Jason Halstead's Blog, page 11
February 8, 2015
A Nod to Dawn Michelle
There’s an amazing woman in the world that deserves some recognition. Not only is she a kick-ass mother and wife, but she puts out some slightly twisted and sometimes downright juicy books too! Case in point, after a hectic week we lost track of release day of the second book in her Tooth and Nayelle series. I’m here to cross-promote it and hopefully drive a little more attention her way. She does shine in the spotlight, after all…
Tooth and Nayelle is a paranormal romance / thriller serial. In total it will be five parts, each of them novelette length and priced at $.99. Or, for readers that are in Kindle Unlimited, it’s free! Yes, when she’s done she will release the entire series as a bundle (which will not be in KU), but the stories aren’t done yet.
That’s nice – but what’s it about and why should you care? Well, the story is about a young woman that has been hunted since childhood. She watched her family torn apart by a pack of very special wolves. She saw things that were impossible, and when she tried to tell people, they condemned her for it. That sort of support system can leave a person not only haunted and damaged, but doubting her own sanity.
The bad news is, they’ve come back, proving that she isn’t crazy. Just in time to tear away the only thing she has left in her life, her friends and the young man that she dared to dream might be the one guy that helps her feel like a person again. Someone that matters.
If you’re interested in a fun and thrilling ride, go and check it out! Both parts 1 and 2 are available, and while they are short reads, they are a lot of fun.
Tooth and Nayelle – Part One:
Tooth and Nayelle – Part Two:
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter , or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .
February 7, 2015
It’s Alive!
After years of neglect, it’s time to try again
I’m talking about my website. It’s been old, dusty, and unmaintained for far too long. Well after the last week of work, I’m happy to say that’s not the case anymore! Not only did I give it a complete overhaul, but I changed technologies to make it faster and more secure, and switched it from my old twitchy ISP to be hosted on my own server sitting a few feet behind me.
Try it out and see what you think. ALL of my books are on there now (listed by series), as well as handy links for free books and audio books. My past newsletters are archived there, and there’s a direct feed from my blog. It’s almost like I knew what I was doing!
But I can’t take all the credit. My wife, the lovely Dawn Michelle, provided a lot of assistance in picking colors and laying things out (and by a lot I mean damn near all of them – I can’t pick one decent color, let alone the half dozen or more used in a website). My beta testing team consisted of a wonderful group of writers and readers too lengthy to list – but I express my heartfelt appreciation to them all.
Check it out, It’s www.booksbyjason.com.
But wait, I mentioned multiple releases…what else have I got up my sleeve? Rise of the Serpent, book 2 in The Serpent’s War fantasy series. No, it’s not available just yet, but it will be very soon. I’ve got a soft date of Feb 15 from my editor and I’ve been actively working on cover art with one of my amazing cover artists.
And now that I’ve hit a happy point with the website, it’s time to get back to writing! Dark Universe, here I come… I’ve been dreaming up all sorts of ideas to put into the sequel for Into the Dark. Now I get my chance to make it happen! But don’t worry, fans of Vitalis and Voidhawk, those are coming soon too.
Thanks for the patience while the construction dust settles. Now it’s time for me to get back to work to get the books flowing again.
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter , or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .
January 29, 2015
The Cost of Writing…and other BS
Anybody in the world of writing has probably seen all the hoopla about an article in Salon by some lady who’s name I don’t remember. She went on ad nauseum to discuss how success was only possible because her husband made a substantial income that allowed her to stay at home and write. Everybody else wouldn’t talk about the money or where it came from, it was taboo.
Uh��� no. I’ve been talking about it for years. And I’ve been working my tail off too. And not just at writing, I’ve got a day job too. I’ve always had a day job. And I’ve written. And I went to school for three degrees. And I have two young children and a wife I adore.
Since 2009 I’ve been doing all of that and writing professionally. The schooling ended a couple of years ago after I finished my MBA, but nothing else did. This year I have over 30 releases planned, from several full length novels and a few novellas to multiple serials. In 2014 I put out 22, so it’s very realistic.
What about the numbers for 2014? Well, they weren’t nearly as good as 2013, unfortunately. But that doesn’t mean they were dismal or upsetting. I damn near hit $60k with books, after all! What worked best? Science Fiction and some (not all) fantasy. Summer, fall, and winter saw definite plunges in ebook sales. I offset it with a combined exploratory effort into paranormal romance with my wife and that, in turn, led me to a NY Time and USA Today bestseller spot.
