on switching to Kindle Unlimited

It's now official - the Monkey Queen e-books are now only available through Amazon, and have been enrolled in Kindle Unlimited for unlimited borrowing by KU members. The whys and wherefores after the cut.


So why are we switching to Amazon and Kindle Unlimited? Well, the main reason is because of sales. They've been flat for some time, and when A Tiding Of Magpies came out, you could hear the crickets.

The vast majority of those sales so far have been on Amazon, and they offer promotional opportunities for authors who have gone exclusive with them. And word of mouth hasn't worked for selling the books; I need to make more people aware of them.

And there's a reason why I need sales to pick up, and discussing that means I have to reveal some news that I hope will excite you: The sixth, seventh and eighth Monkey Queen books will be a trilogy, one long story that will be Michiko and Beth's biggest, longest adventure yet. To make this work, I need to get all three books out in 2016, since it wouldn't be fair to readers to stop after one or two books. To do that, I need to be able to pay Willow and Keri Knutson and the Andersons at Polgarus Studio what they deserve for their work in getting these books out. And for that to happen...sales need to go up.

So, I'll be launching some sort of promotional campaign this summer. Hopefully, it'll bring in new readers and get them excited for the series, getting us to a sales level that'll make the series self-sustaining. But to make it work best, I've decided that going exclusive with Amazon is the way to go.

(And in case you're wondering, this applies to e-books only. The paperback should still be available in other places, and is available directly through me if all else fails.)

I am aware that this will inconvenience and disappoint some of you, and I apologize for that. I'll be reviewing this before the first 90-day period is up. If I continue with Kindle Unlimited into September and beyond, and you can't or won't shop at Amazon, let me know. I'll figure something out then.

I'm nervous about this change, but I'm also excited by the possibilities. I still have hope that sooner or later, we'll get noticed, the books will catch on. If you haven't tried the books, now you can buy or borrow them...or wait for our planned promotions to launch. Whatever you choose, this link to Amazon Author Central is now your one-stop place to find the Monkey Queen e-books, and you can stay tuned here to read about promos and other Monkey Queen news (like the big announcement coming next week...oops!) Thank you for reading this and, hopefully, Michiko and Beth's adventures as well.