Silent No More

It’s been a while since you’ve heard from me. I’m sorry I’ve been silent so long, but now it’s time to catch up.

In May, our fully vaccinated family got together in person for the first time in seventeen months to celebrate Mother’s Day and my mother-in-law’s 85^th birthday. It was wonderful to be together again! But that long hiatus had a big impact on my current project.

While progress has been slow, I have been writing the next Vinlanders’ Saga book, which is Fender’s tale. The working title is Shadowed Talents, but that could change. Family, its influence and importance, is a big part of the story.

In the meantime, I’ve made Veiled Mirror, Betrayed by Trust, and the Celestial Affairs series widely available. (I’ve also made Lightbringer perma-free.) You can now buy them as ebooks at Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and Apple in addition to Amazon. And from now on, the links I include will be universal, so readers in most countries will be referred directly to your preferred online stores once you declare your preferences.

Speaking of Veiled Mirror, you might be interested to know that it’s set within 75 miles of where I live in the southwestern U.S., but in the fictional Saguaro County. It takes place at this time of year, when not just murderers, but also the heavy monsoon rains can be deadly.

Happy Reading!

Win a Free Book!

I’m participating in an ebook Giveaway with over 25 paranormal romance and mystery authors.  And one lucky reader will win a copy of all the books! This contest closes on March 4, so sign up now.

Begin reading the Celestial Affairs series for FREE

Now that GUARDIAN, Book Two in the Celestial Affairs series is available, and Book Three is in the pipeline, I’ve made it easy for readers to get started on the series. And what could be easier than FREE? You may have already read LIGHTBRINGER. If so, I hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what you thought of it by leaving a review on Amazon. And please let your friends know about the sale (which runs through July 18th).

Jared has been stuck on the Terrestrial Plane for over 160 years. He can’t return home without the help of his Celestial brethren, and since he failed at his previous assignments, they aren’t welcoming him back. Now they’ve given him another chance to prove himself. All he has to do is save a beautiful psychic from a demonic assassin who can look like anyone, and strike anywhere, anytime. Falling in love isn’t part of the plan.

LIGHTBRINGER was originally intended to be a stand-alone novel, but I (and my readers) quickly realized that there were a lot more stories to tell. I’m looking forward to sharing them with you, so if you haven’t yet stuck a toe into the Celestial Affairs universe be sure to take advantage of this sale and read the first book in the series for FREE. (And don’t miss BETRAYED BY TRUST, a prequel set in 1979.)

Yeti in the Mist is on sale!

For a limited time, this Victorian Secret Romance is available for only $.99!

 

Catherine Denton loves her ailing husband and is taken aback when he encourages her to take a lover. Reginald, formerly a colonel in the East India Company Army, wants his young wife to have what he cannot give her: children―and his titled brother, Cedric, has offered to oblige. However, her brother-in-law is not the man Catherine desires. The male who makes her pulse race is Reginald’s good friend Yolann, the Yeti who served with him in India―and who sleeps just down the hall.
Neither wants to betray their loyalty to a man they both respect and love. Neither can deny their desire.
Get your copy today before the price goes back up!

*****

I also want to let you know that I’m about two thirds of the way through the 1st draft of GUARDIAN, the sequel to LIGHTBRINGER in the Celestial Affairs series. I’m quite happy with the way it’s coming along, and I think you’ll like it just as much when you see the finished book!

Happy Reading!
Frankie

A Cover for My Next Book!

For those of you who have been waiting patiently (or otherwise) for the sequel to LIGHTBRINGER, take heart: Gideon’s story is on its way! My cover designer, Jaycee DeLorenzo of Sweet N Spicy Designs has just created the cover for Book 2 in the Celestial Affairs series. It will be about six months before GUARDIAN is available, but I love this cover so much that I didn’t want to wait to share it with you.

Remember, you can be among the first to find out about sales and new releases by signing up for my newsletter, and get a Free short story in the bargain! Just click on GET A FREE STORY in the Nav bar above.

Speaking of sales, VEILED MIRROR is on sale right now at 50% off the everyday price.

 

Happy Halloween! And Happy Birthday!

I love Halloween. I love seeing the little kids dressed up in their costumes and handing out candy. When I was a kid and on the other side of the door, Halloween seemed like the opening act for my birthday. First the neighbors gave me yummy things, and the next day I got cake and presents. Such a deal!

To celebrate Halloween and my birthday this year, I’m putting two of my paranormal romances on sale at 75% off the regular price. LIGHTBRINGER and VEILED MIRROR will be only $0.99 from today through November 1st.

In LIGHTBRINGER, an exiled angel falls in love with the woman he’s supposed to be protecting from a demonic assassin. (4.2 Stars)

A ghost haunts her twin sister in VEILED MIRROR, demanding she solve her murder, regardless of the cost to her heart–or her life…(4.1 Stars)

So celebrate All Hallows Eve and my birthday with me, and enjoy a sweet deal at the same time!

The Experiment Continues

Last week I tried using the Kindle Countdown deal for the first time with FORBIDDEN TALENTS. This week, you have the opportunity to get BETRAYED BY TRUST while it’s on sale. Starting today, BBT will be available at the discounted price of .99. But don’t delay, because it will gradually increase back to its normal price over the next five days. BETRAYED BY TRUST  is a paranormal romantic suspense with a “marriage of convenience” theme. It takes place mostly in San Diego in 1979, in the same Celestial Affairs universe as LIGHTBRINGER, but it stands alone.

