Review: Remember Our Song: A Billionaire Romance
Remember Our Song: A Billionaire Romance by Emma South
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Emotional and Touching
This was a wonderful story about love and all it has to offer. I really enjoyed it.
It’s kind of different from what I usually read for this sort of book, which I found interesting. The beginning starts off on the slower side, but not in a bad way. It’s setting up what needs to be said before the tragic events happen that bring everything completely to a stop. That part was really heart-wrenching, especially with everything before that being so sweet and cute and playful.
I love Bea and Jeremy together. They’re a wonderful couple and I think they both bring out the best in each other. Their initial dialogue is some of the best I’ve read and it’s really true and down to earth feeling in a ton of ways. I can imagine seeing them as a couple out and about, being happy, which is exactly what I think two people in love should be like.
When the amnesia occurs… it’s just a lot more difficult. It made me sad a lot of the time. It’s like… I mean, obviously they were happy, and now they aren’t, but it’s not through the fault of anyone, per se. I think amnesia like that is a really difficult thing to deal with, you know? In a way, it kind of reminded me of some of the scenes from The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks, since I thought that was a wonderful love story, as well.
If you’re looking for a story that’s got love, but also all of the other emotions that come along with it, this one is definitely for you! It’s different, but really good. I think Emma South is a wonderful writer!
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Review: Me, Cinderella?
Me, Cinderella? by Aubrey Rose
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Beautiful
This is a beautiful story in all aspects. The prose is just delightful and was a pleasure to read. I know that maybe that’s not as important to some, but I’ve always had a thing for really poetic sounding sentences, and basically everything in Me, Cinderella? is like that. Kind of like high quality chocolate for the literary mind, as opposed to a generic Hershey bar.
The actual story itself is fascinating, too. To be perfectly honest, I’m not the best with math, but I really enjoyed the mathematics added into the plot. It’s different, you know? It gave the whole thing a somewhat exotic feel for me, like I was spying into some new and foreign world.
The plot starts strong and goes on to finish wonderfully, too. To be honest, some of it was a little off to me at first, but I enjoyed it still. The instant attraction between Brynn and Eliot seemed sort of strange, but it was just that – a flitter of intrigue, before moving on to become something so much more and full of depth and excitement.
I’m somewhat at a loss for words as to how to explain how beautiful this story. The whole thing really comes together. It’s not just the plot, or the characters, or the structure of the sentences and the power of the words used, but all of it combined, and I really feel like Me, Cinderella? is something special. There are a lot of good books out there, and even some great ones, but this one is beautiful.
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Review: Only Pretend
Only Pretend by Nora Flite
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A Seductive Confliction
I’ve read all of the Hard Body Rock books by Nora Flite and really enjoyed them. I’ve also read Tears of Tess, though I haven’t delved too deep into dark romance besides that. I do like it sometimes, but I think other times it’s done a bit oddly and too far for me.
Saying that, I really enjoyed Only Pretend. It had some of the same elements that I’ve come to enjoy from Nora Flite’s books, but with a sense of something more like in what Pepper Winters’ writes.
Only Pretend is a wonderful story, but there’s a definite sense of darkness and depravity going on. After Celeste is not only fired from her job, but also broken up with by her boyfriend, for being “boring” as he says, she decides to find a new life for herself. I really liked the idea of that, too. I think sometimes everyone imagines what it’d be like to pretend you’re someone else for a day, right? So this is like that, except…
She gets what she wants in a way, and then way more than she could have ever imagined. Leonide is sensually provocative, but with some absolutely dark desires. He’s that man you love to hate, who can pull your strings and bring out the best in you, providing you with immeasurable pleasure, but… what does he want in return?
That’s really the driving question that I kept wondering about throughout the novel, and I think that’s one of the things I liked most about it. We start off knowing a little about Celeste, but not everything. And Leonide is a complete mystery initially. Where did he come from, what is he doing, and why?
Celeste started off trying to pretend, but maybe there’s even more pretense to all of this than we know?
