Amazon Archives - Page 2 of 5

Final Day

July 26, 2021 By JPMcLean 4 Comments

It’s been a wild week watching the unit sales numbers soar for Secret Sky. Thanks to everyone who purchased a copy at 99¢. I hope you enjoy Emelynn’s story. Today is the final day of the sale, so if you missed it, you still have a few hours to get in on the deal. At midnight, the price goes back up. Books two and three, Hidden Enemy and Burning Lies, are also on sale for $1.99 and $2.99. Check under the Bookstore tab for all retailers.

Recent reviews:

The Magic of Stories: Best read this year . . . prose at its finest.
Urban Book Reviews: Danger, suspense, and mystery all bundled into one perfect read.
Midwest Book Review: A deftly crafted, impressively original and inherently compelling read.

Everybody wishes they could fly—until it happens

For Emelynn Taylor, Continue Reading

Blood Mark Cover Reveal (and a Sneak Peek)

June 5, 2021 By JPMcLean 16 Comments

Blood Mark cover reveal and this one comes with a sneak peek inside!

Cover reveals are exciting on so many levels.

It’s the first visual representation of the story.
It’s a signal to the world that a new book is coming.
It’s collaborative artwork.

This is the cover for Blood Mark:

My thanks to the creative team at JD&J Book Cover Design for their fine work. JD&J are SO easy to work with. They’re resourceful and responsive, so if you need a book cover, I highly recommend them.

Sneak Peek & Preorder

Farewell February

February 23, 2020 By JPMcLean 12 Comments

Farewell February

Have you noticed the days getting longer? I sure have. It’s almost 6:00 in the evening and still sunny outside. The logjam of short winter days is breaking up! And now that the snowdrops and crocuses are up and showing off, it feels like spring isn’t far away.

A change of season is just what I need to get the cobwebs out of my head. It’s been a long, wet winter and I haven’t kept up with newsletters or this blog.

Learning the Advertising Ropes

Instead, I’ve been spending my time figuring out Amazon advertising. It’s been a tough slog. I started tinkering with it last June, but didn’t really dig in until November. In December, the ads started getting traction. In January, sales were up. But February is the only month to date where my spend on ads hasn’t exceeded my earnings.

And the month’s not over. I could still end up in the red for February.

On the writing front, the new book is back from the first batch of beta readers. Their input, as always, helps improve the story. I’m continually surprised at what their fresh eyes pick up that I’ve missed. I’m still months away from a final draft, but it’s coming along nicely.

Whistler Getaway

Two weeks ago, we made a trip to Whistler. The last time I was there was when Secret Sky won honourable mention at the Whistler Independent Book Awards.

This time we were dog-sitting. Our sweet rent-a-dog was Babe, a nine-month-old poodle. She’s a bundle of energy and still has the puppy clumsiness that I find adorable. She also kept us active, walking at least six kilometres each day. Babe did a stellar job of tiring us out so we’d sleep through the night.

How about you? Any plans for getting a vacation in before summer is here?

If you’re looking for a $2.99 mini-vacation, download Secret Sky and enjoy an escape to Emelynn’s beach. Get your copy from Kindle with one click right here. And if kindle or ebooks aren’t your preference, click on the bookstore tab for other purchase options, or just click on the covers below.

Crocus photo by Arseny Togulev on Unsplash

Technical Difficulties

June 29, 2019 By JPMcLean 8 Comments

Tech and I have a difficult relationship.

It thinks I should intuitively know things I do not, and is entirely too smart for its own good. In the past few weeks, it’s tossed three major salvos my way – first, a widget on this website broke, crippling the website. Second, my cellphone had a meltdown. And finally, one of my books on Amazon went on a walkabout. You can’t believe what a headache that caused.

Thankfully, with the assistance of some folks who are smarter than me, a bit of cash, and mind-numbing patience, Tech has been brought to heel. Fingers crossed, it stays in line for a while. The upside to these glitches is that each one forces me to learn something new.

Speaking of learning something new, I’ve now finished both the Facebook and the Amazon components in the Ads for Authors advertising course I’m taking. I’ve not had a lot of success with either platform yet, but I’m working on it.

One thing in particular has become painfully clear – I need more reviews for my books.

Reviews are social proof that my books are worth someone’s time. Reviews are doubly important for indies like me whose name and work isn’t well known.

I would really appreciate it—and it would help me tremendously—if you could leave a review for my book(s). A review doesn’t have to be more than a sentence or two. Perhaps what you liked about the book or who you would recommend it to. You can find some examples here: https://jpmcleanauthor.com/testimonials/

The preferred place to leave a review is on Amazon—they are the major player (by a long shot) in online book sales. (You’ll need an Amazon account and you’ll have to have spent $50 on Amazon in the previous year.) The following links will take you directly to The Gift Legacy’s Amazon review pages:

In Canada:

In the USA:

If you are unable to leave a review on Amazon, please consider leaving a review on Kobo or Goodreads. I am ever so grateful for your support. Thank you.

And if you’d like to discover a new indie author, there are still a few days left to pick up some great deals in the “Too Good to Miss Urban Fantasy Book Fair.”

Leading photo of angry sky by Victor Rodriguez on Unsplash

Secret Sky is the book that went on a walkabout and caused all kinds of havoc. Get your copy of Secret Sky from Kindle with one click right here. And if ebooks aren’t your preference, click on the bookstore tab for other purchase options, or just click on the covers below.