[0:00] Music.
[0:18] Did you all know that June is next week? I'm very bothered by how fast this year is going by. Like, it's going to be 2025 very soon. And to that point, I'm already planning the books I'm going to write and release in 2025. And it is May 2024. And I'm a planner. I'm a planner. I like to plan. but like planning a year out pretty much is a lot for me. Why is it May? Why is it the last week in May? June is next week. It's blowing my mind.
[1:01] Welcome back to the book half. This is my platform for sharing short fiction and updates on what I'm reading and writing. This is episode 86 and I am D.L. White. I'm an author of contemporary southern and romantic fiction novels that center black love and relationships. I'm also a big fan of books, so we usually begin with the book report, then we talk about writing and topics of the day. I'm currently in pre-publication for The Pearl, a black diamond romance. Tentative release date is scheduled on or before July 2nd, 2024. Check my blog and my social media for Goodreads and Storygraph links, as well as samples and teasers for this book. Also, if you're not on my newsletter list, I send them out very infrequently, like once a month or when I'm having a big sale or I have news.
[1:54] So if you want to be in the know, get on the newsletter. It's booksbydlwhite.com slash newsletter. I'll get you right in. I'm so, so, so excited to bring Davis and Kari to your faces. They are fun. They are are petty, they are snippy, and they're in love. And I want you to read it. Okay? Okay. The Bookast is a production of books by D.L. White, written, edited, produced, and supported by me. If you'd love to back me up, I would be most grateful. The best way to do that is to talk about the books, but also buy the books. You see how that works? Do you see how that works? Books by D.L. White dot com slash books has all of the good stuff in e-book or audio. You can always grab a print copy at resist booksellers or at bookshop.org.
[2:45] Today's the last day in my sale on Beach Thing. Head to payhip.com slash books by D.L. White. Tap the bar at the top of the page and that'll take you to the links for all of the sales on that book. It's $1.99 in e-book at my store only and $2.99 in audio at select outlets like Chirp. Apple Audio, Nook Audio. You can always grab my books at my store. Again, that's payhip.com slash booksbydlwhite.com. Tap audiobooks or ebooks and shop to your heart's content.
[3:13] If you're a member at Kobo Plus, you can grab all of my ebooks and audiobooks as part of your subscription. And another reminder that if you're a premium subscriber at Spotify, you get 15 free hours there. So snatch up my audiobooks. I get paid for them. Lastly, I'm available at your local library. So if none of those options apply to you, hit up Libby or Hoopla. I do believe all of my audiobooks are now available on Hoopla, and they've recently been adding some of my eBooks. So that's very exciting. It's only been 10 years. Thank you, Hoopla. I'm probably going to be pulling my books from Everand at some point since they're available at Kobo Plus and at Hoopla as well as at my store. They are very inconsistent with how often my books are actually available and payment for that site is quite low. It's just one more place to maintain my books. And I kind of, you know, I'm always in a mode where I don't like wasting my time. And it's kind of a waste of time to have books there. I don't know. I may pull them. Are you a big Everrand fan?
[4:20] Because I just don't think a lot of my readers are. I used to be the type of person like, if my books are available on that, if it's a platform forum that distributes books. I want my books there. But also if I don't have an audience there, it's kind of like preaching to an empty room. You know what I'm saying? The long range plan, I think, is to pull my books from Everand. We'll see. Do you have a topic you would like me to cover on the book cast? Shout me out a holler. I'm always on Instagram or Twitter at author underscore DL White, or you can visit the show notes of this here episode at booksbydlwhite.com slash bookcast slash 86. I welcome your comments and questions, and I'll dedicate a part of the show to answering them. Yesterday, I had posted some graphs that I was looking at because I like numbers and I like a visual representation of numbers. I went wide, which means I pulled my books out of all of the exclusive programs at Amazon and started publishing them on every platform I could get them on in about 2018.
[5:28] 2019-ish. I believe the last of my books came out of Kindle Unlimited early 2020. And I started publishing my books everywhere because I felt like I didn't like seeing authors that were beholden to Amazon. If anything happens to your books on Amazon, you are sunk. You have no revenue at all. And I was very uncomfortable with that. I also felt like, um.
