elis o'connor — Page 2

October 20, 2021 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

“When’s That Book Coming?” Fall 2021 Edition

When we last left our heroine, she had a bunch of stuff in progress but no firm plans and wasn’t sure when her next release would happen.

A lot changes in three months!

Of course I still have a lot in progress (two WIP zero drafts, two others I’ll have to start soon) but I’ve also got some surprise stuff scheduled. Let’s get to this!

What’s New

Okay nothing new actually released publicly in the past three months, however The Silent Places is now in hardcover if that’s your thing.

Also Witch Hunt is well underway.

Four parts have posted–they go up the first Friday of every month at 10am–and are scheduled at Patreon. The conclusion will post February. This is the bare-bones zero draft, so I’ll be doing some revision and editing through the spring with an eye to release the paperback in the summer.

And because I was asked again a couple of weeks ago: no, these books are not releasing on Kindle or anywhere else. Maybe several years from now when the series is done. Yeah, I’m taking a hit financially doing it this way, but piracy was too high and too stressful. eBooks do go out to patrons, and anyone who buys a paperback from me will get an exclusive download link. You can read Witch Hunt as it’s posted for $1/month, download an eBook when it’s polished up at Patreon, or wait for the paperback. Those are still plenty of options!

There were two West POV shorts posted at Patreon, as chosen by patrons, set during Yampellec’s Idol. One set during the first confrontation scene, the other set during the final goodbye.

Both were a bit of a gut punch but that’s par for the course with anything regarding that book lol.

Also: paperbacks and gift boxes for sale! Putting money towards Shawn’s dental work.

What’s Upcoming

One preorder is up with another on the way!

First, my surprise summer book Dweller on the Threshold is set for April 5 2022.

Patrons will get an extended look at this one in March.

Amidst the 2020 pandemic, Norah Sloane has been sheltering in place with her ex-boyfriend—the equivalent of three toddlers in a trench coat pretending to be an adult—who abruptly informs her he thinks she needs to move out. Coincidentally, her estranged father has just died and left his family’s home to her, and in a fit of defiant frustration, she packs her bags—and her cats—and drives five hours north to the tiny village of Hope Falls to claim her inheritance.
Selling the big, partially renovated old house during a global pandemic is out of the question, but the bills are paid for a few months to give her time to get on her feet. It’s the best solution, all things considered.
So what if it’s haunted?

Kindle – Kobo – iBooks – Nook

Other stores (Smashwords, Payhip) will have it closer to the release date, and it’ll also be in paperback and hardcover (probably a little ahead of April).

I’ve also got something planned for 2023!

After three and a half years rewriting and reworking the book, the first in a non-paranormal mystery series is done (zero draft, so there’s a lot to do yet). It’s not up for preorder yet–Amazon’s maximum is one year from release–so I’ll probably wait a few months before settling on a date, but it’s tentatively planned for spring 2023. I’m partway through the rough draft of the second book right now, and the hope is to have maybe three more done and scheduled when The Killing Beach releases a year and a half from now (I’ve gotten wildly ambitious, haven’t I? lol).

Stumbling across a body makes for a hell of a homecoming…
Waverly Jones has been called misanthropic. Distant. Obsessive. Manipulative. But despite not being a people-person, she’s built a successful business as a private investigator. After a lengthy absence, she’s returned to Port Milton amidst the biggest homicide investigation her hometown has seen in over a decade. Bodies of middle-aged men have been washing ashore and the police have confirmed foul play but not much else—and she’s eager to insinuate herself into the case.
Particularly when she’s the one to find the latest body.
Even if it’s not the one you’re looking for…
It’s not a coincidence Waverly happened across the newest victim. She’s been combing the beach every morning because these victims physically match the description of Detective-Sergeant Sebastian Kyle, missing these past eleven years after investigating the now-dormant serial killer who made Waverly’s sister his last victim.
At least her familiarity with the murders has left her well-prepared when hired by the wife of one of the dead men, giving her a professional reason to dig deeper into these crimes. Have the police unintentionally fumbled this case in the wrong direction, or does the widow not know as much about her husband as she thought?
And pulling on this thread might unravel a whole lot more.
Port Milton has always had its secrets, and Waverly will drag every single one into the light to get to the bottom of this mystery. And maybe somewhere along the way, she’ll get another step closer to who killed her sister and what happened to Sebastian Kyle.

