Ashley Earley ♡ Earley Editing, LLC

🥀COVER REVEAL🥀


Eeeeek! I can’t believe I’m finally sharing this beautifully dark and creepy cover for Heart of Skulls!


This book has been a wild ride and continues to be that way as release day draws closer and closer. We’re officially 5 months away from release and I couldn’t be more anxious or excited!


🥀BLURB:🥀
When Scott Nelson first meets Natalie, all he can think about is slitting her throat. Until he realizes they share alarmingly similar homelives. Scott is an outcast with an abusive father, while Natalie is a punk with colorful hair and dreams of being an artist to avoid ever speaking to her family again.
Believing that distance from his father’s violent tendencies will relieve Scott of his own rage, he and Natalie do the only thing they can to break free of their abusive families: run away.


As soon as they pack up Natalie’s rusty Volkswagen in the middle of the night and begin their new lives, Scott’s gruesome cravings become harder to ignore. Blending in for the sake of a future with Natalie, Scott does his best to block out the violent thoughts fighting to take hold.


But he can only contain his murderous cravings for so long. After watching a stranger overdose at a party, Scott can’t deny his urges. From that night on, Scott’s hands are caked with the blood of young girls. Young girls who resemble Natalie …


A terrifying exploration of a killer’s mindset, debut author Ashley Earley compiles some of the world’s most notorious serial killers into one antagonist in an attempt to answer the age-old question of “are killers born or made?”

Tomorrow…Heart of Skulls cover reveal 🖤🥀💀🩸🔪

BLURB:

When Scott Nelson first meets Natalie, all he can think about is slitting her throat. Until he realizes they share alarmingly similar homelives. Scott is an outcast with an abusive father, while Natalie is a punk with colorful hair and dreams of being an artist to avoid ever speaking to her family again.

Believing that distance from his father’s violent tendencies will relieve Scott of his own rage, he and Natalie do the only thing they can to break free of their abusive families: run away.

As soon as they pack up Natalie’s rusty Volkswagen in the middle of the night and begin their new lives, Scott’s gruesome cravings become harder to ignore. Blending in for the sake of a future with Natalie, Scott does his best to block out the violent thoughts fighting to take hold.

But he can only contain his murderous cravings for so long. After watching a stranger overdose at a party, Scott can’t deny his urges. From that night on, Scott’s hands are caked with the blood of young girls. Young girls who resemble Natalie …

A terrifying exploration of a killer’s mindset, debut author Ashley Earley compiles some of the world’s most notorious serial killers into one antagonist in an attempt to answer the age-old question of “are killers born or made?”

HEART OF SKULLS releases in 6 months! 🖤 I thought the perfect way to celebrate would be with the official release of the blurb!

HEART OF SKULLS BLURB:

When Scott Nelson first meets Natalie, all he can think about is slitting her throat. Until he realizes they share alarmingly similar homelives. Scott is an outcast with an abusive father, while Natalie is a punk with colorful hair and dreams of being an artist to avoid ever speaking to her family again.

Believing that distance from his father’s violent tendencies will relieve Scott of his own rage, he and Natalie do the only thing they can to break free of their abusive families: run away.

As soon as they pack up Natalie’s rusty Volkswagen in the middle of the night and begin their new lives, Scott’s gruesome cravings become harder to ignore. Blending in for the sake of a future with Natalie, Scott does his best to block out the violent thoughts fighting to take hold.

But he can only contain his murderous cravings for so long. After watching a stranger overdose at a party, Scott can’t deny his urges. From that night on, Scott’s hands are caked with the blood of young girls. Young girls who resemble Natalie …

A terrifying exploration of a killer’s mindset, debut author Ashley Earley compiles some of the world’s most notorious serial killers into one antagonist in an attempt to answer the age-old question of “are killers born or made?”

First Page of Heart of Skulls

Flicking the lighter, I brought the flame to the tip of my cigarette, watching the white paper burn. The paper darkened and flaked before falling to the gravel below. My mind was static, barely processing what my eyes followed. I tracked time by how many cigarettes I burned through, my eyes only blinking from the falling black flakes when a train raced past. I never heard the approach. The cars just suddenly appeared with the blare of a horn. 

Blindly watching the sunset over the tracks, I let the night air that bite through my hoodie. When the next train sped by, stifling my cigarette, I couldn’t help my shiver. I didn’t bother digging into my pocket for my lighter again. The trains had stolen four cigarettes from me already. 

Inhaling the smell of smoke and oil, I stood from the graffitied wall, ready to suck it up and get out of the cold. 

Though, my gut still twisted at the thought of going home. Being confined to chipped and dented walls made my organs gnarl like they were trying to kill me before I reached my front door. 

I walked across the gravel until my beat-up high tops hit pavement, the rubber scuffing along the road leading to my neighborhood. Keeping my head down, I only looked up when small, one-story homes popped up on either side of the street. Barred windows, locked doors with gates over them, leaf-covered yards—it was like the neighbors had banded together to create one massive shitfest.

My house was halfway down the street, six houses from the corner bus stop, and squished between two other trash-infested homes. I walked over uneven bricks to the front door, steeling myself as I yanked open the gate to the unlocked door behind it. 

