Easy Maths!

Hi Everyone,

If you’ve read the dedication at the start of Axel’s Pup, you’ll already know that it was my 100th commercially available book (i.e. not counting freebies).

With percentages this easy to work out, I couldn’t resist.

Out of the 100 books…

By publisher:

• 37 were published with Totally Bound
• 38 were with Resplendence Publishing
• 17 were with Amber Allure
• 3 were published with All Romance E-books
• 2 were with Riptide Publishing
• 3 were indi/self published

By length:

• 52 were short stories (Under 20k)
• 37 were novellas (20-40k)
• 7 were short novels (40-60k)
• 3 were standard novels (60-100k)
• 1 was a super length novel (Over 100k)

By sales (these are just based on comparing my books to my books, I have no idea how my sales compare to anyone else’s figures):

• 21 had disappointing sales
• 31 did okay
• 17 did well
• 11 did very well
• 15 did great
• 4 books had exceptional sales
• 1 had sales that made me say wow!

By date:

• 1 come out in 2008
• 16 came out in 2009
• 23 came out in 2010
• 20 came out in 2011
• 28 came out in 2012
• 8 came out in 2013
• 2 came out in 2014
• 2 came out in 2015

By pairings:

• 5 were MF
• 1 was FM
• 1 was MFM
• 1 was MMF
• 1 was FF
• 1 was MMM
• 90 were MM

Which means a whole 9 % of my stories have involved female main characters!

By genre/theme:

• 85 were contemporary
• 15 were paranormal
• 5 had a Christmas theme
• 4 had a Valentine theme

And it’s not a percentage, but another random fact – by my calculations, as well as taking me over 100 books, Axel’s Pup took me over 2 million published words.

And I think that’s enough numbers now!

*Hugs*

Kim.

P.S. If you remember me saying that my next post was going to be about what I’m planning to write next, that post will arrive tomorrow, as part of my April Newsletter-ish sort of post.

Axel’s Pup – Catching Up and FAQ

Hi everyone!

I had no idea last week was going to be as manic as it was. Axel’s Pup has proved far more popular than I expected, which is lovely, but it also has me playing catch up.

I only realised today that I never got around to doing a post saying that Axel’s Pup is available to buy now! Lol.

Well, it is available 🙂 You can find it on Amazon, All Romance Ebooks and on Goodreads.

If you’re currently debating if the book is for you, you might find Amazon’s look inside feature helpful. They offer 10% of the book as a sample. For a book this length, that means you can try over 17,000 words before you decide if you want to buy or not!

Since the book came out, a few people have asked questions about different things. Here are some of the answers. (Please be aware, if you haven’t read Axel’s Pup, there could be spoilers.)

Shout Out!

Hello Everyone,

You might have heard me mention I have a new book coming out tomorrow.

What I haven’t said too much about yet is the other people involved in the project.

Axel’s Pup has been in the works for over a year.

I did the writing. Here’s who did everything else…

Professional Services

Editing is by Chris Allen-Riley of Michigan, who has worked with a few different publishing houses in the past and currently works freelance via Round Table Author Services. She’s worked on lots of projects with me and is completely fantabulous. (She’s also the editor who accepted my first story for publication back in 2008!)

Proof Reading is by Shannon Leeper of California, who has done the proof reading on all my recent indi releases. She is amazing in every way there is. She doesn’t advertise her services anywhere at the moment, but if she did, I’d be linking and recommending the hell out of her!

Cover Art is by Kris Norris, from Canada. She’s done quite a few covers for me, most of which I haven’t shared yet. I love them all, but the work she did on Axel’s Pup has a special place in my heart. She’s fantastically understanding of writers who are horribly picky and indecisive. She’s another member of Round Table Author Services, you can also see info on her cover art work on her website here.

Formatting and file conversion are by Jim & Zetta. They work with publishers as well as indi authors and have come through for me every time. I still can’t believe how little they charge for such fantastic work!

