May Wonders

I missed the April update because I was still waiting to be updated. hehe But now that May’s here, I have more than the single announcement I had been waiting for! Let’s start with the initial one, shall we?

Do you remember back in March I announced my fantasy short story The Birth of the Weavers had been accepted into Sea of Secrets: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology? Well, it now has a release date! Yay!

Sea of Secrets: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology

Release Date: May 31, 2019

Publisher: Dragon Soul Press

Ebook: $4.99

Description: Dive into Sea of Secrets—a multi-genre anthology featuring creatures from the deepest depths of the ocean, lakes, and rivers alike. Here you will find tales of krakens, sirens, dragons, pirates, and witches.
There is something for everyone in this anthology ranging everywhere from romance, happily-ever-afters, young adults coming of age, but especially horror, chaos, and loss.
Enter the deep at your own risk today.

Featuring: A.M. Cummins, Stephen Herczeg, Antonio Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Melinda Kucsera, Winter Lawrence, Sofi Laporte, Zoey Xolton, Vonnie Winslow Crist, Galina Trefil, Archit Joshi, Jo Seysener, Meg Boepple, A.R. Johnston, V.P. Allasander, Layne Calry, Aditya Deshmukh, Kathryn St. John, and D.S. Durden.

While the ebook is currently available for preorder, the paperback won’t be available till the release. It’s less than a month away though. I don’t know about you, but I’m patient. I can wait.

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Second bit of news just as exciting as the first!

My horror alter ego wrote another short story which was accepted into…drum roll please…

Terror in the Shadows Volume 4 from Scare Street! Yes, you read that right. The same Scare Street that I’ve been fangirling over for the last 2-3 years will be publishing one of my stories. I am so freaking excited!!!

Terror in the Shadows Volume 4

Release Date: May 31, 2019

Publisher: Scare Street

Ebook: 99c ($0.99)

Paperback: $14.99 (I’m assuming. It’s not listed yet because it’s currently unavailable)

Description: A romantic getaway turns to a horrific ordeal when evil falls from the stars. A terrified young woman is stalked by a grim specter in the form of man’s best friend. A beleaguered wage slave discovers that playing with toys at work can have deadly consequences…

Scare Street’s team of horror authors brings you twelve delightedly macabre morsels of terror in this new, spine-tingling collection. Indulge yourself in a delicious feast of chilling nightmares and dark fantasies.

Each tale will leave you craving another taste of fear. But beware. You may think you have an appetite for darkness…

But the things that lurk in the shadows have an appetite for you, as well.

Featuring: Ron Ripley , A. I. Nasser , Sara Clancy , David Longhorn , Sharon M. White , Julia Grace , Arwa Hezzah , Anna Sinjin

Amazing lineup! My contribution is entitled: Working Late. It’ll make you think twice about staying late at work. Your hours end at 5 pm? Go home at 5 pm. Don’t stay late.

Just don’t.

Scare Street’s release dates seem to be pretty tentative, so there is every likelihood that this book will come out sooner than expected. Keep an eye open for it. But for 99c, I don’t see why you’d bother waiting for the release. Just go and preorder it!

Announcements

Couple of announcements this month…

Scare Street Releases…

Terror in the Shadows Volume 2

Your worst nightmares lurk in the Shadows…

An antique dollhouse welcomes a troubled family to a celebration of death. A party girl’s addiction gives birth to a monster within. Man’s best friend must fend off a woman’s greatest nightmare…

Scare Street is proud to present eleven chilling tales of the supernatural, in one monstrous volume. Horror authors Ron Ripley, David Longhorn, Sara Clancy, and many more unite to bring you a terrifying collection of short stories, each one guaranteed to haunt your dreams. And each one more chilling than the last.

Once you start reading you won’t be able to stop. Because when these authors sink their teeth into you, it’s already too late.

The only way to escape from these nightmares… is to wake up screaming.

Available on Amazon

Ebook: $3.99

Paperback: $14.99

 

Poisonous Whispers (book 5 of the Haunted Village series)

Trapped between a killer and an army of the dead, Subject B must make a final stand…

Marcus Holt is a decorated combat veteran, a survivor of the brutal Vietnam War. But to the brilliant Professor Abel Worthe, Marcus is known as Subject B — a human lab rat, forced to participate in a deadly experiment. Worthe intends to see just how much fear Marcus can survive, by trapping him in a village stocked with supernatural killers.

