….what sloooooooooow progress it is, friends.
Sorry for the long delay between releases.
Tragedies, a full time job, one vacation, and a nurturing, loving relationship with bf seem to be the primary time-consumers.
Dear bf understands that I’m getting more and more antsy the longer I stay away from my keyboard, so you can expect his patient understanding will result in increased word count in the coming weeks.
You can expect Reaper VIII and Shades of Grey IV out, back to back come August of this year (2013).
Again, sorry for the waits, and thank you for your continued interest in my work!
Sincere regards & happy reading,
Amanda M Holt
Nightshifter
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I just have to prep a cover & upload!
I’ll offer it free via Kindle Direct Publishing @ Amazon.com shortly!
Watch for that promotion!
Sincere regards & Happy Reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress
p.s. 61,800 words for this installment! A bit MORE than a novella… After Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, etc, I will offer it via Smashwords (who distributes to Apple, et al) and quite possibly in a paperback collection titled “Reaper V – VII: Lust Love Loss” via Lulu.com where I would do the max discount to consumers possible, just as i did with the paperback “Reaper I – V: Origin” (available through Lulu.com at the discounted rate, available through Amazon.com at approx $24, which I find kind of embarassing). Trying to make paperback versions of the series as affordable as possible, but self-publishing so totally hinders this!!!! Anyway, the above is my current plan…. but first off, gotta get Reaper VII uploaded to Amazon!!! Which I will do this morning! If it goes the way it usually does, it should be available in 48 hours or so!!!
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So…
……I just spent about 3 hours fiddling around with register.com’s Do-It-Yourself website builder.
Sounds simple, right?
Well, it’s not. Not by a long shot. The settings for the layout of the website design options are proving to be a real pain in the ass. Either that, or i am simply not talented enough to excel at use of the software.
However, since this is a dollar project on a dime budget, I shall have to use this service until I’m on a triple digit budget and can hire a techy to do my damned website for me!
At least I have SOME sense of layout & design & programming/coding…
Yet…I can make no great promises as to what you can expect from a website designed & implemented by yours truly.
To see what I’ve done so far, visit www.amandamholt.com
I plan on posting some free stories (as file downloads, scroll-downs, etc) as well as contests for those uber-affordable Vistaprint mugs, mousepads, t-shirts, etc! So follow directions and enter my contests to get yourself some Amanda M. Holt swag when I announce the contest(s)!!!
Now that i’ve given up on website design for the evening, I intend to work on some manuscript revision — and maybe even some new stuff!!! *squee!!! New stuff is my favorite! Most frustrating but also most favorite!!!*
Sincere Regards & Happy Reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress & Nurse with another 24+ hours off before returning to work!
p.s. – Reaper I – V and I and VI will be available at Kobo soon for the Kobo eReader!
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Cover art for Reaper IV
So…..
……..long time no hear, i know.
I was sick for a week, then i went to Saskatoon for a week, then travelled all over Manitoba for a week, now am back to work doing night shifts.
And TONIGHT, realizing that I haven’t put out any titles in a while, I opted to finish the edits on Reaper VI: Lust and upload it, rather than spend that time on apartment cleaning (the original plan for my down time between shifts! 🙂 ). Uploaded same to Kindle/Amazon, should be up within 24 hours or so. Will take longer to put on Smashwords, I have to re-format ALL the files. However, the exclusivity arrangements between Amazon and i have all ended, so I can put Reaper I – VI on Smashwords as soon as I have/make time.
Thank you for your patience — I will try to put out Shades of Grey III and Reaper VII within the next few weeks. No promises though: there may be some changes with my work schedule.
Sincere regards and happy reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress, Full Time Nurse, Part Time Dreamer
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So…
…….as soon as I got back from China, I was put back to work immediately (lol).
Literally: I arrived in Thompson with my bus delayed approximately three hours and thought that I would be able to catch up on some sleep. When I woke up, I saw that I had a text message — my Manager, asking if I could work a Night shift THAT night.
