Kaitlyn Dunnett/Kathy Lynn Emerson here, pondering the eventual shift from being semi-retired to full retirement. As regular readers of this blog now, I’ve been working on a number of Indie publishing projects for the last few years. Now I’m almost finished with the last of these, the launch of updated single title print-on-demand and e-book editions of my four book Diana Spaulding 1888 Mysteries.

There was a good reason why I left this project until last. In fact, I still have mixed feelings about it. First let me state that I loved writing these books and sincerely wish more people would discover them. Sadly, they were never as popular as my mysteries set in the sixteenth century.

In 2004, the first in the series, Deadlier than the Pen, was published by a small press and the other three (Fatal as a Fallen Woman, No Mortal Reason, and Lethal Legend) came out over the next couple of years. With each story taking place in subsequent months in 1888, and set in New York City and Bangor, Maine, then in Colorado, then in rural New York state, and finally on a fictional island off the coast of Maine. the story arc follows the adventures of scandal sheet reporter Diana Spaulding as she tries to navigate career, family, and romance while encountering murders on an all-too-regular basis. All four books received excellent reviews but sales were dismal. Back then I actually did book signings and events and some copies sold, but not enough to keep the books in print. Ever the optimist, I bought a good number of copies when they were remaindered, which brings me to the mixed feelings I spoke of. I kept thinking that there was no sense in creating new print editions while I still had those available to sell, but since I no longer do signings or events . . .

Early on in my Indie publishing efforts, I put together an e-book omnibus edition that included all four novels and the three short stories featuring the same characters. A few of those actually sold, and that collection is still available, but what I saw with my other series is that people really like being able to buy copies of individual books, both print and electronic.

Once I finished the last of my total revision projects (The Murder in Colchester Gaol), I realized I couldn’t put off making a decision about the 1888 books any longer. Despite still having an absurd number of copies of the original editions in storage, I am now in the process of bringing out all four out as single title trade paperbacks and e-books. The release dates are in September, October, November, and December. That means you can have all four in time for Christmas giving.

Or you can buy twenty-plus-year-old mint, autographed first editions directly from the author.

Kathy Lynn Emerson/Kaitlyn Dunnett has had sixty-four books traditionally published and has self published others. She won the Agatha Award and was an Anthony and Macavity finalist for best mystery nonfiction of 2008 for How to Write Killer Historical Mysteries and was an Agatha Award finalist in 2015 in the best mystery short story category. In 2023 she won the Lea Wait Award for “excellence and achievement” from the Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance. She was the Malice Domestic Guest of Honor in 2014. She is currently working on creating new editions of her backlist titles. Her website is www.KathyLynnEmerson.com.