On Writing

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    Monday Morning Mailbag: More Crown of Shards books?

    2 Comments

    MONDAY MORNING MAILBAG

    Question: When will you know/decide if you are writing more books in your Crown of Shards world? Will it depend on sales of Tear Down the Throne?

    Answer: I would love to write more books in my Crown of Shards world, but it will depend on sales of Tear Down the Throne. If Throne sells well, then I will probably write more books in the Shards world. If Throne doesn’t sell well, then I might not be able to write any more books in the Shards world.

    I have turned in Conquer the Kingdom, book #3, March 7, 2023, which is the last book on my current contract. I have also sent my editor a couple of different ideas for new books set in the Shards world.

    So at this point in the process, my editor/publisher will look at the sales for Tear Down the Throne and decide if they want to offer me a new contract for more books.

    In general, several different things might/could happen to an author at this point in the traditional publishing process:

    •  The publisher can offer the author a new contract for more money. (Note that this only happens if a book/series is selling really well.)
    • The publisher can offer the author a new contract for the same amount of money as the previous contract.
    • The publisher can offer the author a new contract for less money.
    • The publisher can decline to offer the author a new contract.

    I am simplifying things a bit, but really, it all comes down to sales. This is why it is SO IMPORTANT that readers buy books as they come out and don’t wait until a series is complete. Publishers care about what books are selling RIGHT NOW, not what books you plan to read in the future.

    So if you want more books in my Crown of Shards world, then please pre-order/buy Tear Down the Throne or ask your local library to buy a copy. The same thing goes for Capture the Crown, book #1. Thank you for reading.

    SIGNED COPIES FROM MALAPROP’S BOOKSTORE:

    Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café is offering signed copies of Tear Down the Throne. 

    ORDER SIGNED COPIES OF TEAR DOWN THE THRONE

    • You MUST order by Tuesday, April 26 if you want the book personalized/signed to you. Also, if you want some book swag, you MUST pick the Priority shipping option — $9, plus $1 per additional book.
    • If you want a signed book without any personalization, you can order through Tuesday, May 3.
    • Books will ship after Tuesday, May 3, release day.

    A big thanks to Malaprop’s for doing the signed book campaign and my publisher Harper Voyager.

    PRE-ORDER THE THRONE EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Apple Books Google Play Kobo

    PRE-ORDER THE THRONE PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon print Barnes & NobleBooks-A-Million IndieBound

    PRE-ORDER THE THRONE AUDIOBOOK:

    Amazon Audible Apple Books Google Play Kobo Libro.fm

    Amazon CDs

    TEAR DOWN THE THRONE DESCRIPTION:

    Bestselling author Jennifer Estep continues her Gargoyle Queen epic fantasy series where magic reigns, alliances are tested, and a dangerous attraction could tear down a throne. . .

    Crown princess. Clever spy. Powerful mind magier. Gemma Ripley of Andvari is all those things—and determined to stop an enemy from using magical tearstone weapons to conquer her kingdom.

    Gemma’s quest for answers leads her to a trade Summit between the various kingdoms. Among the other royals in attendance is Queen Maeven Morricone of Morta and her son, Prince Leonidas—Gemma’s charming and dangerous nemesis.

    Gemma knows that Maeven always has a long game in motion, and sure enough, the cunning queen invokes an arcane tradition that threatens the fragile truce between Andvari and the other kingdoms. Despite her best intentions, Gemma once again finds herself thrown together with Leo and battling her growing feelings for the enemy prince.

    When a series of deadly attacks shatters the Summit’s peaceful negotiations, Gemma realizes that someone wants to tear the royals down from their thrones—and that this enemy just might succeed.

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    Order signed copies of Tear Down the Throne …

    MONDAY MORNING MAILBAG

    Question: How can I order a signed copy of Tear Down the Throne?

    Answer: Malaprop’s Bookstore/Café is offering signed copies of Tear Down the Throne. Woot! 😎

    ORDER SIGNED COPIES OF TEAR DOWN THE THRONE

    You MUST order by Tuesday, April 26 if you want the book personalized/signed to you. Also, if you want some book swag, you MUST pick the Priority shipping option — $9, plus $1 per additional book.

    If you want a signed book without any personalization, you can order through Tuesday, May 3.

    Books will ship after Tuesday, May 3, release day.

    A big thanks to Malaprop’s for doing the signed book campaign, along with my publisher Harper Voyager.

