Another batch of new links! Remember that if you had ordered One Knight’s Bride at Apple before the beginning of March, your pre-order has likely been cancelled. I apologize that you’ll need to order Amaury’s book again.
New Apple links are populating, so I’ll share them with you by series as they’re updated here on the site. (You can read more about the change in this blog post.) I’m working through my catalogue by series so there aren’t any stragglers. 🙂 These updates will feature the new Apple links, but if you click on the book cover, it will take you to the book’s landing page here on the site, where you can read more about the book and find other retailer links. The Apple links will be updated on the landing page by the time I make a post like this, as well.
All of my books have been published from the aggregator to Apple, but as I work through removing them from direct publication, you may find duplicate listings. The listing that will survive this transition is the one that lists Draft2Digital as the seller. You’ll find this information on the product page, below the description – I’ve circled it in this image:
First up, The Ladies’ Essential Guide to the Art of Seduction.
Sadly, this is the big hit from this change – there were a number of pre-orders for The Duke’s Desire that ended up being cancelled. If you had pre-ordered that title at Apple, please order it again with this new link. I apologize for the extra work on your end.
The first three books had been published via the aggregator, then were switched over, so these editions do have some reviews. Yay.
Also, The Brides of North Barrows series has updated Apple links.
(This is cross-posted from my Deborah Cooke website.)
There’s something about the pending arrival of spring that makes me look for opportunities for improvement. I start a big clean of our house. I plan the garden for the upcoming season and we plan for any repairs. And the same is true of my writing and publishing world – it’s a good time to do some sorting, cleaning and rearranging. I also make a list of items that are due for an update or need to be done.
This year, that means I’ll be opening a new online store very soon. I’ve been building it over the past month and I’m nearly ready to fling open the proverbial doors. As a result, you’ll have a place to buy ebooks directly from me, as well as acquire some titles that aren’t available at all (or sometimes, any) retailers. My bigger digital boxed sets aren’t listed at Amazon, for example, but you’ll be able to buy a copy for your Kindle directly from me. I also have some exclusive ebooks and print books that aren’t available at retailers – these are generally editions that were created at Kickstarter with extra features. As a bonus, the ebooks sold in my online store are stored in your BookFunnel library, accessible from all your devices, and available to you forever. Look for that to launch soon. I’m doing all the ebooks first.
Setting up a store also prompts a review of my book catalogue. Last year, when I set up the Shopify store, I cleaned up all of my pricing at the same time. This year, I’ve identified a few gaps in my collections (especially for digital boxed sets) and also decided that some series need new covers. So, that gives me a list maintenance plan for (at least) the year ahead.
The other thing that’s changing is some of my ebook distribution. I have a huge catalogue and managing it becomes more time-consuming every year. Some portals are more challenging than others to navigate, or slower in maintenance mode. (When you have almost 200 book products, those moments of watching the spinner while the server churns certainly add up.) Last year, I switched all of my translations over to an aggregator, which means one firm distributes them to a number of retail portals. Wow. This works beautifully. Of course, the aggregator takes a percentage of revenue for their part, but the time savings makes that worthwhile for me. (I’d rather be writing than managing metadata. Wouldn’t you?)
So, right now, I’m in the midst of shifting all of my Apple distribution. It has been loaded directly to Apple, but now will reach the Apple iBooks store from the aggregator. Once the change is complete, it will make my life much simpler and this gives me joy.
What exactly does the shift mean?
• My Apple links will change. Each book will have a new product number (a new Apple ID) which means it will have a different link at Apple.
This results in two big changes at your end.
• Pre-orders will vanish. As the old link is retired and the new link goes live, any pre-orders on an old link will disappear. So, if you’ve already ordered The Duke’s Desire or One Knight’s Bride at Apple, your pre-order will vanish and you’ll need to order it again. I apologize for this inconvenience. (I’ve removed the links from the pages for those books this morning, and will add the new ones once they’re live. I’ll let you know when that’s done.)
I thought about leaving the pre-orders until fulfillment, but this is problematic, too. You wouldn’t be able to download updated versions of the book after the publication date, and Apple wouldn’t display the book as part of a series if the other books in the series had moved to the aggregator. (For books to be shown in a series at Apple, they have to all reach the iBooks store the same way i.e. published directly or through an aggregator.)
• Reviews will vanish. Reviews are associated with the specific product number at Apple. Unlike other portals, Apple doesn’t combine editions, so the books coming from the aggregator will be without reviews initially. This makes me very sad, but it’s a transition. Over time, they’ll gain new reviews. If you have posted reviews at Apple in the past, I would greatly appreciate your posting them again on the new editions.
