I really didn't want to do this, but I no longer have any choice.

I distribute some of my self-published titles to Diesel, Kobo, Sony and Apple via Smashwords. It came to my attention last week that Kobo discounted books uploaded by Smashwords. I thought maybe it was a one time glitch or something, but it looks like it is not. Furthermore this random and unauthorized discount has a huge financial impact on writers.

Mark Coker responded to the situation:

April 12, 2011 – Bugs of a different variety. Kobo has experienced a glitch that in the last two days that has caused an automatic repricing of some number of Smashwords titles. We don't know how many are affected yet, but I've personally confirmed about 20 books affected in the last two days. I have noticed an initial pattern that in some cases, the prices reverted back to a previous list price, so it might only be affecting authors who raised their prices after first landing at Kobo. Kobo is aware of the problem, and they've escalated it to the highest priority. If you discover your books are affected, click the comments/questions link and send us a direct hyperlink to your book at Kobo, along with a notation of the proper price, and we'll forward the information to Kobo in case they're not aware of it already. Whatever you do, DO NOT opt out. I expect this to be resolved shortly because Kobo doesn't want this error taking place any more than we do.

Here's the thing — I don't trust that Kobo's glitch was a two-day problem because I know it's been going on longer than that. I'm not confident that Kobo can fix it anytime soon. Given that this can impact my pricing at other vendors, including Amazon and Nook, I'm pulling all my titles from Kobo.

In addition, Mark Coker's comments on Kindleboards give me no confidence that Smashwords or Kobo is going to take responsibility for what went wrong, as they seem too busy blaming Amazon for daring to price match. :?

I'm sorry if you happen to like shopping at Kobo. But all my books are priced below $4.00, and I cannot afford to have Kobo's “glitch” mess things up for me at other vendors, especially given that my sales numbers from Kobo are so much smaller than what I get elsewhere (such as Kindle, Nook and Sony).

So here are the updated vendor links for all my titles:

I'd like to thank everyone for your lovely words of support and encouragement, etc. after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami (and Fukushima crisis).  Hero Material and I are doing fine, and our area remains unaffected despite continuing aftershocks in the disaster area even after three weeks.  We feel blessed to have escaped the disaster, and grateful for our awesome friends.

March was a busy but fantastic month for me.  It started out with fabulous news, which I cannot share yet.  I'll let you know as soon as I can.  :)

After having formatted my manuscripts multiple times for multiple vendors (Smashwords, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook and All Romance eBooks), I've decided to update my How to Format Your Manuscript for Kindle and Nook. If you haven't downloaded the updated version from Smashwords, please do so.  It's free if you've bought a copy already.

And speaking of my formatting guide, I got fabulous reviews from three wonderful authors.

“How to Format Your Manuscript for Kindle and Nook provides simple, concise instructions on how to successfully format your manuscript for publication on both Kindle and Nook without any advanced technical knowledge of HTML or coding. Nadia Lee is a wonderful teacher and her guide lays out a clear path to creating great-looking ebooks.” — Ilona Andrews

“This is a wonderful little book. I was able to follow the clear instructions very easily and format a short story with no problems.” — Portia Da Costa

“This short guide saved me a lot of headaches. The clear and concise directions made formatting my book for the Kindle very easy and I would definitely recommend this.” — Katie Reus

I'm totally flattered that my guide was helpful.  :)  I also had a great freelance project helping the lovely Dana Mentink put her novel on Kindle, Nook and ARe.  It was interesting to see how different Word document styles can affect the conversion process.  (I basically stripped everything down to the basics to do it.)

All Romance eBooks
Amazon US :: Amazon UK
B&N Nook :: Smashwords
Sony eBook Store

March also saw some focused effort to promote Carnal Secrets on my part after the soft release last month.  I had multiple opportunities to do guest blog posts.  Here are the links in case you missed them:

• Read the Fine Print, hosted by Zoe Winters — The Importance of reading contracts carefully and why I ended up declining a publisher's offer to publish Carnal Secrets.
• Walking Away Can Be Hard, hosted by Kait Nolan — The emotional impact walking away can have on writers.
• Small Press v. Self-Publication, hosted by Love Romance Passion — The advantages and disadvantages of having a publisher versus doing it all on your own.
• Distribution, DRM and Geo Restrictions, hosted by Pearl's World of Romance — The thorny problem called distribution and how to reach as many readers as possible, no matter where they live!
• Creating a Cover Art with Non-White Characters, hosted by Monkey Bear Reviews — The nervousness I felt at creating a cover with non-white characters, given the controversies over white-washed covers, etc.
• The Ideal Reader: Is She Really Ideal? hosted by Dear Author — What the (seemingly) ideal reader is to the Big Six, and how that doesn't foster lifelong love of reading.
• Three Qualities of Effective (and Possibly Successful) Indie Writers, hosted by Babbling about Books and More — Three qualities authors need to self-publish effectively.

I've also gotten two fabulous reviews from Pearl and Lorien.

Pearl wrote: 

…a rich and layered read, subtle in the sexual scenes but intense in the romance and emotional parts.

Lorien wrote: 

A fantastic read with intriguing characters and heartfelt emotions. The flow of the story was well-written. This is a must-read book if you're a fan of steamy contemporary romance and exciting plot.

