First, for those who have never rented or purchased a movie or TV show using Amazon's Video on Demand service, you can get a $5 promotional credit that you can use in the VOD store for a rental or purchase. If you are unsure if you qualify, click the link and see - you'll either see a message that you are not eligible, or the terms for the promotion will be displayed; click Agree, choose to get the video newsletter or not, fill in the captcha and click on Continue. Note that the credit expires at 11:59:59 p.m. on March 31, 2011 and will be automatically applied to your future eligible purchases until the credit balance is used or until the credit expires (whichever comes first).
Next, some updates on free and bargain books (links to either the book or the original post with purchase links):
- How To Marry a Millionaire Vampire is now available free from additional stores.
- Knitting For Dummies, by Pam Allen, is back down to 99 cents (after rising to over $13 for most of the last two weeks.
- Origin Scroll (Targa Trilogy), by Richard S. Tuttle, has been re-issued with a new ASIN. It is still free for US Kindle customers, as well as from B&N and Smashwords.
- Raising Atlantis ($7.99 Kindle), by Thomas Greanias, was being given away in PDF form in fall '09, as part of a sweepstakes and promotion for his new book. The sweeps page is gone, but you can still get the PDF book free, HERE.
- Ravenous: A Food Lover's Journey from Obsession to Freedom, by Dayna Macy, has gone from free to $1.99 (as always, you have to act quickly on free books)
- When Darkness Falls: Free eBook Part 3, by James Grippando, is not free for Canadians. So, not only do they get three entries cluttering up their Kindle, they end up paying 99 cents for the free book. I suspect this may drop to zero for them later, but those in countries that pay $2/book plus VAT for free books will be looking at $6-$7 for this freebie, making it nearly as expensive as just buying the book as a whole.
Here are just a few books that I spotted that the coupons can be used upon (at least two of which I had already purchased on Kindle). The final price at Kobo will be either $1 or 30% less than the price I am showing below, depending on the coupon code you use (so, use $1 off for those under $3.33 and books at 99 cents end up free and use a percentage code for any over $3.33):
- To Defy a King ($2.39 Kindle, Kobo
), by Elizabeth Chadwick
- Sins of the House of Borgia ($2.39 Kindle, Kobo
), by Sarah Bower
- Atlantis ($1.59 Kindle, $1.79 Kobo
), by David Gibbins
- Werewolf Upstairs ($2.39 Kindle, Kobo
), by Ashlyn Chase
- Beneath ($2.99 Kindle, Kobo
), by Jeremy Robinson
- The Sweetness At The Bottom Of The Pie ($8.03 Kindle, $8.69 Kobo
), by Alan Bradley
- The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag ($8.10 Kindle,Kobo
), by Alan Bradley
- A Red Herring Without Mustard ($9.99 Kindle, Kobo
), by Alan Bradley
- Second Son of a Duke ($0.99 Kindle, Kobo
), by Gwen Hayes
- Knitting For Dummies ($0.99 Kindle, $0.89 Kobo
), by Pam Allen; note that the Kobo edition ends up free, but it's a very short mini edition
- Hard Landing: The First Spider Shepherd Thriller ($7.37 Kindle, $0.65 Kobo
), by Stephen Leather (not coupon eligible, but great price)
I picked up Hard Landing ($7.37 Kindle, $0.65 KoboBook Description
Hard Landing is the first book in the best-selling Dan ‘Spider’ Shepherd series. Former SAS trooper Shepherd is used to putting his life on the line. Working for an elite undercover squad he has lied, cheated and conned in order to bring Britain’s most wanted criminals to justice.But when a powerful drug baron starts to kill off witnesses to his crimes, Shepherd is given his most dangerous assignment yet. He has to go undercover in a top security prison, a world where one wrong move will mean certain death.As Shepherd gambles everything to move in on his quarry, he soon realises that the man he is hunting is even more dangerous than the police realise. And that he is capable of striking outside the prison walls and hitting Shepherd where it hurts most – his family.
A Red Herring Without Mustard ($9.99), by Alan Bradley, is the third and latest in his Flavia de Luce Mystery series, following The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie ($8.03) and The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag ($8.10). The prices are a bit higher than my usual selections, but with the coupon codes, these are a great deal from KoboBook Description
Award-winning author Alan Bradley returns with another beguiling novel starring the insidiously clever and unflappable eleven-year-old sleuth Flavia de Luce. The precocious chemist with a passion for poisons uncovers a fresh slew of misdeeds in the hamlet of Bishop’s Lacey—mysteries involving a missing tot, a fortune-teller, and a corpse in Flavia’s own backyard.
Flavia had asked the old Gypsy woman to tell her fortune, but never expected to stumble across the poor soul, bludgeoned in the wee hours in her own caravan. Was this an act of retribution by those convinced that the soothsayer had abducted a local child years ago? Certainly Flavia understands the bliss of settling scores; revenge is a delightful pastime when one has two odious older sisters. But how could this crime be connected to the missing baby? Had it something to do with the weird sect who met at the river to practice their secret rites? While still pondering the possibilities, Flavia stumbles upon another corpse—that of a notorious layabout who had been caught prowling about the de Luce’s drawing room.
Pedaling Gladys, her faithful bicycle, across the countryside in search of clues to both crimes, Flavia uncovers some odd new twists. Most intriguing is her introduction to an elegant artist with a very special object in her possession—a portrait that sheds light on the biggest mystery of all: Who is Flavia?
As the red herrings pile up, Flavia must sort through clues fishy and foul to untangle dark deeds and dangerous secrets.
Second Son of a Duke ($0.99), by Gwen Hayes, is a short story (14K words) for mature readers.Book Description
The Duke of Fenwick was a reprobrate.
