Please read the shipping info below. It’s important.
It is an author’s right to sleep in on the day of the release. If we’ve done our job well, the readers might have stayed up, but we can safely get our rest.
Except I woke up at 5:30 am to the sounds of a dog puking and couldn’t go back to sleep. I sat up in bed, looked at Nykie upchucking something on the wood-look tile floor, and told her, “You do you.” And then I lay back down, picked up my phone, and checked to make sure Magic Claims was up and running on Amazon. It was. And the first review said, “It’s fantastic!”
So I lay in bed for awhile and smiled at the ceiling. Thank you for my little moment of happiness.
Now onto more pressing things. The release party zoom is tomorrow, Mod R has the details here. There will be a surprise if I can pull my head out of the drowsy cloud. If you miss tomorrow, there will be a spoiler zoom free-for-all on Saturday. At least one of the sessions will be recorded and uploaded to Youtube.
Now on to the store. The store will open tomorrow morning, barring some weird last minute glitches.
Shipping Info
Ah, merchandise. You go to a concert, you get excited, you buy a $35 T-shirt, it ages 20 years in 12 months, and you finally toss it and relegate it to the “bad inside T-shirt” collection, but at the time of the purchase, it is $35 worth of awesome.
By now, everyone knows how Amazon works. Most people that use it frequently end up springing for the Prime membership and they enjoy free shipping. You buy a lamp, a toothbrush, and a case for your phone, and it all comes free in a single box.
Our store doesn’t work like that.
Large retailers like Amazon have subsidized shipping. We don’t. Our store functions more like Etsy. Although it’s a single storefront, every type of item is produced by a different vendor on demand. Each vendor charges shipping per item. The shipping is not grouped.
For example, our US mug vendor charges the following rates on shipping to US:
First mug: $8.59. Each additional mug: $6.
This is me ordering mugs:
I am paying taxes because playing with Texas state’s money is like playing with their emotions. they do not like it.
If I add a second mug:
$8.59+$6 = $14.59.
$8.59+$6+$6 = $20.59.
The same vendor also makes stickers. Their sticker shipping is $4.29 for the first item and $.09 for each additional sticker.
You would think they would put the stickers and the mug in the same box, or just toss the sticker in with the mug, but the system isn’t set up for that. They are charging $8.59 for the mug and $4.29 for the stickers, for the total of $12.88.
When we originally opened the store, we had a flat shipping rate because we thought we would sell a few T-shirts and a couple of mugs. We had to cancel it within 48 hours, because the typical cart looked like this:
Every new type of item – T-shirts, Sweatshirts, Mugs, Stickers, etc., – is has its own shipping charge attached. We can’t get around that. I think the shipping is outrageous, but there is no way to reduce it. We could hide it and offer you “free” shipping, but then the mugs would cost $25. We have to make a profit, because we license art for the images, we pay to maintain the storefront, and we invested a lot of time into making these designs and items.
The only way to limit the shipping charges is to limit your purchases to a single type of item, like two T-shirts vs a T-shirt and a sweatshirt.
Byron Matthews says
I downloaded Magic Claims this morning. It was fantastic. I loved every page.
thank you.
PSMH says
I got up at 5 to read and it was a goddamned delight. Thank you so much! Really! A LOT! (CLAMS!)
LisaAlissa says
Where will the link to the store be?
Moderator R says
It will be in the annoucement post tomorrow and on the website banner- where it currently says “under construction” 🙂
Robyn A says
Just finished Magic Claims! So awesome. Love it! I think it is my favorite KD book!
Thanks for all the work on the store and explaining the shipping. It’s always something! But worth it to be able to grab some HA goodies. I use my rippercushion pillow every day and drink tea out of my BDH mug!
Elise says
Did I stay up way to late reading? Yes. Was it worth it? Yes!
Thank you for the awesome book.
Gail Lefkowitz says
Mod R’s avatar is holding a clam! Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha! 🤣😂🤣😂🤣
alice says
:)))) the avatar
Mina says
😂😂😂🐚🦪
Siobhan says
But if we want lots of stuff and are used to outrageous shipping? We can still have lots of stuff?
I’m being silly. I can’t wait.