The house was stale. The air was dry the moment the world was locked outside. Smoking was forbidden, a rule Mom had made, but heavy drinking was encouraged. The TV was always on, whether someone was watching, or it was on for background noise. Usually, there were at least eight empty beer bottles on the table beside the chair claimed by my pathetic excuse for a father. Old brown leather and stained, his ass was the only one allowed to slump in the crusty throne. 

Except he wasn’t sitting in it.

“Motherfuckers, where are yeh?” came a garbled voice from the back of the house. A cabinet banged shut. 

Copyright © 2023 by Ashley Earley

🖌 HOURS

• Shadows stretching / moving.

• The darkening / brightening of the sky.

• Food or tea / coffee goes cold.

• A character falls hungry.

• Crumbles of paper end up on the floor while a character does does homework / paperwork.

🖌 WEEKS

• Wounds heal.

• Characters' mood changes based on outdoor temperature.

• Projects come and go.

• A new roll / job begins for a character.

🖌 MONTHS

• Character's hair / beard grows long and unmanageable.

• Characters go from wearing one season of clothes to another season.

• Festive decorations go up / down.

• Outdoor temperature changes, leaves fall, flowers bloom.

• Bedroom / room temperature changes via to counteract the temperature outside.

🖌 YEARS

• Milestones are reached (graduation, buying a home, having a baby, etc.)

• A change occurs within the landscape.

• Older characters grey / younger characters grow.

• Deaths occur.

• Technological advancements.

• Takeovers have taken place.

Welcome to another #WriterWarnings! Since most of you are likely polishing up your novels from #NaNoWriMo, it’s time to talk about what NOT to do when querying agents.

When submitting/querying to literary agents, be as professional as possible. Do your research in order to submit to an agent who represents books in your genre.

Research query letters, synopsis, and summaries for query letters before ever writing a query, and especially before submitting to an agent.

Avoid sounding apologetic, desperate, or unconfident in your query. If you don’t sound confident and passionate about your book, why would the agent ever give it a chance? Your query letter is the selling point of your book. Selling/pitching requires a certain amount of confidence.

Memoir: 70,000-100,000 words.

Business books: 70,000-80,000 words.

Self-help: 50,000-100,000 words.

Smart thinking: 80,000-100,000 words.

Travel writing: 70,000-100,000 words.

Nature writing. 80,000-100,000 words.

Welcome to another #WriterWarnings! It’s time someone told you that perfectionism will hold you back 🙃

As you write, don’t try to make your book absolutely perfect. First drafts are meant to be messy, and you cannot revise and revise and revise without a completed manuscript to allow you the big-picture view of your book.

Rewrites and revisions are necessary, but a completed manuscript is necessary to help you understand where and what needs fixing.

For example, if you spend your time revising/rewriting your first chapter, you will never get around to writing the second chapter. Or the third.

Wanting perfection from yourself and your manuscript will get you nowhere. Doing such a thing is like trying to run somewhere but on a treadmill. Accept the messy and move forward.

Début fiction: 80,000 words.

Literary Fiction: 50,000–150,000 words.

Romantic Fiction: 70,000–90,000 words.

Historical Fiction: 90,000–120,000+.

Science Fiction: 70,000–120,000.

Fantasy: 100,000-150,000 words.

Thrillers: 80,000–100,000+ words.

Crime Fiction: 80,000–150,000 words.

Horror: 80,000–100,000 words.

Young Adult: 50,000–80,000 words.

Welcome to another #WriterWarnings! Today, we want to discuss the importance of your dedicated writing time, and how outside distractions can make your writing time more difficult.

Life is crazy. Which can mean that finding time to write can be difficult. You should be proud of yourself for writing, even if you only get 10 words on a page during your dedicated writing time. You still put in the effort and time to work on your story.

To make your dedicated writing time more precious, try to avoid the internet. Don’t check your email. Don’t check Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, or any other social media platform. Your writing time should be a dedication. All other things are a distraction. 

Staying disconnected from the internet will help you stay connected to your writing and characters. Staying focused on your story will help you stay in the mindset of your main character(s). Thus, avoid the internet during your dedicated writing time unless you’re looking up synonyms. 

✨HOW TO WRITE ANTAGONISTS✨

1. Backstory! Not all antagonists have to be born evil. Some can be made through a painful backstory. Antagonists can act out of emotional pain so great that their humanity is stripped from them.

2. Antagonist/Protagonist! Make sure your antagonist fits with your protagonist. Make their battles exciting! They should somehow balance each other out.

3. Want/Why! Be clear about what your antagonist wants and why they want it. If you cannot answer this, it's time to do some soul-searching for your bad guy.

4. Redeemable? Having a diabolical antagonist is important, but it is also important to establish whether or not the antagonist is redeemable or not. Establishing this is important for the direction of the book.

5. Hero of Their Own Story! Your antagonist should believe they are the hero of their own story. What they want and why they want it will play a factor into this. Get deep!

Welcome to another #WriterWarnings! As you write, it’s important to provide readers with a variety of sentence structures. 

Varying the length of your sentences, the way your lines are presented, and how they read will keep readers engaged.

Here is an example from Gary Provost:

"This “sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It’s like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.

Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length.

And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals—the sounds that say listen to this, it is important”—by Gary Provost

Scenes where you are trying to create urgency should contain shorter sentences, but be sure to provide variety in some way. If you’re trying to create an ominous atmosphere with your words, lengthier sentences might fit such a scene better than shorter sentences.

Sentence length and structure can impact a scene, so be sure to play around with the presentation of your lines!