2023 Year in Review - Hunter’s Rose

Welcome everyone!

I finally had a chance to look back over the previous year and assess how it went. It was a year filled with several major events. For instance, I’ve gone back to college to get another degree. My last remaining grandparent passed away, and my daughter entered high school. The biggest event with regards to this website was the release of my third book: The Huntsman and the Heretic! I’m so proud of how that book turned out. It’s the most personal one for me. Although, it amazes me how many people think it’s a rhino on the front cover and not a bull. To me, it’s obvious, but I’ll just have to be more mindful of stuff like that in the future.

2023 also represented my best year of sales since my first book launched back in 2019. Altogether, I sold 252 copies of my books across all formats (ebook, audio, paperback, hardback) including 112 of my newest book. That’s amazing! Consider that a quote “successful” self-published author is someone that sells 250 copies in two years. So this year, I did fantastic.

So let’s look ahead to 2024. Project X is still on the horizon; however, my time as an author is incredibly limited right now. Getting a degree is consuming all my time even though I’m only taking six credit hours at the moment. I started classes last summer, so I will finish my new degree this year. I’m very excited about that. It will open a lot of doors for me. Sadly, though, it means I won’t be able to work on The Hunter’s Rose series until I’m finished.

I have appreciated everyone’s wonderful support this year. I’ll resume writing the fourth book in my series late fall, 2024. It takes about 12 to 20 months to finish a Hunter’s Rose book, and then about 6-12 to go through all the editing, cover art, and publishing processes. So Book 4 is probably two years away at least, maybe three. 

In the meantime, I’ll keep you up to date on my activities. I hope 2024 is a prosperous and joyful year for you. I love and value each and every one of you. Be well and take care of each other.

Peace,

-Troy

2024 Public Domain Update & Celebration

Welcome Everyone!

Every year I try to celebrate the major new entries into the public domain. If you don’t know what he public domain is, I’ll attempt an explanation. Ages ago, it was decided the the creators of art (that is, any type of media) should only get exclusive rights to that art for so long. Then, after a time, that art is given over to the culture. It belongs to everyone. Our predecessors realized that a culture cannot grow if it cannot use its art and experiences freely. So now, every January 1st, new works of literature, film, music, painting, and so on lose their copyrights. They belong to the people.

Normally, works become public domain 70 years after the author’s death. If it’s a work-for-hire type thing, the copyright lasts 95 years after it is published. There are weird exceptions and caveats, but they aren’t worth going into in this blog post. You can read more HERE.

Anyhow, today is a BIG day for the public domain. It wouldn’t surprise me if you hadn’t already seen some news stories about how Mickey and Minnie Mouse are no longer the exclusive property of the Walt Disney Corporation. They below to everyone. Now, that is limited to the Steamboat Willie version of Mickey Mouse, but it also means that people are free to develop their own derivative works. So you can create your own, original version of Mickey Mouse or Minnie Mouse so long as it does not infringe on later incarnations of those characters. It’s complicated, but Mickey Mouse now belongs to you!

In addition, Peter Pan, Tigger, and Tarzan enter the public domain this year. That’s five major characters that belong to the people, not the corporations. It’s been a long time since this many important literary figures entered the public domain at the same time. So you are now free to create your own stories about Neverland and Tarzan of the jungle. 

Keep in mind, though, that the Disney animations for Peter Pan, Tigger, and Tarzan are still under copyright protection. It’s just the characters themselves we now have access to since the original works of literature that produced them have aged out of copyright.

Additionally, we aren’t too far from some other major works entering the public domain. This year marks the 10 year countdown until The Chronicles of Narnia become public domain. The same goes for Superman. Batman hits public domain in 11 years. It’s only 20 years before the works of J.R.R. Tolkien become public domain. And in the short term, the works of Laura Ingles Wilder, Dorothy Sayers, and Thomas Mann all go public domain before the end of this decade. 

So rejoice everyone! You now own some of the biggest cultural icons in history. You can add Mickey Mouse and Peter Pan to Jay Gatsby, Sherlock Holmes, Chtullu, and Pinocchio to your list of potential famous characters to write about. If that is a goal of yours, then I wish you all the best in your creative endeavors!

