On Writing and Storytelling: An Unexpected (if Modest) Bonanza of Royalties

Saturday, November 22, 2025 – Orlando, Florida

Hi, everyone.

Last night, I checked my Kindle Direct Publishing account’s Reports page for the first time in about a month. I had been focusing most of my attention on the progress of the audiobooks for Reunion and Comings and Goings. I wanted to see if there were any royalties due to me for November, which KDP will send out at the end of December.

Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much. I haven’t promoted the print and Kindle editions of Reunion: A Story, Reunion: Coda, and Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen as actively as I should. The Audible versions have been front and center in my mind, and truthfully, I haven’t seen a groundswell of enthusiasm for my books in general. Many of my friends either stick to big-name, traditionally published authors—Stephen King, Nora Roberts, James Patterson, James Islington, Ali Hazelwood, J.K. Rowling—or they don’t read fiction at all. So, even though Facebook tells me I have between 150 and 200 personal friends (most of my Mafia Wars friends don’t really count), only a handful have purchased copies of Reunion: Coda or Comings and Goings.

Imagine my surprise, then, when I saw that—barring a last-minute uptick in sales—there have been eight Amazon orders for the print editions of Reunion, Coda, and Comings and Goings. That translates to $31.47 in royalties for November. (For comparison, October brought in $10.55, all from print editions.)

Here’s the breakdown of this month’s unexpected little bonanza:

• Reunion: A Story — 3 copies ($11.07 estimated royalties)
• Reunion: Coda — 3 copies ($13.02 estimated royalties)
• Comings and Goings – The Art of Being Seen — 2 copies ($7.38 estimated royalties)

I haven’t purchased any copies myself this time—something I’ve done in the past when fixing text issues or gifting books to friends—so I have no idea who bought these November copies. That makes the uptick even more gratifying.

Still, I wish some of the readers who bought, read, and reviewed Reunion: A Story between 2018 and 2020—and who once asked for more stories—would remember that I’ve delivered not one but two new books. I poured two years of work (across three cities in two states) into Reunion: Coda, then sweetened the pot with the novelette Comings and Goings. And this autumn, I’ve been hard at work producing the audiobook editions, so I’ve lived up to my side of the bargain between author and readers… and listeners, too.

So here’s my ask: if you’ve enjoyed Reunion: A Story or Comings and Goings, both of which are now available on Audible, please consider picking up the print or Kindle editions—or look ahead to Reunion: Coda, the novel that’s coming soon in audio. Reviews, ratings, and word-of-mouth make a world of difference for indie authors like me. Every copy purchased, every review posted, helps keep these stories alive and ensures I can keep writing the ones you’ve asked for.