FAQs

Unfortunately, I can’t. Shipping is ridiculously expensive for books and while I used to do bookplates, they have a history of getting lost in the mail. If I’m able to change this policy in the future, I will, but for now it’s a no.

If you want to buy a signed paperback, contact me. Books are $10USD each plus shipping, paid via PayPal.

Um, no. Unless I can go to where you work and take your products without paying. Really, please don’t ever ask authors to give you one of their books free unless you won it in a contest. We’re not rich. We can’t afford to give a book to everyone who wants one and it makes us very uncomfortable when you ask for free stuff.

I wish I could, but I don’t have that kind of thing to just hand out. I’m a full time writer, stretched thin as it is. I can’t afford swag to give out other than to Patrons of Snark and as contest giveaways.

It was no longer a good fit for me and my work, so books that were previously with a publisher are ones I’m putting out myself. I may do this with other projects as well for a myriad of reasons that are, frankly, no one’s business but mine.

I love book bloggers and I love reviews, however unless I’m actively promoting a new release or you’ve reviewed previous books, no, I’m sorry but review copies are not available (and even then, review copies are restricted to the main novels; if you want the novellas or shorts, you can find them for sale various places). It stresses me out too much worrying about reviews–about whether or not the books will be liked, or if they’ll be reviewed at all, etc etc.

I do endeavor to keep my ebooks affordable, however, and if you purchase a copy and end up reviewing it, that’s wonderful and very much appreciated.

The usual answer is what every writer says: leave some reviews at Amazon/GoodReads/your blog, like my FB page, chat up the books to your friends.

Honestly, though? I hate those stupid “support your favourite author” memes that go around. I love you just for buying my books. Yes, reviews and word-of-mouth and all that jazz helps, and it’s appreciated, but if you buy my books and would rather just lurk? Totally cool with me. There are lots of authors I adore, and just because I don’t wallpaper the town in posters for their books doesn’t mean I’m not a fan. So I get it. I’m also not big on expecting readers to do all the author’s marketing (if you do it on your own, great, but it’s not something required by me). Unless you steal from me, you’re a fan and you’re awesome, and you just keep on lurking and being great.

If you have extra pennies, you can check out Patreon.

If I have projected release dates, they’ll be listed on the upcoming page. If there are no dates there, I have no information.

This usually means one of three things.

1. A typo. My books are 90 000 – 100 000 words on average, and yes, no matter how many pairs of eyes go over them beforehand, something is missed. I am truly sorry if this impaired your enjoyment of the work. If you insist on telling me about another, okay, but I do go through and tweak/update the files periodically, so unless it was a recent purchase, there’s a good chance it’s already been corrected. With at least Bloodlines, you can go into manage your Kindle and get an updated copy. If you got the illegal pirated version, you are SOL.
2. You think something I wrote is wrongity-wrong-wrong. Maybe you’re right, or maybe you’re not, but these books are published and have been for a number of years, so I made the decision that I’m not going to go back and tinker with major things, no matter how I might want to, as a lot of people have already read them. Writers reach a point where they have to let things go and not endlessly rewrite because on that path lies madness; I first wrote, for example, Bloodlines about ten years ago, and I could’ve spent this decade rewriting it every year, but instead I chose to write new books. Which is what writers do.
3. You don’t like a character/plot line/etc.  I don’t write to please you or please ANYONE–it’s impossible to do. I understand if there are things you don’t like in my books but I’m not going to change them for you.

Sure. Write. A lot. Learn to read your work like a reader, not the brilliant writer who wrote it. Remember that no one cares about your book as much as you do. Write some more. Try not to whine a lot. Follow www.evilwriters.com. Next?

I am a big believer in paying it forward and helping people along in their writing journey. I am also a fan, however, of paying my rent and my bills and being able to buy groceries. This means I can’t stop what I’m doing to give individual people advice, help, feedback, etc.

If you’re looking to learn about the business and craft of writing without spending a dime, you can do that by following the blogs and sites of writers, editors, and agents, and soaking up the things they say like a sponge. If you have some money to part with, do your research and find either online workshops/courses or local ones (and doing “research” means ensuring the people teaching them have experience to back up what they’re saying).