Kat in NJ says
I am still reading Magic Clams 😉 (just came up for a breath before I go back!) and I LOVE it!!!!!! Thank you for yet another amazing story!!!! Hope you get to relax at least a little today…it’s a well earned rest.
P.S.: I appreciate your explanation about shipping fees, but I think most of the BDH are probably like me: more than happy to pay all of the shipping fees ever to receive more HA merchandise! 💕💕💕💕
Shahin says
loved it, completely worth the lack of sleep then locking my office door during my lunchbreak so could have a bit of shut eye
Jenny the Red says
I am a small business owner and the realities of shipping are wild. You’re doing great with this explanation. *gold star* We <3 you. Your stories help us and bring us joy and you deserve to profit from them and our delight in them.
Kate says
Loved the book! Sped through it on my day off today, left a good review on Amazon, came over here to say thanks. Like Curran, I’m so happy to have stabby Kate back in action 😄 The set up for the next book is perfect 😘
Teresa Hughes says
Just finished Magic Claims. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Nina says
Thank you both for writing this book, it was wonderful! I’m rereading it as I type. Oh and now I hear Curran’s voice in my head as the Graphic Audio voice, and it’s great. I can’t wait for them to go through the whole series 🙂
kommiesmom says
Magic Claims is great! I am halfway through the reread. (Finished it last night and started the second pass at the doctors office this morning.)
I loved all the little bits of funny – half of which I am picking up and the reread – though I did catch the magic clams reference…
Thank you so much for the care and excellence of the writing. We do notice but sometimes it gets lost in the”Shiny! So wonderful and new!” celebration.
Judy Schultheis says
I got Magic Claims a little after 9:00 PM Pacific time last night. I finished it at about 1:30 in the morning. I am currently about a quarter of the way through the first re-read and have killed a bottle of bubbly’s worth of tangerine mimosas.
I see I was wrong about Arachne’s children. I still want to be an archaeologist when I grow up (I’m presently 70), so I’m not about to argue that Ice Age survivors couldn’t do such fine weaving. But I do hope you find a use for Arachne’s children at some point.
Moderator R says
Ok first of all: tangerine mimosas sound amazeballs! WANT.
You were not spot on, but I loved the guess!
And good luck with your growing up plans! Never too late!
Ruth says
i *think* they say that it’s the weaving/writing of the guard that was stolen from town? but maybe it’s just the hand writing of the guard turned into weaving. certainly I think the Fae have skilled weavers even if they’reany thousands years old 🙂
Moderator R says
It’s the writing painstakingly copied into weaving 🙂
Lisa Hampton says
My book downloaded at 11pm CST last night and I was reading til 1am. Made myself go to bed. Today I’m dragging it out cause I’m almost FINISHED!! NOOOO!! Then how long until another one??? But so far it’s excellent! Kate/Curran do need to create their own pack support, it was good when they had it years ago even if it was broken. They know how to lead. Now this BDH member is waiting impatiently for an Innkeeper novel!! I want, I want, I want…..(eh, so I’m greedy! 🙂 )
Moderator R says
The Innkeeper series will continue! 🙂
Lara says
hey mod R, or one of the overlords, could you please add a link to the store in this post?
Lara says
nevermind I see your response in the comments already, cheers.
Moderator R says
If you look at the top of the page it’s already updated with an announcement about the link being posted there tomorrow 🙂- it will be website-wide!
Ona Jo-Ellan Bass says
left review for Amazon and good reads. so hard to do without creating spoilers! totally, totally worth waiting for. so hope for more in this part of kate daniels world! if allowed, I would give it 10 stars 🌟!
Mel says
Just finished and it’s wonderful. I too have missed stabby Kate.
Thank you for another instalment in the Lennart chronicles.
Karen says
Ditto everything that was said. I got up at 4am, barely finished the book in time for work. I plan on a leisurely read tonight! it was amazing! I laughed out loud so many times; thank you for the joy you bring to the world!
Jeannie Kesterson says
I read a little at 1 a.m., but tried to save it to make it last. Read it all starting at noon. *sigh* it still went too fast.! All good things do! I guess I will have to read it again!
Jean says
Happy book birthday!!! 🎂📚🎉
Loved, loved, loved this book!!! 💖💖💖
I have the BDH affliction – read through fast the first time, then slower on the second read to savor and pick up details missed on the first read. Hehehe!
