1. Are there other places I can purchase your book (and would that hurt your feelings)?
There are other places, and it would not hurt my feelings! The book is also available on Amazon (physical and e-book) and Barnes & Noble! For full transparency, when you buy from one of these third parties, they do make a commission of each individual book which makes me profit smaller. However! I am not doing this for the money! I understand fully that selling through another party would lower my profit and that is completely okay! Plus, these sites can offer more deals that I can on my own website, so please do whatever is most financially comfortable for you :).
2. I noticed that on the other sites the book is cheaper than it is on your website. Why is that (especially since you just said you make less money selling through them!)?
This was very intentional. I am aware that more people will feel more comfortable buying from places that they are familiar with and have shopped with before. The price was calculated to make an average profit while still leaving the books affordable and fair (according to the readers in my life when I asked, "Would you buy this book for X amount?").
However, Amazon and Barnes & Noble (being stationed and created in the Unites States) pay taxes. Those taxes are then added on to your books (in MN at a rate of 6.875%, sometimes up to 8.375% depending on your county/local laws!). Math wizards can then calculate that to the cost of the book being $21.375, not including shipping costs. My website has the tax included in the price.
"But Evergreene! Your books average $25! That's an extra $3.625 compared to post-tax books (not including shipping)!" And yes, you're right! The extra $3.625 is for the materials of shipping (not the shipping itself), the personal additives with every purchase (like stickers, handwritten notes, or future coupons if I think of any haha), and a signature on every cover page :).
To some people, that is not worth it, especially since you are still paying $4 for shipping, and I completely understand. Please do whatever makes you the most comfortable. After all, without you I wouldn't be selling books and I am forever grateful!
3. Will you ever do an audiobook?
I am thinking about it :). I have some insecurities about my voice, so if I do it would be a big step!
4. Are there release dates for [insert future book titles]? And how do I get notified?
Not yet! Any release dates will be posted as soon as I know, and pre-orders opened on here just like I did with my first :)
I'm going to be honest... I'm not sure how Shopify notifications work yet. Once I figure it out, I'm sure anyone who put in an email will get notified... Until then, check often!
5. Many Romantasy books feature multiple chapters of spice and spicy content. I noticed you don't really do that and spice is limited. Why is that?
While I have no qualms with "spicy" books that focus mostly on the romance aspects of adults, I do have my fair share of critiques when a story seemingly... forgets about the plot (not including books where romance is the main plot). Not to name names, but I once read a novel where a large battle happened and a huge reveal took place, and the characters immediately had sex in a carriage. And I was staring at the page like, "Hey wait a minute. I could care less about his 'velvet wrapped steel' right now. Go back to the battle!"
My favorite stories build relationships, typically with a slow burn. Sexual chemistry is very important to many romantic relationships, but I never saw the sex part as something I needed to divulge into, not from a 'purity culture' standpoint but because there are times when I feel the scenes move on too quickly from the emotional connection I want to focus on.
Once again, I am an avid partaker in erotica (I mean, I have an AO3 account if that tells you anything) but writing it is much different than reading it. I don't have a strong voice around that and writing it felt very cheap and pandering (NOT TO SAY THAT ALL SEXUAL CONTENT IS CHEAP OR PANDERING. JUST WHEN I'M WRITING IT!).
So, erotic themes are often kept to a single chapter, abstractly referenced, or fade-to-black. I love when characters hold hands for the first time and you just "Askdjhfkhkskdf" reading the page (lovers of the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie relate-- Darcy hand flex) and I never want to lose that to a sex scene.
6. I don't like [fantasy, romance, slow burns, fairy politics, etc]. Do you have any books for me?
At this exact moment, no. But I am working on a few projects that are to-be-determined to see the light of day. One is a book of essays and short stories talking about philosophy and free will, another is a fictitious autobiography, and perhaps a fun 80's rocker romance. Who knows! I would love to write a thriller/suspense book, but I have zero ideas at the moment.