Peace,

-Troy

Price Changes Coming to HR Series

 Welcome everyone!

I hope this post finds you well today. A couple weeks ago I was sent a message from my printer/distributor that online retailers are changing the terms of agreement for selling books on their sites. These would be companies like Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, and more. This change was out of the blue, and goes into effect the day after Halloween this year.

Typically, my distributor takes anywhere from 40% to 45% of the price of my book to print and ship it. The total just depends on costs of paper and packaging which varies. Up until now, Amazon et al. took a 30% commission. Now, they are taking 40%. That means on a $15 books, I might get around two to maybe three dollars if I'm lucky. Naturally, Uncle Sam wants his cut of that also, which I pay when I file my taxes.

As the price of paper and binding is constantly increasing, there's a good chance I start losing money on my sales soon. Consequently, I'm going to have to raise my prices. I hate to do that since I really want my books to be affordable, and to be honest, I thought I calculated enough breathing room when I first decided my price scheme back in 2018. Back then, my printing/shipping costs were only about 30% of the book's price. So on a $15 book, I would make about $6. That's plenty, IMO. Sadly, $2 is not. 

So, prices will be rising to $19.99 per paperback and $34.99 per hardback. Those increases really aren't enough to get me back to where I was when I first released The Huntsman and the She-Wolf, but it's enough for me to feel good about what I earn publishing my books. 

This change isn't free or simple for me. I have to have my covers redone since the prices are on the back. It's not a massive change, just an edit, but I still have to pay a professional to get that done. So that's six covers I have to change (paperback and hardback for each book). 

I just wanted to post here and let everyone know what's going on. If you hurry, you'll still be able to get them at the current prices. I don't know for sure when they'll officially change. It just depends on when the cover artist can squeeze me in.

Anyway, we're heading into the holiday season. Halloween to St. Valentine's Day is my favorite time of year. So I wish you all happy holidays! Take care of each other.

Peace,

-Troy

The Roses of Book 3

 Welcome everyone!

I wanted to share with you some of the artwork that appears in The Huntsman and the Heretic. Specifically, I want to show off the roses. Again, the artist did a wonderful job on them. She is truly talented.

After each image, I'll talk about the character just a bit.

The first rose is for Devereaux. He's a newcomer to Celandine Valley. For the last two decades or so he's been traveling the wilderlands of the world seeking those who are lost and need a place to live. He comes alone to Celandine and eventually to Vitalba village where he begins teaching a different perspective on The Cause.

Halbert is a long-time member of the Huntsmen's Lodge, though he's terribly insecure about his position. With Thaul locked up in Tatterdemalion's Tower, the hunter's organize themselves in an ad hoc committee to provide leadership for the regulars. Halbert is charged with being treasurer: a fateful decision, indeed.

Eldo is the Gate Captain of Vitalba. He's been mentioned in the first two books, more prominently in The Huntsman and the Vampire, but he gets a larger role in Book 3. He also joins the aforementioned leadership committee. He has a son, who also works the gate.

Garrov is a colorful character. He's the town's tinker and engineer. He runs the steamworks that keeps the town warm in winder and is always coming up with new contraptions to help the Huntsmen. He's mainly just been mentioned before as the creator of the steam cannon and fluttermites. In this book, he plays a critical part in the last third of the book.

I only had four roses in The Huntsman and the Heretic. That's all there was really room for this time around. However, I did have five pieces of art commissioned, so next time I'll talk about whose rose didn't make it in.

Until then, take care of each other.

Peace,

-Troy

Massive Blow-out Launch Month!

 Welcome everyone!

It's been about a month since The Huntsman and the Heretic launched. It's been a whirlwind for me. I've attended one launch party, two book fairs, and thee speaking engagements! My books are for sale in digital, audio, paperback, and hardback. All that together means I've had my most successful book launch yet, and by most common measures, a fantastically successful launch for 90% of self-published authors! Let me explain.

So let me first give you some context. If you search for "what is the number of sales a successful self-published author" you'll find people from Jenna Moreci to John Adamus tell you: 200 books in the first year or two. That might vary a bit by genre and whether a book is fiction or non-fiction, but for the most part if you can get 200 sales in two years, you're doing good.

