Suburban author embraces shift to e-books

The world of e-books has been very good to Henry Perez.

The Aurora-based author, who also covers sports for the Daily Herald, has penned a crime novel called “Mourn the Living” that tells the story of a reporter named Alex Chapa who suspects police, city officials and his editors collaborated on a series of murders in his fictional hometown of Oakton, Ill.

For eight consecutive days starting Aug. 16, the book topped Amazon.com’s e-book best-seller list, hitting number one the first three days it was available as a free download for the Kindle. When the e-book was priced at $4.47 on the fourth day, it moved to the top spot on the paid list and stayed there the next five days.

“Mourn the Living” remained in the top spot for a bit more than a week, thanks to the free promotion and its subsequent exposure on Twitter and blogs, Perez said.

“It was an entirely mind-blowing experience to open up the best-seller page and see my book at the top of the page,” he said.

Buoyed by the popularity of “Mourn the Living,” “Killing Red,” a book published in 2009 that’s part of the same series, cracked the top 50 on the website’s paid e-book list.

It’s fair to say the e-book titles outperformed the print editions, said Karen Auerbach, publicity director for Kensington Books, which published both titles. But for privacy reasons, Auerbach could not disclose those figures.

Perez says it’s vital to embrace this new technology, as it’s another way to reach potential customers and stay relevant. He likens the movement from books to e-books to the recent shift from CDs to downloaded tunes.

“As an author, you’re looking for any way you possibly can to get your work in front of readers — that’s just the fact in any creative business,” Perez said. “One of your greatest challenges is making people aware of your work.”

Moreover, it’s also in Perez’s best interest to promote the e-book version over the print edition because he gets a larger share of profits from the e-books. He is now working on a novel exclusive to the e-book market that should be ready by the summer.

“It is already a very large community and it’s growing exponentially,” Perez said of the e-book world. “If that isn’t evidence of a revolution, I don’t know what is.”