I’ve also very tentatively planned a Zara Lain Halloween short story that ties into Elis’s books, but it might be Patreon-only.

I love doing shorts in my various worlds but they tend to be what people are most likely to complain about (other than “Where’s the next Livi book?”), and it’s one of those things where I don’t know if the stress of all the complaints is worth the dozen sales I’d be lucky to get. (Prime example: How the Werewolf Stole Christmas–I had fun with that! And everyone just complained about it! Or even Hungry Like the Wendigo back in the day–bitching that it’s not as “in depth” as the books…of course it’s not because it’s a freakin’ short story! *sigh*)

Anyway, Hallowed is Zara and Nate taking the kids trick-or-treating and Zara meets Ashur. I might intertwine it with present-day Elis. Regardless, I know it dovetails into Hell Fire, so I’d like to do it at least for patrons before that serial is done.

What I’m Working On

I’ve got a few things in progress–including A Wild Kind of Darkness, Waverly #2–and I have to start Hell Fire (Elis #3) soon, probably in January, for it to serialize starting next summer.

I’ve written about 250K on various projects since June.

That is huge for me lately given how burned out I’ve been for so many years. Part of it is the weekly write-ins kicking me into gear (I’m competitive); part of it was going on expired steroids to get my health wrangled (I write more when I feel better). And a big part now is just the momentum of keeping it all going.

It’s also terror.

Because the last several years have been such a struggle, and because I’ve been so sick, I am terrified of what the future will hold. I’m basically anticipating several months of trying to get my immune system in order again, multiple tests, potential surgery, and what that will mean for writing. And now I’m so anxious I keep thinking “If I just get all these things done and scheduled years in advance, maybe I can breathe again.” Of course, the way anxiety works, I won’t breathe again; I’ll still be angsting.

But when I hit June’s big Livi 5 release with nothing else up for preorder or planned…you have to understand, it feels a little like you’re running with a predator breathing directly against your neck. The predator, in this metaphor, is a mishmash of everything–sales petering out, readers dropping your books, your career spiraling into nothing. Publishing is a very weird beast (as is freelancing) because if you’re not constantly thinking and planning ahead, your income dries up and you drown. And the mere thought of feeling pressured to rush Livi 6 and the next round of hatemail about the wait just paralyzed me so the predator was ready to tackle me.

I hate that feeling, and I also don’t know for how long I’ll be feeling well enough to work, so I’m just writing everything I can in the hopes I can get a little ahead of the game and cover myself if (or WHEN) I get knocked down again.

Anyway, it’s Wednesday, which is my scheduled writing day thanks to Patreon, so as I sign off here I’ll be back to work on one of the many things I have in progress here.

August 25, 2020 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

At Least Fall Is Almost Here

I hate summer. I have always hated summer. The heat is too much for me and I break into hives in the sun.

Summer in 2020, This Year of Our Collective Demise, especially is unpleasant, even with the shades down and a/c on. I’ve had two back-to-back veterinary emergencies (three, technically, although the third was an injury that has not yet called for a vet). I slept a combined ten hours last week as Shawn required eye drops every 2-3 hours round the clock–which is a lot like hand-raising him was, except without the constant terror he was about to die. Still, it meant I was useless for work, losing a week just as I was getting caught up.

At least I didn’t fracture any more bones?

I’m not as in as bad shape as I was a few months ago, but it’s still a lot of added pressure. But regardless, I’m taking a couple of weeks off next month–actual planned time off, instead of enforced by illness or injury–with no expectations on myself except to get some house cleaning/purging done. I would love to get some writing done–and prior to the last couple of weeks I was super productive as well–but at this point any kind of plan for anything sends me into a panic attack.