I said “yes” (I rarely say “no”), and thus began a whirlwind week at work, where I got two revisions done during my one day off and some down time :).
Now here I am, on a brief break during a night shift, announcing that I am revising my manuscripts and doing the necessary formatting to make them suitable for Smashwords (Autovetter).
With any luck, on my two days off this weekend I will be able to have the following titles available at Smashwords:
Her Man (contemporary romance)
Shades of Grey: Prologue (paranormal/horror/psychological thriller)
Shades of Grey: Hear No Evil (paranormal/horror/psychological thriller)
Getting Lucky I: Pedro & Eddie (interracial erotica)
The Deal (paranormal erotica)
I am going to revise the manuscripts whose contracts have terminated at both New Concepts Publishing and Extasy Books and make them available on BOTH Smashwords.com and Amazon.com. These include:
Of Crimson Blood and Ivory Skin (M/F/F paranormal erotica)
Blood Song: The Captive (paranormal erotica)
My Experimental Years (M/F, F/F erotica novel-length)
Tales From the Owner-Operator of the Boulevard Motor Hotel (BDSM erotica)
The L-Word (M/F short erotica)
Tomorrow, Part One (sensual fantasy, novel-length)
As many of these manuscripts need some serious revision and possible redirection, it’s hard to say when ALL of them will be released.
Suffice to say, I will start with the Shades of Grey series, and work my way from there.
I also have a NUMBER of projects on the go that are beginning to call for my attention with voices raising in agitation, so it is possible that my creative energies will be spent breathing life into some entirely new stuff in the near future.
It would be nice, however, to get Shades of Grey Book 3, 4 and 5 out before Halloween, as well as Reaper 6.
Thank you for your time and interest in my twisted imagination!
Sincere regards and happy reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Author, Full Time Nurse and Sometimes Philanthropist
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So…
…….here I am at age 32 going on my first overseas trip!
…Winnipeg, Vancouver, Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou, Hangzhou, Shanghai, Vancouver, Winnipeg, Thompson…
…going to be gone approximately two weeks, so I will not be putting out any titles during that time.
After I return to Canada, likely over the weekend of April 6 – April 8, 2012, I am going to be releasing Her Man (contemporary romance), Getting Lucky I: Pedro & Eddie (interracial erotica), and Shades of Grey: Prologue & Shades of Grey: Hear No Evil (paranormal/thriller/horror/adventure) at Smashwords.
Currently, they are only available as Kindle titles. I am uploading them to Smashwords so that they can be distributed to Kobo, etc., on multiple formats/platforms. I also have some titles that were previously available only at eXtasy Books (and I believe some from New Concepts Publishing) that I will be releasing at Smashwords and Amazon/Kindle in the near future.
New works are in development, but between my full time nursing career and the editing & re-release of Second Editions, I am finding it difficult to make/find time to give those projects the full attention they deserve.
Up next? Shades of Grey III: See No Evil, Reaper VI: Lust, and the first *brand new* novel in a series I am working on about things that go bump in the night here in Northern Canada…..that’s all i’m saying about that project, it’s very near and dear to my heart, and I am developing it with the kind of slow, cautious consideration and cossetting that one rations for their most worthy of hobbies…
I’m actually very shy about speaking about it, and when I do, I seem to use very reverent language in a sort of breathless incantation resembling whispers of awestruck self-delusion about genius approaching infamy…
Anyway — on to China!
Wish me luck!
Sincere regards & Happy Reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress, Neophyte Tourist and International Woman of Mystery (?)
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So…
……as soon as my arrangements through Kindle Direct Publishing reach their 90-day agreement deadline, I am going to be uploading my books to Smashwords — again. Shortly after uploading to both Amazon and Smashwords, I saw Amazon’s KDP offer for their Prime program/Owners Lending Library, where for each borrowed novel you recieved a percentage of the total borrows sales. I now feel that being able to attract readers from platforms other than the Kindle is far more advantageous than limiting my audience to Kindle users (Smashwords uses and distributes to far more formats — readable by Kobo, etc).
