Why The Legend of Mara Flores Is Free on Kindle for Three Days
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Time to read 5 min
In this post, I explain why I made The Legend of Mara Flores free on Kindle for three days and what kind of story it really is. Mara Flores has spent twenty years working inside the same corporate tower, unnoticed and taken for granted, until a sudden loss forces her to stay inside after hours. The post gives a glimpse into Mara’s quiet, tense world and why I wanted readers to experience the book for themselves before deciding if it’s for them.
From February 3 through February 5, the Kindle edition of The Legend of Mara Flores is free on Amazon.
Why? I want readers to take a chance on the story without having to talk themselves into it first.
For twenty years, Mara Flores has opened the café before dawn. She keeps the espresso machine running and moves through the Tower like she belongs to the building itself. She's necessary, familiar, and still treated like background.
Then one night, she loses her apartment and has nowhere to go.
When she finds a misplaced access badge in the Tower’s indoor garden, she makes a choice she never thought she would make. She slips back inside after hours and starts sleeping in places no one checks. Unfinished floors. Service corridors. Mechanical rooms. The forgotten seams of a building that never really rests.
That's where the story turns. People start talking about a Phantom living inside the Tower. A rumor with no clear face.
Down below, in a windowless security operations center, analysts notice something else. Not a person. A pattern. An anomaly.
As Mara listens to conversations that were never meant for her, she starts to understand the Tower is hiding more than a trespasser inside its walls. And once the system begins to see her, staying invisible stops being a strategy and starts being a countdown.
If you grab the book during the free promo, I hope you read far enough to feel what the Tower is doing to her. If you finish it and it worked for you, an honest Amazon review helps a lot. Even a short one.
Thanks for giving Mara a chance.
Arthur Mills
For over two decades, Arthur served as an Army Intelligence Warrant Officer, specializing in piecing together what others missed: patterns, threats, enemy intent, and clandestine activity. He also trained intelligence professionals, built threat models, and briefed commanders and world leaders on global threats and battlefield strategy. After retiring from the military, he transitioned into private investigation, focusing on missing persons, human trafficking, opposition research, and fraud cases. He also holds a degree in Counterterrorism, adding academic grounding to the skills he developed in the field. Today, he continues his work as an Intelligence Analyst for a leading global agency, following domestic and international threats.
He is an award-winning author who has been writing books since 2006. While he publishes under his own name, much of his best and most widely read work has appeared under pseudonyms. Readers may already know those titles, although they would not know they are his. That separation is intentional because just as his books invite readers to participate and interpret what is hidden between the lines, his career as a writer reflects the same principle.
What is Branching Plot Books?
Branching Plot Books is my independent, author-run imprint. It publishes my books and projects, all built around participation, structure, and reader interpretation. Each title is designed to stand on its own while contributing to a larger system of ideas.
Is Branching Plot Books a traditional publishing house?
No. I don't publish other authors. Branching Plot Books exists to publish my work under one cohesive imprint.
How are the books connected?
Some books share characters, themes, or investigative threads. Others connect through structure and philosophy rather than plot. The common thread is how meaning shifts depending on the reader’s interpretation.
Do I need to read the books in order?
Not always. Some books are independent, and some should be read in sequence. For example, Candle Face Chronicles: The Lost Souls [Book One] should be read before Book Two. Isabel: The Forgotten Daughter of La Llorona can be read on its own. The Empty Lot Next Door isn't part of Candle Face Chronicles, but reading it first will help you understand the origins of Candle Face and the context behind the later books.
Do you use AI to create your content?
No. The books, projects, investigations, blogs posts, webpages, and core writing published under Branching Plot Books are written by me. I do use AI tools for limited technical tasks such as SEO summaries, backend descriptions, and occasional image generation when stock photography isn't suitable. These tools help with efficiency, not authorship. The ideas, structure, and writing you read are mine.
Are the investigations real?
The investigative methods and documentation practices I use are real, and they come from my professional background in intelligence analysis and investigative work. In some books and projects, I apply those methods to organize details, track patterns, and present information in a way that can be examined, questioned, and compared.
Branching Plot Books doesn't ask you to accept a conclusion at face value. It asks you to read actively, weigh what's presented, and decide what you think it means. Some readers treat the material as literal. Others treat it as interpretive. The point is that the work supports both approaches without forcing you into one view.
Do you accept submissions?
No. Branching Plot Books publishes my own books and projects only.
Sometimes you write “book,” while other times you write “project.” What’s the difference?
A book is a published work in traditional format, whether print or digital. A project is broader. It may include ongoing investigations, interactive elements, reader roles, or evolving components that extend beyond a single volume. All books and projects are part of the Branching Plot Books system. Not all projects are limited to the format of a book.
Are your books and projects fiction or nonfiction?
Some titles are fiction. Others draw from real investigative methods and documented experiences. Rather than forcing a label, I focus on structure, interpretation, and how readers engage with the material. The distinction matters less than how carefully you read.
Why have some of your books been published under pseudonyms?
I've been writing for as long as I can remember, and I have been publishing since 2006. While I have published under my own name through Branching Plot Books since 2012, much of my work has appeared under pseudonyms outside of Branching Plot Books. That separation is intentional.
Pseudonyms give me greater creative freedom. They let me write in different styles and take risks without carrying expectations from previous titles or from my work under my name. They also allow each book to stand on its own, without being filtered through assumptions about the author behind it.
That choice reflects a core idea behind Branching Plot Books. Names, labels, and surface details can shape perception. The writing asks readers to look closer and decide what matters.
Why do some books include interactive elements?
Participation is central to Branching Plot Books. In certain titles, readers make choices that alter outcomes. In others, the interaction happens through interpretation rather than branching paths. The level of participation varies, but engagement remains consistent.
Do you collaborate with other authors?
Branching Plot Books is an author-run imprint, and I publish my own work. Some books and projects may involve input or consultation from professionals in relevant fields, but the writing and final direction remain mine.