Stuff Your Kindle Day was a huge moment for LIORA, and I wanted to take a second to say thank you.
Thanks to everyone who downloaded, shared, posted, and supported the event, LIORA climbed to #5 in the Paranormal Angel Romance category. Seeing it reach the Top 10 was incredible, and I’m so grateful to everyone who helped make that happen.
As an indie author, visibility matters. Events like Stuff Your Kindle Day give books the chance to reach new readers, and this one gave LIORA a real moment. Watching it climb the charts was exciting, surreal, and a reminder of how powerful reader support really is.
Every download made a difference. Every share mattered. Every bit of support helped push LIORA further, and I don’t take any of it lightly.
Missed out on Stuff Your Kindle Day? Don’t worry. LIORA and the rest of the Whispers of Destiny series are available on Kindle Unlimited for the next 90 days, so there’s still time to get swept into the world, meet the characters, and fall into the story.
And if you’d like to stay up to date with my books, hear about new releases before anyone else, events, freebies, and get little bookish extras along the way, make sure you’re signed up to my newsletter at the top of the page.
So, again, thank you. Truly.
If you grabbed a copy, shared a post, told a friend, or supported from afar, I appreciate it more than you know. I’ve got more bookish things coming soon, and I can’t wait to share them with you.
As a small-ish indie author, there’s always this annoying little question lurking in the back of your mind.
Should I send out free copies of my book, even though my budget is already clinging on for dear life? Or should I just let nature take its course and hope the right readers find it?
The temptation is always there. You see other authors go viral after one amazing influencer review, and suddenly it feels like maybe that could be you too. One post. One reel. One reader screaming about your book in the right corner of the internet.
But the risk is there too.
Because sometimes, you send your books out and nothing happens. No review. No post. No mention. No movement. Just your precious little book disappearing into the void while your bank account looks at you like, “Really?”
“And let’s be honest, it is hard out here for indie authors.“
Books that are back in stock.
Since AI entered the creative space, the market has been flooded with low-quality books, which makes it even harder for genuine authors to be noticed in the sea of new titles. Sometimes it feels like swimming against the current, or walking through the wind with leaves smacking you in the face from every direction.
Ads are not always an option either. Especially when you’ve already exhausted your budget on editing, formatting, cover design, proofs, paperbacks, ISBNs, and all the other things people forget about when they say, “Self-publishing is free.”
“It is not.”
Signed copies and book bundles
And God forbid you want character art, bookmarks, PR boxes, or merch to help attract future readers and make your book feel special.
So then the question becomes: is sending your precious baby to book influencers actually worth it?
Honestly? If you send it to the right ones, yes. But that is the key part. The right ones.
I see a lot of authors make the mistake of sending their books to reviewers who do not even read their genre. Or they send books to creators they do not follow, do not interact with, and have never supported, then hope that person is going to suddenly rave about their work.
“Don’t be that author! I mean it!“
Book influencers are readers first. If someone has built their account around cosy fantasy, why are you sending them dark romance? If someone only reviews traditional publishing titles or the same trendy books everyone else is posting about, they may not be the right fit for your indie release. That does not make them bad. It just means their account is probably built around what performs well for them.
“And that is where follower count can be misleading.“
A huge following does not automatically mean a creator is the best choice for your book. Sometimes those big accounts are drowning in book mail. You can see it in the constant unboxings. Stack after stack after stack. And as much as it looks impressive, you have to be realistic. Are they actually going to have time to read your book? Or is it likely to become one more title in a very pretty pile?
No shade to bigger reviewers, because many of them work hard and genuinely love books. But smaller reviewer accounts are often the ones who will actually read your book, talk about it properly, and shout from the rooftops if they love it.
They might not have fifty thousand followers, but they might have a small, loyal audience who trusts them. They might actually read indie books. They might interact with authors. They might understand how much it means when you send them something you created with your whole chest and your very traumatised bank balance.
That matters.
So, is it worth it when your budget is so low that it is basically in hell?
