Friday, May 29, 2015

My Worst Selling Ebook

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NGTD75C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00NGTD75C&linkCode=as2&tag=kylsbou-20&linkId=3GAGJC3UGJQMTQC6

My worst selling book of all time came out September 10th of last year and I'm planning a sequel.   The book is called The Mask of the Jaguar and the book centers on a woman who stalks men who abuse women and feminizes them.  She's sort of a grim pulp avenger like The Shadow or Green Hornet, but the men she preys on aren't murderers--they're unappreciative bosses, con men, and sexist politicians.  She's joined by her partner Katsume who is a master of Japanese rope bondage.

I don't know why it didn't sell very well.  It may have been the setting being a bit more out there.  It may have been the cover, but it was so well-received by my beta readers and reviewers that I had to give up on it without giving it one more chance.  Especially because The Jaguar Stalks Her Prey will be out this summer.


 Here's what my beta readers said about Mask of the Jaguar:

James said, "Here's Jaguar, and it's one of my favourites so far, I really like the story."
Mitch said, "

Mitch said, "This story was a lot of fun for me. It's inventive and new, in a genre that doesn't see a great deal of originality. After all, there are only so many ways you can force a guy into panties."

Amazon author Mindi Harris said, "I was slow to read The Jaguar, but I loved it once I read it."

Transgender fiction reviewer Bending the Bookshelf said, "This was a fantastic short story that's more about the transformation itself than the consequences of being transformed, and more about the delivery of justice than the act of humiliation."

And here's a sample:

In contrast to Katsumi's workout attire, Mr. Adkins’ clothing including a stretchy pink workout skirt and a sports bra with ample padding and a pink and purple geometric design. Most alarming to him was his footwear, which consisted of a pair of pink pumps with a narrow two inch heel. Reluctantly, Adkins put on the clothing. Something compelled him to obey no matter how humiliating it might be. He felt surprisingly little shame being naked before this woman, but his face burned red as she grabbed his long hair and attached a purple scrunchie, leaving it in a high feminine ponytail.
"Are you happy? I feel like a damn fool," he asked.
"That is irrelevant. We have a long walk ahead of us," she stated dispassionately.
"I can't run in these," complained Jon as he stumbled out the cottage back door and onto the sand.
"Who said anything about running? You will follow my instructions to the letter. Is that understood?"
"Yes mistress," he nodded unsure of where that came from.
"Your back should be straight. Imagine a string attached to the top of your head, pulling it straight up. Your walk must lead with your hips. Walk as if you're walking on an imaginary line. Do you understand?"
"Yes mistress." Again, he found himself surprised by his own response.
"On the sand, land on the ball of your foot with each step. Everywhere else, it's the heel first," she instructed.
With Katsumi’s intense coaching, Jon began to get the hang of the new shoes. For one solid hour, they made their slow progress along the beach. They were soon off the sand and onto a sidewalk. The sun was beginning to rise and Katsumi knew that she had to begin the trek back to the cottage, where The Jaguar waited.
A pair of women jogging along the beach was just visible in the distance several hundred yards ahead. Jon eyed them surreptitiously and when Katsumi mentioned that it was time to be turning back, Jon kicked off his shoes and made a mad dash towards the joggers calling out, "Help! Help! I've been kidnapped!"
Katsumi did not, as most would, back away from the screaming man. She leapt forward, strong leg muscles propelling her swiftly; her lean athletic body a blur of speed. Her eyes at once puzzled and amused at her captive's desperate gambit. Jon could sense that she was closing the gap between them quickly and would be upon him before he could ever summon help. With grim determination he wheeled round and threw a roundhouse right in the direction of his pursuer, hoping to catch her off guard before she could react. Katsumi acted on pure instinct taking a half step to her left before she could slow her momentum, she swayed her torso out of the way of the blow and deflected it with the back of her right arm. In normal circumstances, her next move would be a swift and ferocious backhand onto the bridge of Jon's nose, which would devastate the cartilage with a sickening crash, but a broken nose would make their mission that much more difficult so Katsumi was forced to improvise.
Using her momentum, she reached backhanded across Jon's body with her left arm. Bringing her right leg under his, she let her momentum push forward causing Jon to fall with a thud onto the ground below. She was on him quickly, flipping him onto his stomach and straddling his back. Always prepared for such eventualities, the powerful woman reached for the drawstring of her sweatpants and pulled out 30 inches of spider silk rope, more than enough to restrain a man. With practiced skill, she quickly had his wrists bound and cinched securely behind his back. Leading him back to his discarded shoes, Katsumi made Jon step into them and they began their walk back to the cottage, the two runners clearly oblivious to what had happened.
 Katsumi pushed and prodded Jon back to the cottage arriving shortly after half past six.
"I was beginning to worry about you two. You're late," purred The Jaguar. Her voice was so menacing, yet so seductive. Her movements were fluid with a feline grace. She wore a form fitting black dress, with her black floppy hat and sunglasses, the only thing Jon could really see of her face were her bright red lips. There was no way that he would ever mistake this beautiful yet fierce creature before him with the mousey Sheila Wentworth.

2 comments:

  1. That's surprising that it would be your worst-selling title, but I can see how the cover is a bit darker and more mysterious that most of your books. I wonder if that's causing readers to pass it by? If they took the time to read the blurb I'm sure they'd be hooked!

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  2. Mindi was the first person to mention that cover. I thought it had the mysterious vibe that so fit the genre, but it might be worth doing a new cover. I do know that my other poor sellers are Blind Date, which was my first book and originally had a terrible cover and The Good, The Bad, and The Sissy, which is also a book I think it pretty good, but it is definitely experimental.

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