Yet I’m still at the day job and struggling to get sales back up to levels I can accept. I’m dabbling in advertising, something I’ve had no success with in the past. It’s helping a little, and between that and a new book that’s doing quite well (Into the Dark, a new science fiction book that will begin my Dark Universe series), things are coming back around. Fantasy, sadly, seems to be dying off for me.
But you want the details nobody else gives you. I’m here to deliver:
Title
Genre
# Books
2014 Royalties
Blades of Leander
Fantasy
3
$5,155
Order of the Dragon
Fantasy
4
$3,998
Serpent’s War
Fantasy
1 (2 more in 2015)
$43
Homeland
Intrigue, Erotica
2
$156
Dark Earth
Urban Fantasy, Paranormal
5
$1,120
The Lost Girls
Sci-fi, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
5
$5,386
Vitalis
Sci-fi
7
$11,741
Voidhawk
Fantasy, Space Opera
7
$10,454
Wanted
Sci-fi, Post-Apocalyptic
4
$9,568
Fallen Angels
Urban Fantasy, Occult
3
$438
Transcendent
Sci-Fi
1
$105
Claimed by the Beast
Paranormal Romance (shifters)
6
$6,133
Blood Kissed
Paranormal Romance (vamps)
2 (1 more in 2015)
$97
You might notice all the links above. That’s my subtle way of inviting you to check them out and see why they are as successful as they’ve been ��� or not as successful as they should be. And this paragraph? Well, this one is the same thing, except maybe not as subtle!
I’ve been very disappointed with the response to Serpent’s War, for example. After two great fantasy series in the world of Kroth (Blades of Leander and Order of the Dragon), as well as a Voidhawk book (Broken Shards) that visited the world, Serpent’s War is pretty much tanking. I will finish book two (Rise of the Serpent) this week and get it to my editor for a release hopefully in mid to late February), but I’m not expecting much. I wrote it because it needed to be written, as does the third book in the series.
Meanwhile, I’m finishing up touches on a new paranormal romance series about werewolves and a young woman that’s been terrorized by them most of her life. Tooth and Nayelle has five parts that are releasing on a regular cadence through late March / early April. My next project is probably going to be chasing the success of Into the Dark, then I’ll work with my wife, Dawn Michelle, to capture more of the magic she and I make together in the PNR world.
Other projects for 2015? I don’t have them handy, but I’m planning two Voidhawk books, 2 Vitalis books, finishing off the Serpent’s War trilogy, and probably turning my Dark Universe series into at least three books. It’s going to be a busy year, but I’m also going to be working a day job full time because I’ve got bills to pay and a need for medical insurance I can afford.
To those who feel they can only write if they live an otherwise pampered life? Suck it up and get your hands dirty. You might learn something, even if it’s only about yourself.
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter , or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .
January 10, 2015
The Future is a Dark Place… and I Can’t Wait!
I’ve written science fiction for years now. Post-apocalyptic, near future, mid future, and futuristic. I’ve had aliens devastate the earth and I’ve had humans expand and conquer our solar system and others. It’s been a blast and I love it.
I’ve done the same thing with fantasy settings, minus the aliens. Creatures and monsters aplenty to make up for the missing aliens though. New worlds and magic and sweeping storylines that take characters from the brink of childhood to epic destinies. I love that too.
I’ve bridged the two, blending science fiction and fantasy into urban fantasy and paranormal storylines that take place now and in the near future. Putting two of my favorite genres together can only have one outcome – more love!
So with that out of the way, I’m announcing the next big thing. Dark Universe, my new futuristic science fiction and fantasy series. Into the Dark opens the series in a spectacular way and sets the stage for the unlimited and amazing things that have yet to come.
But why should you care enough to spend a couple of bucks on it? Well, it’s a story for everyone, from diehard sci-fi lovers to people who just enjoy great characters and a great story, no matter what the environment. The book doesn’t go overboard on technology, but it also keeps things realistic. There’s romance, action, adventure, and aliens. All kinds of aliens. Furry ones, chitinous ones. Blue skinned ones. Green skinned ones. Orange skinned ones. Aliens with tentacles. Aliens that walk on four legs instead of two. And good old fashioned Terrans. The humans are the newcomers to the space race, actually, and are trying real hard to play catch up.
