELES, CA
The Ripped Bodice w/ Julie Soto - SOLD OUT!

(Dance Break)

July 14
GREENVILLE, SC
M Judson w/ D.L. Soria

July 15
DECATUR, GA
Eagle Eye Bookshop w/ Julian Winters

July 16
COLUMBIA, SC
All Good Books

July 17
ORLANDO, FL
The New Romantics w/ Alicia Thompson - SOLD OUT!

Can’t Make It To An Event?

Get a signed book from one of the bookstores above, or pre-order exclusively through Oblong Books or All Good Books for personalizations! (Personalizations at other bookstores are likely, but not guaranteed.)

Oblong Books!

All Good Books!

All Good Books is located in Columbia, SC, and Oblong Books is located in Rhinebeck, NY.

WAIT, SONIC??

Oh yeah! I, along with Abby Jimenez and Christina Lauren, are teaming up with Sonic Drive-In this summer to help promote Limeades for Learning and Sweet-Topped Lemonades!

This year, Limeades for Learning is partnering with First Book to give 100,000 books to children in underserved communities. (Any drink goes to the foundation!)

And anyway, here’s some press on that —

PEOPLE - Ashley Poston Teases Her 2026 Summer Romance Is Influenced by This Beloved Classic Novel (Exclusive)

PEOPLE - Ashley Poston Reveals Which One of Her Book Couples Would Go on a Sonic Date — and What They Would Order (Exclusive)

PARADE - Sonic ‘Tops’ Its Summer Menu With 3 Sweet New Drink Offers

Around the Internet

Um, I got to write a recommended reading list for the New York Times! How cool is that??

And yes, I also wrote an article for the print version of USA Today! You weren’t seeing things! But it’s not online yet, so I’ll link it when it is.

USA TODAY - Love reading about love? Try these new romance books this summer

STELLAR - 7 Books You Need To Read In Your Early 20s

STYLIST - 7 romance book releases to fall in love with this year

SHEKNOWS - 18 Books To Read if You’re a Fan of Emily Henry’s Novels

THE SEATTLE TIMES - 5 books to read for Summer Book Bingo

THE NEW YORK TIMES - 24 Books Coming in June

PEOPLE - The 15 Most Anticipated Books of Summer 2025, According to Goodreads Users

Extra, Extra

Currently Reading… Behooved by M. Stevenson and Writing Mr. Right by Alina Khawaja

Currently Watching… Yakuza Fiancé on Crunchyroll

Currently Listening To… Sky Full of Song by Florence + the Machine while she conjures a real storm

Currently Playing… Expedition 33

Alrighty, now that I’ve done my WE ARE TWO WEEKS OUT. UNTIL SOUNDS LIKE LOVE COMES OUT freak-out, I’m returning to my writing cave where I’m gonna go chase that light and lovingly run headfirst into every wall in my way.

xoxo,
Ash

P.S. - Please come see me on tour!!

This is your hostess with the mostest, Ash, here to tell you about the event of the summer, the Sounds Like Love book tour!

(Okay, maybe it’s not the event of the summer — the opening of Epic Universe is definitely the event of the summer, and I hope everyone who goes knows how jealous I am that they’ll get to see Dracula, Dogs Out, before I will. Truly unfair.)

(Ahem.)

(Anyway.)

Book Tour!

June 16
HOUSTON, TX
Blue Willow Bookshop

June 17
FRANKLIN, IN
Wild Geese w/ Kerry Winfrey

June 18
ST. LOUIS, MO
Novel Neighbor

June 19
LOUISVILLE, KY
A Novel Romance w/ Jenna Levine

June 21
NEW YORK CITY
B&N Union Square w/ Casey McQuiston - Tickets Going Fast!

June 22
RHINECLIFF, NY
Oblong Books w/ audiobook narrator Patti Murin

June 24
TEMPE, AZ
Changing Hands w/ Jen DeLuca

June 25
SEATTLE, WA
Third Place Books w/ Jo Segura

June 26
LOS ANGELES, CA
The Ripped Bodice w/ Julie Soto - Sold Out!

(Dance Break)

July 14
GREENVILLE, SC
M Judson w/ D.L. Soria

July 15
DECATUR, GA
Eagle Eye Bookshop w/ Julian Winters

July 16
COLUMBIA, SC
All Good Books

July 17
ORLANDO, FL
The New Romantics w/ Alicia Thompson - SOLD OUT!

Can’t Make It To An Event?