If you like Nora Flite’s other books, or Tears of Tess, I think you’ll really enjoy this one. It’s got a seductive style that really keeps you reading. I liked the thrill and suspense aspects, too. There’s some darkness, obvious, so you really need to be able to handle some adult themes, but… I think everything in this book is the sort of thing you really want to read about, but maybe not talk about in “polite” company? Haha. Curiosity is a dangerous and compelling thing! But oh so wonderful, too.
Highly recommended! I loved this book.
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Review: The Tower of the Alchemist
The Tower of the Alchemist by Aimélie Aames
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Sensual Sorcery & Storytelling
When I saw that this book was out, I was extremely excited to check it out. I was reading something else, but I put it off to the side for a second so I could start on this one. I might have gone a little overboard with that, too… it’s quite a long story, but I couldn’t stop reading. I might have put off a few other things in order to make more time for this book.
It was definitely worth it, though. I was excited to come back to the characters, especially after the last volume. The story starts right in the thick of things, with a lot of sort of magical mystery and intrigue going on. It reminded me somewhat of some of what happens in Jacqueline Carey’s Kushiel’s Legacy series, with that kind of fantasy suspense and mystery, you know? If you’ve read that, I think you’ll know what I mean, and it’s done really well in this book.
What I really loved about this book is how a lot of the plot and excitement all came together. There were some great hints and foreshadowing previously, but I wasn’t exactly sure where everything was going. It was interesting, though, and I definitely wanted to see how it all turned out. One of my favorite parts of this book was the revelation of the Marechal’s past, and what he’s been searching for all this time. I mean, there were references to it before this, but it always seemed like there was more to it. And… there was! Haha.
The backstory was masterfully done, with a nice hint of love and lust, along with betrayal and redemption. I liked the glimpse into the past from the point of view of Melisse and her present predicament, too. She’s been torn away from her old life and pulled into this new and eldritch world that she’s just beginning to understand. The entire idea is wonderfully fascinating.
I love the world building involved, but one of the things I like most about it is that it’s not too over the top “fantasy” if that makes sense? I like fantasy stories that are more approachable, without too much confusion. This entire series is very well written in those regards, and it makes it a pleasure and a thrill to continue reading. I never felt lost or dazed and confused like sometimes happens with other fantasy books.
I love the romance aspects, too. It’s like a fantasy romantic suspense love story, basically.
I don’t want to give anything away, but I’m extremely interested to know what happens with Melisse and the Marechal, too. There were a lot of additions to their story in here, but I’m definitely wanting to read more about them and their situation. My favorite part was probably with the Goddess Tear from Lys. I just think that sounds so nice and fancy, haha. That part was one of my favorites because I think it started a huge turning point in the series, like the calm before the storm.
Overall, honestly, this is a really great book in a really great series. Definitely a must read for fans of fantasy and romance. If you like paranormal romance, this one is very approachable, too. I know that fantasy stuff can get kind of crazy sometimes, but this is more down to earth and nice. Highly recommended and one of my favorite stories so far.
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Review: Dark Passions
Dark Passions by Elixa Everett
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’m a big fan of a lot of the authors in this boxed set, and I’ve started reading more dark romance, so I was really excited to check this one out. I started dark romance with Tears of Tess by Pepper Winters, and basically from there I was hooked. It’s a tricky thing with these types of stories, though, you know? Sometimes it can get a little too dark… or sometimes it’s not dark enough. I like the right amount of darkness, though it’s difficult to say exactly what that is.
I’m happy to say that, for me, this boxed set had the right touch! I haven’t read every single book yet, but I’ve read most of them, and the ones I’ve read are definitely worth it, especially for the price.
I’m a big fan of Skye Eagleday and I think most of Skye’s stories are always so interesting. Most of Skye’s stories take a different sort of twist from the norm, and they’re always interesting and exciting to read because of that. I liked this one, because it was sort of dark, but also with some of my other favorite genre things (BDSM and billionaires, I’m a huge fan of both, haha). Great story there!
I haven’t read a ton of Elixa Everett’s stories, specifically, but I’ve been a huge Terry Towers fan for awhile now. I like her coffeeshop girl’s books, but those are a bit more lighthearted. This was a dark turn away from that, though with a writing style I really like, and I enjoyed her book a lot.
