Category: trilogy

Constance is available

On By TomIn Achievement, author honesty, author ideas, beta readers, collections, General, Insight, Novel, paperback, Promotion, reading, relaxation, self-publishing, series, thriller, trilogy, writing3 Comments

I’m delighted to announce that Constance, my latest crime thriller, is now available in digital format from Amazon. The paperback edition will be released soon.

Constance began her existence in a supporting role in Crusader, but soon evolved as much more than a female sidekick to the vigilante detective. Here was a young woman with a personal agenda, not too far removed from that of her personal idols, the members of the Beyond The Law (BTL) vigilante team.

Within the story, I’ve used brief selected passages from Codename: Foxglove, and Crusader. These scenes help to develop the tale and the main character, using a mixture of narrative and dialogue, but they’re not simply copied from the other two books. The chosen scenarios are reduced in content, and told from a different point of view.

This story is neither a prequel nor a sequel to Crusader, and is, in effect, an overlapping tale. We see how Constance proved her ability before she moved to London. We also gain an insight to her character while she’s working with Jason (Crusader), and how she operates when he leaves the Met. There’s no need to have read Crusader, however, I’m hoping that readers will be tempted to read about both member of this team in their own stories.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank my beta readers from the Indie Author Support and Discussion group, Ruth Coulson aka (Rebecca Bryn), Cherime MacFarlane and Barbara Speake.

Special thanks to Sharon Brownlie of Aspire Book Covers for her advice and assistance in improving my cover solution for Constance.

As always, comments are welcome, and thank you for reading.

End of My Writing Year – 2022

On By TomIn Achievement, author ideas, collections, editing, erotica, fantasy, General, Insight, Katya Cumming, military, military career, Novel, novella, paperback, paperbacks, post-apocalyptic, Promotion, pseudonym, reading, relaxation, Review, sci-fi, self-publishing, series, Short Stories, thriller, trilogy, Uncategorized, Unofficial autobiography, work in progress7 Comments

This has been the first year since 2012 that I haven’t published a new book. I have produced Codename: Foxglove, and Military Matters: An Anthology of Poetry as paperbacks, but both were already available in eBook format.

Did the lack of new titles affect my sales performance?

I would say, no, and without paid promotion, or excessive exposure on social media, my work is still being picked up, mainly digitally, but occasionally, physically.

Available as a paperback trilogy.

The five books that make up the series, A Life of Choice show sales almost daily, and without promotion, all five books are creeping up the charts. At first, it was ex-service, and serving personnel who were the main readership, but it seems that the fact-based-fiction series also appeals to those who have never donned a military uniform.

My crime thrillers, and the Light at The End trilogy have continued to achieve regular sales over the past twelve months. Once again, my royalties on sales have been easily surpassed by the royalties from KENP, the Amazon ‘page reads’ system.

Strong female lead characters are popular, and none more so than any story featuring ‘a girl with a gun’. I create such protagonists to satisfy my readership, but also because they are enjoyable to bring to life. This is reflected in reviews, and in the balance of my projects.

Crusader is my main Work in Progress, and is on schedule for publication in March 2023. As I write the story I’ve been fitting in snippets of information which will be ‘removed’ to help create the sequel, Constance.

Did I publish or have success apart from my main brand?

Yes, I did, but under another name. The erotica I write using a female pseudonym has continued to be successful, and this year saw the publication of four novellas and an anthology of six short stories. My ‘secret‘ erotica brand has been in existence for three years, and has demonstrated stamina (appropriately), and achieved a steady growth.

It may seem that there is a continual stream of titles, but that’s because the stories are created piecemeal and it may take many months before an individual title is completed.

Will I continue to work with two brands?

Yes, while my alternative brand has its own Work in Progress, and there is a demand, I’ll happily cater to those readers. Some of the naughty tales may be slightly shorter (novella), but I don’t cut corners with them. They are stories first, and erotica second.

I’d like to wish you all the very best for the upcoming festive season, whatever your religious persuasion.

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*Remember, books are not just for Christmas. 😀