Speaking of, I hope to have some news about projects in the fall. I have three zero drafts in progress, and one of them is a standalone–I keep wondering if somehow I can shift my brain to something like that over series.

My brain is not wired for standalone–even if only one book comes out, like Soulless, there are still more in my head–but it might be the best way to continue. I constantly feel like I’m disappointing people when I have series in progress but long periods of time between releases, which makes it even harder to write. Add onto that the piracy and, well…

Yeah, the piracy. So I talked about Dawning and the one person who preordered who then uploaded the file the day of release. That book has been illegally downloaded more than three times the number that has been bought.

Then last week Blood Ties went up. Blood Ties, btw, has been out for two and a half months, and I’ve made less than two hundred dollars* on it.

I was actually pleased with that because it’s a new series and something I wrote for fun, so I wasn’t anticipating anyone buying it…but it’s hard to be pleased with it when it goes weeks without selling and then is being pirated. I spent a year on that book, between multiple drafts and editors, bought boutique stock for it, and…yeah.

Witch Hunt is coming because it’s already started and I already paid for the stock, but at this point I’m only planning to have it serialize on Patreon and then come out publicly in paperback for die-hard fans. If there’s an ebook release, it’ll be far down the road–like a year after initial release. I am truly sorry for that, but it’s the only way I can work on the sequel–I have to close the door to it ever being stolen, otherwise it’ll never get written.

So for all intents and purposes, that series (projected 4-6 books) is dead in the water.

I’m really disappointed. I didn’t get to finish the Demons of Oblivion series for the same reason, so Witch Hunt was going to have some flashbacks with Elis’s mother and you would’ve found out how she died. There was so much I wanted to do there, and I’ll still try to do it as a Patreon serial, but I’m heartbroken.

Which is why I’m back to wondering how I can possibly write standalones. If it didn’t take so goddamn long, I’d write two to three in a series first before publishing them, but taking the time to do that while paying the bills gets…challenging.

Anyway, who knows if we’re going to survive the rest of the year, so it might all be a moot point!

I hope the summer has been kinder to you than it has to me, but then again there’s a global pandemic and many of you are in the US so…gonna guess probably not.

We’re not all in the same boat, but we’re in the same storm, and I hope you’re weathering it.

* I hate even bringing up such a number, but that’s the reality of a new book in a new series–readers rarely carry from series to series–as well as the reality of independent publishing when you have no resources to advertise. I did the math on the Livi series recently: Solomon’s Seal has been out for four years and it has sold the best of all the books…and in that time I have made enough to cover six weeks of living expenses.

I spent four years on that book.

If you stumble across this page looking for pirated copies of any of these books, please understand that this is the reality of my income as a writer. I live below the poverty level and I suffer financially to publish these books–that is why I cancel series when you steal them.

October 14, 2019 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

“When’s That Book Coming?” Fall 2019 Edition

It’s Thanksgiving in Canada, and I did manage a family dinner yesterday, which is no small feat given that I’ve been getting over food poisoning.

Long-time followers will remember when I was sick five years ago (this month is the anniversary of my diagnosis and finally getting treatment, actually) and how difficult that was. What triggered the disease back then was (likely; nothing is every understood 100% but science is pointing this way) a bout of food poisoning that lead to my immune system becoming overactive and attacking my body. Five years is a long time for remission and to feel well-ish again, but this has thrown me back into the terror of a relapse. (Terror is really the only word for it, and I think only if you’ve ever been in remission after being seriously sick will you understand how scary it is to feel like you’re going to be ill again.) So I’m trying to chill for a few weeks and hoping I’m not about to get worse.

You don’t come here for my health updates, I realize, but that’s what’s going on here and why I’m not around much. I’ve been super stressed for a few months with work and volunteer stuff, and I’ve been fighting a depressive episode, so this is the trifecta of fucked-up health stuff. I’ve always seen physical illnesses as a sign to slow down, so I’ve been trying to take some quiet time while balancing it with the fact that if I get too quiet and keep too much to myself, it’s easier for my brain to try to murder me. Fun times!

