Good for you for staying true to yourself, and very exciting about the reviews!

The promotion is something I'd really struggle with, I'm lazy and I just know I wouldn't do all I should do. Maybe at some point the community should look at creative ways to promote, because even with publishers the promotion can be less than great and I really doubt they're using all of the avenues available.

I think the story with a nod toward Thunder's death sounds intriguing. If you're that aware of your feelings about it, I doubt your book would be exploitative.