Christine Ashdown

Sporty romances with heart

Contemporary romance for the active reader, where the medals aren’t always gold, but love always wins.

Books
A couple running on the Chicago lakefront path

Books and Short Stories

  • A bedroom with two large windows allowing natural light, a bed with white bedding, a black chair with a checkered pillow near the window, and wall hooks with hanging decorations.

    (Coming 11/21/25!) White Walls

    A mother and daughter have two very different experiences of a new home purchase in this exploration of love and anxiety. Featured in the November 2025 edition of the journal Kindred Characters, available through Lark & Owl Booksellers.

    Get the Journal
  • Runners on a track

    (Querying!) On Her Left

    After her boyfriend dumps her to pursue his rock star dreams, a young woman must decide whether to risk her heart on another big dreamer, this time an aspiring Olympian…who also happens to be her very off-limits new running coach. Grumpy runs headfirst into sunshine in this “don’t get caught” run club romance.

  • A woman on a staitonary bike

    (WIP) The Cadence Crush

    After their one-night stand goes accidentally viral, a social media crisis manager who’s sworn off relationships and a celebrity fitness instructor who’s sworn off social media collide in a fake-dating scheme that puts both their careers—and hearts—at stake.

The author sitting in a restaurant

About

Christine Ashdown (she/her) kept her stories to herself most of her life, save for a surprisingly successful running blog back when blogs were a thing. Still a runner, she now primarily writes contemporary romance featuring everyday active characters who enjoy sports but aren't in danger of winning any trophies. She, her Canadian husband, and their well-traveled but poorly-behaved rescue dog split time between Austin, Texas, and Winnipeg, Manitoba.

Newsletter

Subscribe to my newsletter for additional content and the latest updates on new releases!

Social

 
Hey Texas! It’s spooky season, and there are some seriously spooky Propositions on the ballot this election, including one that would only increase our already alarmingly prevalent book bans!! We might not be voting for the mayor of NYC, but yo
Another year, another #chimarathon finish! I reallly didn’t know how this one was going to go just 3 weeks after my Berlin…adventure?…but I had a stretch goal to eek in under 5 hours and I left myself a whole 2 minutes to spare.
Pre-race shots from Berlin! The face is because they gave us beanies / toques and the weather forecast is in the 70s / 20s for the entire race 😂 This might wind up hotter than the 2023 Manitoba Marathon, which I think is my current hot race record h
Tonight, we tried to do a doggy photo shoot on the roof of a garage where we always see couples taking engagement photos. What you see here are the results. She’s fired. Accepting applications for a new dog.