There is no guarantee.
Sending out a book will never promise you sales, reviews, or visibility. But there are definitely creators out there who will honour the fact that you sent them your baby. Readers who understand the indie struggle. Reviewers who genuinely want to support smaller authors. People who do not just want the most hyped book of the month, but are excited to discover something new.
Those are the readers worth looking for. Not necessarily the biggest accounts. The right accounts.
So before you send your book, do your homework. Watch how they review. Check what genres they actually enjoy. See if they support indie authors. Look at whether their followers engage with them properly, not just whether the number at the top of their profile looks impressive.
Because when you are working with a tiny budget, every copy matters.
Send your book with intention, not desperation.
And remember, your book is not less valuable because you are indie. It deserves to be placed in the hands of people who might actually love it.
What’s your opinion on the topic? I would love to hear your thoughts and experiences below!
I’ve got a few little updates to share, and honestly, if your TBR is already hanging on by a thread, I’m not here to help.
I’m Finally on Beventi
I’m so excited to say that I’m finally on Beventi. You can now shop signed book bundles, special editions, and bookish extras all in one place, which feels very exciting and a little bit dangerous for both me and your bank account.
I’ll be sharing some pictures below so you can have a proper little look, and I’ve added the store link too, so you can browse everything for yourself.
If Vinted is more your thing, I’m on there too with the same products, so you can shop whichever way suits you best. Signed books, bundles, and bookish extras are all there waiting for you, and I’ll leave the store link below for that as well.
Stuff Your Kindle Day is coming on the 28th, hosted by RomanceBookLovers.com, and this is honestly one of my favourite bookish days because it’s basically the perfect excuse to download far too many books in one go and act like that was always the plan(it was lol).
There are going to be loads of amazing FREE books across romance and all its delicious little subgenres, so whether you love dark romance, contemporary, spicy reads, or something a bit more magical, there’s going to be plenty to get stuck into.
I’ll be sharing two graphics below with just a few of the books you’ll be able to choose from, including Liora, especially if paranormal and fantasy romance is your thing. So if you like your romance with magic, emotion, and a bit of danger, definitely keep an eye out for that one.
Basically, make sure you’ve got room on your Kindle, because your download finger is about to get some work.
Your Free Thank You Gift
And if you haven’t downloaded After Hours yet, don’t forget that it’s my little thank-you gift to my subscribers. Just a little extra spice from me to you for being here and supporting my books.
I’ve included the link below so you can grab your free copy nice and easily.
It’s funny how life works out. It was only recently that AI witch hunts came up in my writers’ group, and we were talking about how far it had all gone in such a short space of time. How quickly suspicion had started replacing proof. I did not expect to be on the receiving end of that conversation so soon.
And yet, here we are.
When I read a recent review of Beast of Her Heart, it felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs. It was a gut punch. The nausea came first, then the panic, then the tears. Not because it was 3 stars. Readers are entitled to their opinions. Not every book will land for every person, and I have never expected otherwise. What hit me was not the rating. It was the accusation.
This was not simply a reader saying the story did not work for them. This was a public written accusation that my book was GenAI-written, based on an assumption about chapter length and the overall feel of the writing. That accusation was made without proof.
What makes it even harder to process is that it is not even accurate. Beast of Her Heart has twenty-five chapters, and only one or two of them are around 1,500 words. I am a mood writer. I do not follow rigid chapter rules. I finish a chapter when it feels right. Sometimes that is 900 words. Sometimes it is 3,000. Sometimes it lands somewhere in the middle. The story decides that, not a formula.
So no, this was not a case of me forcing every chapter into some neat, uniform pattern. That is simply not how I write. Which, if I am honest, makes it difficult for me not to question whether every chapter was even properly read before such a serious claim was made.
And that is why this hit so deeply. I do not care about a 3-star review in itself. Every reader has the right to connect with a book or not connect with it. That is normal. That is part of being an author. But this felt like something else entirely. It was not really a discussion of the story. It was an allegation about how the book was created.
We are living in a time where AI suspicion is everywhere, and people are becoming far too comfortable making serious claims without proof. For a huge author with a massive platform, maybe that kind of accusation can be weathered more easily. For a small indie author with a small reader base, it can do real harm. Reader opinion carries weight. Reader trust matters. One public accusation can shape how other people see your work before they have even opened the book.
That is where this stops feeling like just another review and starts feeling much bigger.
I do not think people always realise how fragile things can be for indie authors. One comment might look small to the person writing it, but the impact can be far from small to the person receiving it. A review does not just sit there in isolation. It becomes part of the public face of the book. It influences how readers approach it, whether they trust it, whether they give it a chance at all. When that review moves beyond personal opinion and into an accusation made without proof, the damage can be real.
“Accusations fit on a bumper sticker; the truth takes longer.” — Michael Hayden
What hurts most is thinking about the actual work that went into this story. The late nights. The rewrites. The deleted chapters. The moments where I scrapped whole sections and started again because something did not feel right. The times I sat with a scene knowing it was not there yet, even if I could not explain why, and kept going until it was. That is the reality of how I write.
I do not have paper trails or sticky notes all over my house that I can hold up for visual effect. I write in a Word document that is always accessible to my alpha reader in real time. My beta readers can also access it while I am writing. That is my process. It may not look romantic or theatrical, but it is real, and it is mine.
And that leaves me with a question I do not really have a clean answer for. How exactly is an author supposed to defend themselves against accusations like this? What proof is enough? What process is acceptable enough? At what point did writing cleanly, using proper punctuation, or ending a chapter where it naturally lands become grounds for suspicion?
I also genuinely hope my work was not put through some AI checker without my knowledge or consent, because that opens another uncomfortable conversation entirely. The fact that authors even have to think about things like that now says a lot about the climate we are in.
This whole thing feels messy. It feels like something that can escalate far too easily in a world where people can say almost anything online with very little thought for the consequences. And those consequences do exist. They land on real people. They land on writers who already pour more of themselves into their work than most readers will ever fully see.
I do not have some grand comeback for that. I wish I did.
What I do know is this. I will keep writing to the best of my ability. I will keep finishing chapters where they feel right, whether that happens at 1,500 words or not. I will keep using proper punctuation. I will keep being transparent with my readers, and I will keep doing the work. That is all I can do.
I just hope people remember that behind every book, especially in the indie world, there is a real person. A person putting in real time, real effort, and real heart. And public accusations made without proof do not just disappear into the void. They land somewhere. They land on the writer.
It doesn’t matter how many books I’ve written, letting your baby out into the world is always an emotional experience.
There’s always that mix of excitement, nerves, relief, and vulnerability. You spend so much time living inside a story, building it quietly, shaping it, second-guessing it, loving it, and then suddenly it’s no longer just yours. It’s out there for other people to read, feel, and connect with in their own way. That part never stops feeling huge.
So yes, Beast of Her Heart is officially out, and I’m feeling all of it.
One of the things that made writing this story hit differently for me was Kaiko. As a mother, I could feel her fear so deeply. That possibility of losing your child, of not being able to protect them, is the kind of fear that sits in your chest and won’t let go. Even though this is a shifter novella, that part of her felt very real to me. Beneath the paranormal elements, beneath the chemistry and tension and chaos, she is a woman trying to protect her son at all costs. That made her very close to my heart as an FMC.
“The chemistry between Lucio and Kaiko was intense and beautifully developed. Kaiko finds herself in a desperate situation that ultimately leads her straight to her destiny. Watching that journey unfold felt both satisfying and organic.”
And then there’s Lucio.
What I love about Lucio is that, yes, he has that alpha presence, but he is not overbearing for the sake of it. He is patient. He gives Kaiko space. He lets her come to him in her own time, while still being there, steady and protective, when it matters. To me, that is real strength. Quiet strength. The kind that does not need to shout to be felt. The kind that makes you feel safe without trying to control you.
