Elemental Assassin series

  • Prices, prices, prices …

    12 Comments

    One thing that I wanted to mention in regards to Touch of Frost, the first book in my new Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series, is the price — $9.95, according to Amazon.

    I’m wondering if some readers will complain about this — especially since the book is shorter than the ones in my Elemental Assassin series, which are priced at $7.99. For the record, Touch of Frost comes in at about 87,000 words. There are also some extras/bonus features in the back of the book, so let’s say the final word count is about 88,000 total. Tangled Threads, the fourth book in the Elemental Assassin series, comes it at about 95,000 words.

    So why will Touch of Frost cost more? Well, for one thing, it’s coming out in trade paperback — a slightly larger, bigger paperback than the mass market format that the Elemental Assassin books are printed in.

    But mostly, I think the price has to do with the market –$9-$10 seems to be the general price point for most YA books out there that are published as trade paperbacks. For hardcover YA books, it seems like the price point is around $15-$16.

    I don’t know why this is. Maybe teens don’t care to spend more for books than adults do. Or maybe their parents are just so happy that teens are reading in the first place that they don’t blink at the price of the book.

    Personally, I don’t mind paying a little extra for the YA trade paperbacks. I like the size, the covers are almost always gorgeous, and I think the fonts in them are usually a little bigger and easier to read. And the trade paperback YA books are still less than the $14-$15 that adult trade paperbacks are priced at. However, I’ll admit that when I buy books (YA or adult), I usually shop around for the best price — or have a coupon handy. LOL.

    Now, my YA publisher, Kensington, is really good (and really smart) about giving discounts on their e-books. Most of the Kindle editions of their mass market romance books are around $2 — or more — below the paper book prices. I’m not sure if they’ll do the same kind of pricing with the new YA line, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t. So if you have an e-reader, you can probably get a good deal on Touch of Frost when it comes out on July 26.

    Anyway, I guess the point of this post is that I don’t set the prices — I just write the books. No matter what price you buy my book at, I hope you’ll think that it’s time and money well spent.

    What about you guys? Do you like the YA trade paperback format? Do you mind paying more for YA books? Share in the comments.

  • ·

    To Amazon or not to Amazon …

    20 Comments

    As y’all know, I’ve been writing short stories to go along with my Elemental Assassin series. I plan to write at least one short story to go with Tangled Threads, probably from Jo-Jo Deveraux’s point of view.

    I’ve been offering the stories for free here on the Excerpts page my website, but for Tangled Threads (as well as for my new Mythos Academy young adult series), I’m also thinking about offering the short story as a 99-cent download on Amazon. (I believe 99 cents is as low a price as you can set on Amazon.)

    Why the change? Well, I think putting the story on Amazon would attract some new readers to my books. I know when I’m interested in a book, I tend to look at the links to similar books and click on those. Plus, a lot more folks visit Amazon than look at my website, and I think it would be a relatively easy way to market my books. And I’ll be honest, it might be a little bit of money in my pocket.

    I know that not everyone has an e-reader and that not everyone who has an e-reader has a Kindle, so I’d probably post the short story for free here on the website like normal. I’m still thinking about that or if I want to go whole hog and make the story available in a variety of e-formats. Really, it would just depend on the cost.

    I know some authors have had enormous success marketing their books through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other retailers. But I’ve also seen blogs by other writers who’ve only sold a few copies and haven’t even recouped the cost of putting the books online in the first place. I guess I’m considering posting a short story as sort of a test run. I’ve got a couple of books that I’ve written that just aren’t right for traditional publishers for whatever reason. I figure they should do more than just collect dust in my computer. LOL.

    What do you guys think? Do you download cheap reads on Amazon? Would you download an Elemental Assassin or a Mythos Academy short story? Share in the comments.

  • Best Paranormal Fantasy …

    4 Comments

    I just found out that Spider’s Bite has been nominated for Best Paranormal Fantasy in the Goodreads Choice Awards 2010. Huzzah!

    I seriously doubt that I’ll win, given the number of best-sellers in the category, but I’m thrilled to be nominated. Here’s the link to see the nominees and vote for your favorite.

    And, yes, I’ll admit it — I totally voted for myself. 😉

    In other news, Venom was also given an honorable mention as one of the Best of 2010 by Preternatural Reviews. That’s something else I’m doing the happy dance over.

    I just want to say thanks again to all the readers and reviewers out there. The response to the Elemental Assassin series has been awesome, and I hope you guys like the next two books even more. Happy reading, everyone!


  • ·

    Updates, updates, updates …

    It’s been a while since I’ve done an update post, so here goes:

    ELEMENTAL ASSASSIN SERIES

    I’ve written both Tangled Threads and book #5. The only thing I have left to do on Tangled Threads is okay the page proofs, and then my part on that one will be done (except of course for the massive blog tour). Huzzah!

    I’ve turned in the revisions for book #5, so up next will be the copy edits and page proofs (hopefully after the holiday madness is over with). My editor, agent, and I are still thinking about titles for book #5, but I think we’ll have that nailed down soon. Fingers crossed anyway.

    I’m planning to write at least one short story to go along with Tangled Threads, but it will be well after the first of the year before I get around to doing that. I think the story will be from Jo-Jo’s point of view, though. I’m also thinking of making the story available here on the website for free and possibly on Kindle as a 99-cent download. We’ll see what I have the time/energy for. LOL.

    MYTHOS ACADEMY YA SERIES

    I’ve turned in the revisions for Touch of Frost (book #1), and I’ve also turned in the manuscript for Kiss of Frost (book #2). Up next is writing book #3. I’m also hoping to get some cover art for Touch of Frost to share soon.

    I’ll also be posting a FAQ, character profiles, and more info about the series here on the blog (like I’ve done for the Elemental Assassin series) probably in the next few weeks, so be on the lookout for that.

    OTHER PROJECTS

    I’m also mulling over writing a new series. Not sure yet if it will be urban fantasy, paranormal romance, or another YA series. I have an idea in mind, but it could go either way. We’ll see how it turns out.

    Also, I’m hoping to finally do something with the fourth Bigtime novel, Nightingale, next year — maybe seeing if I can get it published as an e-book. It just depends on my schedule. I’ve already got enough book work to keep me busy for the year, so I’ll have to fit it in when I can. No promises.

    Anyway, that’s what I’m up to right now. Whew! It’s going to be a busy year ahead. Hopefully, y’all will enjoy the books, and all the hard work will pay off. Fingers crossed anyway. 😉