The other day, I got my proof copy of RECIPES TO DIE FOR: A Victoria Square Cookbook. My first reaction was: Gosh, it's cute! First of all, the cover pops right out at you. I love the logo my cover designer made--which sort of reminds me of the covers on the Booktown Mysteries. But I also love the noose hanging from my name, too.Although it's a paperback, it's not a mass-market paperback (the size of the novels--this one is bigger...trade size). One of the complaints I get about the paperbacks is that the type size is too small. Fear not, this is readable.
But what makes this cookbook special? (And believe me it is NOT a mystery. It's a companion piece to the Victoria Square Mystery series.) The book starts out by introducing quite a few of the characters from the series and giving the reader information that isn't included in the books. Katie's introduction tells how she came to live with her beloved great aunt Lizzie, and her love of baking. But you'll find out (hopefully) interesting facts about people like Luther Collier, who owns the local funeral parlor, and vendors Liz and Gwen, who have a much greater presence in the third book than the first two. But Ida Mitchell, the tag room manager, contributes a couple of her favorite recipes, too.
And the print book differs from the e book because it has graphics. (I wonder if you can guess what recipe this graphic represents?)I had a lot of decisions to make about the pricing of the book. One thing I wanted to do was keep the cost down. Hey, these are tough times, but the distribution options weren't as attractive as I would have hoped. In order to make the book available to many retail organizations, the MINIMUM I had to charge was $6.99. (I may yet have to charge that, but for the now the book costs $5.99.) Even then, I would make only 17 cents per copy sold.
Therefore, I've chosen to only make it available from My e Store (via the publisher) and on Amazon. I know--a lot of people don't like Amazon, but selling it on the Barnes & Noble site means I'd only make that same 17 cents a copy, and let's face it ... the author should make more than 17 cents a copy on a book sold.
The book went live just last night My E Store, where it can now be ordered (and where I'll get the highest royalty). By next week it should show up on Amazon. I'll let you know when that happens. But for now, if you'd like to order a print copy of the book, you can find it here.
It's also available as an e book from: Kindle ~ Nook ~ Smashwords (which has can be downloaded for all e formats).
I hope you'll give Recipes To Die For a chance!
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