Book News – Elizabeth Barone

Meet me at Mini CT BookishCon 🎟📚 August 1st, 2026

If you’re in northwestern Connecticut or need a bookish day trip, join me at Mini CT BookishCon this summer! We’ve got 45 attending authors, flash tattoos (can someone watch my table real quick?), food trucks, and a book drive benefiting Read to Grow, so get your tickets today!

This is not an April Fool’s prank, and it’s not a drill. I’m so excited to announce I’m signing at the first ever Mini CT BookishCon this August!

You guys, I’m crushing on this event so hard. There will be books, food trucks, flash tattoos, a book drive… I’m swooning! I can’t wait to see familiar faces and meet new ones. If you’re in Connecticut or looking for a fun weekend road trip, I’d love to see you there. Personally I’m hoping I have time for a tattoo, and I’m looking forward to hitting the food trucks!

@minictbookishcon

Get Tickets

I’m bringing the River Reapers series with me, and I’ll have a pre-order form set up soon.

I’m so relieved winter is over! This one was pretty hard. I’m writing my way through it, though, putting my broken pieces into my works-in-progress. That alchemy is what I love most about writing. I can take something heavy and difficult to put into words, write a story around it, and then other people read it. I don’t know if I’m out here healing anybody, but I’m healing myself and maybe keeping some of you company during your hard times, and in this world, that’s the best thing each of us can do.

I’ve been pretty low on spoons, so I’m keeping this newsletter short and sweet. I’m hoping to have my shop re-launched in time for my next newsletter (maybe with some exclusive coupons), and maybe another lil treat…

Talk soon!

Open letter to Kindle: Authors concerned about your use of AI

Your lack of response to authors’ queries about how our books are being processed by the AI is most concerning, especially in light of all these lawsuits.

Dear Kindle Direct Publishing,

I’ve been publishing to the Kindle store since 2012, when my debut novel Sade on the Wall was a quarterfinalist in your Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award contest. I’ve published dozens of titles in your Kindle store since. I’m so grateful for the platform you provide indie authors and how it revolutionized self-publishing. However, I’m deeply concerned about how you’re implementing AI.

Many authors have expressed concerns about the beta Kindle summaries feature, provided by AI. A number of complaints have been filed about errors in the summaries and trope lists the AI generates for books. There is no way for authors to opt-out of this feature, nor is there any way for us to correct the errors.

Authors spend hours crafting summaries, descriptions, trope lists, and more to market our books. We’re required to input some of these things into our book’s metadata in KDP. I’m not sure why KDP decided it was necessary to roll out an AI tool to do this, inefficiently at that, when authors make these resources readily available in KDP and on our websites and social media. I’m also not sure why there’s no way for authors to opt-out (personally, I’d prefer if something like this was opt-in).

Furthermore, KDP has yet to explain how authors’ books are being used by the AI or update your TOS regarding this feature. My books are involved in lawsuits of multiple instances of AI companies using artists’ work to train their LLMs without knowledge or permission. I don’t consent to my work being used with or to train any AI. I want to ensure that my work isn’t used without license. Your lack of response to authors’ queries about how our books are being processed by the AI is most concerning, especially in light of all these lawsuits.

I’ve decided to pull all my titles from the Kindle store until these issues are addressed. I’d like to see KDP continue working directly with authors for marketing materials, rather than rely on AI. I’d like to see AI tools and features made opt-in and editable for authors. And I’d like to see your TOS updated to outline in clear, direct language how authors’ books are being used.

KDP was once an underdog, supporting authors who are also underdogs. I’d like to see this dynamic and relationship continue. I’m so grateful to the many other platforms available to authors for carrying on this spirit, and I hope that KDP will course-correct.

Thank you for the time we’ve had together, and thank you for hearing me out.

Sincerely yours,
Elizabeth Barone

Photo by appshunter.io on Unsplash

Pulling my books from Kindle

Amazon won’t listen to authors’ concerns about their AI summaries tool for Kindle books, so we gotta make them listen.

My dear readers,

Recently, Amazon rolled out automatic AI summaries for Kindle books. They gave authors no way to opt-out of this or edit what the AI generates. They also have yet to update their terms of service, explaining how books will be processed by their AI and for what purposes. This is all problematic for several reasons.

