Monday, December 9, 2019

The future of my DSP books

This post will outline what will happen to the books that were once published by Dreamspinner Press.

The Stormlords: This will be re-released via Amazon. It will have the same cover and be very similar to the DSP release.

Freshman Blues: This will be re-released via Amazon. It will have the same cover, and I will add a few chapters and epilogue to the end of the book.

Thrall: This will be on hold for a short time while I pursue other publishers. If that doesn't work out, it will be self-pubbed via Amazon similar to the previous two books.

Please let me know if you have any questions, and I will reveal release dates soon!

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Dreamspinner--my experience

This post will briefly outline my experiences with Dreamspinner. A follow-up post will enumerate what will happen to my three DSP books.

This will be from the perspective of a small-time author. While I have dreams of hitting it big, and do my best to do that, I was never a big money-maker for DSP. This post will be fairly honest about that, but only to make it obvious that it should have been easy for DSP to pay me. Of course, given how opaque DSP's dealings were, I'm second-guessing everything now.

I published Freshman Blues with DSP in 2015. I got a $500 advance. I never saw money from that book directly--sales weren't good, and any royalties were eaten up by the advance.

I published The Stormlords with DSP in 2017, with an advance of $250--lower than before, but I assumed it was because my sales of my previous book weren't great. However, sales were fantastic for this one, as far as I could tell, and my amazon rankings looked great, routinely under 50k. However, my first paycheck after that was piddling, less than $100. I was pretty crushed and assumed I was misunderstanding Amazon's rankings. It was only the next quarter where I made almost 1k--a big deal for me! I assumed there was some delay and was happy for a while. The next quarterly payment was around $300. I was pretty pleased and began planning my next book with DSP.

It was around this time that I noticed sales being late. There were emails about problems sending payments and payment systems not working, but that it would be fixed soon. I would eventually get my money--not very much--a month or two after I expected it. Trickles from my other books with my other publisher, Extasy, were always right on time, so it became easy to compare their punctuality with DSP's lateness.

I didn't fully understand the danger signs yet, though. I submitted Thrall and planned the Lost Empire series with DSP, and awaited my October 2019 release. I got another $250 advance.

My advance came almost two months after I signed the contract, and I had to email to get it. Twice. I got concerned.

It was around this time I noticed the posts on twitter from other authors--late payments. I got emails from DSP about "not being worried," but naturally I got worried.

Around September the big names started pulling their books, reporting not being paid thousands for months. I got really worried, and I didn't know what to do. DSP promised nothing would happen, and that the situation "would be resolved." But I lost faith--I was owed money from my previous releases I wasn't seeing (and still have not seen). My blog tour and marketing for Thrall were nothing compared to what it had been for Stormlords. While Stormlords had 9 blog stops, Thrall had 4, one of which was a DSP blog post I wrote on request and submitted that never got posted. Not only was I not getting paid, it was clear DSP had no faith in my book. It's also possible that considering all the bad press, reviewers didn't want to work with them.

RWA dropped support for DSP, and my release date came and went. My book sold about 10 copies in three weeks, despite some very good reviews.

I decided to pull my books at that point. Even if I wanted to launch a marketing campaign of my own, the bad press with DSP had readers and reviewers avoiding them, for good reason. Instead of sales and comments on my marketing posts, I got DSP editors complaining they hadn't been paid for their work. I can't market effectively in that environment. I don't know what happened to DSP in between my release in 2017 and now, but it made a huge impact on my ability to sell books. Of course, even if I had gotten sales, I wouldn't have seen the money. So, silver lining?

I do wish DSP the best. I had one successful book with them, and I wish my latest had the same treatment. But it is what it is. I hope for the sake of the authors remaining with them that DSP pulls through, but the risk of bankruptcy and my three books being tied up in bankruptcy court was too high. I didn't write these books so no one could see them.