The book really has something for everyone, from space fights and fancy things to go boom in the night to complicated relationships and the dynamic stress that brings. There’s humor, there’s emotion, and there’s even a little bit of bow-chikka-wow-wow.
Why did I write it? Why wasn’t Vitalis or Voidhawk good enough? Well they are, but this is different. This is a combination of Vitalis, Voidhawk, and a little bit of extra fun that was inspired, I admit, by watching Guardians of the Galaxy. Inspired by, but by no means a copy of.
Into the Dark takes science fiction to a new place and exposes it to Arthur C. Clark’s law that any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. That, my friends, is where the fantasy ties in. Give it a shot, I dare you to be disappointed!
Available now!
Amazon
Amazon UK
Barnes and Noble (coming soon!)
iTunes (coming soon!)
Kobo (coming soon!)
Scribd (coming soon!)
Page Foundry / Inktera (coming soon!)
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter , or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .
December 10, 2014
Dark Universe
Dark Energy? Dark Matter? No and no. It’s the name I’ve settled on for my new scifi blockbuster / bestseller / series. But what’s so dark about it? Are there evil alien necromancers trying to destroy the cosmos? No. That would be weird ��� even for me!
It’s called Dark because that’s what happens when ships use the mysterious devices sold by Kesari merchants to travel faster than light. These devices have universal hookups allowing a ship to power them and communicate with them, but they have limited ability outside of plugging in coordinates and filling them with the energy needed for the black box to create the FTL bubble around the ship.
Woah��� what? Yeah, it’s like that.
Kesari, that’s a race I covered a few posts back. They’re called squids by the other races because it’s a name Terrans used for them and it stuck. It’s not complimentary, the Kesari are merchants and the most alien in their thoughts and emotions, aside from the insectoid Criknids.
Black box? FTL travel? So what does going faster than light mean? It means light can’t catch you. And that means you can’t see it, because it won’t reach you. So when a ship travels at superluminal velocities it’s considered to be traveling “in the dark” or “in the black.” Hence “black box”, even if the FTL engine isn’t technically black.
And thus the series title of “Dark Universe” is born. Without being able to travel in the dark, spaceships and races would be trapped in their own solar systems. Or perhaps between two or three, if they found a relativistic way to travel close to the speed of light. Unlikely, at best. But with the black boxes ships travel hundreds and thousands of light years in reasonable time frames. Right now, roughly halfway through the first book, the protagonist’s ship is looking at close to a week to travel almost a thousand light years. Pretty darn fast! As a point of reference, the Milky Way galaxy is around 100,000 light years across.
Why are they doing this? They’re chasing someone. Why? Well, to even up the score on someone that double-crossed them. Or at least that’s why they think they’re doing it. There are more powers at play than the unlikely heroes realize.
Curious? Excited? Anxious to read more? I sure hope so, because I’m loving the book as it comes out of me. If you’re not on the fence, let me share this little bit I just wrote:
Adan nodded and headed off the bridge. He hurried down the lift and down the hall to his interior cabin. His luck held out and no one else spotted him and wanted to talk to him. After the fight and the repairs, then having to match wits against Tosc and Janna, he’d run out of steam. He opened his door and turned on the light in his cabin, only to see a bumpy form under his blankets.
The voice that drifted out from under the blankets surprised him. It wasn’t Amber, it was Twyf! “Hope you don’t mind, my cabin hasn’t been repaired yet.”
Adan turned the light back off and smiled. Maybe he wasn’t so tired after all.
Yeah, there’s more action than just lasers an space battles and even trysts with buxom alien women. There’s probably going to be some love triangles and girl fights too!
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter , or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .
December 3, 2014
Five Years Later
I’ve been writing professionally for 5 years now, more or less. A little more, truth be told, but I’ll round down. The point is, that feels like a long time. Not including the current book I’m writing, it’s 4,184,000 published words worth of time. That’s a lot of keys being slapped around.
What have I learned? A lot. Unfortunately, a lot of the lessons require unlearning something I learned the month before. For example, just this morning my wife got an email from an ARC reader stating she loved her book, but she was worried at first because of the details and backstory. She wanted to skip past the potato salad and get to the meat right away.
