UK Amazon Kindle Forum discussion
This topic is about
Hide in Time
Meet the Authors
>
Anna Faversham: Hide in Time - Amazon #1 Time Travel Romance 0.99
I'll just go on dropping hints!
Hinting is good, but why do we put ourselves through this? I love the writing; it's the other stuff that gets me down.
Yes, that's absolutely right, Julia! And I find it easier to promote someone else's work than promoting mine. My finger always sticks before I press send and then I edit it, and edit again, then I wish I hadn't worked on 'marketing' and done some writing instead!Anyway - the next post on this thread will be an excerpt!
Here's an excerpt from
Lucy has arrived at the farmhouse where she works and finds someone who can make her blush just by being there.
"To reach the porridge on the stove, Lucy had to pass Daniel and the dog, and neither moved. Rather than squeeze between him on her left and the kitchen table, she walked around the other side, collecting a bowl as she went. Still Daniel did not make way for her. “I would be obliged, Mr Tynton, if you would move just enough for me to reach the pot.”
“Say that again and I’ll move.”
Lucy raised her eyes to meet his sparkling blue ones. He was jesting. “Why?”
“I like to hear you talk.”
“Why?” Lucy wondered if it was wise to hold her ground now that Daniel was no longer a boy.
“It’s good to see you’ve still a lot of fight in you, Lucy. I’ve been hearing a few tales.” He nodded his head in the direction of the scullery. “But I can hold out longer and I’ll not move until you say that again for me.”
“Why?” The word had come out quicker than she’d intended. Should she play these games with someone who held her livelihood in his hands?
Daniel took hold of her frozen hand. Lucy withdrew it and immediately regretted her instinctive reaction. His eyes had not left her since she’d walked through the door and her nerve was failing. “You don’t talk like the rest of us round here. I’ve missed your voice and, like me Ma says, you sound like you’re from the gentry.”
He meant it. Lucy could see that gentle look appearing in his eyes, the one she took to bed with her and to her sanctuary on the cliffs, the look which warmed her and fought to stay in her fading stock of cherished memories. Playfully, Lucy dropped him a curtsey and said, “Kind sir, I would be obliged if you would move just enough for me to reach the pot.”
And no, it's not a potboiler.
Ooh er, I think there's more than the porridge simmering in this scene. It's a very tantalising excerpt Anna and I'm looking forward to reading the book. :)
Anna - I thought I'd scribble on your thread, just to keep it alive!! (Well, you did the same for me!)
Pete wrote: "Anna - I thought I'd scribble on your thread, just to keep it alive!! (Well, you did the same for me!)"Ooh, I like scribbling. If I scribble on your thread, will you scribble on mine?
I refuse to read that excerpt, Anna, cos I don't want to spoil the story when I come to read it.
Thanks, Pete and Julia. I'd hate to sink to the bottom and get the chop!That excerpt, Julia - and the rest of One Dark Night will be reduced to 99p from Wednesday for 7 days.
$0.99/99p Kindle Countdown Deal starting 12th November
"5.0 out of 5 stars Superb romantic/historic fiction. Dark and intriguing."
It is 1821 and smuggling is rife on the English coast. Lucy Yorton, dragged away from her privileged early life, finds it impossible to know who to trust, while those around her suspect she is a spy and treat her accordingly. Her problems increase when two men enter her life.
Lieutenant Karl Thorsen, sworn to avenge the death of his father, is a King's man. He is determined to stop the violent smugglers, hang them, and hang and gibbet one in particular.
Daniel Tynton has smuggling in his blood. Undaunted by Thorsen's threats, he is respected and feared. When he witnesses a murder, he makes a bold decision, and many lives will never be the same.
And for those of us who are keeping an eye on whether or not it is worth paying for advertising, I have not paid for any adverts for this KCD so I can have a base line for comparison should I decide to pay next time! I'll let you know.
Good luck Anna. The only paid ad that's really worked out for me was ENT.
Last full day to buy
at 99p.
On Tuesday evening it goes up by one whole, massive £.
Here's my contribution to help along the Christmas spirit. It's taken from Hide in Time.Alexandra, with very good reason, travels back in time. Hiding. Not that she can remember why. She is now experiencing her first Christmas in Regency England.
