Read Chrissy Like Chrissy on Facebook Follow Chrissy on Twitter Follow Chrissy's Pins Contact Chrissy
Showing posts with label novellas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novellas. Show all posts

Saturday, September 01, 2012

Short and Sweet Satisfaction

short

When I began writing under my own name a short while ago, SHORT was the theme. Now, with two novellas (novelettes, really) available, I have discovered something wonderful.

SHORT is the new black.

Speaking from personal experience, the digital age has been fantastic for me, as a reader. I like shorter formats, because they are perfect for waiting rooms, trains, planes, and other inevitabilities of modern life. Anyone who has medical issues knows how painfully dull those magazines in lobbies are. A kindle loaded with a selection of light, quick reads can be a god-send. Commuters know, too, the relief of a distraction that can be begun  in the morning, finished in the evening, and make the ride to and from work a respite rather than a chore.

My two shorts surprised me with their success. I was hoping to get my name out, but not expecting very good sales. Priced at .99 cents, they have both been available as free downloads for short periods, but have also sold well at the ticket cost. Who knew? Well, some knew—I didn’t.  But I’m excited, as an author, to have a venue that seems custom made for short work. Prior to the digital revolution, shorts were a hard sell and languished in anonymity when they did sell to magazines and other less broadly distributed markets.

This makes me insanely happy, not just because I have a small amount of money coming in every month from sales (though I do get a shiver of happy from that), but because it gives readers a chance to get to know me at very little cost.  It also allows me to put out more stories. And it lets me enter a market that is, I believe, becoming a lion’s share of the publishing industry—at least, the digital sector.

Hurray for authors, readers, and shorts! I don’t think I’d realized, until I began gobbling up my own portion of singles, short stories, novellas, and novelletes, how much I love them. I suspect a lot of us didn’t think much about the smaller reads until we began revisiting this indulgence that is so very suited to busy lives.

Monday, May 14, 2012

Coming to Your Kindle and THANKS!

I want to take a moment to thank all the readers who kept My Boyfriend's Back on the best-sellers list from December of 2011 til just a day ago. Today, after having the title pulled from other markets, we finally made room for some new covers. Please believe me when I say that the "purchase" of a free book was invaluable to me. Your kind reviews, your support, and the time you took to read my work meant the world to me, and still does. We're back to the .99 price point, which I think is great for a short/novella read.


Heart of Gold is also selling at .99, and has been reviewed with the same generosity. As some of you may know, these two novellas inspired a series, which will be published in installments through the rest of this year. At Christmas-time I will release a digital bundle, along with a paperback collection of all five of these short, paranormal romances with a heavy dose of humor, all with a holiday time frame.

 My Boyfriend's Back was, of course, a Valentine's Day read featuring some bumbling nerd-angels. Heart of Gold came out for Saint Patrick's Day with our 6 and a half foot leprechaun. The next three titles will be coming in July, late September, and early December.

COMING IN JULY: Heather Hill is having a bad week. The lease on her grooming salon is nearly up, and the landlord wants her out. If the Sick Puppy closes she's got no other prospects. Her nails are all chipped. Oh-- and her new boyfriend is possessed by an ancient canine death-god who plans to destroy the world in order to beat the snotty Mayans to the punch.

Could be worse. The last guy picked his feet and smelled like cleaning fluid.

 Unless Norman-- AKA Zorg, Destroyer of Worlds-- can figure out a way to stop transforming into a demon-hound long enough to do his day-job as an accountant and save the Sick Puppy, Heather is screwed. One cursed amulet, one looming apocalypse, and one mean landlord are all that really stand between Heather and happiness. She's getting her nails done, putting a leash on her boyfriend, and then WATCH OUT, WORLD!

COMING IN LATE SEPTEMBER: Death is exhausted. He's in need of a holiday, and with Halloween just around the bend, he figures he can blend in. But who will run the office? Colleen (call her Cosette, it's her stage-name) has been waiting for a break at the Tried and True Temp Agency. She's really an actress, but the rent is due. How hard can it be to answer phones, keep the coffee hot, and politely watch over the Waiting Room to the Other Side?

The trouble starts when a dumb, gorgeous gym jockey Bill shows up, dead from steroid abuse and hard living... but incredibly hot, tan, and flirty. When Col-- err-- Cosette finds the key to the back door, she releases Bill back into the world. This serious breaking of rules results in a mess that could get her fired, and possibly damned for eternity. Enter Gordon, Death's Office Manager.

Gordon isn't Cosette's type, but she's desperate. She cons him into a foray into the many-veiled Lost Hallways to retrieve the juice head, return the space-time-continuum to normal, and save her very nicely-shaped bum before Death leaves his private pagoda on the beach and discovers the kerfuffle.

COMING IN EARLY DECEMBER:  Jack Winters is a sunny, super guy. Problem is, he can't be... not if he wants to keep his job, and prevent the polar ice caps from slipping.

Son of Mother Earth, brother of Sunny the god of Summer, Jack is not just any handsome playboy. He's Jack Frost, responsible for bringing about winter, keeping the climate in balance, and acting as a mirror to his fun-loving, beach-bum bro. But Jack just can't fight his sunny disposition. So his mom is taking charge.

The Winter must come. So Mother Earth sets Jack up on a blind date with Holly Lawson, owner of Lawson's Christmas Tree Farm and Florist. Holly's business depends on the frost; Jack's future depends on the breaking of his warm heart. Mother Earth knows what has to be done: she sets her beloved son up for a fall. When his heart goes cold, will the consequences be more than anyone bargained for? Will Winter ever end? Will Jack ever recover?

Each of these titles will be available for .99 upon release. I will release the entire collection as a discounted bundle for your Kindle and as a paperback collection for your shelves in time for Christmas!

Don't forget to check back here for the release of CRY UNCLE, my first novel, later this month.  THANK YOU FOR YOUR READERSHIP AND SUPPORT!!

Thursday, December 29, 2011

Go Getcher Free On!

MyBFBSmall

FINALLY!!

My Boyfriend’s Back is free on Amazon.com.  After a whirlwind ride in the UK, with my rank on the best-sellers list climbing to #2 in humor, #16 in fantasy/paranormal romance, #63 in all romance, and currently #77 in all categories, I’m THRILLED to see my US readers get their free download.

Currently #13 on the best-sellers in humor—thanks!  Spread the word to freebie-indie-fun-loving friends!

FREE! CLICK HERE