Get a signed book from one of the bookstores above, or pre-order exclusively through Oblong Books or All Good Books for personalizations! (Personalizations at other bookstores are likely, but not guaranteed.)

All Good Books!

Oblong Books!

All Good Books is located in Columbia, SC, and Oblong Books is located in Rhinebeck, NY.

Extra, Extra

Currently Reading… The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley

Currently Watching… The Apothecary Diaries on CrunchyRoll

Currently Listening To… Inertia by AJR

Currently Playing… The Ace Attorney series on Switch

I’ll try to remember that this newsletter exists, but it’s so hard when you have so many secret projects you’re working on! (Hint, hint.) Anyway, back to writing! Secrets don’t write themselves, sadly, even if they are a little magical.

Until next time!

xoxo,
Ash

Oh, it’s not Monday? Huh, weird. It feels like it’s been Monday since at least January 20th, and I can’t figure out why… (/sarcasm).

But in the flurry of Mondays that have come to pass, time marches ever on and with that comes…

Updates!

Barnes and Noble Exclusive Edition of Sounds Like Love

And it’s blue! While it doesn’t have a secret chapter in the back, it does have an extra essay that I am incredibly proud of, a curated playlist for your listening enjoyment, and a fun little madlib that you definitely totally can’t use fuck for every single prompt that I hope y’all will get a kick out of!

Remember: with great power comes great responsibility.

Indie Romance Bestseller List!

Somehow, The Seven Year Slip just keeps on keeping on, and I am eternally grateful to everyone who keeps sharing our collective trauma for lemon pies. You’re the real ones.

The Dead Romantics included in Screenrant’s 15 Best Romances to Read on Valentine’s Day

Ghooooost bonersssss.~

Where to find me at Love Y’all Book Fest in Atlanta, Georgia

HOWEVER if you see me out in the wild standing in Amalie Howard’s line to get The Starlight Heir signed, no you don’t.

Deadlines!

As always, it feels like I’m on perpetual deadline (and if you’ve seen me over on Instagram, I’ve been sort of playing it up because — you know — why not?), but the one I’m on right now is pretty secretive (and I’m not sure when I’ll be able to talk about it! This year? Next year? Who knows!).

The thing is, I’m enjoying this deadline. I love these characters very much, and I’m so excited to play in this sandbox that isn’t mine for a little while longer.

On top of drafting a new novel, I’m also working on pass pages for Sounds Like Love! This is the part where I get to see what this novel will look like in its final form, and try to catch as many missed typos or discrepancies as possible. (Spoiler: I never catch them all.) But can you blame me for getting a little distracted? I mean…

She’s a beaut!!

Every time I open the PDF file, I find myself falling deeper and deeper in love with these characters all over again. Over on Instagram, the readers in my “Angst-Ridden Backstory” community channel got to choose two page numbers where I picked random excerpts and gave them a sneak peak, so if you wanna get in on that, join the fun!

Subscribe now

Proof of Life!

It really does feel like every day is a Monday. An eternal back room where the back room is just… Monday, and a new horror crawls out of the woodwork every hour. Or, in my case, out of my home bathroom renovation where we found incredibly old termite damage in which we had to take out my dining room wall. It was a lot, friends.

February itself has been a lot.

(Here is where I am going to plug 5Calls.org, a website that makes it very easy for citizens of the US to call their representatives about issues they are passionate about—and passionate about saving. Like the Department of Education. You know, normal things.)

But! There has been a lot of things that I’ve loved, too. In this unprecidented time of Eternal Mondays, I tend to seek solace in new and unexpected things. (Or, sometimes, old and expected things that bring me new comfort.)

I’m planning on writing a post every quarter highlighting my favorite books, so right now I’ll concentrate on non-book things I’ve enjoyed!

These are in no particular order—

• Zenshu (anime TV series)

• The newest season of Castlevania: Nocturne (animated TV series)

• Ace Attorney (video game) (this is Tara Sim’s fault)

• Behind the Bastard’s Oprah Six Part series (podcast)

• “Virginia” by Boys Go To Jupiter (music)

• Defunctland’s deep dive into Disney Animatronics

• The Pitt (HBO Max’s new medical TV show)

• The soft earthy colors on the rise in 2025

I’m sure there are more that I’m missing, but I’ll think of them eventually! What have been some of your favorite things that have gotten you through all the Mondays?

xoxo,
Ash

It’s been a wild year, so how better to recap it than to make a list? (We here in Ashley Poston’s ADHD-addled brain love a good list.)