Abby Weeks’ Tangled Rose is one of my favorite darker MC romances, and I read that one before getting this boxed set and loved it. I’m a huge fan!
Cheri Verset’s books sometimes take a turn for the dark and forbidden, and this one was definitely like that. It was a nice story, though. A perfect sort of dark.
I really enjoy most of M. Keep’s books, too. I’ve read a lot of others, but hadn’t had a chance to read this one yet.
I’m still working on some of the other stories, but I’ve read books by Savannah Reardon and Alara Branwen before, too. Emilie Criss and Adele Allaire are new to me. I recognize Aya Fukunishi’s name, but I don’t know if I’ve read anything from her before… I think I have. (I have to go look now… I can’t remember!)
If you like dark romance, and boxed sets, this is basically a sure thing. It’s a great deal and for some great stories by some great authors. I’m already a huge fan of most of it, and I like that I get to try something new from other authors, too. Definitely highly recommended! I think you’ll enjoy it a lot.
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New Release ~ Love Charms – A Paranormal Romance Boxed Set
Love Charms, a collaboration between ten bestselling paranormal romance authors, was released earlier this week. There’s some really great authors in there, some of which have been on the New York Times and USA Today bestsellers lists.
10 scorching paranormal romances for ONLY 99 cents! LIMITED TIME ONLY! (REGULAR PRICE: $9.99)
Available at:
Amazon (US | UK) | B&N | Kobo | iBooks (Coming Soon!)
Escape into the world of paranormal romance, a magical journey featuring delicious demons, wanton witches, zealous zombies and more that promise you a hauntingly good time! Featuring spell-binding novels from popular New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, and Barnes and Noble bestselling authors, including Ava Catori, Selena Kitt, Cerys du Lys, Deanna Roy and more, these enchanting books will be sure to charm, beguile and bewitch you!
Blinded by Magic, A Witch Romance by Ava Catori: Raven’s weakness is mortal men. She’s fallen hard for Derek. There’s just one problem, he doesn’t know she’s a witch. Can he accept her truth or will their relationship crumble?
Blind Date by Selena Kitt: Selena Kitt’s Blind Date ventures into the strange and surreal realm of magical realism in a hot Valentine’s Day romance that takes on the classic Greek myth of Eros and Psyche.
Breathless by Cerys du Lys: Sadie and Evan live in different worlds. Brought together by fate, and held there by hope, can they bridge the gap dividing humanity, or will long held fears and prejudice force them apart forever?
The Passion Cure by Deanna Roy: Jet is a Nix, an outcast enchantress with zero power. To conjure a love spell to save her family, she seduces a handsome enchanter who is willing to break the rules, and possibly, her heart.
Marked by Charisma M. Cole: Jade Murray is a witch that can communicate with the dead. After a summoning goes awry, two murders rock the human and supernatural world. One thing connects the gruesome acts: Jade.
The Warlord’s Concubine by J.E. & M. Keep: As a servant to the princess for much of her life, Mirella sees the conquest of the land as an opportunity to elevate herself.
A Demon and His Witch by Eve Langlais: Remy’s seen a lot during his tenure in Lucifer’s guard, but nothing can prepare him for the witch with the acerbic tongue–and voluptuous figure. Can he convince her to love him and not kill him?
Psychic Appeal by Michelle McCleod: Psychic Sofia Parker has fallen in love, a problem because her new relationship drives the lovesick ghost of her ex-boyfriend to come back from the dead…anyway he can.
Memoir of a Reluctant Shaman by Ty Nolan: When his love spell goes wrong, our hero is exiled to be fully initiated as a Shaman in this spicy tale of New Orleans Voodoo and Native American magic.
Vampire Lords of Blacknall Trinity by Shirl Anders: Only a creature of the night can save her. Lady Beth Winslow never stays home at night. She fears her stepbrother. Then a monster stalks her in the dark woods and she cannot tell beast from savior.
For this collection, I offered up my book, Breathless.
Breathless is a lot different from anything I’ve ever written before. I loved writing it, but some parts of it were very difficult. I needed a way to portray the confusion that Sadie has to deal with in this new world she’s been forced into, but I wanted to also show a sense of redemption and love, too. Admittedly, Sadie and Evan come together fast once they meet, but I don’t think it’s unbelievable. The circumstances and situations they’ve been thrown into are kind of crazy, and you don’t have time to worry or overthink things, you know? You either trust someone or you don’t, and you don’t have a chance to second guess yourself later. It either works out, or it doesn’t. I really liked that sort of “black and white” mentality going on. The other thing I liked is that not every character in the story follows along with that mindset, either.
Everything in Breathless is heightened in a way. The characters need to figure things out fast, or deal with the consequences. Granted, these aren’t always bad consequences, but every single thing that they do will have a reaction at some point in time. Literally everything. If they step outside and go for a walk in the morning, that could have dire consequences. If they fall in love, it could change their lives forever. In Breathless, the idea of dating someone, then breaking up with them… it just doesn’t exist. The world is too complex for something like that.
I wanted to capture that aspect of it, of the “survivor” and people’s will to survive. I wanted desperation and desolation, but I wanted hope and fighting against the odds, too. I wanted to write the sort of story that I think characters like Sadie and Evan deserve, and so that’s what I set out to do. I really like how it turned out, and I hope you’ll enjoy it, also!
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Valentine’s Day and New Adult Romance
Valentine’s Day is soon! I really love Valentine’s Day and I think it’s one of the more exciting holidays. It’s special in a lot of ways, you know? It can be romantic, but it’s not necessarily just about romance.
Valentine’s Day, to me, is about special moments. What I really love about it is that it’s not just one special moment, but kind of a combination of all of them. I feel like Valentine’s Day tries to recapture everyone’s “firsts” and lets us relive them for one day of the year. Because of this, it reminds me a lot of new adult romance, too.
One of the best things about new adult romance is that it’s something everyone can relate to. Whether you’re younger and currently going through being a new adult, or if you’re older and have already gone through it, it’s an experience that everyone will have at some point in time. It’s like a first kiss, you know? You always remember your first kiss, no matter where it was or who it was with. Hopefully your first kiss was really nice, but sometimes they aren’t. There’s lots of other romantic firsts, too, so don’t disregard those, either!
So, saying all of that, I feel like Valentine’s Day and new adult romance are a natural complement to each other. New adult romance lets us re-imagine our own coming of age. We can remember the feelings of being a new adult, whether it happened yesterday or a lot more yesterdays ago. We can remember being in good or bad relationships. We remember our first loves, our first kisses, our first time being intimate with someone in other ways, too. Maybe it’s the first time we invited someone to stay the night at our apartment, or the first night someone invited us to do the same. The first time we were invited for coffee, or to a certain restaurant.
New adult romance is about figuring out how to deal with all of these firsts. It’s about the experience, but also about the journey, you know? Valentine’s Day is all about remembering all of those. Maybe your first kiss was a really long time ago, but… what about your first kiss on Valentine’s Day this year? What’s that going to be like? I hope it’s special and I hope you’ll think of it as a different sort of first. And while you’re at it, why not relive all those firsts all over again? They don’t have to be perfect, because I don’t think a “first” anything is perfect, but they’re fun. Firsts are memorable and special.
And… the really nice thing about Valentine’s Day is that you can spend it with someone. Or… you don’t have to.
I admit that it can be a lot of fun if you have plans. Wake up early and get that first kiss of the day in. Depending on how frisky you and your partner are feeling, maybe you want to get a couple of other sexy firsts out of the way, too, haha. (Maybe a couple times? I won’t judge. There’s a whole lot of time between waking up, brushing your teeth, taking a shower, and having breakfast, so if you need something to occupy yourselves, well…). Valentine’s Day is on a Friday this year, so unfortunately that means a lot of people have to work, but that doesn’t mean you can’t continue your fun. Maybe a sexy email or text message here and there? Anticipation! That can be a ton of fun. Do you remember the first time you were really excited–I mean, really excited–for what was to come later?
Maybe you’ve got plans to go to a fancy dinner at a restaurant, or maybe you’d like to make a nice homemade dinner instead. Do you go to a movie, or watch one at home? What do you do at the movies? If your home, you’ve got a little more leeway, but if you’re out, there are definitely covert ways to have some playful fun while watching a movie. I’m not talking anything crazy here! A hand on a leg. Cuddling close. A light caress. You’ve got a lot of options. And after that, once you’re home (or if you’re already home), well… you’ve got a lot of options. You can do what you like, maybe you can relive some firsts, or you can have some more real firsts.
