About a year ago, I started a complete rebranding of myself as a mystery author. I found that the modern mystery (or crime fiction) genre was a bit limiting to my interests and tastes. As the biography on my website states, I was more than just a mystery author. My tastes were too diverse. My imagination was too esoteric. I'd started out as a Christian thriller author and transitioned to mainstream thrillers shortly after. Then, dabbled in fantasy. Then, dark paranormal thrillers set in Appalachia. I meandered through an assortment of other genres and subgenres until my hero, friend, and mentor Warren Murphy (co-creator of Remo Williams and The Destroyer series of books) suggested I focuse on mysteries and crime fiction. I was dubious, but thought I'd give it a try. And the rest is history.
But once again, I find myself at a bit of crossroads. Once I established myself not just as a 'mystery' author or a mystery author writing what I called 'brozy mysteries' (as a subgenre of cozy mystery, which seems excessively female oriented), I realized that all my previous writing experience didn't need to be put to pasture. I could use it. I could embrace it. I could entertwine it with my own mystery writing. Indeed, with stories such as 'Murder on Voodoo Island' and my Grim Days Mystery series, I realized I already was. And thus, out of 'brozies' came 'Pulp Adventure Mysteries'. A bit of a hodge podge, all wrapped in the overall whodunnit category that harkens back to the days of The Shadow, Buck Rogers, and Doc Savage!
That, however, wasn't the end of my journey of authorly self-discovery. I also recently came to another conclusion. Throughout my writing career (that started around 2008), I've happily chosen to do so independently. Devoid of a publisher. And those few instances where a publisher was utilized, it was through a publishing company that I had founded myself. I wanted complete control. I wanted no one to stunt my creative choices, no matter how commercially dumb they might be. I wanted my books to succeed on my own merits or fail miserably.
That changed when my most recent publishing company, Charade Media, was bought out by Turner Publishing, one of the largest independent presses in the United States. In the deal, they took all of my books that I had published through the Charade label. What's more, contractually, they asked to see all my future projects to see if they'd be interested in publishing it or not. At first, I was a bit reluctant over this part. I wasn't sure I wanted to be part of a big machine when it came to publishing. Wasn't sure I wanted other people's hands playing in my imaginative sandbox.
I ended up publishing The Vampire's Valet (A Dime Novel Mystery) on my own without their assistance. And I'm already regretting it. It's not that the book has done poorly. It's done pretty well in sales (and quite well through Kindle Unlimited 'page reads'). But reviews are far more sparse than I would like and word of mouth has waned. I just haven't been able to get the word out about this book on my own. It's not the book's fault. It's actually very good, if I do say so myself. It's honestly not even my fault. I did the best I could to promote and market it.
But in recent years, the indie market has become overly saturated with books (especially with the enormous influx of horrible (I said what I said) AI-generated books. Garnering attention for a release has never been more complicated. I quickly realized, I just can't do this on my own anymore. I don't want to do this on my own anymore. I want a partner. I want someone who believes in my books just as much as I do and are willing to put their money (literally) where their mouth is. And so, I've recently decided to go all in with Turner Publishing's Keylight Books imprint. And let me tell you...so far, I couldn't be happier!
Recently, Keylight Books acquired my Christmas whodunnit entitled 'The Knives Before Christmas'. They've also acquired my current work-in-progress, 'Charged for Murder', Book One of the Cosmo Doyle Mysteries. The Knives Before Christmas will be released in November 2025 and the team at Turner Publishing is already hard at work preparing for it and planning their PR and marketing strategies. We're discussing reviewer sites, interview opportunities, places to get the word out about the book and we're not even in 2025 yet. I have no doubt that the same will happen when I turn in the manuscript for Charged For Murder too (which is scheduled for release around January 2026). FYI, I'll do a post soon on what each of these new books/series are all about!
Look, I love the freedom of self-publishing, but it's just getting more and more difficult to make any headway in the market all by one's lonesome. So, I'm excited to say that from now on, any book I write, I'll happily pass on to Keylight Books. If they pass on it, fine. I'll publish it myself. But any book they want, I'll happily give up some of that freedom for the security of having a partner at my side.
I tell you all this for one specific reason more than anything else. A lot of you reach out to me every now and then, asking when the sequel to such-and-such book is coming. Before, I would tell you that I didn't know. As an indie writer, I pretty much wrote what I felt like writing at the time without rhyme or reason. I'd get to a sequel when I felt like getting to it. Now, with a publisher, I'm committed. When they provide a deadline, I'm obligated to get the book finished by that deadline as well. That means, there's no more guess work when it comes to knowing when a book is going to be released. That's good news for you...my awesome readers! I have no more excuses. I've got to write what my publisher asks me to write.
The bad news, of course, is the opposite side of the same coin. I have to write what my publisher asks me to write. That means, my priority and focus is on the books they acquire. The books they want. That means all my other projects (sequels to some of your favorite books of mine) might not see the light of day for a while. I just wanted you to be aware of that.
But it's a glorious new era for Adventure Pulp Mystery author, J. Kent Holloway. I'm excited about what the future holds and I hope you'll continue coming along for the ride! Happy reading everyone!
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