So! What are some standouts?

Let’s see…

The List.

1. Improbable Meet-Cute debuts exclusively through Amazon!

2. Disney World with the parents for my Dad’s birthday We might or might not have frozen our asses off.

3. Buxton Books Event! But more importantly… a spooky ghost tour!

4. Visited Texas to celebrate In the Orbit of You by Ashley Schumacher with Emma Lord!

5. And while there, I found out that A Novel Love Story earned a star from PW!

6. Traveled to the Far North to squint at an Eclipse!

7. Disney (again—there is a theme this year) with friends (and my parents, again!)

8. That One Cursed Superman panel…

9. You know what? Nothing says Disney (again) quite like losing to Rachel on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (again)… But at least this time I got to celebrate the book release of Taylor Simonds’ Treasure Planet/Little Mermaid-inspired YA scifi, An Infinite Pull!

10. Cactus googly eyes.

11. First Edition of Howl’s Moving Castle!!

12. Met Justin Pierre of Motion City Soundtrack (thanks, in no small part, to Eric Smith!) and checked off almost all of the points on my bucket list so now I can die happy having heard the entirety of I Am The Movie live.

13. Awarded a nifty little plaque for 1 Million Reads for Amazon’s Improbable Meet Cute! And subsequently, to celebrate, built a pergola! And didn’t die!

14. This YGO meme…

15. A Novel Love Story Book Tour + celebrating it hitting #4 on the NYT list! Then having all three of my books — The Dead Romantics, The Seven Year Slip, and A Novel Love Story — on the USA Today List at once! What a wealth of love. Thank you <3

16. DISNEYLAND!!

17. And then Steamylit! And Romance-Con!

18. Finally got to hug Casey McQuiston again for the first time in six years!!

19. Cassadee Pope! Marianna Trench! Screaming Stutter at the top of my lungs!

20. Visited Indiana for a library event, ended up playing put-put THROUGH COURSES INSPIRED BY MY AND ABBY JIMENEZ’S BOOKS! (So cool.)

21. You know? It’s been a while since we went… TO DISNEY WORLD! (Again!) And this time, while I’m there, The Seven Year Slip has the audacity to hit the NYT List for the first time ever. Over a year after it first came out. Do I cry in the middle of Star Wars land? Yes, yes I do.

22. Became the Dungeon Master for a Curse of Strahd campaign, and immediately regretted it.

23. Finally finished Sounds Like Love!

24. I ended up selling 5 more books this year as well, though I don’t think I can actually talk about any of them… So just suffice to say, I hope you’re not tired of me yet!

I’m not sure what will happen in 2025, but it for sure is going to have at least one trip to Disney, another session of Curse of Strahd, lots of frustrated calls to my representatives, and a whole lot of very bad memes, but you know?

I appreciate that the most. I survived 2024, and you did, too. Hopefully with most of your sanity intact. I think that’s something we can all celebrate, whether we’ve had a good year or a not-so-good one.

As our Lord and Savior Troy Bolton of High School Musical reminds us… We’re All In This Together (whether or not we want to be, sometimes).

And I, for one, am glad that I made it through this year with you.

With love,
Ash

BONUS: Favorite memes of the year.

Okay, okay, I don’t think that was ever in question but I absolutely did not post a newsletter the day A Novel Love Story came out like I thought I would. Like with most things in my life, I overestimated the time I had and the willpower I possessed to check off everything on my to-do list.

And since then a lot has happened. So! Instead of regaling you with an essay’s worth of OH MY GOD IT WAS SO MUCH, THERE WERE SO MANY PEOPLE, MY CHEEKS STILL HURT, I LOVED IT, THANK YOU FOR COMING OUT TO SEE ME… I’m going to do this in bullet points.

My brain is still a little too wobbly for much of anything else.

THINGS THAT HAVE HAPPENED SINCE JUNE 25TH, 2024

• Wild Geese Bookshop was darling! Thank you all so much for coming out to visit. I arrived back to my hotel room much too late but I appreciate everyone who came out. There were about 400 (??????!) of you! My gobs are still smacked.

• The drive from Indiana to Ohio is really lovely! Lots of green farmland! I still hate driving in cities, though!

• Joseph-Beth Cincinnati was such a riot that I tore my hose two seconds before the event began, so you know it was a good time.

• East City Bookstore in DC was delightful. I was not emotionally prepared for how lovely chatting with was. And I was also not emotionally prepared for the freak thunderstorm I, and a majority of the booksellers, got trapped in afterward. RIP to those umbrellas, the real heroes. Gone too soon.

