Kindle KDP - I'm Not the Norm

This past week, I participated in the Kindle KDP program on Amazon. The Price of Innocence was placed free for five days from May 1-May 5. I did very little promo regarding its availability, and for some odd reason it skyrocketed to number one and remained there for two days until the promotion ended. As a result, The Price of Deception is now in the top 100 best sellers on Amazon, as well as The Price of Innocence, for paid historical romance.

I have since this book was first released in 2009 consistently advertised it as historical fiction, with romantic elements. If you’re looking for traditional feel-good romance, that is not The Legacy Series. If you read the series, proceed with caution. It’s not the normal cookie-cutter story to sweep you off your feet.

I wrote the story with historical accuracy. This was life in 19th century Paris — true to form. On this blog you’ll find a series of posts regarding the background research. My characters face hardship and challenges. The story is filled with reality; and its themes are the price we pay for innocence, deception, and love.

The Price of Innocence has been reviewed by Writer’s Digest, Coffee Time Romance, Nightowl Romance, Mama Kitty Reviews, and others. The book was my debut novel. Though it’s suddenly been shot into the spotlight, it’s by no means unread worldwide already and accepted by many fans who are eagerly following the series.

Once again, be forewarned (if you haven’t already gotten the drift from recent reviews on Amazon), the content may be upsetting. The series is a three-book journey that spans many years. The Price of Love will be released in winter 2012.

Lastly, I want to thank all of my new readers for downloading the book. Whether you love, hate, or average me out, it’s been wonderful meeting you all. I’m not offended if you find the story difficult. Read according to your tastes.

My next release, Dark Persuasion, is far different.


Sincerely,
Vicki

Writer's Digest Critique of The Price of Innocence

Last year I entered The Price of Innocence into the 19th Annual Writer's Digest Self-Published Book Awards. Winners were announced February 2012. Though I didn't make the top 10, I received a wonderful judge's commentary giving me the highest point available (5), which a contestant could score, in both plot and character development. I received a score of 4 for my design/cover, and 3 for grammar (point taken, even though I had it professionally edited). The judge's review followed:

This is a well-written researched story of iconic love, the first of a series of novels involving some of the same characters, which is set in late 19th century France and England. The characters and their relationships are clearly and credibly defined by their actions. The plot moves along at a steady pace, with interest sustained with each chapter. Some twists come along the way that add to the intricacies of the tale. The descriptions are apt and vivid. The scenes involving sex are integral to the story line, which has a brothel as a main area, and are not at all gratuitous. Overall, the book is a satisfying historical romance. (J. Strawser, Editor)

Needless to say, for my self-published debut novel, I was extremely grateful to receive such a critique from an editor associated with Writer's Digest.

For the next three months, the book has been placed in the KDP program on Amazon, and will not be available on other sites due to the exclusivity requirement. The Price of Innocence is currently free to Prime Members on Amazon through July.

It will be free for everyone from May 1 through May 5, 2012. The link is below.

Amazon - Kindle - The Price of Innocence

Also, I'm happy to report that my newest novel, Dark Persuasion, is tentatively scheduled for release as follows:

• eBook (June/July)
• Print (July/August)
• Audio (September/October)

To follow the progress, please visit Dark Persuasion Blog.

Thanks!
Vicki

Carriage Starters & Cabs

Transportation in the 19th century was an interesting read. In previous books, I pretty much used the term carriage when speaking of any type of movement from one part of the city to another. However, in The Price of Deception, I did get more specific about the types of carriages my characters took for their rendezvous and travels.

You'll find the term hansom cab used throughout the text, and later on I just reference a cab. It denotes the type of carriage in the picture to the left, which was drawn by one horse. The rider sat up back, and the housing of the cab sat two people. It was open in front, except near the legs. The sides had large windows, and the back was solid. They were popular means of transportation throughout the cities.

The term carriage starter is a new one, as well, that you'll see in the text. They were individuals who stood upon the curb and hailed down passing cabs for pedestrians. Robert uses a carriage starter after his tryst at the brothel to hail a cab home to his waiting wife.

Later on, he hires a private enclosed carriage with a coachman, a growler, to pick up Suzette multiple times from her home. It was a four-wheel carriage, drawn by two horses termed a hackney. The hackney has evolved into the cute little cabs you see in London, which I had the privilege of hiring while in England both in Manchester and London. Who doesn't want to hail a cabby in London just for fun?

Jacquelyn arrives to her Paris townhouse in a coach, which was a large type of carriage used for long trips. Her trunks of expensive clothes and outrageous hats are stacked on the back and top.

Later on, Robert goes to the chapel in a landau, which is a convertible four-wheeled carriage drawn by two horses. They are great for romantic weddings, and you'll still see them used for ceremonies and hiring in various cities worldwide as a treat.

In the 19th century, streets brimmed with all sorts of carriages, public transportation carriage buses, and horses. To read more of the various types, follow the link to Wikipedia. Of course, with all those horses traveling the roads, there had to be individuals whose jobs were to pick up the horse droppings. The streets must have been interesting, bustling avenues of humanity during the time of The Legacy Series.

One of my scenes in the book is the evening at the Garnier with Robert and his wife, Jacquelyn. They arrive to a bustling crowd of arriving carriages. I stumbled across this picture on the Internet, and I thought it quite perfect for this article. If you close your eyes, I bet you can just picture yourself in one of those carriages, dressed in a 40-pound dress, with an outrageous feathered hat upon her head. Next to you is a handsome man in his black suit and top hat waiting to take you for an evening at the opera.

I hope that you enjoy the fantasy of romantic times in the Victorian era.