Poor Nykie! I hope she’s feeling better! (Kids and critters, that early morning “hork” will fling you out of sleep every time.)
Regarding shipping costs:
— mugs are heavy items to ship, relative to the stickers, so they cost more to properly wrap and pack to ensure they arrive unbroken.
— Alibris charges shipping for each vendor. I recently ordered three books from three different vendors, so about half the total cost was shipping. (And I really want those books and having them will make me very happy!)
Looking forward to the store opening! This time, I’m jumping on the things I like right away, instead of hesitating like last time. “Take the cookies when they’re passed”, as my grandma used to say!!
Nancy says
No problem. If * want it, I’ll pay the shipping to get it, and thank you.
Patricia Schlorke says
After needing to sign out of my Nook profile and signing back in. I was able to see Magic Claims in my library. I had to download all my other books, but that didn’t take long.
I haven’t finished it yet. Spesky things called reports made me stop reading. I’ll pick it back up later.
Yay for the store! Oh to get another member of the BDH t-shirt just in case I mess up the one I have. I almost wore my Cutting Edge t-shirt today. 😁
Marta Kern says
Thank you! I needed this book so much. Kate’s world is one of my favorite places to go. I’ll be buying the audiobook as well.
Angela says
OMG Clams I snorted my drink out my nose. Love it.
Pam says
Glad to see I’m not the only one who did that!
Moderator R says
Please be safe and do not give your payment or address details to anyone you don’t know online.
The BDH is family, but the internet is a big place and dangers lurk.
Eve says
Are all items international shipping or just some?
Moderator R says
US has the largest selection of vendors and items, so international collections have a limited selection for now- but there is hope to expand in the future! There are super fun items to pick from internationally though, and all of them are printed and shipped by vendors located in each specific country. So UK items are produced in UK, Australian items are produced in Australia, etc.
Sydney girl says
Yahhhhh!! Missed out last time…
Also, I know I said it yesterday, but Magic Claims is awesome sauce!!!
Loved, loved, loved it!
Hunting Guy says
Poor rino.
Now we need a sequel to learn about magic freshwater clams.
Thanks for the story. I enjoyed it and looking forward to more.
Ann C says
Just finished reading! It was so awesome! Thanks for a wonderful peek into the lives of Curran and Kate. I love to see how much they are still growing and learning. Such a great adventure. 🥰👏
Asamandra says
Will there be an international store this time?
Moderator R says
Yes! There is international shipping to Canada, U.k., EU and Australia.
Jean R says
This has nothing to do with the merchandise store (sorry) but more of a misplaced general Kate world question. Do we (the readers) know what happened to Landon Nez yet? He is alive at the end of Hugh 1 and is mentioned (as alive) during part of Magic Triumphs although he does not appear. Is is safe to say he might reappear (and maybe get what he deserves) in Hugh 2 or 3 if they happen? Or did I miss a reference to his fate somewhere in Magic Triumphs? Thanks!
Moderator R says
The last we hear of Nez is that he is alive but defeated by the dragon’s army. As for future appearances, we’ll have to wait and see!
Travin says
loved magic claims, thank you. lol and thanks on the shipping issue, will definitely pay attention when I order, but do want to know if multiple t shirts, will have the same issue…oh well may just have to do several orders, no biggie.
T says
For whatever reason, this morning I woke up at 2:30 a.m. I couldn’t get back to sleep so I opened my Kindle app and there it was. I read until it was time to get up and finished it at lunch. Loved it! Thanks so much for writing amazing books.
Michelle says
I devoured the book! 💛❤️💛
Vicky says
How long will the store be open for??
Sorry if I missed this somewhere else
Moderator R says
For about a week! 😊
Susan A says
When I go to the link I had:
https://houseandrewsmerch.com/
I get a Opening Soon message and no merch. Do I have the wrong address?
Moderator R says
No, that’s the correct address, but as the post says, it will open tomorrow morning. Hence the opening soon message 🙂
K says
Happy Book Day. Loved the book (like always).
Now the all important question…when is the next one? A Christmas one?
Enjoy and do a happy dance. Magic Claims was awesome.
Deb says
Wonderful. Now back to the real world and laundry.
