The Wing: February 22, 2026
Another Gift Card Giveaway! A Free Hour of Audio, and a Near Future Dystopian Rec!
Need a Magical Getaway? Here’s An Extra-Long Hawt Flash Audiobook Sample Featuring CJ Locks
Get the complete series 40% off Audible pricing. With 57 hours of laugh-out-loud entertainment, it’s a deliciously long magic escape you’ll never want to end.
Midlife in Aura Cove is leaving KU March 8th. Here’s why…
On March 8th, I will be removing the Midlife in Aura Cove series from Amazon.
This decision hasn’t been made lightly. In a corporate climate where Amazon continues to report record-breaking profits, the company has chosen to cut author Kindle Unlimited payouts on the platform by 12%. For a small business like mine, that loss isn’t theoretical, it’s devastating. Independent authors operate on tight margins already. We fund our own editing, covers, audio production, advertising, and distribution. When royalties are reduced, it doesn’t trim a bonus. It cuts into my mortgage, groceries, and reinvestment into future books.
Amazon is deeply entrenched in our daily lives. It has positioned itself as indispensable and convenient, forcing small businesses to conform or die. Amazon thinks it’s too big to fail. Maybe that’s true. But I will not continue to support a corporation that makes millions on the backs of creators while constantly searching for new ways to claw back royalties. Stripping page reads. Dropping payout rates. Expecting authors to absorb the cost of their KU promotions (like three months free,) as though our labor has no value.
They sell the Kindle, but expect authors to give the books away for free. They are essentially selling coffee makers, and then telling Mom and Pop grocery stores to give the coffee away for “the exposure.” A Kindle is useless without books to read on it, but it never occurs to them to reduce their profits and keep the payout for creators in tact. It is a sign of the times, but I refuse to participate any longer.
No other business model functions like this, where the supplier is repeatedly asked to shoulder the cost while the platform grows richer. At some point, we have to stop enriching a system that diminishes us. Creators deserve sustainable compensation.
Thanks for reading Teal Butterfly Press! Subscribe to The Wing for your weekly shot at winning our bookstore gift card. Scroll to the end of this post to find out who won this week.
Never Alone the Full Novel is available until March 1st in The Sanctuary!
A paid subscription directly supports my work and helps me remain independent from Amazon and other major retailers.
I am eagerly anticipating sharing new chapters from the final book in the series as soon as the cover is ready. Should be any day now!
Book Review: The Dream Hotel
The first draft for Never Enough is 80% written.
I’ll be sharing Chapter 1 as soon as the cover arrives, which should be any day now!
Paid subscribers to The Sanctuary get a front-row seat to the writing process! Read along as I write, with first looks at the cover and raw chapters, before even my editor sees them.
Be part of the journey. By commenting on early chapters, you may even help shape the story, and you’ll receive a special shout-out and thank you in the acknowledgements for being part of my creative process.
Aura Cove Special Editions Coming to Kickstarter in April!
Click here to be notified of the launch! Here’s a short video about what to expect.
Other Fantasy Kickstarter Campaigns You Might Enjoy!
Constancy. A Jane Austen inspired romantasy & dragons novel
A special edition hardcover with sprayed edges. A second chance at love inspired by Persuasion, for readers of historical fantasy.
Heir of Bitter Thorn: Collector Edition Romantasy Hardcover
A fae bargain forces her into a frozen realm to save a cursed prince...or die trying. Slow burn epic fantasy romance, fairy tale vibes.
The Weekly Gift Card Winner for February 22nd is: d*mar*@bevelweb. com
(The asterisks indicate missing characters to avoid spam.) Contact us here from this email address to claim your gift card. We appreciate any shout outs and tags on social media to help more readers find our books.