Lisette Kristensen's Blog, page 6

Silent Running FREE

Nothing came easy for Baleigh Burgess. If it wasn't her family or the men in her life, it was the streets that gnawed on her soul.
It was her determination that got her a new chance from her wreck of a life...

One night is all it took to unravel everything.

Don't miss Silent Running, the prequel to Running Blind. The first in the Sin's Fatal Desire series.

A contemporary romance series filled with mystery, crimes of the heart and suspense.

Free at Instafreebie
https://www.instafreebie.com/free/fMIuC

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Unveiling Facade now free

Unveiling Façade, Book One of the Dark Desire Series, Now free at Amazon (till Saturday)

What readers had to say about Unveiling Facade...

"Unveiling Facade, is a dark, yet riveting short story of lust and desire."

"A short, wildly erotic read. "

"Great, short, smutty read. The story's premise is erotic, and the author's imagination simply delectable. "

"Wow what a hot and naughty little book, had me begging for more "

Available at:
Amazon and KU: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CD6KHRO
Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CD6KHRO

Special Bonus: Book Two, Façade's Retribution on sale at Smashwords for 99 cents. Use coupon code NV99E when checking out. Limited time only.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

Real or Fantasy, Dystopian genre is here to stay

Our world is changing as we sit here reading this. I am not going to get political this is not the venue but it is clear to see that a darker cloud is on our horizon. To that end, the Dystopian genre, that dark, apocalyptic world of the future has really taken hold.

In the past, it was shoved to the far reaches of bookstores and online as well. That all changed when the Hunger Games hit the market.  Not only were they a phenomenal read (I think I read them all in a week and I am a serious slow reader) and the movies were good as well.

The thing is, the Dystopian genre in all its forms has been around for a long time. Those forms are what makes the genre so enticing.  It can be fantasy, paranormal, political, romantic and yes…even erotic.  The best part is that dark brooding backdrop of uncertainty. The pall of something sinister lurking in the shadows.

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When I look back at the Dystopian genre, I had no idea what a fan I was of it. I mean not until recently I had any idea what it meant! Really that clueless.  Like most of my favorite movies are dystopian in nature. I won’t list them for it is long but deep down I am a huge fan.

To take my ignorance a step farther it wasn’t till I read two really good books that I understood I was even reading Dystopian novels.  Clueless! So today, I wanted to share two book reviews that I did in the past. Both books are Dystopian but different sub-genres.

The first book is by L.N. Denison, called Oscar.  As I understand it, Ms. Denison is in rewrites with Oscar so not available but will advise when re-released.

 

I gave it a 5 star, here is my write up

Ms. Denison weaves several stories together around a young boy named Oscar. It’s a futuristic view of the United Kingdom, that is brutal and cruel. What appealed to me is the reality of the situations that each character faced. Nothing contrived, no hero saving the day. A true and realistic view how a monstrous government can destroy their own citizenry.

While the story has it’s sad and gruesome moments, you have a sense that young Oscar will bring a bright light to a bleak environment, one day. L.N. writing style is not flowery nor does she waste words. She writes with authority and makes it clear the despair the characters live in.

I enjoyed it and look forward to reading Oscar’s adventures.

I have just started her book, Going Underground.
The next book is different. It is an erotica/BDSM story with a fantasy/dystopian backdrop.

It is called, Miria Becomes His, by Casey Cane.  Amazon link: http://a.co/61baxev
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Here is my review…

What a gorgeous read! This is unlike any fantasy I’ve ever read. Cane brings to live a world of decadence, intrigue, and lust filled wantonness. Her prose is magnificent and she portrays it with such beauty. If you enjoy erotic BDSM stories you will not be disappointed with Miria Becomes His. Time to read the next one.

You’ll notice I don’t write long and deep reviews.  You won’t get spoilers or intense character reviews. I believe it is up to each reader to develop those introspections for themselves.