When I saw that I stiffened in my chair and stared at the screen in a serious WTF moment. I’d been criticized by readers in the past for not providing enough potato salad! My only consolation is the disparity in genres. I was chastised for short sci-fi novellas at the time. My wife’s market of choice is paranormal romance. A different breed of reader to be found there. Not better or worse, in my opinion, just readers expecting different things.
So I’ll step back from the tactical and strategic help and focus instead on helping with the writing. As for my work, I’m doing my best to keep it light and fun. Entertainment that turns the pages and makes my readers want to see what crazy stuff I can come up with next. Or at least that’s my current book.
What is my current book? It’s the sci-fi book I’ve been talking about on and off. I still don’t have a name, but I have a lot of ideas and plans. I’ll tease more alien races soon too. Maybe some technology and other random bits of interest about the universe too. It’s the beginning of a setting that, like Vitalis or Voidhawk, could span into an amazing number of stories that just keep building and building.
But I digress. Five years and over 4 million words is a lot of entertainment. I have 11 series of stories out there (most of them ongoing), and over 65 books. I write in multiple genres and have been included in group projects by writers far more financially successful than I am. I’ve even hit the USA Today and NY Times bestseller list this year with an inclusion under a pen name in a group project. By myself? Not a chance! But with others that can afford the promotion necessary to get us there ��� easy as cake.
The two things writing has boiled down to, for me, are financial success and the ability to be a writer. I am a writer. A prolific and well regarded one, to hear people talk about my work. Financially, however, it’s a rough road to follow. I have a day job and it looks like I won’t be leaving my day job for a very long time. Amazon’s ever changing marketplace keeps knocking me around and, especially lately, dropping me into pretty shaky sales territory. All those titles and it’s still a struggle for me day to day. Not to write, but to see the lackluster copies sold. It’s demoralizing, to say the least.
But that’s what makes a writer a writer. The stubborn mulishness necessary to push ahead and write another chapter. To put ourselves out there when the whims of the market and perhaps even common sense would dictate otherwise. It’s a gamble, you see, but a gamble with nothing but positive side effects. So my book doesn’t sell ��� I still wrote it. I still lived the adventure. I still explored characters, concepts, and topics I hadn’t thought of before. I may be out the cost of editing and cover art and perhaps a few other things (including time spent), but I learned something, damn it. I made myself a more educated and well-rounded person. I’ve learned more from writing all those books than I learned obtaining three degrees.
That’s the sum total of five years. I’d hoped to have a sports car, a nice house, and time to spend with my writing and my family by now. Well, there’s no car and no house, but I still get my family and the voices in my head to keep me company. It doesn’t matter if the sports car rolls in or not, I’m happy to work on hitting the 5 million word mark and enjoying what I’ve got. There’s a lot of things in my life I can’t control, such as whether or not people buy my books. I can control my happiness though, and I choose to find a way to be happy even when the royalties dip and bills begin to loom. Why would anyone want to live any other way?
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter , or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .
November 28, 2014
Some Races Just Can’t Get Along
It’s a bold statement that flies in the face of the equality, legislation, and simple human decency we’ve been trying to establish. Unfortunately, in some situations, it just can’t be denied. No matter what happens, Tassarians are going to shoot first when they see a Criknid. And who’s to say they’re wrong, the insectoid Criknids have a history of raiding and capturing the soft skinned Tassarians. They are considered a delicacy on the worlds colonized by the Criknid hives.
Oh, wait��� you want to know what the hell I’m talking about? Sorry. I forgot to mention, this is a quick intro into some of the alien races to be found in my new, and as yet unnamed, project. It’s futuristic science fiction with a whole lot of adventure, excitement, and fun! So without wasting any more time, here’s some of the known races in the universe and a note or two about them.
Humans / Terrans: Relative newcomers to the space race, thanks to first contact from aliens that didn’t try to overrun our world and instead shared some of their technology with us.
Kesari: Little is known about those strange looking aliens. They are secretive and somewhat disturbing to look at. They resemble an octopus, only with more tentacles. No suckers though, and they body / head is bulbous and green or grey. They are merchants that will sell anything, but are best known for being the only race able to produce the black box-like devices that allow faster than light travel between systems.
