Hexes & Kisses from Seattle: Cover Reveal

July 1, 2019 Monica La Portabillionaire paranormal romance, billionaire shifter, cover by monica la porta, cover release, dragon shifter, fantasy action, fantasy romance, indie author, indie publishing, monica la porta new release, mystery, new paranormal romance, new paranormal romance release, paranormal romance, paranormal series, paranormal set in Seattle, sassy heroine, strong women stories, trilogy, urban fantasy, vampire wherewolves mistery fairytale zombie monsters short story anthology, vampires, villain, warlock, witch romance, witches, women literatureLeave a comment

This is the second time, and hopefully the last one, I write this post because after composing a long, and rather witty story about Hexes & Kisses from Seattle my next series’ release, I clicked on the wrong arrow and deleted everything. The lesson here is to always save, every step of the way…

Anyway, you came here for a cover reveal, and I’ll give you three because I’m nice that way.

Lavender & Cinnamon: Book One

The pastry chef witch & the billionaire dragon-shifter: Not your usual meet-cute…
So… it doesn’t happen every day that you see a dragon shifter’s junk, up close and personal.
Well, you’d think it’s this witch’s lucky day, but nope. Not even close. In fact, this day has been disastrous so far.
But let me rewind the story for you. Hi, my name’s Aubrey, and I own Lavender & Cinnamon, the award-winning pastry shop conveniently located in one of the coziest neighborhoods in Seattle. My life’s filled with cupcake and hexes, and I like it exactly the way it is.
Yesterday, I received ominous news from Mr. Stuart, my landlord—you guessed correctly, he’s the owner of the junk mentioned before. Anyway, he wants to evict my shop to build a high-rise on top of it.
The last thing I need is a domineering billionaire who thinks he can do whatever he wants because he’s rich. Sure, the man is unbearably handsome, generously endowed (I took a good look at it) and makes me weak in the knees… but rest assured I won’t give up my shop without a fight.
PS
If you want to know more about the junk incident, you need to buy the book…

Lavender & Cinnamon: Book Two

Hi! It’s me, Aubrey, again! Lavender & Cinnamon remains open! Yeah for me!
Unfortunately, that’s the least of my worries.
It turns out Andrew (you remember Mr. Stuart and his enormous… attitude) and I were hexed and chained together by an invisible rope. It could be worse, you might think, being him a hunk and all.
I’d agree with you if it weren’t for the small detail of the striking blonde who just entered the scene. She’s Andrew’s fiancée. What?
Did you see that coming? I sure didn’t…
Andrew better have a very good explanation for forgetting to mention he was engaged while he was enthusiastically groping me, or the chain hex will be the least of his problems.

Lavender & Cinnamon: Book Three

Where were we? Right… I’m Aubrey, the witch and pastry chef from Seattle who got hexed alongside a handsome dragon-shifter.
In the meantime, I might’ve fallen for the hunk (okay, I’ll admit I’m head over heels in love with him), and he seems to be quite smitten with me as well—which, given my sparkling personality, shouldn’t come as a surprise.
The only problem is that both my dad and Andrew’s ex-father-in-law are vehemently opposed to our idea of happily ever after and are fighting us with fangs and spells. Plus, it would seem that our story started a few centuries ago…
But love always conquers all, right?

Renegade Vampire

May 7, 2019 Monica La Portaangels, dark romance, demons, indie author, new release, paranormal romance, passion, rome, sneak peek, steamy paranormal romance, strong female character, vampire, werewolfLeave a comment

After a long hiatus from blogging, I am happy to announce I am back with news about my Immortals. Book #12 in the series, Renegade Vampire is finally out. In the last year and a half, I’ve been so focused on my publishing schedule and advertising that I forgot about popping here for an update. Since my last post, I wrote more than I could publish, I experimented with shared-world projects and collaborations, I spent money on Facebook and Amazon ads… I have learned a thing or two in the process, but the most important lesson is that I need to take it easy. So here I am, hopefully sticking to the resolution.

See you soon,

Monica

If you’d like a sneak peek from Renegade Vampire, head here.

A Vampire’s Thirst: Adrian–Cover Reveal

January 7, 2018January 7, 2018 Monica La Portaa k michaels new series, a vampire thirst, multiple authors paranormal series, paranormal romance, paranormal series, paranormal set in modern days rome, steamy paranormal romance, vampire, werewolf2 Comments

It’s official, in 2017 I wrote more books than I could publish, but hopefully, I’m right on schedule with my contribution to A K Michaels’ A Vampire’s Thirst series. Adrian will release January 19th, 2018, starting this new year with a personal bang, because I not only wrote the story, but I also created the covers for this brand-new series. I know I’m biased, but I really love this cover!