Since this genre is taking off and I believe will become even more popular over the next few years I went to GoodReads to find a list of good Indie Dystopian books.  Lo and Behold, there was none.

So I took it upon myself to create one! The link will follow, but I want to encourage all you readers to add to the list of your favorites.  There are or should be some wonderful Dystopian Indie Authors out there so let’s spread the word!

The GoodReads link for Best Indie Dystopian Books
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/107835.Best_Indie_Dystopian_Books_


Upcoming events:

I have two events on Friday. One during the day and then a late night event. So if you can make either one please do so. I have a special promotion going on … got to be there to win!!

https://www.facebook.com/events/100578617121927/  Filthy Coach & Breaking Rules Release Party  Hosting at 4:30 PM EST

https://www.facebook.com/events/1749714622023487/  Cover Reveal, Surrender To Me and I am on at 10:30 PM PST

Thanks for reading and see you soon!   [image error]

Ride like the wind and get some Therapy

Most of you know by now, I like my stories darker regardless if it is romance, sex or just plain life.   I am into the whole girl is a hot mess, men are horrible but a necessary evil kind of life.  To that end, I have started to get into the whole Sons of Anarchy book theme of MC or Motorcycle Club sub-genre.

I have even started writing one, Running Blind (working title) and been posting it over on Wattpad, https://www.wattpad.com/297782833-running-blind-trapped-part-one. I posted an installment last night but it got labeled private for content. It was just sex! No barb wire, no non-consent or toys used.  ~SMH~ I don’t get it lol.

So back to the subject at hand.  I do have familiarity with bike clubs/gangs and thought it would be fun to divert my writing to that romantic wanderlust of badass bikers and the chicks that live by the “ride or die” motto.  So get ready it is coming and full of dark romance, edgy hot mess of a chick and all the trappings of bad ass men.

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Along with writing a MC, it is always good to see what others are writing.  Today I finished, Chantal Fernando’s, Last Ride. Here is my review from GR and Amazon.  Amazon link: http://a.co/aJ4QzUo

I wish I could rate this book a 3.75 for it was a good read. I admit I like edgier action in my stories and Last Ride came off more suburban biker romance. Which is fine but not what flips my trigger. I did like the fact it was written in a woman’s POV but at times did feel contrived.

Overall, an easy beach read but nothing wild.

I will be doing more reviews going forward, and no worries this will not turn into reviewers blog.  There are plenty of good sites out there.

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If you are looking for a real good BDSM read, then I suggest Unorthodox Therapy, by Lilah E Noir.  An excellent read on power exchange, solid BDSM play and some interesting twist and turns.  Amazon link: http://a.co/dI4mEOE and on KU.

Here is my review:

Enthralling read! Everything that FSOG wished it could be. A wonderful tale of power exchange, muddied by love and a woman’s spiral into the darkest reaches of BDSM without losing herself. Some dynamic twist and turns and well-crafted story that is loaded with suspense.

Thanks for reading and supporting Indie Authors everywhere ![image error]

 

Dark Desire Box Set Banned

by Amazon!

Yep! They got me again. The Dark Desire Four Book Box Set got banned today by Amazon. No explanation, no notification.

This is the second time a book of mine has felt the hammer of Amazon. This came out of the blue as it had been selling quite well.

Here is my new promo for it is $1.49 till the 15th at Smashwords. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

Brain to Books Cyber Convention: A Place for Readers and Writers

Get ready to rock the book nerd in you at the 3rd annual Brain to Books Cyber Convention and Book Expo on April 7-9, 2017.

Source: Brain to Books Cyber Convention: A Place for Readers and Writers

Amazon sells over one millon ebooks a day

and Indie Authors now dominate those sales!

