So the PW review is in. Mostly summary, a few snarky comments, and this conclusion:
fans of epic historical adventures will be captivated by the exotic setting and intriguing story line
Given my checkered history with the anonymous reviewers at PW, this is pretty darn good, and I’m satisfied.
In my last post I meant to say something about the drawing for the Queen of Swords ARC, and this is: If you don’t win, don’t give up hope. In the next few weeks I’ll be getting some early copies of the actual finished hard cover novel, the real thing. First edition, first printing even. I will be giving a couple of those away, signed and (if you like) dedicated. I’ll be drawing names for those giveaways from the member roster on the forum as well, but I’ll figure out some twist to make sure everybody has an equal chance.
Finally, I checked the Amazon listing today (to see if the snarky PW review had been posted — no, not yet) and noticed that you can preorder at ten bucks off the cover price.*** In case you didn’t realize, the author isn’t hurt at all by such discounts. I get my (small) percentage of the full cover price regardless.
That’s not to say that there’s no fallout when huge booksellers (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc) offer such huge price cuts. So support your local independent bookseller if you (1) are so inclined and (2) can afford to do so. This is a bit of a problem I’ve been struggling with myself: how to support my local independent and not feel like I’m overspending. So my personal resolution is this: I buy every fourth or fifth book from them, at full price. If we ever hit the lottery (which would mean buying tickets, okay, I get it) or number one on the best seller list, I’ll go back to buying all my books from my local bookseller at full price.
***They are also offering one of those ‘buy these two books together for even greater savings’ deals — and the second book is Homestead.
You've stumbled across my official website and landed on the front page of my weblog.
Woohoo! I can’t wait for it to come out. I have it on my amazon.com wishlist.
Very happy that you’ve had such a positive response! Thanks for clarifying about the author’s cut, because I have often wondered whether they got more if I paid more, or less if I got it discounted.