Ahoy!
I have important but unusual news to impart.
India Bones is no longer India Bones. India Bones is India Muerte. This is his name, has always been his name (I, Ministry of Truth, reaching back into the past to change it), will be his name going forward.
As such, the series title has changed, as have all the individual book titles to reflect this.
I completely understand how unorthodox this is, this late in the game – 5 books deep. But this change has been a long, long time coming. It’s been a thorn in my mind for years and was not undertaken lightly. I eventually accepted, after much stubbornness, that I was in all likelihood not targeting my audience effectively. Too many people considered India Bones parody fiction (of Indiana Jones) instead of a playful homage. Even if they understood it was a homage, it didn’t land as I’d wanted. There was a strong sense that the series was being appraised as geared only/primarily towards children.
As the series rapidly matured, away from its youthful, most playful beginnings, the series title became more and more of an impediment. Every time I tried to promote the books, I was faced with this. And what’s more, I knew it myself. It just took a long time for me to commit to doing anything about it. After all, I thought it was too late. India Bones was already his name. I was used to it, attached to it. Maybe my existing readers were as well.
But eventually I decided “too late” was better than “never”. And I wanted, needed, a stronger pitch going forward. One that not just myself, but any readers, existing or potential, could feel more confident in.
I am sorry to anyone who doesn’t like this change, or who feels confused or jarred by it. I realise that to change not just a series name but the MC’s name is a drastic move. I hope you will understand, and that you adapt to it as I have slowly, grudgingly done – it was hardest of all for me, who has written so much about India. But he does remain India – his first name, at least, I couldn’t possibly change. That would be far too jarring. I decided on Muerte as his second name partly because it fit the morbid allusions of his prior name, yet was more elegant, removing the sense of silliness/parody, with the added bonus that it was a sign of his Mexican heritage from the outset.
To accompany the new name, I have relaunched the series with new, improved typography (and very slightly revised covers, not that most will notice I’m sure). I hired a new editor who has polished up the most recent novel, India Muerte and the Great Frontier. And there have been minor other interior changes for the books. All in all, these are new editions for a new start.
I hope you will support this change – or at least begrudgingly allow it – and follow India Muerte into his future adventures.
