Sorry I'm late
Aug 11, 2024 5:44 pm
August News
Contents
- Introduction, updates, and newsletter giveaway
- Sales, freebies, and/or new releases
- Writing Snippet
- Giveaways and promotions
- Book recommendations
- Closing remarks
- My books
Hi ,
I know I'm late getting this out and I'm sorry for it. Although it was fun and went well, as an introvert, the in person event drained me more than I realized it would.
The winner of last month's giveaway is Lola at gem...2 at gmail . com. If this is you, you should have already received your gift card for the giveaway.
This month, I have another survey for my giveaway. I'll be mixing things up a little by having two winners who can choose a signed paperback book.
In this survey, I'll be asking questions about audiobooks. If you aren't into audiobooks, you can just pick that answer and leave the rest blank.
I've been thinking a lot about my audiobooks, or rather, the lack of them for most of my books. I really want to get everything made into an audiobook for those of you who enjoy them. But the reason I haven't yet is that they are pretty costly to produce and I don't really sell enough of them.
Out of the 2 I've made into audiobooks, Once upon a Shoe was made through a royalty share. The positive side of that is that I didn't need to pay anything out of pocket. The downside is that It locks me into Audible with only 20% royalties. I think I'm getting close to the window that I might be able to buy my rights from the narrator and Audible, but I haven't even looked into how to do it yet. Once upon a Silent Song, I paid the narrator out of pocket. I think this was the better move since I published this audio book wide and I get more income from the non-Audible sites than I get from Audible for both books combined. But with all of my audiobook royalties combined, I haven't made even a third of what I paid for Once upon a Silent Song to be turned into an audiobook.
Since I don't have the budget to just push them out and hope the extra books will make up the difference, I have two options I want to explore. One of the options is AI. And the other is the potential of trying to narrate it myself. With either option, I'm hoping there will be those of you who are interested in working with me as beta listeners to make sure that everything is done well. If both ideas are hated, I'll drop the idea and just continue to wait until I can pay for the service.
In other news, I didn't get far on my book projects last month because my focus was on preparing for the in person event. However, my efforts in preparing for the event pushed me to finally add a lot more content to my subscriber freebies. I have new coloring pages, word searches, and printable coloring bookmarks available.
Sales, Freebies, and/or New Releases
Once upon a Shoe is free to read on Ream this month for followers (the free tier). Ream is running a week long promotion from 8/25-8-31 with a bunch of authors setting a book for free for the month. I joined this, but decided I wanted to give readers more time.
Once upon a Silent Song is now available wide and I've started the process of publishing Once upon a Rose wide.
Writing Snippet from Once upon a Silent Song
Mariska nodded and took a deep breath before speaking her spell in the Mage language. At first, nothing seemed to be happening and Nimue started to relax. She could get through this. They had a plan.
Then, Nimue began choking, struggling for breath as her Voice was being magically ripped out of her. Mariska continued her spell without pause. Nimue didn’t know if her sister was aware of her dilemma or not.
Surely, Mariska would stop if she knew?
All Nimue knew was pain and a horrifying inability to breathe. She closed her eyes, willing it to stop. Finally, Mariska’s voice stopped her chant and Nimue collapsed to the floor, gasping for the breath she was finally able to take.
Giveaways and Promotions
Book Recommendations
Kalindra and her companions felt the cold of despair seep into their bones as they fled from the frozen north. They had failed to prevent the Blackness Beyond from unleashing its dark power upon Parthenis. The only thing that kept them from giving up was the dying words of Yenderen.
Kalindra and her friends resolved to fight until their last breath, even if it meant chasing a false hope, rather than surrendering to their doom. They soared eastward, towards Parthenis, and gasped at the sight of Corvenhold and the other isles of the Oldenford archipelago engulfed in flames.
They descended on a nearby island to join the defenders, but Kalindra’s presence did not go unnoticed by a spy of the Sightless Cabal, who alerted his fellow conspirators, and soon Kalindra and her friends found themselves surrounded by enemies.
Would they be able to escape the trap, or would they perish in the flames of the Blackness Beyond?
It’s been centuries since the darkness was locked away, but will it stay there forever?
Runa is a descendant of ancient magic. She’s known about it her whole life but has barely begun to tap into her abilities. Wanting to learn more about her psychic powers, she enrolls in an occult studies class at the local university where she meets new friends and senses someone familiar on her first day.
Returning to class for the second day, the professor mistakenly reads from an old, worn book, causing Runa to feel her psychometry senses go into overdrive. Another student named Blainn, warns the professor against continuing. But, it’s too late… Darkness has returned.
How will Runa and her new friends stop the darkness from spreading? What will it take to banish this evil forever? Grab the introduction to this thrilling clean paranormal psychic romance that is suitable for young adult and adult readers alike.
As a Seelie Fae, Elaith always distrusted humans—then she found herself mated to one.
It was bad enough that her brother had gotten himself a human mate. However, Elaith supports his decision to marry her.
But inviting humans to a Fae wedding could be dangerous.
The one danger Elaith did not expect was Quinn—her human mate.
Elaith cannot be with a mortal human who will die more easily than her.
After opening up to each other and sharing a kiss, Elaith wipes Quinn’s memories.
She believes forgetting her will protect him.
But she is wrong. Quinn can still feel the mate bond and still desires to explore it.
Meanwhile strange evil Unseelie Fae are threatening the village. It is Elaith’s duty to protect mortals from this danger.
Instead of staying out of harm's way, Quinn insists he can help Elaith in her cause.
Elaith faces an impossible decision: her mate or the world.
Rejected by a Fae is the third book in the Hazel Woods Romance series.
Awkwardly in Love by Ava Sparrow
Love Whispers: My Brother’s Best Friend Unveils a Connection I Never Saw Coming!
I never expected a late-night Facebook scroll to change everything. Eric, my brother's best friend and my childhood crush becomes more than a profile picture. His outgoing charm clashes with my introverted world, yet his playful messages awaken a courage I never knew I had. As we journey from online banter to planning my dream trip, I discover a newfound confidence in me.
But as challenges arise, will I be able to overcome my past fears and step into a future with Eric?
Closing Remarks
Don't forget to fill out this survey to enter to be one of two winners of a signed paperback.
Here is the link for the subscriber free content. I haven't managed to add anything more since last month, but I plan to work on it soon