It was reported this week by Roger Packer, that Amazon now sells over 1 million ebooks a day, worth $6M in revenue.  The interesting data from the daily sales is that Indie Authors now are 42% of those sales versus the Big Five’s 23%.  (The rest of the sales come from Amazon imprints, small publishers, and uncategorized single publisher)

AutoEarnings reports the Big 5 are finding it harder to compete because Indie Authors bring a broader diversity, price, quality and frequency of titles. They also contribute the shift in market share to a price change by the Big 5, called agency pricing which has steepened the prices of their ebooks.

The other interesting data point is how Indie Authors are now taking over Amazon’s Best Seller’s list.

4 of Amazon’s overall Top 10 best-selling ebooks were self-published indie titles.
10 of Amazon’s overall Top 20 best-selling ebooks were self-published indie titles.
56 of Amazon’s overall Top 100 best-selling ebooks were self-published indie titles.
20 of Amazon’s overall Top 100 best-selling ebooks were indie titles priced between $2.99 and $5.99.

The survey does state KindleUnlimited does play into the statistics but direct retail Indie books are up substantially.  In fact, AutoEarnings states at the time of their data grab, 25 of the Top 125 overall best sellers were not in the KU program.

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Here are three more interesting tidbits from the report:

Self-publishers were found in surprising sectors of the print market, including the adult coloring book sector which was a big success in 2015. In January’s snapshot, 11 out of Amazon’s Top 35 best-selling print books were adult coloring books and 5 of those 11  were self-published coloring books by indie authors.

Indie authors are taking home a far bigger share of the proceeds of a print book sale (36% of list price, on average), compared with the 8% paperback royalties and 15% hardcover royalties that are typical for traditional publishers.

Audiobooks are one of the industry’s fastest-growing segments and indies are also starting to make inroads into that market. AE says in January, Amazon was selling around 119,000 audiobooks a day — about $2,100,000 worth — generating $204,000 a day in author earnings.

So what does this mean for us Indie Authors?  We control our destinies. We are no longer the poor stepchild of the industry, no matter how hard the traditional publishers/authors try to beat us down.

It also reflects, more importantly, how Amazon is growing and will take over the marketplace.  With the growth in their imprint business (Createspace and others) and now with ACX in audiobooks. Amazon intends on being “THE” marketplace for Indie Authors.  That has its dangers and will require watching.

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Next an update on the Dark Desire Series. 

With the data above and the 2017 trends that I shared last week, I had to make a business decision.  When I published, Facade’s Surrender, last summer, Amazon banned it due to content.  It was a time when Amazon seemed to be cracking down.

It forced me to seek other distribution options. I did not want to do it but had no choice. So I had to leave KindleUnlimited, and move my titles to Smashwords and Draft2Digital. The experience was okay but cumbersome and frankly I tried but it did not feel right.

Eventually, Amazon relented and published Facade’s Surrender.  But I had already made the move and shifted my promotions to Smashwords.

With all that said, re-evaluating the business, the numbers and trends being reported. The ease of use and customer loyalty to Amazon. I have decided to move all my titles back in KindleUnlimited.  That means I had to delist from Smashwords and D2D.  That change has already happened.

I am also changing my pricing model (which has been all over the place). Book One, Unveiling Facade will be at 99cents. The other three books, Facade’s Retribution, Facade’s Surrender and Facade’s Salvation will be $1.99 and the Four-Book Box Set will be $3.99 (after January 14th, still on sale for $1.49, so better get it fast).

The reason Unveiling Facade is at 99 cents for it is a short story and did not feel it was right to charge a price relative to the other three.

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The last item on the Series, yes, I am writing a book five and I even started it.  However, when I got ill this past fall I did some reflection.  As some know, I have a story I want to write that is different than the Dark Desire Series and decided to do it.  I am writing it now and will be longer than my previous stories.

I should have Running Blind done and out by March, then back to book five,   Facade’s Soul of Darkness. So stay tuned.

Thanks for reading and please leave comments, your input is valuable to me.

