~Blog Poll~ Romance Ebook Pricing Results

Remember when I asked about the sweet spot of romance eBook pricing? I put up a little poll in my sidebar and asked visitors to tell me the MOST they'd pay for a romance eBook. The results are in! 

As you can see, the majority (31%) said they'd pay no more than $4-5 for an eBook. But 17% said $2-3. I consider the $2-3 spot the sweet spot of romance eBook pricing. I think I always have.

To be honest, I was surprised by the fact that less than 8% voted that they'd pay no more than $2. I figured with the influx of free eBooks that those numbers would have a MUCH bigger showing. I wondered just how much the free wave would lower the value of an eBook. 

I wish I'd been able to get results from hundreds of voters but I'm pleased 35 were willing to stop in and let me know what they thought. Thank you, all, very much! This will be a great help in pricing my own eBooks, especially with Heartless' re-release just around the corner. 

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing 
♫♪ Linkin Park ~ Somewhere I Belong

~My Lady Coward~ The End is in Sight

Many of you are fans of my very first serial Regency, My Lady Coward. You've anticipated every installment of this sporadic story, wondering just what mischief Lady Maria will get into while trying to make her husband fall in love with her. You eagerly await the conclusion, where you are sure I'll finally give her the HEA she deserves. 

But being the proper lady that Maria is, though not technically a lady (tradesman's daughter), will she really be able to tell Richard how she feels? I'm halfway through the final installment and even I'm not sure she's gonna shed her cowardly exterior and say what she needs to say. I'm sure some of you would be very upset with me if she doesn't get her HEA so I'll try my hardest to steer her in that direction. I've already managed to surprise myself with a twist that I didn't expect. But there's been so much about this story that surprised me. After all, it was only meant to be the original short, posted over on Clever Fiction.

Are you caught up? New followers of this blog (or my facebook page) may not have seen the billion places I've posted the links to this story. So here they are again. Make sure you're caught up before I finish the final installment!

1. Original short on Clever Fiction for the prompt All Day/Speechless/Dinner 
2. Clever Fiction prompt Darkness/Faith/Perplexed 
3. Clever Fiction prompt October/Bad Luck/Compass 
4. My website, using the Clever Fiction prompt Stormy/Family/Holidays 
5. My website, no prompt, scroll down past Part 4 
6. Clever Fiction prompt Thoughtless/Blue Skies/January 
7. My website, no prompt, scroll down past Parts 4 and 5 
8. Clever Fiction prompt Late/Anxiety/Continue 

All links will open in a new window or tab, depending on your browser settings. If you'd like to comment on any of the installments, please do so. Commenting is enabled on the Clever Fiction website. For the parts located on my site, feel free to comment here (the blogger or goodreads end). ☺ Enjoy! 

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Alicia Keys ~ Why Do I Feel So Sad

~General Updates~ Blog Poll, Heartless, InD'tale

Blog Poll.... 

There's still time to vote in my little blog poll, located in the right hand sidebar on the blogspot end of this blog. What's the most you'd pay for a romance eBook? Is there a perfect price for an eBook?  ► 

Heartless.... 

I'm still waiting on one proofreader's comments and then I'll give this book one final read-through, get it formatted, send it off to the best formatter I know so she can make sure it's perfect, and then upload it to all those lovely eBook retailers. Soon, my lovelies, soon.... 

InD'Tale Magazine.... 

I am now officially a columnist for InD'Tale Magazine! That means when The 11th Commandment reaches its inevitable conclusion, I get to start a new serial romance. SQUEE!! I've already pitched my next idea to my boss and she approved it! Woo-hoo! I can't say anything about it yet, though, so enjoy 11th Commandment while you can and anticipate the next story as much as we are. If you haven't subscribed to InD'Tale yet, what are you waiting for? Subscriptions are FREE!! 

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Fireflight ~ Unbreakable

Heartless Cover Reveal

I finally finished the cover for Heartless, the front cover at least. It will take a bit more work to perfect the back and spine. Now it's time for the big 

 

 ...which you already know about it if you follow me on facebook or my Heartless blog. 

That said, here's the cover for the New Revised Edition of Heartless: 

 

So what do you think? Took me forever to get this one just right, and I truly understand now why writers who also create covers will hire someone else to do their own covers. 

For any of you who are wondering, yes, this is a "clean" romance, meaning the sexual situations are left [mostly] to the imagination. One day I'll write that blog post on what I consider a "clean" romance to be. Until then...

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Evanescence ~ Taking Over Me

~General Updates~ InD'Tale, Heartless, RNC

InD'Tale...

The new issue of InD'Tale Magazine hit inboxes early yesterday. In it you will find:

• in-depth interviews with authors J.R. Rain and Sylvia Day; 
• columns by romance cover model Jimmy Thomas and author/reviewer Tammy Grant; 
• a new short story; 
• articles relating to books and publishing; 
• and don't forget all those lovely reviews. 

You can also enjoy Part 2 of my own bi-monthly offering, my serial Regency romance, The 11th Commandment. In this installment we witness the reading of the will and learn what Katherine's husband left to her...if anything. And this part is from our hero's POV.

If you missed Part 1 you can still get it right from InD'Tale's website. In the upper left column of the site, where you see this issue's cover, simply select "previous" instead of "Current Issue." You'll be able to download the July/August issue where you can find Part 1 of my serial romance.

Heartless...

Heartless was supposed to be re-released today. It won't be. For details check out the latest post on my Heartless blog: The Heartless Duke.

Romance Novel Center...

The beginning of this month I finally took the plunge and joined Jimmy Thomas's social network, Romance Novel Center (RNC). It was easy and painless and considering it's a network geared toward readers and writers of romance, it was about time I did so. If any of you are on there, please send me a friend request. You can find me HERE.