• NYC was, as always, a hot festering mess and I’d never have it any other way. There was even a pigeon who roosted on the window at my hotel! ( and I ran into a delightful pug two separate times in the lobby. Made my entire week.)

• Ripped Bodice is just as Instagram-worthy as all of the photos say! And while I didn’t get photos, apparently my line wrapped around the block because, uh, ya girl is a chatterbox and there were too many good dogs that came through my line not to stop and tell them what good doggos they were.

• The Met was gorgeous. Cried in front of Van Gogh (if you know, you know). The usual.

• Oblong Books in Rhinebeck, NY, was gloriously rowdy, and while I did nag on ’s podcaster voice during the event, I’ve been told since that she would make a very good podcaster. (Which, as someone who has been on a podcast with her, I absolutely agree.)

• 8 hours in the LaGuardia Airport will suck the life out of any human, but 5 hours on the tarmac + 3 hours in the airport gave me an eye twitch I’ve yet to shake. I did get home, though… but at what cost?

• M. Judson Bookstore was, as always, fantastic (as was the drink they made for the event)! I love doing repeat stops and seeing familiar faces. There’s really nothing better, you know?

• Then I came back home (again) and hit the ground running on my next rom-com.

• Until I got a call from my editor and agent last Wednesday evening, congratulating me.

• Oh, that’s right—

LOOK WHAT Y’ALL DID! THAT WAS YOU GUYS! ALL OF YOU!!

• A NOVEL LOVE STORY became an instant bestseller.

  • #4 on the New York Times Trade Paperback list

  • #13 on the New York Times Combined Print + E-book list

  • #4 on the Indie Bestseller list

  • #11 on the USA Today Bestseller list.

• Guess 4 is my new lucky number?

• But really—you all showed up for me in the biggest way possible. Thank you so, so much. I’ve been in this industry for a decade now and you never cease to amaze me. I wouldn’t be here if not for you.

  • That’s not just hyperbole—I absolutely would not be here, talking to you in this newsletter, if not for the readers who championed me and the booksellers who have faith in my stories and my team at Berkley who have my back.

  • Y’all make this whole ride worth it. Thank you.

• OKAY, back to our regularly scheduled program—

• Still writing, by the way. Still got that deadline. Still slamming my face into a brick wall known as writer’s block, and telling myself that it hurts so good.

• And then yesterday my editor emailed me because, for a second week in a row, A NOVEL LOVE STORY hit the Indie Bestseller List, this time at #6.

• And #41 on the USA Today list!

• Then I got to celebrate A Novel Love Story with all the lovely readers who came to Buxton Books in Charleston!

• I can’t stop smiling.

• I think I haven’t stopped smiling since 7pm on June 24th, actually.

• After The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip, I wanted to write a book that felt like a warm hug.

• I hope I did, and I hope you find yourself lost in your own version of Eloraton.

• Meanwhile, I’ll be back at my computer pounding away at the next rom-com, listening to beach music (a clue??) and trying to remember how to play the piano.

Sometimes, your work is never over, but you don’t mind it if you enjoy the work.

I hope I get to see some of you in St. Louis on Monday, Houston on Tuesday, Chicago on Friday, and Atlanta next Monday! Or, perhaps, at SteamyLit Con? Let’s make a party out of it!

Update: tummy still hurts, anxiety is high, and I am pounding back citrus green teas like it’s my business.

The closer it gets to the release date for A Novel Love Story, the less I have to say. Or, I think, the more my brain just wants to shut down and my body wants to mainline Peter Pan crunchy peanut butter.

Books are arriving at bookstores, my IG feed is slowly shifting over from readers tagging me in The Seven Year Slip to tagging me in A Novel Love Story, and I’m packing my suitcase for tour.

So, instead of waxing poetic about how every book is both a challenge and a joy to write, and how I would never be here without every one of you—

Those are things you already know.

And besides!! I’m having a great eyeliner day, and I don’t want to ruin it by writing something sappy.

(I’ll save that for next week.)

So in the meantime, I’m just going to update y’all on the latest details, and I’ll see y’all on the flip side!

Tour Updates

(If a tour stop is crossed out, then tickets are no longer available whatsoever.)

June 24th - Wild Geese Bookshop, Franklin, IN - TICKETS AVAILABLE!

June 25th - Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH - RSVP HERE!