Fairy Tale Friday Episode 9- V.E Campudoni

Who doesn’t like Little Red Riding Hood … especially this version

Author Allysa Hart

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving weekend. Do you have your trees up? We don’t and I’m getting impatient. The weather here has not been conducive to chopping down a tree, so I guess I can’t complain too much.

I have a new friend on Fairy Tale Friday today. Please welcome VE Campudoni.  The last book in his series “Masked Emotions” was recently released. You can purchase the entire series for only $8.95. Seems like a great deal to me!

V.E Campudoni always has a knack for seeing things from interesting and unusual angles and then sit back, relax and enjoy the view. He had written over twenty-five stories from long and short fiction including horror, paranormal, and action-adventure. The BDSM Romance series The “Masked Emotions” is his personal favorite. He lives in Liverpool, N.Y. with his wife and five children. When he’s not writing, he enjoys reading, traveling, playing…

View original post 4,254 more words

Indie Authors, the trend is your friend!

There is an old saying around Wall Street, “the trend is your friend.” Don’t buck it nor try to get greedy with it, just ride it. The same can be said about anything in life and especially when it comes to being an Independent Author.

On January 4th,  Written Word published their Top 10 Trends. I am going to go through them and lend my insight or thoughts. The link to the article is at the end.

 1. The Majority of Fiction Sales will Come from eBooks

Data Guy notes in his DBW White Paper that 70% of adult fiction sales were digital last year. It is likely that ebook readership will continue to grow in 2017. More eBook readers means more eBook sales. This means that if you’re writing fiction, promoting your eBooks is a good place to focus in the coming year.

This is obviously good news for us Indie Authors as the market will stay strong.  But is also can mean more competition.

2. Indie Authors and Small Presses will Dominate

In the October 2016 author earnings report we saw the Big 5’s market share continue to drop. Small presses, Indie authors, and Amazon imprints account for over 50% of market share. This shows a continued shift in reader perception: a book does not need to be traditionally published and available in brick and mortar stores in order to be deemed readable. Jane Friedman of The Hot Sheet foresees a tough year for traditional publishers.

This is a key piece of data.  Is it any wonder that we saw last week’s article by Laura Gough dissing indie authors.  Add in the closing of AllRomance, Ellora’s Cave and others at the end of 2016. Self Publishing has taken over.

3. Amazon Imprints will Command Top Spots

Amazon now has 13 active publishing imprints, each catering to its own genre market. In 2016, 7 out of the top 10 Kindle best-sellers were books published by their imprints. Data Guy also reports that Amazon imprints took an additional 4% of the market share in the last quarter. While there is no stated proof that Amazon’s algorithms favor Amazon published titles, the rankings make a convincing argument that they do.

While we gripe about Amazon and some of their iron-fisted approach, they are still the 800# gorilla of the marketplace.  What is interesting is the Createspace opportunity. If we make that work it is off to the races.

4. Kindle Unlimited Readership will Continue to Grow

In his 2017 predictions, Mark Coker of Smashwords talks about the value proposition of Kindle Unlimited for readers (point number 7). For your average reader, Kindle Unlimited is a no brainer, in the same way that Spotify and other music streaming services are no brainers for consumers. This is exacerbated by the language that Amazon uses to market their service to readers, namely by telling readers that a book is “free” if they are a subscriber.

If Amazon had not banned, Facade’s Surrender, I would still be part of KU. In fact, I was looking at returning to the program.  Then my sales of the four-book set at Smashwords took off. Still mulling it around.

5. Crowding will Result in Increased Competition

Mark Coker talks about how the life cycle of a book has changed with the introduction of digital listings. It used to be that once a book stopped selling (or if it never sold at all) it was removed from the shelves, no longer discoverable by readers. Since eBook retailers don’t have to limit their “shelf space”, books stay available and discoverable for much longer (potentially forever). This means that the competition only continues to rise as not only do new authors begin publishing, but the old ones continue to put out new books and republish their backlists.