I think that's it for now. Until next time.... 

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Staind ~ Believe

Page Views and You

Strangely, over the past two weeks this blog's page views have increased by approximately 600%. I have no idea why but thank you, each and every one of you, who clicked over to read a post or two. 

My top ten viewed posts are varied, though the top four posts since the blog's inception are Regency Wednesday offerings: Lady's Maid, Riding Habit, Debtor's Prison, and The Cravat. 

Despite this increase in page views, the number of blog followers has held steady. Again, not sure why. Is it possible there are this many who pop by, stick around for a moment, and then leave, never to return? Of course, there's the possibility that some bookmark a blog or subscribe by email instead of connecting through Google Friend Connect or Networked Blogs. 

Oh...it just occurred to me that it could be a blogspot error. Is that possible? (And before you ask, yes, I have it set up to ignore my own views.) Have any of you seen a remarkable increase in your blog's page views? 

Whatever the reason for this increase, it's exciting. I appreciate your support more than you can know. And if any of you are willing to take a moment to comment on how you found this blog, I'd really appreciate that too. 

 ☺ ☻ 

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Staind ~ Everything Changes

Not Just Romance

I'm known as a romance writer, primarily Regency romance. My short stories, however, venture into other genres as well. Most of my short fiction is free. Here's a list of all the non-romance shorts I've written.

Please note: the formatting probably looks "off" if you're viewing this post through one of my several feeds (i.e., Goodreads). To see it the way I meant for it to look, please click over to the blogger end. 

All links open in a new tab or window, depending on your browser settings. 

◄The Fold was my 1st flash fiction piece, written for a contest. It came in 51st-ish out of 250-some entries, by popular vote. 

Stalker ► was a writing exercise. You know the type, "start with this word, write a certain length of time, etc." I posted it here on this blog and on my site. 

◄Sunset was more fun than I should probably admit (after you read it, you'll understand why that concerns me). It was a switch for me on many levels: it's not romance, it's first person, and it's present tense.

The Dragon's Birth ►is a straight-up fantasy short story that's around 5000 words. It's a prequel of sorts for a fantasy novel I wrote that may or may not see the publishing light. This short is $0.99 everywhere eBooks are sold. There's an excerpt on my website HERE.

My two short stories in the UNLOCKED anthology are non-romance as well. Assassin's Keeper is Regency fiction and Survival is dark fantasy. Click the titles to read a short excerpt of each. UNLOCKED can be downloaded free from www.unlockedproject.com.

For those of you already familiar with Sable from Assassin's Keeper, there are two other stories out in web-world that feature her, both part of a longer work, both on the Clever Fiction website: Crossing the Channel and Unwilling Protector...though I suppose all the shorts about Sable could be considered dark romance, but it's only romance in the loosest interpretation of the term.

There's also Chosen, a mild horror-ish type of story that I wrote for a prompt over on Clever Fiction. I don't have a cover for that yet.

So enjoy my even darker side. Didn't realize I had an even darker side, did you? OK, so maybe you did. I've never been particularly secretive about it, have I?

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Rihanna ~ Disturbia

~Blog Poll~ E-book Pricing: Where's the Sweet Spot?

This is a topic that I've seen discussed in multiple forums, usually in a general sense. Since I write romance I want to know what romance readers/writers think. 

What are you willing to pay for a romance eBook? What price makes you click away and look for something else? Do you feel eBooks should be free since there's no printing involved? 

Personally, I won't pay more than $5 and I am more likely to pay that for a historical romance than any other genre. Money's always tight around here, though, so it's unlikely I'll even pay that much unless it's for an author I already adore. I definitely think eBooks should be priced considerably lower than their print counterparts. 

What are your thoughts? What is the perfect price for a romance eBook? $4.99? Less than that? Free? Please take a moment to vote in my little blog poll (top right in the sidebar on the blogspot end of my blog) or comment here. 

To my readers/followers outside the US, I apologize for the USD specificity of the poll. I welcome your comments on the subject of eBook pricing. ☺

Edited 8/21/2012, 10:27am to add: 

I just saw this interesting article, shared by a friend on facebook...

Big Publishers, High Prices Dominate E-Book Best-Sellers (Forbes.com)

What do you think?

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Daughtry ~ Breakdown

On the Topic of Blog Updates

I hate when I get so distracted that I end up having to do an update type of blog post instead of a normal one. Oh well. There's no help for it sometimes, as life often gets in the way. 

On the Heartless front: 

I've just posted my progress report on my Heartless blog. Click over to find out where I am in this endeavor. (The link will open in a new tab or window, depending on your browser settings.) In addition, I've announced the official release date for Heartless, the new revised edition. Watch for it to hit the virtual shelves August 31. 

On the writing front: 

I've been working on my prison hulk story, the serial for InD'Tale Magazine, and My Lady Coward. Coward will have to take a backseat until I get Heartless back out there, though. The 11th Commandment, on the other hand, will go forth as planned, since readers of InD'Tale will want to know what happens next. I'm curious about that myself. If you'd like to get in on this Regency serial, click on over to InD'Tale and subscribe. Subscriptions are free. If you subscribe now, you'll get access to the July/August issue which includes part 1 of The 11th Commandment. 

☺

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Savage Garden ~ Universe

Time is ticking away...

There are only a couple days left to subscribe if you want in on Lady Katherine's adventures in Regency Society. Go to www.indtale.com and subscribe FREE. Subscriptions will only be free for a limited time so take advantage while you can. ☺

♥Happy reading, writing, and blogging!!♥

There's a jukebox in my head. It's currently playing
♫♪ Lee Ann Womack ~ Something Worth Leaving Behind