Another country heard from

Readers who have been around since we started this project may recall that in the very early days we noted every new country from which orders had been received. It's difficult to remember now exactly why we stopped - maybe it seemed a bit juvenile or maybe we just got too busy, or maybe it was simply when the order-filling responsibilities changed hands. Anyway, it's something we've been meaning to check back on for a while now - and, as the last few days before the new books are released often mean that we have a bit of a quiet spell here at Mega-Headquarters, we thought this was as good a time to do it as any.

We were delighted to note that we have now received orders from twenty-five different countries - which total was reached only recently when an order came in from a reader in Hungary. The full list at the moment is as follows:

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Eire, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Russian Federation, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA

Interestingly we get a lot of hits/reads on the website from the Far East - China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines - which don't translate into direct sales, although it's quite possible that those people choose to buy via Rainbow or AllRomance and use their credit cards rather than PayPal. Alternatively, of course, they could all be robots - we simply have no way of telling!

Titles uploaded to distribution websites

For logistical reasons we're splitting the website updating/book uploading into several different tasks this time, which is a bonus for all those who like to buy our books through the Rainbow or AllRomance websites; the August titles - Jane Elliot's ABOVE ALL and Julie Bozza's BUTTERFLY HUNTER - have actually been uploaded to the distribution websites a day early as a result.

... and another two reviews

This is obviously 'review season', as another two reviews of our books have been posted today - both of these at Coffee Time Romance. Both books received 'four cups', and were met with very positive responses.

Of R.A. Padmos's UNSPOKEN, the reviewer, Lototy, said:

I am not sure how it is possible for one story to be so heartbreaking and hopeful at the same time, yet every page of this book reinforces those exact feelings for me,

whilst her assessment of F.M. Parkinson's THE WALLED GARDEN concluded with the following words:

These men are so deserving of the love they share, it saddens me to see them fight their feelings. I think their friendship is truly the cornerstone of this story, and I am extremely pleased to have experienced this author’s work.

We could not possibly disagree with either of these sentiments, and are absolutely delighted to see these two hitherto rather under-valued books getting the recognition they both richly deserve.

Two new reviews ...

... have hit our inbox this morning. Taking them in chronological order, the first is Tash's review of Julie Bozza's BUTTERFLY HUNTER at Confessions from Romaholics. It's difficult to quote from this one as it's more of a precis than a review and unfortunately gives away a pretty major plot twist, but nonetheless the reviewer gives the book a rating of 'four couples' which indicates that they thought it 'very good'.

A more considered assessment of Jane Elliot's ABOVE ALL has meanwhile been posted on Reviews by Jessewave. The guest reviewer, jeayci, seems to have rather enjoyed it, and their overall assessment was again '4 stars out of 5':

I stupidly started this right before bed, thinking I’d read a few chapters and then sleep. Hah! I ended up staying up much too late to finish it. I also laughed a lot and was glad no one was trying to sleep next to me!

New titles for 1 November announced

Well, here we are again - and once more we have two absolutely fascinating projects to set before you!

Jane Elliot is back again, this time with THE DEVIL IN DEAD HORSE which is the sequel to END OF THE TRAIL; we can assure those of you who have been eagerly awaiting more about the relationship between John and Will that this new instalment is just as thrilling as the first!

Somewhat quieter in nature but on just as large a canvas is Adam Fitzroy's new book, MAKE DO AND MEND; it introduces us to the Lyon family, aristocrats fallen on hard times, and particularly to Harry, a Naval officer injured on active duty during the Second World War, whose friendship with mysterious conscientious objector Jim is soon giving cause for concern.

Both these books will be available to purchase on 1 November, although for entirely practical reasons we will be unable to start filling orders before 12 noon (UK time) on that date.

- - - - -

If anyone is interested in the statistical information for September, we are somehow not surprised to report that BUTTERFLY HUNTER was our best-selling title for the second month running, and our average response time was fairly sharp at four hours and 57 minutes.

- - - - -

Finally, we are considering adding an FAQ section to the website, so if any of our readers have specific questions about the way we operate our business or the choices that we make in connection with our books we will be very happy to know about them and to try to assemble appropriate answers!