This one is a no-brainer. We Indie Authors need to think long and hard where we position our books within our genre.  To be aware of what is happening in that genre. I write urban erotica. There are over 16,000 titles in that space!  The old axiom of know your market holds true, and the riches are in the niches.

6. Audiobooks will Gain in Popularity

The Pew Research Center reported an increase in audiobook listeners in 2016, with 14% of survey respondents saying that they listened to books. Additionally, The Association of American Publishers reports that audio remains the fastest growing format. This trend is driven by changes in how and where we listen to content. Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn weighed in on the effect of smart home speakers on content consumption.

This is a key one I believe.   I will be looking into this more as the year proceeds. There are some interesting quotes so take a look at the link.

7. Marketing will Determine the Winners

We all know that writing a book is only half of the battle. In an increasingly crowded eBook market, successful authors are authors who spend time and money marketing their books. Time and time again, email marketing has proven to be the best way to engage an audience. Ricardo from Reedsy has seen a rise in authors seeking assistance with marketing:

…A profession I see emerging more and more is that of “book marketers”, i.e. people with strong digital marketing skills (often authors themselves) who know about Amazon SEO, lead generation, email marketing, and search & social advertising. They’re more than VAs in that they work with the author to draw a marketing plan and then teach them how to execute it.- Ricardo Fayet, Reedsy

Boom!  I know you all were waiting for it. The thorn in our side, the fly in the ointment and the bane of our existence.  We as indie authors have limited budgets or if any at all. Meaning you will need to find time to learn one or two devices of marketing and become real good at them. Or fall into the morass of many and drown.

8. The Performance of Facebook Ads will Decline

Facebook ads continued to gain popularity among every business, large and small in 2016. Greater demand for Facebook ads led to increasing costs on the platform, which made their efficacy go down for marketers focused on ROI. Mark Dawson of The Self Publishing Formula recommends supplementing your social media advertising with Amazon Marketing service ads:

Amazon Marketing Service ads are likely to become the next big thing in the indie ads space. I have been experimenting with them on a reasonably large scale, and am achieving a steady 80% return on investment. By merging traditional CPC campaign strategy with specific tactics particular tot he ebook space, savvy authors could make a killing before too many people try to muscle their way into the market.- Mark Dawson, The Self Publishing

Since I write erotica, I am closed off from FB ads (Amazon and Twitter too). I am going to re-look at Amazon and see if there are any opportunities there.

9. International Audiences Provide Opportunities for Growth

Mark Lefebvre of Kobo Writing Life has always been an advocate for expanding your audience internationally. His prediction for 2017 is that:

More indie authors will find audiences outside the more established markets of the US and the UK by embracing publishing wide. Yes, there is still digital growth in these areas, but there are so many other English and non-English language markets globally that have been growing in the same way that the US and the UK was growing a few years ago, and many authors publishing through Kobo Writing Life are starting to see growth in those markets (and yes, even without translating to other languages)- Mark Lefebvre, Kobo Writing Life

This one fascinates me!  This will be my focus for 2017. I have been looking at the German market. It is huge and they have a thirsty appetite for erotica.

10. Authors Will Band Together

When we reached out to Jason Freeman, CEO of Instafreebie, his thoughts on the coming year were hopeful:

My prediction for 2017 is that we’ll continue to see a trend of authors supporting other authors through collaboration on promotions. Whether it’s through group giveaways, anthologies, and samplers, authors will continue to find success when they understand that promoting their book is not a zero-sum game.- Jason Freeman, Instafreebie

This will take time but I think it has merit.  Especially in the anthology market.

Here is the link to the full article.  There are some other good quotes and what it means to us directly.  https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/2017...

I deliberately held off with graphics as not to clutter the page today. But will leave you with one

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Go Indie or go home!

When I started writing back in 2009 (only eight years ago) there was basically three avenues to getting your stories into the marketplace.  Submit to a publishing house, get an agent or vanity press.  All three approaches were difficult, time-consuming and to a degree expensive.

