This is it! Your last chance to get "The Forest of Forever" for free through Kindle Scout!

After 28 of the longest days of my life, the first wave of Kindle Scout is now ending. There is just one more day to vote for The Forest of Forever through the program and get it for free if it wins enough support. (For those who don't know, Kindle Scout let's you choose the next bestseller. If it gets enough votes, Amazon will publish and market it, and all those who supported it will get it for free.) If you haven’t voted for The Forest of Forever yet, please do it now by going here! The rest of us will wait until you get back.

Voted yet? Super. Welcome back. There’s something exciting about trying something new, but it’s pretty scary too. Many of you have asked me over the past month, “How’s the book doing?” I’m here to tell you: I don’t know. This is an uncertain task. I don’t know how many votes the book has or how many it needs or what happens when it gets “enough.” It’s like betting on a race where you can’t see the horses, the track, or even the stadium in which it’s being held. Also you're blindfolded.

But I do know at least one thing. The Forest of Forever hit the “hot and trending” list on the very first day the program started, and it’s been there every day since. Only three of the other more than 200 books in the program can say that. I take that as a very good sign.  So I don’t know what the result is or when I’ll find out, but I’m tremendously grateful for everyone who has voted. I’m also grateful for all of you who mentioned it to friends, posted it on Facebook or Twitter, or cajoled a spouse or relative into voting. It is very much appreciated. And if you feel like encouraging folks to vote one last time, that would be awesome. 

So what’s next? Well, if you haven’t seen it yet, Closed at Dark, a prequel to The Forest of Forever, is now out for Kindle. It's been winning some great reviews already. You can buy it for 99 cents for a limited time or get it for FREE by joining my e-mail list here. 

If you are planning to get Closed at Dark, act fast. The offer to get it by joining my e-mail list is expiring in early December. 

As for Kindle Scout, as soon as I hear back from Amazon, I’ll let you know what’s happening next. If Amazon buys the book, I understand they may push the publication date back until sometime in December. But the good news is that, as long as you voted for it, you will get it for free and a week before it is officially published.  I think you’ll like it. The early response I’ve had on it has been overwhelmingly positive and I’m excited to see what you think.

If it isn’t picked by Kindle Scout, I will roll out The Forest of Forever very quickly. I’ll post another note to let you know when you can buy it.

Until then, we'll just to see how our blindfolded horse race turns out. 

Announcing my OTHER new novel, "Closed at Dark"

There’s a saying in the publishing world: the best way to market your last book is to write your next one.

As many of you know, my next novel, The Forest of Forever, is currently being featured on Kindle Scout. If it wins enough votes, Amazon will buy it and market it. I don’t mean to put too fine a point on it, but I really want that to happen. It’s not the advance I crave (though that’s nice), it’s the unrivaled marketing power of Amazon. I’d love to see what kind of visibility it could bring to the book.

But marketing a book, particularly one that isn’t even published yet, is tough. Those who have read The Sanheim Chronicles may be inclined to vote for The Forest of Forever, but others might wonder if it’s worth their time. It’s surprisingly hard to get people to click a button, even when there’s no money involved.

So that’s why I’m releasing a totally different book…in a week. I’m pleased to announce that I’m publishing Closed at Dark: A Soren Chase Novella on Nov. 11. I’m also pleased to tell you that I’m giving it to email subscribers for free.

That’s right. You can get the novel for FREE just by signing up here. For everyone else, it will be available for a limited time at the low, low price of 99 cents, after which it will go back to its regular price of $2.99.

As most of you can infer from the title, Closed at Dark and The Forest of Forever are related and share the same main character, Soren Chase. The Forest of Forever is the start of a new series featuring Soren, but Closed at Dark is a self-contained prequel set about six months before the events of the main novel. 

The novella will help shed light on some of the issues Soren is grappling with in the main novel and provide a glimpse of many of the main characters. That said, Closed at Dark can be enjoyed entirely on its own merits, as can The Forest of Forever (the two are related, but not dependent on each other. I want anyone who picks up either one to enjoy it.)

Here’s a brief description of Closed at Dark:

“When a mysterious white-haired man tries to kidnap Sara Ignatius’ son and then vanishes before her eyes, Sara knows there’s only one person who can help her: Soren Chase, one of the country’s best supernatural investigators.

For Soren, the case is personal. Sara’s fiancé was John Townes, Soren’s best friend who died in a supernatural attack several years earlier. Soren will do anything to save Sara’s son, but he must act fast. Because the kidnapper has a mission of his own, and he’s willing to destroy anyone who gets in his way…”

Closed at Dark is technically a novella, but it’s not exactly short. I like to think of it as an appetizer to the main course, but one so good it could be a meal of its own.

Take a look at the awesome cover below and be sure to sign up here to get the novella for free. And while you’re at it, be sure to vote for The Forest of Forever through Kindle Scout. If it wins enough support, you can get that for free too. Two great novels for one nonexistent price. It doesn’t get better than that.