Some of the books currently available on Amazon will not reach their 90-day exclusivity until the end of May. Others have already “expired” and I did not “roll-them-over” for another period/term.
Anotherwords, some of my previously Kindle-only works are going to be appearing on Smashwords shortly.
Also, I have a number of titles that i am going to be issuing as Second Editions and re-releasing in the next few months, as well as some brand-new never-before seen titles that are slowly typing themselves into existence…
I am going to try to release at least 1 title ever 1 – 2 months.
I am no longer going to be making my titles KDP exclusive. I want to reach a broader audience, and even though Amazon’s market is far larger than Smashwords (at least their reach seems to be wider), Smashwords will make for greater accessibility of my work (which is what I am striving for).
My apologies to any readers I may have alienated for my choices in the past, and to Kindle Prime readers who likely will no longer be able to get my novels for $0.00 after the 90-day terms end.
Thank you for your time.
I look forward to giving you hours of entertainment in the near future!
Sincere regards and happy reading,
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur and Apologetic Fumbling Self-Published-Self-Promoted-Self-Marketed Author
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So…
…….I just programmed the first FREE promotion for Reaper I – V: The First Collection at Amazon.
You can get this 127,000 word volume FREE February 29 (Leap Year, as I promised certain individuals) and March 1, 2012.
What exactly are you downloading for free?
The Kindle collection of Reaper I: The Beginning, Reaper II: Neophyte, Reaper III: Rookies, Reaper IV: Daddy, Reaper V: To Skins!!!
And just what is Reaper?
A better question to ask is, what is a Reaper.
Or better yet, who is the Reaper…
Visit the link at http://www.amazon.com/Reaper-First-Collection-ebook/dp/B007ET7UZ8/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1330467037&sr=8-2 for the book blurb, to view the first few pages, and whatnot.
As always, sincere regards and happy reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress and Aspiring Household Paranormal/Action-Adventure Icon *lol*
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So….
…….I finished the edit for Reaper V: Two Skins yesterday, wrote the copy/blurb, and uploaded it to Amazon!
It will be available for FREE download February 29 & March 1st!
If you are looking to turn a friend unto my Reaper Series, I am releasing the first five books in the collection sometime this week (if I get my butt in gear this morning, it too may end up FREE Leap Year and March 1st! Otherwise, it is going to retail for $3.99, basically like getting one of the five novellas for free! Amazon allows 5 days of free download promotions, and I will advertise the days that you can get my releases for free on this Blog and via twitter!).
I guess I should get to work on that!
Sincere regards and happy reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress Who Is Somewhat Inspired This Early A.M. (it’s 6:35am here right now… a truly ungodly time to be up on a day off!)
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So…
…….I’m about 75% finished polishing, tweeking, steering and otherwise editing Reaper V: To Skins (which i am hereby re-naming Two Skins, because it makes so much more sense). With “To Skin” I was trying to imply that this practice involved something being adhered/writ literally “to the skin” or “to skins”. Two Skins (having two skins) is a so much more simple, beautiful, and self-explanatory concept.
I really hope that readers will enjoy this installment, which I hope to have out for by Leap Year (and as a Free read on Amazon somewhere around that time). I think that I will offer Reaper V: Two Skins for free for about a three day period (instead of five) and reserve the remaining two days for another block of time (a random weekend somewhere).
I’m still experimenting with trying to figure out if there’s a pattern of peaks and troughs where readers choose to download Free ebooks (some weekends seem busier than others, some weekdays have shown far more of a surge of interest than weekends).
Any-hoo, it’s Friday, which means payday in the real world —- and bills to pay.
Sincere regards, and happy reading!
Amanda M. Holt
Amateur Authoress, Full Time Tax Payer, Sometimes Chocolate Cake With Peanut Butter Icing Maker-And-Eater
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The Novels of Amanda M. Holt 