I was fortunate to a degree and got published by a small shop. It gave me a sense of accomplishment, some cache and the ability to say, I am a published author.  While at the time it seemed like a big deal, the reality of it all was “so what?”

Jump into the time machine, press the go forward button and now look at us.  Having our work bought, imprinted is not such a big deal anymore. Oh sure, you still have the snobs that look down at the Indie writer. Like they are different, something special, but in truth, they aren’t.

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The reality is, no matter if you go independent and self-publish or have your story bought by a publisher, you still have to do all the hustling.  It is up to you to have a marketing plan, to get out and hustle your books, deal with the editor and copy editor. Then hassle with the cover art department.  Funny thing is, after all, that you still aren’t guaranteed any success.

But there is one difference, CONTROL.  Once you find your way off the cloud of elation, get your feet back on the ground, you slowly see your creation, your baby, being gobbled up by the editor or even your agent.  Something changes, and often it is not subtle.  Your creative effort, that vision you worked, bleed over for a long time, sometimes comes out looking very different that what you had in mind.  In effect, you die the slow death of losing control.

That is where being an Indie Author rides supreme.  You get to keep that control. Hell, if I am going to have to do everything to try to sell it, why should I give others the ability to change my creation?

In today’s market, it has gone beyond creative control.  Publishers are dying slow deaths everywhere.  Sure the big houses reign supreme but the mid-level and small market are shrinking.  Several houses have closed and now All Romance has announced they too are closing.  They will join Ellora’s Cave (Reported to close at the end of the year), Jolly Fish, Booktrope and the on and off again Samhain issues.

None of those names will fracture the industry. But for the writer, it is tantamount to a tsunami.  It is almost paralyzing when you consider do I get my owed royalties? What happens to my rights?  Other questions then begin to bubble to the surface, and the effect is you the writer, become immobilized (After you go through all the steps of “what the hell” happened).

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Being an Indie writer, you don’t need to worry.  There are plenty of talented editors, copy editors, cover designers out there to help you. Sure you have to dig into your pocket but you maintain control over your creative endeavor.  No one can take it away from you, it is all yours.  The best part? You and you alone will make your book successful.

Having done both, experiencing the ego rush of bragging, “I’ve been published”.  The reality is that the readers don’t care. If you engage the readers, listen and interact with them, soon enough you as an Indie writer will have a following of die hard fans.

That is what matters, having people that enjoy your stories, not a publishing house imprint.  To that end, I want to thank all my readers for their support and loyalty.

That takes care of the year-end rant!

Heading into 2017, here is what will be happening in January.

First off, at the end of the month, I will be heading to the Dominican Republic for vacation.  It has been two years and so looking forward to being on the beach again!!

On the 14th, I will be part of a Take Over on Facebook. It is the “Dirty Dozen BDSM Play Party for Alone by Drew Sera (a good friend).  There is a great lineup of authors, and I am honored to be part of it. So mark it on your calendars. Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/386517675029187/

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On the book front.  The four box set of the Dark Desire series is on sale at both Amazon and Smashwords.  It is priced at $1.49 (normally $2.99).  Here are the links:

Amazon http://a.co/7hQQspo

Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

New book update.  As I mentioned I am going to give the Dark Desire series a break and write something different.  It will have that same dark edge to it, but our heroine will be facing some serious choices that challenge her core as a woman.  It is called, Running Blind. A mystery in the hard-boiled sub-genre.  One other thing is that I am writing it at Wattpad.  So you can read along and leave comments. Here is that link: https://www.wattpad.com/297782833-running-blind-trapped-part-one.

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There is a part two now. So take look and would enjoy the feedback, even if it is bad.

The last item, later in the month we will have an interview, with that salacious erotica writer, Jeanna Pride.

Have a Happy New Years, be safe out there and see you next year!