[5:58] I also felt like Amazon wasn't all that kind and generous toward their indie authors. We are the only population they can really jerk around. And believe me, jerk around they do. If they want to level any kind of punishment or make any kind of changes, their indie authors are the first audience that they mess with because they can.
[6:24] So yesterday, I had posted some charts because I'm always tracking my dependence on Amazon. How much am I selling there? I don't really pay attention to my numbers at Amazon. My books are there. My books are available there because they have a large control over the US market. And my audience is mainly US readers. I do have some international readers, but my My readers are mainly U.S. And I would just like to see where I'm at. And this month, I'm doing very well. Most of my sales are outside of Amazon. And I really like that. I'm a big fan of that.
[7:04] The total revenue is rather low. But percentage wise, I'm selling much less at Amazon. And that does not bother me because it means I'm selling more at other retail outlets that pay me more, that treat me better. I particularly like to see books that are purchased direct at my store. Again, that's payhip.com slash books by deal white. So if you're having a book delivered by book funnel, etc, that's coming direct from me and I get paid tomorrow as opposed from 60 days from now and I keep 90% of the profit as opposed to 70% or 30% of the profits. So I really like that. And one of my author friends, Dr. Martha Boone, who is author of... Now I can't remember the names of her books, but... There are books about nurses and she is a urologist by trade. That's what her MD is in. And she wrote a book called The Unfettered Urologist. Probably a great book to read if you're a person of a certain age. She asked me why I wanted to get away from Amazon. I don't necessarily want to get away from Amazon. They're a market just like anybody else. And I have a lot of readers at Amazon.
[8:20] I just don't want to depend on revenue from Amazon. on. I don't want it to be a big controlling part of my author business. I don't want them to have control. I don't want them to have power over what I sell and how much I sell. So I've been doing a lot of promos recently that are indie focused and pushing my books out direct from my website. When I drop a book, it drops at my site first before it goes to retail. tale. And I'm kind of really following the lead of authors that are bigger than I am because this way we train our readers to always check the website first. Everything that happens at Books by D.L. White starts at booksbydlwhite.com.
[9:08] So if you're looking for any links, the podcast, cast, any sales. I want that to start at my website. I want that stuff to live at my website, at my store. So that's the habit that I want to get readers into. And so part of divesting from Amazon is just making sure that when I have sales and when I have promotions that I'm promoting everywhere else first. And then also, yeah, it's at Amazon if you want it there. So.
[9:44] That's just one thing I wanted to speak on in case there are any authors out there that are looking at divesting from Amazon. Not so much leaving them. They're there. But I want to pay more attention to the platforms that pay me, that make it worth being an author like my own. And just let Amazon be Amazon over there. You know what I'm saying? So that's something I I wanted to speak on. Also, if there's any new authors out there just wondering what their strategy should be, start out the way that you intend to keep going. There is something to be said for the path of least resistance.
[10:27] I've only had a few sips of coffee and I was doing so well. There is something to be said for the path of least resistance. And starting out in Kindle Unlimited, it's a great audience, especially if you write romance.
[10:42] You've got a lot of readers in there that are just looking for new authors and looking for books that are low risk. If they don't like it, they just return it to the Kindle Unlimited library. Not return the Kindle book, not buy it and then return it and get your money back, but But borrowing books that are a part of the Kindle Unlimited library, it's very low risk for them. Then if they like your books, they can go on and read the rest of the books in your catalog or they can buy them in e-book or print or snatch them up in audio. That's usually my MO. so after a while though you have to start pulling away from that because it gets very um, it gets a little predatory to where you don't make any sales unless your books are in kennel unlimited you don't make any money unless your books are in kennel unlimited and i was in that for a while. But after the first month or so, your reads fall off a cliff and you can't pay people to read your books, maybe because they're not long enough or they're not interesting enough or they didn't like the story or there's not enough sex. You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? You know what I'm saying? I know you know what I'm saying. I pulled my books out of all of those exclusive programs because after sales drop off.
