I shine in tears like the sun in April
April Newsletter
I had planned to share some cute pet pictures in this newsletter, and maybe I still will at the end, but this past month has been a roller coaster of book news. It reminds of a quote from Cyril Tourneur, a soldier and playwright.
“I shine in tears like the sun in April.”
Thought it be spring and the rebirth of the earth has begun, there is still the lingering of winter. Rain may make the weather dreary, but soon it gives life, just as my sorrow will make way for brighter days.
First the bad news
I learned a few weeks ago that one of my books was pirated and then used by Meta to train their AI. Not the kind of news any author whats to hear. I have contacted a lawyer and joined a class action lawsuits. If you want to understand why actions like this are so devastating to authors, especially us indie authors, you can read more about that in this post.
Which brings me to my next bit of news. I don’t really want to be part of social media platforms that has AI capabilities, not after what Meta did with my book. With that being said, I still have my Instagram account, as it is my best way to connect to my readers outside of this newsletter. Just note that in time I may delete that account. I will announce that before I do, but in the mean time you can still follow me there and on Bluesky. My handle there is @jdcampauthor.bsky.social. Substack is probably the next best place to follow me.
I have also deleted my TikTok account. I was getting violations left and right, and every post was under review. I must have made someone mad. And with the threat of the app being banned or sold, I decided I don’t want to deal with it anymore. It’s just too much stress and I don’t trust who it could buy the platform. I am on Lightsky which is the video platform that works with Bluesky. My handle there is the same as Bluesky.
Now on to some good news
I have sent in my contract for another year at NDK (Nan Desu Kan). I will be near the entrance to the 18+ section again and I will have more books. I really like the theme that NDK has chosen for this year. It’s 8-bit themed. I am looking forward to another great year that con and seeing many of you there again.
Other great news. I won two awards this past weekend. Faithless & Found won second place in LGBTQ+ Historical Fiction and The Last Son won second place in Thriller-Supernatural. I am also running specials on them through Draft2Digital for the Ebook versions. Faithless & Found is on sale for $1.99 and The Last Son is discounted to $.99.
Just a reminder that my books can be found in many places beyond Amazon. They are now on sites like Smashwords, Hoopla, Libby, Apple Books, Fable, Place Marketplace, Tolino, Vivlio, Bookshop.org, Kobo, and more. I am also working on adding paperback versions of my books to Draft2Digital as well.
Audiobook Codes
I still have a handful of Iron Blood audiobook codes left. These codes allow you to listen to the audiobook for free. My narrator, Doro Jillings, did an amazing job and she deserve to have her work appreciated. She lives in London and was such a joy to work with. I know I brag about my narrators all the time, but they bring a magic to my books. I want nothing but the best for my narrators, and that includes sales (and yes, these free codes do help with that). So please, if you enjoyed the audiobook, leave a review. Just follow the link and a code will be randomly given to you.
Writing Update
My newest book called, I Was A Stranger, is finally making headway. After much struggle in getting it off the ground, I have decided to go in a different direction for the telling of the story. So far the change is making the story and the flow feel more natural as I put it all together. So far the word count is at a few several thousand, it’s not much, but it is steadily increasing.
Okay, now the pet pic
Here they are, the fur babies. Nova Swirl is the poodle. She is a pure bread and has way too much energy. Patrick just turned two and is the baby of the family. I hope you enjoy their cute faces. They are the reason why I am not getting much writing done recently, because all they do is fight and demand all the pettings. This picture is a rare moment of them getting along. Both of them are expert snugglers and make any bad day better, even when they are fighting an being a nuisance. They are such siblings.
