Hello from Western Australia...

...where winter has come at last! Yes, we had been having an unseasonably warm autumn (climate change & global warming - oh dear!) with dry, sunny days and temperatures still in the mid-20s°C (late 70s - early 80s °F). But the winter rains have started in earnest the last couple of weeks and yesterday, for the first time, it felt properly chilly, with temperatures plummeting down to 8°C (46°F) overnight. That's pretty cold for Perth! In fact, I was sitting in my office, all wrapped up in sweaters and blankets, and my hands and toes were still icy! 

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In book news...

I am VERY excited to announce that the first of the 2-part finale to my "Bewitched by Chocolate" Mysteries is now available for Pre-order!

The title is: A Witch Worth Praline For and it will be Book 8 in the series.

And here's a first look at the cover...!

     Caitlyn Le Fey is savouring the delights of autumn with hot spiced cider and rich toffee apples, as she helps with preparations for the upcoming Samhain Festival. She’s also looking forward to spending more time with the dashing Lord James Fitzroy and meeting his family at last. But the cosy atmosphere is shattered when a guest at Huntingdon Manor is found dead, murdered for an ancient grimoire that once belonged to the Widow Mags.
     Determined to solve the mystery and retrieve the stolen “book of spells”, Caitlyn sets out to do some witchy sleuthing and soon discovers that there are many who may have wanted the grimoire: from the glamorous friends of James's sister to a mysterious retired academic—who might just be her long-lost mother in disguise!
    Tensions are rising in the village, however, as superstitions spread and hostility grows towards the Widow Mags’s chocolate shop. And just when Caitlyn thinks things can't get any worse, clues start pointing to James’s sister as the killer…
    With the help of her toothless vampire uncle Viktor and her mischievous kitten Nibs (not to mention a sprinkle of chocolate magic!) - can Caitlyn find the missing grimoire and finally uncover the truth about her mother?

PRE-ORDER NOW!
 

** Will the new release be in Kindle Unlimited?

Yes - see below...

The KU Conundrum... "once more, with feeling"! 😉

First, I want to say thank you to the many, many readers who sent me lovely messages after my last newsletter, when I was explaining the challenges of having my ebooks enrolled in Kindle Unlimited (KU).  I was very touched by your support and understanding. Thank you! ❤️

There were also still many questions from confused readers who misunderstood what I was saying - so I'm going to do a quick Q&A, based on all the questions I received:

I buy ebooks and use the Kindle now because I can't fit physical books in my house anymore! If you pull out of KU, can I still buy your books to read on Kindle?

Yes, my books will always be available for you to BUY, whether they are enrolled in Kindle Unlimited (KU) or not. You can buy them as either ebook (Kindle) or paperback formats - and they are also available as audiobooks. 

I want to buy your books to support you as an author - but which type is better for you: ebook or paperback?

Both are great if you purchase them - thank you! I actually earn slightly more royalties from ebooks because there is no huge cost of printing. When you buy a paperback, most of your money ends up going to the printer, unfortunately, rather than the author!

I'm confused: I read Kindle books - does that mean I'm using Kindle Unlimited?

No, Kindle (& Kindle App) is Amazon's ebook reader, and it's also what they call "ebooks" - ie. the Kindle edition. You can buy and read Kindle books on Amazon without using Kindle Unlimited. 

Kindle Unlimited (KU) is a subscription service that you have to pay an extra monthly fee to join. Books enrolled in the KU programme can be "borrowed" by subscribers and read as part of the subscription fee, without additional cost.

So is it bad for authors to enrol their books in KU?

There are pros and cons. Authors whose ebooks are in KU may get more people trying their books - but they aren't paid proper royalties when subscribers read via KU. They also cannot make their ebooks available on any other platforms because Amazon insists on exclusivity - so if an ebook title is in KU, it cannot be on NOOK, Kobo, Apple, etc, - OR available to borrow from public libraries. 

**NOTE: we're only talking about the ebook version, not the paperback. Libraries can still stock the print version of any book in KU.

So what's your dilemma?

I sympathise with those of you on a budget who rely on KU to provide affordable reading and I know that it may help to introduce new readers to my books. At the same time, however, I get paid very poorly when my ebooks are borrowed via KU, rather than purchased outright. I also constantly receive messages from readers who can't buy from Amazon and/or prefer reading on other platforms - who keep asking me why they can't get my books.

So are you pulling your books out of KU?

Not at the moment. I was planning to, but after receiving several messages from distressed readers, I have decided to leave my books in KU for the time being. And yes, I will release the upcoming final books of the "Bewitched by Chocolate" Mysteries into KU. This enables those who started reading the series in KU to catch up and finish reading the 2 final books via their subscription. 

** However, I will re-assess again later this year and may withdraw my books then. So KU subscribers: make sure you catch up on all my series now while you still can! 😉

But wait - after your last newsletter, I looked and I couldn't find the Bewitched by Chocolate series in KU! 