AI doesn’t understand nuance or sarcasm or storytelling. Many authors have reported glaring errors in the AI’s summaries and trope lists, asking Amazon to let us opt-out or fix the mistakes, as well as asking how our books are being used with their AI—all these messages we’ve collectively sent have fallen on disorganized, deaf ears.

At the time, I decided to wait and see what Amazon did. The new feature was beta, after all, so it’s always best to focus on other things while they work out the kinks. Except… they didn’t. They haven’t given authors any sort of meaningful response. Their customer service reps seem to know next to nothing about this feature, and the company itself still hasn’t updated its TOS months later. This is concerning, since tech companies are stealing content to train their AI. It wouldn’t surprise me if Amazon is waiting to see how all the lawsuits shake out.

I’m not okay with my books being used to train AI, especially without my knowledge. I’m not okay with my books being incorrectly summarized by AI, with no way to revise errors or opt-out entirely. I’m also not okay with third-party book review sites scraping these erroneous summaries and using them as marketing materials. We’ve collectively dived headfirst into AI without much thought and certainly without baking in protections for artists—which artists have asked for from the jump. We certainly didn’t ask for these features, which are more like bugs.

Every book I wrote took months if not years of my life to write, and I put time, research, energy, and heart into every single one. I also spend hours crafting descriptions, summaries, trope lists, and other marketing materials that are readily available for Amazon’s use—right in their dashboard. It’s redundant and silly of Amazon to use AI for these materials. It makes me wonder whether they’re quietly working on AI-generated books, which would be a slap in the face of all authors who’ve dedicated years of our lives writing for Kindle.

It’s not enough for me to say I’m not okay with this. I have to walk my talk; I have to tell Amazon in no uncertain terms that this won’t fly. I believe that if enough authors pull our books, Amazon will finally listen to us.

Or maybe they won’t. Maybe they’ll keep pushing their AI onto authors and readers who don’t want it. That’s not my circus or my monkey.

Retailers need creators, not the other way around. There are other platforms we can sell our books on—places that support rather than push around authors.

That said, a lot of my readers are Kindle users. Amazon’s making it more and more difficult to sideload and backup ebooks, which is yet another way they monopolize the market. Reading should be easy and fun, especially now that we have so much technology available. That’s why I publish my books as widely as possible.

I’m in the process of re-launching my shop, which will carry ebook editions of my books in all formats (including Kindle). I’m also always expanding into new-to-me platforms.

In the meantime, I’ll start pulling my books from the Kindle store next week, updating here as I go. If there’s a book you’ve been eyeing, I’d grab it now if you don’t want to wait for me to roll out my new shop. (At the time of this writing, AI summaries don’t affect paperbacks, so those editions will remain available in the Amazon store for now.)

I really appreciate your understanding and patience during this process. It’s just another bump in my little author journey, and we will get through it. After all, I was writing and publishing before Amazon, and I’ll be writing and publishing after Amazon, too.

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out! You can email me privately, or reply to this to add your public comments.

As always, I wish you happy reading!

Photo by Perfecto Capucine on Unsplash

Tariffs are coming to publishing

With tariffs coming to the publishing industry, authors, publishers, and book stores are (understandably) freaking out. Could tariffs actually be a blessing in disguise?

🙃 Well that was fast. 🙃

Ever since Trump announced all the tariffs he’s been threatening us with are going into effect this week, I’ve low-key been waiting for them to come for my industry. It’s bad enough I won’t be able to get a decent cucumber (Mexico and Canada export the best). Now I can’t afford to stay in business in an industry with already razor-thin profit margins.

Authors, publishers, and book stores are, understandably, freaking the fuck out. A 25% tariff on books printed outside the U.S. will make already-high cover prices astronomical. The White House has since amended the tariff to be lower on children’s books, and made religious exemptions for, say, bible publishers. (One wonders what constitutes as a “religious” book… Does Sierra Simone’s Priest count?)

Right now, if you’re an indie author using IngramSpark or KDP to print your books, the tariffs won’t effect you because both IS and KDP have facilities right here in the United States. With publishers large and small scrambling to save costs with this sudden announcement, though, we could see an influx in IS/KDP users, which could raise prices for everyone.

Or it could be a good thing, lowering printing costs for everyone. We don’t know yet.