~*~

If you haven’t done so yet, be sure to sign up for my newsletter so you can be among the first to hear about my new releases and get “behind the scenes” information. I don’t like spam either, so I’ll only be sending newsletters when I have actual news.

 

All Treats, No Tricks!

Happy Halloween!

I’ve always loved Halloween, and in honor of the holiday I have three treats to share: a new novel, a short story, and a collection.

My new novel, BETRAYED BY TRUST is available on Amazon in both Kindle and paper formats. It’s set in the same universe as LIGHTBRINGER, in 1979. It will be available at a special low price for a limited time.

Here’s a little bit about BETRAYED BY TRUST:

January, 1979. The Vietnam war is over, the oil embargo and long gas lines a bad memory, and Three Mile Island is just a power plant that few have ever heard of.

Marianne Benton works for the Trust, a secretive organization guarding against abuses of paranormal power. Her next assignment: rescue an Elemental Spirit from slavery–by seducing the heir to an occult dynasty.

As a former Green Beret, Dan Collier knows how to follow orders. His assignment: help Marianne sleep with another man. After that: keep her alive.

Falling in love is optional.

My second treat is a Vinlanders’s Saga short story: On a Midsummer’s Eve. Set in the same world as DANGEROUS TALENTS and FORBIDDEN TALENTS, On a Midsummer’s Eve tells the story of a Fey-marked woman and her encounter with Lord Fender on a summer’s eve.

The third treat is a collection of DANGEROUS TALENTS, FORBIDDEN TALENTS, and On a Midsummer’s Eve. If you haven’t read the Vinlanders’ Saga books yet, you can now buy them together for one low price.

If you’d like to be among the first to know about my next release, and get in on some of the behind the scenes info on the characters, be sure to sign up for my newsletter.

And if you have time, please leave a review. Sharing what you think about the books you read helps other readers to find stories they’ll enjoy.

I’m Back!

I’ve been busy these last few months, and this fall will see a flurry of activity.

• This month VEILED MIRROR will be re-released as a Castle Rock book with a new cover and some minor revisions.
• Next month BETRAYED BY TRUST will debut. It takes place in the same universe as LIGHTBRINGER  in 1979. It’s not exactly a prequel, but you will get to see Gideon again.
• I have the sequel, SEDUCED BY TRUST, outlined, and I already have a cover for it, but first–
• I’ll be writing a novella set in the Vinlanders’ Saga universe. It’s working title is DEBTS and I already have a cover for it too.
• After that, I promise to get to work on Gideon’s story, GUARDIAN.

Today I’m revealing a new cover for DANGEROUS TALENTS. I think Jaycee DeLorenzo of Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Designs has done a fabulous job. I’d love to hear what you think of it.

My Self-Publishing Journey: Ongoing Experimentation and A SALE!

If you’ve been following this blog series for any time, you know that the essence of indie publishing is experimentation. Nothing is written in stone as THE way to proceed to achieve guaranteed success. I’ve recommended certain paths as being better than others, but one thing you can be sure of is that there’s an exception to every “rule.”

So although I’ve done well using Kindle Select I decided to remove two of my titles from that exclusive relationship with Amazon and put them back up on Barnes & Noble and Smashwords. I did that a month ago for LIGHTBRINGER and three weeks ago for WITH HEART TO HEAR. I intended to leave them up there for several months, so I could gather data to see if alternate distribution platforms would sell enough copies to compensate for the increased sales that come with a successful free promotion on Kindle Select and the paid borrows from Amazon Prime members.

So far the answer is: No. I’ll ignore Smashwords because their reporting is SO much slower than B&N and Amazon, and because it can take weeks or months for their affiliates to list a book. What I can tell you is that to date I’ve sold one copy of WITH HEART TO HEAR  on Nook.  One.

But that’s not enough reason to go rushing back to Amazon where the sales of those books hasn’t been much better. I have friends whose books have sold well on Barnes & Noble. I’ve said often enough that indie publishing is a marathon, not a sprint. The problem is, at this rate of sales these books aren’t even getting off the blocks. The ranks of these books won’t allow them to be discovered. So what’s a girl to do?

Since I can’t run a free promotion effectively, I’ve decided to lower the prices of these two books across all platforms. One of my favorite indie romances, A BED OF THORNS AND ROSES is priced at $2.99 and is currently ranked at about #30,000 on Amazon. This book came out in May 2011 and the author does NOTHING to promote her book. She has no other books, doesn’t tweet, doesn’t facebook, doesn’t have a website that I’ve found. She just wrote one fabulous book. (It’s also available on Nook.)

Whether or not my books are fabulous is up to the readers to decide, but I can play with the price and see what happens. For the next month (or so) I’m lowering the price of LIGHTBRINGER  to $2.99 (also on Nook) and WITH HEART TO HEAR to $1.99 (also on Nook).

It’s up to each author to figure out where the best price point for her books is and the only way to do that is with experimentation. Joe Konrath likes $2.99, Jennifer Roberson priced her indie Kindle releases at $3.99 for LONNIE and $4.99 for THE IRISHMAN. Dennis McKiernan priced the digital version of  AT THE EDGE OF THE FOREST at $5.99. DANGEROUS TALENTS and FORBIDDEN TALENTS are doing okay at $4.95, but LIGHTBRINGER  is not.

So I’m shaking things up a bit, price wise. Now the readers get to speak, and tell me how much price makes a difference to them and how eager they are to buy my books in the Nook format.

Authors, how have you priced your books, and why?  Readers, what do you think about book prices? Does 99 cents say “trash” to you? Does $2.99 say “bargain” or “beware”? Does $4.99 say “quality” or “overpriced”?