[12:06] I can't sell that book anywhere else. It's exclusive. That's the only place I can sell that book. So I just felt hampered by that. I was making like 30 bucks a month, pizza money in sales, and I just felt like my books were better than that. So I pulled them out and it took a while, a while to build up to a point where I'm making more outside of Amazon than I'm making inside Amazon. And so I'm very proud of how that's been going. Sales are still low in comparison to what other authors are making, but other authors are full-time. They're full-time and they write different books and they have a different style and they're not me. So anyway, onward. Today's going to be another short-ish show, but I did write a little something to share. It's nothing life-changing, but it's just something to keep the keyboard warm. I have zero things to talk about except books today. It's a long weekend. And as usual, I'm all about the books. So we'll also talk about my reading challenge and what I've been putting into my face. Today is Saturday, May 25. It is 841am. I am ahead of time because I have so many books I want to read and I don't have to write. And it's very exciting. It is It's overcast, but it's going to hit 86 degrees today in the ATL. I have a mic and I'm ready to dig in. But first, let's have a little bit more.
[13:36] Music.
[13:55] Goodreads challenge on my little rundown. So I'm going to super quick click over and, I'm not even cutting this out. All right. We begin as always with the book report. Because I am a book head, if I'm going to do anything, I'm going to read a book and read a book I have been doing. I have read 78 books of my challenge to read 150 books this year. I am currently 19 books ahead on my Goodreads challenge. The more books I read, the more books I am ahead. That's how this works.
[14:36] Yeah, 19 books ahead on my Goodreads challenge. And last week, I caught up on my April reads. And so we are ready to head into May reads. I didn't update this rundown at all. You see, this is sometimes, you know, when you are your own boss, so to speak, then you just realize what a poor employee you are to yourself. Because I got up early specifically to update this and then I was distracted by shiny things. Here we go.
[15:09] This week I read four books. I listened to two Melinda Lee books because, Because, like I told you guys, I'm obsessed with her books. They're just so easy listens. They are thrillers, like detective, private investigator thrillers. I do want to write a private investigator, so I'm very interested in this Morgan Dane series. I've been reading because she's actually a defense attorney, but she has partnered with two private investigators. investigators and that's very much the vibe that I want to go for in the next Ruby's series book. If you guys read Dinner at Sam's, Gibson hires a private investigator to follow Vanessa's husband and Yvette speaks to me. Yvette has been talking to me for some time now and I do have a story start for her, but it needs a lot of work. And so I've been wanting to write a private investigator for a while, so...
[16:13] I've been like really trying to dig into these and get a feel for like the rhythm of a romantic suspense or a private investigator novel. I want to apologize if you can hear that. My neighbors fancy themselves race car drivers and there's currently a muscle car zipping up and down the road out here. So yeah, there's that. Four books, Bones Don't Lie, Morgan Day No. 3 read by Melinda Lee. And then I read Listen to the Twisted Truth, which is Rogue Justice number one, a whole different series. But I was like, Melinda Lee, let's let's kick it. And then I read A Little Kissing Between Friends by Chen C.O.C. Higgins. And I truly enjoyed this book. I have nits as I always do.
[17:00] But overall, this was a delightful, delightful novel. Can't say I like I like it more than Navon and Chris plan a wedding, but it's a contender. It's a content. It's so well done. Really, really well done. I'm so, so proud of Chancea. I'm very excited for this book. It comes out May 28th. It'll be out Tuesday. So please go and pre-order it right gosh darn now and then put it into your face at midnight on the 28th. And then I listened to Skin and Bones by Renee Watson, which was so, so, so good. Really rough. Did I talk about this book last week? I don't know. I'm counting it. So good. Really, really well done.
[17:47] Wow. It was just such a great novel. I actually told my mom to go and pick this one up so that she could read it. I think she hasn't really been reading in a while. She retired and now she doesn't have anything to do. She's a machinist. She was a machinist for an airplane manufacturer, not Boeing. And so while she was at work, she would listen to audiobooks just to pass the time. It was a very physical job.
[18:15] And then she retired, and she's just at home all day. So she's like me. My hands have to be busy if I am listening to an audiobook. And her hands are just never busy because she has retired. So she has to purpose to listen to an audiobook. She'll listen while she's driving or whatnot, but not while she's at home. I'm like, Ma, while you're doing the dishes and mopping the floor, put on an audio book. She loves them, but you know, like me, she can't just listen to an audio book. So Skin and Bones by Renee Watson. I really super, super enjoyed that book. I am currently reading Curvy Girl Summer by Danielle Allen. I actually have an audio arc of this book and let the scream I scrumped when I got the email from NetGalley that said I was approved for the audio arc of this book because I was just about to crack it open. This book releases in June. I forget the date, but it's coming up. It's coming up. I am so super excited about this book. I'm like about 20% in and it's so good. So far, I want to climb into the book and I want to box with the female main characters. Uncle!
