How's the month of October been treating you? If you're in the northern hemisphere, have you gotten a chance to go outside and enjoy those stunning autumn colors? How about the spring flowers for those closer to Antarctica?

As I mentioned in previous newsletters, I still haven't actually gone out to hike & explore places new to me. Right now I'm working frantically on a secret project with a looming deadline—of October 20th. 😱 If I manage to finish in time, you'll get to find out exactly what that project is when November rolls around.

For now? Just wish me well. As usual, my tendency toward procrastination has tangled me up in its sticky web. Fingers crossed I can tear my way free!

In today's newsletter, I'm going to offer an indie author's observations about the eBook platform I refer to as the Weird Uncle. 😉 Got a couple coupon codes to drop for the bargain hunters among you, then a promo stuffed to the gills with over 200 eBooks, followed by 3 awesome recommended reads.

So Who's The Weird Uncle?

I know that most eBook readers read on Kindle. And I know that quite a few Kindle readers take advantage of the KU (Kindle Unlimited) program. One of these days, I hope to share a bit of authorly truth about that program, including the many reasons I've chosen NOT to use it for my own books.

After all, if I put my books in KU, I'd have never met the Weird Uncle.

📚 Google Play Books 📚

For those of you with Android phones, remember how aggravating it was just a few months ago when you could no longer buy eBooks on your Kindle app? (As all the iPhone users say, "Ha! We've NEVER been able to buy eBooks on our Kindle apps! You Android people have been lucky all this time! 😜)

Now we all have to go to the Amazon website in order to buy eBooks to load onto the Kindle apps we use on our phones. And NObody wants to do that.

Right?

Well.

Have I got a solution for every Android user still seething over the change!

Most people think of movies or games when they hear the name "Google Play." Did you know Google Play has an eBook store, too? And did you know that they pay a higher royalty rate than Kindle? 😍

That's right. If you've browsed my published books at some point already, you know I typically charge $4.99 for 1 eBook. On Kindle, I earn about $3.41 give or take a few cents whenever someone buys one of my books.

But on Google Play . . . I earn $3.49 for every eBook sold.

OMG, C.L. Carhart actually shared THE NUMBERS with you! 😮 Well, I did promise I would do that, didn't I? I'm weird about keeping my word.

What's even better? On many eBook retailers, I have to wait 2 months before I see any royalties I've earned. For example, if someone buys a copy of Mystic Passage on Kindle today, I won't get my $3.41 until the end of December.

But if someone buys Mystic Passage on Google Play today?

I'll see my $3.49 on November 15th.

BooOOOOoooom. 🤘

Now in case you were worried, you can download the Google Play app for an iPhone as well as an Android. And not only that, you can read eBooks on your browser if you buy them on Google Play! 💖 That means there's pretty much no reason you shouldn't buy eBooks on Google Play every now & then.

One of my Android-using reader friends told me recently, after I blabbed about Google Play with her, that it's easier to download books from BookBub with the Google Play app. This coming from a Kindle app user. 😶

Bargain hunters? Might be time to consider an occasional app switch.

What About Those Coupon Codes?

The other awesome thing about Google Play Books is that indie authors can generate coupon codes for their eBooks whenever they feel like it. That means I can sell one of my $4.99 eBooks for only $1.99 without having to change the price on the other retailers. And it also means VIP readers like YOU might get the chance to snag sweet bargains more often than I run standard sales.

(Because FYI, it's a hassle to change prices on multiple retailers. And a certain retailer we all "love so much" likes to do their own thing with sale prices. 🙄)

Since today I've highlighted the fun stuff about Google Play Books, I've got two coupon codes to share with you. Both are geared toward the binge readers among you that missed out on the sales I've already run for my two box sets.

If you click on either of the covers above, the link -should- take you straight to the Google Play store, with the coupon code ready to use. I normally sell my box sets for $8.99 and $9.99 respectively, but with these codes you can get them for $2.99 each!

That's 3 eBooks for less than the price of 1 eBook.

Sweeeeeeeet! 🎉

Now, fair warning that these coupon codes will stop working on Monday the 24th. So if you're wanting to start your eBook collection on Google Play with both box sets in my complete series, act fast!

