Blessed (belated) Samhain to all of you and happy (belated) Halloween, too. The veil between the worlds felt thin here on the 31st as we had a lot of wind and scuttling clouds. The temperature cooled down a lot and, after a glorious autumn, winter now feels close. Time to put up the storm windows, make soup, take out the fuzzies and make progress on my TBR pile. The winter months are usually very productive for me. There’s nothing better than getting down to work each day. Let’s have a look at what’s on my agenda this winter…
First up, I have a new Regency romance release. The Bluestocking’s Bargain is book #5 in my series, The Ladies’ Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction. This book was twisty to write as the hero kept a secret from me until about halfway through the writing. In a way, it’s inconvenient when characters make their own plans; in another, they always improve the story with their detours. I really like this book and am happy to see it out in the world. It has some five-star reviews already, which is always a great way to launch a new title. :-) It’s available in ebook and mass market paperback.
I’ve also set up the pre-order for the sixth book in the series, The Duke’s Desire. It’ll publish next May and should be the series finale. I still have two cover images in my stash, though, so there might be later editions. If nothing else, it will wrap up all the loose ends between Miss Esmeralda Ballantyne and the Duke of Haynesdale. I’m so looking forward to writing this one.
My sale title this month is The Hunter & the Heiress, book two of the Blood Brothers series of medieval romances. It’s just 99cents for the month of November. The cover in the graphic above is the special edition - the covers at the retailers feature the guys.
My next release will be Just Trouble. That’s the first book in my upcoming contemporary romance series, The Carpe Diem Café, which launches in February. I love Luke and Daphne together - they’re a pair that can bring out the best in each other - and am looking forward to finishing this project. The pre-order for Just Trouble is up and it will publish in February.
To my surprise, Amazon allows alternate covers for romances, as long as they’re clearly labelled as such, so I’ve created a pre-order for Just Trouble with the alternate (illustrated) cover. I’m not sure what it will do with reviews as the two editions don’t seem to be linked as yet, but we’ll find out in February. If nothing else, it means that I can offer trade paperback editions at AMZ of both covers, which is pretty cool.
If you’re a KOBO Plus reader, Kiss of Enchantment has been enrolled in the program as of today.
I told you last month about my Kickstarter campaigns in preview, none of which will launch before February 2025. There’s one for the Champions of St. Euphemia in new hardcover editions, one for Kiss of Twilight, book two of the Darkfire Chronicles, a new title in ebook, trade paperback and hardcover, and one for The Dragon Laird, the debut historical fantasy by my new alter-ego Lyssa Royce. That title will release first at KS, then later at the retail portals. I’ll be writing those two books after Just Trouble, though the research books are already piling up around my desk.
I’ve also decided to do some events next year (!) abandoning my plan for the moment of becoming a unicorn author. You can keep track of them on the Booksignings page on the Cooke website.
First, I have a small local-ish event booked for March first, to get my footing. This Book Fair & Market is a free event in Stratford Ontario on March 22.
I’ll also be at Romancing the Falls, which will be held May 30 - 31 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. This is a ticketed event with many more activities than the booksigning, and tickets are on sale now.
Finally, I’ll be at the Ignited by Books Author Event, which will be held September 12 - 13 at the Delta Hotels by Marriott Toronto Airport and Conference Centre. This is also a ticketed event but tickets aren’t on sale yet.
I’ll have a pre-order page for each of these events two months in advance, so you can be sure to get the book(s) you want if you plan to attend.
Also on my To Do list this month is the winding down of my Shopify online store, Deborah Cooke’s Books. I had a similar experience this time as with my Selz store years ago - the developers keep adding functionality, which means the store is never done, and readers aren’t that fussed about buying print books to be shipped from Canada, given the cost of postage here. I can sell ebooks (like the boxed sets) directly from my website, using BookFunnel to deliver, and save myself a bunch of trouble. I’ll try to get those buttons back in place this month.
I’ve never mentioned my translations here, but they are ongoing. The Beauty Bride in German (Die schöne Braut) is a free series starter right now. Just One Fake Date in Italian (Solo una piccola bugia) is discounted to 99cents - sadly, it’s not a pretty price as the portal converts 99cents US to all other currencies. Nothing I can do about that, although it irks me. I’ve just published The Hellion’s Heart in Portuguese (O Coração de uma Diabrete) and in Spanish (El corazón del granuja), as well as Harmonia’s Kiss in Spanish and Two Weddings & a Baby (Due matrimoni & un bebè) in Italian. The Rogue (La canaglia) and The Scoundrel (Ladro di cuori) in Italian are now available at the portals.
I still have free series starters through the end of the year. You can grab Kiss of Fire, Just One Fake Date and/or The Beauty Bride free to dive into my fictional worlds.
Phew! That’s where I’m at this November 1. I hope that all is well with you and that you have plenty of good books to read. :-)
All my best—
Deborah
also writing as Claire