Majority of what you see in the photo above are published books that were once available to read on Wattpad for free.

Based on what I understand, you have a real shot at catching the eye of major publishers here in PH (namely Summit Books & Psicom) if you've got a really AMAZING following on Wattpad. And by that I mean your story's been read millions of times. Of course, you can also try querying them and see if they'd be interested in publishing your story even if you're just starting out but basically the surest way to get pubbed here in PH is to build a following on Wattpad.

Anyway, I think this is really cool and I feel like these books are responsible for reviving the near-moribund publishing industry in PH. I mean sure every year books are still pubbed but there's no excitement about new releases - or at least not until these Wattpad books came along.

It's also great that because of these books younger folks have discovered or rediscovered their love for reading. I hope this trend continues because I really believe that more readers are always good for the country as a whole.

So long story short - hats off to these great writers! You guys are awesome for starting a book craze here in PH and I wish you guys many more sales and readers! 😊

An Introduction by R.E. Butler
It all started with a scene in my mind:  It’s night in the woods.  A man stands on the front porch of a small cabin, facing off against a group of werewolves intent on getting past him to the she-wolf inside.  They’re not going to get by him as long as he’s got a breath left in his body.

At the time the scene first appeared in my mind, I was the busiest I’d ever been in my career to-date:  it was the early summer and I was editing two books for two different series, handling a marketing blitz, and doing a book tour for another, different series.  And in the middle of all of that craziness, the scene played in my brain on an endless loop; a movie stuck in one section that just kept repeating and repeating.

Finally, to give myself some peace, I wrote it.  But I couldn’t stop there.  In three weeks, I carved an entire story around that one scene, with my sexy hero defending the she-wolf.  The story refused to remain silent, and I’m sincerely glad that I gave in when I did and gave the characters life.

In my books, there's a general live-and-let-live feeling between humans and supernatural creatures for the most part, but I wanted to explore a world where that was not the case.  The laws of the Wilde Creek Pack state that wolves can't mate with humans or they will be banished from the pack and their family forever.  This law changes the stakes of a relationship between a human and a wolf and asks the question...if you loved someone, would you walk away from everyone in your life? You'll have to read the book to find out!

Hi R.E.!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on how you started your new series. I truly love it – I can’t gush enough about it, hence this little interview.
First, my thoughts on the book – just so you and everyone else knows why I adore this new series.
You will probably never catch me writing a book where the guy is human and the girl’s…not. In my mind, this creates an imbalance. Shifters are typically stronger than humans, right? If that’s so, then how can a human man protect his shifter lover if she is stronger than he is?
So in my mind, this kind of union DOES NOT make sense. Until of course R.E. proved me wrong with Mate of Her Heart.
AND THAT’S ALL I’M GOING TO SAY. I DON’T WANT TO BE ACCUSED OF SPOILING THINGS FOR YOU!
On to the questionnaire then ---

First – and I know we covered this before but I still have to ask. I love the heroine’s name – Eveny – so any special story or inspiration behind it?

Thank you so much!  Originally, I’d planned to name the heroine Avery, but with her brother being named Acksel, I decided to go in a different direction.  I messed around with the spelling of Avery and eventually settled on Eveny.  I chose it because it’s unique and she’s in a unique situation.

I also adore asking about casting so if you were to pick an actor and actress to play Luke and Eveny, who would it be?

For Luke, I picture Zac Efron.  I think he’s adorable and underneath the amazing smile and blue eyes, he’s got a fantastic body.  I can easily see Eveny snuggling up on the couch with him watching TV and also all the hot between-the-sheets action, too.  For Eveny, I picture Nina Dobrev.  Not only is she beautiful, but she possesses both the sweet, girl-next-door and sexy-vixen personalities that Eveny embodies.

Okay, Nina Dobrev makes sense - but Zac Efron? Totally did not see that coming but now that you've mentioned it, yeah, totally makes sense! And - a really hot Zac in the form of Luke - swoon. 

Errrr...anyway...Luke and Eveny are meant to be together – that much was obvious from the very start. But when writing their story, were you ever worried about Luke seeming weaker than Eveny or Eveny appearing stronger than Luke?

Because the first scene in my mind was the stand-off between Luke and the wolves, I already knew that he was a strong character - physically and mentally.  Luke knew going into things that he would need to use his own strengths to his advantage to be able to protect Eveny.  I never doubted that the readers - along with Eveny - would find him strong in all ways.

This may take you some time to answer / write so feel free to ignore it – it’s really the reader in me asking. Like I want to know how Clark Kent and Lois Lane are to each other when they’re in the bedroom, stuff like that. :D In this case, if Luke and Eveny went on a honeymoon – where would it be? What would they do (umm, other than what’s obvious) and what would likely go wrong during their romantic vacation? Mmm…I think I’d rather read this as a novella! :D

Since they spent some time in the woods already, there would be no romantic, cabin getaway for them!  I’d bring them to the East Coast - New Jersey of course! - and get them a cute little rental on a private beach.  What could go wrong?  What wouldn’t!  Sunburn, sand in uncomfortable places, seaweed, getting pinched by crabs.  But all the wonderful things that would go right!  Moonlit walks on the beach, midnight swims minus the suits, tanning oil and warm sunshine...

Mmm...a sunburnt Zac/Luke? Sexy! :D 

And I'm getting distracted again. Anyway, I loved and hated Acksel – for obvious reasons, too, for people who have read the book – but ultimately he won me over so I’m pretty excited about his book. When will it be out and do you have a blurb for it?

