Coming Soon — Haunt Mess and a direct sales option

Update: I am shifting the date for this release! I was gearing up to upload and get everything ready this week, but I just got a notification from my internet host about a planned outage. Add to that, a message from Ingram Spark with a paperback order cutoff date being sooner than I can get all of the formatting/artwork finished and approved. And, after looking at author copy shipping times for Ingram Spark/Amazon, I realized that with their slower production/shipping over the holidays, anyone ordering the paperbacks would have to wait several weeks before (before I could receive them/turn them around and ship them to readers.)

Add in that planned outage later this week from my internet host — and I still need to install and test the plug-in that will allow me to bundle the ebook & paperback — it just became clear that trying out direct sales this month would probably end up a mess.

Since I really want to do an ebook + paperback direct sales option, and I want it to go smoothly, I’m tentatively moving the release to mid-January or early-February, so things have a little time to settle down after the holidays (especially since this isn’t a holiday romance, so it’d probably get lost in the shuffle, anyway) and also get my author copies in so that I can actually mail them out.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a poll on social media asking whether anyone wanted direct ebook sales from my site before it went into Kindle Unlimited, and the overwhelming response was “Yes!” So for my next release, I’ll be offering that option, and this post is just to let you know what’s coming up.

Originally I’d just planned to drop the Haunt Mess novella around Halloween, but I didn’t quite make that deadline (and it wouldn’t have allowed time for the editing needed.) But that ended up being for the best, because the extra time will allow me to offer more options for buying direct before it goes live in KU, and because I want to bundle an ebook with the signed paperback, too. BUT since it takes a few weeks for a paperback order to reach me so that I can turn around and mail the books out, I’m pushing the overall release date back to late November/early December. So this is how I think it’ll work out:

Last week of November Jan 15:

—I’ll add the ebook and print book to my site so readers can buy direct from me before the official release date. (If you buy the signed print book, you’ll also get the ebook for free during this week only.)
—I’ll add an ebook pre-order to Amazon for release the first week of December.

First week of December Jan 22:

—I’ll remove the ebook and the print/ebook combo options from my site (signed paperbacks will still be available, but I won’t be allowed to also bundle the ebook with it).
—The ebook will release on Amazon in Kindle Unlimited.
—Print should also be available through most online bookstores.

These dates might shift by a week or so, depending on editing and how long the estimated date for shipping will be when I place the first paperback order. And if this goes well, I’ll probably do this for every release from now on, so readers have more options about where they purchase their books from.

When these go live, I will be announcing them on social media, so you can watch for them there. I’ll also be sending out newsletters. (You can sign up for my spam-free newsletter here.)

A little about Haunt Mess:

Hannah Moore is the only person living in her ghost town. Oh, there are also actual ghosts—but they aren’t living. The zombies locked up in the old mill aren’t really alive, either. And her best friend, Eddie? He’s technically undead.

Until the night he becomes a ghost, too.

Which is bad news for Hannah. Not only because someone—or some thing—is targeting the people she cares about. But also because Hannah wasn’t Eddie’s only friend, and the powerful vampire who comes looking for his killer is out for blood. And if Hannah doesn’t find answers…the only blood spilled might be hers.

Please note: This is the first of three novellas featuring the same couple. Each novella has a self-contained plot/mystery and ends happily for now, while the romance deepens over the course of the three novellas to a happily ever after (if you’ve read the first two books in the Hellfire Riders series, the format is just like Jenny & Saxon’s story and Jack & Lily’s story.)