Given the demand for the guide in Kindle and Nook formats, I've finally decided to put it on Amazon and BN. I have no idea if you can just copy/paste the snippets of code I provide in the book, as you can with the Smashwords edition. Nor do I know if you can just re-download updated editions should there be any. (I have, however, updated the book several times already, and probably will doing so if the process doesn't get too onerous.)

So please buy it from Amazon and BN only if you don't mind the possibility of having to type code yourself and/or the possibility of not having access to the latest updates for free.

• Amazon Kindle US
• BN Nook
• Amazon Kindle UK
• Smashwords

And next week, I'll finally share my secret good news. :)

On Wednesday, Hero Material and I got a chance to visit the Mt. Bandit Chicken Shack. It's some hours away from where we are, but it's fun to go there to chill and eat delicious food.

The main entrance had koinobori (carp streamer).

Sakura were in full bloom.

And our food! The roasted chicken is their specialty, and it's totally worth the long trip. And their gyoza is excellent: not at all greasy but crispy outside and moist inside.

Their udon, BTW, is divine. Something about their broth and noodle go very well together. Actually they're more famous for their giant onigiri (rice ball) with three different types of filling inside. Each onigiri is about the size of Hero Material's fist, but I don't like one of the fillings they use, so I don't eat it.

That's me on the right. Look how huge my tummy is. That's how it looks after half a chicken, two plates of gyoza, udon, rice, half a grilled sausage…plus, a 3.3+ lb baby!

This week, Magic and Mayhem Writers is showcasing four queries that helped us land our agents.

• The Query that Landed Me an Agent and 3 Tips for Writing Yours by Sandy Williams
• Queries and Query Letters by Amanda Bonilla
• The Great Query Hunt by Shawntelle Madison
• Evolution of a Query Letter by Yours Truly

BTW — If you need help with your query letter, leave a comment on Sandy's post saying so. She's going to pick one person per ten commenters and take a look at their query.

I've been getting several questions that basically involve the same type of topics, so I've decided to update How to Format Your Manuscript for Kindle and Nook. If you've bought it already, you can just re-download the latest version from Smashwords. The new edition contains information about what to do if you have a free WordPress.com account and a sample HTML mockup so you can see what everything should look like.

Also, several members on a writing forum I belong to were discussing how to track sales, and I thought I would share my sales tracking sheet. I've created it in Excel, and it calculates almost everything automatically, though you have to put in some information (such as the book's cover price) into the parts marked yellow, plus your individual sales data, of course. Click here to download a copy. It's a free tool for everyone. :)

You can modify it to track epub sales as well. I have a huge master Excel spreadsheet that I use to track everything, including my epub and self-pubbed titles, but I didn't include the epub sales tracking sheet in this one because it really depends on your situation, contract, etc. so it's harder to create a standard template.

I'd like to thank everyone for your lovely words of support and encouragement, etc. after the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami (and Fukushima crisis).  Hero Material and I are doing fine, and our area remains unaffected despite continuing aftershocks in the disaster area even after three weeks.  We feel blessed to have escaped the disaster, and grateful for our awesome friends.

March was a busy but fantastic month for me.  It started out with fabulous news, which I cannot share yet.  I'll let you know as soon as I can.  :)

After having formatted my manuscripts multiple times for multiple vendors (Smashwords, Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook and All Romance eBooks), I've decided to update my How to Format Your Manuscript for Kindle and Nook. If you haven't downloaded the updated version from Smashwords, please do so.  It's free if you've bought a copy already.

And speaking of my formatting guide, I got fabulous reviews from three wonderful authors.

“How to Format Your Manuscript for Kindle and Nook provides simple, concise instructions on how to successfully format your manuscript for publication on both Kindle and Nook without any advanced technical knowledge of HTML or coding. Nadia Lee is a wonderful teacher and her guide lays out a clear path to creating great-looking ebooks.” — Ilona Andrews

“This is a wonderful little book. I was able to follow the clear instructions very easily and format a short story with no problems.” — Portia Da Costa

“This short guide saved me a lot of headaches. The clear and concise directions made formatting my book for the Kindle very easy and I would definitely recommend this.” — Katie Reus

I'm totally flattered that my guide was helpful.  :)  I also had a great freelance project helping the lovely Dana Mentink put her novel on Kindle, Nook and ARe.  It was interesting to see how different Word document styles can affect the conversion process.  (I basically stripped everything down to the basics to do it.)

All Romance eBooks
Amazon US :: Amazon UK
B&N Nook :: Smashwords
Sony eBook Store

March also saw some focused effort to promote Carnal Secrets on my part after the soft release last month.  I had multiple opportunities to do guest blog posts.  Here are the links in case you missed them:

• Read the Fine Print, hosted by Zoe Winters — The Importance of reading contracts carefully and why I ended up declining a publisher's offer to publish Carnal Secrets.
• Walking Away Can Be Hard, hosted by Kait Nolan — The emotional impact walking away can have on writers.
• Small Press v. Self-Publication, hosted by Love Romance Passion — The advantages and disadvantages of having a publisher versus doing it all on your own.
• Distribution, DRM and Geo Restrictions, hosted by Pearl's World of Romance — The thorny problem called distribution and how to reach as many readers as possible, no matter where they live!
• Creating a Cover Art with Non-White Characters, hosted by Monkey Bear Reviews — The nervousness I felt at creating a cover with non-white characters, given the controversies over white-washed covers, etc.
• The Ideal Reader: Is She Really Ideal? hosted by Dear Author — What the (seemingly) ideal reader is to the Big Six, and how that doesn't foster lifelong love of reading.
• Three Qualities of Effective (and Possibly Successful) Indie Writers, hosted by Babbling about Books and More — Three qualities authors need to self-publish effectively.

I've also gotten two fabulous reviews from Pearl and Lorien.

Pearl wrote: 

…a rich and layered read, subtle in the sexual scenes but intense in the romance and emotional parts.

Lorien wrote: 

A fantastic read with intriguing characters and heartfelt emotions. The flow of the story was well-written. This is a must-read book if you're a fan of steamy contemporary romance and exciting plot.

And the lovely @SarahTanner tweeted me earlier this week:

You have a new fan! A RL friend called me today to say thanks for the Carnal Secrets rec. She raved about it for a good 10 mins :D

Thank you, ladies, for your lovely reviews and all the word of mouth.  :)

A few people have asked me if I plan to write a sequel to Carnal Secrets.  I wish I had the time to do it, but this year isn't looking very good.  I'm trying very hard to finish a full-length novel WIP, plus edit another full-length novel in addition to having a baby this summer.  Hopefully when those projects are finished, I can sit down and think about a possible sequel.  (Yes, I find Ethan and Kerri rather intriguing… ;) )

Hope you all have a fantastic April!  Talk to you soon!