Ah, yes - sorry for the confusion. I think my initial message to Amazon to withdraw the series went through before I had time to reverse the decision. Anyway, the Bewitched by Chocolate series has been re-enrolled in KU now, so it should be available there if you look again. 

What about audiobooks? And paperback editions?

Whether my ebooks are enrolled in KU or not does not affect the audiobook and print editions. They are separate things. 

Do I have to buy a Kindle device to read ebooks from Amazon?

No, you can download the free Kindle App to your iPad/tablet or smartphone and use that to read ebooks from Amazon (it's what I do). Here's the link: https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=16571048011

Aren't print books always better because they are "real" books? 

Well, it depends. An ebook is just as "real" in that you get to immerse yourself in the same story. You just read it on a screen instead (and in fact, you can adjust the font size bigger for your eyes). It's very handy because you can carry your whole library with you in your phone or tablet - so if you're waiting at the dentist or travelling on vacation, you can just open your current book and continue where you left off. 

It's also great for those of us who have no more space in our homes for physical books (speaking from experience here! 😜) But I do agree that there is nothing like the feel of a physical book in your hands (and don't you just love the smell of the pages?!). 

I suppose it's a bit like old-fashioned letters vs emails. It's lovely receiving a hand-written letter on paper, of course, but emails have a lot of benefits and conveniences (not least being able to communicate instantly instead of waiting weeks & months for the post!) And just because you read the words on a screen does not make the message any less meaningful from the person who sent it to you.

Whew! I hope that makes things clearer now. 😊

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For the foodies...

Those who read my April newsletter (if you missed it, you can catch up HERE) - will know that my big milestone "50th birthday" turned into a bit of a damp squib as my husband and I both caught COVID and ended up having to cancel all the celebration plans because we were quite ill for a week!

Of course, we did have a homemade "birthday tea" in the garden when we felt better and the nice thing was, Muesli got to join in too (you can see more pictures in my April newsletter 😉) - but after we'd fully recovered, my husband sweetly insisted that we must go out for a belated celebration as well.

There's a French restaurant here in Perth which does Parisian bistro food and they offer a French version of "Afternoon Tea" on weekends - so we thought it would be fun to try some Gallic-style treats for a change! 

They didn't have scones (my husband, who is a scone-aholic, was gutted!) - but otherwise, it was a lovely tea, with lots of delicious things to try. Here's a peek at the menu:

And they brought it out in an Art-Deco style stand, rather than the traditional English 3-tier stand of round plates... very chic! 😉

I do LOVE éclairs and I have to sheepishly confess that I ate ALL FOUR of those on the stand. 😜 On balance, though, I have more of a "savoury" tooth than a "sweet" one and I think I still prefer the traditional English-style afternoon tea. For me, nothing beats a simple egg salad sandwich!

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For those who love a gossip...

Speaking of turning 50, ever since my birthday, friends and family keep asking me how it feels to be "in your fifties". Well, I have to say: it doesn't seem to feel that different so far! I don't know what I expected, but it's such a big milestone birthday and everyone makes such a fuss about it that you almost expect to wake up one morning and feel like a radically different person!

(Actually, I read somewhere that we all remain 21 yrs old inside, in our minds... do you think that's true?? Did you feel very different when you turned 50? Or do you feel like your younger self is just inside an older body?)

Speaking of "older body" - one thing I HAVE noticed is my knees starting to bother me in recent years. My poor mother suffers from early arthritis in her knees and I think I've probably inherited the same problem. 😕 My knees always feel cold now, especially when I'm sitting at my desk (which is how I spend most of my days!)... Don't laugh: I've even started taking a little woolly blanket with me in to restaurants when we go out to eat, just so I can cover my knees and keep them cosy! 😅 

(Me at my desk modelling the latest in feline-shaped knee warmers! 😉)

Oh - the other thing about turning 50 is that I have been thinking recently that maybe it's time I started writing stories with older heroines? You'll have noticed that the heroines in my cozy mystery series are all women in their 20s. I've always enjoyed writing about younger women and following them as they grow and change. Yes, they can be silly and immature sometimes, or do things that an older person would probably roll their eyes at - but that's what creates conflict in a plot, isn't it? 😉 If they always behaved wisely and perfectly, there would be no story to tell. 

(Me in my mid-twenties (before the dodgy knees! 😜))

And maybe I chose younger heroines because I could still vividly remember what it was like being that age... plus I think we can all relate to being young and naive and insecure, to making mistakes and struggling to find confidence in our own decisions and identity... 

But I have noticed that in recent years, I'm feeling more and more distanced from my 20-something-year-old self. So perhaps it is time to write stories featuring a more middle-aged heroine; someone closer to my current age with thoughts and problems I can relate to. (OK, watch out for new book featuring a heroine with dodgy knees... hah! 😉)

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For the cat lovers...

Finally, before I go, I thought I'd share a couple of funny photos for all the Muesli fans... Every year, when winter arrives and the sun is lower in the sky, it streams in through our windows, forming lovely warm pools of light along the wooden floors. And Muesli loves lying in this sunlight, warming her belly... I often walk past and catch her in the funniest positions!

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