Dyeing to be Loved and Fatal Reaction Update

Hello, everyone. I wanted to take a minute to chat about the situation with Dyeing to be Loved and the prequel Fatal Reaction. First, I’d like to apologize for the frustration and confusion this has caused. Sometimes doing what seems right at the time doesn’t turn out to be such a great idea. Please believe me when I say that I never intended to make this so difficult!

First a little background about Fatal Reaction. The prequel was part of an anthology that was supposed to release on August 1, 2016, and the rights were supposed to revert to me on November 1, 2016. The goal was to include the prequel with Dyeing to be Loved when it released on November 8, 2016. Unfortunately, the book wasn’t published on time, and I didn’t get my rights back until AFTER Dyeing to be Loved released. Now, I could’ve pulled out of the anthology, but that didn’t feel right to me. Some of the authors were going through a difficult time in their personal lives and putting my release date schedule ahead of their well-being felt like a dick move. I try really damn hard not to be a dick! I look myself in the mirror each morning and say, “Don’t be a dick, Aimee!” It works!

Once I got my rights back, I decided to post the book for FREE on my blog. I thought it was the right thing to do. It was my way of apologizing for the inconvenience. I updated the blurb on Amazon to reflect that a prequel existed and how the reader could find it. I thought I had covered all my bases. Well, the updated version of the blurb didn’t show on all Amazon formats, such as the mobile one that most people use, but I didn’t know that for months.

Earlier this year, I decided to do an audio book for Dyeing to be Loved, the narrator recommended that I combine the prequel and book into one file. I said sure. I looked into it and thought the process seemed fairly simple. Replace one file with another, right? I hired him and scheduled his amazing services for late September. I took a few weeks and decided to re-edit the book then hired my formatter to reformat both the paper and ebook files. That’s it, right? Wrong! Once I updated the title page to include the prequel, I had to update the covers too.

So, I finally had my updated ebook and paperback files and my new covers. I was ready to go, right? Not so fast! The prequel cannot remain on my blog for free if it’s included in a book that’s enrolled in the KU program. The length of Fatal Reaction was longer than the 10% peep show that Amazon allows. So, once I received the all clear from Amazon that the DTBL file was updated, I deleted the prequel from my blog because that’s the rule. I went about my business yesterday thinking everything was just fine. I had finally done the right thing by my readers. Wrong again!

People who had already purchased the book didn’t get their automatic updates, and new purchases had errors. They saw the prequel in the ebook peep show on Amazon’s website, but it wasn’t included in the downloaded version. I started receiving messages, and I was sick to my stomach because, once again, I thought I was doing the RIGHT thing, but it exploded in my face!

Here is what I have done to try to fix the problems:

1.      I’ve asked Amazon to review the files once again. I bought a brand-new copy of the book on Aug 1^st for myself on my husband’s account, and the prequel is there. Please contact Amazon customer service if you’ve purchased DTBL on or after August 1^st and the prequel is missing. They will refresh/update your copy for you.

2.      If you purchased the book before August 1^st, you would also need to contact Amazon customer service to update your version. I had an old version on my account and was able to get my copy updated in less than two minutes. I chose to contact them by chat and was amazed how quickly they refreshed my file.

Now, if you’re still with me after reading through all of this you know two things about me: I try not to be a dick, and I try to do the right thing. I own that it didn’t go the way I expected it to and I apologize for that. To the best of my knowledge, the issues are resolved. The customer rep from Amazon told me that they will send a mass email to people who have purchased the book to let them know how they can download an updated version of the book. Honestly, they’ve been wonderful throughout the entire process.

To show that I’m truly not a dick, I’m going to put this series on sale. I’ve gone through all the proper channels and clicked all the little boxes, and we should be good to go. For my health, I will not hold my breath. Here is what SHOULD happen:

Aug 3&4 – Dyeing to be Loved will be FREE!

Aug 4, 5, & 6 – Something to Dye For will be $0.99

Aug 4, 5, & 6 – Dyed and Gone to Heaven will be $1.99

Aug 4, 5, & 6 –I Do, or Dye Trying will be $2.99

This is my first promotion that I’ve offered through Amazon. If it goes smooth, I’ll consider doing more in the future!

Later this week, I am going to reveal the cover, blurb, and two teasers for Emory and Jon’s story. I’m also going to post Josh and Gabe’s chapters that can be found in the back on Unscripted Love. I’ll do it in two separate posts so they’re easier to find later if you want to come back to them. I see you giving me side-eye right now because didn’t I just mention that I couldn’t post free content when the book is enrolled in KU? Here’s the difference… Josh and Gabe’s bonus chapters do not exceed the 10% peep show that Amazon offers. So, I’m not breaking any rules by posting them here. However, I will take them down if Amazon asks me to at some point because cheating the system has never been my game.

I’m sure your sick of me by now, so I’ll say goodbye until Friday. Much love to all of you!

XOXO

Aimee