SOLD OUT! June 26th - East City Bookshop with Sarah Adler, Washington, DC -VIRTUAL TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE!

SOLD OUT! June 27th - Ripped Bodice, Brooklyn, NY - Event Page!

SOLD OUT! June 29th - Oblong Books with Nicole Brinkley, Rhinebeck, NY -SIGNING LINE STILL AVAILABLE!

SOLD OUT! July 1st - M. Judson Books, Greenville, SC - SIGNING LINE STILL OPEN!

SOLD OUT! July 11th - Buxton Books, Charleston, SC - Event Page

July 15th - Novel Neighbor with Kirsty Greenwood, St. Louis, MO - TICKETS AVAILABLE!

SOLD OUT! July 16th - Blue Willow Bookshop with Kirsty Greenwood, Houston, TX - Event Page

NEW!!! July 19th - Anderson Bookshop with Julie Soto, Chicago, IL - TICKETS AVAILABLE!

July 22nd - Eagle Eye Books, Atlanta, GA - TICKETS AVAILABLE!

August 2nd-3rd - Steamy Lit Con, Anaheim, CA - Convention Page

SOLD OUT! August 9th - Bookmarks with Casey McQuiston, Winston-Salem, NC - JOIN THE WAITLIST!

August 26th - All Good Books, Columbia, SC - Info Available Soon!

Also, the company Olive & June sent matching nail polish, fake nails, and goodie bags to the event stores! So you might just come out with a book AND a nail polish in the shade Bestie. Who doesn’t love that??

Can’t make it to an event? No problem!

You can order signed copies from any one of the bookstores where I will be stopping at, or if you want to make it simple and aren’t sure which to choose, you can order one from Oblong Books!

Currently obsessed with…

• One-Star Romance by Laura Hankin

• The Art of Catching Feelings by Alicia Thompson

• this Neutrogena hand cream for my scaly hands

• my Hobonichi Weeks planner because I’d be lost without it

• Dave the Diver is saving my sanity

Well, that’s it! I guess I better go finish packing. (My least-favorite part of anything ever.) Note to self: don’t forget socks this time.

See y’all in Eloraton!

In fact, in some ways it gets worse.

Like the nervousness itself doesn’t get worse, but by the time you’ve gotten over your debut, you know how it feels and so you start anticipating that feeling which just makes the feeling itself worse when it does come because not only are you anxious because you have a book coming out but also because you knew this feeling was coming and now it’s here and oh my god you have a book coming out.

Brains are weird.

And the thing is, I’m excited. I know I’m excited. But I’m also worried about my tour. (Flights, traveling alone, etc.)

So, I’m also scared.

And happy.

And nervous.

And my tummy hurts.

It’s a lot for an introvert in such a small amount of time. My social battery has the charge of a thirty-three-year-old generator that’s been left out in the rain. It’s gonna work, but for how long and to what extent is up to chance. You just gotta give it a crank, kick it a few times, and hope that that engine just keeps chuggin’ along until you can trap yourself safely in a hotel room and face-plant on the bed and watch reruns of your favorite comfort show. (Or is that just me?)

With that said, I wouldn’t trade this job for the world. I get to tell stories for a living, how cool is that?!

Not only do I get to be a professional bullshitter, but I’ve found myself surrounded by so many brilliant and talented people in this career—I think that’s the best part, really. There aren’t many careers that give you that opportunity.

And speaking of creative, brilliant people, Alexis Castellanos and the rest of the Berkley team made these hella cute social media assets for A Novel Love Story! LOOK AT THAT POSSUM!

Seriously, half of these I want on a t-shirt ASAP.

Visit Eloraton!

Truly some of the cutest designs I’ve ever laid my pretty little eyes on!

Pre-Order A Novel Love Story!

Signed Copy!

Tour Updates

(as of 6/13)

June 24th - Wild Geese Bookshop, Franklin, IN - TICKETS AVAILABLE!

June 25th - Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH - RSVP HERE!

SOLD OUT! June 26th - East City Bookshop with , Washington, DC - VIRTUAL TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE!

SOLD OUT! June 27th - Ripped Bodice, Brooklyn, NY - Event Page!

SOLD OUT! June 29th - Oblong Books with , Rhinebeck, NY - SIGNING LINE STILL AVAILABLE!

SOLD OUT! July 1st - M. Judson Books, Greenville, SC - SIGNING LINE STILL OPEN!

SOLD OUT! July 11th - Buxton Books, Charleston, SC - Event Page

July 15th - Novel Neighbor with Kirsty Greenwood, St. Louis, MI - TICKETS AVAILABLE!

