Death of a distributor.

Unfortunately that headline is not a title of an upcoming book in my Inspector Stone Mysteries series, it’s something that happened to me at the beginning of the week.

Since the first half of the year I have been published through the distribution platform Pronoun, which is owned by MacMillan. I’ve enjoyed my time with Pronoun, they’ve made publishing quite simple with plenty of options I’ve found useful. Unfortunately this Monday just gone I received an email from Pronoun in which they said that the decision had been made for them to close.

They would accept no new accounts and would shut up shop on 15th January 2018, giving people just over 2 months to migrate their books to another platform.

Cue panic, caused in equal parts by the loss of all progress I have made in building a following and by the fact that for personal reasons I don’t distribute to Amazon through the KDP platform.

I spent the rest of Monday following the email searching for a new distributor to put my books through. There are a number out there, but not all of them can get a book distributed to Amazon, which was obviously a big requirement for me since I have been doing reasonably well on the Amazon UK site.

After comparing the sites, and discounting those that required an upfront fee for distribution, I settled on Lulu, it wasn’t my preferred choice but it was the best of what was available in my opinion. Imagine my relief when only a day after Pronoun announced it was closing I got an email from Draft2Digital, a distributor I have used in the past, and which I like, announcing that they had struck a deal with them for distribution to the Kindle platform.

The timing could not have been more perfect and I quickly switched my books from Lulu to D2D, who were not only offering Amazon distribution but some style options that I think make my books look more professional.

With the books setup on D2D I have been waiting the past few days for them to go live on the various stores, and especially on Amazon. I am pleased to say that they have now done so and the books are once again available for sale.

If you don’t yet have the books, you can find them at the following links

A kidnapped teen, a 3.5 million Euro ransom, and the Russian Mafia.

Inspector Stone is tasked with finding Alice Keating and bringing her home safely. Hard enough under normal circumstances, but between investigating an unrelated armed robbery, family problems, and the machinations of an ambitious underling, it’s almost impossible.

Unbeknown to either Stone or Alice’s parents, the kidnappers have more in mind than collecting a ransom. And when it turns out that the Russian Mafia might be involved in the kidnapping, things begin to spiral out of Stone’s control.

Can Stone find Alice before the kidnappers make good on their threats? If not it won’t just be Alice that becomes a victim to their deadly plans…

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Revenge comes to Branton.

Inspector Stone’s past catches up to him with blood and flames.

A series of murders rock the small town of Branton and leave Inspector Stone with his toughest case, one which may see him paying a tremendous personal price if he can’t solve it quick enough.

At first glance the murder of the wife and mother of an Asian shopkeeper appears racially motivated, and the local paper is quick to stir up tensions within the community.

Another murder, this time the husband of a local barrister, an attack on a trio of teens, and the discovery of a previously unreported murder all lead Stone to the conclusion that something more than racism is at work.

Before he can work out what connects these seemingly unrelated events he is distracted by the most tragic of events.

Can Stone and his partner pull themselves together long enough to figure out who is responsible for bringing terror to the streets of Branton, or will the killer complete his fiendish plan and make good his escape?

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A dead model, a studio suspected of abuse, and a depressed detective.

Three months after losing his family in a deadly blaze the discovery of a teenage girl’s body on the riverbank draws Nathan Stone back to work and into a complicated case.

Ellen Powers was a popular internet model with many adoring fans, so who would want to kill her?

The investigation soon turns up many secrets, including the fact that Ellen was pregnant and planning an abortion. Was the studio she worked for covering up a dark secret of exploitation? Or was this a crime of passion?

When Ellen’s stepbrother is attacked soon after her body is discovered Nathan is sure there’s a connection. The guy’s not talking, though; what is he so determined to keep secret, even if it puts his life at risk?

As the case deepens and they discover more about the murdered teen Nathan Stone must overcome his demons to find justice for an innocent young woman?

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A peaceful village torn apart by murder, mistrust, and a desire for revenge.

When Oakhurst’s daughters begin to turn up, brutally murdered and with accusatory words carved into their skin, the residents of the small, close-knit community are unwilling to believe that one of their own might be a killer.
Suspicion falls on the village’s newest resident, Zack Wild, attractive, charming, author of violent crime novels, and possessor of a dark history; he seems like the perfect suspect.
As the investigation continues, the evidence against Wild mounts, but is prejudice against the newcomer affecting the judgment of Sergeant Mitchell, Constable Turner thinks so; she is determined to bring the killer to justice, no matter who it is, or what she has to do.
Who will be proved right, and will they catch the killer before he can strike again?

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