One big upside is that my books will all be restored for Apple readers in the EU – without me creating duplicate editions and doing a lot of acrobatics to make it so. (The ones loaded through Apple vanished from the EU stores at the beginning of March.) This gives me joy, too.
The process isn’t immediate with a big list, of course, As of now, all of the books have been published from the aggregator to Apple. There will appear to be duplicate editions at iBooks while this transition is in progress. I’ll update the pre-orders first, then the current series, then work on the backlist. When the new links are live and searchable, I’ll update the links on my websites, then unpublish the versions at Apple. I hope to finish this up by the end of March.
There’s a peek at my spring cleaning for 2025!
Yesterday, I had a BookBub Featured Deal for One Knight Enchanted, the series starter for Rogues & Angels. It’s 99cents through the middle of March. Since it’s been on sale before, and has had a BBFD before, I thought it might make sense to try a different category. This time, it went out in Paranormal Romance – last time, it went out in Historical Romance. Results are always lower the second time, but I’m pleased. Let’s have a look.
At Amazon.com, One Knight Enchanted rose to #2 and #3 in its categories, and #1041 overall paid in the Kindle store.
At Amazon.ca, it rose a little higher to # overall paid in the Kindle store.
At Nook, Rolfe and Annelise’s story earned a bestseller ribbon.
One Knight Enchanted reached #36 overall paid in ebooks at Nook:
And #10 in romance:
At KOBO, One Knight Enchanted is #14 in paranormal romance and #17 in historical romance this morning.
At Apple, Rolfe and Annelise’s story is #75 overall paid this morning.
And #16 in Romance:
One Knight Enchanted remains on sale for the next two weeks, so if you haven’t started this series yet, now’s your chance to dive in.
Cursed to take the form of the wolf by day, Rolfe de Viandin is skeptical that love can save him. All he wants is to return home from crusade by the Yule and even the pleasures of a magical palace cannot console him…until a beautiful and bold maiden arrives at his gates, seeking sanctuary, and Rolfe’s hope is restored.
Hunted in the forest, Annelise de Sayerne has to surrender her desire to wed for love, as the price of entering the only refuge is marriage to its enigmatic lord. She fears he must be a monster, but once she experiences his kindness, Annelise resolves to find love with her new husband—if she can just claim his heart.
Even as Rolfe is beguiled by his bride and Annelise unravels his secrets, a spurned suitor pursues Annelise, determined to claim her legacy at any price. If Rolfe’s curse is not broken, how can he defend his beloved wife from the villain? Will their future be lost before it is truly won—or will Rolfe be convinced of the power of love in time?
Visit the Pinterest board for One Knight Enchanted.
“One Knight Enchanted is a revised book and is the start of a new series Rogues & Angels. The series will be about knights returning to their homes from years at the Crusade. Before they all left on their journey, each was given a special gift that’s supposed to help…in the future to come. Book one is the story of Rolfe de Viandin… along with the misfortune that he encounters. Lady Annelise de Sayerne stumbles across Rolfe de Viandin on her trip to a convent in hope of avoiding a forced marriage… This book supplies romance, laughter and adventure. If you like “fairytale” stories then this is a great beginning of a delightful series to come! Five stars!”
—Amazon Reviewer
Buy One Knight Enchanted ebook:
The next medieval romance in my Rogues & Angels series is now available for pre-order. One Knight’s Bride will be published in December. This is Amaury’s arranged marriage, which proves to be a lot more passionate than this knight expects. I’m going to have fun with this one. 🙂
Amaury de Montvieux returns home from crusade expecting change—but not that his legacy has been claimed by a neighbor, much less that the only way to regain his inheritance is to marry the intruder’s daughter. The maiden is known to be both plain and a shrew, but Amaury does not care: he must hold Montvieux, regardless of the price. He’s never believed that love should stand in the way of questions of importance. Marriage it will be.
Isabella de Marnis secretly admired the handsome knight Amaury, heir of her father’s enemy, long before he rode to crusade, and welcomes this arranged marriage. But no sooner is their betrothal announced than Isabella’s older brother dies in a mysterious hunting accident. When her father succumbs to his grief, Isabella is left alone and Marnis undefended. Fearing that Amaury is responsible, Isabella takes refuge in her ancestral home.
Not to be denied, Amaury storms the gates to claim his bride and secure his legacy. Once victorious, he hears whispers of a plot against him. Has the old enmity between their families undermined their vows? Has his clever wife been scheming to hold Marnis in her own right? Or is she a pawn, trapped in a web of another’s making, in need of Amaury’s protection? Choosing to trust his new bride is the boldest choice he has ever made, but Amaury knows that they can only triumph together. His sole hope is that their alliance is not made too late – but he has not guessed how much Isabella will surrender out of her newfound love for him.
Coming December 2025
Pre-order available at some portals:
Claire Delacroix 