When a new building appears in the village’s dark, snow-swept streets, Marcus and his team are haunted by the cries of panicked children. After they investigate the decaying cobbler’s shop, they are shocked to find twin boys, cowering in fear. Marcus is determined to rescue these helpless children from the danger that Worthe has unleashed. But the twins are not the only inhabitants in this house of horrors.

Marcus and the others soon find themselves stalked by the venomous spirit of a bitter old woman, whose touch brings a painful death to her victims. But as they flee this hateful ghost, they quickly realize they are surrounded by an army of restless spirits. And even Worthe cannot control this horde of deadly wraiths.

Marcus’s back is against the wall. He swore he would fight to the death to escape Worthe’s fiendish game. But against these new foes, this may be a battle he cannot win.

Amazon Release Date: 3/25/19

Ebook: $3.99

Paperback: $14.99

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And now for my own stuff, which is pitifully little.

I submitted a short story to Dragon Soul Press back at the end of February, and it was accepted into their Sea of Secrets anthology! Everyone celebrate! I have the links to some of the authors, but not all yet. When this information is updated, I’ll update here as well.

My contribution to this anthology is entitled, “The Birth of the Dreamers.” No mermaids, but there is an underwater race of people. What’s the difference? you might ask. Mermaids etc are half fish. My Sea Dwellers aren’t. If you’re heavily into science (*coughmydadcough*), you may feel the urge to poke holes into my logic. Just remember, the story is on another world, and these aren’t humans. They’re merely humanoid.

We also have a Leviathan swimming around if that piques your interest. hehe

This story is intended to be a prelude to a novel I have planned for later. That’s assuming I can ever find enough time to write more than short stories. It’ll happen. It may takes years, but…eventually…

Sea of Secrets: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology

Lurking in watery depths are untold discoveries waiting to be uncovered. Where monsters as old as time enjoy their freedom and wreak havoc on the occasional trespassers.

Times are changing. The beings encroaching on their territory are more powerful and cunning as the years pass. If something isn’t done, creatures of lore will pass into history forever. But among the monsters, who will lead them to victory?

Featuring A.M. Cummins, Melinda Kucsera, Zoey Xolton, Kathryn St. John, Winter Lawrence, Antonio Gonzalez-Rodriguez, Stephen Herczeg, Galina Trefil, A.R. Johnston, Sofi Laporte, Aniket R. Joshi, Jo Seysener, V.P. Allasander, Layne Calry, Meg Boepple.

Release Date: Coming Soon

First Love Quickie

Yeah, that title was intended. hehe

I just wanted to let people know that the Facebook release event for First Love is rapidly approaching! Feb 28th, starting at 11am EST. My time slot is at 12pm EST, but don’t worry if you miss me. You can still interact with the posts etc.

If you’re looking to buy the book, the paperback is already available. Although the ebook is releasing Feb 28th, you can still preorder it now. If you do, when the book does come out, it’ll automatically go straight to your tablet.

Paperback – First Love

Ebook – First Love

Isn’t this cover gorgeous???

First Love reminder

Quick Reminder!

First Love: A Dragon Soul Press Anthology (Epic Romance Anthology Book 1)

Publisher: Dragon Soul Press

Release Date: February 28, 2019

Genre: Romance

ebook – $4.99 (available now for preorder)

paperback – ? (coming soon)

Where: Amazon

Contributing Authors: Meg Boepple, Sofi Laporte, Kathryn St. John, Zoey Xolton, Melinda Kucsera, A.R. Johnston, Simon Dillon, A.M. Cummins, Edeline Wrigh, D.S. Durden, A.D. Carter, Galina Trefil

335 pages full of romance. Keep your eyes open for more news as the time draws nearer. There’ll be a launch party on Facebook full of games, giveaways, and tidbits from all the authors. More info available soon.

(In an aside, life has dictated that the majority of my writing be put aside. I’ll continue trying to get short stories out into anthologies, but my Fathom’s Below has been put on the back burner for the time being. It’s unfortunate but the reasons behind my change of plans are all good, so I’m attempting to go with the flow and keep a positive attitude.)

