Ashley

Jordan

Bestselling Author

Reese’s Book Club Pick

Travels from: Atlanta, GA

“Once Upon a Time in Dollywood is a moving, captivating, beautiful debut! Ashley Jordan is a star in the making. This book and these characters will stick in your head for a long time. I can’t wait for the whole world to read it.” — Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author

Ashley Jordan (she/her) is a contemporary romance author whose work explores emotional healing, complicated family dynamics, and second chances. Her debut novel, ONCE UPON A TIME IN DOLLYWOOD, draws readers into the Tennessee mountains with its blend of heartfelt storytelling and slow-burn romance. Inspired by authors like Emily Henry, Kennedy Ryan, and Beverly Jenkins, Ashley writes stories that honor vulnerability, transformation, and love that feels both tender and true.

Ashley is a millennial from Atlanta by way of Brooklyn. She attended Spelman College, obtaining a degree in Psychology and a lifelong love and appreciation for women’s stories. While she currently works in public health, she has embraced writing as a hobby since penning her first short story in second grade. When Ashley isn’t at the day job or writing, she is either at a Beyoncé concert, rewatching Mad Men, or arguing about basketball with anyone who will listen. In 2023, she became a Reese’s Book Club LitUp Fellow.

Her debut novel, released in August 2025, was a Reese’s Book Club pick, an instant USA Today Bestseller, and Amazon’s Best Romance of the Month.

Ashley's Featured Titles

Once Upon a Time in Dollywood: Reese’s Book Club

Berkley |

August 5, 2025

Contemporary Romance

AN INSTANT USA TODAY BESTSELLER ∙ A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK ∙ AN AMAZON BEST ROMANCE BOOK OF THE MONTH!

“A moving, captivating, beautiful debut! I can’t wait for the whole world to read it.”—Jasmine Guillory, New York Times bestselling author of Flirting Lessons

A playwright must grapple with her difficult year and writer’s block while falling for the single dad living next door in this emotional debut novel from Ashley Jordan.

Eve Ambroise may be a rising star playwright, but her personal life is falling part. Desperate for a fresh start, she breaks up with her fiancé, cuts off her parents, and heads to the Tennessee mountains. But keeping up the lie that she’s just on a writing retreat becomes near impossible when faced with the well-meaning townspeople and a neighbor who has just as much baggage as she has.

Coming off a contentious custody battle, Jamie Gallagher is restructuring what his life looks like as a single dad, and spending more days at his cabin makes his new “free time” a little less empty. Especially when he meets the beautiful—and prickly—woman next door. The last thing he needs is a new romance to shake up his family dynamics even more, but there’s something about Eve.

What starts out as a fling quickly becomes more serious, and it’s not long before Eve is running scared once again. She’s loved and lost in every possible way, and risking it one more time could finally break her. But like the fireflies that fill the mountains around them, Jamie’s and Eve’s lives keep falling into sync. A fairy-tale ending could be in the cards, but only if the new couple can get out of their heads and put their hearts first.

BIPOC Representation, Black Voices, Celebrity Book Club Pick, Fiction, Grief & Loss, Romance & Romantasy

From Fanfiction to Reese’s Book Club: A Debut Author’s Unconventional Journey

This can be a candid (but hopeful?) conversation about how a fanfiction background, online community roots, and a relentless belief in storytelling led to being selected for the LitUp Fellowship with Reese’s Book Club, and ultimately becoming an official Reese’s Book Club pick. This talk would blend industry insight with personal reflection, highlighting the power of trying again and again, the power of community, and why programs like LitUp are necessary — especially for Black women carving their space in publishing.

Writing Happy Endings for Black Women: Joy, Mess, and the Revolution of Romance

This could be a craft and culture-focused talk on why telling stories where Black women are allowed to be complex, messy, soft, loved, and triumphant is emotional, political, and integral. This conversation explores how joy can be a radical act, why romance deserves literary reverence, and how centering Black women in happy endings is its own form of protest and celebration — especially in today’s political climate.

Love Across Lines: Writing Interracial Romance with Honesty, Nuance, and Joy

A discussion of what it means to write interracial love stories that honor identity, acknowledge cultural tension, and still make room for joy. This talk would address the realities of race in romance, how to avoid flattening characters into archetypes, and why love stories between Black women and non-Black partners require a tenderness and intentionality that goes beyond tropes. This would center craft, responsibility, and the beauty that can exist in complexity.

“Amusing one minute and heart-wrenching the next, Ashley Jordan’s deeply emotional debut is a lesson in learning to forgive, heal, and love. It is, in a word, breathtaking.” — Farrah Rochon, New York Times bestselling author of Pugs & Kisses

“[A] masterfully wrought and tender romance about rediscovering joy after heartache.” — Noué Kirwan, author of Frequent Fliers and Long Past Summer

“Tender and sexy all at once, Once Upon a Time in Dollywood is a beautiful story about learning how to face who we truly are and what we truly want. A heartfelt, emotional journey, and one I would take over and over again.” — Ashley Herring Blake, USA Today bestselling author of Dream On, Ramona Riley

“Ashley Jordan’s debut is a richly emotional romance between two people with guarded hearts who find solace in each other. Once Upon a Time in Dollywood is the perfect reminder that sometimes new beginnings require a change of perspective and the courage to let someone in.” — Regina Black, author of The Art of Scandal

“Jordan has crafted an entertaining, sexy novel that boldly explores trauma and healing yet still manages to be laugh-out-loud funny.” — Library Journal (starred)

“Jordan’s debut is an exhilarating climb through Tennessee’s mountains and the depths of passion.” — LA Times

“Once Upon a Time in Dollywood is a highly readable novel, grappling directly with what love can and can’t do, transcending every cliche and elevating the genre while never sacrificing its romantic and erotic appeal…Once Upon a Time in Dollywood succeeds in fulfilling all the juicy expectations of its genre, while also giving us a maximum amount of heart.” — Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“This is part rom-com and all heart. Watching these two forge ahead and try to put the pain of their pasts behind is refreshing and well-written. This is the debut novel from author Ashley Jordan, it’s a winner.” — Red Carpet Crash

Ashley’s Events

Ashley’s Media Link

Honors, Awards & Recognition

USA Today Bestseller
Reese’s Book Club Pick – August 2025
Amazon Best Romance – August 2025
Reese’s Book Club LitUp Fellow

Media clips

Entertainment Weekly | See gorgeous cover for Once Upon a Time in Dollywood, debut novel from Reese’s Book Club LitUp fellow (exclusive)

Library Journal | Once Upon a Time in Dollywood

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette | Once Upon a Time in Dollywood

Parade | Reese Witherspoon Names Her Book Club’s Pick for August

Media Kit

By clicking the link below you will be directed to a Google Docs Folder
where you can download author photos and cover images.

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Once Upon a Time in Dollywood: Reese’s Book Club

From Fanfiction to Reese’s Book Club: A Debut Author’s Unconventional Journey

Writing Happy Endings for Black Women: Joy, Mess, and the Revolution of Romance

Love Across Lines: Writing Interracial Romance with Honesty, Nuance, and Joy

Honors, Awards & Recognition

Media clips

Media Kit

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