The creative process involves risk. An author risks themselves and their ego every time they put a story out for readers to read and judge. Authors also have to experiment in order to try new processes, new story ideas, new ways of showing character, and more, or their stories stagnate and grow stale.
With each experiment, an author risks failure. Most of those failures a reader never gets to see (thank God!). But sometimes it’s impossible to experiment behind the scenes, and the risk is very public indeed.
That happened last week. I goofed – although I didn’t know it at the time.
For the first time ever I organized and promoted a Kindle Countdown deal for six of my books. It seemed like a really good idea – six books, at least one of them over 600 pages long, all priced at door-buster prices, just in time for the US Thanksgiving week. It would give everyone a chance to stock up on books they might not have considered buying at full price, and in that way, I would be introducing them to some of my “other” stories.
Yeah, well, more fool me.
It worked absolutely great for anyone who lives in the UK or the US.
Everyone else missed out. Including me. Amazon wouldn’t drop the prices if your IP address was from the wrong side of the border, even if you tried shopping on Amazon.com itself.
I got a barrage of emails from readers outside the UK and US, and at first I directed them to Amazon.com, figuring that would fix it.
Then Mark did what I should have done from the start. He looked at one of the books on Amazon.com. Oh, horrors! It wasn’t for sale!
I get pissed every time I try to enter a contest or draw, and get told I can’t because I’m not in the US. Or that I can’t even buy something on-line because they don’t ship to Canada.
Because I’m sitting just a bit north of the 48th parallel, Barnes & Noble won’t let me publish my books directly with them – I have to go through Smashwords.
Amazon keeps telling me to shop on Amazon.ca.
I can’t publish audiobooks because ACX, who produces them, won’t deal with Canucks.
A great many of the on-line forms I fill out don’t have options for international post codes or zip codes – you have to put the full address in the street address box and cross your fingers.
I’ve had parcels delivered to California because the person addressing the label put “CA” for Canada, then I got dinged for a second round of postage to get it back.
So I know how annoying it is to miss out on things because of where you live. And here I was, doing exactly that to my readers.
I feel awful, awful, awful about it. As the subject line says, that’s not what I meant to happen at all.
So.
I’ve got a different deal for you, to make up for missing out on the first one. (Plus, I will never do another Amazon Kindle Countdown deal again!)
This deal is eight books at 99c (and I’m using US dollars as the reference price, simply because that’s how the coupon works).
They’re all stand-alone stories that you may not have considered buying before, just because they are one-off stories. Some are short, some are full length novels.
All of them are available for 99 cents, for 48 hours, starting right now and ending at midnight EST on December 3rd, The coupon is valid at Smashwords – and I’ll give you the link for each book, below.
You might not have purchased books from Smashwords before – especially if you like the convenience of buying from B&N, Kobo or Amazon, and having your book appear on your reader instantly. However, Smashwords will honour the coupon no matter where you live, and you can buy the format that suits your reader, no matter what you read on. That means, if you live in Outer Mongolia, you’re still good to go. (And if there is anyone in Outer Mongolia who is reading this, do email me! I love finding out the far-flung places my books make their way to!)
You will need to side-load the books, but there are lots of directions on how to do this on Smashwords and elsewhere. Try typing in “how to sideload ebooks onto a xxx reader” in Google – where “xxx” is the brand of reader or mobile device you use. You could even include the model number just to really cover all the bases.
BTW, if you’re really new to this, sideloading means loading a book onto a reader or mobile device that isn’t sent directly to the reader via a bookstore like Amazon or B&N. It’s the DIY option, and you’ll find it extremely useful to know how to sideload to your reader.
And here are the eight books that you can snap up right now, for 99c:
An Inconvenient Lover
It would be too inconvenient to love him.
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Winner, RWAustralia’s Emma Darcy Award.
Full Retail Price: $3.99
Coupon Code: MB77S
Sale Price: $0.99
Discount ~75% off
Link to book here on my site (excerpt, blurb, reviews, etc.)
Delly’s Last Night
A decade-old conspiracy is about to unravel….
SHORT ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Nominated for Book of the Year
Romance Reviews Today Erotic
Amazon #1 Bestseller in Short Fiction
Amazon Bestseller in Suspense Romance
All Romance eBooks Bestseller
Full Retail Price: $2.99
Coupon Code: KD59Y
Sale Price: $0.99
Discount ~66% off
Link to book here on my site (excerpt, blurb, reviews, etc.)
Eva’s Last Dance
This dance counts in more ways than one…
SHORT, HOT MF VAMPIRE ROMANCE
Reviewer’s Top Pick
Night Owl Reviews
Full Retail Price: $2.99
Coupon Code: KP93A
Sale Price: $0.99
Discount ~66% off
Link to book here on my site (excerpt, blurb, reviews, etc.)
Lucifer’s Lover
Can you love the one you hate?
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE
Reviewer’s Top Pick – Night Owl Reviews
Full Retail Price: $3.99
Coupon Code: TN52W
Sale Price: $0.99
Discount: ~75% off
Link to book here on my site (excerpt, blurb, reviews, etc.)
Ningaloo Nights
To find out what happened to her sister, Sherry just has to go
with Mason Hayward to the ends of the earth.
EROTIC ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
RomanticCon Superstar Award winner for
“Most Erotic Use of a Chocolate Chip Cookie”.
Full Retail Price: $2.99
Coupon Code: NP87Y
Sale Price: $0.99
Discount: ~66% off
Link to book here on my site (excerpt, blurb, reviews, etc.)
Solstice Surrender
A man of mysterious powers….
a woman who fights her destiny.
On midwinter’s eve she must decide.
EROTIC PARANORMAL ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Amazon Bestseller, Fantasy Romance
Amazon Bestseller, Demons & Devils Romance
Amazon Bestseller, Short Stories
Full Retail Price: $2.99
Coupon Code: GF36S
Sale Price: $0.99
Discount: ~66% off
Link to book here on my site (excerpt, blurb, reviews, etc.)
The Royal Talisman
If she reveals herself, she will lose him. If she doesn’t, he will be hanged.
EROTIC HISTORICAL ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Full Retail Price: $2.99
Coupon Code: GN69G
Sale Price: $0.99
Discount: ~66% off
Link to book here on my site (excerpt, blurb, reviews, etc.)
Vivian’s Return
Seven years ago she left, abruptly. Why is she now back?
ROMANTIC SUSPENSE
Reviewer‘s Top Pick
Night Owl Romance Reviews
Full Retail Price: $5.99
Coupon Code: ZJ44Y
Sale Price: $0.99
Discount: ~83% off
Link to book here on my site (excerpt, blurb, reviews, etc.)
Enjoy…no matter where you live!