Yes, the blurb for Acksel’s book - The Alpha’s Mate (Wilde Creek 2) - is actually at the end of the first book in the Coming Soon section.  The book is going into editing in January and I hope to have it out in the spring.

I actually went back to the book to check this and lo and behold - the blurb is there! After reading the epilogue, I think I just went straight to writing the interview. I was that excited! LOL


SPOILER (highlight if you will): I was really hoping – after everything that’s happened – he’d have a human mate and boy was I glad when I saw in the preview that he’d have one. After all the grief he’s given to Luke and Eveny, he deserves A LOT of human trouble of his own! (But of course I’m still rooting for his HEA in the end) End of Spoiler.

Hee hee!  I’m having a ball writing his story.

Last question – for the series in general – any chances that a character from this series will end up with a character from the Wolf’s Mate series?

Interesting idea, but probably not.  Their worlds are not really interchangeable since Wilde Creek is not in the same “world” as Allen.

Thank you for answering all my questions – sorry if some of them are too detailed. You know how readers can be such fan girls and won’t stop asking questions if you let them! J


I loved to answer the questions, Marian!  Very thoughtful and unique, lots of fun!


Till next time! :)

I wrote this post. Go on, you can check it out. I'll still be here. 

So...done? Basically, it was a post about how I dream of hitting the bestselling lists one day. Weeeeeeell...it happened.

A few weeks ago, the bestselling of USA Today came out and the boxed set I'm in - The Billionaire Bad Boys of Romance Boxed Set - and we debuted at #57.  Second week was our highest at #50 and third week (last week) we were still in it at #95.

Two weeks ago, we also made it to the NYT bestsellers list. Not just for ebooks but for the COMBINED PAPERBACK AND EBOOK bestselling list! We were #22 in that list and we've made it to the NYT's bestselling list for ebook (fiction) for 2 weeks. :) 

Now, before you think that we cheated, simply because there are 9 of us in one book...consider this. As of 11/18/2013, Amazon's Kindle store shows---

• 763 results for "romance bundle"
  
• 857 results for "romance boxed set"
  
• 1239 results for "romance set"
  
• 3631 results for "romance trilogy"
  

and a whopping 5,601 results for "romance collection".

It's December 5 now and...

• 799 results for "romance bundle"
• 919 results for "romance boxed set"
• 1,314 results for "romance set"
• 3,683 results for "romance trilogy"

and...5,837 results for "romance collection". In the span of 2 weeks or so, over 200 books (most of them presumably bundles, too) have been uploaded to Amazon! 

My point is, it's understandable to think that boxed sets are a sure and easy ticket to bestselling lists, but it's NOT. You're probably thinking that by pricing a boxed set at $.99 is enough to get into NYT or USA Today, but no. That's not it either. If it were, then all $.99 bundles on Amazon's Kindle store would have been bestsellers, too. But they're not. 

So...what made our boxed set different? 

I'd like to say that we have the best collection of stories, but I KNOW it's not that. I mean, sheesh - you can take a look at our one-star reviews and you'll see how some readers absolutely think we do not have the best collection of stories there is. 

To be honest, I really DON'T KNOW what makes our boxed set different from the other multi-author bundles out there. I'm just really, really happy that we made it as high as #11 on Amazon and #8 on Barnes & Noble. 

What I do know, however, is that

1. I would never trade this experience for anything else. I learned so much from my co-authors and that knowledge - that experience - is priceless.
2. It's important to have a plan. A boxed set won't take off all on its own. 
3. You enjoy working with your co-authors. For almost three weeks, my co-authors and I were emailing each other like crazy, updating each other about rankings and marketing stuff. Imagine having to do all those with someone you hate! Not good!
4. There has to be an element of trust. After all, there's the financial aspect to consider. If you don't trust each other about money matters, then I don't see how your plans for a boxed set would get off the ground.

So, with all that in mind I just want to give a shout out to thank my co-authors - Selena Kitt, Tawny Taylor, Ava Lore, Anna Antonia, Nelle L'Amour, Amy Aday and Dez Burke. I know my dream of hitting the bestselling lists wouldn't have been possible without them. 

I also want to thank the other authors who helped me promote the bundle. The one thing I love about today's writing industry is that EVERYONE IS HELPING EACH OTHER. So my next shoutout is for the ladies behind the Unraveled Boxed Set, Shifter Romance Boxed Set, Romance Super Bundle, Dangerous Attraction Romantic Suspense Boxed Set, In Harm's Way, Love in a Small Town, Young Ladies of Mystery Boxed Set, and Western Kisses.

Also, there are a couple of authors who did not have boxed sets but still promoted ours - R.E. Butler, Liliana Rhodes, Arabella Quinn, Julia Kent, Pepper Winters, Arianne Richmonde, K.T. Fisher, Mina V. Esguerra, Adriana Hunter, Krista Lakes and Cassandra Zara, Pamela Richter and Maddie James. :) But sssh...we are not going to tag them. I'm kinda shy! lol.

Lastly, I owe a lot to The Passionate Proofreader and CT Cover Creations - they've been with me since almost day one. 

And of course, I always think that EVERYTHING IS POSSIBLE WITH GOD. I know that we wouldn't have made it to these lists without His help. So again, Thank You God. ;) You're the best!