In the meantime, authors may want to review your cover prices more frequently to make sure you’re still making a profit as costs fluctuate. You’ll also want to consider alternatives (like local book printers who can better handle your orders if IS/KDP get flooded), or ways to lower your costs (like creating truncated editions,publishing longer novels in parts, serializing chapters, or utilizing zines).

The publishing industry is constantly changing. We have to adapt or die, especially in times when external entities have tumultuous effect on publishing. Nothing could stop me from writing, not even my own body, so there’s no way in hell someone like Trump could ever.

This is the part where we get more creative.

Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

5 ways Canadian readers can boycott and still support American authors

In support of Canadian readers boycotting U.S.-made books and authors, I’ve put together a list of ways you can still support your favorite American authors.

🇨🇦 Buy Canadian. Boycott U.S. 🇨🇦
Yes, even the books!

It’s getting a bit ugly in some bookish spaces online, so before any of that ugliness comes here—not that any of my readers even act like that—I want to say something.

It’s good and right that Canadians are boycotting U.S.-made products and services. They have to, because of Trump’s insane tariffs. I’m American and adore my Canadian friends, readers, colleagues, associates, and publisher. That will never change! I don’t take Canadian boycotts personally because they aren’t personal attacks on me.

Authors, please don’t be angry with readers for your sales dropping. There are a few elements at play, here (one of those is Amazon’s sudden move to prevent readers from downloading ebooks they’ve purchased on their Kindle to their computer). People are speaking out with their dollars, and we should be supporting that; everyone wins when we support each other. (Amazon’s abuse of authors is something we need to talk about, but not today.)

I don’t want to get all soapbox-y, but we really do need to stick together and work cooperatively.

Here are some ways Canadian readers can still support their favorite American authors without spending a dime!

Join authors’ email lists ✍🏼

I’m genuinely surprised every time a reader doesn’t know I have a newsletter. I feel like I’m always pushing it, sometimes obnoxiously so, haha. Most authors have a newsletter (and if you don’t, you should). Joining an author’s email list lets them know you’re a fan, and doesn’t cost you a dime (it actually costs us). It’s also a great way to ensure that no stupid social media algorithm will keep you out of the loop.

My newsletter is free, and I typically send one every month. You’ll also get exclusive goodies and instant access to my serialized books.

Like, comment on, and share authors’ social media posts 💬

I’ve been serializing my River Reapers MC dark romance books here on my website, which doesn’t cost anything to read. If you’re a Canadian reader boycotting U.S. authors, liking, commenting on, and sharing those chapters is still a great way to support me. It’d actually help me out quite a bit, as it helps other people discover my website.

Even if authors aren’t doing anything like that, they’re usually posting on their socials, and engaging with those posts in any way is a huge help. Just like traffic, likes, comments, and shares helps people discover author websites, your interactions on social media help other people discover those author pages.

Email authors ✉️

Emailing an author out of the blue might feel awkward, but authors love to hear from readers! When I get an email from any reader, it always makes me smile. You don’t have to write a long letter or explain that you’re boycotting or tell us how much you love our books. You can simply say hi. It’s really encouraging to know there’s someone out there.

Post a review or rating ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

For indie authors especially, a book’s reviews and average rating are everything. If you’ve read an author’s work in the past, and didn’t get to leave a review, now’s a great time to throw down a quick 1-5 star rating. If you’ve got the time, write a couple sentences about what you enjoyed.

If you haven’t read the book yet, ask the author about their ARC team. I did a short-term review program for readers who weren’t able to buy my books for whatever reason, and I’ve been thinking about opening that list back up again. It was such a win/win.

Borrow books from the library 📖

This can be a bit tricky, since libraries have to purchase both print and ebook licenses, and if the publisher or author is American, Canadians may not want to borrow. If the library already has the book or ebook in circulation, though, it’s your tax dollars already spent, so you might as well make use of it.

A note on print-on-demand (POD) 🖨

In the same vein, purchasing indie ebooks in Canada gets really tricky. Although POD services like IngramSpark will ship to Canada, they don’t have printing facilities there (I asked).

Good news for Aussies, though! If you purchase one of my books in Australia, it’ll be printed in Australia. Same goes for American readers who like supporting U.S. businesses (Ingram Content is an American company operating out of Tennesee).

