I suck at blurbs anyway, but the blurb for Bloodhunters was particularly difficult to write. Here’s the problem: I want readers to know it’s a LGBTQ+ friendly book. I want them to know that one of the main characters is transgender. But in the book itself, that’s a plot twist that you don’t learn until about halfway through. And there’s another, equally important plot twist involving the identity of the terrorist they’re chasing. This twist carries much of the story, but I can’t talk about it in promotional material.
So what’s left to advertise? Well, it’s an action-packed sci-fi story about a team of bounty hunters, yada yada, but that doesn’t really separate it from a thousand other sci-fi books on the kindle store. IMO, there are two main reasons my story stands out, and both are spoilers.
And those who do buy it, I hope they don’t stop reading it before the twists. Even I admit the story is a bit generic before you find out you-know-what. I may have mentioned this before, but one of my beta readers quit halfway through, partly because he thought Vik was the main character.
And then there's the fact that I use a pen name. I have 160 friends on Facebook, and I bet a few of them would buy my books if I advertised them there. But I try to keep my main account and my Xine account separate. I don't like talking about trans stuff on main anymore, especially since I'm going to be looking for a new job soon.
My best hope is word-of-mouth. I really hope somebody reads the book and tells a trans friend, “You should read this. It’s not what you think.” I know I won’t make a lot of sales that way, but at least that means the books will be read by the people who would enjoy them most, and that’s the important thing.
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