If you don’t have someone, I think that’s fine, too. Do you remember in grade school when everyone would make Valentine’s cards for everyone else? Give out candy, sometimes? Those cute little heart message candies? Or other candies. You could make your own easily enough, bake something nice, melt chocolate and buy some molds. Whatever you like!
If you don’t have someone, Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to have some fun by doing something you might not usually do. Do you want to grab the attention of a really attractive man at work? Or maybe you see him on your way to work every day? Maybe you don’t even have someone in mind, but you want to be prepared just in case you see someone you wouldn’t mind spending time with in the future (because you never know, you know?). You can, on Valentine’s Day, give him a Valentine’s card and some candy. I mean, you can give everyone a card and candy if you want, and maybe that helps it be a little more secretive. But, of course, you give the special man the special candy. Fill it up with “I love you” hearts! He won’t catch on, I swear. Everyone else gets the goofy candy hearts, but every single one he gets says “I love you,” and… maybe he’ll catch on and go further with it. You could be having a lunch break tryst in the copy room for all I know. I don’t know if I’d suggest that, but if you want to, Valentine’s Day sounds like a great time for it.
You could spend your day with friends, too. Go to special Valentine’s Day events, at a bar or a restaurant. I imagine there’s some fun one’s for singles, too, like speed dating or something. Actually, random side note, but I think that’d be really neat. What if you can go to a restaurant in your area as a single man or woman, and they’ll pair you with someone to have dinner with? If you like each other, you can exchange numbers, and if you don’t, then you can just eat and be on your way. That could be fun.
Anyways!
I hope everyone has a ton of fun this Valentine’s Day, no matter what you do. Remember what it was like for your first time, your first kiss, your first everything, and try to have those experiences again. Fall in love for the first time another time. Live and be happy and smile! A lot of new adult romance deals with difficulties and problems, but not everything is hard, you know? Love in general can be really difficult, but that doesn’t mean it’s bad. It’s just different and it’s special because of that. It’s memorable and beautiful.
Do you have any Valentine’s Day plans this year? I’d love to hear about them! Whatever you do, make sure to be happy and have a nice time.
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NaNoWriMo!
NaNoWriMo has started! Woo hoo!
For those who don’t know what that is, it stands for National Novel Writing Month (which is this month/November). The goal is to write a 50,000 word novel in a month, which equals about 1,667 words a day, give or take a bit depending on if you have a good day or a bad day, I guess. I usually have good days, but I can’t write every day since I have to do some other things in regards to writing, too, so it evens out. I probably get close to 60,000 words a month, generally speaking.
Anyways! For those of you who are signed up to receive my weekly newsletter, you may have seen that I’m going to do a fun event for NaNoWriMo. I’ll be tracking my writing and aiming for the 50,000 word goal, for one. But, the fun part is that I’ll be letting everyone see just what exactly I write, too.
So, the main purpose of me writing this right now is to tell you that that’ll be up and available now. You can find the secret page where you can view my writing as I do it (or see what else I’m doing) on my Freebies page here (which is up at the top there somewhere, if you click that).
And… the Freebies page is password protected, but if you’re signed up for my mailing list, you’ll have the password there. If you aren’t signed up, then you can sign up on the right sidebar over there at the top ( —–> ) and you can get the password once I send out my next newsletter.
Just as a quick reminder, everything I put on the secret NaNoWriMo page will be unpolished/before editing. Usually I write relatively clean first drafts, but this is just for a fun event, you know? I’ll be spending time editing/fixing everything up before I publish the stories, so if you want to see the difference, you can read the NaNoWriMo secret page version, then grab a copy of the published store version to see what a difference it is.
That’s about it for now. I just wanted to let everyone know that I’ve started, that they can find the page under the Freebies section on my site, and you’ll need to be a newsletter subscriber in order to see this neat and exclusive content. I hope you like it!
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Newsletter Delayed (Sorry!)
