Free Reads at Smashwords

There are a number of interesting free books available on Smashwords, where all the books are DRM-free and usually have a version that will work on a Kindle or a Sony Reader, as well as PDF and other formats. Most of these are only available at Smashwords, although I've included links to the Kindle store version for a couple (where they are not free), for those that prefer to stick with Amazon or want to look up reviews. Several of these have a non-zero purchase price and require a coupon code to be entered after adding the book to your cart; I've highlighted these in the text to make them easier to find. The ones that are entirely free can be downloaded immediately; however, the author can add a price to these at any time and there is no way to save a "Free" book (where you don't use a coupon code) in your library and have it remain there after the price increases, so download any that seem interesting right away - it's easy enough to delete them later, if they don't hold your interest.

Xenolith, by A. Sparrow. Requires a coupon code on checkout, TZ24M, good for approx. 30 days. I saw this one in the new release list at Smashwords and had made a note to check out the sample. Before I got a chance to do so, the author published the coupon code for a free purchase, so it's in my TBR stack.

Book Description
With Earth a conduit for a parallel world at war, Frank Bowen, exiled for witnessing a portal, wanders in search of a long vanished wife. Meanwhile, off-world scouts, stranded in a small New England town discover a plot to open Earth to their enemies. Frank inadvertently aids their cause during his quest for the long-lost Liz, whose trail gets warmer the farther he travels the backroads of Gi.

My kitten picked out Black Silk, by Jan Gordon, as I was browsing at Smashwords - not only did she like the cover, but she said any book that featured cats and books as the most important things in life was worth sampling. The book is free, but be sure to download if you want it - the author can always increase the price, which will make the free download unavailable.

Book Description
Vic has two loves in her life, her cat, Mister, and reading books from her bookstore. Her future looked set, until one night when she's saved from probable danger by a mysterious stranger. Cole has moved around a lot during his life, never finding a true home, until he buys an old house, and fate steps in to change his future. A light romance with a paranormal twist.

Flying Burger, by Jared Martin, is another new release. Requires a coupon code on checkout, NY78A, good thru November 11.

Book Description
A group of youngsters go on a space exploratory trip led by Mrs. Andersen. There they encounter aliens and monsters beyond their wildest imaginations. They even go as far as inside a black hole!

Distant Cousin, by Al Past, the first book in a 4-book series is free this month. Requires a coupon code on checkout, TT93U. You can get this one at Amazon, but the price change down to one dollar hasn't taken effect (Al submitted it the first of the month), so it's still $5 there. If you want to read the rest of the series, the order is DC: Repatriation, DC: Reincarnation, and DC: Regeneration.

Book Description
What if our first contact from another planet was a human? What if the first real alien to visit Earth from another solar system was a woman on a mission to find the distantly related cousins of her own people? What if she brought with her a warning of an impending disaster of apocalyptic proportions? And what if nobody believed her?

Al Past’s novel Distant Cousin is a most unusual science fiction story with a most unusual heroine. Ana Darcy has jeopardized her mission and cut herself off from her own people to bring a desperate warning to Earth authorities. Astronomers at a Texas observatory don’t believe her, but the US military is willing to interrogate her—under custody of course. Her astonishing escape from Army detainment is our first hint that she may be more than she first appears and capable of more than we imagine. While the military scrambles to locate and recapture the woman they call “Gidget from Outer Space,” Darcy realizes that her journey to Earth has placed her in the path of the oncoming destruction and she will suffer Earth’s fate if the calamity is not avoided.

Befriended by ordinary people as varied as the family of a Texas dude ranch foreman, a mild-mannered reporter, and an Olympic contender from Barbados, Darcy conceives a daring plan to evade government capture while hiding in plain sight, and to deliver her warning in a manner which cannot possibly be ignored. Afterward, she might just fall in love … if she can trust her own feelings … and if she can trust her boyfriend with the truth about her origins. This is a science fiction novel which might better be described as a love story with scientific speculation. The premise of humans on another world is startling, and the author reels out details about Darcy’s homeworld so sparingly that our curiosity is cleverly aroused. It is only when unexpected arrivals provoke a sudden crisis of diplomacy that we learn exactly what Darcy gave up in accepting her mission to Earth—and what she might be running from.

I've had this one on before, but there is a new coupon code at Smashwords for Boomerang, by Alan Hutcheson, plus he now has the correct cover and reformatted version live at Amazon for $1.00. Requires a coupon code on checkout, QQ46G DL66H, good thru October November 15.

Book Description
Ted Hogwood's beloved Sarah, a jazz guitar, is in the window of Topp Dollar Pawn. The only way he can get the money to rescue her is to accept an assignment from the AABC, a not nearly official branch of the United States intelligence community. He is partnered with Jerry Kwiatkowski, master of the Hammond B-3 organ and chronic flatulence sufferer, to steal a boomerang containing secrets that should have died with J. Edgar Hoover over thirty years ago. It would be a simple job if only they knew what they were doing. And if a crossbow wielding assassin, two unemployed Australian women, The Director of Central Intelligence and a clothing optional former onion festival queen were not also hot on the boomerang's trail.

Final Passage, by Timothy Frost, is another of those free downloads that you need to grab when you see them, as the author can always increase the price and they won't remain in your library.

Book Description
When Martin Lancaster was eighteen, his father was mysteriously lost at sea during a yacht race. Years later Martin discovers long-lost logbooks in his mother’s attic and vows to find out the truth. But he meets implacable resistance from family, business colleagues and officials, who seem prepared to stop at nothing to prevent him discovering what really happened all those years ago.

Eaglethorpe Buxton and the Elven Princess, by Wesley Allison. Some of you may have picked up one of his other books that have been free downloads recently (Princess of Amathar or His Robot Girlfriend). He also has two short stories that I thought were going to be graphic novels, but are not, which I downloaded to check out later: Women of Power Issue 1 and Issue 2. Requires a coupon code on checkout, XQ32D, good thru December 1.

Book Description
Eaglethorpe Buxton, famed adventurer and story-teller, friend to those in need of a friend and guardian to those in need of a guardian. He is a liar and braggart, not to be trusted, especially around pies. Who are we to believe? Buxton himself leads us through his world as he comes to the aid of… a poor orphan? An elven princess? Who can guess with Eaglethorpe himself telling the tale?

The Defector, by Mark Chisnell, is also one of those free downloads that you need to grab when you see them.

Book Description
Self-interest or selflessness? This is the dilemma at the heart of The Defector - can Martin Cormac turn his back on his ruthless past as a currency trader, a player, and do the right thing? Looking for answers in a succession of sleazy bars, Cormac meets Janac, the man who will convince him to play the ultimate game, where the stakes are not just his own life – but that of the woman he loves.

The Wrecking Crew, by Mark Chisnell, is the sequel to The Defector. It is also one of those free downloads that can disappear.

Book Description
Phillip Hamnet left port at the helm of the MV Shawould, apparently master of his vessel and his destiny. But others had a different agenda on that evil night in the South China Sea. Drug warlord Janac has turned to piracy to fund his battle for control of the Australian narcotics trade, and Hamnet is faced with one brutal choice after another....

Last up is Crazy White Devil, by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, is a short volume of modern or slam poetry.

Book Description
Newish and old poems by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez, member of the 1998 National Poetry Slam Champions from the Nuyorican Poets Café, and notorious malcontent. Includes Breathless, Crazy White Devil, Old New York Love Story, and others.