2016 Rainbow Awards: Kestrel’s Talon

I'm honoured that Kestrel's Talon made it all the way to runner up in this year's 2016 Rainbow Awards under the category of Best Gay Erotic Romance & Erotica! How cool is that? Hoorah! (read the review here)

It makes me really happy to have written it and shared it. I can't wait to get to the sequel in the new year.

Thank you to Elisa Reviews and to everyone who volunteered their time and money! There was over $14 000 donated to LGBT charities.

Winners:

  1. A Kind of Romance by Lane Hayes - Gender: Gay - Genre: Erotic Romance
  2. Come Back To Me by Edmond Manning - Gender: Gay - Genre: Erotic Romance
  3. Better Than Safe by Lane Hayes - Gender: Gay - Genre: Erotic Romance

Runners Up:

  1. A Kind of Truth by Lane Hayes - Gender: Gay - Genre: Erotic Romance
  2. Quillon’s Covert by Joseph Lance Tonlet & Louis Stevens - Gender: Gay - Genre: Erotic Romance
  3. The Arrangement by Felice Stevens - Gender: Gay - Genre: Erotic Romance
  4. The Biggest Lover by R. Jackson - Gender: Gay - Genre: Anthology / Collection / Erotica
    Lock and Key by Z. Allora - Gender: Gay - Genre: Erotic Romance
  5. Building Bonds + Safe Limits (2 novellas as 1 submission) by Morticia Knight - Gender: Gay - Genre: Erotic Romance
  6. Second to None by Felice Stevens - Gender: Gay - Genre: Erotic Romance
  7. Kestrel's Talon (The Stonewatchers #1) by Bey Deckard - Gender: Gay - Genre: Erotic Romance
    Not Just Another Pretty Face by Louis Flint Ceci - Gender: Gay - Genre: Anthology / Collection / Erotica

Cyber Monday at All Romance eBooks – All my titles 50% off*

unnamed1All my titles are 50% off for Cyber Monday!*

If you've been waiting to purchase a non-mobi copy of Kestrel's Talon or Max, this is a great time. They'll both be going exclusive to Amazon for the next 90 days (and in KU) starting tomorrow :)

*readers get store credit

Happy Halloween Sale!

October 30 & 31 ONLY

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Smashwords Sale! - Use coupon code at checkout

Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas -  $4.99 $2.50 w/ code NJ48X
Sacrificed: Heart Beyond the Spires - $4.99 $2.50 w/ code TE66E
Fated: Love and Redemption - $4.99 $2.50 w/ code XU87S
Careened: Winter Solstice in Madierus - $.99 $FREE w/ code EP76C

The Complications of T - $1.50 $.99 w/ code SS98X
The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel - $2.25 $.99 w/ code HQ45P

Kestrel's Talon - $5.99 $2.50 w/ code BU28Z

Max - $2.99 $1.50 w/ code EN53Z

Sarge - $1.75 $.99 w/ code NK98T
Murphy - $1.75 $.99 w/ code EF85U

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Better the Devil You Know - $4.00 $1.99 Buy here

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All Romance eBook sale! - All books :)

All my books 50% off at All Romance eBooks! (readers get store credit)
All my books 50% off at All Romance eBooks! (readers get store credit)

Click here to buy my books at 50% off at ARe

A quiet moment with Talon, Grimma, Kes, and Pants – art by Catherine Dair

Just take a look at how gorgeous this is :) I commissioned the very talented Catherine Dair to draw the triad from Kestrel's Talon and it turned out perfect.

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The print is available in my Redbubble store too :) I ordered myself one to put on my wall.

Goodbye, Kindle Unlimited, Goodbye! (for now?)

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I've made the decision to pull my books from Kindle Unlimited for the time being. Why am I saying things like "for now" and "for the time being"? Well... it is a hard decision to make.

Here, I'll show you why:

Pros of being in KU

Cons of being in KU

  • Increased visibility with Amazon customers
  • Use of Amazon stuff like Kindle Countdown Deals
  • Only have to upload my files to one place
  • Less people return my books
  • I make more money overall
  • I might make more money but at less than half a cent per page read, it really devalues books overall, and not just mine.
  • It's less than half a cent per page because the money comes from a pot that is split up every month amongst everyone enrolled in KU, and there are a lot of scammers publishing fake books or books that are rigged to make the reader reach the end (in which case Amazon pays the scammer for every page in the book), so us non-scammers have to share the pot with these assholes. (tl;dr: Authors have to share profits with scammers)
  • When you are enrolled in KU, you can only sell your books through Amazon. So I might get great visibility with Amazon customers, but folks who prefer to buy elsewhere are shit out of luck.
  • I am at the mercy of Amazon's sudden policy changes - which have largely failed to curtail the scammer problem. *two-finger salute*
  • Amazon continues to censor, ban, and stonewall its authors and paying customers.
  • I have to deal with the uploading files all over the place when I make a change... but... enh. *shrug*

So there you have it folks: my decision making process.

As of today, Caged, Sacrificed, Fated, The Complications of T, The Last Nights of The Frangipani Hotel are out and will be followed by the F.I.S.T.S. books on June 1st and Careened on June 20.

Kestrel's Talon will be out around August 13.

By pulling out my books, it means that I stand to make less money, which is what makes it such a shitty decision: Ho hum... do I stay in a fucked up system, chained to their exclusivity clause to make more cheddar, or do I go wide and make my books available to a wider audience... at a possible loss? (Oh yeah... Something else about the exclusivity thing? You have to stay in the program for 90 days. Then you can either opt out—so no KU and you can sell your books in other places—or renew like a chump.)