A Vampire’s Thirst: Dark, Dangerous, and Undeniable
In his two thousand years on earth, Adrian, a day-walking vampire, has seen it all and done it all, and it’s left him jaded and aloof. He governs every aspect of his private life with an iron will, but his control is threatened when he begins suffering from a mysterious thirst wreaking havoc on his mind and body to the point that he fears for his sanity.
Lavinia, a werewolf half-breed, longs for stability, something she’s never known after a childhood spent on the run from purist shifters intent on ending her kind. When she finally believes her life is set on the right path, her roommate is savagely murdered, and Lavinia is thrown into a nightmare of hellish proportions.
On the night of the Directive’s Masquerade Gala, the thirst plaguing Adrian irresistibly draws him to Lavinia, like a moth to the flame. It’s an encounter that changes their fates forever.
Fleeing her enemies, Adrian and Lavinia fight for their lives while the fiery sparks of their passion threaten to burn them to cinders.
Monica La Porta brings you book 4 in A K Michaels’ brand-new world, A Vampire’s Thirst, full of hot as hades alpha males in this smoking paranormal romance story.

The Fifth Moon’s Dragon: Cover Reveal

May 23, 2017May 23, 2017 Monica La Porta99 cents preorder, angels, author blog post, box set, cover reveal, creatures box set, demons, fae, multi-author box set, mystery, new release, paranormal anthology, paranormal romance, passion, revenge, science fiction romance, shape shifters, space opera, suspense, the fifth moon's dragon, the fifth moon's tales, the fifth moon's wolf, urban fantasy, vampires, werewolves, witches7 Comments

The High Lord of Solaria, Dragon Sol has recently returned to his planet to marry his two promised brides, but instead of savoring the pleasures of his wedding night, he finds himself fighting an enigmatic assassin sent to kill him.
A skilled mercenary, Jade belongs to the Assassin Academy and lives for the thrill of the chase, but her latest mission goes awry since the moment she throws that first arrow at her intended target.
Dragon proves to be Jade’s worthiest opponent yet, and what starts as any other mission becomes so much more, reversing the roles of hunter and prey. Before either of them can stop the inevitable, a deep connection takes roots until their hearts and not their lives are at stakes.

The First Moon’s Dragon, first book in the second Fifth Moon’s Tales trilogy series will be published in the box set Creatures, alongside 21 more novels, and it’s available for preorder for only 99 cents.

Creatures Highlights: Monica La Porta

May 23, 2017 Monica La Porta99 cents preorder, angels, author blog post, box set, creatures box set, demons, fae, multi-author box set, mystery, new release, paranormal anthology, paranormal romance, passion, revenge, science fiction romance, shape shifters, space opera, suspense, the fifth moon's dragon, the fifth moon's tales, the fifth moon's wolf, urban fantasy, vampires, werewolves, witchesLeave a comment

Image One (Intro)

MONICA LA PORTA

Image Two (Purchase Link)

Image Three (Blog Post)

Dragons are my favorite mythical creatures. When I was a kid, I spent long hours imagining what it would be like to own a pet dragon and fly over the clouds, looking at the world from above. I’ve read countless books about dragons, and I never seem to have enough of those stories. From fantasy to steamy paranormal, if there is a dragon, I will read it. There is a sense of freedom I experience any time I find a good dragon novel that leaves me at peace with the world. The sheer power, and at the same time grace and elegance, of such creature when combined with a shifter is an explosive union, and it gives an author plenty of opportunities to write an epic story. When I introduced Dragon Sol in the Fifth Moon’s Tales, all I wanted was a badass sidekick for my werewolf, but Dragon’s character grew sentence by sentence, acquiring all the traits typical of its namesake: loyalty, strength, charm, wittiness. Soon, I couldn’t deny him the story he demanded any longer, and I finally gave in and started writing The Fifth Moon’s Dragon. In the process, I realized that I’ve never truly forgotten my dream as a child. I still want a pet dragon, especially if he comes in the shape of a hunk shape shifter.

Monica La Porta is the Author of The Fifth Moon’s Dragon. You can find out more about Monica here!

Image Four (Blurb)

The Lost Centurion: The Day After the Bookbub

April 27, 2017April 27, 2017 Monica La Portaamazon, book promo results, bookbub, d2d sales, freebie reviews, indie book promotion, kindle, paranormal romance, paranormal series, permafree, reviews after a promo, smashwords, the end of the permafree, the lost centurionLeave a comment

Let’s start today’s post by saying that I am not impressed by the data I collected at the end of the first day post-Bookbub. The day’s earnings were lukewarm at best, something I’ve achieved by myself on a good day without any promo.

At the moment, ranking for The Lost Centurion have disappeared from its Amazon page, but the last time I checked, it was lingering at #40. I will add the latest ranking as soon as I have it.

Amazon Downloads: 1,865

Amazon sales: $38,11

I’ve realized only now that The Lost Centurion is still available through Smashwords and not D2D, while the rest of the Immortals series is sold wide through D2D.

Smashwords Downloads, data from the last three days: iTunes 1,575, Nook 1,032, Kobo 35. Frankly, those numbers have pleasantly surprised me. I didn’t expect the promo to be so successful wide. This is definitely uplifting and mitigate what I said a few sentences ago, at the beginning of this post.

D2D Sales: 105.74 – 95.39= $10.4

Reviews received on the day after the Bookbub: 3 – ranging from 5* to 1*, bringing the total number of reviews to 213, with an average of 4.2 out of 5.

