On Writing

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    Crush the King on sale for $1.99 …

     Crush the King, Crown of Shards #3, is on sale for $1.99 through May 31. Woot! 😎 

    Crush the King is the conclusion to Evie’s story. I believe the ebook deal is US/Canada only, but you might want to see if it’s available in your country.

    Now is your chance to get caught up on the original Crown of Shards trilogy before Capture the Crown, Gargoyle Queen #1, comes out on July 6. Gemma Ripley (from Protect the Prince) is the heroine in Capture the Crown. Thanks! 

    CRUSH THE KING EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle B&N Nook Apple Books Google Play Kobo

    The book is also available in print/audio at all the usual retailers, although those formats are not on sale.

    CRUSH THE KING PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon print B&N print Books-A-Million IndieBound

    CRUSH THE KING AUDIOBOOK:

    Amazon audio Audible Google Play audio Kobo audio Libro audio

    Amazon MP3 CD

    The audiobook is once again narrated by the awesome Lauren Fortgang.

    CRUSH THE KING DESCRIPTION:

    A fierce gladiator queen must face off against her enemies in an epic battle in this next thrilling installment of New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Jennifer Estep’s Crown of Shards series—an action-packed adventure full of magic, murderous machinations, courtly intrigue, and pulse-pounding romance.

    Queen Everleigh Blair of Bellona has survived the mass murder of the royal family, become a fearsome warrior trained by an elite gladiator troupe, and unleashed her ability to destroy magic. After surviving yet another assassination attempt orchestrated by the conniving king of Morta, Evie has had enough. It’s time to turn the tables and take the fight to her enemies. 

    There is no better opportunity to strike than during the Regalia Games, a time when warriors, nobles, and royals from all the kingdoms come together to compete in various sporting events. With the help of her loyal friends, Evie goes on the attack at the Regalia, but things don’t turn out the way she hopes. Soon, she is facing a terrifying new threat, and she will have to dig deep and learn even more about her growing magic if she has any chance of defeating her foes.

    Because to secure her throne and ensure her kingdom’s survival, Evie must think like a true Bellonan: she must outsmart and outwit her enemies . . . and crush the king.

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    Pre-order Capture the Crown, Gargoyle Queen #1, July 6 …

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    Capture the Crown, Gargoyle Queen #1, will be out on July 6. Woot! Capture the Crown is set in my Crown of Shards epic fantasy world, and the heroine is Gemma Ripley. The book is up for pre-order:

    CAPTURE THE CROWN EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Apple Books Google Play Kobo

    CAPTURE THE CROWN PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon Barnes & Noble Books-A-Million IndieBound

    CAPTURE THE CROWN AUDIOBOOK:

    Amazon Audible Google Play Kobo LibroAmazon audio CD

    CAPTURE THE CROWN DESCRIPTION:

    Bestselling author Jennifer Estep returns to her Crown of Shards world with an all-new trilogy and a bold new heroine who protects her kingdom from magic, murder, and mayhem by moonlighting as a spy.

    Gemma Ripley has a reputation for being a pampered princess who is more interested in pretty gowns, sparkling jewelry, and other frivolous things than learning how to rule the kingdom of Andvari. But her carefully crafted persona is just an act to hide the fact that Gemma is a powerful mind magier – and a spy. 

    Gemma is undercover, trying to figure out who is stealing large amounts of tearstone from one of the Ripley royal mines when she encounters Prince Leonidas Morricone of Morta – her mortal enemy. Gemma tries to steer clear of the handsome prince, but when she finds herself behind enemy lines, she reluctantly joins forces with Leo. Also coming to Gemma’s aid is Grimley, her beloved gargoyle.

    Despite the fact that Andvari and Morta are old, bitter enemies, a dangerous attraction sparks between Gemma and Leo. Further complicating matters is Leo’s murderous family, especially Queen Maeven Morricone, the mastermind behind the infamous Seven Spire massacre.

    The closer Gemma gets to the stolen tearstone, the more deadly plots she uncovers. Everyone is trying to capture the crown, but only one queen can sit on the throne …

    Note: Gemma Ripley was first introduced in Kill the Queen, book #1 in my original Crown of Shards series. Gemma was 12 years old then; in the new series, she is 29 years old. Some of the characters from my original Crown of Shards will make cameo appearances in the new series, but this is very much Gemma’s story.

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    Monday Morning Mailbag — What happens on book release day …

    MONDAY MORNING MAILBAG

    Question: What happens on release day/week when you have a new book out? What are some of the behind-the-scenes things that go on?

    Answer: Last Strand, Elemental Assassin #19, was released on March 16. Usually, on release day, I spend most of my time sharing buy links for the book, responding to social media comments, answering reader questions, liking/sharing reviews, thanking folks for taking the time to read/review/talk about the book, and much more.

    It’s fun, but exhausting. And yes, I will obsessively check my Amazon sales ranking too. LOL.

    As for behind-the-scenes stuff, well, I hate to say this, but something always — ALWAYS! — seems to go wrong whenever I have a new book out. For example, a couple of days before Last Strand was released, one of the online booksellers flagged something in the ebook as an error — when it was NOT an error.

