Crimson Redemption – #1 in Its Genre. Wait… What?

Last week, my debut novel Crimson Redemption shuffled out into the world—modest in its expectations, still smelling faintly of ink (e-ink? For Ebooks?) and late-night editing sessions.

And then, somehow, in a twist I can only describe as “plot hole adjacent,” it hit #1 in its genre on Amazon. I’m still not entirely convinced this wasn’t the result of a glitch, a clerical error, or perhaps someone accidentally ordering a suspicious number of copies “just in case.”

For perspective: I wrote this book over countless bleary-eyed nights, fully expecting it to be read by a handful of supportive friends, a few polite strangers, and possibly one confused person looking for a book about football. Hitting #1 wasn’t in the cards. In fact, it wasn’t even in the deck.

I am genuinely floored. And grateful.
Grateful to the readers who took a chance on a debut.
Grateful to everyone who left reviews that didn’t include the phrase, “needs more vampires” Although, I could use MANY more of those, reviews, not vampires.

Grateful that Amazon didn’t pull the book down for “suspicious activity” when the rankings spiked faster than my caffeine intake on publication week.

To the fellow authors who warned me in their books about publishing your own novel, and no, I don’t actually personally know any writers.

Unless you count meeting Rachael Ray about ten years ago.

At the time, I looked directly at a woman who had built a wildly successful television and culinary empire and, with the confidence of a man about to contribute something truly unforgettable to the conversation, said, “Big fan.” At least, that’s how I remember it. Honestly, I probably stumbled over even those most profound of thoughts.

She graciously said, “Thank you,” as though she hadn’t already heard that same breathtaking insight a hundred times that day.

And that was pretty much it.

No follow-up meeting. No holiday cards. No joint business ventures. I assume her people are still discussing next steps.

Technically, though, this makes it the longest professional relationship I’ve ever maintained with anyone in television, publishing, celebrity food, or really any industry involving someone more famous than Dave, our trash guy.

Dave and I are actually pretty tight.

He waves sometimes.

Anyway, back to the authors I do not know personally.

They all said some version of, “Don’t watch the rankings. It’ll drive you crazy.”

You were right.

But what none of you mentioned is that when that little #1 Bestseller tag suddenly appears next to your book, even if it’s only in some narrow little genre category buried twelve clicks deep in Amazon’s basement, it feels exactly like finding an extra fry at the bottom of the bag.

Only, you know... for the soul.

So, to everyone who’s read, reviewed, or even just clicked “Look Inside” before running away—thank you. This book has been a labor of love, sarcasm, and a questionable amount of Google searches that have undoubtedly put me on a watch list.

Crimson Redemption is out there now, doing its thing. And apparently, “its thing” includes hitting #1. Who knew?