I’m trying to find my footing after all the things life’s been throwing at me, in an industry that’s more tumultuous than ever. With everything going on, I’ve had to make some big changes.
Romance with a Body Count
Author Elizabeth Barone’s Reader Newsletter
April 2025
Archive: January 2025 | February 2025
My dear readers, I pulled a classic “me.” I meant to send a March newsletter weeks ago, said weeks flew by, and now it’s April! On the plus side, it’s spring. And I’ve got even more updates for you, so let’s dive in.
what I’m working on 💻
I’ve been floundering these last few months, trying to find my footing after all the life-y things life’s been throwing at me, in an industry that’s more tumultuous than ever. With everything going on, I’ve really had to fortify my mental fortress. It no longer serves me to be frozen in anxiety from or reactive to every crisis that arises. Instead I’m focusing on being proactive where I can, and writing rather than worrying I’m not active enough on social media or booking enough appearances.
This means I’m less active on Instagram (Meta sucks anyway, more on that in a sec), my new podcast is on hiatus (at least until Mike and I find a peaceful home), and I’m no longer actively booking events.
I’m still working on Sleeve of Hearts revisions, even though my progress has slowed quite a bit with this latest flare a la peripheral neuropathy. PN really, really sucks! I’ve had it as a “side” symptom for a while, so I’m not exactly new to it, but this is the first time it’s gone full throttle on me, and that I’m not used to. Luckily it usually responds well to my Tylenol, ibuprofen, and cannabis cocktail, except when the New England weather is weather-ing, which is frequently. It responded beautifully to both courses of prednisone I did in March, but I think at this point I need a stronger, longer course. It’s tricky.
With all that said, 2025 is officially a writing year for me, and with everything on, it’s exactly what I need.
book tariffs are coming to publishing
what readers need to know 📖
Unfortunately, U.S. tariffs on books go into effect this week. This means readers could see a drastic increase in cover prices. Right now, indie books shouldn’t be effected at all, since most self-published authors use IngramSpark or Kindle Direct Publishing, and the tariffs are on books printed in China. We could see indie prices increase, though, depending on how well publishers and printers adjust to a forecast increase in demand.
It’s really just my forecast, though, so we might not see much impact on indies at all. Only time will tell.
If you’re interested in the deets, or if you’re an author who might be effected, I wrote a quick blog post about it with some recommendations.
pirating my own books 🏴☠️
Since Meta apparently used 15 of my titles to train its AI without my knowledge or consent, I’m pirating my own books.
Just kidding—I was actually already serializing the River Reapers MC series with plans to serialize my other indie romances. Just when I was thinking Should I continue?, The Atlantic published their database of the books that Meta copied, cementing my plans. The RRMC books were sort of a test balloon for me, and now I’ll almost definitely be “pirating” the rest of my books.
Why am I posting my books online for free?
I’ve always offered alternatives for readers on no, low-, or fixed incomes, because I believe reading should be accessible. That’s why I’ve always enrolled my books in library catalogs and why I chose Kobo Originals to publish my first trad series (they’re sisters to Overdrive/Libby, the most widely used ebook distributor for libraries). I enjoyed posting on sites like Wattpad and Radish, where my stories did pretty well if I do say so myself. I was fortunate to be able to set up something similar using WordPress, which also gave me the ability to offer paid subscriptions. Some of my serialized books will be free for all, some will be free for those subscribed to my (free) email list, and some will be exclusively for (paid) Sponsors.
Right now, you can read the first two books in the River Reapers series, and I post new episodes of Her Mercy every Tuesday and Thursday!
I’m also considering reopening my review program. It was wildly successful when I launched it a few years ago. Basically, readers could request a review copy of a book of mine they weren’t able to purchase, no questions asked, as long as they posted an honest review. If you think I should do this again, hit the like button below!
How Canadian readers can still support american authors 🇨🇦
Or, low-key, how American authors can support #BuyCanadian and #BoycottUS 🙌🏼
With all the shots our strangely orange president’s been taking at Canada, it’s no surprise that Canadians are boycotting U.S.-made products and services. In some bookish spaces, it’s getting pretty ugly on all sides. I don’t think any of my readers are like that, but I believe we all succeed when we work together, so I put together some recommendations.
I’m still working on my mega list of ways people can boycott Amazon while supporting authors. It started off as like 10 things and now it’s grown monstrous—a wonderful problem to have, so I’m breaking it into several parts. The first will go out this week, probably Wednesday or Friday.
Leave me an emoji comment if you’re a proud reader! 🇨🇦🇺🇸📚🙌🏼
It’s been a bumpy year, and it’s only April. We will get through this, though, I really believe that. We just have to stick together and get creative. That goes for anything in life, not just dictators and religious crazies. Nothing can get ya when you’re stubborn. 😉
Happy resisting, and happy reading! 🖤
Thank you to March and April’s Sponsors: Katy Nicole, Dee, B., and Lauren!
Become a sponsor for $5/month.
Subscribing to my free newsletter is another great way to support me.
Photo by Elin Melaas on Unsplash