I had a BookBub Featured Deal on October 2 for The Crusader’s Kiss at 99cents. Bartholomew and Anna’s story is book three of the series and has never been on sale before. Because I don’t like to start in the middle of anything, I also discounted The Crusader’s Bride, the series starter, to 99cents.
Let’s have a look at the results from the first day.
Here’s the BB ad:
And here’s how things shook out. The Crusader’s Kiss rose to #171 overall in the Kindle store, as well as sticking at #1 in Medieval Romance and Ancient World Romance.
I always like to have a look at the neighbouring titles so here’s the Ancient World list:
And here’s the medieval romance list:
Notice that all of the books except The Crusader’s Kiss are in Kindle Unlimited.
At Barnes & Noble, The Crusader’s Kiss is at #11 in paid romance. It says on the book product page that it’s #18 overall paid in the store, but I found it at #23 this morning.
At KOBO, The Crusader’s Kiss is at #2 in Historical Romance and #5 in Romantic Suspense. (There are fewer categories at KOBO.)
And finally, at Apple, The Crusader’s Kiss is #20 overall paid in the Apple store.
It’s also at #6 paid in Romance in the Apple store:
All that in one day. 🙂 I’m counting this as a successful promotion.
I hope you’ve grabbed your copy of The Crusader’s Kiss, which will be on sale until the end of the month. The Crusader’s Bride is also a 99cent read, and the series bundle, where available, is also discounted to $12.99US or equivalent.
Yesterday, I had a BookBub Featured Deal for The Christmas Conquest as a free read.
This book has never been free before and it’s a series starter, so the results were great.
At Amazon.com, the book rose to #1 in three categories and #6 overall in the store:
By the time I grabbed a screen shot of the top free books, it had slipped to #6 overall. It always makes me happy to see historical romances break into the top ten listings. 🙂
Here it is at #1 in Regency Romance:
It was also #1 in Holiday Romance:
And #1 in Victorian Romance:
At Apple, results were also impressive. The Christmas Conquest rose to #7 overall in the Apple store.
And it was #5 free in Romance in the Apple store. Once again, it’s great to see an historical romance that high in the rankings:
Nook and GooglePlay don’t feature a ranking for free reads, while KOBO’s free reads are chosen by their editors, not determined by rank. The book did well yesterday at those portals, too, although I can’t show you any pictures to illustrate results. It did really well at KOBO, actually.
The Christmas Conquest is free through the end of September, so if you haven’t grabbed your free copy of Rhys and Catherine’s story, be sure you don’t miss this deal.
Love was not part of the plan when this marriage was arranged…
Rhys Bettencourt, Baron Trevelaine, had every intention of avoiding his family’s curse. An arranged marriage to a plain bluestocking of fortune should have ensured the provision of at least one heir. After all, it was beloved Bettencourt wives who always died in childbirth. But practical Catherine undermined her husband’s scheme by stealing his heart. The only way for Rhys to protect her is to deny them both physical satisfaction, against his own desires.
Catherine Carruthers was content to wed for practical considerations and accept an arranged marriage to please her family. Two years later, though, Catherine is certain that her dashing aristocrat of a husband regrets his choice and that her marriage will never be more. She accepts an invitation to Rockmorton Manor for Christmas to decide whether to leave Rhys and return to her father’s house. Upon arrival, though, Catherine discovers pages of sensual advice left in her room—as well as Rhys determined to convince her to stay. Can their marriage be saved?
Armed with information and with little to lose, Catherine embarks upon a campaign of seduction that Rhys is powerless to resist—even as he fears for Catherine’s fate if he surrenders to temptation. Caught between love and the wretched curse, can Rhys find a way to keep his cherished wife safely by his side?
Rhys and Catherine’s story has a bonus epilogue, which was originally available to my newsletter subscribers, called Upon a Midnight Clear. On September 28, 2023, the bonus epilogue was added into the ebook of The Christmas Conquest.
If you bought The Christmas Conquest after that date, you’ll get both.
If you bought The Christmas Conquest before that date, your portal of choice might offer an updated version, or you can download if from BookFunnel using the link below.
This week, I had a BookBub Featured Deal for The Wolf & the Witch as a free series starter. This is the first time that Maximilian and Alys’ book has been free – it’s time because the series is complete with the publication of The Scot & the Sorceress on Tuesday – so I was curious what the results would be like. They were great!
Let’s have a look. The Wolf & the Witch reached #6 overall free in the Amazon US store, which is incredible. Interestingly, this little summary left out the #1 in Medieval Historical romance, even though that was also the case.
This screen shot of the top eight free books in the Amazon US store is from the morning of August 29, one day after the launch of the promotion.
Here are the top eight free Scottish Historical romances in the Amazon US store on the morning of August 29, with The Wolf & the Witch at #1.
The Wolf & the Witch also reached #1 in Medieval Romance at Amazon.com by noon on the 28th. Here’s that list on the morning of August 29 – it’s interesting how many titles are on both lists:
Over at Apple, The Wolf & the Witch rose to #8 overall free in the Apple store – this screenshot is from the morning of August 29.
And The Wolf & the Witch was #6 free in Romance at Apple on August 29.