KDP does not have any printing facilities in Canada or any countries outside the U.S., as far as I know. I don’t use them, so if someone could get me a definitive answer, I’d really appreciate it!

I support all readers (and people) who are boycotting. It’s not easy, and it’s so important. We all need to do our part if we want to enjoy the world we live in and make it better for the future. I really hope these tips help.

Happy boycotting, and happy reading! 🖤

Photo by Nong on Unsplash

Meta used my books to train its AI

Yesterday The Atlantic reported on the latest in the Meta AI hearings, breaking the story that unsealed employee communications revealed that not only did Meta knowingly use stolen content from the piracy site LibGen, it was Mark Zuckerberg who okayed it.

Authors can check the tool The Atlantic put together to see if their work was used.

There’s a class-action lawsuit against Meta, Open AI, Microsoft, and other companies. If your work was used to train AI, you’re already included in the lawsuits. (There’s no need to join Authors Guild or take any further action at this time.) Right now courts are determining whether Meta, Open AI, et al violated copyright.

15 of my titles were used. I checked LibGen using a mirror site and they have over 20 of my titles. (I don’t recommend doing this, because the mirror sites are full of garbage and porn pop-ups and sketchy redirects. I don’t know how to check LibGen directly. Big props to The Atlantic for putting together tools for both waves of this!)

I’ve always looked at piracy the same. Yeah, it sucks that sometimes people don’t pay me for my books. I’ve got medical issues and bills like everyone else, and I really like to eat. The thing about pirates is, if you send one DMCA takedown, two more will pop up in its place. I’d rather spend my time writing. I like to think that piracy helps readers discover my books. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. I do have readers who buy my books and stuff, and my platform continues to grow every year.

This is different, though. These corporations are directly profiting off their AI and therefore artists’ work, without compensating us. We didn’t have a choice in contributing (I for sure would’ve declined had they asked and made me an offer).

And it won’t stop at books.

If Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft, and other corporations are allowed to use artists’ work without consent, compensation, or consequence, they’ll also use people’s medical information and other personal and even private data.

This is bigger than books.

Photo by Andrea De Santis on Unsplash

Romance with a Body Count, Issue 1

Amazon doesn’t want you to learn this hack 📚

Welcome to author Elizabeth Barone’s reader newsletter Romance with a Body Count, and welcome to 2025!

I’m really happy to be home, in my real life, in my spiritual life, and in my author life. Did you notice my website is now ElizabethBarone.com? When I published my debut novel back in 2012, my name .com wasn’t available, so I had to get the .net domain. I felt so unprofessional, I eventually switched to elizabethbaronebooks .com. It’s such a long URL, though, and I still really wanted my name .com. Over a decade later, I finally got my wish, and it feels like a sign to keep going.

I don’t know why a domain mattered so much to me. I think it comes from my days as a web designer; in the business world in the early 2000s, it was like a death sentence if you couldn’t get a .com. More than likely this was a marketing tactic employed by Big Domain, and I definitely gulped down that Kool-Aid. So silly, looking back, but noticing this made me realize I’m still waiting for a lot of things to be perfect before I feel like I can do the thing (or like I’ve made it). Imagine if I’d waited until I got the domain I wanted to publish my debut novel?

I’ve been doing a lot of inner healing while recovering from my big lupus flare in 2020, working on getting better so I can “get back to” my life. Except my life, it turns out, is right here, right now, regardless of whether it looks like I envisioned.

How to read my tattoo shop romance series if you don’t have a Kobo ereader

Getting a book deal was a dream come true for me, that came with some of its own challenges. Like being exclusive. That was almost a dealbreaker for me; I prefer my books to be available to all readers, with easy access. The good news is, I didn’t have to compromise. There are a few ways you can read A Touch of Gold, Tattooed Heart, and the rest of the Stagwood Falls: Love in Ink series if you don’t have a Kobo ereader.

Kobo app

If you’ve got a phone, you can read my tattoo shop romances. Download the Kobo app for your phone or tablet, then start the series in the app. This option requires a purchase from Kobo.

Libby App

As usual, libraries have our back. Get Libby set up using your existing local library card. Then download or request A Touch of Gold through the Libby app. This option is free (your library purchases the license).

calibre

This tip comes from reader Katy, who gets headaches from reading on her iPad (so the Kobo and Libby apps aren’t good options for her). She says: purchase the books through Kobo, then use Calibre to convert to Kindle. Goodbye headaches!

paperbacks coming soon

Good news! Paperbacks are coming to Maietta Ink in 2025. Please stay tuned for updates.