Tassarians: A race that favors humid and moist climates. They resemble amphibians from Earth in their genetic makeup, but they are humanoid given to varying levels of vanity. They can be asexual as well, of gender neutral in that they can change genders once or twice in their lives as needed. Their skin ranges in nearly all colors, including shades of blue, red, green, yellow, and brown. They are hairless and have webbed fingers and toes, making them excellent swimmers that are capable of holding their breath many times longer than a human could. Their perceived softness, natural beauty, and preference for negotiations over warfare makes some other races see them as weak. And, in the case of the Criknids, tasty.
Criknids: The Tassarian’s greatest threat. These six limbed chitin covered people have a hive structure of society, but they are highly evolved and are not the termites found on Earth. Far from it, even the lowest ranks of Criknid has a mind of their own and the free will to do as they wish. Their upbringing and instincts, however, lead them to be very martial and matter of fact in nature. Their sense of humor is underdeveloped, by human standards. Having two legs and four arms, as well as a natural exoskeleton and the ability to seal off a severed limb, make them very formidable opponents.
This is just a taste, I have many more sketched out that I’ll be sharing. The Tassarians, for example, have more to fear than just the Criknids. Even if the majority of the known universe is living in a relative sort of piece at the moment, tensions are high from one system to the next and almost everyone has something to gain from another race’s loss.
And that’s only the beginning of the setting. The story I’m working on will blend bits of it all together and span both races, worlds, and the universe as we know it. To over-simplify things, it’s gonna be cool!
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter , or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .
November 26, 2014
The Universe Works in Mysterious Ways
I’m willing to admit that I’m a little scared right now. Ever since Kindle Unlimited came out, my sales have been slipping more and more into the land where good books go to be forgotten. I’m terrible at promotion, I admit it, but my mantra has always been “write more books.” I’m good at that, and I’m closing in on having 70 titles out there now because of it. But with sales falling lower than they were in early 2012, it’s seems like that’s not enough.
The bundle my wife’s story was included in hit the NY Times and USA Bestseller lists (A Cold Winter’s Bite, found in A Kiss of Christmas Magic), but that happened thank to the hard work of a lot of people, as well as a sizeable marketing fun. I don’t have the same resources, so I have to fall back on writing once again.
That’s where the good news comes in. I was planning on writing book 2 in my Serpent’s War series next, but I’ve been smitten with another idea. That and Servant of the Serpent sold approximately 10 copies in the couple of months its been out now, so not many people are clamoring for book 2 yet. If you happen to be one of them, don’t worry ��� I will write it. Just not yet.
First I want to share my new idea and share my excitement with it. It’s science fiction, to start with, and it takes place roughly a hundred and fifty years in the future. We’ve made contact, you see, and that brought down a whole bunch of visitors.
War? Famine? Slavery? Bloodshed? Not exactly. Maybe not at all ��� I haven’t even considered the first contact story yet. I’m focused ahead of that a bit, after humanity has joined the space race utilizing alien technology. Humans are the minority, but we’re doing our best to catch up fast.
This particular story will pit a mixed crew on a mission to explore an undiscovered system in search of a mysterious coordinate. They aren’t exactly sure what they’ll find there, and the creature they are escorting isn’t willing to share.
What happens next? Well, that would be giving it away! Arthur C. Clark once set forth the thought that technology so advanced as to defy our understanding would be viewed as magic. To that end, I will say that with the inclusion of alien races and cultures, there is also going to be a fantasy element to the story. Or perhaps it’s merely a new dimension science has yet to uncover? Reality as we know it is going to take a serious twist.
Here there be monsters. In Space.
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter , or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .
November 20, 2014
NY Times Bestseller At Last!
Yesterday the bundle, A Kiss of Christmas Magic, was listed on the NY Times bestseller list at spot #11. It pegged #31 on the USA Today bestseller list. For those that follow this blog, my newsletter, or website / Facebook page, you might remember the second longest story in that bundle is by Dawn Michelle. Dawn Michelle happens to be the name my wife and I write under (and it’s also her name, if you want to get technical). So, in a roundabout way, that means after five years of being a professional writer, I’m finally a NY Times bestselling author. Queue up the confetti, sirens, parade, and line of celebratory cocktails.
Then I checked my daily sales this morning. On the same day I sold 19 books and Dawn Michelle sold 4. How’s that for taking the wind out of my sails? Or sales���whichever spelling you prefer (see what I did there?)
I have to say that, hands down, the group of writers I worked with where fun, amazing, and professional. Well, a few times we might not have been professional, but it was in a fun and energizing sort of way. The point is, every one of them deserves it, and every one of them is a damn fine writer on their own merits.