New Books…yes, plural!

I was hoping to make these announcements in December but life was too hectic. Just as well. I had good news already in December. It’s nice to start the new year off with more good news.

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My first announcement is that I finally settled on which project to work on.

Fathom’s Below

Fathom’s Below is going to be a retelling of The Little Mermaid from Hans Christian Anderson. Don’t expect Disney. This isn’t light and happy. There is no Sebastian, Flounder, or Scuttle. There will be no singing and dancing. That’s not to say the Disney version wasn’t awesome. I grew up with it and still love it. I’d dream about being a mermaid and wish and hope all the time that there was some kind of magic potion that could change my legs into a tail. Lacking that potion, I’d find pants that were way too big (not an easy task for an overweight kid who usually had to squeeze into her pants to begin with) so I could use one pant leg for both my legs and pretend I had a tail.

The only reason I haven’t bought one of those mermaid tail blankets from Walmart etc is that I chronically forget things so I’m always sitting down and standing up millions of times before I get situated…at which point I then have to go to the bathroom. It’s not practical for me to bind my legs up in a tail in that case.

In my world, mermaids drown sailors. They don’t avoid them and then fall in love with them, they kill them. Briny is my mermaid and she’s obviously the exception to the rule as she has to fall in love with the prince. Her story will not have a happy, lovey dovey ending. Why is this not a spoiler? Read the original Hans Christian Anderson story. His Little Mermaid dies! Because of her choices, instead of becoming foam after her death, she becomes an air spirit. I’m not saying my Briny will die…but I’m not saying she won’t. All I’ll say is that she’s not Ariel getting a Happily Ever After with her Prince Eric. This is not Disney…which is good because I would be treading on copyright infringements if it was.

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My second announcement is that I was accepted into another anthology! Yay!

First Love Anthology

First Love is a short romance story anthology from Dragon Soul Press. My story is called A Season’s Time. It was really difficult getting this story completed. It will have a dryad…hamadryad actually…and a young man. Leaf and Bastian. Although writing this story wasn’t “fun,” I did enjoy pushing myself to try something different. It was a struggle from start to finish. I’m glad it’s done, and I’m looking forward to doing more.

I enjoy writing short stories because they’re like writing exercises. They’re not long so they don’t take months and months like a book takes. I can try something entirely new and see how I do. For example, in A Season’s Time, I’m writing it from Bastian’s perspective. While I’ve written male characters plenty of times, I had never dived into one and written from his viewpoint. I think that’s what made this story so difficult for me. I didn’t want him sounding like a woman, not did I want him to fall victim to stereotypes. I believe I managed it.

First Love will be released February 28, 2019. As time draws near, I’ll have more info for everyone. I’m really excited about this. The last anthology of theirs that I was accepted into was All Dark Places. It was the debut of my horror pseudonym. This time, I’m back to my fantasy pseudonym – Kathryn St. John.

Winter Holiday Deals

I was hoping to have different news for my December post, but no. I’ve been attempting to write a short story to submit to an anthology, but it’s been slow-going. I don’t usually have this much difficulty getting a short story out. It’s like archaeology where you find part of a bowl but then can’t seem to find the rest of it.

Anyway, on to the real news!

So to celebrate the winter holidays, I’ve decided to give my books away for FREE! Not All Dark Places because I have no control over that one. I’ll be sticking with my Kathryn St. John fantasy books. All three cover Greek mythology, none are suitable for children. Here’s the schedule:

December 17-21 (Monday through Friday)

• Psyche (Myths of Olympus) by Kathryn St. John (Fantasy, Romance)

December 24-28 (Monday through Friday)

• Night’s Treasure (Daughter of Nyx Book 1) by Kathryn St. John (Fantasy with Dark Fantasy elements)

December 31 – January 4 (Monday through Friday)

• Shadow’s Strength (Daughter of Nyx Book 2) by Kathryn St. John (Fantasy with Dark Fantasy elements)

These books are normally $2.99, $3.99, and $4.99, respectively. During the times listed, however, the ebooks will be completely FREE on Amazon!