For now, I am still trying to decide what to do with my three books. In the meantime, if you want to support me, please check out my novella-sized M/M erotica from Extasy books:

If you like steampunky fantasy with a dom/sub twist:

The 10-book Enforcer's series at Extasy books or Amazon

If you like high fantasy in an ocean setting:

The Waterlord Trilogy at Extasy books or Amazon

If you like futuristic sci fi with war and cyborgs:

Remembrance and Perils of Forgotten Pain duology at Extasy books or Amazon

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Leaving Dreamspinner Press

It is with some sadness that I am leaving Dreamspinner Press. The Storm Lords, Freshman Blues, and Thrall will find new homes, but for now they will be removed from sale within 30 days.

Not all is lost, though. I intend to re-release them at some point, most likely with another publisher. I may add some bonus material! And Thrall is the beginning of a series--so with it's re-release may come the sequel....

I wish DSP and the other authors who remain all the best.

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Thrall released today!

The old Empire has fallen, and humanity is losing the war against powerful vampires. Kaiden, once the pathetic town drunk, is now a thrall, a mindless servant driven only by bloodlust and his master’s orders.

But when his master orders Kaiden to kill a vampire hunter, Kaiden disobeys.

Hunter Johann has spent years studying old lore and killing thralls, but he’s never seen one like Kaiden, intelligent and capable of free will. If he can convince Kaiden to help him, he might reclaim something thought lost forever: a chance for humankind. But he isn’t sure if Kaiden can be trusted, much less become a tool to kill the vampire who created him.

Kaiden doesn’t know who he is or what he truly wants beyond blood. Most of his memories are shadows, and nothing will bring back the life he lost.

Not a vampire, not a mindless thrall, capable of using the old magics, Kaiden is something completely different.

And being different means being alone.


Available now at DSP Publications, 
Amazon, 

And wherever E-books are sold! 

Thursday, June 20, 2019

Cover reveal--Thrall!


Coming in October from DSP publications: Thrall, book one of the Fallen Empire trilogy.

The old Empire has fallen, and humanity is losing the war against powerful vampires. Kaiden, once the pathetic town drunk, is now a thrall, a mindless servant driven only by bloodlust and his master’s orders.

But when his master orders Kaiden to kill a vampire hunter, Kaiden disobeys.

Hunter Johann has spent years studying old lore and killing thralls, but he’s never seen one like Kaiden, intelligent and capable of free will. If he can convince Kaiden to help him, he might reclaim something thought lost forever: a chance for humankind. But he isn’t sure if Kaiden can be trusted, much less become a tool to kill the vampire who created him.

Kaiden doesn’t know who he is or what he truly wants beyond blood. Most of his memories are shadows, and nothing will bring back the life he lost.

Not a vampire, not a mindless thrall, capable of using the old magics, Kaiden is something completely different.

And being different means being alone.

You can pre-order at DSP Publications or at Amazon!


Friday, March 8, 2019

Thrall accepted at DSP!

Just a quick update--the first book in my dark fantasy series, Thrall, has been accepted for publication at DSP! I'll keep everyone informed about the fun things, like covers and release dates!

Friday, February 15, 2019

Editor's Choice!

Noble Magic, the first book in the Enforcer's series, is on sale! It is now an editor's choice title!


Good time to check it out! 


Saturday, January 26, 2019

Some fun stats

I just put together all 10 books in the Enforcer's series (the 9 main ones and the side-story). It's a total of 360,000 words and almost 1200 pages. Impressive!

Perhaps one day I'll see it all in print...

Saturday, January 19, 2019

What's coming in the new year?

Just a quick update on what I've been doing in the past year and what's coming up!

The Enforcer's series was completed last year with the final book, aptly titled Resolution.

It tells the end of the overarching plot of the Enforcer's series. Will Kenneth and Thorn find their happy ending? Check it out at Amazon to find out!

With that series now complete, I have just submitted another series to DSP publications. The series title is The Fallen Empire, and it's a fantasy series featuring vampires. I will keep you all posted as to the submission status! For a sneak peek at it, you can check out some of my Wednesday Briefs shorts about Kaiden the vampire thrall.

Finally, way down the line is something called The Chronicler series. Expect more info on that far in the future!

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Time on Tumblr has come to an end...

I'll be posting here more often, as Tumblr's ill-informed guidelines change leads me back to Blogspot. It's hard to maintain yourself there when your book covers get marked as explicit.