Sorry about the late notice on this one, for those who were looking forward to receiving my weekly newsletter today.
The website that I use to manage my newsletter stuff and have it sent out to everyone is going to be doing updates and maintenance on their servers shortly. This means that any scheduled newsletters may potentially have issues and be sent out late, or not sent out, or what have you. I’m not really sure, actually, as this is the first time they’ve done maintenance/updates while I’ve used them.
This isn’t cause for alarm or anything, just general everyday stuff. I have no idea what kind of everyday general stuff is involved, but I’m sure they have a handle on it. It’s just the mailing servers, I think (so like email related things, nothing crazy).
Anyways! The newsletter for this week is going to be a little delayed because of that. I’m hoping/planning to send it out on Thursday once all of this is finished.
Want a sneak peek ahead of time? These are a few of the things I’ll be including in this week’s newsletter!
-New cover art for Spark of Hope: The Monster Within (with Bolt of Trust, Breath of Bliss, Drop of Doubt, Ember of Ecstasy, and Rise of Spirit to follow!) Rise of Spirit will actually be done with the new cover art style for the series right from the get go.
-Rise of Spirit will be released soon after the unfortunate delays from me being sick, and I’ll be doing a promo price of $0.99 for the first few days of it being on sale.
-A bunch of stuff about Hunted, and me becoming an Amazon Top 100 Best Selling Fantasy and Fantasy Romance author. This is really exciting, since it’s not just Hunted that’s a best selling book (it is currently, which is also exciting), but me as an author getting on a special author list. This is neat because really, I owe it to everyone who has purchased one of my books and enjoyed it. I really try to write things that I think you’ll all like, so when something like this happens, it makes me excited to know that I’m heading in the right direction.
-Random reference, but, to date, I’ve been an Amazon Top 100 Best Selling Author in Fantasy, Fantasy Romance, and Romantic Suspense. Hunted and The Billionaire’s Ultimatum have been the two novels that you’ve all enjoyed the most and that helped me get on those lists, so if you haven’t checked them out yet, then why not give them a shot?
-The paperback version of The Billionaire’s Ultimatum will be going up in price soon in preparation for wider distribution to places like B&N, etc. If you want to get it at a decent discount, grab it before then. Once the price increases, you’ll be able to order it on BN.com and in your local B&N bookstore, though (they should be able to ship it right to the store for you, so you can go pick it up locally if you’d like). The price won’t be too much more, but I’ll put the specifics in the newsletter when it goes out.
-And some exciting pre-info about an event I’m going to be doing in November! (Hint: It has to do with NaNoWriMo, and it should be fun)
That’s it! Sorry again for the delay, but keep an eye out for the newsletter as it should be available within the new few days!
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Hunted: Audiobook?
So… I’m not actually sure how this is going to go, but I figured I’d try it. I just put up a listing for a request for a narrator for the full-length version of Hunted: An Erotic Retelling of Beauty and the Beast yesterday, and I’m hoping to maybe get that done by Christmas.
The thing with that is that uh… well, I never planned on doing an audiobook version of this one, per se. I mean, the idea was always in my mind and of course I was open to it. If a random narrator approached me about doing it, then I definitely would have said yes. That doesn’t really happen too often, from what I know, but I’d honestly probably be open to a lot of things like that.
For random reference, I like to do royalty shares with my audiobook narrators, since I think it’s more fair to everyone. The problem there is that a royalty share can be a good or a bad thing, you know? If the story doesn’t sell very well, then they’re kind of out some time and effort, which is sad. If the story sells well, they can make a good amount of money, though. On the flip side to that, if I paid them per finished hour (this is also relatively standard), then they could technically make more money if the story sells well, or a lot less of the story sells poorly.
As of now, most of my audiobooks have at least broken even, just about. I don’t know if anyone really cares about the business side of that, but the narrators and I have a 7 year agreement, too, so basically like… they’re all pretty much going to get paid more than the industry average, but it might take awhile for them to get it? So far they’ve broken even, or are very close to breaking even, and my first audiobooks ever were released this year, so it should work out for them in the long run. That’s kind of how this business is on all fronts, though. Not always, and sometimes a story sells really well right from the get-go, but not always.