K says
I saw something awesome. You have an untitled Iron Magic in your post credits. 2023 is an awesome year.
Can’t wait for the details.
Sakura says
I wonder if it would be easier for HA if you did your merchandise by handing it over to Zazzle or Red Bubble or a similar company. I’ve seen other authors do it that way. I don’t like to see Ilona stressed, the lady deserves all the happiness and all her time free to make more wonderful stories! Your dedication to the storefront is noticed, thank you!
Martha L says
TeePublic is another company you might consider.
Rebecca says
Of course, we are going to buy t-shirts. How else can we identify the BDH members when they show up at the family barbecue?
Martha L says
Halfway through my second reading of Magic Claims. FABULOUS book. Thank you for your hard work. Writing is harder work than digging ditches. We all appreciate your efforts.
Susan A says
I am loving the book so far! I laughed at loud at the first sentence! Can’t wait to spend a bit more time with Kate, Curran, and the rest of the great characters you create!
Amy says
Superb. Thank you.
Amy says
Amazing. Thank you.
Audra N Carr says
Loved, loved, loved Magic Claims. I tried, I mean really, really to make it last but it was a no go….I devoured those pages and it was yummy. Thank you house Andrews.
Audra N Carr says
Oh, and now of course I’m walking around singing “I’m A Little Teapot” 🤣🤣
Susan Ivey says
Loved Magic Claims!! I have read it twice today.
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!
Gwen says
I didn’t get Magic Claims until I had fed my husband, chickens, dog and showered. It was finished shortly after a trip to the grocery store, lunch, chats with the grandkids, gathering eggs and cooking supper. I love every tie to the old Keep and the anticipation of the future!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ps thanks for letting us know that all of Julie’s secrets aren’t secrets any more 🙂
Kira says
Thank you for the amazing book! Fourteen million likes! And the shipping debacle makes perfect sense. Rawr.
My husband, who is *not* a reader, out of nowhere tonight, wanted to know what the ‘latest with the lawn orphans is’? He claims it’s summer and, ergo, they should be rolling. Apparently he remembers me telling him about my favorite blog post ever. 😄 Are they mowing??
Dini says
I love it,and it is always exsquisite, can we have more kate Lennart please?more story of Kate and family please..pretty please
Kee says
Looooved the new book. How we’ve missed Kate and Curran! Thaaaaank you. Soooo excited for the next part.
Tasha says
loved the book so much! it was awesome!
also I saw the magic claims reference and LOVED IT! 😂
Tasha says
**Magic Clams**!! Spell check strikes again!
AP says
Happy Book Birthday! Loved it and that you humored the BDH with the addition of magic clams! Looking forward to tomorrow’s session! 😊
njb says
We understand! Shipping is mostly expensive everywhere other than Amazon prime. I try not to think about how much it costs me to get my favorite flavored coffee. But it is a must have so…..
Looking forward to seeing the new merch. Thanks for doing this! My BDH mousepad still makes me laugh. I’m so happy I bought it.
Teri says
My Amazon UK paperback preorder still says estimated delivery 5 July 😭
Teri says
Preorder still says 5 July, but they’ve got a new page for the book which says tomorrow. sigh! reorder placed and preorder cancelled.
Squee, book tomorrow! (insert happy dance here)
Kate says
Even with the ridiculous shipping I still want stuff & things. Seeing these small reminders of the worlds you built that make me so happy, it makes me smile 😁. Thank you.
Louise says
OK – being very p*tient here. Magic Claims dropped to my Kindle library yesterday but… it was also my mother’s 100th birthday… further family stuff and village celebrations for her over the next two days….
Friday is me and Kate day. Darkened room, soothing tea and Kate and Curran. No interruptions on penalty of extreme rippercushions.
Massively avoiding spoilers as much as possible for two more days.
Jane says
Enjoyed Magic Claim so very much! Got a day off today, spend the whole day in bed reading, drinking tea and eating cakes for sustenance! Perfect day! Thank you!!!
Bill G says
Happy Book Birthday, it’s awesome!
Promise says
I just finished it and it was simply put, excellent. Cant wait for the next book.
Dorothy says
I loved the scenes with Conlan.