And honestly, that kind of man makes me fold like a lawn chair.
“Lucio brings that classic shifter energy, but with a softer edge. His patience stands out, especially in a genre that often leans toward dominance and urgency. The dynamic between them feels steady and intentional, which fits the novella length well.”
That balance between Kaiko’s fear and Lucio’s steadiness was one of my favourite things to write. Their story has tension, emotion, attraction, danger, and heart, but underneath all of that, it is also about trust. About safety. About what it means to let yourself lean on someone when you have every reason not to.
I’ve also been so happy seeing the early response already coming in. It means so much when readers connect with a story, especially one you’ve spent so much time inside. Writing is such a solitary thing most of the time, so when a book finally leaves your hands and finds its way into someone else’s, that feeling is hard to put into words.
“I liked that this story seems to focus on emotional safety and slow-building trust rather than rushing straight into the romance. Kaiko’s fresh start, the protective family angle, and the shifter bond all give it a warm, intimate feel, while the shadows from her past add just enough tension. What stands out to me most is the promise of a relationship that grows through patience, care, and connection.”
To celebrate the release, I’m also including the first chapter as a little teaser, so if you’ve been curious about Beast of Her Heart, you can get a taste of Kaiko and Lucio’s story for yourself.
Thank you to everyone who has supported this release already. Whether you’ve bought the book, shared it, posted about it, or sent me a kind message, I appreciate it more than you know.
This novella has been a long time in the making, and I’m finally ready to let it out into the world.
Beast of Her Heart is a paranormal romance spin-off set in the Whispers of Destiny universe, taking place after Inked Into Your Soul. It can be read as a standalone, but readers familiar with the world will recognise familiar threads and characters woven through the story.
At its heart, this is a story about instinct, protection, and the kind of pull that doesn’t let go.
BLURB
Kaiko thought leaving Tokyo would give her a clean slate. That her son would be safe from a life she had fiercely protected him from. She believed starting over in London, under her brother’s protection, would be enough. That her past would never come knocking.
She wanted a quiet life. Fate had other plans.
Then she met Lucio, and everything she thought she understood about the world began to fracture. He was magnetic. Irresistible. Pulling her into his orbit with a force she couldn’t explain. A shifter with a beast inside him, carrying a darkness and a pain that mirrored her own.
Lucio doesn’t chase. He claims. And the closer Kaiko gets to him, the harder it becomes to hold onto the life she carefully built, and the truth she’s been running from.
Beast of Her Heart is a steamy paranormal romance about instinct, protection, and a bond that refuses to be ignored.
Tropes and themes
• Shifter romance • Fated mates / mate bond • Protective, possessive MMC • Single mother FMC • Found family • High emotional tension • Slow-burn to explosive heat
Beast of Her Heart is available for pre-order now ahead of its March release.
First things first. I need to say sorry for disappearing.
Life happened. Properly. In ways I didn’t expect, couldn’t plan for, and honestly just had to deal with. Writing didn’t stop because I lost interest or passion. It stopped because sometimes you’re just trying to keep your head above water.
But I’m here again. Back writing. Back building worlds. Back doing the thing that feels the most like me.
And I’m really excited about what’s coming next.
I’m returning to the Whispers of Destiny universe with a new addition titled Beast of Her Heart.
No spoilers yet. I’ll share more as I go, but for now, this story follows Kaiko (Kairos’s sister) and Lucio (Diedra’s brother). If you’ve read the trilogy, you already know both of them exist on the edges of the story. This one brings them into focus.
Beast of Her Heart takes place between Book Two (Inked Into Your Soul) and Book Three (Under Her Spell) of the trilogy. I’ll link the books here if you want to catch up or refresh your memory.
The book is currently available for pre-order, and I’ll also be sharing updates soon about ARC opportunities for those who like to read early and leave reviews.
I’m really looking forward to sharing this journey with you properly. The writing process, the chaos, the moments where characters refuse to behave, and everything in between.
Thank you for sticking around, even when things went quiet.
Here’s to new chapters, new stories, and a much better 2026.
RED is the book that took me somewhere darker than I’d ever gone before.
This is not a romance. This is a dark erotic psychological thriller rooted in feminine rage, obsession, and the slow unravelling of reality itself. It inhabits the uncomfortable space where desire, power, control, and vulnerability intersect.
“This was a good short read that had you questioning at every turn. It wasn’t what I expected, but I enjoyed that about it.”
RED contains explicit scenes that deliberately blur the lines between consent and coercion. That tension is not accidental. It is part of the story’s psychological core. Readers must check the trigger warnings before diving in. This book is intense, provocative, and not designed to be safe or soothing.
Early readers describe RED as unsettling, addictive, and mentally invasive. It plays with perception, unreliable truths, and the dangerous pull of wanting something you know you shouldn’t. It asks uncomfortable questions about agency, manipulation, and how easily control can be disguised as choice.
“My first exposure to this author and she packs a hell of a punch. I went in blind based on the cover and was so pleased I did. The twists, the backstory, the easy flow of the book that made it a quick but intense read. I was trying to figure out the plot for the first 2/3 of the book and didn’t see the end coming. Devious, vengeful, humorous and a splash of spice. Delicious.”
This story leans heavily into feminine rage. Not the loud, explosive kind, but the quiet, simmering kind that grows teeth. The kind that watches, waits, and strikes when the moment is right. RED is about power being taken, power being given away, and the cost of both.
The book was released on 31 October, and there could not have been a more fitting date. It is dark, erotic, and psychologically sharp, meant to leave you unsettled long after the final page.
Writing RED showed me that my stories do not have to live in one genre, one tone, or one emotional register. I will always write romance, but RED exists alongside it as proof that I can explore darker territory when a story demands it.
“If you like a smutty paranormal romance in a novella sizing you will like this. Interesting characters, and an unravelling of the mysterious which kept me interested.”
If you enjoy psychological thrillers with explicit content, morally grey dynamics, fractured realities, and a strong undercurrent of feminine rage, RED may be for you.
Please read the trigger warnings! Enter with your eyes open.
It’s official. Bedtime Stories for the Unhinged is out in the world…and it’s filthy.
This isn’t just another erotica collection. It’s thirteen unapologetic, unfiltered, and unhinged short stories written for the ones who crave heat that doesn’t hold back.
Inside this book, you’ll find:
MF, MM, FF, MFM, MMF, and more
primal play, taboo tension, public use, and consent-forward CNC
messy emotions, power games, and characters who never play it safe
I didn’t write this book to be soft. I wrote it to be devoured.
Each story taps into a different flavour of desire; some twisted, some tender, some just downright filthy. You’ll meet professors who cross lines, masked strangers who don’t ask twice, high-school bullies getting humbled, and people who find themselves in places they never expected (like a kink club, a church confessional, or hunted through the woods).
Some stories will make you squirm. Some might make you blush. All of them will leave a mark.
“People ask me if I get turned on writing these stories. The answer is yes. That is the goal, is it not? You don’t read erotica to be scared.”
Why I wrote this
This collection came from late-night voice notes and random ideas that popped into my head. At times, I was in a writing slump, and I was trying to get myself out of it… So I just wrote down anything and everything.
I wanted to create something that felt real in its filth. Not just fantasy for fantasy’s sake, but stories that make you feel something deeper than just the heat. Because let’s be honest… sometimes we want the softness, the tension, the aching. But sometimes? We want to be wrecked.
“Ava Rouge did a fantastic job at putting these tales together for the folks that love to love a little differently.“
Where to get your copy
Bedtime Stories for the Unhinged is now available in eBook and paperback. Grab your copy, or go all-in with the exclusive box while they last.
I’ve put together a very limited run of Bedtime Stories for the Unhinged book boxes, packed with signed copies, exclusive extras, and a few sinful surprises.