When I have advice to dispense, you’ll find it here.

No. For many, may reasons, not the least of which is conflict of interest–if I’m working on something similar, I don’t want you to sue me for stealing your idea. Primarily, though, it’s because my time is limited and I would rather spend it reading my work, work I’m paid to read, or reading for pleasure. Get a crit group if you want free help. If you want to hire me as an editor, that’s another story–you’ll find my rates at www.indigochickdesigns.com.

As long as you realize I am very picky and very busy; I may read it but not like it, or I may not have time to read it. Send a formal query if you really want me to. Unless you write for PublishAmerica.

AHAHAHAHAHA.

No.

When I switched my site in December, I ended up leaving them all behind. I’m working on moving a few back here–popular ones like my open letter to plagiarists, guests posts and interviews by writers, and that sort of thing.

Yep, but go here for that info. There’s a contact form there that I ask you to use so no email gets lost. Also, it’s best to book at least a few months in advance.

I’d rather you “like” my page. Occasionally I get stalkers.

Please don’t, unless you’re Dina James (she has exclusive stalking rights and she is VERY PROTECTIVE OVER THEM, so stalkers beware, NO I AM NOT JOKING).

Please do.

It’s a series I have in progress, a mix of urban fantasy and adventure about a single mom who hunts for magical artifacts–think Tomb Raider meets Gilmore Girls. There will be ten books total, however I am committed to publishing only the first three to see how they do.

Whether or not I publish more will depend entirely on my stress level which I have to watch closely now. Factors that will decide whether or not I keep publishing: sales (if they are non-existent, well, no reason to continue) and piracy (if people are illegally distributing my work, I will cancel this series as I did Demons of Oblivion and River Wolfe). I am hopeful these books will do well, as I really love them and hope readers do too, but of course I’m braced for the worst.

September 20, 2016!

The second and third book will release four to six months later–I have a fairly complete draft of the second and I’m currently working on the third.

You can’t. You can read it by purchasing it, asking someone to purchase it from you, borrowing it from your local library, or reading it on Scribd (which is like Netlix for books–they even have a free trial).

If you request, upload, or otherwise illegally distribute my books, you are taking money from my pocket that I need to pay my bills, buy medication, and take care of my pets. You are responsible when I have to cancel a series. And I have, already–two of them. Both the River Wolfe and Demons of Oblivion series are no more due to piracy.

I have only committed to publishing the first three Livi Talbot books out of the ten planned for the series. If the books are being illegally distributed more than bought, I will cancel this series as well. You may think it’s a harmless act, but I assure you it’s not. If you request Solomon’s Seal and someone uploads it, there will be no more books.

You are not helping the downtrodden by stealing; you are not Robin Hood. You are making a struggling writer unable to publish books by violating my rights.

Writers are not stupid. We see when you come to our sites looking for torrents; we see you requesting/posting our work at piracy forums. These sorts of activities do not encourage us to write more. You dig me?

Yes, there’s a whole series. A complete list of novels, novellas, shorts, and collections here. Complete novels include Hunter, Lineage, Exhumed, and Oblivion. Regardless of who narrates them, ALL of these books are sequels to Bloodlines.

Bloodlines ended the only way it possibly could’ve ended; although I think it’s a bit of a surprise initially, it makes total sense and was foreshadowed repeatedly.

If you yell at me about how it ruined the book for you, I will probably laugh because, honestly, I thought the ending was funny. Because I’m a terrible person. So you probably want to rethink that hatemail as it won’t do you much good.

It was in progress in 2011 but I found myself unable to keep up with a serial given my work schedule. In 2014 I’d intended to finish and re-release it (got the site set up and everything) but I can no longer make this series a priority so at this point it’s on indefinite hiatus unless it’s resurrected as a Patreon reward.

Did you skip Hunter and Lineage after Bloodlines?

Yes…
These books aren’t standalone; they have an overriding plot arc and the same characters appear in each. The series order is listed in the front of the books and mentioned in my author’s note at the end. I can offer you tea but no sympathy.

But I liked Zara and didn’t want to read those other stories.
Sorry?

Is it a popular decision? Only among die-hard fans. Is it one I stand by? Yes.