It’s interesting to note that the only other romances on both lists are contemporary romances and romantic comedies. A lot (a lot) of historical romance authors, particularly medieval and Scottish historical romance authors, have their books enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, which makes them exclusive to Amazon.
The Wolf & the Witch also did well at Nook and KOBO, but they don’t chart free books.
Another BookBub Featured Deal completed and a success!
I had a BookBub Featured Deal on Saturday for The Crusader’s Bride so let’s have a look at the results.
I was pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of this promotion. This book has had several featured deals in the past, and the first one is typically the most effective. The most recent one was February 2020; there was one in March 2018 and also in October 2016, so this was #4. The October 2016 featured deal was the first time the book was free and coincided with the publication of The Crusader’s Handfast, book five of the Champions of St. Euphemia and the series finale. That’s always the most powerful combination, IME.
This time, The Crusader’s Bride rose to #10 overall in the US Kindle store, as well as #1 in Medieval Romance and #1 in Ancient World Romance.
Over at Apple, The Crusader’s Bride rose to #18 overall in the Apple store, and #13 in Romance. It’s always fun to see what else is on the main list – I have romances on either side on both lists, but there’s Sun Tzu’s Art of War as a neighbour on the main list. 🙂
Of course, the book is still free, and will be until the end of August. Don’t miss your chance to start this complete series of medieval romances!
The Crusader’s Bride
Gaston battled for duty and honor—until Ysmaine tempted him to fight for her love…
When the Templar knight Gaston unexpectedly inherits his family estate, he knows he needs a wife and heir. A marriage of convenience to a widow in need of assistance is a practical solution and the newly-wed pair leave Jerusalem, entrusted with the delivery of a package for the Templars. Away from the life he has known for years, Gaston quickly realizes that little is following his plan—especially his mysterious wife, whose presence awakens an unexpected fire…
Twice widowed, Ysmaine doubts she will ever wed again, let alone have a marriage of merit—until she is charmed by the gruff knight intent upon defending her. Ysmaine weds again, not only by her own choice but to a warrior whose honor she admires. She is determined to show Gaston that marriage has more to offer them both than an heir, but first she must win the trust of the wary man she has impulsively wed…
Neither realize that Gaston has been entrusted with the treasure of the Templars—much less that someone in their small party is intent upon claiming the prize at any cost. In a company of strangers with secrets, can Gaston dare to trust his new bride? Can Ysmaine convince Gaston to confide what he knows? Can they solve the riddle together before the villain’s plan comes to fruition and all is lost?
The Wolf & the Witch is discounted to 99cents this week, and I had a BookBub Featured Deal yesterday to promote the sale. This book has never been discounted before and it’s a series starter. Let’s have a peek at results.
The book earned an orange #1 bestseller ribbon at Amazon, in the US store, the CA store, the UK store and the AU store which is pretty exciting. I’m not sure that’s happened for one of my books before. Here’s the US store ribbon:
The ranking in that store was #201 paid overall in the store, #1 in Scottish historical romance and #1 in medieval historical romance.
At the CA store, The Wolf & the Witch is #122 paid overall in the store (yay!), as well as #1 in Scottish historical romance and #2 in medieval historical romance.
In the UK store, Maximilian and Alys’ book is #680 overall paid in the store, as well as #1 in medieval historical romance and #2 in Scottish historical romance.
In the AU store, The Wolf & the Witch is #139 overall paid in the store, plus #1 in medieval historical romance, #1 in ancient world historical romance and #1 in Scottish historical romance. Yay, Australia!
At KOBO, The Wolf & the Witch is #2 in historical romance, and #2 in romantic suspense this morning.
At Nook, The Wolf & the Witch is #12 on the Top 100 ebook list.
It’s also #3 on the Top Indie bestseller list at Nook:
And it’s #1 in both Historical Romance indie reads and Romance indie reads at Nook, too. Phew!
Finally, at Apple, The Wolf & the Witch is #75 overall paid in the store:
And it’s #27 paid on the Romance bestseller list at Apple.
That was quite a ride! Thank you to everyone who bought a copy yesterday and helped to make this possible. Alys and Maximilian’s book will be discounted until January 7, so don’t miss your chance to grab this deal!
Denied his rightful legacy, Maximilian de Vries devised a plan to avenge himself upon his father and see his own future secured. Allied with his two half-brothers, he descends upon ancient and mysterious Kilderrick, determined to seize the keep once promised to him, regardless of the price. A woman rumored to be a witch is the sole one bold enough to defy him but Maximilian has a solution—he will take her to wife, whether she be willing or nay, and seal his claim.
But this powerful warrior has yet to match wits with Alys Armstrong, a maiden with a thirst for vengeance and a fury that might exceed his own. Alys has no intention of capitulating to the proud and powerful rogue who stole everything from her—no matter how seductive his touch might be—and she does not share his compulsion to fight fair.
Bitter enemies from the outset, Maximilian and Alys’ match is a battle of wills. When passion flares, will either of them be able to resist temptation? And when Kilderrick itself is in peril, will they join forces to save the holding they each prize—and the unexpected love they value above all else?
Claire Delacroix 