What the process also told me is that being a great writer isn’t nearly enough. I always believed that if you write a good book, and write enough of them, the volume and quality of work will speak for itself. The readers and sales will come. Life will be good. After nearly writing 70 books and receiving a lot of outstanding reviews and praise, I’m here to say that enough isn’t enough.
To hit the list we needed the combined might of a whole lot of fan bases, first and foremost. Some of the authors have dedicated fans in numbers that left me staggering. I learned a LOT in the process, including the sheer masses of paranormal romance readers that are out there. I mean���wow! There’s a lot.
But that wasn’t enough, we needed more. That more came in the form of literally thousands of dollars spent in advertising. I can’t begin to grasp where all of it went, but there was a lot of ads out there getting the word out. That was a huge contributer. It bumped us up to our peak of #15 on the Amazon bestselling chart (all paid books).
So this is me being happy and also warning fledgling writers out there. Sure, there will always be exceptions to the rule that skyrocket to the top for no reason other than right time, right place, right luck. The over 99.9999% of us have to bust our asses. It’s a business and there’s no such thing as fair play. Write your asses off and understand it doesn’t end there. There’s a lot more to it than that. And if you’re like me without a budget for such extras, that means figuring it out and finding the time to do it yourself.
Good luck my friends ��� now that I’ve hit the NY Times list my plans are��� write another book.
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter , or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .
November 11, 2014
Snuggling Up With a Naughty Nook to Read
I was stricken by some inspiration last night to do some data mining. It happens every now and then, I’m a numbers and stats junkie. Hey, admitting I have a problem is the first step to overcoming it, right?
So anyhow, I focused on my 3rd quarter Smashwords results. I’ve been experimenting with Kindle Unlimited on Amazon and trying to figure out the best way to reach the most people. Sales have taken an epic leap into a giant brown and smelly sinkhole, so every person reached is bigger than ever.
What I found was very interesting, to say the least. Over the July – September period, I made roughly $800 on iTunes. Whether that’s good or bad is irrelevant for this discussion. Why? Because Dawn Michelle, my wife, made $80 on iTunes in the same period. My theory behind that is iTunes customers prefer science fiction and fantasy over paranormal romance.
The next significant sales figures came from Barnes and Noble. For Jason Halstead (that’s me, in case you’re just joining), I had $0 sales at B&N via Smashwords. Not surprising, almost all of my B&N titles go directly through B&N. They work out to approximately $10 – $30 a month in royalties. Nothing to get excited about. Dawn Michelle, on the other hand, rocked well over $400 on B&N sales for that 3 month period!
There’s really only one conclusion I can draw from this data – Nook readers like smut! Okay, maybe that’s too rough. They like romance. Paranormal romance. With some spice. In other words…furry porn. (sorry, I couldn’t resist).
So what does this mean for me? Well, I’ve moved some of my titles over to strictly being on Amazon and taking part in KDP Select / KU to allow borrowing. It’s saved my bacon so far this month too. I haven’t seen sales this low in 3 years and I don’t know what the hell is going on, but KU borrows are making up for the lackluster sales by averaging 5 – 10 borrows a day. My wife’s books, on the other hand, have done better by being available on multiple venues (especially those naughty nook owners – god bless you folks!), so we’re going to make sure her new series stays as available as possible.
Her new series? It’s paranormal romance again – and the beta readers are saying it’s even better than the Claimed by the Beast series. It picks up after her story in A Kiss of Christmas Magic ($.99 bundle of over 1200 pages written by 20 different authors – it’s available as of today). And it continues the original Claimed by the Beast series by telling Beth’s story after the fur settles. Oh, and this time, instead of shifters, the focus is vampires.
I know, I know, a vampire romance…sigh. But she’s made good on her promise that there will be no sparkling.
Crap, the new series is called Blood Kissed, and the first book (First Kiss) is available for pre-order. Book 2 is called Forever Kiss and is in the editing stages now.
As for me? Book 2 in my Serpent’s War series, I’m shooting to have it out sometime in the Christmas – early January time frame. Even though sales have been abysmal for book 1, it’s a great story and I have to write it. And, hopefully, more people will get into it as time passes.
To learn more about Jason Halstead visit his website to read about him, sign up for his newsletter , or check out some free samples of his books at http://www.booksbyjason.com .
