One of my equestrian clients quizzed me the other day about my books. She’s Scottish, so my Caledonian Sprite series intrigued her, despite the fact she hadn’t read a fiction novel in 30 years!

Here is what she said:

‘…the big news is I read a book – fiction – not my usual thing at all I couldn’t put it down , absolutely loved it and was sorry when it came to an end What an interesting and iridescent mind you must have.’

I LOVE that descriptor – an ‘iridescent’ mind – and told her I would be stealing it.

Considering the nature of my main character (an immortal water sprite, an elemental, a true spirit of nature), and the things she gets up to, it’s pretty appropriate.

I spend most of my time promoting my Five Kingdoms series because it has wider appeal and therefore sells better than the sprite novels, which are a little hard to categorise – urban fantasy is the nearest, but while it has the usual suspects (vampires, witches etc.) it doesn’t have a weapon-bearing, or magic-wielding central character.

Cassie IS magical; it’s simply her nature.

These books are also designed to highlight environmental issues – one reviewer called them ‘eco-urban fantasy’. If only Amazon had such a category!

The other challenges with DESPRITE MEASURES are the cover – Amazon won’t allow you to advertise a book with a cover depicting a naked woman – even though it’s just a bare back, and happens to be a scene from the book – and the title, which I love (I’m a pun fan), but which some read as a spelling mistake!

I’m 6 chapters into writing the next Cassie book, but decided to finish the Five Kingdoms quartet first, (money, once again). So once THE PRINCE’S HEIR is done, I’ll get on with the next Caledonian Sprite novel. This one already has a cover, and I’ve decided that much though I love the original cover of DESPRITE MEASURES, I’m going to pay for a new one, taking into account Amazon’s advertising rules, and also the title font, which could, to my mind, be clearer. I already have that in hand, using a similar but clearer font on the cover of the short story, SPRITE NIGHT, and on the new cover: SPRITEFUL LIES

Isn’t that lovely? And I found it as a premade, which is why I already have it, despite not having yet finished writing the book.

So, today’s post was inspired by that lovely description of my mind, but has ended up being a bit of a personal exploration about the challenges of promoting a book that just doesn’t fit comfortably in a standard Amazon category, and the frustration of Amazon’s many rules on what you can, and can’t, advertise.

If any of you have any bright ideas I haven’t considered on either topic, I’d be only too happy to hear them!

****BTW, THE PRINCE’S MAN #1 The Five Kingdoms is on sale at $0.99 this week****,