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The
Frugal Reader
November 11, 2007
Ashley Nicole Cook
This month we take a week to shine the FR Author Spotlight on Ashley Nicole Cook, a young and very imaginative
writer who
took a mere four
months to pen her debut novel, Unlikely Hero.
Enjoy
learning more about Ashley, Unlikely Hero and her various pursuits in the Author
Connections forum starting November 12. Then cap off the spotlight week by
joining Ashley and your fellow members
in a live moderated discussion in the FR Chat room on
Sunday,
November 18 at 7:00pm Central.
The brief introduction below will give you a good feel for Ashley's expressive personality.
Want
to
invite an author to participate? Send a Private Message to the
FR Author Spotlight Committee
today!
Ashley Nicole Cook has been
writing ever since she could hold a pen, but back then it was mostly
just scribbles. Her active imagination always fired up, she's written
numerous short stories and poems which are staying in her journals
where they belong. She was in competitive dance for 12 years and
various other creative activities before she decided she wanted to
write a book. It only took her four months to write Unlikely Hero. After escaping High School in 2005, Ashley started her own business
selling collectibles for a year, but she decided she wanted to get a
job that paid actual money. She's been vegan ever since writing a
paper on animal rights four years ago for her English class. A
self-proclaimed bookworm, Ashley occasionally watches TV, but mostly
just sticks to her favorites on DVD. Ashley is 20 years old and lives
in Illinois. This is her first novel.
As the author of this book, I would just like to say how totally happy
I am that this is now listed on Amazon. It's listed on various other
book sites as well. I one-hundred percent loved writing it and am
looking forward to seeing how well it does now that it's been loosed
upon the world...ha. Okay, enough rambling from me right now because I
do enough of that through my characters in the book. If anyone would
like to contact me personally...you'll just have to buy the book and
get my e-mail address off of the "About the author" section. In all
seriousness though, I hope everyone who reads it loves it...well I do
realize that not EVERYONE will LOVE it, but hopefully no one like only
uses it as a coffee table book, prop for a table leg, or as a
conversation piece: (*Fake British accent*) "Ah yes, brilliant book this
one. Top marks. It was very informative and intriguing. Clever girl
that Ashley. She sure has a lot to say, ah yes indeed." I hope that you
all enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it. I said enjoy. Trust
me, I'll know whether you did or not...I have my ways.. .
Member Spotlight
Our 15th member to enjoy the spotlight is Tracy Thiel [TracyT]. Tracy has been an FR member for more than a year now and recently has been very
active in helping coordinate activities related to the new and increasingly popular FR Author Spotlight feature. Check out Tracy's listed
books to find your next great read. Thanks for sharing Tracy!
Why do you
read?
Reading is an escape. When I want leave the
country I just need to pick up a book. When I want to take off my shoes, it gives me others to step into to walk the proverbial mile. I become the
character with which I can most identify.
When
and where do you most enjoy reading?
I have an aerodynamic massage chair tucked next to my bed. It is my private little reading
nook. Once the family is settled down for the evening, I curl up with my book and the quilt Vicky made for me.
What is your
favorite recently read book?
Broken For You by Stephanie Kallos. It was well worth the read. I
would easily give it
5 stars. I am supposed to get with Stephanie after Thanksgiving to set up her doing a spotlight for us. Broken For You was her first novel. She is
currently finishing her second novel.
What book is at
the top of your To Be Read list?
Unlikely Hero by Ashley
Nicole
Cook is at the top of my TBR. We have a book ring going in the Author Connections thanks to Julie/jdobs. Ashley is our November author that will be in the FR spotlight so I'm
in a hurry to
read it and get it around to the rest of the anxious members.
What is one of your
listed books that's a sleeper?
Saucer: The Conquest for me is a sleeper. I'm
just not a big
sci-fi fan, and I had a hard time relating to the plot and characters.
What is one of your
favorite things to do besides reading?
Interact with FR has got to be my favorite past time after
reading. Where else can I get great interaction with wonderful people and know what I need to be reading next?
What is one of the most
exciting things you've ever done?
I think the most exciting thing I've ever done was go to Guantanamo Bay Cuba to visit my husband when he was temporarily
stationed there. I loved the bay and would love to be stationed there. Now the really most exciting thing is coming up. My son is going to be
stationed in Bahrain and he's flying me out to visit him once he gets settled.
What is something
interesting about you that few (if any) people know?
LOL...Ok, I asked my son what would be the most interesting thing about me that few people would know, and he laughed and said that I'm a
house wife what could be interesting in that? I guess I'll have to let that be my final answer.
What is one of the most
insightful lessons you've learned in your life?
The most insightful life lesson that I've learned so far
is whatever you do comes back 10 fold.
What is one aspect of FR
that you're particularly fond of and why?
I am most fond of the member interaction that we have here at FR. This is
more than just a trade group. It is a group of people coming together that share a love of books; what better pavement for forming
friendships?
Featured Feature
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listed
books unavailable for request. Click the My Home page Listed Books
link and then uncheck the "Books
Available for Request"
box. When your listed books
are not available for request you will see a red circle with a line through it next to the Listed Books link on the My Home page. When you are ready
to ship again simply check the "Books Available for Request" box.
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What would you like to see in the next edition of The Frugal
Reader?
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