I'll be honest here.

It takes amazing few sales to get in the Top 100 lists on Amazon. Amazingly few. I'm amazed the whole thing isn't manipulated even more.

If you got 50 friends to buy within a few days, you'd probably be in the Top 10 on some lists. Of course, you wouldn't stay there for long, but on the theory that people checking for something to read would check the front page, it might do some good.

But really, how many people are LOOKING for something to read rather than trying to beat off suggestions with a stick?

I've resorted to asking friends to buy my books a few times, but not every time. It worked very well for my first book, Led to the Slaughter; not quite as well for Tuskers, and then pretty much since then, not all that well.

I published Faerie Punk with no fanfare at all. Just announced it once, and that was it. By far my worst selling book, dang it. It's good book, too. Wouldn't it be so much more fun to just put a book out there and expect people to buy it?

I'm going to make a big push for Snaked. I think Cohesion is an interesting publisher, with exciting books in their roster, and they've got some marketing clout and credibility, so it might all be worth going after.

So be prepared!

Meanwhile, "FREE MARS!" is currently in the Top 100 lists, and a few more sales would keep it there for awhile, so I'm asking again. A bit of an ego trip, I admit. No real money in it.  Costs all of 99 cents.

Love you whether you buy it or not, dear blog readers.

 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073R2WMBY/