Quirkier Services

This is an indi book, meaning I’m not working with a publisher on it, but I do need to give a shout out to Jess of Resplendence Publishing. Over a year ago I promised her that as soon as I finished the novella I was working on, I’d send in the final story in my Sun, Sea and Submission series. I expected it to be handed in March 2014. But, that novella I was doing, it’s what grew into Axel’s Pup. Jess could have put a lot of pressure on me to stop halfway through Axel’s Pup and do the story I’d promised her – most publishers would have, by Jess has been incredibly accepting. (And I’m working on that story for her now!)

A final major shout out to my parents. We’re really close. I live next door to them. They’re wonderfully supportive of my writing. So, over the last year they have borne the brunt of the… This is the best book ever… I love this book… I’m never going to finish this book… Everyone is going to hate this book… There’s a reason why no one would accept it if I pitched it to them… I’m an idiot… I’m re-writing it again… I love this book…Etc. Etc. Needless to say, but I’m going to say it anyway – I love them to bits, I wouldn’t be where I am if it wasn’t for them.

So, huge thank yous to everyone 🙂

I will be back tomorrow for the release announcement!

*Hugs*

Kim Dare.

Giveaways, Winners and Useful Information

Hello Everyone!

A little while ago, I told you that there would be monthly giveaways. You might have noticed that I haven’t announced winners for the last couple of months. I didn’t forget. There is method there, not just poor memory!

Some of the publishers I’ve worked with are very strict about what formats and how many copies of each story authors can giveaway. It got very complicated trying to explain why a winner couldn’t have the book they want in the format they want.

So, I’m tweeking the idea. Each time there’s a new release, I’m picking winners – how many depends upon how long it’s been since the last giveaway.

Axel’s Pup is coming out on Wednesday. January, February and March winners will all be offered a copy.

Now, I know that quite a few people have pre-ordered. (And huge thanks to everyone who has!) I don’t think anyone should be penalised for ordering early, so if anyone I pick has already bought a copy, they’ll be offered a backlist title or an IOU for the next new release. If there is a particular reason why a specific book doesn’t appeal to someone, they can have the same choice.

Over the next few weeks there will be other giveaways in other places, the same rules will apply – no one will lose out by buying the book. Does that make sense to everyone?

Okay! If you remember, we’re picking one winner each month from my twitter followers, goodreads friends, and blog followers. To make sure all remains fair, I asked a friend to pick the names for me at random. Here we go…

Goodreads…

January – Dee Wy

February – Emily

March – Laura

Twitter…

January – Alexis

February – Nate

March – TracyG

Blog…

January – Caroaz

February – Victoria

March – lyghthouse

I’ll be contacting the winners overt he next day or two.

Any questions about all this, just shout 🙂

*Hugs*

Kim

Axel’s Pup – Available to Pre-order Now!

Axel’s Pup finally has a release date! It’s going to be available for immediate reading on Wednesday 11th March but it’s available for pre-order on All Romance E-books and Amazon now. I’m intending it to go out to Smashwords and its various channels on the day or release.

So…

Axel’s Pup. You’ve been hearing about this one for a while! It’s a much longer novel than I’ve ever published before (176,000 words – larger than Duck! and Magpie combined!).

It’s Male/Male, BDSM, Human/Werewolf. There are motorcycles, and whips, and leather, and shifters, and tattoos, and kink, and I’m so excited about finally being able to share it with you I’m finding it hard to type because I’m literally shaking!

In some ways it’s the kind of book people who are familiar with my work might expect, in other ways it is a little bit different. I don’t use trigger warnings (for reasons I won’t go into here) but, like always, if you’re concerned about anything in particular you can email me and I’ll do my best to give you as much relevant information as I can 🙂

Also, if you’re a blogger/reviewer, and you’re interested in a review copy of the book, shoot me an e-mail and I’ll see what I can do. I know there are a couple of reviewers out there who I’ve spoken with about this book. I have a list, but if you want to send me an e-mail and remind me about things like what format you prefer that would be much appreciated 🙂

This is the Goodreads link.

This is the blurb:

As the landlord of The Dragon’s Lair and leader of The Black Dragons Motorcycle Club, Axel Carmichael has seen it all and done it all. He’s a respected and experienced dom. Nothing shocks him any more, and nobody catches him off guard.