For me, I set a goal of selling 100 copies across all formats of all books for the month of March. I looked back at my old data, figured I picked up a few more fans along the way, and 100 copies was my best guess. So that's 100 ebooks, paperbacks, audiobooks, and hardbacks total for the entire Hunter's Rose series.

I also set a way-out-there-crazy goal of 200. If I could get two year's worth of sales in one month, I thought that would be insane. It wasn't a realistic goal, more of a marker, really.

Back in February, I announced that I sold my 500th Copy. So 500 copies since March 2019 puts me at about 125 copies per year or so. That's great! I'm not wildly successful, but I'm doing better than most. 

But what about that "better than 90%" I mentioned earlier? Well, from March 2nd to March 31st, I sold a total of 215 copies! That's 20 months worth of sales in less than 30 days. WOW! 

I can't thank all of you enough. I didn't get to that goal because I'm a great writer or because I have a bulletproof marketing plan. I got there because I have loyal fans, friends, and family who have stuck with me. THANK YOU! No really, thank you. All of your support has helped me through some tough times this year. My success as an author has counterbalanced some very difficult challenges I've faced in the young year of 2023. You've made those hardships easier to bear. I love all of you.

I'll break down the numbers book-by-book in the near future.

For the next month or so, I'm taking a break. I'm exhausted. Launching a book is an enormous amount of work. Time for a rest. But that doesn't mean I've paused my writing. Nope. I'm already well along in my next book. It will be a surprise, I'm sure. I can't wait to share more when it's ready.

Thank you once again for your help and support. I needed it. Take good care of each other out there. Be back soon.

Peace,

-Troy

A True Pleasure

Welcome everyone!

One of the great things I've been able to do with my last two book launches was to participate in a local reading celebration. In years where there's no pandemic threat (crazy times, eh?), a generous donor finances the purchase of my books to give out as prizes at a high school/middle school during an annual event that promotes literacy. It's a small thing, but I'm honored to be part of it. 

This year, with the help of my wonderful wife, we went all out preparing full sets for the winners:

I sincerely hope they enjoy them. I don't know if there is anything that brings an author more pleasure than knowing young people are reading their books. I'm so glad I have the chance to participate!

Peace,

-Troy

Thank You and a Couple Requests

 Welcome everyone,

First, I want to say thank you SO MUCH for making the launch of this book completely amazing! It's been since 2019 since I released a book, and I had forgotten just how much work goes into it. The process has been stressful, but all of your love and support have made it easy to bear. 

I've heard it said by authors that, as one gets further and further into a book series, interest tends to die off. Well, you guys have completely disproven that. I have already surpassed my 2019 book launch and hope to succeed even more before the end of the month. Back in January, I set a minimum goal of 50 books sold in the first month and a "way-out-there-crazy" goal. I'm not going to share what they way-out goal was just yet because I'm actually very close to reaching it, less than two dozen books away in fact! I hope I'll be able to share a good report with you at the end of the month.

There is one request I would like to make, though. Well, two actually. The first is that if you purchased any of my books on Amazon.com or BarnesandNoble.com, please please please leave a review. There is nothing that helps an author more than accumulating reviews. If I can get myself up to 20 reviews on each book, my visibility increases tremendously. So if you have the time and ability, please let provide feedback on those sites.

My second request is that you share pictures of yourself holding my books on your social media. I'd like to build a collage, eventually. So make sure you tag me if you can! I want to see you holding them because honestly, there is nothing that brings me more joy than receiving pictures like this from someone:

Seeing that just builds such a huge sense of satisfaction and comradery. I write these books for people to read because I believe reading makes us better people. Seeing in someone's hand gives me hope that my small contribution to the literary world matters and maybe does some good in the world.

Love you all. Take care of each other.

Peace,

-Troy

Launch Party was a HUGE Success!

 Welcome everyone!

I just want to thank everyone who came to my launch party on March 2nd. It was a success beyond my imagination! In total, I counter 63 guests who visited, and I sold 52 copies of my books. For contrast, in 2019 when I hosted a launch party for The Huntsman and the Vampire, I had 42 guests and sold 38 copies of my books. That's some incredible growth!