I’ll post again tomorrow with a final report about this promo.

Amazon ranks reappeared:

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #36 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)

#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal > Vampires
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal > Angels
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal > Ghosts

The Lost Centurion’s Stats, Pre-Bookbub

April 25, 2017April 25, 2017 Monica La Portabook advertisement, bookbub, end of the permafree, first free in series, freebooksy, freebooksy results, indie book marketing, last free promo, marketing strategies for book, paranormal romance, permafree promo data, pre-bookbub numbers, the lost centurionLeave a comment

Before the Bookbub starts, and with the Freebooksy just ended, I’ll write down a few numbers to keep the data straight.

First of all, a few details about this promo. The Lost Centurion has been permafree for a while, and I’ve promoted this title several times. Recently, free downloads have dwindled to a handful a day, and a change of promotional strategy was called for. In the indie-publishing world, there’s no time to linger, we must study the market and make changes rapidly.

Monday, April 24th: my paid promo with Freebooksy totaled 923 downloads. Overall, a good result for a book that has been promoted several times already and it has been free for probably 2 years (I’ll have to find out when exactly I put The Lost Centurion for free the first time.)

Monday, April 25th: at 12:01 am, The Lost Centurion is #146 in the Free Amazon Best Seller List, #1 in demons & devils, psychic, and angels.

I paid $100 for the Freebooksy promo, and $226 for the Bookbub.

Money earned this month, before the Bookbub starts: $565.78 on Amazon, and $95.39 wide. So far, this has been a poor month for sales, and it’s the end of it.

Now, I wait for the Bookbub to start…

Monday, April 25th, at 2:05 am:

Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130 Free in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Free in Kindle Store)

#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal > Angels
#1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal > Psychics
#2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Romance > Paranormal > Ghosts

The Lost Centurion’s Last Hurrah

April 24, 2017 Monica La Portabookbub, end of the permafree, first in a series free, free promotion, free-book promotion, freebooksy, indie publiishing, indie publiishing strategies, marketing for indie authors, monica la oirta, paid books, paranormal romance, paranormal series, the immortals, the lost centurion2 Comments

In the indie authors’ world, smart minds have been wondering for a while if the era of the permafree has passed its prime. At the moment, I can’t remember when I first put The Lost Centurion for free, but it’s definitely longer than a year, probably two. The number of free downloads per day has dramatically decreased, which translates in fewer sales for the rest of the series. When I was accepted for a Bookbub for today, I decided it was time to put The Lost Centurion back to paid as soon as the promotion ends. Because Bookbub accepted me just before I was about to leave for two weeks, I only had two days to look for additional advertising venues, and only Freebooksy was available. Bookgorilla was all taken for the month, and Robin Reads rejected me. So, I stacked a Freebooksy yesterday, April the 24th, Bookbub today, April the 25th, and I’ll send my newsletter on the following day. I am in Europe as I write, and Bookbub will start in six hours. I’ll write back in a few days to report final numbers. Meanwhile, thanks to the 936 downloads brought by Freebooksy, The Lost Centurion starts at #146 in the Amazon Free chart, and it’s #1 in a few categories: angels, psychics, demons and devils. I don’t expect spectacular results with Bookbub because this is the third time this title is promoted by them (the first time it was by itself, and the second as part of a boxed set), but it’s a good way to end a permafree nonetheless. Talk to you soon.

Cover Reveal: Ax: A Wolf’s Hunger Alpha Shifter Romance

March 28, 2017March 28, 2017 Monica La Portaa k michaels new series, a wolf's hunger, cover reveal, monica la porta 2017 releases, monica la porta new release, multi-author shifter series, paranormal romance, romance, seattle shifters, werewolfLeave a comment

A Wolf’s Hunger: It can’t be stopped
Axelrod McKenzie left the Seattle’s Wolf Pack ten years ago, swearing never to return. The sudden death of his adoptive father and alpha of the pack forces Ax to go back on his word.
Suddenly plagued by a gnawing hunger that consumes him from within, Ax must confront his inner demons and his half-brother, Kendall; a brother Ax resents because by pack laws Kendall will inherit the alpha seat vacated by their father.
Little does Ax know that his life is going to get way worse before it gets any better. But the moment he has a glimpse of Aimee, Kendall’s fiancée, Ax’s life is forever changed by the revelation that the she-wolf is his fated soulmate.
Passions run high as the three of them must come to terms with their fates. Will love triumph over a family feud that has lasted for decades?

AX: A Wolf Hunger’s Alpha Shifter Romance

Click here for a sneak peek of Ax’s first chapter

Ax: A Wolf’s Hunger Alpha Shifter Romance

March 28, 2017March 28, 2017 Monica La Portaa k michaels new series, a wolf's hunger, hot alpha, monica la porta 2017 releases, monica la porta new release, multi-author shifter series, paranormal romance, romance, seattle shifters, shifter, standalone stories, werewolfLeave a comment

I’m pleased to announce my addition to A K Michaels’ brand new world, A Wolf’s Hunger. Ax: A Wolf’s Hunger Alpha Shifter Romance is currently available for preorders.