SOLD OUT! July 16th - Blue Willow Bookshop with Kirsty Greenwood, Houston, TX - Event Page

NEW!!! July 19th - Anderson Bookshop with Julie Soto, Chicago, IL - TICKETS AVAILABLE!

July 22nd - Eagle Eye Books, Atlanta, GA - TICKETS AVAILABLE!

August 2nd-3rd - Steamy Lit Con, Anaheim, CA - Convention Page

SOLD OUT! August 9th - Bookmarks with Casey McQuiston, Winston-Salem, NC - JOIN THE WAITLIST!

August 26th - All Good Books, Columbia, SC - Info Available Soon!

Holy crap y’all! Almost every single tour stop is sold out now — I am absolutely over the moon. Thank you all so much for supporting me, and I can’t wait to see you all in just a few short weeks!

Currently Obsessed With…

• Olive & June’s nail polish in Besties.

• Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater

• These .5 gel pens!

• Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings (and literally just herself, she’s so cool!)

• Clio yogurt bars

• Chappell Roan

• my little pride flag out front of my house!

Anyway! I think that’s all for this newsletter. I’m gonna go spin around in my chair for a while and hope my tummy stops hurting. I got books to write and a suitcase to pack. (Ohmygod June 25th is just around the corner!!)

More next week!

I am so excited to return to some of my favorite bookstores (and find some new ones!) Follow the links to secure your ticket of the bookstore requires it, and I hope to see y’all real soon!

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⁠Tour Dates

⁠June 24th - Wild Geese Bookshop, Franklin, IN - 6:30pm⁠

June 25th - Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinnati, OH - 7pm⁠

June 26th - East City Bookshop, Washington, DC - 7pm⁠
(both virtual and in person, with the lovely and talented and her new novel, HAPPY MEDIUM!)

June 27th - The Ripped Bodice, Brooklyn, NY - 6:30pm⁠
(this is not a regular event, but a signing event!)

June 29th - Oblong Books, Rhinebeck, NY - 6pm⁠

July 1st - M. Judson Booksellers, Greenville, SC - 7:30pm⁠

July 11th - Buxton Books, Charleston, SC - 6pm⁠

July 15th - Novel Neighbor, St. Louis, MO - 7pm
(with the talented Kirsty Greenwood and her novel THE LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE!)

July 16th - Blue Willow Books, Houston, TX - 7pm
(again with the talented Kirsty Greenwood and her novel THE LOVE OF MY AFTERLIFE!)

July 22nd - Eagle Eye Bookshop, Atlanta, GA - 7pm⁠

Pre-Order A Novel Love Story!

BN Exclusive Edition!

Signed Copy from Oblong!

If you want signed copies of The Dead Romantics or The Seven Year Slip and not want to wait for A Novel Love Story to get them, order from All Good Books! I sign stock there often. Just put in the comments that you’d like a signed copy!

Surprise! (Or not surprise?) Guess who is going on tour for A NOVEL LOVE STORY! While the fictional town of Eloraton, NY, is not listed, in my heart I’m having the launch event at Ineffable Books.

• June 24th - Wild Geese Bookshop, Franklin, IN at 6:30pm

• June 25th - Joseph-Beth Booksellers, Cincinati, OH at 7pm

• June 26th - East City Bookshop, Washington, DC at 7pm (a hybrid event—both in person and streaming—with !)

• June 27th - The Ripped Bodice, New York, NY at 6:30pm (ticketed signing event!)

• June 29th - Oblong Books, Rhinebeck, NY at 6pm (moderated by !)

• July 1st - M. Judson Booksellers, Greenville, SC at 7:30pm

Don’t see a city near you? No worries! I have a second leg of the tour coming, too! So keep your eyes peeled...

If you don’t live anywhere near my tour stops, you can always get a signed copy from Oblong! (I’m sure you can also get signed copies from any of the other bookstores I stop by on this tour, too — just pick your fav!)

…Around the Internet!

• So excited to see A Novel Love Story featured in Harper’s Bazaar and Publishers Weekly!

• And somehow, thanks to all of you lovely readers, The Seven Year Slip keeps on keeping on, including in Woman’s World and the Goodreads Blog.

And in conclusion…

Pre-order A Novel Love Story and come join me on tour, and let’s talk about favorite novels and dreamy small towns and grumpy bookstore owners! (And the best bookstore cats.)

xoxo,
Ash

As I began to think about all of the things I enjoyed this year, I realized very quickly that I read a lot of fanfiction this year — and those recs are gonna stay between me and god.

But! I did enjoy some books, podcasts, and tv shows! And these are my favs of 2023!

Books

• Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett

• What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez

• The Iliad by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson

• Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

There were so many good books this year, but these were some of my surprise favorites. (If you’ve seen me in person, you know how much I will froth at the mouth over Wendell, the spiritual successor to Howl. I cannot get enough of that foppish, terrible, lovely man.)

Podcasts

• Behind the Bastards

• The Opportunist

• Normal Gossip

Honestly, I just listened to a lot of Behind the Bastards. My favorite episodes of the year were the Vince McMahon ones. Absolutely worth it, especially if you have any interest in The Iron Claw film and the Von Erich family.

Media

Documentaries

• Love Has Won: The Cult of Mother God (Max)

• Savior Complex (Max)

• Shiny Happy People (Amazon Prime)

• Great Photo, Lovely Life (Max)

I have no excuse. This was the year of cults for me.

TV shows

• Apothecary Diaries (Crunchyroll)

• Heaven Official’s Blessing, the English dub, specifically (Crunchyroll)

• Lessons in Chemistry (Apple TV)

• Blue Eye Samurai (Netflix)

• Rise of the Pink Ladies (no where anymore, sadly)

• Poker Face (Peacock)

• Bad and Crazy (Netflix)

There were a lot of fun and surprising shows this year, and a lot of them dropping at the last minute (rude!). Though the stand-out here is absolutely the second season of Heaven Official’s Blessing. The English dub just hits different. (And excuse me??? THE GAMBLING DEN SCENE?? Be still my bloody, beating heart.)

Films

• Barbie

• Nimona (Netflix)

• Past Lives

I… realize I didn’t really watch a lot of films this year. Huh. But Barbie was lovely, and Nimona was everything that I ever wanted, but Past Lives absolutely wrecked me. Go in not knowing anything, come out having lost ten pounds in water weight from inconsolably crying during the ending credits.

Youtube Essays

• Why Youtubers Hold Microphones Now

• The Cult of Sororities & BamaRush

• Plagiarism and You(Tube)

• Disney Channel’s Theme: A History Mystery

I have also watched an embarrassing amount of YouTube essays. If you also enjoy watching an embarrassing amount of YouTube essays, The Deep Dive is a great newsletter to keep you updated on new and interesting videos!

What’s some of your favs of 2023? Lemme know in the comments!

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A professor of literature finds herself caught up in a work of fiction…literally, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Seven Year Slip and The Dead Romantics.

Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost in a good happily-ever-after. The fictional kind, anyway. Because at least imaginary men don’t leave you at the altar. She feels safe in a book. At home. Which might be why she’s so set on going her annual book club retreat this year—she needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures—no matter what.

But when her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like it’s right out of a novel…

Because it is.

This place can’t be real, and yet… she’s here, in Eloraton, the town of her favorite romance series, where the candy store’s honey taffy is always sweet, the local bar’s burgers are always a little burnt, and rain always comes in the afternoon. It feels like home. It’s perfect—and perfectly frozen, trapped in the late author’s last unfinished story.

Elsy is sure that’s why she must be here: to help bring the town to its storybook ending.

Except there is a character in Eloraton that she can’t place—a grumpy bookstore owner with mint-green eyes, an irritatingly sexy mouth and impeccable taste in novels. And he does not want her finishing this book.

Which is a problem because Elsy is beginning to think the town’s happily-ever-after might just be intertwined with her own.

Isn’t she beautiful? The artist, Vi-An Nguyen, did an outstanding job, just like she did with The Seven Year Slip and The Dead Romantics.

An Excerpt

You can read an excerpt from A Novel Love Story over on Cosmo! It’s quite swoony, I do say so myself.

Check it out!

The Best Gift You Can Give Yourself Is A Book That Doesn’t Come Out For 6 Months

You can even pre-order it now! Go, go, go!

Amazon

B&N

Bookshop.org

Oblong Books (signed)

Thank you, everyone, for putting TSYS on your tbr lists and rating it and shouting about it to the rest of the world.

So what does this mean? Go, vote for it so it gets to the final round!

Share to the letter (with ashley poston)

And speaking of a wealth of good news—

Amazon’s Best Books of 2023

The Seven Year Slip has also been named one of Amazon’s Best Books of 2023 in both the Editors’ Top 100 and the Top 20 Romances categories!

