The question of what to write next #authorlife #indieauthor

Posted on May 29, 2026 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Hasn’t it been a scorching week! Perfect for sitting in the shade with a book and a cool glass of something special, or maybe an ice cream (my favourite go to snack when I’m lost in a good book).

Over recent weeks, I’ve been struggling with the issue of what to write next.

In my fantasy readers newsletter this week, I posed the question of what I should work on next. The response has been interesting, so I thought why not get some feedback on my blog. Here are the 7 suggestions I made…

1. More short fiction set in the world of my current fantasy books – like Fantasy Short Stories – which I offer free to all newsletter subscribers.

2. A prequel novella to Silent Sea Chronicles where the focus is firmly on Farrell’s people and Stone Haven.

3. A sequel to Silent Sea Chronicles following the lives of the characters after book 3’s conclusion and their adventures on the Silent Sea.

4. Serialised fiction in a new world of wizards and wraiths where you have to trust your enemy to survive.

5. I could re-start work on Starlight Prophecy. I have planned it as a trilogy focusing on an anti-heroine and the lengths she will go to for revenge. No one is safe, not even her closest family.

6. In other writing, I’m busy working on a romance series set in a seaside hotel in Cornwall with a matchmaking landlady. Do you read across genres?

7. I’m also working on some more seasonal short stories for my Winter Warmer Series and want to get Book 3.

It’s not an exhaustive list of my ideas, as I have tons that could be developed. It’s more a case of working out what my readers want and what aligns with my goals, which is to publish something this year. I’d really hoped it could be my romance series, The Mermaid Hotel, but that project is stalling with lack of funds and also lack of inspiration for the cover art, plus a bit of doubt about if the books are good enough yet.

Maybe you’d like to share your thoughts as a reader, or a fellow writer?
What makes you pick up your next read, or decide on your next project?
And if you’ve read any of my books, what of the above list would you be most excited to read?

Before I go to enjoy the sunshine, I also wanted to take this opportunity to remind you of the Book Cave giveaway I signed up to.
For the whole of May, there are some great books available free or on a giveaway. I’ve picked up some new to me authors, and I hope you will take a look and see if there are any free books that take your fancy.

Book Cave link

My Fantasy Short Stories collection is on the list available and I’d love to see you over on my newsletter.

If you prefer not to join through the Book Cave link, there is a sign up form (link in the above page menus).

Whatever you’re doing today, be it reading, writing, or working a boring day job, have a good one.

Until next time…

Sci-fi and fantasy giveaway novellas on Book Cave #fantasy #sci-fi

Posted on May 4, 2026 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

I hope you’ve been enjoying the early May bank holiday. We’ve spent the weekend being typically British and started on the garden with a reward afterwards of a cool glass (or two) of Pimms.

I’ve also joined up with other sci-fi and fantasy authors to offer free books and giveaways during the month of May. Are you ready to find some new authors to follow?

These books, both in fantasy and sci-fi, are available on bookcave here.

There are 18 novellas and books to choose from including my own Fantasy Short Stories.

I’ve recently been trying a few new authors this way, the free no risk option is appealing – especially after my recent BookBub ad and the credit card statement that followed! I’m well on the way to making back the money though, so I’m very happy with the result. Last week I shared more stats of the recent sale on bookbub, if you’re interested in the sale from a writer’s perspective.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your holiday if you’re lucky enough to have another day off work. I hope you have lots of reading planned.

Results from my Bookbub deal for The Lost Sentinel

Posted on May 1, 2026 by Suzanne Rogerson Author

Last week I had a BookBub deal for The Lost Sentinel. Sales were not as high as I expected, but still more than I could ever have reached alone.

If you’re thinking of BookBub as a viable marketing strategy, here are my results. Please note – this is book 1 in a completed trilogy. I reduced books 1 and 2 down to 99p each and left book 3 at full price.

I’ve sold over 500 books in April. This is a BIG deal to me! That equates to 349 new readers for The Lost Sentinel, 96 picked up book 2 at the discounted rate and 55 bought book 3 at full price. Plus a couple of other books were sold not relating to the Silent Sea Chronicles series. 11 Audiobooks were also purchased, which is a nice little bonus that I forgot about.

My pages read figure in KENP is higher than its been in a long time, and is rising every day. I hope these readers find book 1 compelling enough to move straight onto later books in the series.

I have only gained 3 new ratings on GR and no new reviews. That is a disappointment but maybe more will trickle in over time. It did only run last week so I can’t expect too much too soon.

I was excited to reach number #7 in the kindle chart in Canada, though it would have been great to reach the No. 1 bestseller slot as I did with the previous BookBub deal.

My final thoughts;

I would recommend Bookbub deals to authors if they can afford to run them, and are lucky enough to be selected (which is very hard!). I will try again when I release a new series, but only once I have several books that the readers can pick up to really make the most of the promo. Other email subscription sites like Book Barbarian seem to have run their course for The Lost Sentinel – I think the readers have all seen it before, or these email ad sites are just not as effective as they used to be.

What are your experiences with running ads like Book Barbarian and Book Cave? Do you still buy books this way? Have you run the email subscription ads and seen good results, or no real change in your sales?

Please share you thoughts on reaching new readers. Or if you’re a reader rather than an author how do you discover new books?