Happy Halloween!

On this Halloween Wednesday, make sure you . . .

Get Your Spook On!

Start at the Indelibles Blog, play the blog hop, and win some fantastic prizes!

Also, check out my response to "What is the most evil thing your character has done?" on Ali Cross's blog, where I *clearly* did not get the memo to "keep it simple." 

If you're looking for a great Halloween read, be sure to check out Ali's novel BECOME--the first book in the Desolation series!

Friday Links

Hi Everyone!

The Next Big Thing questions are ready to go (as promised), but I decided to toss up a links post today, instead. If I collect any more links, my inbox will explode, and I really want to get these out there. 

First, there are rumors in publishing land that Penguin and Random House might be merging.

Then, Hugh Howey doesn't give a rip, because he Doesn't Need a Publisher, anyway.

If you don't know Hugh, he is the author of Wool, which is "a smashing success with more than 300,000 copies sold in the U.S. alone and a film optioned by 20th Century Fox and Ridley Scott." 

Also: "In just a few short months, Wool has made appearances on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists, and it's a No. 1 bestseller on Amazon, where it was also named winner of Kindle Book Review's Best Indie Book of 2012."

Self pubs, FTW!

Love it when he says: "My realization has been that whatever kind of book you have ... you'll earn more and be in a better position if you own the rights. This is true for a book that will hardly sell, for a blockbuster, and for everything in between." 

Next, the fabulous David Gaughran talks Popularity, Visibility, and KDP Select. 

If you have a newsletter or use the occasional email blast for promotion, you'll want to check out this data, which breaks down the time frame people are most likely to open/read your message.

Ed Robertson has a post up about the Amazing Disappearing Amazon Reviews. The deal is that Amazon is pulling reviews from books if there appears to be a connection to other reviews and/or the author. This is meant to cut down on the number of illegitimate reviews. 

A valiant effort, but what I'd really like to see Amazon do is ban the people who go around bashing the reviews of others, or the people who can't give more than two stars to ANYTHING. I swear, if all of your reviews are two stars or less, then you need to either stop reading or find a new genre. It's so sad and spiteful. No one should be that miserable. And the personal attacks? Those have to stop, too. You do not really wish the author would die.

Let's be classy, okay? :)

Okay!

***end rant***

Finally, fellow Indelible Addison Moore has some great advice for self-pubbed writers on the fence re: blogging, so be sure to stop by Jody Hedlund's blog to check out what she has to say.

Whew!

That is all!

Enjoy your weekend!

~Katie~

Hot New Release from Shana Norris!

Happy Monday!

(Blech.) That never works. 

Anyway, I was tagged last week by Shana Norris for The Next Big Thing hop. Go check out her responses and pop back in later this week to read mine. It's on my to-do list, I promise!

While you're there, make sure to congratulate her on the release of Submerging (the sequel to Surfacing)!

Sixteen years ago, Sailor Mooring’s mother dove into the Atlantic Ocean and was never seen again. Now, Sailor is following her mother’s long swim to find answers to the questions that have haunted her life: Why did her mother leave? And what really happened the night Sailor’s father died?

Callum Murchadh has spent the last five years banished from his home and his people. At nineteen, he now lives a human life in the northern islands of Scotland, where maintaining a quiet existence is crucial to keeping his secrets hidden.

But having a finfolk girl step off the ferry and into his life was the last thing he expected.

Sailor finds herself both drawn to Callum and frightened by his warnings. He may hold the clues she needs to reach the ancestral home of her people, but knowing whether to trust him isn’t easy.

 

Surfacing is priced at $2.99, and Submerging is $3.99.

 

Enjoy!

 

~K~ 

Christmas Music and an Interview

The Girl Child is playing Christmas music right now. Part of me is all YAY! Christmas is SO Freaking Awesome Let's Decorate! The other is all *facepalm* I cannot deal with Christmas yet. It's not even Halloween!

I'm only allowing this because she's learning to play the piano, and she's discovered that if she plays her favorite songs on her portable CD player, then she can sometimes plink out the song as she goes. 

I play the piano--and playing by ear is a great skill to develop, so I'm trying not to interfere. 

I'm trying. Trying *so* hard.

There's a Great Mom Award for this, right?

At least it's Andrea Bocelli. I mean, one could do worse than Andrea Bocelli Christmas.

Anyway, I just popped in to say that, if you have a moment, I hope you'll stop by Boekie's Book Reviews to read my interview with Vanessa. If you're into Mature YA/New Adult and Women's Fiction, check out the reviews/giveaways while you're there!

~K~

Am listening to: "White Christmas" by Andrea Bocelli

I'm not kidding. I wish I was. 

You're Welcome

 

Happy Friday! 

(sighs)

September Sales Numbers

I'm late! I know!