Thank you so much for your support!

NaNoWriMo canceled

I’m so out of the loop since I left social media (and I like it that way, far less stress from all the drama). I was quite surprised to learn today that the organization National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) has been canceled.

It seems like a lot of things contributed to a mass exodus of support from authors and board members, including allegations of: no background checks on municipal liaisons (MLs), MLs engaging in child grooming and bullying, and the organization’s advocacy for the use of A.I. to generate manuscripts.

I haven’t participated in a NaNoWriMo since, well, my everyday became NaNoWriMo. While the contest—which encourages writers to write a 50,ooo-word manuscript in 30 days—helped me jumpstart my writing routine, I haven’t advocated for that pace in quite a long time. It doesn’t work for me, and I find the “write fast, publish faster” mentality toxic for a lot of reasons. In the last few years, I’ve opted for sustainability and a holistic approach with my own writing, prioritizing my mental and physical health over my word count.

Still, it’s sad to see what NaNoWriMo has become.

I had a fantastic experience with both the organization and local chapters during the years I was active. I found the writers it attracted to be supportive and encouraging. I still see my old ML in writer-ly events around our state, and it’s always lovely to chat with her. That doesn’t mean that NaNo could never attract people with malignant intentions, though. It’s upsetting that the organization would protect child predators. Unfortunately that just seems to be the way of things (I’m lookin’ at you, Catholic church and Hollywood). Our culture talks a lot about the children, but actually does very little to protect them.

I’m still grateful for everything I’ve learned from participating in past years. I still enjoy chatting with the writers I met. Hell, I even still look back on those early novels I wrote with nostalgic fondness. What NaNo’s bitter end does for me, though, is reinforce my belief in sustainability rather than burnout, and building a holistic writing life rather than running myself into the ground.

Photo by Sixteen Miles Out on Unsplash

Tattooed Heart Cover Reveal

It’s that time again! I’m so excited to share the cover for Tattooed Heart with you!

For this cover, the Kobo Originals team—shoutout to Jessica and Vanessa—worked with Ukrainian designer Miblart to match the cover for A Touch of Gold (the first book in the series). This time, they chose red roses to match Sabella’s character, who’s covered in rose and other red tattoos. The roses once again have a stunning illustrated style, all while remaining alluring yet discreet—fitting for this spicy romance.

For fun, I made a 3D paper version of the cover for a reveal Reel. Check it out on my Instagram!

But first, here’s the official cover, which I’m officially obsessed with.

Tattooed Heart
Stagwood Falls: Love in Ink Series, Book 2

Sabella makes a living covering up people’s bad tattoos, creating art out of regrets and mistakes. When she finds herself divorced from her high school sweetheart turned heartbreaker, she doesn’t just go into hiding; she takes her best friend up on an offer for a fresh start at her new tattoo shop and runs all the way to Stagwood Falls, an idyllic town reinventing itself after its own heartache. It’s the perfect place to hide, and it’s where she finds a new purpose: teaching the healing power of art to a community that’s desperate to move on. Unfortunately, to put her plan into action, Sabella must enlist the help of one sexy, sensitive town social worker, Benton Rhinehart—AKA the guy who wants nothing to do with her after their first encounter ended in hurt feelings and a wounded ego.

Benton gives everything to the people of Stagwood Falls, but the bank still took all he had when the recession hit. Instead of rebuilding himself, he eagerly dove headfirst into solving other people’s problems. So when Sabella comes to him with her community art program plan, Benton doesn’t hesitate to throw himself fully into it, even if that means working with the woman who shamelessly snubbed him the first time they met.

Despite their rocky start, it’s hard to ignore that Sabella and Benton make a great team. Their business relationship quickly turns into a friendship they both desperately need. Even though they’re better off as friends, the more time they spend together, the harder it is to ignore that there’s something much deeper going on. But when Sabella’s ex comes to town saying everything she wants to hear, she has to choose between her heart and her dream. Both feel like the same thing, and choosing wrong is one mistake she won’t be able to cover up.

Pre-order Now

ARCs go out November 14th via NetGalley. Get on my email list for updates!