A little bit of BSP … “Maximum Exposure,” the Max Revere prequel, will be out 3 weeks from today. It’s available for pre-order for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Apple, and probably all the other e-tailer sites.
Maximum Exposure takes Max to Colorado Springs where she investigates the disappearance of a college student on a camping trip six months before. It takes place a full two years before NOTORIOUS, which will be out in hardcover on March 25.
The reason I wanted to write about this now is because I’m fielding a lot of questions from readers, and I thought having a central place to respond was smart, considering others may have the same questions.
Some of my books are only available for ebook, and that has caused some frustration for readers. I understand! Not everyone has or wants an e-reader. Here are the top two questions I get about this.
When is your book going to be out in print?
All my full-length novels are available both digitally and in print in the US and Canada. Some are available in other countries as well.
Some of my digital novellas will be printed in the back of future books, such as “Love is Murder” the Lucy Kincaid prequel was printed in the back of IF I SHOULD DIE and “Reckless” was printed in the back of COLD SNAP. I have not heard whether “Maximum Exposure” will be printed in a future Maxine Revere book; if and when it happens, I will make sure everyone knows!
As of now, my indie books — the ones I’m publishing on my own — will not be available in print. These are all novellas or short novels and it’s not cost effective for me to make them available for print — for you, or me. My indie books are stand-alones or part of a digital only series; they will not affect any of my printed series.
I’m worried that I’m going to miss something important in your series, but I don’t have an e-reader.
I painstakingly make sure that readers who don’t read ebooks will not miss anything important in character development, and I don’t introduce a continuing storyline in an e-book that is picked up in print books. What I try to do is write a full-contained story to give readers a taste of the series between books. “Love is Murder” for example took place a year before the first book in the Lucy Kincaid series. Lucy and her brother Patrick solve a murder while stranded at a ski lodge in California. I want to give readers a good story, but at the same time I don’t want my print readers to think they’re missing something.
When I wrote the novella “Maximum Exposure” I was even more sensitive to this issue. NOTORIOUS is Maxine Revere’s debut — no one “has” to read “Maximum Exposure” to enjoy NOTORIOUS. In fact, I wrote the novella long after I wrote the book. “Maximum Exposure” is a snapshot of Max two years before NOTORIOUS, and shows her in her investigative element and why she decided to star in the cable news show that is part of her life in NOTORIOUS. Basically, it’s a bit of backstory that also solves the cold case of a missing college student.
I love writing novellas. I write one between almost every book I’ve written because the shorter format gives me a way to refresh myself creatively. I can experiment — like in 36 Hours — with completely different characters and setting, or I can revisit old friends — like in Reckless — and see what they’re up to. And the nice thing is that they’re less expensive — most novellas are 15-35K words and sell for 99 cents or $1.99.
I’m curious — do you like shorter, cheaper stories between full-length books? Do you care if they’re only available in ebook?
Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of nearly three dozen romantic thrillers and mysteries, including the Lucy Kincaid series and the Max Revere series. She lives in Northern California with her husband, five children, and assorted pets.
Leave a Reply to Erin Alford Cancel reply