And the lovely @SarahTanner tweeted me earlier this week:

You have a new fan! A RL friend called me today to say thanks for the Carnal Secrets rec. She raved about it for a good 10 mins :D

Thank you, ladies, for your lovely reviews and all the word of mouth.  :)

A few people have asked me if I plan to write a sequel to Carnal Secrets.  I wish I had the time to do it, but this year isn't looking very good.  I'm trying very hard to finish a full-length novel WIP, plus edit another full-length novel in addition to having a baby this summer.  Hopefully when those projects are finished, I can sit down and think about a possible sequel.  (Yes, I find Ethan and Kerri rather intriguing… ;) )

Hope you all have a fantastic April!  Talk to you soon!

Just want to let everyone know that I've created excerpt ebooklets for A Happily Ever After of Her Own and Carnal Secrets. Each one has the first three chapters of the book, and you don't have to sign up for anything, pay anything, or go into indentured servitude to get them, either. ;) Both are totally free!

Melinda Lightfoot, a preschool teacher with an unusual ability to flit in and out of fairy tales, never thought she would get into trouble…

…until the Fairy Tale Police arrest her while she is in Beauty and the Beast. They offer her a deal: Find Beauty, who left the story when Melinda trespassed into it, or be charged with the ultimate crime — Fairy Tale Killer. If that's not bad enough the Beast tags along in search of his true love, and Melinda starts falling for the fairy tale prince. She must choose between doing the right thing and having her own happily ever after.

Warning: This title contains the following: Fairy Godmother, the Wicked Witch, dysfunctional fairy tale families, ax-wielding executioners and a happily ever after (or two).

Excerpt eBooklets

• PDF
• ePub
• Kindle (PRC)
• Sony (LRF)

Buy eBook: All Romance EBooks :: Amazon Kindle US :: Amazon Kindle UK :: B&N Nook :: Diesel eBook Store :: Kobo Books :: Smashwords :: Sony eBook Store

After a rapid change in management, Natalie Hall is surprised to find that she's being promoted so quickly. But when it becomes obvious that the new CEO is interested in her on a more personal level, she pushes him away — she doesn't want to repeat her past mistake of giving her heart to the wrong man.

A self-made billionaire, Alex Damon has his own reasons for pursuing Natalie. Her adoptive father, a powerful U.S. senator, is using his political clout to protect his friends the Rodales, who Alex intends to destroy for ripping his own family apart when he was a child. Furthermore, he suspects that Natalie is spying for the Rodales.

What he hasn't planned on is her unflinching sense of loyalty and integrity, the sizzling attraction between them that threatens to turn into something much more, and the dark secrets that can destroy them both.

Excerpt eBooklets

• PDF
• ePub
• Kindle (PRC)
• Sony (LRF)

Buy eBook: All Romance EBooks :: Amazon Kindle US :: Amazon Kindle UK :: B&N Nook :: Smashwords :: Sony eBook Store

The excerpts are DRM-free and you're welcome to share them among your friends if you're so inclined. Hope you like 'em! :)

All Romance eBooks
Amazon US :: Amazon UK
B&N Nook :: Smashwords
Sony eBook Store

Those of you who have been following my mini-blog tour know that I paid for a professional cover for, and editing of, Carnal Secrets. One of the commenters on March 10th asked me the following question: …do you feel the money you put out will be made up in sales?

At that time, I responded: I think I'm going to recoup the cost and make some profit this year. Even if I don't make any profit this year, I still think it was money well-spent because I have a professional product…

I thought I'd post a quick update on the situation:

As of early this week (ie, a little over a month since I put the story out), I have recouped the entire production cost of Carnal Secrets. (I'm not including the number of hours I spent writing, revising and promoting the story. I'm talking purely about the actual cash layout for the book.)

Am I happy? Of course! I'm thrilled!

More importantly, I'm grateful to fantastic reviewers, book bloggers and my readers. I really wasn't sure what kind of reception I'd get with the story, especially with it being self-published and my not having a decent platform, etc.

So thank you. :)

Pearl of Pearl's World of Romance has written a lovely review of Carnal Secrets:

I really enjoyed reading CARNAL SECRETS. The start (first chapter) felt a lot like a category romance (Presents/Blaze-like), complete with the corporate setting and the revenge trope. As I went into this read fairly blank I was pleasantly surprised by this and was immediately curious about the rest.

And the rest absolutely did not disappoint. It was the perfect combination of pace, story and details/descriptions. Normally I'm not a fan of descriptive writing but the balance with the dialogues in CARNAL SECRETS was so good I really enjoyed it. Throughout the book, the back-stories of the main characters come across loud and clear without being intrusive with the romance and this is something not all authors that I read achieve easily.

The secondary characters were subtly portrayed and they all contributed to the story and the back-stories. Some I really liked as characters, others I disliked with gusto. There were a few very intriguing secondary characters of which I hope Nadia Lee will have the opportunity to write their story.

In conclusion, CARNAL SECRETS is a rich and layered read, subtle in the sexual scenes but intense in the romance and emotional parts.

(emphasis mine)

Read Excerpt »
Buy eBook: All Romance EBooks :: Kindle US :: Kindle UK :: Nook :: Smashwords :: Sony eBook Store

I'm discussing the nervousness I felt at creating a cover with non-white characters, given the controversies over white-washed covers, etc. on Money Bear Reviews today. Please come check it out!