If you look at the series as a whole, you’ll see all the short story offshoots and things that show different perspectives from different characters on the same situation. That is part of what this series is about: nothing is black and white, and there are many sides to every sitch. It’s also about how a group of very different people have to work together. I’m in a tough spot of preferring to write very deep first person narrative while still being drawn to ensemble casts.

Truthfully, although I adore Zara, she gets exhausting to write, and being in her head means an extremely limited perspective. As a writer, I need to stretch now and again. And, as evidence with Nate in Bloodlines, she’s at her best when she has someone very different to play off of. Ryann and Peri bring a lot to the table and keep things fresh for me. Further, each character in this series has another piece of the overall plot puzzle (yes, there is a plot) and without them, the story doesn’t hold together.

So. Yeah. I get that people were disappointed that the story didn’t immediately go back to Zara after Bloodlines. I get that some people jumped to Exhumed, and though I inwardly headdesk, I can’t stop them. I get that interest petered out as well–some readers didn’t keep going with the books because the idea of Ryann and Peri turned them off (or, let’s be honest here, a lack of Nate). I get that I likely hurt myself in terms of sales and that the alternating narrators with a linked plot was not a popular thing.

But, you know what? It’s done, I am proud of the work. This is how the story needed to be told, and if you don’t like alternating characters, it is not the series for you.I stand by my decision to give the story what it needed.

There’s a collection of Nate-centric work, including a novella set during Exhumed, available here. It might help? And if you’re worried about Zara, there’s always her novella Damaged.

It’s also worth noting that while Zara is an honest narrator, she is not a reliable narrator. Take that as you will. 

Um…okay? They probably don’t like you either.

1. The Demons of Oblivion series has a bunch of characters–it’s an ensemble cast–and I’m sure you’ll find someone to identify with, so it’s totes cool if you don’t dig one of the narrators.
2. It’s not my job to write characters everyone’s going to like, it’s my job to tell the story as honest as possible and make it entertaining. And fucked-up people do entertaining things. If you’re looking to read books about people you’d want to have over for dinner, my books likely aren’t for you.
3. Likability is subjective. A hell of a lot of people like the various characters. Maybe if you don’t like my characters, my books aren’t for you, and that’s totes okay. Also, please do not tell me about my motives or how you think I’m “trying” to make a character unlikable. I tell the story as honest to the character as possible. Period. Full stop. Worrying about anything else would drive me crazy.
4. I also don’t particularly care. Something as subjective as likability is not a reflection of the quality of the writing or story, nor is it something I will ever take under consideration, so taking the time to rant at me personally about this is a waste of bandwidth. I can think of a laundry list of flaws in my work, but character likability isn’t among them.
5. I love hearing directly from readers, but if you’re writing to tell me how much you don’t like something I’ve written? I won’t reply to those emails anymore. I don’t do hatemail; it makes me tired. (Genuine questions/requests for clarification, I can attempt to answer, though.)

I tend to write difficult characters. I even warn about this fact right in the blurbs and on the first pages of the books so there are multiple chances to just not read them. If they’re not for you, that’s cool. I still think you’re sexy.

You can’t. You can read them by purchasing them, asking someone to purchase them for you, visiting the library (all of my ebooks can be ordered by libraries), or read legally on Scribd (which is like Netflix for books; they even have a free trial and I get my full royalties).

If you illegally download/distribute my work, you are taking money from my pocket that I need to pay my bills, afford medication for a serious autoimmune disease, and take care of my pets, and increasing the likelihood that there will be no more books in the series. I’ve already said that if Exhumed ends up pirated, Zara/Nate are done for good.

If you request, download, or illegally distribute my work, you are directly responsible for the demise of the series.

You are not helping the downtrodden by stealing; you are not Robin Hood. You are making a struggling writer unable to publish books by violating my rights.

Writers are not stupid. We see when you come to our sites looking for torrents; we see you requesting/posting our work at piracy forums. These sorts of activities do not encourage us to write more. You dig me?

August 9, 2016.

I know Exhumed came out July 2012, which means some readers have been waiting four years for this book, and I promised it in 2013. Between leaving my publisher and re-releasing the books myself, serious health issues, and multiple deaths in the family, Oblivion was sadly backburnered for quite a while. I’m very happy to finally have it available, however, and I hope readers enjoy this end to the series.