"Now here was the culmination of the festivities – the Leigh-Fox Christmas Soirée to which all the local dignitaries and families of consequence had been invited. It was becoming a most interesting evening. Catherine clearly impressed Sir Humphrey Frobisher’s eldest son, James, for he had not left her side from the moment they were introduced. It was understandable, thought Alexandra. She looked warm, friendly and highly attractive in her peach-coloured dress. The dress was ornamented with Chinese silk trimmings Catherine had told her with the merest hint of pride and more of a longing for approval. How fragile her hold on expectations was becoming. The gown was set off by a pearl and amber matching brooch and necklace. “At last, I have the opportunity to wear mama’s jewels. Adam has brought them out from the ‘safe’,” she’d whispered to Alexandra.
An accomplished pianist was playing while the guests took their seats in the music room; it was so expressive that Alexandra’s curiosity was aroused. She was unable to hide her amazement when she saw Jack at the piano particularly when he began to sing. His voice was deep and pure, one that would charm any woman or lull the most obstreperous baby to sleep. A redeeming feature par excellence.
A most unwelcome thought, pushed rapidly aside, flashed through Alexandra’s mind. Was he the highwayman?"
I've just noticed this on msn news, taken from The Independent about piracy. http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/techand...
The last sentence says that only easy, wide, inexpensive availability of content will stop it.
Surely Amazon are doing their utmost to do just that.
From now until 1st January, Hide in Time, will be available for 99p or 99c on a Kindle Countdown Deal.In 2009 Xandra (Alexandra)needs a place to hide: she has crossed swords with criminals. She is given a chance to escape - but to where, and when? This excerpt is taken from Hide in Time when Xandra starts her journey to 1814.
"How long it seems since yesterday, thought Xandra. Today, like this tunnel, seems longer than forever. Will there be a tomorrow? Apprehension sowed the seed of fear. Her feet were no longer feeling the touch of the ground. She stopped. Silence. Absolute silence. Not even the sound of her own breathing. She took a step forward then stopped again. She was in control. She had mastered fear before and would do so now. Tentatively feeling the wall with her right hand, and reassured by its cold, damp reality, she clutched her bag closer and resumed her dark journey.
"She followed her outstretched hand as it felt around a corner. She stopped. Fear dispelled, a smile germinated. A glorious shaft of light, like a curtain of rainbow colours, was no more than fifty yards ahead. She gasped as, once more, she felt the sandy floor beneath her and hastened towards the irresistible luminance. She hesitated before stepping into the wispy-looking light; it stole her breath. Not light and airy as she’d expected, it was heavy, an intense radiance, as if the light of centuries had been condensed into this one, deceptive shimmer. Defiantly, she shielded her eyes, pushed through the curtain of light and did not look back."
So if you too fancy some escapism, you might enjoy this book.
Hope you are having a great Christmas/new year.
Hide in Time has romped away up the charts (2,000ish and Romantic Time Travel top 20) but that's in the US. Nothing much is happening in the UK.So I thought I'd just pop by and say that there's still two and a bit days for time travel aficionados to buy HiT for 99p.
Happy new year everyone!
Well done on the US chart ranking, Anna. Great achievement.
Happy New year Anna. Funny how some things take off on one side of the Atlantic better than the other.
Thanks Kath and David. It's nice to share news sometimes, whether it be good or bad. A happy and successful new year to you both.
Anna wrote: "Hide in Time has romped away up the charts (2,000ish and Romantic Time Travel top 20) but that's in the US. Nothing much is happening in the UK.So I thought I'd just pop by and sa..."
Fantastic! Congrats Anna.
Thank you, Noorilhuda. I hope 2015 will be very successful for you.
"Superb romantic/historic fiction. Dark and intriguing." (A Goodreads' reviewer)
Excerpt:
(Lieutenant Thorsen is a Riding Officer with a nose that can sniff out things that don't add up. He's been watching Lucy for some time...)
“You are working all week. Don’t they pay you enough?”
Oh, so he was trying to put Daniel and his family down. “They pay me quite well.”
“Then why can’t you purchase something that fits? That patched grey dress is too short, your ankles are on show, and it’s too tight and your boots won’t last much longer.”
“I mistook you for a gentleman, Lieutenant.” Lucy walked away yet added, “Our household expenses are no concern of yours.”
The Lieutenant followed. “Revenue is my concern.”
Lucy could see little connection between her lack of good clothing and his dutiful collection of rightful revenue. She took a few steps further away.
“How money is obtained and how it is spent is a subject pertaining to my duties.” Karl Thorsen pursued her. “It’s not easy to hide things from me. It’s my sworn duty to know what’s going on, even that which is hidden. Your mother’s clothing and yours are too dissimilar to ease my mind on matters which are in my charge.”
“Good heavens, Lieutenant Thorsen, are you saying my mother is obtaining money by unlawful means?”
If the evenings are dark, wet and dismal where you are, I hope you will enjoy curling up with some characters who are also facing some dark nights.
$0.99/99p Kindle Countdown Deal until Tues 17 February
"Her descriptions are so vivid I felt like I was there watching and listening to the voices, the sea, and the flute. I highly recommend this book to all lovers of history or romance. The romance is more than just the love story." Goodreads Reviewer
It is 1821 and smuggling is rife on the English coast. Lucy Yorton, dragged away from her privileged early life, finds it impossible to know who to trust, while those around her suspect she is a spy and treat her accordingly. Her problems increase when two men enter her life.
Lieutenant Karl Thorsen, sworn to avenge the death of his father, is a King's man. He is determined to stop the violent smugglers, hang them, and hang and gibbet one in particular.
Daniel Tynton has smuggling in his blood. Undaunted by Thorsen's threats, he is respected and feared. When he witnesses a murder, he makes a bold decision, and many lives will never be the same.
If the nights are still dark where you are, I hope you will curl up and enjoy 'One Dark Night'.
Hi Anna, Good luck with your KCD. I've just tweeted about it and will try to remember to do so again. :)
Thank you, Heather and David. Yesterday I sold 45 - all to the US. Today 3 so far (US again). Do you know of anywhere we can advertise to UK subscribers similar to Indie Book Bargains, or eReader News Today? Help...!
I've picked sales up in the UK via listing on readcheaply, but I don't know of any specifically targeted to the UK other than IBB.My deal week went great but after climbing high in the charts, it's now died a sudden death :~(
I wonder if there are any spare slots available on KUF, Anna? Anyway, I wish you all the best with One Dark Night.
KUF! Yes, KUF! Thanks Andrew. How could I not mention KUF. I shout to all UK groups about the benefits of KUF, and to other groups on GR about it being a good way to open up advertising in the UK.However, I don't know anyone who thinks they profit from doing so, it's just a good way of keeping a great site afloat.
My books are so very British that I've been amazed that the US even looks at them. I've been very grateful to them.
I think there's a gap in the market for an entrepreneurial type to get a site going in the UK. IBB is so very good but I think the subscribers have seen my two books about ten times now!
If you want to pick up a time travel romance which hops between 2009 and 1814, Hide in Time will remain at 99p only until Saturday 21st March.
Laura has a regret which is a bit difficult to put right but where there's a will, there's a way.
And hi David, I've just taken a look at your chart rating for Imperfect Strangers and it looks wonderful to me!
Not sure where to post this question, sorry if it's in the wrong thread.Can someone point me in the direction of the thread where everyone was discussing their experience of using Amazon's new Ad Campaign, please?
I'm running a campaign at present. I will report on it as soon as it completes.
Hope it serves you better than it did me, Anne. You too, Gaff. Didn't cost much, but it didn't return much either.
So far, I'm st 39 pressions in 3 weeks with no clicks. I'm not hopeful.
I think I had about 16 clicks from around 6000 impressions, but no sales resulted.
I had 1 sale from 3 clicks and many thousands of impressions. Cost me $0.65 and raked in $2. In fact that's been my only novel sale at all this year!
At least it was profit, Tim, and cost you less than my 16 clicks.