Sale starts tomorrow for most people! Unless you’re in a time zone where it’s already the 17th. If you are and you see that Psyche is already available, go for it! But for the rest of us, we’ll have to wait till Monday. I’d also be eternally grateful if you’d also leave a review or just stars on Amazon or Goodreads. Even if it’s a negative review, authors desperately need them. I get so giddy when I see someone’s done a review, or on Goodreads, left stars. ❤ Thanks!!! Happy Reading!

New Book Updates!

Holy! Moly! It’s been a loooooong time since I last posted. I’d say it’s because I had nothing to say, but that’s only half true. I had something to say a couple weeks ago, but I forgot. Well…now I have three things to say! I’ll go in chronological order.

All Dark Places

All Dark Places is a horror anthology released by Dragon Soul Press. Within this book is the debut of my horror pseudonym – Anna Sinjin. I won’t go into how I chose that name except to say that it is, in fact, part of my real name. There are five short horror stories, mine is the second – The Cursed Mirror by Anna Sinjin.

I was pretty excited to participate in this anthology. One, because it was my first anthology. Two, because it was with an actual publishing house. And three, because it was horror, and horror is my true love. They were pretty nice to work with, and I’m currently working on another short story for another anthology of theirs. It’s romance this time. Hopefully, it’ll be accepted as well, but who knows. If nothing else, I got my horror name out there and have met some amazing people.

Ruxandra Tudorica made the front cover, while the back cover for the paperback was created by someone else whose name I don’t know. In any case, it’s a wonderful cover with just the right amount of fun mixed in with the horror. The formatting is awesome, the stories are awesome. Everything is AWESOME! If you don’t know by now, “awesome” is one of my favorite words (and I also love the Everything Is Awesome song from the Lego Movie, so…yeah). I’ll talk more about Rux later in this post because I didn’t work with her on this (the publishers did), but I did work with her on my third piece of news.

E-book – $3.99

Paperback – $14.99

Psyche (Myths of Olympus series)

I made a MAJOR update to Psyche from the Myths of Olympus series. Between the time it was published and this year, I’ve made some serious advancements in my editing and formatting knowledge. It was brought to my attention that I hate commas…or had just gotten supremely lazy with them because I tend to ignore a lot of grammar rules in my off-time. I also learned that the formatting I was using was ONLY for submitting manuscripts to agents. Cue The Scream. So I stopped everything I was doing and went through the book, editing and formatting like a fiend till it was as close to perfect as I could get it.

Another thing that pushed me to fix all the errors was that I had a new cover!! Isn’t it lovely? Lily Dormishev created it for me. I am SO in love with it!! I gave her a general idea of the book, along with another cover she had done that had started this obsession in the first place, to let her know the style I really liked. She went from there to create a work of art! I’m constantly drooling over her work and forcibly holding myself back from buying her covers. I should stand up as I say this and go on with, “Hello, I’m Katie, and I’m a cover addict.” Cue the sobbing into my hands as I sit back down. There are perhaps a handful of covers I’m itching to buy, but I can’t because I already have too many projects lined up that I’ll probably be busy writing for the next decade (yay!). Honestly though, I’m really not sure how long I’ll be able to hold out. Maybe another year at the most? I need to write faster. I’m going to horde my Christmas money for future covers.

Anyway, go to Lily’s site if you want to check out more of her work or order a commission yourself – Lily Dormishev. Even if you aren’t a writer and have no need of book covers, you should still check it out just for some serious eye candy.

Soooo, after I finished fixing Psyche and saw this awesome cover Lily made for me, I went a little crazy. Her prices are so reasonable…I couldn’t help it! I had a gorgeous new cover, fresh editing, fresh formatting…I needed a paperback as well.

Did you know a paperback another set of completely different formatting? Yep. And there’s a lot more to do for it too. I posted about my formatting woes till it got to the point where someone suggested I make “format” my new F word. I actually liked that idea quite a bit, so if you hear me say something like, “What the format!” you’ll know I’m cursing in my own unique way…and I’m probably extremely ticked off because I don’t usually drop the F bomb.

I’m going to skip all those details, but I will say, after much hassle, the e-book and paperback are available to buy on Amazon.