With that out of the way…

What’s New

Shiva’s Bow released!

No one’s yelled at me yet for it, so I’ve got that going for me. Several new peeps joined Patreon–yay! (Except for the pledge-dodger who joined to steal stuff and delete before she was charged–boo!)

And also…

Bloodlines was officially moved in audiobook to my ACX account as well, which means when you buy a copy now, I will actually get paid for it.

What’s Upcoming

Stuff! One more project, hopefully before the year is out, and then stuff is coming next year.

The rough draft was completed and posted at Patreon, and will be coming your way either late next month or sometime in December (or January–I dunno)… A new Zara story.

As mentioned when I released King’s Bounty, I’ve a few First Dates stories I plan to write and release, and this is the next one.

Snarky vampire Zara Lain decides to end a dry spell by doing something new: she asks out the veterinarian for her saber-tooth cat for drinks.
The guy is nice. The date goes well.
And then all hell breaks loose.
An old enemy is back and willing to do anything to make her save him from an assassination attempt–bribes, threats, and even making her the new target.

Release date: TBD
Preoder: TBD

*Subtitle might change to “novella” since it’s 15K words and might expand a little bit in revision.

It’s set post-Oblivion and will dovetail into a new series coming next year…which I will now officially tell you about publicly as I’ve finished the (very, very rough) zero draft.

Introducing…Demons of Oblivion: The Next Generation

Elis O’Connor kills people.
“Garbage men”, to be exact—the predators, the abusers…and the occasional mansplainer. It scratches an itch and, since the death of her mother sent her spiraling, it hardly seems like the worst way to pass her time in a post-apocalyptic city crawling with demons and dimensional tears.
One thing she doesn’t do is save men.
But that’s about to change when a woman comes to her door for help finding her missing cousin. While Elis would love to send her packing, this cousin isn’t just anyone: he’s Elis’s estranged older half-brother Dev, and he’s gotten himself into trouble even the considerable magic ability they both share can’t get him out of.

Release date: TBD (2020)
Preorder: TBD

Series followers will recognize her surname and probably surmise who Dev is. While I think it is enhanced by knowing the previous series, it’s written as its own entity that newcomers should be able to follow along with. I will remind series fans that there was a whole other five-book arc due that I am likely not going back to–or if I do, they won’t be published–so a lot has changed in the world. That backstory is not the focus of the new series, though hints are given.

All I will confirm at this time is that yes, Nate has a daughter who is a pansexual witch serial killer of bad men. You’re welcome.

Blood Ties will have a wider release maybe by the spring, but the intent is to serialize it at Patreon and Gumroad with two chapters a week for a couple of months first, likely starting in January. I’ll set the dates once I have the zero draft worked into a respectable first draft–right now I’ve left out a couple of scenes and it’s more of a sketch than anything else. It’s also my plan to make it into a series because I love writing Elis.

So those are the projects I’ve finished.

Still in progress but set for sometime next year:

Betrayal and sacrifice follow Livi Talbot on her darkest adventure yet.
Still reeling from the ultimate betrayal that has set her entire world off-kilter, the hits keep coming when Livi’s estranged mother—who abandoned the Talbot family twenty years ago—shows up without warning. She’s looking for a pre-Incan stone idol in the ruins of an abandoned Spanish mission that has escaped looters for centuries, and she asks Livi to find it.
Livi wants to be anywhere but home, and a trip with her family to Peru is just what she needs to clear her head—even if it involves reconnecting with her mom. But a heartbroken adventurer is a distracted one, making Livi the perfect target for supernatural guardians in the jungle…and more danger from those closest to her that she might not see until it’s too late.

Release date: TBD 2020
Preorder: TBD

I literally have the rest all mapped out and ready, I’m just…so, so tired. But I’ll get there. It’s only 60K or so to go.

Also next year will be Waverly Jones, which is also mapped out and eager to be written.

Stay tuned for preorder links to various things soon!

Looking for “Free” Books?

