Just released: The 1st Promise

Only $4.99 / Free on KU
There’s got to be two of them, Aaron decided. It was the only way. Nobody could go from sweating in a kitchen to model perfect in the time between aprons coming off and the dinner chime. Gotta be a twin she’s hiding around here somewhere.

He grinned at the thought. One for each arm. Then rethought it. Two she-wolves, teeth bared and biting. “Hmmm. …Nope.”

The 1st Promise. a novel

Death Scent is Launched, Audio Being Mastered, Book 2 Well Underway

Death Scent, Jessica Anderson K-9 Mystery, Book 1

The eBook and the print versions of Death Scent are now out and getting wonderful reviews. I’m so thrilled. The audio is in the process of being mastered by my husband, but here are chapters 1 through 4 to get a taste of what it will sound like. (The zip file is available below for those who prefer to download and listen on their own devices.)

And in other news, yes, book 2 of the series is well underway and has been since January. It’s an exciting story to write, but, like Death Scent, there are places where I find it emotionally tough.

Chapter 1 – 9-1-1 Call

 

 

Chapter 2 – Trouble

 

Chapter 3 – Pertinents

 

Chapter 4 – Idaho Code

 

DOWNLOAD THE ZIP FILE

Pernicious Impertinence

I’m part of several writing groups around the Net.  Where I used to be quite active, now, mostly, I lurk, unless the forum is absolutely private, and, even then, most of the time, I offer little input.  Why might that be?  Well, a recent incident in a private forum will illustrate one very pertinent reason.

Somebody asked a question.  Several people cautiously answered with patently safe responses, namely of asking the OP (original poster) tangential questions about aspects of their topic, a technique which neatly avoids having to actually answer.  Finally, somebody was candid enough to give an on-point answer …and immediately that person got piled on by people who hadn’t even yet participated in the thread.

Why?

Because, with typical ignominy, ‘The Collective Miffed’, as I’ll call them (and, yes, there were several), didn’t like the candor and the inherent implications that underlay the truth in that answer, namely that, if you want to target the specific demographic market that the OP was trying to reach, you have to target what that demographic market wants and avoid targeting what it doesn’t.

What caused the upset among ‘The Collective Miffed’ is that, in exposing that truth, the respondent also exposed a truism about one particular, very large demographic target market, a trusim that immediately marked books authored by ‘The Collective Miffed’ as inappropriate.

Can you say pitchforks and torches, feathers and tar?

Yep.  That’s what happened.

The respondent was labeled harmful and rude, never mind that he was the only person to lay it out the way it is.  Darn his pernicious impertinence, y’know? Give not answers of unpopular truth to the mob, but only flowers and icing, baldfaced lies, and lots and lots of steaming [*]! .

It’s Never Safe to Tell the (Unpopular) Truth when Mob Rule runs Rampant

Angry Mob of Four by Robert Couse-Baker
Angry Mob of Four by Robert Couse-Baker

 

 

 

 

Changes at Amazon Important to Indie Authors

I predicted it last year. (I shared those predictions with another author who’s a close pal …and with my webmasters’ group. Only.)

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It’s happened …when I predicted it would. (Yes, math still works.)

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What does it mean?

It means that indie authors now really have to treat their vocations as a business or get out of the game. It means calculating in overhead, operating expenses, and COGS. It means pricing their books competitively, not giving them away, nor discounting them, except for planned promotional deals that run days, not weeks, months, or years. It means less ability for indie authors (or the trad published, either) to game the system with cooperative ventures. It means a lot more than that, but it’s not prudent for me to publicly share the rest of what I know, calculated, and project …except, of course, with my inner circle.