Hi everyone
First off, yes, I’m still using this platform for my newsletters. The truth is, there simply isn’t another service offering what I need. I did some soul searching and though it pains me, if I believe in the right to speak your mind, that does include beliefs I strongly disagree with. While I’m disappointed certain groups are given voice here—and I may move if I can find a substitute—for now, this is where I’ll stay
This post will be a bit longer than usual since it’s for December and January.
Okay, with that out of the way, I thought you might be interested in some stats from 2023. (I meant to do this in January, but we had a run of colds sprint into the house and then linger, so I’m playing catch up.) If not, scroll on past…
This is a graph from my Amazon dashboard of all the pages that were read from my books through the Kindle Unlimited program. The first image is overall; the second a breakdown by book.
Not surprising to see Bad Company: Almost Like Magic, book 1 in the lead with pages read. I had a spike in July when I released Against the Wind: Almost Like Magic, book 2, and a HUGE jump in December after I participated in a social media promotion.
The next two images are my book sales. The first is a graph showing all of them, followed by a breakdown by title and type of book.
Again, there’s a spike in July for the release of book 2, and a HUGE uptick in December. I can only attribute 15 sales to the social media promo, but I kept the ebook of book 1 on sale for 99¢ during the entire month and I suspect a lot of readers cozied up while on holiday breaks and did some reading.
Looking back on all of this, I have to say a massive THANK YOU to anyone who gave my books a try in 2023. If that was you, you’re awesome! (wanna be even more awesome…leave a review and tell all your friends…pleasepleaseplease).
What I’m working on
Because I have the brain of a crow (oooh…shiny!) I have THREE projects in progress! I hope to get two, if not all three, out in 2024.
Project 1: Almost Like Magic, book 3 (as yet untitled)
We’re still at Eight-Fold as Stella is confronting the events that happened both at All Hallow’s and Yule. She’s hoping for a peaceful Imbolc with a few close friends…but an unexpected delivery leads to even more unexpected guests. I’m about 20% into this one and still figuring out a lot of the details.
Project 2: A collaboration with my long-time writing partner August Niehaus
We’re revisiting a story we started and almost finished in 2021, adding to the world building and characters in a way we couldn’t in its previous online iteration of the fantasy western. More on this to come, including a release date and cover reveal. (spoiler: the cover is GORGEOUS!)
Project 3: Y’all, I’m re-writing the very first book I ever wrote!
I’ve always wanted to come back to this one, and didn’t know how to approach it. But I saw a premade cover that was nearly perfect. A couple of emails back and forth with the artist and suddenly I’d commissioned a custom cover that is just…it’s so perfect I gasped when I saw the final yesterday. But, like, I haven’t looked at it in 10 years and it was a hot mess back then. So it needs a lot of work. This is my lowest priority of the year, so it may slip to early 2025, but I am so excited about it that I literally couldn’t fall asleep last night. Old scenes and new scenes fought my poor brain until almost 1am. There will definitely be more on this in the second part of the year, including a cover and title reveal.
What I’m reading
I just finished Kingdom of Lies, book 5 of The Queen Trials, by my amazingly talented friend Penelope Wright. If you love The Hunger Games + reality TV + royalty, this dystopian romance is perfect for you!
Personal stuff
December and January were rife with colds, so I mostly sat around watching comfort movies and TV, reading, and polishing off the holiday cookie stash. Today, the start of Imbolc (which goes until sundown tomorrow, February 2), inspired me to bake two loaves of rosemary bread. If this is a date you celebrate or acknowledge, then Imbolc blessings to you. My house smells AMAZING and I can’t wait to cut into them.
Whew! If you made it all the way to the end, here’s a ⭐️! Again, thank you to all of you for your on-going support. I’ll be back in early March with a shorter update and maybe a sneak peek at a bit of ALM 3.
Happy reading.
Jill 📚