Friday, February 1, 2013

Counting Blessings & An AKM Update

Really? It's February already? Where did January go?

2013 has already started off with a bang. A loud, very wild KABOOM! But in a good way.

Aside from having to dodge a couple of stalkers, January was an outstanding month. I released my fourth AKM book, Rebel Obsession, while simultaneously offering book one, Rise of the Fallen, as a free read.

Oh goodness! I can't describe how successful the free offering was. Best thing I think I could have done to celebrate the release of book four, because January was a record-breaking month. I sold more books in January than I did in all of 2012, and my final results amazed even me. Fan feedback was incredible, with my AKM boys pulling in hundreds of new fans, and Rise of the Fallen being voted by readers as their second favorite story for January on GraveTells, ahead of books by Lara Adrian and Kresley Cole. I'm one extremely grateful person right now for a lot of reasons, one of which is that I have a mountain of respect for Adrian and Cole, and I love their work, and for my little story to be voted so favorably by readers in a category of stories that included theirs is humbling and unfathomable. So, many thanks to those who have shown such love for Rise and all the other AKM books.

Additionally, book two of the AKM series, Heart of the Warrior, has won over a tremendous amout of first-time m/m romance readers, and the feedback from readers has been heartwarming. I have received so many comments about how a reader had never considered reading a m/m romance before, but Heart of the Warrior won them over. Readers love the raw emotion and love between the characters in Heart, and if I had a nickel for every reader who said they broke down in tears from the story (in a good way), I'd be rich. One reader actually told me Heart touched him on a very real, personal level, because Sev's and Ari's story reminded him of his own. That means so much to me to know that something I wrote touched someone in such a very personal way.

Furthermore, the initial feedback for Rebel Obsession has been outstanding. I've had several tell me that Rebel is the best of the series so far, with a few more saying that this story also brought them to tears. The pain of the characters seemed to touch readers on a deeper level than I thought it would. And who would have thought Io could redeem himself after the way he behaved in Heart of the Warrior? But, he did. And fans love him.

Lastly, the response to Rise of the Fallen carried over to Micah's Calling, the novella follow-up to Rise. MC was my #1 seller in January, which is simply amazing. I actually feel like MC is my weakest of the series, but fans have loved it. Just loved it.

Next up is Malek's book, Return of the Assassin, and I hope he continues the trend so that readers can once again cry and rejoice through his pain and eventual (hopefully) salvation.

And I know you're all waiting for Traceon's story, Bound Guardian Angel. He's on his way. His story comes after Malek's, and it's shaping up in my mind to be worth the wait. But something tells me that even after his story, we'll hear more from him. A lot more.

In addition to those two books, I'm also working on a four-part prequel, which will include a view into Tristan's and Josie's story, as well as a novella for Sev and Ari (yes, my hot m/m couple get a novella). Beyond that, there's lots more to come in the AKM world, with a sister series beginning to develop, as well as 5 more AKM books already in various stages of planning.

Happy reading and writing! And HAPPY 2013 TO ALL!

-D

11 comments:

  1. Sounds as if you are busy! I love to read & will be checking some of these out!

    Tabby
    http://www.shoppingwives.com

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  2. Just finished your first AKM book, loved it. Onto book two and have recommended it to some of my friends. Keep up the good work!

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  3. Hey Donya

    The Reading Cafe has an interview with the cover model from HEART OF THE WARRIOR=> SAM BOND

    The direct link is: http://thereadingcafe.com/win-a-kindle-fire-hd/

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  4. I read Rise of the Fallen on my new kindle because it was on the free list, and man I am happy you chose to do that :) I have since ready the entire AKM series and can't wait for more.

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  5. Thank you for all the comments, everybody! :) I'm glad you're enjoying my books. Yep, I'm for sure busy busy busy working on the next in the series and many side projects...and enjoying every bit of the journey.

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  6. I got the free read Rise of the fallen and within the week I have read all the others. I have completely fell in love with all of your boys! Any idea when Maleks book comes out? Never read m/m before but absolutely had to read Sev and Ari. i cried my eyes out!! then prayed for Io and Ari to make up so had to read that. love the Micah/Sam/Trace but can't wait to see what tou have in store for Trace. As you can tell you definitelyhave a new fan and looking forward to the rest of the series!

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  7. I got the free read Rise of the fallen and within the week I have read all the others. I have completely fell in love with all of your boys! Any idea when Maleks book comes out? Never read m/m before but absolutely had to read Sev and Ari. i cried my eyes out!! then prayed for Io and Ari to make up so had to read that. love the Micah/Sam/Trace but can't wait to see what tou have in store for Trace. As you can tell you definitelyhave a new fan and looking forward to the rest of the series!

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  8. Hi Donya, I started out with Rise of The Fallen and thank you for giving it away for free. Since then I have read all of the others in the series because I just had to see what happened next. I did over a period of two days;-). I can't wait for the rest of the series to come out.

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  9. Hi Donya, I started out with Rise of The Fallen and thank you for giving it away for free. Since then I have read all of the others in the series because I just had to see what happened next. I did over a period of two days;-). I can't wait for the rest of the series to come out.

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  10. Can u list the books in order please.


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  11. Sorry for the delay. I've been away for a while. the order of my AKM books:

    1. Return of the Assassin
    2. Heart of the Warrior
    3. Micah's Calling
    4. Rebel Obsession

    The Arms of Winter is a stand-alone novella that came out after Heart of the Warrior.

    I hope that helps. :)

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