"Reaper" PSA

I'm popping in on the weekend with a quick alert/reminder for Soul Screamers readers...

It's come to my attention that "Reaper" is up for pre-order for the Nook at Barnes & Noble. Which would be cool, except that it's listed with a price of $2.99. That will eventually be the right price at e-book stores, but for the first few months, "Reaper" will be free in most formats, in most places. And it will stay free in PDF format on my website. That was the whole point of the story.

Back in May, at BEA, I pitched the "Reaper" novella to my editor with two goals in mind. First, I wanted to tell the story of how Tod died and was recruited as a reaper. Second, I wanted to offer it to the readers for free, just like we did with "My Soul To Lose" in '09. I wanted it to be a sort of gift to my current readers and a free sample to those who may not have tried the series yet. Though I will admit, it's mostly the former. There are characters and events referenced that will make a lot more sense if you've read the previous books.

My editor (and publisher) was kind enough to indulge me. Though they can't offer the story for free forever (overhead costs include professional editing, proofreading, typesetting and formatting, electronic distribution, and cover design), it will be free initially (and permanently, on my website).

One more note:
People are probably going to slam me for saying this, but I want to be clear...

"Reaper" is a novella. NOT a novel. When "My Soul To Lose" came out in '09, I got tons and tons of very angry reviews slamming it not because of the content or writing, but because readers were "fooled" into thinking it was a full-length novel and were angered by the length. Even though the story was FREE.

I can't control how novellas are listed on Amazon or other e-book stores. All I can do is try to make it clear here that "Reaper" is not a novel. It's a novella, about 17,000 words in length. (The "average" novel is closer to 100,000 words.) So please don't download it expecting a full-length Soul Screamers novel.

Okay, PSA over.

Here's a quick rundown of things you might want to know about "Reaper."

• It is narrated by Tod
• It takes place (mostly) after "Fearless" (the Sabine novella in Kiss Me Deadly) and (mostly) before "My Soul To Lose."
• I will be posting mini-quotes from the novella on Twitter and Facebook.

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Writing progress:

Here's where I stand on the new adult novel.

44,098 / 100,000
(44.1%)

And here's my progress toward my November goal of 65,000 words.

27,698 / 65,000
(42.61%)

As you can see, I still have a way to go, so now I'm off to work!

Click below to check out my CP Rinda Elliott's progress toward her goal: