The BEST SELLER SAGA Continues!

What a thrill yesterday to see my book FIRE DANCE at the very top of Amazon Best Selling Romances, and at #6 on All Genres of Amazon Books. THE MUDLARK, with very similar download numbers, was right behind it. Wow, a double!

Then MUDLARK vanished. I could  from my reports that its numbers were still right up there, but where was it? After some digging around, I found it, back on the Free Reads list, except that it wasn't free!!?? And on its book page, it had no ranking numbers. Wah! A Best Seller and it's now not on ANY list? Well, I probably should have called someone right then, but I couldn't figure out who. This morning it was still broken. FD is still at the top, so I quickly printed the page in case I have to prove I'm not delusional or the world's biggest liar. But my poor, not free Mudlark had dropped to #18 on the Free Reads.

So I did a chat with an Amazon fixit-person. He tried but had to refer it to Kindle. No workee there. You have to either have  problem with a Kindle or a problem with an order. There's no category for Lost In Space Best Sellers.

Then up pops an email from Amazon asking if the chat helped. Well, no.... but the guy was really super. So they asked to call me, and in exactly the specified five minutes, I got a call. Explained problem, and he empathized with my feelings of panic and promised to send Kindle folk to my aid right away. Still waiting, but hey, that was only ten minutes ago.

I couldn't resist telling him how authors feel that Amazon Kindle is turning the publishing world upside down. And I have to admit, although I don't like monopolies, I sure do like the way Amazon has handled all my problems. I'l let you now when my lovely Mudlark gets to sing again.

AMAZON BEST SELLER!

#24 on Amazon Top 100
Best Seller Regency Romance

Amazon Best Seller. Wow, I love saying that. And it sneaked up on me from behind, and as my friend Trish Morey in Australia would say, gobsmacked me.

HIS MAJESTY, THE PRINCE OF TOADS, a re-published e-book, which I admit was very popular in its first round of publication with Awe-Struck E-Books, is suddenly on Amazon's 100 Top Regency Best Seller list.

But wait! Not just one book! THE MUDLARK and FIRE DANCE are dancing right along, with LOKI'S DAUGHTERS looming right behind them. What the heck happened? Kind of funny, really, so being one to laugh at myself frequently, I thought I'd let you laugh with me. Especially considering it's still going on, and I haven't been suddenly kicked back to the gutter.lers. That's all Regencies, not just Kindle e-books. Wow. Best Seller. Right up there with the big guys.

#1 Kindle Regency Free Read
 #2 Amazon Best Selling Romances
Historical Romance Free Read

I went off to the Emerald City Writers Conference this weekend, as usual having a wonderful time, since this is one of the best regional writers' conferences anywhere, and I know so many of the people there. But if you know me, you're probably not surprised that my stamina failed me early Friday night. Happens all the time. So I headed off to my room, and quickly reached the pj stage, where I check my stats before crashing. Pulled out my beloved MSI Wind baby laptop and pulled up my Kindle report.

First day of the month. I'm expecting single digits because my sales always seem to look better later in the month. Two look normal, if a little high. The other two look like historical dates. Come on, there's no way self-published e-books would sell 1933 and 1840 copies in one day. You know my eyes, which are complete screwballs as much as they are eyeballs. I never believe what they think they see. If I tell anybody, they'll think I'm lying. Or that I'm nuts, or maybe lost in LaLaLand. About half dressed, I rundown the hall (and am fortunate to have a room on the same floor as the main activities because running is also not something I do well anymore, and find my roommate, Sarah Rapslee. Poor Sarah almost has to carry me back.  And carrying people is not Sarah's best sport. And now the numbers look like futuristic dates. And Sarah's sitting there watching the numbers climb, cheerily announcing each incrementic jump.

#1 Amazon Best Selling Romances
#3 Kindle all genres

What we soon discovered- what my eyes actually did not spot, but friend Marianne Nicoletto Strnad did, was that Kindle had put the two books up as Free Reads. Oh, well, I figured no money in that, but free reads are great promo. That was why I'd priced them so low in the first place. And there it was. The higher the numbers went on those two, he more sales I was seeing on the other two. The Free Reads were drawing attention to my other two books, and those sales were jumping into the best seller lists for both Kindle  e-books and Amazon Books, which was throwing them into direct competition with print books.

I'm sure I was unbearable for some people. Saw a bit of eye-rolling, but most people caught on that this was not some silly e-book author (okay, so they were right on that first part) ecstatic over selling one or two books. These are Amazon Best Seller lists. That's the big time for any book. My sales numbers are right up there with the top Regency authors.

So yes, I'm still sort of sorry that yes, I'm still unbearable. For those people who still say they will never read an e-book because they aren't any good, I have to say I understand. I love my "real" books too, and I completely sympathize. With both of you.