In case the links attached to the covers above give you grief (since we all know those cyber gremlins are hard at work), here are the coupon codes for each book, along with direct links to the Google Play store. You can find them again at the bottom of this newsletter.

HNWA 1-3 coupon code: G0EA1K00PVWEQ

Link: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=AGNoEAAAQBAJ

HNWA 4-6 coupon code: JF3B3Y40XNFBJ

Link: https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=JTJxEAAAQBAJ

My newly-converted Google Play reader friend has told me that you'll have to click to purchase the book at the regular price, choose your payment method, and then enter the coupon code at checkout. That'll drop the price to $2.99.

Have at it, bargain hunters! 😁

💫 200+ Fantasy & Sci-fi Romance Books 💫

My fellow indie author Lisa Blackwood has put together a massive collection of eBooks for you to browse in her Spooky October sale. I nabbed a couple books for myself, and if nothing else, you need to browse the sale just to ogle one of the covers. Ripped-looking incredibly skinny guy. Not sure how that works.

But it's fantasy, right? 🤪

✨ Check It Out! ✨

Recommended Reading

Got another 3 books to share with you since my fellow indies are still sharing Lunar Rising with their own readers. Only the first book below isn't free, and this time I can honestly, truly recommend that book. I got Sworn To Shadows from the Kickstarter Lisa ran a couple months ago, and I've already read it. Lots of complicated relationship stuff, fantasy action, and a tough lady gargoyle!

Gargoyles and gods clash against evil. Can one weary soldier wield a celestial force to save the world?

Earth, modern day. Corporal Anna Mackenzie has had it up to here with fate. Irritated to be woken early from a two-year healing nap after inheriting a demigod's immense power, she's already battling the fractious magic that can't wait to draw blood. But she's seriously pissed to discover the military outpost she was sent to protect has been totally annihilated without any signs of survivors…

Being temporarily outclassed is one thing, but now her reckless action has awakened her dangerous gargoyle protector and he's bigger and scarier than ever. Except he's lost his memory, and Anna's got to do some major hand-holding if they're to hunt down a powerful creature unseen since ancient times.

Oh yeah, and save the planet from doom… again.

Can the damaged pair unleash their formidable skills in time to stop Armageddon?

✨ Get It Today! ✨

What do you get when you mix a blood pact, a lost love, and magical stones?

It's not easy being the daughter of the two most renowned serial killers in the world. Nobody knows that better than Elizabeth Bathory-Tépes, the daughter of Vlad the Impaler and The Blood Countess. 

Abandoned by her mother at birth, and neglected by her father while growing up, she'll stop at nothing to get her family back together. But will it be worth the cost?

✨ FREE On BookFunnel ✨

Before the end of hatred, there was the dawn of peace…

Two immortals from warring species save each other’s lives as the conflict rages on.

Alrec, the hulking Vampyre warrior, spares her first.

Years later, Kilani, the fierce, uncompromising Slayer, returns the favor.

Stuck in her remote cabin, their bond grows as Kilani warily nurses her injured Vampyre, determined to deny her growing desire for the man with deep, knowing eyes and mesmerizing fangs.

And, of course, there’s only one bed…

✨ FREE On All Retailers ✨

Cat Pic Incoming

Nightfall wants to remind you that if you'd like to walk on the wild side—something he totally recommends—you need to get yourself a copy of each of his mommy's eBook box sets while the coupon codes are active. Remember, the huge price cut is available ONLY on Google Play Books. The codes & store links can be found below.

Now maybe I'd better feed Nightfall so he'll stop hanging out by my fridge. 😉

Then it's back to my secret project. Will I finish on time???

Find out next Wednesday!

Talk to you soon,

C.L. Carhart

HNWA 1-3 coupon code for Google Play: G0EA1K00PVWEQ

HNWA 4-6 coupon code for Google Play: JF3B3Y40XNFBJ

Lunar Rising steamy PNR anthology: https://books2read.com/lunarrisingset

200+ eBooks for 🎃spooky🎃 romance lovers:

https://books.bookfunnel.com/october-pnr-fantasy-sci-fi-romance/lhlmqt7dxs