    Tear Down the Throne will be released on May 3 in ebook, print, and audio. So you can pre-order from your favorite retailer now:

    GET THE EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Apple Books Google Play Kobo

    GET THE PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon print Barnes & NobleBooks-A-Million IndieBound

    GET THE AUDIOBOOK:

    Amazon Audible Apple Books Google Play Kobo Libro.fm

    Amazon CDs

    TEAR DOWN THE THRONE DESCRIPTION:

    Bestselling author Jennifer Estep continues her Gargoyle Queen epic fantasy series where magic reigns, alliances are tested, and a dangerous attraction could tear down a throne. . .

    Crown princess. Clever spy. Powerful mind magier. Gemma Ripley of Andvari is all those things—and determined to stop an enemy from using magical tearstone weapons to conquer her kingdom.

    Gemma’s quest for answers leads her to a trade Summit between the various kingdoms. Among the other royals in attendance is Queen Maeven Morricone of Morta and her son, Prince Leonidas—Gemma’s charming and dangerous nemesis.

    Gemma knows that Maeven always has a long game in motion, and sure enough, the cunning queen invokes an arcane tradition that threatens the fragile truce between Andvari and the other kingdoms. Despite her best intentions, Gemma once again finds herself thrown together with Leo and battling her growing feelings for the enemy prince.

    When a series of deadly attacks shatters the Summit’s peaceful negotiations, Gemma realizes that someone wants to tear the royals down from their thrones—and that this enemy just might succeed.

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    Lauren Fortgang to narrate Tear Down the Throne …

    2 Comments

    I’m thrilled to announce that Lauren Fortgang will be the audiobook narrator for Tear Down the Throne. Woot!

    Lauren is the narrator for Capture the Crown, Gargoyle Queen #1, and I am so happy that she is back for Tear Down the Throne.

    Fun fact: Lauren is also the narrator for my Crown of Shards series, and she is the voice of Gin Blanco in my Elemental Assassin series.

    Lauren narrates a lot of other books by a wide variety of authors, if you are looking for more audiobooks to try.

    The digital audiobooks for Tear Down the Throne will be released May 3, the same day as the ebooks/print books. Happy listening! 

    PRE-ORDER THE AUDIOBOOK:

    Amazon Audible Apple Books Google Play Kobo Libro.fm

    Amazon CDs

    PRE-ORDER THE EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Apple Books Google Play Kobo

    PRE-ORDER THE PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon print Barnes & NobleBooks-A-Million IndieBound

    TEAR DOWN THE THRONE DESCRIPTION:

    Bestselling author Jennifer Estep continues her Gargoyle Queen epic fantasy series where magic reigns, alliances are tested, and a dangerous attraction could tear down a throne. . .

    Crown princess. Clever spy. Powerful mind magier. Gemma Ripley of Andvari is all those things—and determined to stop an enemy from using magical tearstone weapons to conquer her kingdom.

    Gemma’s quest for answers leads her to a trade Summit between the various kingdoms. Among the other royals in attendance is Queen Maeven Morricone of Morta and her son, Prince Leonidas—Gemma’s charming and dangerous nemesis.

    Gemma knows that Maeven always has a long game in motion, and sure enough, the cunning queen invokes an arcane tradition that threatens the fragile truce between Andvari and the other kingdoms. Despite her best intentions, Gemma once again finds herself thrown together with Leo and battling her growing feelings for the enemy prince.

    When a series of deadly attacks shatters the Summit’s peaceful negotiations, Gemma realizes that someone wants to tear the royals down from their thrones—and that this enemy just might succeed.

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    Tear Down the Throne is NOT a YA book . . .

    Question: Is Tear Down the Throne a YA book? What about the other books in your Gargoyle Queen and Crown of Shards series?

    Answer: No. No, no, no, no, no. My epic fantasy books are NOT YA books.

    I feel like I have been shouting this from the social media rooftops for years now, ever since Kill the Queen, Crown of Shards #1, came out in 2018, but I will say it again:

    MY EPIC FANTASY BOOKS ARE NOT YA BOOKS!!!

    I don’t know how I can make this any clearer, and yet I still see lots of reviews/comments labeling Capture the Crown, Gargoyle Queen #1, and the three books in my Crown of Shards series as YA books. Once again, these are NOT YA books. They are adult books that contain violence, cursing, romantic scenes, and other adult themes.

    In Capture the Crown, Gemma Ripley is 29 – she is most definitely an adult. In my Crown of Shards series, Everleigh Blair is 27 – she too is most definitely an adult.

    So why the confusion? I’ve seen some comments saying that Gemma’s and Evie’s voices sound/read like YA voices. Maybe that’s how folks are reading it, but that’s not how I’m writing the characters. To me, both Gemma and Evie have a little more of a grandiose epic fantasy voice than Gin Blanco from my Elemental Assassin series with her gritty, modern, Southern drawl – but it is NOT a YA voice.

    I’ve seen other fantasy authors having the same problem – readers are labeling their adult books as YA books and then complaining about the language and romantic scenes in those books. So why the trend? An author friend suggested that many people just assume that if a female author is writing fantasy books, then they must be YA books. I think there might be some truth to this, and it makes me really angry, frustrated, and sad.

    Every once in a while, I will get a rude/mean/nasty email saying that I need to take out the cursing and romantic scenes because they aren’t appropriate for YA books. Please don’t do that to me or any other author. Just because you pick up a book thinking it’s one genre or kind of story doesn’t mean that the book is actually that genre or kind of story.

    I also find it extremely ironic that I never – NEVER! – get any complaints about the violence in the books, even from folks who think they are YA books. For example, there are pages – PAGES! – of violence/massacre in Kill the Queen, and yet, I never get any complaints about those scenes.

    So long story short, Tear Down the Throne is not a YA book. The characters are adults, and they do adult things. If you ever have a question about what to label a book, check out the author’s website and see what they say about it.

    I hope everyone enjoys Tear Down the Throne when it is released. Thank you for reading.

    Other authors — do you have this problem with your adult fantasy books?

    Tear Down the Throne will be released May 3 at all the usual retailers, and the book is available to pre-order.

    PRE-ORDER THE EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Apple Books Google Play Kobo

    PRE-ORDER THE PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon print Barnes & NobleBooks-A-Million IndieBound

    PRE-ORDER THE AUDIOBOOK:

    Amazon Audible Apple Books Google Play Kobo Libro.fm

    Amazon CDs

    TEAR DOWN THE THRONE DESCRIPTION:

    Bestselling author Jennifer Estep continues her Gargoyle Queen epic fantasy series where magic reigns, alliances are tested, and a dangerous attraction could tear down a throne. . .

    Crown princess. Clever spy. Powerful mind magier. Gemma Ripley of Andvari is all those things—and determined to stop an enemy from using magical tearstone weapons to conquer her kingdom.

    Gemma’s quest for answers leads her to a trade Summit between the various kingdoms. Among the other royals in attendance is Queen Maeven Morricone of Morta and her son, Prince Leonidas—Gemma’s charming and dangerous nemesis.

    Gemma knows that Maeven always has a long game in motion, and sure enough, the cunning queen invokes an arcane tradition that threatens the fragile truce between Andvari and the other kingdoms. Despite her best intentions, Gemma once again finds herself thrown together with Leo and battling her growing feelings for the enemy prince.

    When a series of deadly attacks shatters the Summit’s peaceful negotiations, Gemma realizes that someone wants to tear the royals down from their thrones—and that this enemy just might succeed.

  • · · · ·

    Cover art revealed for Tear Down the Throne, Gargoyle Queen #2, May 3 …

    Here is a look at the cover art for Tear Down the Throne, book #2 in my Gargoyle Queen epic fantasy series. Woot!

    I love the colors, the bloody sword, and how Gemma looks like she means business — and has already been in a battle (or two). 😎 

    You all know that I love writing fight scenes, so I think the title is very appropriate for the book/storyline.

    Tear Down the Throne will be released May 3 at all the usual retailers, and the book is available to pre-order.

    PRE-ORDER THE EBOOK:

    Amazon Kindle Barnes & Noble Apple Books Google Play Kobo

    PRE-ORDER THE PRINT BOOK:

    Amazon print Barnes & NobleBooks-A-Million IndieBound

    PRE-ORDER THE AUDIOBOOK:

    Amazon Audible Apple Books Google Play Kobo Libro.fm

    TEAR DOWN THE THRONE DESCRIPTION:

    Bestselling author Jennifer Estep continues her Gargoyle Queen epic fantasy series where magic reigns, alliances are tested, and a dangerous attraction could tear down a throne. . .

    Crown princess. Clever spy. Powerful mind magier. Gemma Ripley of Andvari is all those things—and determined to stop an enemy from using magical tearstone weapons to conquer her kingdom.

    Gemma’s quest for answers leads her to a trade Summit between the various kingdoms. Among the other royals in attendance is Queen Maeven Morricone of Morta and her son, Prince Leonidas—Gemma’s charming and dangerous nemesis.

    Gemma knows that Maeven always has a long game in motion, and sure enough, the cunning queen invokes an arcane tradition that threatens the fragile truce between Andvari and the other kingdoms. Despite her best intentions, Gemma once again finds herself thrown together with Leo and battling her growing feelings for the enemy prince.

    When a series of deadly attacks shatters the Summit’s peaceful negotiations, Gemma realizes that someone wants to tear the royals down from their thrones—and that this enemy just might succeed.