Once Again the Body is Face Down

Kaitlyn Dunnett/Kathy Lynn Emerson here, today blogging as Kathy.

Well, here we go again. The newly edited trade paperback of the second book my Face Down historical mystery series, featuring Susanna, Lady Appleton as the amateur detective, is now available. The idea is for all ten novels to be in print by the end of January 2025 and, at least on my end, everything is progressing right on schedule.

Face Down upon an Herbal takes place two years after Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie, in 1561. Susanna Appleton is a gentlewoman who just happens to be an expert on poisonous herbs. Shortly after the last murder, she published a book (A Cautionary Herbal) to warn people which plants to avoid. It was published anonymously because her husband, Sir Robert Appleton, doesn’t approve of women authors, and unbeknownst to Susanna, he’s been taking credit for it himself. As this story opens, he’s in Scotland on a mission for Queen Elizabeth and the queen has a task for Susanna as well. She’s sent to assist a noblewoman, Lady Madderly, with an herbal she’s been writing. Accompanied by her young kinswoman, Catherine, Susanna travels to Madderly Castle in Gloucestershire, where the Yuletide season is just getting under way and where a Scots lord has recently been murdered. When Susanna learns that he was found face down upon a copy of her book, she feels a personal obligation to solve the crime.

There are cheaper e-book and used copies out there, with texts that aren’t all that different from the newest versions (although I personally believe my recent edits have made them better reads), but I’m hoping these reissues will appeal to collectors, and to folks who prefer physical books to reading on a tablet or phone, and that print-on-demand will keep the titles readily available for many years to come. They won’t automatically appear on brick-and-mortar bookstore shelves or in libraries, but any bookstore or library can easily order copies.

There is, however, one large and annoying speed bump interfering with my master plan. Like it or not, the average reader goes first to Amazon to search for a book, and for some time now, Amazon has been going out of their way to mess with the prices and availability of independently published books. Face Down in the Marrow-Bone Pie was published on April 6, 2024. On April 11, it was listed in stock for $25.17 (the price I set was $15.99) with free delivery by April 23-May 2, but the seller was not Amazon. Rather it was one of their “other sellers”—All Time Fans (only a 77% positive rating). When I checked again on April 19, All Time Fans had been relegated to its proper “other sellers” slot, but Amazon claimed “This title has not yet been released” and offered free delivery of a $15.99 paperback by October 29, 2024!  A little later the delivery date moved up to November 20. When I checked on May 11, things had changed yet again. There were “only 10 left in stock” for $17.55 plus $3.99 shipping, shipped by Amazon and delivered by May 20-24, but coming not from Amazon but from SuperBookDeals (85% positive ratings). Four “new and used” offers were also listed under “other sellers on Amazon” but—surprise! surprise! they were the Amazon offer from SuperBookDeals, another offer direct from Super Book Deals ($17.55), the one from All Time Fans ($25.17), and the previous Amazon pre-order offering (to be delivered by November 20) for $15.99. What a deal!

Barnes & Noble online has listed the book at the price I set from the start.

Do I expect better from Amazon for Face Down upon an Herbal? Let’s just say I’m not holding my breath. The book was published May 9. On May 11, Amazon listed it with the correct price and with free delivery to Prime members, but flagged it “Temporarily out-of-stock.” In other words, order at your own risk.

It is available at Barnes & Noble online. Here’s the link if anyone is interested.

Undaunted, I’ve already edited and scheduled the third entry in the series, Face Down Among the Winchester Geese, for release on June 6, 2024 and I’m currently proofreading number four, Face Down Beneath the Eleanor Cross.

For those who prefer e-books, the entire series, plus the short stories featuring the same characters, is already available in a three volume collection. That text was lightly edited from the original single-title print and e-book versions but I have done and am doing more minor edits (catching typos and inconsistencies) before releasing each new trade paperback. The plot and characters are unchanged.

Back in the day, when I regularly attended fan conventions, I was known as “the Face Down lady.” That’s not a bad way to be remembered.

Kathy Lynn Emerson/Kaitlyn Dunnett has had sixty-four books traditionally published and has self published others. She won the Agatha Award and was an Anthony and Macavity finalist for best mystery nonfiction of 2008 for How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries and was an Agatha Award finalist in 2015 in the best mystery short story category. In 2023 she won the Lea Wait Award for “excellence and achievement” from the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. She was the Malice Domestic Guest of Honor in 2014. She is currently working on creating new omnibus e-book editions of her backlist titles. Her website is www.KathyLynnEmerson.com.