HERE WE GO AGAIN!

Can you believe it’s August? We've had an unusually hot summer here in North Central Texas so I’ve been hibernating under the fan in my air-conditioned pink cave and happily writing. The months are flying by way too fast. So many projects, so little time.

I’m in the midst of a special treat for me. In the past couple of years I was fortunate to have six books included in Debra Holland’s Montana Sky Series of Kindle Worlds, and these six comprise the Loving A Rancher series. Now that Amazon has deleted all Kindle Worlds from their inventory, Debra has returned the rights to me provided I remove all of her character and place names. She is gracious to do this because she could have kept them.

I’d like to tell readers a bit about writing in someone else’s world. The originating author sets all the parameters. She names as many characters, each person’s occupation, and each person’s physical and personality traits as she wishes. Those joining in the world must truthfully portray all the things the originator has labeled while contributing her characters and her plot line.

This doesn’t mean I had to use all of Debra’s characters in each book I wrote. Instead it means that if I mentioned one of Debra’s characters, I had to depict the character precisely as she did. In addition, the town layout had to be related as she had indicated on the map provided in her Montana Sky Series Facebook group.

Since I had read Debra Holland’s books, I believed I knew her characters. Still, I had to go back and make lists to be certain I was faithful to her creation. This makes writing in someone else’s world more time consuming, but Kindle Worlds were good to me and for me. Each of us has to try something new occasionally to stretch our mental muscles. Plus, being associated with Debra Holland was a great honor.

All the same, I can’t tell you how excited I am to have the rights to these books returned to me! The locales are now Cottonwood Springs and Randall Crossing, both still in Montana. My characters remain the same. These six books are all available for pre-order now (not so gentle hint!). Each will also be available in Kindle Unlimited.

I’m happy to announce that the first of these is being re-published on Friday, August 3, AMANDA’S RANCHER, http://a.co/jddh1g7. Please pardon the lack of modesty but this is one of my favorite of the books I’ve written in the past few years. This was an Amazon experiment and is longer than the usual Kindle World book. It involves stolen identity, mystery, murder, adventure, and romance. 

On August 17, THE RANCHER AND THE SHEPHERDESS will be re-published, http://a.co/4mFnOaL. This is about a young Irish widow who comes west to marry a rancher. He expects someone used to the hard life of ranching. She thought she qualified because she’d helped her Da raise sheep on their tiny holding in Ireland. Imagine her surprise when she sees the vastness of Montana ranches.

On August 30, MURDOCH’S BRIDE releases, http://a.co/9CwbAUk. This was the most popular of the books I wrote for this world. I enjoyed writing it, as I have all of my books. This one involves people being snowed in for a couple of weeks. They are in a large house, but is any house large enough to peacefully accommodate three men (one of whom dislikes women), the housekeeper, three stranded women (one of whom is a complainer), and at times the ranch hands?

On September 13, BRIDE’S ADVENTURE releases, http://a.co/4MtQIZm. Amelia sets off on an adventure to Oregon that sends her back to Cottonwood Springs. Sometime next year, I’ll be doing two spin-off books set in Texas because so many readers requested books about Amelia’s brother and his best friend.

On September 27, SNARE HIS HEART, will be released, http://a.co/2wXXekY. This is my version of the Beauty and the Beast. The hero was badly scarred trying unsuccessfully to rescue his wife from the fire in which she died. The heroine arrives prepared to love him and his children.

On October 13, CAPTURE HER HEART, will release, http://a.co/0SHNEtj. How does a woman who’s been mistreated by every man in her life learn to trust? Read this to learn how.

I have a giant favor to ask. If do read or have read these, would you please leave a review? When Amazon removed the Kindle World version, they also removed all the reviews. Each worthwhile place to advertise books requires a set number of good reviews before they'll accept the ad. So, without reviews, I can't get ads. Without ads, I can't sell enough to get reviews. It's a vicious cycle. But that's another story. If you are one of the readers who leaves reviews, bless you!

See you next month. Stay safe and cool.

WHAT IS A KINDLE WORLD?

Filling in for Mary Adair, who is ill

When I promote my books and novellas in Kindle World, people often ask what is a Kindle World and how is that different from any other e-book for Kindle. So, here's the explanation:

There are numerous Kindle Worlds. The one in which I write is Debra Holland's Montana Sky Series. What this means is that I use my hero and heroine for a story, but it is set in Debra's locale of either Morgan Crossing or Sweetwater Springs in eastern Montana. In addition, my hero and heroine interact with characters Debra has established.

My usual setting for a book is Texas, so I had to learn about Montana. I've never been to the state, but I'd love to visit the state sometime. A view of the mountains sounds lovely.

There are advantages to being in a Kindle World. One is the chance to acquire new readers. I'm all for that! Another advantage is that Amazon helps promote. Promotion is a mill stone around the neck of every author. The time we spend promoting our work is time we aren't writing. Besides, I want to write, not deal with all the other things necessary to sell my books.

The disadvantages are that the author loses rights to the book or novella. This was the hardest point for me to wrap my head around. No one wants to give up rights to their work.

The author still receives royalty payments but cannot turn the book into print or place the story with any other vendor. In addition, the royalty payments are split between the author and the owner of the world--in my case that's Debra Holland.

Amazon controls pricing and sales. For instance, Amazon placed MURDOCH'S BRIDE on sale this month for 99 cents. I can't complain, because the sale has made the book a bestseller. Seeing that little orange banner on my Amazon page is always nice.

I've been very pleased with the results of my foray into Kindle World. So far, I've written four stories for Debra Holland's Montana Sky Series. The latest is BRIDE'S ADVENTURE. Another will be released in July.

AMANDA'S RANCHER is the first one I wrote and the longest and my favorite. I love the hero and heroine and the struggle they overcome. For AMANDA'S RANCHER, I spent a lot of time researching. Although I'd read and enjoyed Debra Holland's books, I had to reread them and take notes. THE RANCHER AND THE SHEPHERDESS includes the least of Debra's characters of the four I've written. BRIDE'S ADVENTURE was fun to write because of the predicaments she causes for herself.

Now you know what a Kindle World is. I hope you'll read and enjoy mine!

Pioneer Hearts Western Romance $.99 Event Oct 17-20

You are going to love this! I'm so happy to announce the first ever Pioneer Hearts 99c Western Romance Event! The dates for this event are October 17-20.This sale includes dozens of books for your Kindle, and a selection for your Nook or iBooks libraries, as well. And you know what else is fun? You can win some pretty snazzy prizes!                        Want to one one of two $10 Amazon gift cards? Share our sale and follow our authors! You could also win signed books, a beautiful turquoise pendant necklace (voted a favorite by the Pioneer Hearts Readers Group!), and more! See Rafflecopter here and win! See Nook links here See iBooks links here

By the way, my own book, KATIE AND THE IRISH TEXAN, is also included in this event on Amazon and Apple iBooks for .99.

I hope you can take advantage of this wonderful event and find some great new authors to read!

Thanks for visiting today,

Love, Carra

  Carra Copelin Website, Carra's Blog , Carra's FB page , Carra's Twitter Page