28 hours in and no impressions (is that where people hover over it or what?). KCD's are such hard work to promote, I thought I'd go for the easy option. I could remember that no one was particularly impressed but it didn't cost much, if anything. And a real plus point is that there's little work involved. Might as well give it a go, I thought, and get on with the writing instead of chasing web sites.Good luck with yours Gaff.
Amazon suggested $0.05 cpc for my book. I wonder if they suggest different prices for different genres? Anyone know? I'm flinging my money around - I've gone for $0.07. Though I'm sure I remember that others were going for as much as 50 cents.
Thanks, everyone. I'll let you know how well it goes (see how positive I am!) At the moment.
I'll give it a go for a while at 7c and if nothing happens, well I'll be forced upwards, I suppose.
On the 'proper' discussion thread, I see it says that it's only for the US. Is that still the case?
28 hours in and no impressions (is that where people hover over it or what?). KCD's are such hard work to promote, I thought I'd go for the easy option. I could remember that no one was particularly impressed but it didn't cost much, if anything. And a real plus point is that there's little work involved. Might as well give it a go, I thought, and get on with the writing instead of chasing web sites.On the 'proper' discussion thread, I see it says that it's only for the US. Is that still the case?
Good question. I haven't seen any impressions pop up on UK, but chances are, I just haven't had them. I'd be interested to know too.
I think it is still dotcom only. An impression, Anna, is when it shows on a page that someone has viewed.
An impression just means they showed the ad. No impressions = your ad is not getting shown. The reason for that is: your bid price is too low.I didn't get any impressions until I upped the bid to 50 cents. Remember, you don't pay for impressions, only clicks. I was getting one click for every roughly 3000 impressions. I only started getting clicks when my bid went to 60 cents.
If you start getting too many clicks with no follow through, you can reduce your bid, and of course you can pause of stop the campaign at any time.
The "$100 stake" is to get you through the door. Once inside, you don't have to spend that much. I resolved to chop the ad as soon as I was $20 down.
(BTW, correction to my post above - my total spend was $1.05. I still made a healthy profit!)
And you don't get charged a penny until you have a bunch of clicks, and you only pay for those clicks.
Thank you so much Tim and David. If only they said what they mean!And now I know the reason why I am not getting any impressions. Of course, I had a sneaking suspicion that $0.07 was not likely to bring me great riches but then why did they suggest $0.05?
I need to up the cost per click. I suppose it is another way that Amazon has of making us keep our prices high enough to cover their costs, and coffee and yacht expenses.
I'm hoping they'll bring this in in the UK too.
One more question: I've been looking at the US ads on my books' pages and I notice that they also have blurbs, but when I filled in the form there was no place to waffle a bit. Could you put in mini blurbs?
I only upped my bid to $0.18, Anna, so I think a lot of it depends too on the books you link to. I linked to books of a similar style that saw a lot of traffic. Having said that, it resulted in a lot of impressions, but no sales.If you mean blurb in the KDP ad, I didn't see any option for it to be added.
Me either in the blurb front.
David wrote: "I only upped my bid to $0.18, Anna, so I think a lot of it depends too on the books you link to. I linked to books of a similar style that saw a lot of traffic. Having said that, it resulted in a l..."When you say 'it depends on the books you link to' do you mean that you have a choice or is it a case of the books Amazon links you to?
I've chosen three categories for each book and ticked the narrower of the two options available.
And yet another question - how come the US site has books with mini blurbs on it which I think is essential but I and you, David, and Gaff and probably others have no option but to do without? There ought to be a prize for the best answer to that.
UK Amazon Kindle Forum
Books mentioned in this topic
Hide in Time (other topics)One Dark Soul (other topics)
One Dark Night (other topics)
Under a Dark Star (other topics)
Beware the Midnight Train (other topics)
More...
We are a close family and we love each other dearly but my writing is seen as a little hobby mummy ha..."
Don't worry, my love, my ex-husband didn't take my writing seriously and it hurt quite a lot since I was working and aiming for a professional standard. He thought of it as wifies little hobby. As for stars and reviews, they've ranged from two to five for the same story. I try not to let it bother me. I think rankings obsess me more. When I put a freebie on I always check to see where it is in the top 100. I smile if it makes it there.