E-book – $2.99

Paperback – $10.99

Shadow’s Strength (Daughter of Nyx Book 2)

This has been two years in the making! I cannot believe it’s finally happening. Book 2 of the Daughter of Nyx series is finally being released! It’s currently available for pre-order as an e-book on Amazon. Paperbacks won’t be available until the third and final book of the series is out. Only then will I start to bring them out as paperbacks. I already have the appointment made with the designer, so there’s no way I can be tempted to bring them out sooner.

Who’s the designer? The lovely Ruxandra Tudorica who also did the cover for the first book, Night’s Treasure! While the first book was a premade that was tweaked to better match my preferences, this cover was a pure custom job. I seriously like how the covers are coming along and can’t wait for the third one and then the paperbacks as well. It’s so exciting! Rux is awesome to work with. Friendly yet professional and awesomely talented. Her works speaks for itself. If you’re interested in more of her work (or to commission her yourself), you can head on over to her website – MethyssART.

By the way, quick note on Night’s Treasure since I mentioned it earlier. It needs some major editing and formatting (just like Psyche did). It’s on my To Do list, and I’ll be working on it slowly as a side project, but don’t expect it to be finished within a week or anything. I mention this in case you take a look at the book and decide it’s worthless because the formatting is wrong and my commas are disastrous. Please don’t hate me for past comma crimes!

E-book – $4.99

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That was a long post, I know. Kudos to you if you made it this far. I promise not to wait till I have a mountain of news before posting again. In fact, I should have some news in December so expect something that month. There’s the short romance story I’m working on for another Dragon Soul Press anthology and then there’s my next novel project. Preferably, I’ll be able to give updates one at a time instead of both at once.

Book Cover Artists + Cover Reveal

Early in January I was finally able to update my cover art for Night’s Treasure. I was so excited! I meant to announce it here but looking back I see that I forgot. But that’s okay because it’s not like it was a new book or anything.

Here’s the new cover made by the oh so talented Ruxandra Tudorica (MethyssART)…

Click on the art to buy Night’s Treasure by Kathryn St. John, available on Amazon for $3.99

I love it! It’s soooo much better than what I did myself. If I had had better graphic artist skills (mine are next to none), I would’ve bee happier with how mine turned out but I could not get past the grey blur around the silhouette. It ruined the whole thing for me!

My friend and fellow author, EarthGirly, won a premade from Ruxandra and gave it to me (having only entered because she had thought it would be perfect for Night’s Treasure). I was ecstatic!! Truly ecstatic. Three days later it was personalized for me and gracing Amazon as the new cover of Night’s Treasure!

In the delirium of my euphoria, I joined Ruxandra’s Facebook group (Methyss Art Premade Covers – the group is closed so you need to be given permission to get in) and have one future commission appointment set for August and then fingers crossed for other covers. If you’re interested, take a look at her page. Her work is beautiful and she’s so nice, patient, and friendly!

Through her I also found Ryse’s Cult. The artist there is Jennifer Munswami (J.M. Rising Horse Creations).

Holy. Freaking. Cow!

That’s all I have to say about her work. When I found out I had won a giveaway from her (amazingly gorgeous artwork that another author won in an auction plus a bunch of other stuff), I was so excited I started tiptoeing around and squealing (tiptoeing because that’s my version of jumping around, and squealing because it was 6:30am and I didn’t want to wake anyone up by screaming). Every time I thought about it for the rest of the day I’d get all giggly and start tiptoeing around. People around me would just laugh.

That day was absolutely exhausting.

Here’s some recent cover art of hers that’s been released…

Click on the art to preorder the book Soul Bound by A.J. Flowers

The auction for this cover got intense toward the end. They usually do. This one was won by A.J. Flowers. Soul Bound by A.J. Flowers is available for preorder on Amazon for $4.99.

Jennifer is pretty much booked till the end of time (only half kidding), but there are always last-minute cancellations and premades you can try your luck with so pop on over there too if you’re an author who loves quality covers. Or maybe you just want to oogle her work or buy extra swag or create brand artwork for yourself (not sure if she’s available for that right now or not), etc.

There are more but those are the main two I’m crushing on right now. Totally stalking and not ashamed.

