We did it!

In which it turns out I can be king after all, at least for a moment!

Wow. What can I say? We it did, Neverburians. Welcome to Neverbury has been back at the top of the charts on Amazon!

Ranks are fleeting on Amazon but I spotted this happy moment (completely by chance) and was delighted to get a little screenshot! We’ve actually hit top at least twice in the past few weeks, in what seems to be a three-way battle between me, Stuart MacBride, and Stephen King. I somehow suspect that the other two don’t even know this battle is going on, so please don’t tell them.

(Also, please note, that when I say “I spotted this completely by chance” I mean that in the sense that I refresh my listing page thirty to forty times a day just in case I’ve had a review or something!)

It’s a weird sensation, seeing a “Best Seller” tag next to a book that you wrote. Partly it doesn’t feel real, as if someone from Amazon is going to call at any moment and tell me that there has been a mistake, or that they’ve found me out and I’m going to have to go to some sort of literary gulag to serve a long and poorly constructed sentence.

It’s also something I’m a little shy about shouting about. Maybe it’s because I know how I got there and I don’t think it’s anything special. I wrote a book, I did some marketing, and so it sold a good number of copies. This is not rocket science.

And yet, I know a lot of my fellow indie authors are struggling to get the word out about their books. A lot of them hate marketing - they didn’t get into writing to learn how Facebook advertising algorithms work or spend hours getting the choreography of a TikTok dance just right. They just want to write stories.

Being an indie writer is not just being an indie writer. You are also the publisher, the marketeer, the publicist, the social media manager, the advertising exec, the event planner, warehouse manager, cover designer, typesetter, accountant, and head of HR (among other things).

Perhaps, once Return to Neverbury is launched and (hopefully) I’ve proven to myself that lightning can be convinced to strike twice, I might try and do something to help my fellow authors out with this problem… (Hint: I’ve got something the works, but can’t say yet what it is)

And, speaking of helping fellow authors out…

Yes, it’s that time again! This week, I’m introducing fellow indie horror author Tim Enoch and his book “Depravity’s Way”. Some book blurbs defy my ability to summarise them, so I’ll let the good Mr. Enoch introduce himself.

Dr. Chad Truett entices murder suspect Victor DeMoss to try a truth serum in exchange for bail. Truett’s ambition and incompetence result in DeMoss’s overdose that puts him in a coma. But even a coma can’t keep this psycho down.

Vic finds himself perfectly conscious outside his body in a state between sensible matter and pure spirit. He is invisible but not unheard, his words having the power of suggestion. He finds sustenance in a sweet substance covering his nurse’s skin. When he discovers the source of the substance is drug abuse, he goes on a hunt that soon becomes a rampage.

He is a god. He is a demon. And through him the sinful will now reap their just reward. So beings the Cannibal Soul Classic Dark Horror Thriller Series.

Victor DeMoss is a modern version of Bram Stoker’s Dracula vampire.

If this sounds like your bag, then follow this link to get a free sample.

And, speaking of free stuff…

If you haven’t already checked it out, there’s a great list of indie horror for Kindle Unlimited in the Kindle Unlimited Horror Bookfest!

Miscellany

What I’m Reading: I’ve just finished reading Angels of Venice by Philip Gwynne Jones. I don’t read many “thrillers” but I fell in love with this one. The main investigator, Nathan Sutherland, is not popped out from the same factory that seems to create every other “cynical-investigator-with-a-dark-past-and-family-troubles-but-a-heart-of-gold”. Instead he’s a warm, sympathetic, empathetic character whose passion for of a quick spritz or a good Negroni in his beloved Venice is infectiously charming. I imagine Nathan is a rather good dinner companion, when he’s not solving murders.

What I’m Watching: The “Great Netflix True Crime Binge” has come to an end with Mrs. L and I deciding that we prefer our crime to be a lot more fictional. We’ve currently got one episode left to go on Ludwig and we’re somewhere in the early part of the latest season of Only Murders in the Building at the moment. No spoilers please!

I am also really enjoying Agatha All Along. Considering how often witches and witchcraft turn up in my own work, it’s not suprising that I’m loving this one. Down, down, down the road…

What I’m Writing: Final, final, final touches on Return to Neverbury and plotting the next book after that! News, including a cover reveal, in the next newsletter.

That’s me, signing off for now.

See you in a week or two.

XOXO

Chris