1. Every book is a “Zara book”, whether she narrates or not. It’s all one big story. 2. There’s a Zara novella currently available called Damaged and a Nate collection called 9 Crimes.

There are were more books planned–the sixth one, Solace, was due to go back to Zara, and the eighth planned book, Viral, was to be narrated by Nate–but as I’m a full time writer, I have to decide what to work on very carefully, and the series is not financially viable. Previously I’d said “if sales ever pick up, maybe it’ll go beyond  Oblivion” because believe me, no one wants more books more than I do–I desperately want to continue in this world. And then Exhumed ended up being pirated.

So. Nope. Even if I end up writing Solace or other books for fun on a whim, I will never, ever publish another Zara book. You can thank “jdscott666” (aka “bookho”) and others for that. If you illegally downloaded or distributed that book, know that it broke my heart and can’t stomach the idea of putting myself in that position again.

If you legally bought it, I’m genuinely sorry, but however upset you are about things not continuing, know that it’s even worse for me to be violated like that.

If you’re only reading for Zara/Nate, I will tell you now there is no conclusion to their relationship in Oblivion because I am not a romance writer and they are not the focus of the series.

Because the selfish twat who killed the series is trying to pirate that one as well and with my health issues, which require me to remain as stress-free as possible, I do not have the energy to police that book as well. If you want it, you can get it through me direct in mobi, pdf, and epub, where I will have your real name and absolutely will come after you if you put it up for illegal download somewhere.

I am going to release a print edition at some point that’ll have a bonus short story or two in it, so there will be that option as well.

I apologize for the inconvenience but Damaged: A Zara Lain Novella was written for my good friend Danni’s birthday. I strongly debated whether or not I would release it for sale as it was meant for her only, but ultimately decided to offer it, knowing it would only sell a dozen or two copies to die-hard fans. And it did. So this is the decision I’ve had to make for my own sanity.

Like “Car-a”. “Zara” like Sarah drives me batty. And yes, I know that’s how the audiobook narrator says it–not her fault, I just wasn’t consulted by the publisher or given any previews despite offers to check pronunciation.

And while we’re on the subject, Ryann is like Ryan. Not Ree-anne or Ri-anne.

Um…I don’t know? The character is a young adult by necessity of the story but she has a more adult perspective since she’s a wolf. I didn’t write it thinking it was YA, I just wrote it.

Some people let their daughters as young as eleven read it. I know of at least one person who expressed shock to me that she gave it to her seventeen-year-old. In River, there are no sex scenes, the violence is typical physical altercations you find in high school (I mean, River spends a lot of time thinking about killing people and hiding the bodies, but who doesn’t?), and the language is minimal. There are a few f-bombs and the “c” word used at appropriate times and if you don’t think teens use those words or have heard them before, I have some property on the moon I’d like to sell you. In Wolfe it’s pretty much the same though there is one fade-to-black sex scene, IIRC.

If you’re ever in doubt, the best thing you can do? READ THE BOOK. Don’t just blindly hand things to your kids if you’re concerned. Read it, judge for yourself, and I highly recommend talking to your kids about what they’re reading and showing an interest. Not to censor their entertainment but to teach them to think critically about what they consume.

Yes, called Wolfe. It originally released in 2009 in paperback and ebook.

Sort of. There was going to be an anthology called Changed, which included a River novella and a bunch of short stories that tied up various loose ends (Noah and Kia, a prequel with Daryl, another prequel with Gray and Rob, a short about the hunter who saw River breaking into the cabin in Wolfe).

But Wolfe was a emotionally difficult book for me to write. And then the day of release, I had dozens of people hit my website looking for pirated versions. River had already been very heavily pirated–to this day, a decade later, I *still* have to send takedown notices for illegal copies–and Wolfe was soon after as well. So that was it for the series. I’m not going to invest that much time and my own heart/soul into something I know will be illegally downloaded more than bought. At the time I was small press, right now I’m publishing my backlist on my own; I am not a big name author.

Piracy killed River Wolfe. If you bought legit copies, I am truly sorry. If you obtained or distributed illegal copies, you are directly responsible for the demise of the series.

