Thank you, Amazon!

As promised, here’s the update on the status of the various titles in the Honor & Duty series. Amazon has been amazing throughout the process, beginning with answering my questions about changes I wanted to make to Vengeance from Ashes. I know the company is not perfect but it is still the best out there for indie authors, as far as I’m concerned. As a reader, I also find it better than most (if not all) the alternatives.

Let’s start at the beginning, with Vengeance from Ashes. Those of you who have been regular readers of the blog know I tried an experiment. I released the original version of Vengeance through the other e-book platforms and issued and “expanded edition” on Amazon. The problem with this is I wound up losing my reviews on Amazon. That wound up hurting sales for the series. After watching the sales numbers from the other outlets, I made the decision to once again go Amazon-only. So I pulled my work fm those other stores and contacted Amazon to see if it would be possible to take down the “expanded edition”, update the cover on the original issue that had not been on sale on Amazon as well as update the text file to include the expanded material and then release it under the original product page (complete with reviews). The answer was yes.

It took time. I needed to make sure the book was down from the other markets so I could enroll in KDP Select. But, as of yesterday, I was able to update the files and the new-old book is now live.

I also updated the covers and did minor interior file changes on both Duty from Ashes and Honor from Ashes. Both books are now live.

Having the new covers means there is now a common “theme” or “feel” for the covers throughout the series, including the three short stories. Many thanks to Sarah A. Hoyt for her hard work.

But the really exciting news, at least for me, is that Fire from Ashes, (Honor & Duty Book 4) is now available for pre-order. I’ve been promising it for some time. I apologize for the delay but I wanted to make sure a couple of things were in place before taking the pre-order live. Part of that was making sure the other titles in the series had the updated covers. Part, a very large part, was making sure Vengeance from Ashes had been updated the way I wanted. I also wanted to be in a place where updated print editions of the first three books would be ready to go at or near the time Fire goes live. If I have fallen down on one thing as an indie author, it’s been keeping up with my print editions. That is changing now. (fingers crossed)

At war with an old enemy, betrayed by a supposed ally, Fuercon is a system on the brink of disaster. All that stands between it and defeat are its Space Navy and Marines – and the fact the betrayer does not yet know its secret plans have been discovered. But will that be enough to turn the tide of war?

Honor and duty.

Honor and duty have guided Colonel Ashlyn Shaw’s life for as long as she can remember. Honor kept her sane when she was betrayed by those she had fought beside. Duty gave her reason to trust again once the betrayal came to light and her name, as well as the names of her fellow Devil Dogs, was cleared. Now she and the Marines under her command are once again asked to risk their lives to protect Fuercon from its enemies.

Family and the Corps.

They are why she fights. She knows what will happen to them should Fuercon fall to the Callusians. Their lives are worth any sacrifice she must make to help keep their homeworld safe.

Betrayal.

The not-so-secret driving force of Ashlyn’s life. Four years ago, someone betrayed her and her command. That person now works to betray Fuercon. Ashlyn is determined to discover who – and why – and bring them to justice.

The storm clouds of war gather and time is running out. Will Ashlyn and the Devil Dogs be able to turn back the enemy and unmask the betrayer before all is lost?

What else? I have a post up at Mad Genius Club this morning. Other than that, I need more coffee and to get to work. Until later!