[19:26] And he's so much, he is so like just on her about being a curvy girl and I want you to find somebody and you're not going to find anybody because it's your size, your size, your size.
[19:42] Listen, I just want to climb into the book and I just want to talk to him. I just want to talk to him. You know what I'm saying? I'm also listening to Say You're Sorry, which is Morgan Day number one by Melinda Lee. I am reading them all out of order and it does not even matter. It doesn't even matter, but I am interested to get to the beginning of this series that I've been reading because I think I have actually read all the rest of the Morgan Dane books. A lot of times when I find a new author, I read their most recent book because I figure that to be their best work, work their best, most current, most evolved self. And then that makes it okay for me to go back because I know, okay, this was published previously. So like three years ago, five years ago, eight years ago. So I'm more able to forgive a different skill level in writing as writers. Our skills should change. Our voice should change. Our ability to bring a story to life should change, should improve, should improve.
[20:49] And so I do also feel like my writing has changed in the last nine years that I have been publishing books. But I also look back at my debut and I think, gosh, that's a darn good book. And so I see why I was intimidated by moving forward because I'm going to be honest, I think Brunch at Ruby's is a really good book. And it's hard to top that. She's still my favorite girl. Maybe because it's a women's fiction. It's three points of view. It's women's fiction with romantic elements. Their book is so much.
[21:27] I put so much time into it. If I spent four years writing every book, every book would probably be as good as Brunch at Ruby's. And my apologies if you didn't like that book, but I love it. And so anyhow, so yes, I am going back to Morgan Dane number one, really enjoying it so far. She has a really great timing. The timeline snaps, the writing is good. There's a smidge bit of romance in it, which I don't always need, but I really like it. And I also like when I read a series, like you watch the kids grow up and you watch the relationships develop and you watch the.
[22:04] Animosities grow. And so I think I'm going to see where Morgan's difficult relationship with the county sheriff, I think I'm going to be able to see where that sprouts. So I'm kind of excited about that. This week, I put down three books. I just did not get to them. A Gamble at Sunset by Dr. Vanessa Riley, The Medicine Woman of Galveston by Amanda Skinendor, and The 710 Split by Carmen Lee. I will probably read them. I just, I did not have time. And when it came to put them into my face, I just was not in the mood. Not any shade to these authors or the books or the talent or the skill. I just, I simply did not get to them. Medicine Woman of Galveston in particular, just, I started it and then I was like, no, this is not going to work for me. So I probably am not going to read that one, but A Gamble at Sunset and The Seven Tens Split both look good. I just wasn't in the mood.
[23:05] I don't have any recommended listening or reading for you all. I didn't see anything that I just had to scream about. I'm going to probably start keeping notes on that kind of thing and stuff I should talk about on the podcast. But for right now, I don't have anything. I do have an appearance coming up. I mentioned Danielle Allen's book, Curvy Girl Summer. Let me see what the release date is for that book. It releases June 11th. So we're a couple of weeks out from release date. And I'm going to be at Resist Booksellers in Petersburg, Virginia on June 21st with Danielle to celebrate the release of this book. I believe it's 1 to 3 p.m. If you are anywhere in the vicinity, come on through. I'll be a featured author. We are so excited about Danielle's book. I'm very excited to hug her neck once again, and I'm excited to see Demetrius again. It's been a minute since I saw him so that'll be on June 21st 2024 from 1 to 3pm there's a post on my Instagram on my TikTok and on my Facebook page with details I'll also probably put that over on Twitter at some point and on my website so that it is there for referencing but.
[24:21] Come see me. I am going to be at a festival next year in 2025. It has not been announced yet, but stay tuned. I don't have a real update on the Pearl except that I sent over the document for the second editing pass. I should be working on front and back matter, having my print cover put up so it can be ready to go when I get the second pass pages back, but I haven't done any of those things. I haven't. See, when you work for yourself, you are a poor employee.