There was a plot? Okay, in all seriousness, I never saw either River book as having a plot at all. I’m sorry for those unsatisfied with any dangling threads, but that’s not what the books were about; they were about River’s character arc and it felt mostly complete to me. Again, I wanted to tie up some loose ends in Changed but that won’t happen now. And as I decided not to continue, it’ll have to do. Thank you for your interest, though.

River was written over a decade ago and Wolfe shortly thereafter; while they weren’t the first books I wrote (those, thankfully, will never see the light of day), I was very young (barely twenty-one). As I’ve grown a lot as a writer since then, I decided I didn’t want them still available. The rights were returned to me in 2013 and I was happy to keep them out of print.

Due to multiple inquiries and interest in the work, I revised and rewrote River in 2014, giving it a facelift and some updates, along with fresh edits and a new cover. An Indiegogo campaign helped with that and it released August 2014.

One of the Indiegogo campaign stretch goals was to see Wolfe release as well. Since it was successful, Wolfe will come out in eBook next year. (I don’t know about print yet.)

It’s a novella from Daryl Marsden’s POV set during River.

No. Rebellion collects several scenes from before River (flashbacks at the start of each chapter), several scenes seen in River from River’s POV, and then several scenes from River NOT seen from River’s POV. So there is new content there, and it gives a new perspective on a lot of stuff that happened in the original novel.

Um, no.

I’d intended to write Rebellion as a short story to go out with River when it was re-released, but I wasn’t well enough to write it until several months later and it morphed into a novella. If I’d known it would be that long rather than a quick short story, I never would’ve started it as it was a big commitment of time I couldn’t afford. Working on Rebellion meant not working on several for-pay projects.

All that is to say: if you want to read it, please buy a copy. If you read it free already, please consider buying a copy or supporting my other work. It’s just $2.99 for a long novella and all formats are available.

I have another would-be short story that might turn out to be novella-length to tie up any remaining series loose ends to be released after Wolfe, and if sufficient interest in Rebellion suggests there might be a market for it, I will write it. But please don’t ask me for freebies.

I addressed that in one of my quarterly update:

I’ve also noticed a renewed interest in people hitting the old Children of the Apocalypse serial site. Book Three is still on hiatus; I pulled it out, I think, last year(?) with the idea to finish it at last and maybe start the fourth book, but there is so, so much I wanted to change with the whole thing, I realized that for me to revisit this series, I’m going to have to give it a total rehaul. Each book and short story, rewritten from scratch. And…you guessed it, that is just not in the cards right now for a freebie. I have hesitated even leaving the books up as-is because I dislike something out there that I don’t feel is my best work, but people still read it now and then and if they get some enjoyment out of it, I’d rather not take that from them, especially since I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to re-release it.

Currently there are two full CotA novels available in PDF. I had to shut down the main website because I could no longer afford to support it. I intend to get the short stories back up as soon as possible as well.

There were seventeen chapters (out of what would’ve been twenty-five) of the third book but as there were numerous complaints about it going unfinished, I’ve decided to no longer have it available for download. And there were always fourth and fifth books planned. I haven’t forgotten it, I just can’t justify the time spent on revising and re-releasing a freebie right now, I’m sorry.

There is a second volume in my head but it’s not written yet.

I LOVED that serial, I adore the characters, and it’s another I’d very much like to revisit. If I’m ever able to, I’ll jump at the chance.

There’s no sequel. There was a spinoff in my head but I currently have no plans to write it.

Not that it clarified the end too much (and, I mean, I don’t think it NEEDS clarification; you can come up with your own explanation, as it’s not the destination but the journey that was the entire point of the book), but there was an extended epilogue and some shorter work included in a paperback version of the book. It’s out of print currently. I’ll look at eventually doing something with it again.

Yes and no. I’d started one, got a few chapters in, but it didn’t feel right to me. I like this book as a standalone. I know that’s not too popular with urban fantasy where everything has to be a series, but that’s just the way it turned out.

Soulless also isn’t a permanent serial; two chapters a week are posted for now, but when it’s done, it’ll come down again and go back to being a pay-what-you-can thing. All funds from that book go directly to my many vet and pet food bills.