The Duel

"I must speak with you, Duchess.” Philippe paused wondering how she would handle the impending news about the duel. “Tomorrow at dawn, your husband and I are to meet and settle things once and for all.” He paused for a moment while he studied her face watching for subtle changes in her demeanor.

“Oh, really?” she drawled, with little concern. “Some sort of manly challenge, is that what you’re saying?”

“Yes, I’ve challenged him to a duel by pistols. I felt obligated to inform you, Duchess, in case you wish to see your husband beforehand. The outcome might be less than desirable for your future.”

The Price of Deception contains many themes between its pages, and one is the rivalry between two men over the possession of one woman. When I began writing the book, I had not considered a duel between the two. I was more focused on the emotional aspects of breaking up their marriage, but as I continued to develop Philippe's character as a man of absolutes, who lived by a code of honor, it became quite clear there was only one way to bring to a conclusion the fight for Suzette--a duel.

Phillipe, of course, had a military background in the French Navy. Men often settled their differences through dueling in France, so the thought of using that means to rid himself of the blackguard in his life, Robert Holland, was the one course of action that made sense to an angry man. It was a means to gain satisfaction for the dishonor done to his name. Philippe could face his rival and do him in once and for all without being hung for murder.

Of course, there were rules to the game, even if the game was illegal by the time my story was written. Nevertheless, duels continued and not many were prosecuted over the act. Basically, if a man wanted to regain his honor from the offender, the first course of action would be the challenge or what is terms as, "throwing down the gauntlet." Philippe throws his glove at Robert's feet, who kicks it aside rather than immediately accepting the challenge.

Once accepted, the location and weapons were chosen. Each man brought a representative to witness the act and check the pistols beforehand. The challenger set the rules as to location, weapons, and number of steps to pace off. It was his call.

The type of duel could either be any of the following: (1) to first blood, which meant until one was wounded; (2) until severely wounded and unable to continue; or (3) to the death. Each pistol had one shot, and if there were misses the first round, the guns were reloaded and they would continue until one of the above conditions were fulfilled but usually no more than three reloads.

If you wish to read more about dueling and one of my sources for information, Wikipedia has two good articles. Follow the links to:

Duel

Dueling Pistols

Needless to say by the end of the pace off between Robert and Philippe, one man leaves in shame. When I read about the practice, one wonders if duels really settled the matter and regained the honor for the individual who suffered the offense. I suppose if you were the winner, you'd feel smugly vindicated. However, I wouldn't think you'd feel that way if you were at the losing end. A wound or death over your need to be satisfied would be devastating to a man who lived by a code of honor. Nevertheless, Philippe suffered offense, and he was determined to find satisfaction.

Welcome! I've Released the Print

For all of my former subscribers over on WordPress, welcome! As you can see, I have migrated the entire blog to Google Blogger. Why? Exposure and rankings. For years I have blogged on this platform but thought I would try WordPress. Unfortunately, I just don't receive the desired traffic on that site, so I've returned back to my roots. I hope you enjoy! Feel free to subscribe via email as you have in the past. In addition, I'll be moving over some of the comments too, but most of the site is complete.

Now, for the news. Yesterday, I hit the release button on Lightning Source, my print-on-demand printer, to distribute The Price of Deception. I received the proof last week and painstakingly read through it one more time finding a few things that needed correcting. However, I'm happy to report the correct manuscript was uploaded and the release button checked. You should see it slowly appear on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other books sites. I'll publish updates and links as they go up one by one.

I'm very thankful the process has ended. It's been a long one. When I finished reposting all of my previous articles here, I noted that I finished the first draft back in August. It's taken almost three months of edits and manuscript tweaking to get here! However, I truly hope you enjoy! Below are a few of the comments going up on The Price of Deception already, plus a link to the prologue of the book to whet your appetite.

A special thank you to all of my friends, beta readers, cover designer, and editor for their help in this release. Without you, I wouldn't be here. Now it's time to write another. Otherwise, my brain gets no peace.

"I am completely obsessed and can't put your book down. It's amazing!!!!!"

"The Price of Deception grabs you from the first page and never lets go as the characters come back together for a heartfelt novel full of twists and turns that keeps you guessing!"

"As a huge fan of The Price of Innocence, I knew the author had a huge task ahead of her when it came to creating a sequel that would meet my expectations. However, Vicki Hopkins has not only met my expectations.. but exceeded them!" READ PROLOGUE HERE

Off To The Press

The Price of Deception is off to the presses at Lightning Source. I'm hoping it will be available for purchase in the next two weeks.

The Kindle version and other eBook formats have been selling and feedback is slowly trickling back to me via word of mouth and through one Amazon review. So far, so good. People are pleased with the story and somewhat shocking ending. Whew! It's such a nerve-racking experience releasing a book.

The Price of Innocence is currently lagging in availability on Amazon. If you want to know why, please click HERE and read the current tactics of Amazon. I'll be dealing with the problem in the next few weeks. If you wish to purchase book one, then I encourage you to visit Barnes & Noble or Book Depository, who can give you a quicker turnaround of that volume.

Other than that, I'll be posting some tidbits in the next few weeks about some of the topics I researched for The Price of Deception for your reading enjoyment. Periodically, I'll be working on book three, The Price of Love, tying up the loose ends of the story.

Other projects I have in the burner include my first paranormal romance, Radcliffe. Visit the website by CLICKING HERE for more information on that goodie. I've also created a blog to pen my journey on the dark side. You can find a link to the blog HERE.

That is all the news for now! Thank you to my faithful readers and those who enjoy my stories. I cherish you all, for without you, I'd be home doing crossword puzzles rather than creating worlds.