A Unique Advertising Approach
And release day for The Lord’s Gambit!
Opposites attract in this sweeping Victorian MM romance when Reed Lydney, a disgraced Foreign Office clerk encounters Israel Kupersmit, a brilliant but destitute Jewish scholar forced to survive on London's unforgiving streets.
Their forbidden love blossoms against all odds - crossing boundaries of class, religion, and society's rigid expectations. As Reed helps Israel rebuild his life, they're drawn into a web of international intrigue that threatens everything they hold dear.
With themes of found family, hurt/comfort, and the healing power of acceptance, The Lord's Gambit shows that true love can flourish even between two men from vastly different worlds. This slow-burn romance features a competence kink as Israel's mathematical brilliance helps unravel a deadly conspiracy, while Reed's protective instincts drive him to shelter the man who has captured his heart.
And what exactly is a “competence kink?” I had never heard that term until I asked Claude.ai to help me develop marketing materials for this book. According to author Katharine Ashe, it’s “a profound attraction to people who are really, really good at something.”
The fourth book in the beloved Ormond Yard series delivers not just adventure and passion, but a tender story of two lonely souls finding harbor in each other.
To sweeten your interest in the men of Ormond Yard, I’m attaching an epilogue to the third book in the series, Saving the Boxer. What happens when Ezra tries to resurrect his boxing career? Download the g-rated PDF to find out.
And now for that unique advertising approach.
In these emails I like to give my readers insight into the work that goes into producing and marketing a book.
Back in January, Joanna Campbell Slan approached me with an interesting promotional idea. We both feature dogs in our cozy mysteries, so we wanted a way to cross-promote. Attendees at the major mystery conventions for readers usually get free books in their bags, provided by publishers who want to get readers excited about their authors.
That’s usually not cost-efficient for individual authors. If you have to buy copies of your book from your publisher, you can run through your royalties quickly.
But independent authors like Joanna and I have more flexibility. She suggested we each write a novella (Dog’s Punishment is about 22,000 words, one third of the length of the novels). We chose a common theme—death at the dog park – and started to write.
Another way that authors and publishers can promote their work to conventioneers is through advertising in the program. In the past, I’ve spent $275 for a half-page ad in the program. Joanna and I calculated that it would cost a little over $300 (plus tax and shipping) to print 100 copies of our joint venture.
While many people do carry those programs home, how many will refer back to the ads? We’re betting that if we put a book in the hands of 100 conventioneers, we can get a better bang for our buck than placing an ad.
Will this strategy work? Hard to measure its impact. But both Joanna and I will be at Malice, and if people line up to have their free books signed, we’ll have an idea. Because we’re splitting our $1500 outlay in half, that works out pretty well for us. I did some calculations and gaining one series reader is worth $8 in future purchases, so this is a value proposition for me.
What’s in it for you, though, if you’re not going to one of these events? Well, you get an extra, unplanned golden retriever mystery dropped into my schedule. And you’ll get exposed to Joanna’s work, which I think you’ll like. A win-win. You can order the e-book or print version as you choose.
Both stories showcase the unbreakable bonds between humans and their canine companions while delivering clever mysteries filled with twists, turns, and compelling characters. A must-read for fans of cozy mysteries and anyone who believes dogs have an uncanny ability to point us toward the truth. If you love Rochester, you won’t want to miss this one.
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