[24:50] So I may I set aside some time on Monday to take care of those details. I would like to send it to print as soon as possible so I can get a couple of copies and of course send them on to my mother. She will have a fit if I don't send her one. So all right, moving on. I tried so hard to come up with something of substance to share today. I'm bad at shooting from the hip because I need time time to think, to develop a story, to process. I have several story stories, but I got bored with them so quickly and I trashed them. So yesterday I came up with something that didn't bore me. The idea is to keep it going like maybe in four parts. So we'll see. It is very short, about 1300 words. This is tentatively titled The Photograph. And I'll warn you, it's not anything deep or beautiful. Really, it's just something to keep the keyboard warm. But I wanted to write something to share and I will read it here and I'll close out the show after the jump. If you are jumping here, thank you so much for joining me. I appreciate your listenership. I appreciate that you have subscribed to this podcast and I hope you have a great week.
[26:08] The Photograph Jada, thank you so much for coming on short notice. I promise I won't make this a habit. Robin Maxwell fiddled with the sparkly earring that dangled from her ear. The kids have already had dinner. Bedtime is 8.30. I don't care if they're asleep, but they need to be in the bed under the covers. They usually watch something on their tablets for an hour or so. We don't need a sitter, Mom. mom. We keep telling you, Zane, the very last thing I need is to get an alert from the alarm company that the house is on fire because you decided to put aluminum foil in the microwave. That was last year, her son whined, clicking his tongue while trying not to laugh. This was my second time babysitting my co-worker's children. I knew it was a mistake to tell her that my apartment complex was a mile away from her house. Robin was a single mother raising two children on a staff accountant's salary. I suppose I felt sorry for her. She'd been so excited about going on her first date in years until her scheduled sitter canceled. I felt bad and volunteered to watch them since I had no plans on a Thursday night.
[27:10] I smiled reassuringly, slinging an arm around his shoulders. He was freshly 13 and would tower over me when I took off my low heels. Do not worry about them, Robin. I'm happy I can help. Have a great time on your date. The kids and I will be just fine. Yeah, mom, we'll be fine. Zuri, her 11-year-old daughter, popped up behind Zane. You don't fool me either, little girl. Both of you be good. She sighed, picking up her purse from the hallway table. Well, don't be hooligans. We aren't hooligans, Zuri said. then moved around me to wind her arms around her mother's slim waist. Bye, Mom. Have fun. As Robin's car backed out of the driveway then took off down the street, I pushed the door closed and turned to find her children staring at me. I know y'all aren't looking for me to entertain you. Go do whatever it is you normally do. I usually game, but my friends aren't online, said Zane with a shrug. I'm bored, said Zuri. Her face brightened, her eyes growing wide. Can I do your hair and makeup. I cringed. No, you cannot put your hands in my hair and on my face. Go find a thing to do or I will make you hang out with me. Both stood there, staring. I'm old. You don't want to hang out with me, I promise. Mom said you were cool, Zuri said.
[28:25] I rolled my eyes and sighed. I've got to talk to Robin about her lying problem. Fine. What do you two want to do? Both shrugged slight shoulders. Dunno. Something. Why don't we play a game? I suggested, hoping to keep them entertained. Didn't your mom get you guys that new culture game for Christmas? We played it once, then put it up. I don't know where it is. Well, I'd like to play it, so let's find it. Zane's eyes lit up. Might be in the hall closet.
[28:52] I made our way to the closet and opened the door. It was stuffed with random items, but way back in the corner, I saw a stack of board and card games. I rummaged through the shelves, trying to clear a path to get to them, when suddenly a stack of boxes tumbled down, scattering their contents across the floor. Crap, I muttered, kneeling to pick up the mess. As I gathered the fallen items, I noticed an old, dusty box that had been under all of the other boxes. Curiosity got the better of me, and I pulled it out, blowing off the layer of dust that had accumulated on the lid. I opened the box, expecting to find more games or toys. Instead, I discovered a stack of old papers and photographs. At the bottom of the box, a worn envelope cut my eye. It had no name or address written on it, just a simple RM scrawled in the corner. My curiosity was piqued, but I didn't have time to snoop. I dropped it back into the box and replaced the lid, then set it back on the shelf. off. I picked up everything that had fallen out of the closet and pulled the culture game out, setting it up on the dining room table. For over an hour, we had a ball. I popped popcorn, poured lemonade, and we played the game, dunking on each other for wrong answers. While we played, the box full of newspaper clippings and the battered envelope kept popping up in my mind. I couldn't help it. I was nosy. I just needed these children to head to bed and then I felt bad about planning to snoop, but it wasn't like I went looking for them. They just fell out, right?
