Dear reader...we meet again.
Above, you see Mochi's I-just-made-the-bed face. I wish that I enjoyed anything half as much as Mochi enjoys tunneling through billowing linens.
FYI, I'm not one of those authors who puts herself, her friends, or even her enemies into her fiction. Even back when I was a teenager, I didn't do that. But the character Moashi from the new Hunters stories is a thinly vailed reference to this fellow. Because he's just that special.
So, a couple of weeks ago, I proudly announced that I'd drafted a new description for the main novel in this series, Hunters Unlucky. I got mixed responses to that email, including some of you telling me that you did not like the new description and preferred the old one. It's usually a bad idea to take marketing advice from people who have already read a novel. Basically, y'all are a self-selected group of people for whom the existing descriptions of my books worked. There might be 10x as many people who would respond better to new descriptions, but those people are not here to speak up.
However, I also heard from readers who haven't yet read Hunters, telling me that they didn't like the new description. Then I ran it head-to-head with the old one in FB ads, and it was a wash. No clear winner. So...back to the drawing board. Or just back to the writing desk, because I don't know what else to try there. Hunters sells fewer copies in a month than The Knight and the Necromancer sells in a day, sometimes in an hour. And yet Hunters gets more re-reads, and a lot more fan art.
Yes, K&N sits squarely in the middle of a popular genre. It's easy to see why it sells and why its fans are easy to locate. But I know that Hunters has a bigger audience than it's finding. I've known that since I published it in 2014. I just don't know how to locate those people or get their attention. I do not feel that the current description captures the reasons that people re-read the novel or the elements that people love most about it. But clearly my new one didn't do any better.
Anyway. You've got one more week to read the complete first chapter of "Distraction" before I take it down. That first chapter also functions as a stand-alone short story. The novel is a bit of enemies-to-lovers romance, a bit of palace intrigue, a bit of fight club. It's intended to come after Hunters Unlucky and Lullaby, but you do you.
What Else is Happening
The Hunters Unlucky audio marathon continues to run at the 3 dollar level of my Patreon feed. We're about to finish the main novel and start into Lullaby.
Rish is recording the audio for Distraction. I'm hoping to drop it into the feed without a pause behind Lullaby.
A paper version of Distraction now exists, and if you're ambitious, you can find it, but please don't. I'm still testing to make sure it looks good. Paper proofs are taking fooooreeeeveeer to come and go through the mail. :-b
A paper version of K&N Complete series also exists. Same deal. I'll tell you when it's really ready to order.
A Hardback version of K&N exists. I know I sound like a broken record, but...don't order it yet. We're still testing.
My signed paper bookstore now has plenty of copies of Lullaby, and of course you can get it unsigned from the usual place. That book is so pretty, you guys.
Also...you know how I said I wouldn't stock the retro version of Cormorant? Well, I ended up with 4 extras, and I figured I might as well put them in the store. So I'm not planning to restock them, but if you missed out on the version of Cormorant that matches the old Refugees books, it's here until I run out.
I've written 127,000 words on Arcove's Bright Side, and I'm into the denouement of the story, with an epilogue to follow.
Finally, I am not a geopolitical writer, and I try to keep these emails free of stressful news, but I just wanted to say that my heart goes out to people who are suffering right now. I am very aware that I might have subscribers in places where the world is turning upside down. I've donated money to humanitarian relief. I wish I could do more.
Yours,
An author having a hard time staying away from the news
Published Under A. H. Lee
The Incubus Series
Burn
The Knight and the Necromancer Series
Putting the Romance in Necromancy
Published Under Abigail Hilton
Pirates of Wefrivain
The Prophet of Panamindorah
Hunters Unlucky
The Eve and Malachi Series