Padmini Ekbote says
Loved loved the book. Looking forward to the next one.
eagerly waiting for the store to open!
Kelly J Jacobs says
I tried to get Magic Claims early by setting the clock on my kindle forward 4 hours, but it didn’t work.
Your stories are our joy to read and reread and to share with new readers.
Thank you.
Henry says
Kelly, I pre-ordered the Claims paperback from Amazon, and it won’t arrive until the 16th.
Clara says
I’m gonna have to use a freight forwarder unless the AU store will ship to Asia. But I will get my hands on a BDH mug and shirt even if I have to pay $$$ for shipping!
Allison says
I love you guys and the store. However, where is the mug with “Here Kitty Kitty” with the writing on the back? They all appear to have blanks backs. Or am I missing something?
Thank you
Ilona says
That was the old mug. Do you want one? If you do, let me know and I will revive the listing for you by tomorrow.
Allison says
Yes PLEASE. I got the Ripper Cushions mug last time and did not see this one. Thank you SO MUCH. Also, the book is AMAZING!!!!!
Have a great day,
Henry says
On my second read today. Checking to see if I’m reading the same thing I was reading at midnight on the 12th. I have made many embarrassing blunders when a quiz is published.
Moderator R says
The quizzes are full of boobie traps! They’re not a reflection on anything but my eeeeeevilll 😈
Montgomery Bonner says
All – Like mugs, but prefer glass mugs, why? Simple, most mugs today come from China, the glazing process used sometimes it not complete, and lead gets into the ceramic base material, and leaches out because the glazing is not good. I just don’t take a chance. Young and old are very easily hurt from lead poisoning. So, if you can find a vendor making glass mugs, I’m all in on that. Glass is fired at 2500 degrees F, so anything in the glass is cooked out, etching the glass is perfect. I have several glass mugs from Disneyworld, and other places, even once upon a time from Krispy Kreme, then they went to ceramic from china, and I don’t buy them.
Now, the book was released on the 13th, Amazon, shipped it on Sunday the 12th, but I will not receive it till the 17th, 4 days after release. Ilona et-al, please get on amazon’s shipping folks and get them better organized so we get our books on release date. Yes, I live in the country sort of, but this book has been on preorder for over 3 months and was in Wishlist for longer than that once you told us it was coming. Amazon has been worse this year for shipping stuff to me, at least 5 orders just lost, this has been because they turn the shipping over to the USPS, and they have terrible work ethic in some of the larger post offices. All mail to us, goes through Atlanta, which I believe is the worst PO in the country. Setup something please so we can buy direct from you, and UPS or FEDEX is the carrier, more expensive, but every order using those vendors gets to me, not one has been lost. The 1500-dollar flight chair from Germany, received, the 3400-dollar computer, received. The book, however, may never get here, and may have been opened and read and yes, that happens to me a lot when using USPS.
Cynthia A Hamon says
I loved Magic Claims and can’t wait for whatever else House Andrews writes. Thank you so much for all you do! A proud member of the BDH.
Bess says
I would really love to have a 15oz mug like the one at the top of the 6-14 post. The one that has “here kitty kitty” on the front and “what kind of woman greets the beast lord with here kitty kitty” on the back. Did not see that in the merchandise store. Did I miss it or is it not available? Thanks
Moderator R says
Hi Bess,
I don’t know what country you’re writing from, so I cannot advise you on which merch is available 🙂 . Please follow the instructions in the blog post, and use the contact form on the merch store site to give feedback about an existing design on a different item. Thank you 🙂
ReadKnitSnark says
Thank you for the shopping instructions.
I stuck to clothing myself with T-shirts (purple! woot! THANK YOU!)(also black, but that’s a given), so the shipping costs in the EU store felt super reasonable. (I have experience buying cones of yarn within the EU, and watching that shipping rate hike as I add to my cart. Cones of yarn are heavy, yo.) The T-shirt prices felt super reasonable, so I kind of loaded my cart a bit—like I would in a bricks & mortar store if I came across awesomeness at a reasonable price.
Best case, I’ll have awesome wear-in-public tees. Just fine case, I’ll have awesome wear-at-home tees. I’m in need of both. (Worst case, I’ll have wait to wear the T-shirts while I shrink myself to fit. Still not sorry.)