Hey folks hitting the page (yes, I see you), this note Yampellec’s Idol is about you:

Guess what?
THE LIVI TALBOT SERIES HAS BEEN CANCELED.

It’s ending after book seven. The last five books will not be published.

I cannot even predict when I’ll be able to write the seventh. The series is in limbo. Because of you.

You did this.

All your google search terms like “skyla dawn cameron shiva’s bow epub” and “livi talbot torrent” and “yampellec’s idol free download”. All your requests on piracy forums. Your uploads at Z-library and the mirror sites for celz and on VK. I know about these things. I warned, over and over, that this would happen, and I know in your searches you found this page and knew it was coming. I warned in the author’s notes of my books–in fact, it said right on the copyright page “You will be responsible when there are no future books.”

You were warned and you did it anyway. You did this. You killed another series.

Yes, I mean you, Susan Bontly from NMSU (who is a fucking librarian and should be ashamed of herself). Y’all think you’re anonymous? You aren’t.

If you have downloaded, requested, or uploaded any Demons of Oblivion book, know that you are the reason why the series was cancelled after Oblivion.

I know every time one of you does this. I see you hitting this page after searching google. I see you on piracy forums making requests. You are not anonymous.

You are pirating books I am lucky to sell two or three copies of a year. Illegally distributing my work tells me I shouldn’t publish more.

You are why that series was cancelled.

I see you making requests and googling where to steal the books.

Yes, I mean you. Right now, you reading this. I see you in my site stats. I know what you’re doing.

I literally live in poverty. I am struggling with vet bills. I am sick with autoimmune problems. After feeding my cats (including sick and elderly ones), paying rent and utilities, paying tax and business expenses, I’m left with about $60 every three weeks for groceries and my extra medication costs. I will probably have to stop publishing in a few years because of how sales are dropping.

You’re not “cool”, you’re not “sticking it to the man”, you’re kicking a human being while she’s down.

People who love books support those who create them.

Try using Scribd, which is like Netflix for books (and even has a free trial): each download of my books there nets me FULL royalties while you pay a small monthly fee. Use Kobo Plus! There are inexpensive ways of supporting writers.

*

Coming here looking for illegal downloads of River/Wolfe?

That series was cancelled due to piracy.

Looking for illegal downloads of Bloodlines, Hunter, Lineage, Exhumed, or Oblivion?

I had to take future books off my plate due to low sales and guaranteed I would never return to it due to piracy.

Did you miss Soulless when it was serialized and want a free version of that?

It is a FUNDRAISER book for my vet bills–wtf is wrong with you?

Going after the Livi Talbot series next with Solomon’s Seal, Odin’s Spear, Emperor’s Tomb, Shiva’s Bow, Charon’s Gold, etc? The Patreon serials like Tiger’s Memory?

This was a twelve-book series. It’s now ending at book seven for the public. I have no idea when I’ll be able to afford the time to even finish the series.

Great job–you’ve killed another series.

How about the Elis O’Connor books?

Any sequels, starting with Witch Hunt, will be going on Patreon and then paperback only. Because I cannot afford to continue them.

How about Waverly Jones? The Killing Beach, A Wild Kind of Darkness, etc?

Do you ever want to know who killed is the Crossroads Butcher? Stop stealing books that are barely selling in the double digits.

I am not joking. They have not cracked triple digits.

My horror books, like Dweller on the Threshold? That book brought back my love of writing. I wrote my beloved Psych Kittens into it, to honor Gus. It SICKENS ME that while I have massive vet bills and expenses that you people are stealing something that meant so much to me, that make it harder for me to provide for Shawn.

You’re attempting to steal from someone CHRONICALLY ILL, living below the poverty level, who has had several deaths in the family, whose elderly pets are sick, and who can’t afford to publish books.

Congratulations: you’re a terrible person.

Either you’ve stumbled across this page while poking around my site, or–more likely–you have been directed here because you came looking for Skyla Dawn Cameron torrents, “free” downloads or epub mobi pdf or “read online free Skyla Dawn Cameron”, and the like.