If you missed my launch party, never fear! I'll be back in a few weeks for the Reading Celebration at MC Knight Academy. You'll have a chance to take pictures, get signatures, and purchase copies then as well, I believe.

Anyhow, once again, THANK YOU to all who came and to all those who helped me put it toether. I couldn't have done it on my own. Love to all.

Peace,

-Troy

IT'S LAUNCH DAY!!!!!!

 Welcome everyone!

Finally. It's launch day. YES!!!!

Since the pandemic messed with all of our perceptions of time, many of you might not realize that my last book (The Huntsman and the Vampire) came out in 2019. Four. Years. Ago! It doesn't seem like it was that long ago to me, but yeah, it was. 

Producing The Huntsman and the Heretic was hard. There were times I lose motivation, times I couldn't figure out how to solve plot holes, and times I worked on it at a fevered pace. It's been very up and down for me, but I am SO GLAD TO SHARE IT WITH YOU TODAY!!!

As I've said before, this books is the most personal for me. I've been saving the stories that are within these covers since Book 1. These are the ones I really, really wanted to tell. I couldn't put them in the first book, since that one is all about establishing the characters and setting. I couldn't put them into Book 2 because I really wanted to focus on nailing story structure (which I feel I did). 

So finally, I get to tell the story the way I wanted. A few weeks after the book is out, I'll do more blog posts about where these stories came from and why they are so personal for me. Until then, I hope you enjoy reading my latest addition to the Hunter's Rose series.

And don't forget, if you're new to my series, Book 1 (The Huntsman and the She-Wolf) and Boo 2 (The Huntsman and the Vampire) are on sale for 99 cents right now. There's never been a better time to pick them up!

Also, if you can attend, don't forget to come by my launch party today. I'd love to see you there!

Peace,

-Troy

My Books are on Discount!

 Welcome everyone!

To celebrate the release of The Huntsman and the Heretic, I've decided to put my first two books on sale at Amazon. You can now get The Huntsman and the She-Wolf and the Huntsman and the Vampire ebooks for only $0.99! Find them HERE.

Also, at my March 2nd Launch Party, all paper copies will be discounted 33%! Paperbacks will be only $10 and hardbacks will be $20. If you can make it, I'd love to see you there. Address is 200 Corporate Dr, Lebanon, KY 40033

Peace,

-Troy

Hardback Cover Reveal and Launch Party!

 Welcome everyone!

I hope you enjoyed seeing the front cover of The Huntsman and the Heretic on Tuesday. I thought today, I share the full hardback dust jacket with you:

I think it turned out really well. I’ve always loved book covers that carry an image from the front page to the back page, so I resolved to ensure all of mine have that feature. Quite honestly, I’m very pleased with how they’ve all turned out.

 

 In addition, I wanted to invite all those who might be in the area to my launch party on March 2nd. It will be held in the library at 200 Corporate Dr, Lebanon, KY. I’ll be there, in-person, to sign books and have a great time with everyone. If you can make it, I’d love to see you. Details are in the flyer below.

 

 

Peace,

-Troy

Book 3 Cover Reveal - Part 7

 Welcome everyone!

Seven is the number of completion, so I feel it’s finally an appropriate time to fully reveal the cover for The Huntsman and the Heretic. I’ve been teasing it for weeks now, and I feel the time is right to show it to all of you!

Now, I just want to reiterate that this cover was done by a completely different company than my first two covers. The first company I work with went bankrupt, sadly. I greatly appreciated their competence and creativity in producing the two covers you see below:

For this cover, I went with an outfit called GetCovers.com. They did a tremendous job recreating the motifs of the original artist. There are some obvious differences, though. The rosey wreaths around the title are different. The font on the spine is slightly different (I’ll reveal more of that later). Still, for the most part, they met my expectations splendidly. Had I known about them a year ago, my book probably would have come out sooner!

So here it is, in all its glory, The Huntsman and the Heretic!