New Year’s Resolutions – 2018

Wow! It’s been a long time since I last posted on this blog. Minus today’s post on my fitness blog – Fitness Freak – concerning my fitness-related resolutions/goals, it’s been a long time since I’ve blogged at all.

My fitness life has been super busy so that all I’ve been doing for my writing life is reading books – audiobooks and books with my son during his reading time at bedtime. I had a Goodreads goal to read 150 books in 2017. I failed. I got really close – over 140 in fact – but 150 was out of my reach.

For 2018, I’ve gone back down to 100 books. If I was only reading, I’d try for 125, but my resolutions are going to take up too much of my time. There are my fitness goals, yes, but a huge amount of my free time during the day will be spent writing now. Yep! I’ve resolved to get my butt in gear to write Shadow’s Strength, the sequel to Night’s Treasure.

2018 Goal:

• Write 1st draft of Shadow’s Strength

There’s just the one goal. SS has spent so long on the back burner due to my fitness life commitments, it’s ridiculous. So this year I’m finishing that 1st draft! I’m not demanding that it be in publishable condition – just the first draft. Editing can take forever but so can a single draft, especially when you’re severely out of practice, so one step at a time.

So! That my writing resolution for 2018! What are your goals or resolutions?

Why I Can’t Commit to Reading One Book at a Time

Today on FB I listed the 6 books I’m currently reading and then asked why I can’t commit to reading one book at a time. It was supposed to a quick answer but as I typed I realized I needed more room than I was willing to give on a FB post. I know I sometimes write long FB posts but, believe it or not, I don’t like doing that.

Here’s my current list of books:

• “Shadow House You Can’t Hide” by Dan Poblocki
• “Refuge” by A.I. Nasser
• “We’re Alive: A Story of Survival, The Second Season” by K.C. Wayland
• “Cranford” by Elizabeth Gaskell
• “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” by J.K. Rowling
• “Heaven and Earth” by Nora Roberts

The same list is on Goodreads. I didn’t list the last 2 books on my Goodreads list because I’m not actively reading those 2. I should take them off because I don’t intend to finish them in the near future, but I’m lazy when it comes to deleting books from the list.

So why can’t I commit to reading one book at a time? There a various reasons and they all sound reasonable to me…of course or I’d stick with the one book.

• Filler

I’ll end a book and then start one I’ve already read (Heaven and Earth) in order to pass the time before a new book comes my way. I’ll eventually finish this book but not for awhile.

• Inspiration

Sometimes I’ll be watching a show or movie that inspires me to read the book. That was exactly what happened in the case of Cranford.

• Freebies/Suggestions

I might come across an interesting freebie book that snags my attention or someone may suggest an interesting book so I’ll put everything on hold to read it. In the case of Refuge, I had gotten an e-mail from Team Scarestreet asking if I was interested in reviewing a free audiobook series by A.I. Nasser. I submitted my application to be a reviewer, was accepted, and received my promo codes for the books on Audible.com. Refuge is the 2nd book of the series. The first one, Kurtain Motel, I couldn’t stop listening to and powered through it so when it ended I immediately went on to the 2nd book.

• Traveling

I’ll keep a family friendly audiobook for car trips. Unfortunately, since car trips don’t commonly last more than 30 minutes and we don’t always listen to the audiobook on those trips, it takes a horrendously long amount of time to get through one of those books. Such is the case with Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

As for Shadow House and We’re Alive, both of these fall under the Freebies/Suggestions category. In the case of We’re Alive, someone had suggested it as a good podcast for people who like the app Zombies, Run! so I subscribed to the podcast and was wowed, not by the sometimes painful voice acting but by the story.

I was ordering some books for my son from Scholastic.com. Order forms are sent home each month for each class. We don’t usually get anything, but my son’s favorite books were there this time so I gave in. I tried it online this time and saw a notice on their site for Shadow House. I love horror and the cover looked interesting so I read a sample. I found it as an audiobook on Hoopla so I borrowed it last night and finished it by this afternoon. It was fun. Simple, obviously meant for younger teens, but still enjoyable for an adult assuming you don’t mind that it’s not complex and long etc. I’ve moved on to the second book or I will very soon so I’ve already added it to my list.

Believe it or not, my list does wittle down to 0 books every now and then but it doesn’t happen often and when it does it doesn’t stay that way for long.