[ID: a digital sketch of a man holding a lute. He has light brown skin, dark brown curls, and freckles. He’s wearing a dark green embroidered jacket, light green embroidered vest, cravat, and tall shirt collar. He’s looking off to the left and smiling. end ID]
The Stray Spirit Update: …I’m Done Writing It?
I’m done writing it!
Now that I’ve incorporated my proofreader’s feedback, I can officially say that there’s nothing left to do for the writing of the book itself.
Don’t get me wrong, there’s plenty more to do before I release in the fall. My illustrator is working on the last few illustrations, I almost have the final cover art (front/back), and I’ve got a lot of formatting, distro, marketing, etc. ahead of me. I’ll also be working on pre-order giveawaysandARCs in the future! But the actual text of the book? It’s done!
I’ve never been great at drawing Emry (sorry, bud), but I took another stab at it to celebrate. Really looking forward to sharing the book with you all soon.
[ID: a digital painting of an old white man against a light wood-textured background. He has gray hair, a gray beard, brown coat, and dark orange waistcoat. He’s smiling slightly at the camera. end ID]
The Spirit Well: Lyle the Bagpiper
he/him(formerly Ivan, but I already had another I-name, oops!)
60′s
widower
secretly reads the romance novels his wife used to love
No nonsense, just bagpipes.
Lyle’s unmatchable energy on stage has landed him squarely in the Auric Guild’s newest troupe. Which is all right, he guesses. Needed some money anyway. And the lead kid seems okay.
[id: a digital painting of a smiling man from the neck up against a green gradient background. He’s wearing a high-collared white shirt, gray cravat, and collared green waistcoat with gold embroidery at the collar. He has light brown skin, freckles, and dark curly hair. end ID]
New portrait of Emry Karic, because I could!
I mean, look at that guy and tell me you don’t wanna read about him messing up everything in his life.
I love him so much.
The Stray Spirit taglist under the cut (ask to be +/-):
[id: a video of a white woman with brown hair wearing a blue brocade coat and holding a book with a blue flowery cover. The book is titled The Stray Spirit. The dialogue goes: “ok so while I was recording the other videos, I noticed something very unintentional and very funny, which is that I match my book!” She holds the book to her sleeve. The colors and patterns of the coat and book match. End id]
Y’all liked the coat, so here, one more reason to like the coat
[ID: a book cover. The cover has a red and yellow lute at the center, with blue flowers at the center, all against a black background. The title reads “The Stray Spirit, Lutesong Book One.” The author name is R.K. Ashwick. The translucent text overlaid at the top of the cover reads “Advanced Reader Copy.” end ID]
Calling ARC Readers for The Stray Spirit!
Do you like anxious bards?
How about forest spirits?
How about anxious bards with a forest spirit trapped in his lute, where he’s forced to work with his ex-girlfriend to get out of this mess, only to uncover a major magical threat no one is prepared for?
Hey, then you might like my book!
If you want to be an ARC reader for The Stray Spirit, and get a free copy of the book in exchange for leaving a (voluntary!) review:
But Ash! What if I don’t wanna leave a review? What if I wanna just buy the book?
That’s great! I’ll be announcing pre-order info & goodies in July!!
If you pre-order, you’ll get:
the first three chapters as a sneak peek
a sticker I drew myself
a bookmark I painted myself
See?
[ID: a photo of a sticker and a bookmark against a wooden background. The sticker is of a lute with flowers and vines growing out of the sound hole. The bookmark is a watercolor of blue and purple flowers, with the script text “The Stray Spirit” at the top. end ID]
TL;DR:
Sign up to be an ARC reader now, or get pre-order info & gifts in July!
You might have seen some of my Book Reviews around, but I tend to post my review here, instagram, facebook, and on my website, in addition to amazon, goodreads, and any other platform I can find that the book is for sale on. (Including Barnes and Noble, Waterstones, Bookbub, Kobo, etc)
I think it’s a good sign that this part still gets me after draft 6:
“Aspen, are you okay?” he asked. The spirit’s babbling answer was muffled against Emry’s waistcoat.
“I grounded the room to keep Cal safe, but we didn’t know where you were or how to find you and we got really scared—"
“I’m all right, it’s fine.”
“No, it’s not fine!” Aspen pulled away and looked up at him, tears welling in their eyes. “I wasn’t there to protect you!”
Emry’s heart caught in his throat. “Protect me?”
“Yes, you and Cal! You’re my-,” they wiped their cheeks and hiccuped, “you’re my grove right now, and I’ve got to make sure you don’t get eaten by a half-spirit, or—or a bear…”
“I’m sorry, Aspen.” Emry held their shoulders tightly. They felt so small, so terrifyingly small, in their little human form. “I promise you, I won’t run away again.”
Because I officially started querying The Stray Spirit today and crossed 10k in Rival Potion Shops draft 0, I thought I’d draw the kids.
All the kids.
Together.
I’ve titled this one, “Oh No I’ve Given My Science Kids the Same Color Scheme, What Does This Say About Me”:
This one is titled “<3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3″:
And this one is titled “The E-Boys Do Karaoke”:
[ID: three sketches. The first one is of Cal and Ambrose with clipboards, standing in front of science equipment. The second one is of Dawn and Aspen. Dawn is using a wand to create fireworks, and Aspen is looking up at them in awe. The third one is of Emry and Eli singing Don’t Stop Believing. They’re both wearing bright plastic shades, and Eli is wearing a pink feather boa. end ID]
[ID: two sketches of Emry and Aspen. They’re standing close together, glaring at something off-screen. In the second sketch, they’re in the same pose, but the background is dark, and their eyes are glowing. end ID]
me:you know what, I think I’ll draw some Emry and Aspen, I haven’t drawn them in a while-
