JUST VISITING: Author Sara Reinke (Dark Brethren series)

I'm happy to welcome author Sara Reinke to Read My Mind today, in conjunction with Bewitching Book Tours . Sara started out as a traditionally published (ie.: New York publishing house) author. While it seems that there are many authors who are making the move to self-publishing, each one has their own reasons for doing so. Sara talks a little bit about her motivation for changing up the game, and how she was able to make the switch.


Find Sara at: Website | Blog | Twitter | Facebook

I’ve often been asked why I decided to go into indie publishing. After all, I had been published by a NY house in the past. And unlike a lot of NY-pubbed authors, I wasn’t opting to release my backlist independently—I was launching new material all on my own. It’s an intimidating prospect. There are no contracts, no advances, no high-end distribution deals or foreign rights dealers wheeling and dealing on my behalf. If I want a top-notch editor, marketing coordinator, cover artist, proofreader, I have to find them—and pay for them—myself. I admit, I’ve sunk some serious money into this venture in the hopes of seeing long-term returns, because so far, short term, I’m breaking even.

But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.

I don’t want to be the next Amanda Hocking or H.P. Mallory. When I set out to independently publish, I’d come to a place in my life where I wanted to enjoy writing again, to have renewed confidence in my ability as a storyteller. The pursuit of “NY publishing” is exhausting and discouraging, and I quickly discovered, much to my dismay, that my two-book contract with Kensington wasn’t the automatic “in” to a successful career as I would have hoped. If anything, it only upped the ante against me, because then I had a publishing history and sales statistics by which publishers could judge me and my marketing potential. As exhilarating as it was to receive “the call” from Kensington offering to contract my books, it was emotionally devastating to learn they would not contract any further titles from me. Add to the fact I had an agent who seemed less than enthusiastic in the end to represent me, and by the time we parted ways, it had been two years since I’d had a mass-market release and was feeling about like pond scum in terms of my writing.

I want to make money. I’m not going to lie. Every author does. But I think it’s fair to say that of equal importance to writers is that we share our work with readers, that readers discover, identify with and fall in love with the worlds and characters we’ve so carefully and painstakingly crafted and created. My Amazon sales numbers aren’t staggering compared to others I’ve heard about, but every day is a remarkable new surprise to me as I realize that someone else has bought my book, has learned about me somehow, from somewhere, and decided to learn more about me and my Brethren vampire world.

I also have to admit that after having languished so many years with other people—agents, editors, publishers—utterly controlling every aspect of my writing career, and pretty much running it aground, I like having control of it all for myself. Sink like a rock or swim like a fish, it’s all on my shoulders now and I have no one to thank or blame but myself. I love it. Because having that kind of power is empowering; I believe in myself again, both as a writer and a writing professional. I can’t say that I would ever turn down another NY contract with a nice, juicy advance, but I can say now that I’d enter into such a contract with a lot more demands and expectations than I had in the past. Because I know what I want now, and I know I can get it for myself. That’s a hell of a lot for someone else to top.

About The Brethren Series:

Dark Thirst, Book One in The Brethren Series is out of print in paperback through Kensington/Zebra, but is available in Kindle ebook format. In it, Brandon Noble is one of the Brethren, an ancient clan of ruthless vampires. Horrified by his birthright, Brandon shuns the ritual of the first kill, earning his family's lasting wrath. When he finds love with a human woman named Angelina -- forbidden among the Brethren -- his fate is sealed. Can Brandon protect Angelina from his enemies -- and his own dark thirsts?

Dark Hunger, Book Two, is available from Kensington/Zebra in mass market paperback and multiple electronic formats, including for Kindle and the Nook. In it, Tessa Noble-Davenant will do anything to protect her brother, Brandon, even if that means traveling across the country with Rene Morin. A cynical, brooding, yet startling sexy vampire, Rene seems to take pleasure in finding fault with Tessa's every move. Despite this, a sensual attraction begins to develop between the two, one to which neither can afford to succumb. Rene and Tessa are being followed -- and a single misstep will put them at the mercy of forces more dark and powerful than they can even imagine...

Dark Passion, Book Three, is available in trade paperback and multiple e-formats through Double Dragon Publishing. In it, Augustus Noble is a man with secrets. His entire life has been built on half-truths, betrayals and lies—desperate measures to keep the woman he loves, Eleanor Trevilian-Noble, as his own. The patriarch of the Brethren, he has struggled for centuries to create an empire of wealth and prestige for her. Now all that he has fought for is in jeopardy—his grandson Brandon has risked it all in a desperate bid for independence and freedom. And just as Augustus can’t allow Brandon to escape the ages-old traditions of the Brethren race, he also can’t let the Brethren—and especially his longtime nemesis—discover a truth that, if revealed, would see them all killed.

In the fourth installment, Dark Passages: Tristan and Karen, Tristan Morin is a vampire on a mission: to not fall in love with Karen Pierce. To do so would prove that humans and Brethren were meant to be physically and emotionally bound to each other -- something he, as a full-blooded Brethren, refuses to believe. It would be so much easier if Karen wasn't beautiful. And if there wasn't something about her that draws him like a moth to a flame, damn near impossible to resist. Karen has always felt an inexplicable attraction to Tristan. More than just the fact he's strikingly handsome, it's as if being with him is something natural, comfortable and right. But soon a brash choice on his part leaves her heartbroken and confused, and a sadistic new enemy will put their tentative love -- and their lives -- to the ultimate test.

Plus, for a limited time, readers can subscribe to my e-Newsletter and receive a FREE ebook copy of Dark Thirst, Book One in The Brethren Series. There’s no better way to be introduced to the world of the Brethren vampires than with the book that started it all! Visit www.sarareinke.com for details.

Thanks Sara! As a special bonus, Sara is also offering one lucky person an e-book copy of DARK PASSAGES: TRISTAN AND SARA. Just fill out the form here to enter. Earn an extra entry by leaving a relevant comment or question that you might want to ask the author.


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