Broken Home…confused yet?

BrokenHomeOkay, some quick, rambling, random updates, and an issue I could use some feedback on. 🙂

So far, so good on Demons LLC. I was worried about Alex’s latest adventure. Not sure if you guys remember the poll that was up a while back, but Jack, followed by Kevin are the “must reads”. I was worried about Alex getting some love, but it looks like the novel has been enjoyed. I think his skill-set helps, for sure. Who doesn’t love a good ghost story? I wonder if Nate and Kylie helped somewhat? I enjoyed those two more than I thought I would. I viewed them more as side characters in the beginning, there to help tell Alex’s story. But I like the life the young pair took on.

Four Centuries is still flowing smoothly. 25K words, at the moment. There are a few “mystery” spots I still have to iron out, but far fewer than previous novels. This one is almost writing itself, which is very cool. I already have the sample I want to use in mind, which isn’t too far away. I like the glimpses into the previously unseen vampire society/life that’s been covered so far.

And now, onto the problem. I was over on my Amazon page trying to find out why Demons LLC is missing (thanks, Daniel B, for pointing this out to me). I was poking at the forums over there (I forget that each author has his/her own forum), and noticed the same confusion that’s popped up over here, regarding Broken Home and series volume numbers.

I guess the million-dollar-question is: Should Broken Home have a volume number?

It’s caused a lot of confusion between the last three works (Witch’s Kurse, Broken Home, Demons LLC). In terms of reading order, that’s how they’re laid out. 5, 6, 7. Broken Home is #6. But it is a short story, as well as being a prequel, and that’s caused some problems. I didn’t just want to NOT give it a number, so I kept in line with the “order that I wrote them” list.

I’m sure I can change this. I could re-number the last two works, make Demons LLC #6, and remove the number from Broken Home. But…is that a good idea? Will people read Broken Home in the future and think “Where the hell does this fall?” What if people read Broken Home before Demonspawn, or Jack Kursed? That might cause even MORE confusion.

So, what do you guys think? We have a nicely flowing series, but there is one tiny little short story waving off to the side.