[30:19] When Zane and Zuri finally started yawning, I knew it was time to send them off to bed. All right, you two, I said, smiling at them. It's getting late. Time for bed. They groaned in unison, but didn't argue. After making sure they were both tucked in, I made my way to the hall closet, the mysterious box waiting for me like a secret, whispering my name. I pulled it out gently, setting it on the living room table. The house was quiet, save for the distant sound of the neighbor's dog barking. With a deep breath, I opened the box and removed the stack of papers and photographs. The first were a few old newspaper clippings detailing various achievements and milestones in Robin's life. One article caught my eye was a write-up about Robin winning an award for her work. I smiled, proud of my co-worker for her her accomplishments. As I sifted through the articles, I came across the Warren envelope again. My heart raced as I picked it up, my fingers trembling. I hesitated for a moment before finally deciding to open it.
[31:16] What I saw made my blood run cold. In my hands was a photograph depicting a dark, barely lit room. In the center, a figure was bound to a chair, their head slumped forward, face obscured by shadows. But it was the dark stains on the figure's clothing and the floor around them that sent a chill down my spine. It looked like blood. My heart raced as I tried to make sense of the disturbing image. Who was this person? What had happened to them? And why was was this photograph hidden away in Robin's closet? I thought back to the conversations I'd had with Robin about her husband. All I knew about him was that he was not in her or their children's lives. There were no photos of him. She never brought him up. There were no custody agreements. Her children were never with their dad for the weekend or the summer. I assumed it was not a pleasant breakup and that he didn't want to be involved in their lives, but what if there was something more to the story. I hesitated to flip through the rest of the photos, torn between my desire to find out more and my loyalty to Robin. I took out my phone and snapped a quick picture of the photograph before carefully placing it back in the envelope and returning the box to the closet. I knew I was crossing a line, but my need for answers outweighed my reservations.
[32:33] I closed the closet door and headed back to the dining room to clean up the game, put away the popcorn and wash the glasses we'd used. I checked on Zane and Zuri, making sure they had showered, brushed their teeth and were under the covers as I'd asked. Both were in their rooms. Zane had his headphone on, connected via Bluetooth to his tablet. Zuri was on her tablet, scrolling the Ulta website.
[32:54] Satisfied, all was well. I returned to the living room, then pulled up the photo on my phone, now wildly curious about my coworker and friend. The once warm and inviting Fighting home now felt heavy with secrets, and I found myself questioning how well I really knew Robin Maxwell.
[33:15] So there's that. Do I know where that's going? Absolutely not. I'm not a planner. I'm a discovery writer. So we're going to discover where the story is going together. Again, my plan is to map this out in four parts. And so of course, four parts will show up here on the book cast.
[33:34] We'll see where it's going. Do you have any ideas? Do you think you know where it's going? What do you think the photograph is of? of what do you think happened to her husband these are all questions i'm asking myself and so i'm asking you what do you think we'll see what happens uh next week when we continue the story, that brings us to the end of today's episode thank you for joining me for today's chat i truly enjoy having you here and i welcome any comments or feedback at books by dl white.com slash book cast slash 86. Please share this podcast if you enjoyed the episode. And if you listen on Apple podcasts or Spotify, give a girl a rating and really appreciate it. Do not forget that you can support this podcast with your book purchases by spreading the good word or by throwing in some coins in the hat at bookcast.buzzsprout.com. Every little bit helps. And Buzzsprout did just add this new feature called fan mail where you can literally send me a text. So send me a text just pop on to bookcast.buzzsprout.com at the beginning of every episode is a link called send me a fan mail so let me know what you thought of the photograph, and give me your thoughts predictions and feelings about what is going to happen next we'll be back in action on saturday may 31st and we will see you soon until then please Please enjoy your weekend. Have a superlative week. We'll chat again soon.
[35:04] Music.