16 Comments
Dec 9, 2023Liked by Ash Poston

I am so grateful that in all the stories out there I found my way to yours. Thank you for being vulnerable with us. And doggo is a wonderful word and perfectly acceptable. There are at least two people in the world who love it (you and I). Hugs.

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Doggo is as doggo does 😂

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I also really like the word puppers. It's another weird one.

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Dec 9, 2023Liked by Ash Poston

This essay was wonderful and tugged at every single heartstring. I am so grateful every day you choose to keep writing and sharing your worlds and ideas with us. And I love doggo an inordinate amount (specifically the Lucid Software chart video, lives rent free in my head). Sending you hugs 🥰

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Thank you so much 💜

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Dec 9, 2023Liked by Ash Poston

This was just amazing to read. I always wanted to be an author. I've been a writer as long as I can remember but I was always told that it was never going to go anywhere and I was just dreaming. So sadly I am still a writer with dreams of being an author but content in the job and life I have now. And I don't think I'm brave enough to even consider trying to put my stories out there.

Keep doing an amazing job Ashley: ) your books are the best and always make me happy when I read or reread them.

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Being a writer is such an accomplishment in and of itself! Be so proud of that. You *make* something--that’s amazing.

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Thank you! I definitely am proud of it since it makes me happy even if I'm the only one reading it. <3

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This essay captured so much of why I write--and why every person that reads my writing matters to me. It's about self-expression, yes. But it's also about those micro-connections that make up a whole big, beautiful life.

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Exactly! It’s all the small things.

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Oh I loved this post to piece. So much of it resonates. Thanks for sharing. 🖤

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I loved everything about The Dead Romantics, including "doggo." (and what a weird thing for people to complain about anyway) You've inspired me in my own storytelling, and I've already pre-ordered your next one. Keep going! :)

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Read DEAD ROMANTICS last year and just finished THE SEVEN YEAR SLIP! Great stories!

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Dec 10, 2023·edited Dec 10, 2023

If you were to disappear into a forest I'd probably cry. Your last 2 books I have read multiple multiple times. Picking one over the other Dead Romantics verse the Seven Year Slip would be like trying to pick between my kids, it really can't be done. They are my comfort reads, the ones I suggest to friends who read. I have never been a productive writer. I wrote almost an entire book in my math class in junior high. And a ton of notes and essays and poetry when I was younger. However I never considered myself a writer. I have a 9-5 job, it makes me happy (seriously, I feel like one of the luckiest people in the world cause I love what I do and I get paid extremely well doing it). Your writing has made me want to start writing again, desperately. I have 2 kids, a loving husband, full time job and somehow I am writing a romance novel little by little. So I guess I am a writer. :) Thank you for lighting a fire under me. Ashley, your books are raw, they make me happy, I still cry everytime I listen to those books (at the appropriate times, truly). You write like my best friend and you've got a fantastic story to tell. Don't stop. Don't you dare stop. You have a gift! And doggo is a great, happy word. I say you use it again in your next book 😀. To hell with the naysayers!

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ooof this essay. I've been reflecting a lot on being a writer and an author lately, and you know, it's so funny because you're one of the people who popped into my head where I was like "Look at how Ashley Poston is doing it! She's so prolific! Beautiful book after beautiful book!" So I really do appreciate reading all your reflections on writing -- which I feel in my gut so, so much -- and also the reminder that we're all going through this kind of stuff. It might look slightly different person to person, our careers go different places, etc., but those struggles are very real and valid and NORMAL. It's beautiful how normal they are. ANYWAY I won't leave a full essay here, sorry, but love this essay, love the word "doggo," love your books, love you, etc. etc.

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The creative struggle is one of the few simple things we all share! It’s lovely and terrible, all rolled into one.

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