Ultimately, I don't write for the money... Even with my books in KU I don't make anywhere near a living wage. It's hard work but I write because I love doing it, and I get to share my stories with like-minded folk.

But. Well. Money is nice. *shakes head*

Anyway... I think from now on (unless I cave and go back to wearing the golden handcuffs) I'll put new releases into KU for the 90 days but not renew. Who knows.

(and feel free to chime in... what's your opinion on this?)

Kestrel’s Talon – Out now!

Kestrel's Talon

Happy release day to me! (woo!)

Kestrel's Talon is the first book in a new fantasy series, The Stonewatchers. I'm looking forward to introducing you to these guys... but it's impossible to say much about the story without spoiling it.  So... I'll just say that if you enjoyed the Baal's Heart books, this book might be for you.

Looking for some early reviews? Check them out here.

Buy it at Amazon (kindle and paperback available)

 

Kestrel’s Talon (The Stonewatchers #1)

Coming May 23rd to Amazon

Kestrel's Talon

Following the Prentish/Nemarri war, Kes is rejected by his homeland under the guise of religious purity laws. Though he's spared execution, the proud Nemarri's fate is only marginally more merciful than death when he is sold into sexual slavery at a prosperous pleasure house.

Despite his stoic endurance, Kes knows he’s reaching his breaking point, but there is nothing he can do—there is no path to freedom in the Holy Prentish Empire, only a lifetime of humiliating servitude.

That is, until a beautiful young slave and his formidable master approach Kes in the marketplace and make an astonishing offer to take him home with them. The only problem: “home” is the accursed Horthmont Castle from the scare-stories of Kes’s childhood.

Thrown into a world of living myth, powerful magic, and ancient gods, Kes learns the secrets kept hidden by Horthmont’s thick blackstone walls. There he discovers something he thought he’d never know again: hope for the future.

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Kestrel's Talon is a fantasy story about an empire obsessed with subjugation. Is it dark? Not really. It's about trust, hope, and healing. Character driven, sweet at times, and a little kinky at others, it's a tale I hope you'll enjoy as much as I do. :)

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Preorder your copy now (paperback available soon)

 Listen to the soundtrack:

Newsletter Subscribers – re: Help Me Pick a Cover

Thank you everyone who voted for the cover for Kestrel's Talon. Tomorrow (April 27) I'll draw a name from the list of all those who commented - the winner gets an ARC of Kestrel's Talon before it hits digital shelves. :D

(and for those who are looking to subscribe to the newsletter and join in the fun for next time, you can do so right here)

 

❁ MM March Madness! Interview and giveaway ❁

Howdy folks! It's a beee-utiful day up here in Montréal with the sun shining, and though it's a little on the cold side (-8ºC/17.6ºF), the end of winter is nigh. I can feel it in my bones, and bones never lie ;)

A little something special today: I'm featured over at Twinsie Talk for MM March Madness! Why not head on over there to read the interview and enter the giveaway! I'm ponying up ecopy of book one of each of my series—Caged: Love and Treachery on the High Seas, Sarge, and The Complications of T.

That's an and, not an or... you get all three books!

Go on... see you there :)

WHAT AM I DOING?

Every once in a while, I'm overwhelmed by a "what the fuck am I doing?" sort of moment. It goes a little like:

I'm not a writer, I'm a painter... or a computer tech... or a web designer... or a manager... or or or... shit, what am I doing writing?  I don't know how to write... Am I going to keep writing? Is there a point to it? Is it a medical symptom? Have I gone mad? Should I go get an astrophysics degree instead?

Then I sit down and read a few chapters of something I wrote, smile, thank my characters, and get back to business.

It's not so much a lack of confidence thing... more like I am literally trying to figure out how suddenly I've become a writer. It feels weirdly surreal at times. Last week was my two year anniversary and I think it spooked me some. How can it be two years already? What I figured was going to be a hobby that I'd abandon after a few books has turned into a real thing that I do almost every day. I'm certainly not making a living off of it. Not yet. But... it's not nothing.

Anyway - so I've hit the 70k mark on Kestrel's Talon after being a touch spooked and overwhelmed and uncharacteristically concerned about whether people would care for it at all. Thankfully, my brain's gone back to normal and the words are flowing again with me as their target audience (though I do hope at least one other person will enjoy it!). The worst part (ie. hard to write bits) is behind me. The next 50k should be smooth sailing. I'm excited. I'm tempted to release the soundtrack before the book, but I'll wait at least a few weeks until I know for sure I don't need another song. I'm also going to do a few more cover ideas for it... if you've signed up for my newsletter, you'll be able to vote next month on your favourite and help me choose :)

 

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Wondering which retailer pays me the most?

#1 is Payhip. Not a retailer, but an online shop that I've set up myself. This is where I make the most return on my books.

Then after that it gets a little complicated, but these are the three best choices:

At Eden Books*, I make 70% royalties for all titles.

At Smashwords, I make 60% royalties for all titles.

At Amazon, for books OVER $2.99 (USD) I make 70% royalties and for books UNDER $2.99 I make 35%

So... if the book is under $2.99, buy from Eden Books or Smashwords.

If the books is over $2.99, buy from Eden Books or Amazon.

But best of all, buy from my Payhip store :)

Questions? Contact Me!

*Not all my titles are available at Eden yet as of 25/09/23 - I'm working on it.

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