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Why would an author offer their best seller FREE?


It may sound like a simple answer; but in my case, it's because I want you to read it.

In general, authors write because they love writing. Most of us didn’t just decide in college that this was our career choice; we’ve been writing as long as we could hold a pen.

We were great pen pals, kept diaries, didn’t mind writing our grandmothers a thank you note, passed messages back and forth in school, and usually drove our boyfriends/girlfriends crazy with our four-page love letters.

But there’s one thing almost every writer I know loves more than writing, and that’s ‘being read’. And more importantly, readers reading our writing and then letting us know it touched them.

As most Indie writers, I tend to check my book stats daily. But there’s something I do that proved my above assessment of myself—and I assume other authors—true. When I jump on my PC in the morning to see how my book fares in the notorious Amazon ranking system, if I see there’s a new review, I read it before I do anything else. Sometimes I peek through one eye and see how many stars it received. But even if it’s less than stellar, I confess, I read EVERY review.

I truly care what my readers think, and several of my books are a direct result of reader feedback. I had no plans to write a second installment in the ‘Noonday’ books. But when readers cried out that they didn’t think one of the characters got a fair shake, I complied. The same thing happened with my short stories. Readers said they wanted more, so I listened.  

My first romantic-suspense novel, She Belongs to Me, has sat next to Nicholas Sparks, Iris Johansen, Nora Roberts, and other great authors, many times, so it’s scary when I take my best seller and give it away. But that’s exactly what I do sometimes because I want to meet more wonderful readers such as yourself. No, I don't give away all my books...I do have to eat...but I make sure when I run a giveaway, it's on my bestselling book.

Also, as my gift to you, I ALWAYS offer my short stories FREE to everyone, on all formats. Unlike my Southern Romantic-Suspense Collection, my short stories have a paranormal edge, but if you like them, I'm pretty sure you'll like all my stories, as I always keep the same three ingredients in my book recipes: romance, mystery, and suspense. After that, all my books are always priced 'less than a latte' or available to read FREE with your Kindle Unlimited membership, so you can afford to come back and read them all.


Until next time, happy reading, friends!

Carmen DeSousa

For more information on my books, visit your favorite retailer:

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