C.J. Archer's Blog, page 30

The 4th Ministry of Curiosities book is now available. Amazon...

The 4th Ministry of Curiosities book is now available. 

Amazon US

Amazon UK

iBooks

Nook

Google Play

Kobo

Smashwords

Grave Expectations Now Available

Grave Expectations Now Available

Only 5 or 6 more days until GRAVE EXPECTATIONS is released...

Only 5 or 6 more days until GRAVE EXPECTATIONS is released (depending on your time zone). Don’t forget you can pre-order it from:

iBooks: https://geo.itunes.apple.com/au/book/grave-expectations/id1059917247?mt=11&at=10lKjy

Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/grave-expectations-cj-archer/1123229625?ean=2940152562484

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/books/details/C_J_Archer_Grave_Expectations?id=qzdWCwAAQBAJ&hl=en

Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/ebook/grave-expectations-2

There’s no pre-order available for Amazon customers but the book WILL be released on Feb 16th, the same as elsewhere.

Want to know what Lincoln is about to say to Charlie?It’s...

Want to know what Lincoln is about to say to Charlie?

It’s less than a week until GRAVE EXPECTATIONS is released everywhere. Amazon customers can purchase a copy on Feb 16 (no pre-order available) - check your Inboxes for my newsletter which I’ll send out as soon as it’s available on that date.

If you shop at iBooks, Nook, Google Play or Kobo, you can pre-order your copy now.

CELEBRATING 5 YEARS

Five years ago today, I released the book now known as REDEMPTION. It used to have another title and a different cover, which you can see in the attached image. (That title! What was I thinking?). It seems like a lifetime ago since I hit the Publish button for the first time, and yet it’s gone fast too. The last 5 years have been one hell of a fun ride and I consider my step into indie publishing as one of the best I ever made, not only in terms of my career, but my life.

Here’s a little backstory which some of you may already know. I started writing at least 20 years ago, so that’s 15 solid years of learning how to craft a story before I released REDEMPTION. I wrote all sorts of things back then - some short stories and at least a dozen novels. But it wasn’t until I settled on historical fantasy and romance novels that I felt like everything clicked into place. It was as if the pieces of a puzzle had come together to make a whole. Apparently other people agreed, because those books won a couple of awards for unpublished authors, and also landed me a US-based agent. I thought I’d made it.

But my agent couldn’t sell those books to editors, no matter how hard she tried. Oh, and a little thing called the Global Financial Crisis hit in 2008. Publishing houses pretty much shut their doors to new authors. My agent gave up on me in 2010 and severed ties, propelling me into one of the lowest points in my life. I felt like I’d wasted 2 years with that agent (even though I know now that it wasn’t a waste). Just when I should be stepping forwards in my writing career, I’d been pushed backwards. To say I was gutted is an understatement. I began to question everything about myself, and my writing in particular. What will I do now? Keep going? Stop? I’d invested several years in learning how to write, and yet no one wanted to publish my books. I must be crap.

I sat down at my desk and cried.

But not for too long (ok, maybe I wallowed off and on for a few months, but that’s all a fuzzy memory now). My youngest was going to start school at the start of 2011 and I would have to return to work. We were scraping by on Joe’s income alone, but only just. I’d been a technical writer working on contract before we had kids, but I didn’t want to do that again. I hated it. I hated being a contractor, always looking for the next job and having to resettle into a new one every few months. I’m naturally an introvert so changing jobs turned me cold inside. Besides, I wanted to be home after school for my kids, but there wasn’t much part-time work around for tech writers back then. I still feel down now writing this, and that place inside me still recoils at the thought of where I would be now if it wasn’t for all of you.

Yes, you guys, my lovely readers. You’re the reason I didn’t have to resort to a sucky job. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

In January 2011 I clearly remember pouring out my woes to my husband, but also telling him about something new I wanted to try as a last hurrah before giving up this writing gig altogether. I’d been reading blogs written by other authors about this relatively new thing - self-publishing ebooks. It sounded easy and I had nothing to lose. I no longer had the energy or desire to go through the long, grinding process of getting another agent. Even if I sold a handful of ebooks, it was better than letting those old manuscripts go to waste. I liked them smile emoticon

I taught myself to format books, got someone to create a cover, and uploaded REDEMPTION under its original title on January 28th (29th here in Oz). Of course, I couldn’t do it under my real name - there was (and still is, in some quarters) a stigma about self-publishing. So I invented C.J. Archer. My first name is Carolyn, my middle initial J, but don’t ask me where Archer came from. I’m still not sure.

Aside from my husband, I didn’t tell anyone what I’d done (that stigma thing). That first day, someone bought my book. It was a HUGE moment. A real person had actually paid money to read something I’d written - wow! I think I might have cried again, but happy tears. After a few weeks and a few more sales, I’d well and truly been bitten by the bug. I released more books, ones that my agent had tried to sell to publishing houses. She’d liked them, so they must have been ok, right? Apparently some readers thought so too because they bought them, wrote me lovely emails, and subscribed to my newsletter.

Then out of the blue, an editor from Amazon’s Montlake Romance imprint emailed me. She wanted to re-issue the 2 Lord Hawkesbury’s Players books plus a third. I signed the contract and finally (FINALLY!) I could tell people I was a published author. It’s funny now, and maybe a little embarrassing, but I still didn’t consider myself a legitimate author until I signed that contract.

Fast forward a few years, and boy, things have changed. I now proudly tell people that I’m an independent author. Aside from those three books with Montlake, I’ve released everything else under my own steam. My first historical paranormal series, THE EMILY CHAMBERS SPIRIT MEDIUM TRILOGY, was another turning point in my career. Sales took off, so I decided to write more historical romantic fantasy instead of solely historical romance.

Five years after hitting Publish for the first time, I don’t need to look for another job. I write full time. I have 25 books published under my C.J. Archer name with another coming in a couple of weeks, and a few more under less successful pen names. I’ve sold about 330,000 copies of my books, over 100,000 of those in 2015 alone (that doesn’t include free downloads, just legitimate sales). I’ve never made a NYTimes or USAToday bestseller list and probably never will, but that’s OK because I’m living my dream without that label.

I have the best fans from all corners of the globe who tell me every single day they love my books, or have fallen in love with one of my heroes (it’s sort of a tie between Jacob and Lincoln as to reader fave). For a writer, it truly is the best feeling to read a message from a complete stranger who has had the same sort of reaction to one of my books that I’ve had to my favourite reads. I know what it’s like to fall in love with a book or series, and to think that YOU feel that way about mine - well, I still can’t get my head around it. It’s just an awesome feeling.

Sorry about the long post. I never intended it to blow out, but I couldn’t let this milestone go past without saying something.

All my love.

CJ

***COVER REVEAL***Here it is! The cover for Ashes To Ashes, the...

***COVER REVEAL***

Here it is! The cover for Ashes To Ashes, the 5th Ministry of Curiosities book. So…it’s a little different to the rest of the series, with Lincoln instead of Charlie.
Do you like it?

I have more fan art. This sketch of Charlie from the Ministry of...

I have more fan art. This sketch of Charlie from the Ministry of Curiosities series was done by Iwona Bogucka. Isn’t it gorgeous? I love the dress, and how it appears to have volume and movement.

I have THE most talented fans

This amazing piece of fan art was sent to me by reader Rutchata...

This amazing piece of fan art was sent to me by reader Rutchata Neamnut. She says she was inspired to paint it after reading The Ministry of Curiosities books. I’m in awe of anyone with artistic talent because I can’t even draw a stick figure, and I’m absolutely chuffed that someone would create something so beautiful after reading my books.

Thank you, Rutchata, you made my day.

Happy birthday Jane Austen, born 16 December 1775.

Happy birthday Jane Austen, born 16 December 1775.

I was interviewed by eBooks India recently. It’s great...

I was interviewed by eBooks India recently. It’s great connecting with a global audience.