Reorganizing – and Substack

I’m always reorganizing. It’s kind of a habit. Part of it is that putting the details in order helps me to make plans. It works for my knitting and sewing stashes; it works for my research books and my office; it works for writing and publishing, too.

I used to post a lot about writing and publishing, about the business of making a living with creative work. I haven’t done that as much lately, but not because I’ve stopped thinking about those things. I thought that having posts like that here on the blog about my books, on the website featuring my books, would muck up the search engines. As a result, of late, my posts on my website blogs have been all about my books.

I’ve still been writing those little essays about the publishing world, and about fostering creativity, but haven’t been publishing them. That all changes this week. After a few months of test-driving, I’ve decided to put those posts on Substack. They’ll be behind the new paywall. I expect them to be of interest to writers like myself, maybe career writers. Only subscribers will be able to comment on the posts.

My first new post there went live yesterday, and it’s about the marketing strategy of free books.

The End of Free? some thoughts from Deborah Cooke at Substack

It’s entirely possible that I’ll end up having conversations with myself 🙂 but that’s okay. Writing these essays helps me make sense of the world and changes in it. By organizing my impressions, usually I end up with a better understanding of what’s happening and maybe even a plan.

I’ll also be moving a lot of my older posts on those subjects over there. Many of them have been unpublished here, so that will make them available again. The plan now is at least one new post on publishing every month (I’ll aim for the 15th), as well as the update on the first of the month that’s free to everyone.

Follow me on Substack.

Multi-Author Kobo Plus Promotion Today!

Today is a one-day multi-author YOLO with KOBO Plus promotion.

YOLO with Kobo Plus April 12, 2024

KOBO Plus is a subscription program, much like Kindle Unlimited – you pay a flat monthly fee when you subscribe and can read as much as you want. The big difference on my end is that books don’t have to be exclusive to KOBO to be enrolled in the program, which makes it win-win.

This promotion features a lot (over 650) romances that are enrolled in KOBO Plus right now. Although the promotion is inspired by the BookWorms promo, in this case, the books are enrolled in KOBO Plus for more than one day. That said, it’s a great way for you to discover new authors, new series and new reads, and KOBO has their own landing page in support of that.

You’ll find the Flatiron Five Fitness Boxed Set #1 included in the promotion.

Visit the KOBO landing page.

Visit the YOLO with KOBO promotion landing page for contemporary romances.

Dragon Diaries Omnibus

The Dragon Diaries omnibus is coming to Kickstarter, in ebook and hardcover. Here’s a peek at the new cover, with dust jacket and case laminate.

Dragon Diaries HC omnibus editions

This huge chonky hardcover (it’s almost 800 pages) includes all three books in the series, along with some new illustrations and more. The campaign will include character cards, a pretty bookmark, and have a tier also with all the hardcover Dragonfire omnibus hardcover editions. I plan to launch the campaign in June.

Follow the Kickstarter campaign for the Dragon Diaries omnibus here.

Free Series Starters

I’m changing things up with my free series starters and wanted to let you know.

Kiss of Fire, book #1 of the Dragonfire Novels series of paranormal romances by Deborah Cooke

Kiss of Fire (book one of the Dragonfire Novels) is free through the end of April at most portals but will return to full price on May 1 at all portals. It’s been a free read for a while, and it’s time for a change. If you haven’t downloaded a copy yet, do it soon!

Just One Fake Date, book one of the Flatiron Five Fitness series of contemporary romances by Deborah Cooke

Just One Fake Date (book one of the Flatiron Five Fitness series) is a free read at most portals, but that will also change at the end of April. Tyler and Shannyn’s story will remain a free read at Apple, where it continues to find new fans for the series, but not at other portals. I suspect this means that Amazon will match the free price at Apple, and that GooglePlay might match Amazon’s free price, but we’ll see.

These two books have been free for a while, and first-in-series-free always loses its effectiveness over time. I’ll be experimenting with some 99cent book sales over the next few months, so keep an eye out for those specials.

Just One Night Together is 99¢!

Just One Night Together, book three of the Flatiron Five Fitness series of contemporary romances by Deborah Cooke

From today through the end of March, Just One Night Together (book #3 of the Flatiron Five Fitness series of contemporary romances) is just 99¢! Damon and Haley’s story is a fling-to-forever romance with all the feels, featuring an ex-military hero and a nurse who is ready to change things up. I love how good these two are together!

Don’t forget that Just One Fake Date, book #1 of the Flatiron Five Fitness series, is a free read right now, too.


Damon has a secret…
Every Friday night, the F5F partner who is the quiet powerhouse leaves on the dot of five without explanation. Where does Damon go? What does he do? His partners want to know, but Damon can’t bring himself to share the truth about his mom’s battle with cancer. She’s the anchor in his life and he doesn’t know how he’ll go on without her. In the middle of the night, when he’s most alone, he wants to control all the variables for someone, to prove he’s not completely powerless. He doesn’t expect to find such a willing, or seductive, volunteer.

Haley loves solving mysteries…
Especially ones like the gorgeous guy who visits her favorite patient every Friday night. He must be Natasha’s son, but is he also the model on the billboard for that fitness club downtown? Where did he learn therapeutic massage? Even though she’s a nurse, Haley’s interest in him and his skill isn’t just professional. She wants to feel those hands on her own skin, for as long as possible. One night, she takes a chance and asks for a lesson from him, only to discover that she has a hunger for the sensation only Damon can satisfy.

Buy Just One Night Together in ebook: