Gay Halloween Book Giveaway!!! 14-29th of October!!

So, Halloween is on its way and in honour of that spooky night with a side of gay main characters, we have

THE GAY HALLOWEEN GIVEAWAY!

For a chance to win any of the books listed below, enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter form - the more options you complete, the more chances you will have to win! (Please note, the giveaway is only open to those over 18)

You can check out each title by clicking on the front covers below.



a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer:
The Gay Halloween Giveaway ends midnight GMT on the 29th of October. Open internationally. Warning: some content not suitable for people under the age of 18. Prizes will be sent electronically via mail. Winners will be chosen on the 29th of October by randomiser and will receive an email. Facebook, Twitter and any other social media websites are in no way associated with this giveaway. By providing your information in this form, you are providing your information to me and me alone. I do not share or sell information and will use any information only for the purpose of contacting the winner.

Free Books on Amazon - the Update, Month 2

Well I promised to keep everyone updated on how having a free book on Amazon continues to affect my Amazon sales. So here goes.

My free book on Amazon (Forgotten Soul) was downloaded 7272 times in February compared to 3758 times in January.

I've just analysed the number of sales rather than free downloads comparing January 2012 to February 2012 and it's official; it works. My sales are up by 107% overall against last months sales which were already up over 100% on December's sales.

Here's a breakdown by country for the increases this month:

• UK - up 378%
• US - up 88%
• DE - up 100%
• FR - down 100% but that was only one book in Jan.

Once again, however, it seems to be the series that makes this work. In Jan my other book sales went up, but they have stayed at a similar level for Feb rather than increasing again. It is the second book (Forbidden Soul) in the series for which the first book is free (Forgotten Soul) that is selling so well.

The free book (Forgotten Soul) has almost consistently been in the top #20 Free books for it's category on Amazon UK (#9 being the highest) and the top #100 for the US (ranging from #36 to #100 depending on time of day etc). Which has upped the profile of the sequel which is 99c.

So, on current evidence I would say having a free book permanently on Amazon does two things:

1. It lifts sales of unconnected books, but does not encourage them to continue increasing beyond a certain level.
2. If the books is part of a series, it continually helps increase sales of others in the series.

Free Books on Amazon

I've seen several people talking about whether putting a book free on Amazon is a good idea or not. I'm not going to go into the whole KDP Select thing because I very much don't like the exclusivity clause that is involved in it. However, I have had one title price matched to free, which for me has been brilliant.

I've analysed my numbers from December to January and having a free book (Forgotten Soul ) on Amazon has doubled my sales.

I'm definitely still at the don't quit your day job stage, even though this is my day job and I can only do it because I have a wonderfully talented husband and a low mortgage :). However, it's an upturn when, ever since Amazon played with their system back in the middle of last year, my numbers have been pitiful.

However, for those considering putting titles free on Amazon, I think I should point out a couple of factors.

1. Most of my new sales were for Forbidden Soul, the direct sequel to the free book.
2. The few extra sales I saw on other books were for books of the same genre. It didn't touch my YA novel figures.

Hence I think it's probably a good idea to plan exactly how you make your titles free if you are going to do so. I suppose it makes sense that if someone has read a book of yours in a genre and liked it, they are more likely to go for the same genre again. It is also likely that fans of a certain genre go for that genre and not an alternative one.

It's actually given me a lot to think about, which is why I thought I'd share what I've seen. Of course this is only one month, I have no idea if I will see the same again this month, but I have already seen more sales in two days than sometimes in a whole week in Dec, so here's hoping.

I'm seriously considering writing a YA short story/novella just so I can put it up there for free and have a free book in my other market segment. (Only once I've published "Cat's Creation" the sequel to Cat's Call, though, promise :)).

I would be very happy to hear if anyone else has had similar or completely different results. I know that KDP select only lets you put your book up free for five days, where as mine are intended to be free for as long as the system will let me do it, so experiences may differ.

New Book: Forbidden Soul (Soul Reader #2)

I have a new book out today. It's called Forbidden Soul and it is full of vampires and action and hot gay sex.

John's life used to be on the risky side, but it had been simple. Allowing vampires to suck his blood had never been safe, but now there is Michael and having a vampire who actually cares about him is complicated. It's even more complicated because Michael is urging him to reconnect with the family he hasn't seen in over five years. The fact his recent past also doesn't want to die quietly is making his life less than easy and it's about to become deadly.

This is the second book in The Soul Reader Series which is going to be a series of free short stories interspersed with bargain price novella length books. The first book Forgotten Soul is one of the short stories and may be downloaded free from Amazon and Smashwords (check the link above to see options).

Forbidden Soul picks up where Forgotten Soul finishes and takes the reader on the next stage of John and Michael's confusing journey. It is novella length at 22.5K wds and is available for the bargain price of 99c/77p. There is plenty of plot, romance and sex to satisfy all readers.