Deep State (Acer Sansom#4) is now available for pre-order. If, like me, you nominated the book for the Kindle Scout programme you should already have had notification from Amazon that your free copy is ready to download. For everyone else, please see the links below. Once again, thanks sincerely to all those who took the time and trouble to nominate the book.
It’s my understanding that readers who get an early copy are able to leave feedback on Amazon before the book goes ‘live’.
It’s been a long time from finishing this one to it becoming available for reading. Here’s hoping that the wait has been worth it.
Deep State Amazon UK Deep State Amazon US
PS I didn’t get to set the price on this one. That was Amazon’s call.
Oliver Tidy 
The blurb is just excellent!
Thanks, Andy. Much appreciated and valued. Cheers.
Can’t wait to read it! I have to admit though, and I know you are not going to be too happy at this but I haven’t read A White-knuckle Christmas yet, I am saving it because I don’t know when there will be another one. I could of course read it very slowly, but I find with your books I want to keep reading them, so that simply won’t work, so I am going to save it for when I really really miss Romney and Marsh!
Hi Roz
Your comment made me smile. Thanks. I forgive you your delays in reading AWKC. And I’m really touched that you feel that way about them. I can only hope it’s worth the wait.
Best wishes.
Thank you for the free copy of Deep State.
Having received a free copy, it may seem churlish to raise the question of price. However, it may be something that you need to consider sooner, rather than later, if you are to form a closer relationship with Amazon.
Having retired some years ago, I find I have time to read a lot more fiction but my income is reduced. Having discovered a number of very readable authors in e-books at less than £2 a pop, I invested in a Kindle (at upwards of £60). Foolishly, I expected that this would pay for itself. Instead, I now find that many authors are pricing their new offerings at about £4 and some have also increased their existing kindle books to this price. Frankly, I can buy the latest paperbacks by top-selling authors in my local supermarket for £3.50 and I don’t need to invest in a Kindle reader. Personally, I still prefer to read a real book too.
I also find that Amazon are selling many of these ‘ top-selling’ paperbacks at less or the same price as the Kindle version. What’s going on?
Amazon, of course, have their own agenda. This has largely involved reinvesting profits in an attempt to takeover the world. But their shareholders are becoming restless and asking for a return on their investment and so Amazon are looking at increasing profits on individual units to pay for conflicting demands. Of course, Amazon now totally dominate the e-book market.
What I am trying to say here is that you need to concentrate on marketing your products through other outlets than Kindle. You seem to be almost totally reliant on Kindle to sell your product. I do not believe that a market at £2 will exist if, in the near future, you are forced to sell your product at £4.
I have enjoyed your offerings. I hope that I do not have to part company with you as I have with other ‘independent’ authors. Best wishes for your future.
PS Kindle reader for sale – no reasonable offer refused!
Hello Paul
Many thanks for your time and trouble to write a thought-provoking comment. I enjoyed it.
Pricing is an issue that has long been debated, especially that of ebooks.
I feel the same way you do about paying the equivalent of a physical book price for what is only an electronic file. I won’t pay more that a couple of pounds for an ebook.
For most authors who are traditionally published it is their publishers, not Amazon, who set the prices. Amazon will only be involved in pricing if the author in question is being publsihed by one of their brands. Not many are.
Self-publishers, like me, are free to sell our books for any price we choose. I keep mine at £1.99 because I fear to charge more will put people off buying me. After all I really am a nobody in publishing terms.
So all the time I’m in charge of pricing my own product I call the shots. That’s good for me. And it’s good for me as a self-publisher that many traditional publishers continue to alienate readers with high ebook prices. When they wise up, I’ll be in trouble.
Looking at making the best of other ebook markets is on my to-do list because I’ve learned the hard way that putting all one’s eggs in one basket is not a good idea.
Best wishes