I skipped last week’s post in favour of launching pre-orders for LESSON LEARNED and a week long sale of IN THE END and FATE’S AMBITION. This week I’ll recap what I can remember from the last two weeks.

Personal Update

All is well in the Stevens household. We’re still working from home, which has been hard with the wonderful weather this week, but at least we have four days off to enjoy the sun. Like most other people, I’ll be doing my bit and staying in my house. We still have our sense of humour and whatever sanity we started out with.

Last weekend I took on a lockdown project and broke out the DIY tools to build a book stand ready for when normality comes back and I can start selling directly to the public again. I’ve thought of another project which I’ll start on this week and I’ll show some pictures when I’m finished.

Lesson Learned Recap

Last week I launched LESSON LEARNED on pre-order. It’s the sequel to OPERATION DAWN WOLF and sees new Agent, Carrie Harris’s first deployment into the field.

Since last week the book has been proof read, updated and the proof paperback is on order. I’ll be sorting out the kindle / ebook edition this weekend and the ARC will hopefully go out shortly after. Then it’s a case of sitting back and waiting for June. Ha ha. Like I ever just sit back!

If you missed the blurb then you’ll find it at the end of this post.

Sales and the Sale

My big news on the sales front is that on Tuesday IN THE END was in the top 100 bestseller lists for each of its categories on amazon.co.uk. It’s the first time that’s happened, that I know of and was a milestone moment, even if the stay is short!

I also totalled my sales for March and thanks to my marketing strategy I had my best ever month of sales by far.

This month’s sale consists of both IN THE END and FATE’S AMBITION on a Kindle Countdown Deal @ 99p/99c and I’ve been driving traffic with ads to my normal FB audience, a lookalike audience and to anyone who has ever interacted with my FB page. After three days I’ve turned off two of the ads as sales have slowed and I wont be doing any more paid advertising in April. There is a general feeling in the genre that sales are slow, but I’m not really seeing that. However I wonder it they would have been much better another month.

Both IN THE END and FATE’S AMBITION are still on offer at 99p/99c until the end of Saturday 11th if you want to grab a bargain. Click the names to find out more.

Work In Progress

I’m currently focusing my writing on AFTER THE END, putting aside the companion novella so I stand a chance of making my deadline to send the completed MS for beta reading by the end of May. I completed the first draft last week and I’ve start what will be a fairly major edit. I’m planning for a further complete read through once this editing round is completed.

The target is a tough ask and I’ve already fallen behind on the first two chapters so I’ve taken two days off work in a couple of weeks to help ensure I can meet it.

That’s it for now and I’ll leave you with the blurb for my next release which is due out on 5th June 2020!

Lesson Learned

New recruit Agent Carrie Harris is deployed on assignment at last, but instead of the cut and thrust of a sprawling city, hunting the worst enemies of the state, she is placed as an au pair living with a family in the middle of nowhere, left only with two simple commands ringing in her ears.

Observe. Report

After surviving the highly secret Special Operations candidate selection process, along with her first assignment (OPERATION DAWN WOLF), Carrie finds the slow pace of life difficult to adjust to. At first unsettled by the calm, she slowly relaxes into the distractions of suburban living and friendships blossom in the unlikeliest of places.

 As the weeks go by still not knowing her purpose and with nothing other than the mundane to report, will Carrie keep focused when the tedious veneer cracks to reveal the deplorable reason for her dispatch? Can she be ready to act, ditching the temptation to make her cover story real, or revert to be the honed, ruthless operator again? Will she make the right choices or be sucked into a different life, distracted by a passion which threatens to overwhelm her?

You can pre-order by following this link.