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. 😊