The Iron Duke is now available in mass-market!
And if it hasn’t already, the ebook price should drop to match it. Whee! Goodbye, $12.99! No one will miss you.
Now, for the rough part:
The print version of the mass-market release contains an epilogue novella to The Iron Duke called “Mina Wentworth and the Invisible City.”
This novella is not included in the ebook version of The Iron Duke — that content is the same as the trade version.
The novella will be released as an ebook later this year. When I have a date, I’ll let everyone know.
I know this sucks. And there has been a lot of talk around the blogosphere lately about where to go to lodge complaints — in this case, that place is right here, because this one is all on me. When my editor asked if I had any bonus content to include in the mass market reprint, we talked of adding a short epilogue that can let us see how Mina & Rhys are doing after the HEA. A simple plot, some smexy times, and done. I pictured it much like the bonus content that was included in Nalini Singh’s mass-market of Kiss of Snow — just a short story to put up on my site when the reprint came out.
That’s not quite what happened. The story actually became a longish novella, because I loved revisiting them, I had more to add to their story, and I couldn’t keep it short. I also ran too late to give my editor another story as the bonus content, because we were approaching the date when I either get it in NOW or nothing goes into the reprint at all. But I also thought it was important to release it as an ebook so that it wasn’t just available to mass-market readers, so the question was: do it myself, or let Berkley do it?
I wanted Berkley to do it. Although I like self-pubbing shorts, I honestly don’t have the time to do a good job of it now or anytime in the near future. That meant contracts, however, and scheduling the novella in for ebook publication. I signed those about two months ago, which was actually cutting it all pretty close.
And so this is why the ebook will be coming later than the print version, and why the ebook version of The Iron Duke won’t include the novella. The Iron Duke mass-market version was already scheduled, and already in Berkley’s production pipeline; my novella ebook was not, and to force it through earlier would mean shoving someone else’s book to the side while production worked on mine (and it was not in the ebook conversion pipeline at all, because we hadn’t planned to update The Iron Duke’s file with the short bonus content. Now, the novella is scheduled for ebook production, but again — that takes time, and must fit into the already-existing schedule.)
The ebook will come. Just not at the same time as print, and I’m sorry for that.
“With The Iron Duke, Meljean Brook has brilliantly defined the new genre of Steampunk Romance.
I loved it!” —Jayne Ann Krentz
Amazon | The Book Depository | B&N | Powells
One of Publishers Weekly‘s Best Romances of 2010, winner of All About Romance‘s Annual Reader Poll for Best Paranormal Romance, and a RT BookReviews Reviewers’ Choice Award Winner!
After the Iron Duke freed England from Horde control, he instantly became a national hero. Now Rhys Trahaearn has built a merchant empire on the power — and fear — of his name. And when a dead body is dropped from an airship onto his doorstep, bringing Detective Inspector Mina Wentworth into his dangerous world, he intends to make her his next possession.
Mina can’t afford his interest, however. Horde blood runs through her veins, and despite the nanotech enhancing her body, she barely scratches out a living in London society. Becoming Rhys’s lover would destroy both her career and her family, yet the investigation prevents her from avoiding him…and the Iron Duke’s ruthless pursuit makes him difficult to resist.
But when Mina uncovers the victim’s identity, she stumbles upon a conspiracy that threatens the lives of everyone in England. To save them, Mina and Rhys must race across zombie-infested wastelands and treacherous oceans — and Mina discovers the danger is not only to her countrymen as she finds herself tempted to give up everything to the Iron Duke. Read an excerpt–>
“…a stunning blend of steampunk setting and poignant romance – smart, sexy, breathtaking, and downright addicting.” —Ilona Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of Magic Bleeds
“…a high seas/airborne adventure that’s filled with zombies, pirates and deadly betrayal. Along with the pulse-pounding adventure, there’s plenty of seriously sensuous sizzle for readers to enjoy.” 
½! 
—RT BookReviews
“With adept writing and a flair for creating believable worlds, Brook’s first in the Iron Seas series showcases her masterful storytelling.” —Booklist
$7.99 | January 3, 2012 | ISBN 978-0425244265