There is only a limited number available right now, and I’m packing each order myself as they come in, so it’s first-come, first-served.
🖤 To grab yours, head over to the SHOPtab on my site and fill out the order form.
If there’s enough demand, I’ll order more stock and update everyone when they’re available again.
“Where should I even begin with this one!! I went in completely blind and I’m so glad I did. Each chapter is its own story with its own characters. You think a bed time story would be fairy tale or as a teen with your friend a horror story but no this is purely for adults. Each chapter has its own detailed spicy scene that I absolutely loved and a small little story to go with it. This is such a good one if your in a slump or just want something sexy to read!! Ava definitely knocked it out of the park with this one!!”
Thank you to everyone who’s already been unhinged with me. And if you’re new here, welcome. You’re in for a ride. xoxo Ava Rouge
When I started writing back in 2020, I had no idea what I was getting into. All I knew was that I wanted to write the story that was brewing in my head. During the lockdowns, I was presented with more free time — aka more time to read… again. It didn’t take long for my love for literature to rekindle, not that the flame ever died… small children can just take up most of your time, but I digress.
During that time, I came across a type of literature I didn’t normally read. I was more of a thriller, religious sci-fi, epic fantasy girl — and then I fell in love with romance. The spicier kind. That’s when my characters really started to form in my mind. Fast-forward to now, I’m a romance author with multiple titles under my belt (some even recognised in the literary world), but one thing has remained the same since I started this journey… BOOK MARKETING struggles.
I don’t know how to market or promote my books to save my life. That would be fine and dandy if I were writing as a hobby. Although I appreciate every copy sold and every review I’ve received, at this point, writing really is a very expensive hobby. Like many other indie authors, I’m using the platforms that are supposed to showcase my work in the most budget-friendly way — but I haven’t cracked the code of “going viral”. Don’t get me twisted, this is not a pity post. I’m not here crying over my inadequacy or social-media illiteracy… I did and still do put in the work to understand the algorithm. But as for getting visibility — I just don’t know what to do or how to do it.
“Writing is expensive when no one sees you.”
One thing I am confident in is my stories. I’m not cocky, but I know I’ve got something good going on here… if only people would see it. And yes, I hear what seasoned authors say: “invest in Facebook ads, run Amazon ads…” but the issue? I can’t. I don’t have the budget. Not generating enough sales, page reads… revenue. Because let’s be honest — KU doesn’t always pay off, and we need to sell hundreds of eBooks just to cover the basic costs of our publishing process (no, sorry… publishing is not free, even if the platform uploads your book for free). People are also more likely to invest in physical copies only after they’ve read something of yours they already like… and with the cost of living doing what it’s doing? Yeah.
“We need to understand that we are all in this together. There’s no reader without the author, and there’s no author without the reader.”
So where does that leave us as creatives? We’re paying for everything — editors, cover design(Yes, pre-made covers are cheaper), formatting (be that software or a person) — and sometimes there’s just nothing left for anything else. So what do we do as indie authors who have depleted our finances and still haven’t cracked the code to going viral? Do we keep going and accept that our stories might only ever be read by a few (and risk not being able to afford the quality editing and art we know those stories deserve), or do we give up and live with the voices of our never-written characters?
It really is a cold world out there. I haven’t decided yet… maybe because I haven’t hit rock bottom and still have a few coins — and a bit of hope — to spare. But here’s what I do know: there are so many writers out there with incredible stories who will disappear into the ether not because they’re not talented — but because they just don’t know how to market. If that’s you… Don’t bow out just yet. Keep writing. Keep showing up, even if it feels exhausting, even if it feels like no one cares. Keep learning. Keep experimenting. Because maybe we don’t need to go viral — maybe all we need is for the right couple of readers to find us… the rest can grow from there. And who knows — that whisper could still become a roar.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this post are based on my personal experience as an independent author. I am not sponsored by — nor affiliated with — Amazon, Facebook, or any of the platforms referenced, and individual results may vary.
Leave a Reply