    Basically, someone, or some program, thought that there needed to be a page break between the end of Last Strand and my author’s note that started right after that. Like I said, something that was not an error. But I had to email my book formatter and figure out the best way to deal with it, which was putting in the page break and re-uploading the ebook/file. Sigh.

    Around that same time, I also got an email from an advertiser pointing out a typo in one of my online ads, so I had to contact my graphic artist and ask them to fix the ad. Other things like this pop up all the time during release day/week. And of course, I always see a couple of negative — or even mean/rude/nasty — reviews of the new book, which is always a bummer.

    So yeah, release day/week is (mostly) fun, but it’s also not nearly as glamorous as it might seem. LOL.

    LAST STRAND EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle B&N Nook Apple Books Google Play Kobo Smashwords

    LAST STRAND PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon print B&N print IndieBound

    Booksellers and librarians can order print copies through IngramSpark.

    LAST STRAND AUDIOBOOK COMING AUG. 10:

    Amazon audiobook Audible

    Last Strand will be released as an audiobook on Aug. 10. It will NOT be out today, March 16, with the ebook/print book. So if you want to read the book right away, then you will have to get the ebook/print book.

    Why the audiobook delay? Well, Lauren Fortgang is a very popular narrator, and her schedule is booked up months in advance. I chose to wait for her to become available rather than have someone else voice Gin. I think everyone will agree that Lauren’s narration is worth the wait.

    LAST STRAND DESCRIPTION:

    I’ve battled a lot of bad guys in my time, both as Gin Blanco and as the notorious assassin the Spider. But I’ve never faced off against anyone quite as powerful and deadly as the dastardly leader of the Circle secret society.

    Just when I finally have a lead on how I can defeat the evil group once and for all, new information comes to light that throws me for a loop. Suddenly, everyone and everything I love is in imminent peril of being destroyed, and I’m racing against the clock to figure out a way to save my friends.

    The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the danger has never been greater. Somehow, I need to weave one last strand in my web of death—and kill my enemies before they kill me . . .

    THE ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN SERIES WILL CONTINUE:

    The Elemental Assassin series WILL CONTINUE. However, Last Strand will be the last full-length Gin Blanco book for a while, due to my writing deadlines on other books/projects.

    In the meantime, I am planning to write novellas about some of the Elemental Assassin secondary characters, like Lorelei Parker. But rest assured that I am planning to write more books about Gin in the future, as my schedule allows. Thank you for reading. 😎 

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    Where to get print books for Last Strand, Elemental Assassin #19 …

    A couple of folks have asked why they can’t find print copies of Last Strand, Elemental Assassin #19, in their local bookstores. Well, the Last Strand print books are not stocked at your local bookstore because I am now self-publishing my Elemental Assassin series. I also self-published Venom in the Veins, book #17, and Sharpest Sting, book #18, so those books are not usually stocked in bookstores either. This is also why books #17-19 are the larger, trade paperback size rather than the smaller, mass market size of books #1-16.

    The vast — vast! — majority of print books available in stores are traditionally published books, and it is often very difficult for indie/self-published authors to get their print books stocked/shelved in bookstores. So this is why you can usually find my traditionally published books — like Kill the Queen — in bookstores, but not my self-published books — like Spartan Heart and the rest of my Mythos Academy spinoff series.

    Some bookstores will stock self-published books, but I have no way of knowing which stores, or how many copies of my books that they might have on hand. However, your local Barnes & Noble and indie bookstores can always order the print books. You can also order the print books online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble (see links below). Hope this helps.

    LAST STRAND PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon print B&N print IndieBound

    Booksellers and librarians can order print copies through IngramSpark.

    LAST STRAND EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle B&N Nook Apple Books Google Play Kobo Smashwords

    LAST STRAND AUDIOBOOK COMING AUG. 10:

    Amazon audiobook Audible

    Last Strand will be released as an audiobook on Aug. 10. So if you want to read the book right now, then you will have to get the ebook/print book.

    Why the audiobook delay? Well, Lauren Fortgang is a very popular narrator, and her schedule is booked up months in advance. I chose to wait for her to become available rather than have someone else voice Gin. I think everyone will agree that Lauren’s narration is worth the wait.

    LAST STRAND DESCRIPTION:

    I’ve battled a lot of bad guys in my time, both as Gin Blanco and as the notorious assassin the Spider. But I’ve never faced off against anyone quite as powerful and deadly as the dastardly leader of the Circle secret society.

    Just when I finally have a lead on how I can defeat the evil group once and for all, new information comes to light that throws me for a loop. Suddenly, everyone and everything I love is in imminent peril of being destroyed, and I’m racing against the clock to figure out a way to save my friends.

    The stakes couldn’t be higher, and the danger has never been greater. Somehow, I need to weave one last strand in my web of death—and kill my enemies before they kill me . . .

    THE ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN SERIES WILL CONTINUE:

    The Elemental Assassin series WILL CONTINUE. However, Last Strand will be the last full-length Gin Blanco book for a while, due to my writing deadlines on other books/projects.

    In the meantime, I am planning to write novellas about some of the Elemental Assassin secondary characters, like Lorelei Parker. But rest assured that I am planning to write more books about Gin in the future, as my schedule allows. Thank you for reading. 😎