Monday, April 2, 2018

End of an Era


It’s time to say farewell.

This article is pretty tough to write, and I’m probably going to end up crying before I get halfway through—my eyes are pricked with tears right now, actually. Saying goodbye to good jobs and nice people is not an easy thing to do, but sometimes it becomes necessary.



Ashberry Lane Publishing is closing its doors.

This publishing company released twenty-four books in the past five years. Their books were nominated, became finalists, and won many awards in that brief time. The company was founded by the mother-daughter team of Sherrie Ashcraft and Christina Tarabochia, who also co-wrote Ashberry’s first book. They brought in a wonderful cover design artist, Nicole Miller, and several editors—Kristen Johnson, Tami Engle, Rachel Lulich, Amy Smith, and myself—to help the company’s books shine extra brightly out in the book market.

It was my great honor to join the Ashberry Lane family only one year into its journey. It was an even greater privilege to learn from Ms. Tarabochia. I had never before edited a book—which I’m afraid might have been painfully obvious to her—but she treated me with respect and gladly suggested resource materials and gave me helpful tips and lots of encouragement along the way. My skills as an editor and also as a writer have vastly improved thanks to this beautiful woman’s gracious heart and windows of time. Thank you, Christina!

It was a joy getting to know all the ladies on the team, and we each played our part well, helping each other when we got stumped over rogue commas and obscure facts. Our books—yes, our books—found their way to many prestigious awards, many making the finals and several winning. That would have been impossible without all of our hard work, and I’m so proud of all of us.

Those accolades also wouldn’t have happened without our fabulous authors. Without the beautiful and creative minds behind Ashberry Lane’s books, we wouldn’t have enjoyed such a wonderful journey together. You guys are amazing storytellers, and I hope you will discover many more stories to share with readers in the future.

Thank you to the following authors for sharing your stories with us and your readers:

Sherrie Ashcraft and Christina Tarabochia
* On the Threshold

Dianne Price (who died one week prior to her first book’s release)
* Broken Wings
* Wing and a Prayer
* The Promise of Dawn
* Never Say Goodbye
* We’ll Meet Again

Angela Ruth Strong
* The Water Fight Professional
* The Snowball Fight Professional
* The Food Fight Professional
* The Pillow Fight Professional

C.M. Shelton
* Cosmic Chaos

Susan Thogerson Maas
* Picture Imperfect

Bonnie Leon
* The Journey of Eleven Moons
* In the Land of White Nights
* Return to the Misty Shore
* To Dance with Dolphins

Lindsay Harrel
* One More Song to Sing

Samuel Hall
* Daughter of the Cimarron

Camille Eide
* Like There’s No Tomorrow
* Like a Love Song
* The Memoir of Johnny Devine

Sara Davison
* The End Begins
* The Dragon Roars
* The Morning Star Rises

This journey with you all has been amazing, and I cherish the sweet memories of our conversations, the hard work, crunch time to make deadlines, and even the headaches I sometimes got when I pushed myself so hard to give my utmost for these precious books. I appreciate and treasure each story that we produced, and I thank you all so much for allowing me to be a part of these wonderful tales that blessed everyone who read them.

To everyone who is a part of the Ashberry Lane family:
Our collaboration might be ending now, but we will always have a place in each other’s heart. I wish each of you the very best for whatever is next for you. May you always find the silver lining and God’s blessings in every adventure that awaits you… whether they’re in the book business or not. Hugs and prayers to each of you!

For anyone who might not have discovered these tales before:
These books will be available at your favorite e-retailer through April 15, 2018. Please give us a good send-off by purchasing the one(s) that look the most interesting to you. Trust me: They are all worth at least one read-through. They make great gifts too, so if you have a reader’s birthday coming up, this is your final chance to give them a gift from Ashberry Lane Publishing.

I’m not really sure how to wrap up this tough article, so I’ll just say this:
Please thank God for everyone you love, all those folks you work with, and every person who has crossed the path of your life. Appreciate and soak in every moment you get with them, because you might not have them for very long.

I love you, Ashberry Lane family! All my best wishes for God's blessings upon your lives. Our journey together was quite an adventure!

Our books:

  
  

  

  
  





Our authors:


  
  
   


Our behind-the-scenes team:

  
  
  



Farewell, Ashberry Lane. You will be missed.



What has Ashberry Lane meant to you?

Have you read any of AL's books?

Share your farewell wishes for AL's authors and crew in the comment section.



***

April's reading challenge features young adult books.



8 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh, Andrea, what a sweet, sweet post! Very touching to my heart. We will always appreciate all the blood, sweat, and tears you and each member of the Ashberry Lane team have given. When Christina and I published our first book as Ashberry Lane, we had absolutely no idea that the Lord would lead us into publishing for other offers. The whole journey has been a surprise to us! Thank you for being a part of it. Hugs, Sherrie

Andrea Cox said...

Hugs to you too, Sherrie! God's blessings abound greater than we can imagine, don't they? He is so good to us! It was a pleasure getting to know and being privileged to work with you ladies. I'll always cherish my time with Ashberry Lane.

Susantm said...

Very sweet! Thank you so much!

Sara Davison said...

Wonderfully put Andrea. I so appreciated the work you put into making The Seven Trilogy better and stronger. I loved being part of the Ashberry Lane family too, and working with every single one of you. Blessings to you in all your future endeavours!

Andrea Cox said...

Susan, thank you! It was a blessing to work with you.

Andrea Cox said...

Sara, thank you! Your Seven Trilogy has been a blessing to me, and I enjoyed working on it with you. Blessings to you too, in whatever is up next for you.

Cara Putman said...

Oh, Andrea. My heart is sore for you!

Andrea Cox said...

Cara, thank you for your sweet empathy. Hugs to you, my friend!