When Bayden rides up to The Dragon’s Lair on a bike worth more than most men earn in a year, and immediately demonstrates that he has far more attitude than sense, it’s easy for Axel to write him off as a silly little rich boy who’s about to get himself killed.

But, there’s more to Bayden than meets the eye. He’s no silly little boy, rich or otherwise, and werewolves aren’t easy to kill.

And here’s an excerpt. Because it’s a longer book, it’s a longer excerpt – the whole first chapter!

Chapter One

 

Camping It Up Available Now!

Camping It Up is now available! Okay, so I’m super late with this. It’s actually been available for a week! You can find it on Amazon. For the moment, it’s exclusive to them. It can also be read as part of their subscritpion services. It’s also listed on Goodreads. Did you read the blurb last time I posted it? Here it is again, in case you missed it. When Lindon agreed to go away for the weekend with his boyfriend, Cal, it didn’t occur to him to ask Cal what he had planned. Lindon’s been looking forward to staying in a nice hotel and getting spending the weekend relaxing and getting discretely kinky with Cal at every opportunity. It’s not until they’re in Cal’s car and on their way that Lindon finds out what Cal actually has in mind for them. There is no nice hotel and Cal has no intention of being discrete. And here’s a little excerpt:

“That hotel looks really nice. Maybe we could…” Lindon trailed off as Cal drove straight past the hotel. Damn it, Cal hadn’t even slowed down.

Lindon took a deep breath and let it out very slowly. When he spotted the sign for another hotel some way down the road, he decided it was time for another tactic.

 

“Cal, you remember that project I was working on?”

 

“The one at the museum, for the Roman exhibit? Of course I remember. It was fantastic.” Cal let go of the gearstick and squeezed Lindon’s knee. He left his hand there.

 

“My boss thought I did well too. He gave me a bonus.”

 

“That’s great.” The heat from Cal’s palm soaked through Lindon’s trouser leg. It felt good, if somewhat distracting.

 

“So, we could check into a nice hotel for the weekend. I could pick up the whole bill, and…”

 

The hotel whizzed by.

 

Lindon folded his arms across his chest and glared out of the passenger window. Cal’s hand remained on his knee until they reached a turning advertising the Bay Head Campsite. The sign might as well have said “This Way to Hell”. There was no way Lindon could get through the weekend without letting Cal down if Cal insisted on sticking with the camping bollocks.

 

Lindon’s stomach turned over at the idea of failing Cal. His grip on his opposite bicep turned painful. Cal put his hand back on Lindon’s knee as they drove deeper into the campsite. Lindon closed his eyes. He didn’t want to admire the view. He didn’t want to see row after row of neatly put up tents and people who knew what they were doing. He didn’t want to be within a hundred miles of the bloody place.

 

Cal’s hand left Lindon’s leg again. The car stopped. “We’re here.”

 

Lindon opened his eyes and stared at the dashboard as if it might somehow save him.

 

“Anything you want to say before the scene starts?” Cal asked. His voice was brisk and no nonsense. He was already slipping into full-on dom mode.

 

It wasn’t the first time Lindon’s heart had raced at the start of a scene with his boyfriend, but every other time that reaction had been about expectation and desire.

 

Lindon swallowed rapidly as he imagined how their weekend was bound to go. He couldn’t blame his nerves on the fact that this scene would be longer than usual. It wasn’t that he’d be submitting to Cal for the entire weekend that was the problem.

 

Lindon glanced into the back of the car. Tents and cool boxes stared back at him.

 

“Ready?” Cal asked.

 

No, Lindon was not ready. But somehow, Cal’s tone had him nodding. “Yes, sir.”

 

“Out you get then.” Cal opened the driver’s side door. He was most of the way out when, as if sensing Lindon’s disobedience, he looked over his shoulder to check on him. He slid back into his seat when Lindon still failed to obey. “Lindon?”

 

“The last hotel we passed—”

 

“Not going to happen,” Cal cut in.

 

“But—”

 

“Get out of the car, Lind.”

 

Lindon closed his eyes again. “Firefly.”