On the author’s own website.

Dude, WHY WOULD I HAVE THAT HERE?

No no, hold on a sec. I’m actually glad you’re here. Stay. Read the message below. Because it involves what series have been cancelled, what series are on the verge of cancellation, and my answers to your explanations of why you have to steal from me.

Here’s the truth: piracy kills series. It does. River Wolfe, those books about the wolf-turned-teen girl y’all keep coming looking for? There were two of them. There was going to be a third. I stopped writing it because of how heavily pirated the first two books were. I will never finish writing it and it will never be published.

Bloodlines? Hunter? Lineage? Exhumed? The whole Demons of Oblivion series?

Bloodlines has already been pirated more than it’s been bought. Read that again. More illegal downloads than legal purchases. For a full-length novel that was priced for years at $2.99.

Do you get that, dear pirates? I am not some big time author.

I lost my full-time job in Sept 2013. I have to choose what I work on right now very, very carefully; anything I write must carry a reasonable expectation of being financially viable. If you continue pirating my books, series will be canceled.

Whatever your excuses are? I’ve heard them. I don’t care.

I can’t afford books!

Really? Because you can afford the iPads and laptops and Kindle Fires you’re visiting my site on while you look for illegal downloads of my books. Books which are full-length novels for the most part and priced at $3 – $6, which is several dollars cheaper than other books in their genre. I understand poverty. I know poverty. 99% of the people visiting my site for torrents are not the downtrodden.

I want it in a different format!

ALL of my books are available in mobi, epub, and pdf. All of them. DRM free so you can convert them yourself to another format you need. What is this magical format you require?

It’s not available in my country!

Uh, yeah, it is. All of my books are available at dozens of different retailers with no geographical restrictions.

I don’t have a credit card!

Me either! So here’s what you do: get an iTunes gift card and check out my work in the iBookstore. Or do what I do and get a VISA gift card from the store, which is usable online. Or use PayPal.

My country doesn’t allow PayPal!

Then read one of the literally millions of other books out there that are available to you for free!

Information wants to be free!

I’m not selling non-fiction. I’m not publishing a cure for cancer. The secrets of the universe are not found in a book of mine about vampires. These books are entertainment, which you are not automatically entitled to like air and water.

I don’t want to support big publishers and their gold toilets and yachts!

Dude, my books are put out by me. You are hurting me. And those I am responsible for. Also? I’ve worked in publishing. I don’t know anyone with a yacht. I know a hell of a lot of good editors who were laid off because of low profits. And I know a lot of authors who had to cancel series because sales were so low that publishers didn’t want to buy more of their books.

I already bought an ereader, books should be free.

So…you enjoy screwing over the little guy, then? Give your hard-earned cash to Apple and Microsoft and fuck those content creators who work for 50c an hour writing books? We don’t get a cut of those iPad sales, dumbass. Let’s be honest: it comes down to convenience. It is more convenient for you to steal from me than it is to walk your ass to the store and take a tablet off the shelf.

It’s not stealing, it’s SHARING!

No, actually, it’s copyright infringement: the illegal copying and distribution of work you do not have the rights to. I and others choose to use the word theft for a very specific reason.

Taking my books to read without paying is theft of my labour. Artist’s rights are worker rights. You are a thief of the very worst kind when you take from workers who have very little (probably less than you).

It’s not like I’m SELLING your books illegally.

Yes, but the people who do sell illegally? Where do you think they get ebooks from? Torrents and download sites like you do. They take those books and make money off of them and they don’t give a dime to the authors. I know because I’ve had to send takedown notices to ebay and the like when users sold my book and others without permission and without giving me a cut. Putting ebooks up for illegal distribution means you don’t control how they’re then used. They’re put on CDs or online stores and sold for money; they’re converted to RTFs and have the names changed and then sold as original content.

Guess what! That “archive” site that scrapes all the other sites? They sell our books to companies as LLM training data. LLM = Large Language Model. Aka generative AI. Aka the thing destroying the climate and putting people out of work. Don’t believe me? Check the “LLM Data” link at the bottom of their site. Because of your actions, your support of illegal distribution of my work, my books are now being sold to these garbage companies.