Let me explain the elements a little bit. You can probably guess what sort of monster Tristan will face just from  the cover. Let me caution you, however, to read the tagline carefully. It speaks of secrecy and hidden enemies. The “beast” such as it is, may not make an overt appearance right away. Sometimes evil is surreptitious. In addition to that, note the white flakes on the cover. They are symbolic of snow. This book will be the first to feature the famous and brutal winters of Celandine Valley! The falling snow also contrasts with the flames you see. Fire is an important motif in this story, symbolizing change and revelation of truth behind a façade. My hope is that, by the time you finish reading the story, all the cover elements will make sense to you and help establish an emotional attachment to the book.

I also have additional good news! My books are now available for pre-order on Amazon.com in eBook and Physical Formats and BarnesandNoble.com. You can go ahead and reserve your copies today, and if I’m not mistaken, if you pre-order the physical copies, they should arrive on your doorstep on launch day: March 2nd. You can be the first read it!

Not only that, I’ll be hosting a launch party on March 2nd from 3:30 to 5:30. I’ll share the location details soon. Reserve that date! I’ll be signing books and refreshments will be provided for those who attend.

See you soon!

-Troy

Book 3 Cover Reveal - Part 6

 Welcome everyone!

Now we’re getting to the real meaty reveals. I don’t have too much to say about this one since it really just speaks for itself. I present to you the back cover for my paperback. On it, you can read the blurb for The Huntsman and the Heretic. Here check it out:

 

 I’m really excited about this book, guys. I can’t wait for you to read it. Expect the front cover next week and then the interior images. Also, I have a big surprise for everyone starting on February 28th!

See you soon!

Peace,

-Troy

Book 3 Cover Reveal - Part 5

 Welcome everyone!

We are getting closer and closer to launch day,  March 2nd. As a result, the latest cover is almost fully revealed! Today, we take one step closer to showing it off completely.

One of the joys I’ve had in creating my covers is choosing the animals for the cover. The wolf on the first cover (see below) was suggested by my cover artist, but I asked for a number of changes to make her look more menacing.

The raven on the second cover turned out better than I imagined. I intended for it to basically be a simple silhouette. The cover artist, however, went way above and beyond and gave me an incredible image! I still can’t get over how good the second book in my series looks:

For the third book, I knew right away what I wanted on the cover. Finding the right image, though, was tough. I send my new cover artist several I thought would work but she didn’t like any of them. I don’t blame her. The ones I picked out were kind of cliche. Instead, she came up with a great image, and I proudly present that to you here:

 
Yes, a bull will grace the cover of The Huntsman and the Heretic. The cover creatures on the first two books were introduced very quickly in my previous entries. The werewolf appears in Chapter 1 of The Huntsman and the She-Wolf and the raven appears in Chapter 3 of The Huntsman and the Vampire. Readers of my third book will have to be more patient. The figure that the bull represents, however, will not appear until midway through my latest entry. 

My plan is to reveal the back cover this Friday and the front cover next Tuesday. After that, I will be showing off the interior as we approach launch day. I hope to see you back here for that!

In the mean time, take care of each other.

Peace,

-Troy 

Book 3 Cover Reveal - Part 4 (Tagline)

 Welcome everyone!

When I wrote my first book and I was getting ready to publish it, one of the things that my cover artist wanted  was a tagline. I had honestly never given it much thought prior to that. In retrospect, I wish I could have developed a theme for the taglines in my series. Perhaps, for instance, they could make a poem or string together to reveal a prophecy, or even the the whole story of my series in miniature. Alas, that won’t happen, but it’s a good lesson to remember for the future.

Today, I reveal the tagline for my third book, The Huntsman and the Heretic. I have no doubt that many will assume that it was inspired by the recent pandemic we all endured. But, no. When I conceived of the storyline for the entire series back in 2017, I knew that the third book would be about a disease of mysterious origin. It’s just a strange coincidence we had to live through such a thing at the same time! Imagine if my book came out a year ago.

Anyway, here is the tagline for you to enjoy:

I hope to create a lot of intrigue concerning the true motives behind peoples’ actions in this book. There are many characters who are not what they seem. Of all my novellas so far, I think this one will challenge readers the most. I hope you’re up for it!

Peace,

-Troy