Which is why it has always been up to Teddy Middleton, the second son, to run the estate and both their lives. But the Duke is full of surprises--the latest one a wedding. For Teddy. To the Duke's best friend's sister, Juliette.
Finding herself in church for her own surprise wedding was unnerving, to be sure. But to avoiding scandal seemed to be the most prudent thing to do, so Juliette said, "I do." She'd make the best of it and hope Teddy wouldn't be harder to take care of than her previous household had been. She simply had no idea how she could manage two estates on her own.
After a disastrous wedding night, Teddy and Juliette don't have very high hopes for a life of wedded bliss. As they forge ahead with resolute chagrin, it begins to dawn on them both that they are allies in the same war for sanity among their crazy relations. Mutual admiration turns to friendship which turns to...something neither one ever expected.
But the Duke has one more surprise for them both--one that will change everything.
Atlantis ($1.59), by David Gibbins, is the first title in his Jack Howard series.Book Description
BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from David Gibbins's The Mask of Troy.
From an extraordinary discovery in a remote desert oasis to a desperate race against time in the ocean depths, a team of adventurers is about to find the truth behind the most baffling legend in history. The hunt is on for…
Marine archaeologist Jack Howard has stumbled upon the keys to an ancient puzzle. With a crack team of scientific experts and ex–Special Forces commandos, he is heading for what he believes could be the greatest archaeological find of all time—the site of fabled Atlantis—while a ruthless adversary watches his every move and prepares to strike.
But neither of them could have imagined what awaits them in the murky depths. Not only a shocking truth about a lost world, but an explosive secret that could have devastating consequences today. Jack is determined to stop the legacy of Atlantis from falling into the wrong hands, whatever the cost. But first he must do battle to prevent a global catastrophe.
Beneath ($2.99), by Jeremy Robinson. This author has a number of traditionally published titles in the Kindle store, but this and the next two are ones he has self-published and are bargain priced. Only the first is available from Kobo, that I can see.Book Description
Three thousand years after a chunk of iron the size of Khufu’s pyramid collides with Europa, Jupiter’s sixth moon, an asteroid borne of the collision crashes into Earth’s Arctic ice shelf carrying extraterrestrial microbial life. The first man to come into contact with the microbes hears voices—and then dies.
After determining the meteorite originated from Europa, the Global Exploratory Corporation sends oceanographer and biologist, Kathy Connelly, and her crew to the moon aboard the Surveyor, an experimental spacecraft. They are charged with the task of melting through miles of ice to the hidden ocean beneath, where the search for alien microorganisms begins. But a startling discovery awaits them on the surface of Europa.
Life.
Vast fields of red, plant-like organisms fill the cracks crisscrossing the moon’s surface, surviving on nutrients welling up from the waters below. Intoxicated by thoughts of what might lie beneath, Connelly and her crew activate the Thermal Exploratory System and melt through the ice—toward a world that does not want to be found, toward a force that will do anything to make sure they never leave.
They search for life. They find death.
I'm not sure where The Last Hunter - Descent (Book 1 of the Antarktos Saga) ($2.99), by Jeremy Robinson, fits in with his Antarktos Rising ($6.39), but it seems like you could read either one first. Book Description
I've been told that the entire continent of Antarctica groaned at the moment of my birth. The howl tore across glaciers, over mountains and deep into the ice. Everyone says so. Except for my father; all he heard was Mother’s sobs. Not of pain, but of joy, so he says. Other than that, the only verifiable fact about the day I was born is that an iceberg the size of Los Angeles broke free from the ice shelf a few miles off the coast. Again, some would have me believe the fracture took place as I entered the world. But all that really matters, according to my parents, is that I, Solomon Ull Vincent, the first child born on Antarctica—the first and only Antarctican—was born on September 2nd, 1974.
If only someone could have warned me that, upon my return to the continent of my birth thirteen years later, I would be kidnapped, subjected to tortures beyond comprehension and forced to fight...and kill. If only someone had hinted that I'd wind up struggling to survive in a subterranean world full of ancient warriors, strange creatures and supernatural powers.
Had I been warned I might have lived a normal life. The human race might have remained safe. And the fate of the world might not rest on my shoulders. Had I been warned....
This is my story—the tale of Solomon Ull Vincent—The Last Hunter.
INSOMNIA and Seven More Short Stories ($0.99), by Jeremy RobinsonBook Description
INSOMNIA is a collection of seven exciting short stories (plus one bonus story) that tackle several different genres including action, science-fiction, horror, noir and thriller. Written by top thriller author, Jeremy Robinson, these stories include all of the action, imagination and twists that fans have come to expect, but they also contain experiments into subjects and voices not normally touched on in his novels.
INSOMNIA - In a world of super efficiency and equality, sleep is illegal and Feene keeps the masses going.
THE EATER - Three children discover a writhing black puddle in the woods of New Hampshire.
HARDEN’S TREE - A group of teens visit a tree planted atop the ashes of a mass murderer from late 1800’s.
STAR CROSSED KILLERS - Two lovers, both deadly killers, compete for the same target.
COUNTING SHEEP - A future terrorist gives an insomniac three minutes to fall asleep.
HEARING AID - In the future, a deaf man is healed, but does he like what he hears?
DARK SEED OF THE MOON - Vampires live, and kill, in the eternal shadow of the moon’s polar crater.
BOUGHT AND PAID FOR (Bonus Story) - A brutal character sketch for Scott Sigler’s THE CRYPT.
EXCLUSIVE SAMPLES INCLUDED:
-- THE LAST HUNTER by Jeremy Robinson
-- BENEATH by Jeremy Robinson
-- TORMENT by Jeremy Bishop
SPECIAL FEATURES:
-- Cover art included
-- Fully functional Table of Contents
-- Links to Robinson's other books