If I like it, I’ll buy it later.

Do you think that’ll work at the grocery store? I can take home a bag of chips, eat them, and come back and pay for them if I DO like them? Really? I mean, should I try? Maybe you can go first and let me know how it works out for you?

I’m going to pirate your stuff anyway because you bitched about it.

You know why you react that way? With that defiant little “I’ll show you!” sneer? Because you know I’m right. So VERY mature–you sure showed that writer standing up for her rights! Your mother must be so proud of you.

Didn’t you know [insert famous author here] says piracy helps them?

Good for that author. Go and take their work. I would rather take my chance with obscurity than have you take that choice from me. You dig that?

*mumble mumble* Libraries!

Libraries are great. Hey, did you know that in Canada, we have something called Public Lending Rights, which means the government gives us some pennies depending on how many of our books are in libraries? So if you walk your ass down to the library and request a book, they’ll get in copies–then YOU get to read free and *I* not only make a bit of money on the initial sale but, in Canada, make a little extra.

I’m just one person, it doesn’t make a difference if pirate.

Yes it does. You choose to buy, you teach your kids to do things legally, you encourage your friends to do their part, and it all trickles down until we have a culture that supports creators rather than punishes them. You absolutely can make the difference. And literally every sale counts with me. That is how few books I sell.

Every time you visit one of those piracy forums? See the ads there? How about when you click a link to Rapidgator or DepositFiles or Zippyshare or FileFactory? See those ads that pop up? Your clicks, your pageviews, put money in the pocket of thieves. They make money from your illegal activities. Do you think they give a cut of that to the writer? No.

No book is “free”, even if you didn’t take money out of your wallet to pay for it.

I make money as a writer on a per-purchase basis. No patron or magical rent fairy coming by to hand a cheque to my landlord. Every sale counts.

Piracy has an actual place in the world: in countries under brutal regimes, like North Korea, where everything is so tightly controlled, the only way to change the tide is smuggling illegal content over the border. I’m cool with that. But y’all visiting my site, pirating my books? You’re not from North Korea. You’re primarily from the US, Canada, a few from the UK, Australia, and the odd one from India (oh and Brazil–I haven’t forgotten about you, Andrea, pretending you had no idea where you could get my book legally). All countries where my books can EASILY be legally obtained.

Your inconvenience is not oppression.

Let me speak very plainly here for a moment: illegally copying and distributing my work violates me.

Psychologically, it makes it more difficult to work; it’s hard enough spending hundreds and hundreds of hours on a manuscript knowing you’ll never make minimum wage on it, but it’s even more difficult when you’re aware of how many motherfuckers are going to hit your website looking for illegal copies the day of release. Financially, it means the books you enjoy reading will be fewer and far between or will disappear all together because most writers already work multiple jobs to pay the bills and they will not continue a series that costs them more to produce than they’ll make on it. In terms of quality, it means writers will try churning out crap so they can live on quantity rather than quality work, and it means there are fewer editors around to work on the books because of lay-offs.

Exhumed meant a hell of a lot to me emotionally, and if it ends up pirated, Zara and Nate are DONE. <– I wrote this BEFORE that book was pirated. I’ve left the note intact because I did cancel the series.

I do not need to spend my time writing more Zara books. Nope, I have ideas here lined up around the block and then some–I have TONS of stuff I can work on. Books that might reach a wider audience to make up for the piracy. Or ideas I want to write, just for me, and never publish for my readers. You are hurting yourself by pirating.

If you love books, like you claim to–if you love reading, if you love devouring a new series–you will not leech from the people producing them. Because readers and writers have a symbiotic relationship, and writers cannot do their part if you do not do yours.

Still here? Think I’m alone in my feelings on the subject? Why don’t you read what Patricia Briggs, Dina James, Shiloh Walker, Jeaniene Frost, and Lilith Saintcrow have to say on the subject.

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