Anyways! The point of all of that? I like doing audiobooks because it helps the narrators, gives them legitimate credits for their voice-over work, and kind of sets them up for more, you know? They can use the audiobook as a stepping stone to a better foot in the narration industry, or for acting, or whatever. I honestly think all of the narrators that have worked for me could do really well with this, either strictly voices or acting, or whatever. They have talent and drive to succeed.
So… saying that, I wasn’t going to do an audiobook version of Hunted at first, because I didn’t actually think it would sell amazingly well. I didn’t think it’d sell poorly or anything, and I thought it’d be a good book. Honestly, I like it a lot, myself, and I think it’s pretty sexy. It’s different and fun, with a bit of darkness to it, and more than its fair share of eroticism. That’s uh… well, that’s kind of the thing, I guess. I don’t want to make anyone feel awkward narrating it? Haha.
I don’t know why I think anyone would feel awkward with it, though. I’m pretty upfront about what it is and what to expect, so if they’re interested, then I think they should be given the chance to give it a try. And if I think it’ll be a decent seller and good for their career, then I don’t mind offering the opportunity to them, either, you know? I’ve been given some chances in life when I thought I could do something that others might think was too difficult or too strange, and I think those are the best types of chances sometimes. Just to get things out there and try something different, but also something good and useful, right?
So… well, Hunted is doing well. The e-book version is doing very well, and the paperback is doing pretty good, too. Paperbacks are honestly a harder sell, since, as an indie author, I can’t really get them into physical bookstores at the moment. That’s just an industry thing, and the big traditional publishers mostly have a stranglehold on that. E-books are a lot different, though, and I think I have a good understanding of that side of things.
For reference, Hunted is currently #16 in the entire All Romance eBooks store. They even sent me a neat little image thing for this site, which I’ll throw up on the sidebar soon! It might be there by the time you read this.
It’s also doing exceptional on Amazon, with a max ranking so far in the low ~1200s. This has translated into being on these best sellers lists there:
#4 Paranormal Romance > Angels
#6 Paranormal Romance > Ghosts
#6 Fantasy > Fairy Tales
#6 Paranormal Romance > Demons & Devils
#10 Paranormal Romance > Witches & Wizards
#11 World Literature > Mythology
#28 Paranormal Romance > Werewolves & Shifters
That’s just in the US. It’s ranking pretty well in Fantasy > Fairy Tales and Fiction > Fairy Tales, plus Myths & Fairy Tales in the UK, as well.
So… anyways, it’s doing well! Which is fun and great, and I really appreciate everyone’s support in this one and I’m glad to hear that a lot of people have liked it so far. I’m always kind of nervous about these things, you know? Like… I want things to do well, and I try my best to make them good and something that people will like and want to read, but I guess I’m sort of a pessimistically optimistic person. Like… it would be really nice if everyone loved everything I wrote, but I know that’s not how things work, and different things work for different people, so I just hope that at least some people will like some of the things I write?
I don’t know if that makes sense. Don’t take any of this as being especially pessimistic, because I’m not. I get really excited about things, to the point of being maybe too excited, but I try to have realistic expectations, too. The two things sort of clash sometimes.
I’m rambling a bit now, but the point of this whole thing is that I’m hopefully going to make an audiobook of Hunted, and I think this will be a great opportunity for the narrator. I like helping people out and in a creative entertainment sort of place, like with fiction books and everything, it can be really hard to get a foot in the door, you know? It takes a lot of time and effort sometimes. I’ve spent a lot of my own time and effort on all of this, so I’m hoping to share it a little by providing someone the opportunity to use some of my time and effort to help themselves out and to further their creative endeavors.
I will let you know if I find anyone! I’m still kind of picky when it comes to narrators, and I have a certain sort of voice in mind for this one, but I like to leave my options open, too. Sometimes people can surprise you, you know? I like when that happens, since it’s a lot of fun.
(This is a weird sort of post, but these are just some of the things I think about sometimes, so I thought I’d share for those who were interested in that kind of thing. I hope you liked it! What are your thoughts on audiobooks? They’re a lot different and they take a little getting used to, but I really like them)
Cerys du Lys 