I came up with the idea for these books five years ago and submitted to my publisher, but my publisher passed on the proposal. How sad was I? As sad as Toby was when I tried to decorate him as a Christmas tree, one year.
The trouble is, by the time I work up a book proposal, I tend to fall in love with the characters. So I decided I wanted to tell their story anyway. Maybe somebody out there would like these guys as much as I do. I still had a bunch of other books on contract, however. So I had to squeeze in writing these stories between deadlines, and ended up with three 100 page novellas, all I could manage at the time.
Then you, my amazing friends, read the stories and loved Gabe, Jake and Troy. So that was pretty cool. I felt as cool as when Toby plays secret agent.
The only complaint I ever received was that the stories were too short. And I thought, someday...
Eventually, I moved to another publisher. They published FORCED DISAPPEARANCE. Then I wrote FLASH FIRE, and they didn’t want it. How did I feel? About the same as when Toby had his first flea bath. I’m pretty sure I had that How could you do this to me? look in my eyes.
But I managed to self-publish the book.
Then I wrote GIRL IN THE WATER, and, well... No contract. I considered just hiding under the couch.
But, instead, I’m self-publishing that book soon. Of course, now I have a series where I don’t control the 1st book. And all the promo for a series is done on the 1st book. 99c sale, free book, etc. When someone tries a new series, they want to start with book #1. I have a mess on my hands.
So I had a brilliant idea.
I’d rewrite Agents Under Fire as a prequel to the Civilian Personnel Recovery series. Agents Under Fire wasn’t part of my Broslin Creek series, or my Civilian Personnel Recovery series, or my Hardstorm Saga series. So it never benefited from any promo I’ve done. Which meant, only a handful of people read it. Linking it to Civilian Personnel Recovery solved a lot of problems.
1. The rewrite gave me a chance to make the stories longer. (I ended up doubling the page count.)
2. Now they’d be included in any Civilian Personnel Recovery promo and readers would be able to find these stories.
3. I own the rights to this prequel, this is now the 1st item in this series, and I can control any special promo I do for it.
I swear, figuring all this out has twisted my brain into a pretzel. LOL But I think it’ll work out well.
HOWEVER... If you’ve bought this book before and feel that this is unfair, I completely understand. Believe me, I agonized over this issue the whole time I was updating this box set.
With each new book, I give out a handful of free review copies. However, for Agents Under Fire, if you send me a note and say, I already bought this set when it first came out, I shouldn’t have to buy it again...I will say, “Fair enough,” and send you a free review copy.
Because as important as my characters and my books are to me, it’s nothing compared to how much I love my readers. I treasure the responses I get to my newsletters. We chat daily in my Facebook Book Club, meet at book signings. You guys make my day, every single day. So please don’t hesitate even for a second to let me know if you don’t like something I’m writing or doing. We will find a solution.
Love you all,
Dana
Disclaimer: No animals have been harmed in the making of this blog entry.
P.S.: The moral of the story is this:
Agents Under Fire, my entire Broslin Creek series, my Hardstorm Saga series, Flash Fire, Girl in the Water...all stories publishers didn't want. These books were only published because YOU support indie authors. Because you don't just go to pirate sites, don't just download free or 99c books. Because you take a chance on me with every single book. Because you share my FB posts and leave online reviews. THANK YOU!!!
Updated with BUY LINK.
