(c) istockphoto.com, Yuri 2009
The fabulous Ethan Day has interviewed me about my Rainbow Award-winning book Breathe and the moment in my own life that led me to the story.
I adore Ethan and his writing, so to hear he enjoyed Breathe was quite a thrill. Thanks for the thoughtful questions and such kind remarks about this book, Ethan!
I’m thrilled to share that Breathe was selected as a Joyfully Reviewed Best Romance in 2011.
Huge thanks to the reviewer Nannette for taking the time to read and review the book last year and to Joyfully Reviewed for posting their reviewers’ top picks. I was incredibly honored to see it on the Best of 2011 page alongside so many amazing authors. Also very cool to see the number of m/m books on their list.
I’d like to also thank everyone who has picked up a copy of Breathe and gave it a try. It is now my bestselling book. I am touched and grateful for each and every email and comment I get from readers about this story.
Thank you all!!
It’s been a bit since I’ve posted an update on my writing progress, so I thought I’d share where I’m at with my stories.
If I didn’t mention it before I’m back to revising Walter & Kevin’s book, an erotic romantic suspense set in the same world as More. My goal is to have this book finished and submitted before the end of 2011. That may be pushing it since I usually spend more time revising than I do writing the first draft (and I have some research left to do), but I think it’s good to have a goal that pushes you to work hard. That said, I won’t submit it until I can feel really good about the story. I’ll keep you posted on the progress.
So far I’ve worked through some issues that were in the beginning of the first draft and came up with changes that I’m really happy with. I sliced and diced a few scenes, and it really made the story stronger so far. I also added one scene that knocked my socks off, even as I was writing it. I’m still amazed when that happens.
I’ve also drafted a new scene for my serial story More Than Just a Good Book. I’m hoping to add one or two more scenes and then publish part 3 in late October. I’ll share a link for part 3 when it’s available on my website or you can sign up for my newsletter to get the announcement.
Since my writing plans changed a bit during 2011, I thought I’d post the answer to a question I often get asked.
Definitely. I still plan to complete 2 more books with Luke, Richard, and Matthew. I had originally planned to write one stand-alone release in between each MORE book. After Breathe, I took the time to outline all 3 of the remaining More books (which included Walter’s) and sent the story synopses to my publisher. They were interested in seeing Walter’s book next (at that time More was still a new release and we weren’t sure how well it would do with readers). Before I had a chance to finish Walter’s story, there was a submission call from my publisher for Christmas stories. I had already started notes for Take Me Home, so I worked up a proposal. That proposal was approved, and I took a break from Walter’s book to finish writing Take Me Home, which is now scheduled for a December 13, 2011 release. And I have to say, I’m so glad I did that because I love how Take Me Home turned out.
Now I’m back working on Walter & Kevin’s story, which has a working title but I’ll wait to share when I’m closer to finishing the book since it may change.
I’m not sure if I will be writing another stand-alone contemporary or Richard’s book next. I’m leaning toward Richard’s book, but in either case I will be finishing both Richard and Matthew’s stories. The boys have more to learn, about each other and themselves.
The above answer also explains the year gap between books. Since finishing Breathe, I have outlined 4 novels, written one manuscript, and completed a first draft for another, both novel-length. This means I should move more quickly through the next couple of projects in 2012.
Q: I don’t see your ebook when I search Amazon.com. Is it available for the Kindle?
A: I’ve had this question come up a few times so I thought I’d explain.
If you’re searching for my ebooks on Amazon.com and key in “Sloan Parker” in the search bar on the homepage, you’ll get one of my novels but not the other. To find MORE you have to search within a department such as “Books” or “Kindle Books” or a category within those departments. However, BREATHE is available by searching anywhere.
Why is this? I contacted Amazon and learned it’s because MORE is labeled as “adult” content while BREATHE is not. Not sure how that happens, but the limitation in where you can search for it didn’t occur until several weeks after my publisher released the book at Amazon. My guess is the excerpt for MORE is highly explicit so either Amazon or reader comments/complaints bumped it to an “adult” rating. If anyone knows more specifics for how this label gets applied to a book, I’d be interested in learning more.
Now don’t get me wrong, MORE is adult content, so I have no issues with the labeling (although I wish the labeling was more consistent across all explicit content on Amazon.com and that all explicit materials were treated equally). I just wanted to explain how the search works for those who may have the same question as others have asked me.
So, if you’re looking for MORE for your Kindle on Amazon.com, it’s there. Just buried a bit. You can always go to my author page to view my books available on Amazon.com. Or you can search for my name directly via your Kindle since that searches the Kindle story only.
I’m guessing this limitation in searching for adult-labeled books may be the same for other erotic romances so don’t give up after one search. If there’s a book you really want from Amazon.com, drill into the “Kindle” or “Books” category and try the search again. I’m not sure how that works for print books, but I’m guessing it’s the same and you’ll need to browse to the “Books” category before performing a search.
This FAQ has also been added to my website’s FAQ page.
I’ve had my head down finishing up TAKE ME HOME and only have a minute to post today (and it’s almost time to hit the sheets for some serious sleep), so I thought I’d quickly share a few links.
Okay, I’m off to bed.
Can’t wait for everyone to get a look at TMH. Is it December yet?