Still trying to play catch up from last week. :)

The numbers are crunched, though, and the grand total is:

4,941

The Guardian

            Amazon US: 926,  Amazon UK: 4, Amazon DE: 2, Amazon FR: 1, BN: 154, iTunes: 13, Kobo: 3

          Total: 1,103           (36.7 sales per day)

Cross My Heart

            Amazon US: 1,341, Amazon UK: 366, Amazon DE: 42, Amazon FR: 6, Amazon IT: 2,  

            BN: 438,  iTunes: 481, Kobo: 42

          Total: 2,718        (90.6 sales per day)

Vendetta

                        Amazon US: 474, Amazon UK: 4, BN: 67, iTunes: 3                     

        Total: 548         (18.2 sales per day)

           

Revelation

            Amazon US: 435, Amazon UK: 3, BN: 57, iTunes: 5                     

          Total: 500         (16.6 sales per day)

Trilogy

            Amazon US: 36, Amazon UK: 2, Amazon DE: 3, BN: 25, iTunes: 5, Kobo: 1

          Total: 72           (2.4 sales per day)

This month, Cross My Heart started another down trend. This time last year I was kind of nervous, to be honest, because I hadn't quite learned that "what comes down" can "bounce back up." In the meantime, it was a great month for The Guardian. The $.99 price point is working really well. I'm accessing so many new readers, and, because my read-through rate is around 45-50%, I can usually expect to sell a decent number of Vendettas and Revelations.

It feels like it's taken forever for that series to "take off" (whatever that means). I know that it would've been written off by now had it been traditionally published. It just goes to show . . . slow and steady. :)

I'm approaching my two-year "Indie"versary and, as of September sales, I've sold more than 50,000 ebooks!

Dudes. That is inSANE!!!!!

(I actually want to insert like, a thousand exclamation points here, because I'm *that* excited . . . but I will spare you.)

As always: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for the emails, the comments, the ratings, the likes, the reviews, the tweets, etc. They *really* do help spread the word.

As long as you keep reading and enjoying, I'll keep writing. Because I adore all 50,000+ of you for making this happen. :)

~K~

Hot New Releases!

Dead Heat  by Lisa Nowak Alex is a machine whisperer. He can tell what’s wrong with a broken-down car with a touch. But his gift can’t save him from the brutality of his meth-addict father. For two years, Alex experienced kindness through Cole, his mentor. Now Cole’s dead, and the violence in Alex’s life is escalating. When Cole reappears as a ghost, Alex clings to the tenuous link. Then he learns Cole might’ve sacrificed his chance to cross over. Jade, the first girl to look beyond Alex’s past, assures him Cole can reach the Other Side—if Alex escapes from his dad. But a previous terrifying attempt has convinced Alex it’s impossible. Unless he can find the courage to try, his friend may be earthbound forever. Amazon: http://bit.ly/DH-Amazon Smashwords:http://bit.ly/DH-Smashwords    Glimpse and Glimmer  now available in audiobook! Glimpse on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Glimpse/dp/B0091ZCQ5C/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349109655&sr=1-1&keywords=glimpse Glimmer on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Glimmer/dp/B009G6X3BC/ref=sr_1_1_title_2_audd?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349109793&sr=1-1&keywords=glimmer  Both audiobooks are also available on Audible and iTunes. Glow and the complete Zellie Wells trilogy coming soon!

Perception  by Lee Strauss   Seventeen year old Zoe Vanderveen is a GAP—a genetically altered person. She lives in the security of a walled city on prime water-front property along side other equally beautiful people with extended life spans. Her brother Liam is missing. Noah Brody is a natural who lives on the outside. He leads protests against the GAPs and detests the widening chasm they’ve created between those who have and those who don’t. He doesn’t like girls like Zoe and he has good reason not to like her specifically. Zoe’s carefree life takes a traumatic turn. She’s in trouble and it turns out that Noah, the last guy on earth she should trust, is the only one who can help her. PERCEPTION is a (SF/mystery/romance) Young Adult novel that takes place in the not too distant future in a world changed by climate extremes, natural disasters and impending wars, and where scientific breakthroughs cause class divisions—both financially and philosophically. It explores the clash between faith and science and how differences can separate us as enemies or ally us together. And in some cases, even in the midst of betrayal and personal crisis, there’s room to fall in love. Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0095612HK Perception is also available on Kobo and iTunes. Barnes and Noble coming soon!

Uncontrollable  by S.R. Johannes Uncontrollable (Book 2 in Nature of Grace series; sequel to Untraceable)   As 16 year old Grace recovers from tragedy, her science class is chosen by Agent Sweeney at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to help with research on the new "Red Wolf Reintroduction Program". While she’s excited about helping with the conservation of the endangered wolves, Grace knows this means being outdoors in the worst winter recorded, in a place she no longer feels comfortable. It also means working closely with Wyn (her ex) and his annoying girlfriend (Skyler), a girl whose idea of getting close to nature is picking silk plants and growing fake plants. After a couple of wolves show up dead, Grace almost quits. However, when a fellow project team member goes missing, Grace continues the assignment under a renewed suspicion that someone might be sabotaging the conservation program. She quietly begins to hunt for clues. Little does she know, she is being hunted too. Amazon: http://amzn.to/PnYB0t Barnes and Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/uncontrollable-sr-johannes/1112922262?ean=2940015676952 Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/236528

Killer Week

This is my killer week (a lot of day job-related deadlines; otherwise known as the "ish hath hitteth the fanneth" week). 

But I will survive.

In the meantime, I'm over on the Indelibles blog talking about Blurbs (authors who want them and authors asked to write them), so drop by and say hi!

If you've emailed me recently: I Love You. Will get to your message as soon as I can. :)

Also, it's the first of the new month, so I'll have a September numbers post up once I can crunch the numbers.

Otherwise, am jumping into this week (the way I see it: the sooner I get started, the sooner it will be over). 

~K~