Increased reach using BookFunnel

Using cross-genre identity to facilitate free distribution of the first novel in a series

My four-part series of novels set between 4000 and 7000 BC is entitled The Four Lights. More information below.

Early marketing

Since publication in March 2026 I have been building an author community on Substack, selling paperbacks through local contacts and using Amazon Ads to build algorithmic strength on the KDP platform.

All these channels are fruitful but they are also slow, and in the last few months before publication of the book 1 audiobook (more details below) and book 2 , In the Day of the Lion, I wanted to give away copies to improve the reach of the first novel and thus of the series.

Faster distribution through free downloads

This is where BookFunnel comes in. Having waited out the 90 day KU exclusivity term (and sold 15,000 pages via KU), I have joined as many group promos as would accept me on the BookFunnel platform. Here are some examples.

In the first week on BookFunnel I have seen about 20 free downloads of In the Day of the Flood. Obviously this generates no royalty, but 2-3 books per day is exactly the kind of wider distribution I was looking for. Here are some of the links.

Please click on a few of the links below. They will show you how In the Day of the Flood appears in the lists, but also there are great free books to download in each category.

Cross-genre identity

In each case I have tried to set out why the book fits, on the strength of its cross-genre status. Seeing In the Day of the Flood among books of various genres shows how a book can sometimes fit across genres, facilitating marketing.

The setting is a historical one, the Black Sea Flood at 8500 BC, but there is only scanty archaeological data for the reality of society in that place and time. Consequently the creative worldbuilding required is adjacent to the fantasy genre.

Building on the fantasy idea above, the actual story of the flood involves travel in reed boats, risky navigation and a degree of threat from hostile societies. Consequently this novel is very much an adventure story.

The period from 6000 to 9000 years ago is absolutely forgotten. Few people even know that the mega-villages of Europe at this time were the largest human settlements in the world. They may have invented the wheel AND metallurgy. This is a story that was waiting to be told.

Some of the Group Promos on BookFunnel are aimed mainly at Christian audiences, or welcome books written by Christians or with a Christian ethos. That could mean Bible stories of course, but in the case of In the Day of the Flood it is a tale about a pre-Biblical period, written in a way that allows the Christian conception of prehistory to come through: even before the call of Abraham, people were perhaps receiving divine messages in other, more inchoate ways.

The novels in the Four Lights series are not all about ancient disasters and societies: they are also about young people who are forced or invited by circumstances to take responsibility. In some cases this is disastrous and in others they are transformed into political, practical or even spiritual leaders.

The books in the Four Lights series work hard to bring the oldest archetypes of human storytelling to life. The flood survivors. The witch in the forest. The lion-man. The mermaid. After the historical events that are related in the books, myths are told in ancient languages, modifying, exaggerating and retelling the true events of the novels. This is exactly how myths and archetypes came into being.

A subset of readers prefer their literature free of smut and gory violence. The Four Lights series fits into this niche. There is romance, and there are marriages and clearly sexual relationships, but nothing is described in the kind of detail that would even be described as spice. This is the author’s free choice and not everyone likes it, but it does allow access to a specific corner of the market.

Finally, this is a more general author promo that simply focuses on action and adventure. There is plenty of action in the Four Lights books. Worlds are built, characters grow into rich complexity, but exciting and dangerous things also happen. Otherwise, who would want to read on?

Read online chapters:

Chapter 00. Prologue - Sukána

I want to own In the Day of the Flood:

Amazon.co.uk (£0.79 or £11.99 for paperback)

Amazon.com ($0.99 or $15.99 for paperback)

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