I'm active on a thread on Amazon - "A List of Our Favorite PNR Authors - with promotion for new titles" - where I've met a lot of great writers and readers and made a whole bunch of new friends. But I've also been stirring up some controversy in a way I never expected to, in a way that's been such a boost to my flagging ego... women have been fighting over me!
It seems that Anita, my lovely and talented publisher, has been outmatched so far with changing the price of our Kindle version of Bitter Things from $24.99 to $9.99. She's cc'd me on all her emails to Amazon, so I have complete confidence that she's honestly and industriously trying to change it, but due to the mysterious ways of the mega-bookseller that are beyond my paltry comprehension, none of her efforts have been successful.
I would think it's a thee-step process:
1) prove you're really the publisher (a login and password should be enough for this);
2) supply the name / ISBN of the book in question; then,
3) supply the new retail price.
Hit "submit," get an approval email and you're done. Easy, right? Apparently not. But like I said, it's mysterious and arcane, and I don't peek behind the curtain.
Nevertheless, invariably someone appears on this Amazon thread and complains about the price of the Kindle version of Bitter Things. Invariably, I apologize and tell them I have no control over it, but I have alerted my publisher many many times that readers would be more likely to purchase a copy if it was priced more in-line with expectations.
Well, a specific visitor to the thread conveyed her desire to read the book along with her dismay at the price, and then said it was unreasonable for a relatively unknown writer to ask for that price for his work.
Before I could get back to her with my apologies, ANOTHER woman with whom I've become quite friendly leapt to my defense:
"He's not unknown to us! And if you read the book you'd know why he can ask that price!"
Privately, I thanked my friend for coming to my rescue -- it was really sweet of her, and I'm always moved when someone feels the need to protect me or celebrate me (I don't get enough of either in my life, but to be fair to everyone in my life, it would be impossible for them to supply me with all the protection and celebration I really want). But I also told my friend it was unnecessary.
I was tempted to write publicly, "ladies, please. There's plenty of Andrew Valentine to go around!"
Of course I didn't -- not only would it have been too smarmy a response, but I secretly liked the images I started harboring of these strong-willed women fighting over me -- especially when I dressed them in bikinis and inserted tubs of jello into the image.
I haven't had this sort of thing happen since Kindergarten, when Chrissy Labruso wrestled the Molino twins down to the floor of the bus for the right to sit next to me on the way home.
God, I miss Kindergarten.
I think I might have to pen a sequel to Bitter Things just so I have more things like this happen to me...