The Death of Livi Talbot

This is really hard for me.

I really debated posting this all day. Like I want to get this out of the way as soon as possible, but I also don’t want to clog up the blog with another big long depressing thing that a lot of folks probably don’t want to read.

I warned about this when Solomon’s Seal was first published in 2016.

I said this series is on life support when piracy first started in 2017. I explained about delays. I have said over and over that I cannot continue a series that isn’t selling, especially when it is being stolen more than bought. I have had pirate after pirate hit my page set up with certain search terms for them to find, so they know what is at stake.

Now here we are.

Like sure, I've only been rationing groceries all month to save for my cat's surgery, and taking expired medication to get myself through until I can see a doctor, but it's totally fine to steal! Who cares!

— Skyla Dawn (@skyladawn) November 28, 2021

So to summarize: sales have been not-great for the latest book and series in general. Preorders for the next are embarrassingly low. New books have popped up for illegal download this month.

These combined factors and ensuing stress has had me debating for the past twenty-four hours what to do, and after talking it over with a friend, and weighing all the factors including the tremendous support from so many of you…

The likelihood is that Livi #7 will be the last widely published book.

• Charon’s Gold will still release October 2022 as planned, in ebook and paperback.
• The as-yet untitled Livi Talbot seventh book will hopefully release late 2023/early 2024
• It will conclude the series of publicly available books.
• The final five (#8-12) will probably find a home on Patreon somehow (I haven’t decided how yet but I’ve got a few years to plan; Elis will finish up and I could serialize Livi there next)

I am sorry this hurts some people. I don’t want to hurt anyone. You’ve had so much faith in me and the books, I don’t want to let you down. But I…I can’t handle anymore of this with these books. I cannot handle the violation of my rights and what the triggers for me. Ultimately, this feels like a better option then just cancelling everything outright. #7 doesn’t end on a cliffhanger and I think it can close off some of the arcs so it’s satisfying–it gives me time to close some loops and gives you time to know what’s coming.

I do not make this decision lightly but I think I have to do it in order to protect my mental and physical health.

I have a longer explanation here that gets personal and goes into a lot of factors I weighed, for those interested, including the financial considerations.

I will guess at a couple of FAQs:

Is this a done deal? More than likely. The series has had five years to pick up enough sales to sustain it. #5 and #6 were only written because of monthly Patreon support covering bills so that I could write them–this has been a long time coming. I cannot fathom suddenly gaining enough readers to change things.

Can you still keep writing them with Patreon? I can and I will–that’s what I’ve said here. They’ll just go the way of Elis’s books and become Patreon stories rather than publicly published.

Will Livi and West– No. This series is not paranormal romance; it’s urban fantasy. No one is getting a romantic HEA; I wouldn’t tack that onto the end of a book where it doesn’t fit to begin with. Livi, on her own, will get a happily-for-now because I don’t want to leave folks hanging, but nothing about this series has ever been Genre Romance. Their relationship is one aspect of MANY that make up the books. Please stop yelling at me.

Is it a ploy for more patrons? Nope! I figure those who want to join can but I don’t anticipate many regular readers who buy to translate into the subscription model. That’s why I’m trying to give them some kind of closure with Livi #7, so they don’t feel they need to join as patrons.

This is completely and totally for my own health. I’ve spent twenty-four hours crying and shaking, paralyzed and unable to write, and the only reason I’m not vomiting is because I’m so stressed I can’t eat anything.

I want loyal (paying) readers to see the end of where this is going–I know the ending of the twelfth book and I am still eager to get there. But I cannot handle this situation any longer.

Sometimes self-care isn’t a bubble bath–it’s protecting your intellectual property any way you can.