Truly, my heart is so full and so happy. This book was a beast to write, but I am so happy and so truly inspired at how many people have read and loved and reached out to me after reading this book. You made it worth it.

So thank you, from the bottom of my gnarled, gory beating chambers.

love,
Ash

Buy The Seven Year Slip!

(PS - Be sure to keep a lookout for something really cool and special happening at the beginning of December. It’s quite… novel.)

It’s HAWKEYE: BISHOP TAKES KING Day!

Kate Bishop has been one of my favorite Marvel characters for years, and I was so, so thrilled to imagine up an exciting story for her! It’s full of mystery, madness, and quite a few books. She takes on publishing CEOs, angry midwestern goons, snarky tweens, and Kingpin himself, and all she ever needed was a little help from her friends (and one very, very good dog).

I hope you love HAWKEYE: BISHOP TAKES KING as much as I do!

New York Times bestselling author Ashley Poston shows Kate Bishop’s Hawkeye still figuring out how to be a Super Hero—and a functioning human being—in this thrilling YA mystery adventure.

When Kate Bishop, the young Hawkeye, solves a minor crime and saves the surprisingly cute Milo in the process, she counts it as a rare win. But a mix-up of their bags means that nope, Kate’s life is still refusing to run smoothly. In that bag is a mysterious book that holds powerful, dangerous secrets—ones that New York City’s most powerful super villain, the Kingpin, would kill to uncover.

Kate finds herself on the run, searching for Milo and what he knows, texting her Super Hero besties for moral support, and trying to solve the mystery she’s blundered into before she becomes the victim of her own story. 

Just like its main character, Kate Bishop, New York Times bestselling author Ashley Poston’s Super Hero adventure doesn’t miss a single shot in one of the funniest, twistiest Marvel stories ever told.

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xoxo,
Ash

Hey, hi, hello, readers!

This is a different kind of newsletter than you’re probably used to by now. Those of you who’ve been fans of me for a while know that I’m also a young adult author, and to the newbies—hello! I am also a young adult author.

(You can find a selection of my novels here.)

My adult romances, The Dead Romantics and The Seven Year Slip are a bit of a departure from my previous young adult novels. There isn’t much of an overlap, but there is one!

And so I’m speaking to y’all, the overlap. The convergence. The “ah, yes, I am the center of this venn diagram" people. The readers who love geeky, fun fairytales and grew up on vampire lore and also like to joke about ghost boners and pigeons named mother and f*cker.

So, anyway—

I have a book out today!

In this Buffy the Vampire Slayer prequel, fan-favorite and LGBTQIA+ icon Tara Maclay gets the main character treatment … whether she wants it or not.

Tara Maclay isn’t thrilled to be starting her senior year of high school in a new town. She misses her mom, her garden, her magic—and the way her dad treated her before her mom passed. But if Tara can just keep her head down, then maybe she can make it through this year in Hellborne, Vermont without the town living up to its name.

Of course, her plan falls apart immediately, as dead students start turning up around her, and she’s suddenly voted Most Likely To Have Murdered Them by the rest of the senior class. Oh, and the fellow new girl Tara’s crushing on? Turns out to be a witch-hunter. So maybe it’s not the worst thing that Tara’s magic is majorly malfunctioning.

As the body count rises, Tara has to overcome her fears, reconnect with her magic, and cast herself in a more central role to save the town—even if it means putting her new relationship at risk.

Written by New York Times and USA Today best-selling author Ashley Poston, The Bewitching Hour is the perfect blend of ’90s nostalgia, mysterious murders, and star-crossed sapphic romance.

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Amazon!

B&N!

Indigo!

Bookshop!

Books-A-Million!

Oblong w/Signed Bookplate!

I had so much fun playing in the Buffyverse. Tara was one of the few characters that I really connected to when I was younger (she’s queer! she has a stutter! she’s a bookworm! my Amazon queen!!!!) so getting to pen her prequel story is such a freaking honor.

If you would’ve told tween me that I’d be playing in the Buffyverse canon? Writing my favorite character? She wouldn’t have believed you.

I really hope you love Tara and Daphne and Baz just as much as I do, and appreciate all of the little easter eggs I managed to shove into every little corner of this witchy, murder-y novel.

Bring your emotional support incubus, your super rad girlfriend, your mom’s old book of spells, and your gumption, because it’s dark out there—and you better survive.

Cover art by the talented Sam Schechter! Go give them a follow on instagram!