Happy Birthday, America Sweepstakes!

Enter Amazon's Happy Birthday, America Sweepstakes on Facebook and you could win up to $15,000 in Amazon Gift Cards!

More rules and qualifications on this Amazon page, most of which boil down to you must be a US resident, like Amazon's Facebook Page and then Link your page to Amazon and share a lot of stuff. If you don't want to do this last bit, use the second entry method with more limited social media features enabled.

Bella Andre Contest Winners

Congratulations to MADD, winner of the Bella Andre Summer of Love Contest. I'm sending an email your way, so we'll know where to send your goodie bag! I've picked a second winner, Shelby Carmichael, and I'll be needing your address too, as I have an extra Advanced Reader Copy of the print edition that I will be sending you.

Congratulations to you both!

Bella Andre Summer of Love Contest

I have a special treat for romance (or beach) fans today. As a part of Bella Andre's The Summer of Love Book Tour, I have a beach bag of gifts to give away to one lucky reader. This includes the print edition of The Look of Love ($5.99 paperback), the first novel in The Sullivans contemporary romance series. Even if you read it on your Kindle, you may want to pick up the print edition if you don't win, as it contains additional scenes not in the digital edition.

Book Description
Expanded Edition! More Story! More Sullivans!

Fans of Bella Andre's Sullivan Series will love this long-awaited print edition of THE LOOK OF LOVE. It features a longer, more-detailed story with all the emotion and sensuality that readers love. Not to be missed!

Sometimes one look is all it takes
Chloe Peterson has vowed never to make the mistake of trusting a man again. Her reasons are as vivid as the bruises on her cheek. So when her car skids off a wet country road straight into a ditch, she's convinced the gorgeous guy who rescues her must be too good to be true.

As a successful international photographer, Chase Sullivan has his pick of beautiful women. He's satisfied with his life—until he finds Chloe and her totaled car on the side of the road in Napa Valley.

With every loving look—and every sinfully sweet caress—the attraction between them sizzles, and Chloe can't help but wonder if she's met the man who may be the exception to her rule….

So, what do you have to do to enter the contest?

Just leave a comment here (on this post), along with an email address that I can use to find you, if you are the lucky winner. The winner will receive a fabulous beach bags filled with summertime essentials from hot brands such as O.P.I., Evian, Not Your Mother’s Hair Care, and Unisun Eyewear. I just received my gift box and the bag is great (it will really hold up to abuse, I believe), as are the contents. Since this will be mailed to you direct from Bella's publicist, you will need a mailing address in the United States.

I'll keep the contest page open until the end of the month - that gives everyone two days to find this post and leave a comment (don't worry if it doesn't show up right away, as I have moderation turned on for comments). If you want an extra entry into the contest, then promote this post on Facebook, Google+ or Twitter and leave a second comment here, along with a link to your promotion (for Twitter, leave your twitter ID); be sure to use these hashtags: #BellaAndreSummerOfLove #win #giveaway .

Be sure to also visit the Harlequin Facebook page and create a Summer of Love mixtape "for a chance to win a trip for YOU and THREE friends to Las Vegas!" *No purchase necessary. Ends May 31, 2013.

Win a Kindle Fire and $500

AmazonLocal has set up a Facebook giveaway for a Kindle Fire and a $500 Amazon Gift Certificate. You'll need a Facebook account (of course), then just Like the page and enter you info. Six lucky people will win (must enter by March 17).

Free Baen Bundle - Feb 2013

I have a coupon code to give away for the February 2013 Book Bundle at Baen Books. The only requirements - leave me a message with an email address and I'll send the code out to one of you (chosen by random.org) just after noon or so today.

Win an XBox with Kinect & $100 Gift Card

The Amazon Studios and Amazon Instant Video are giving away Xbox 360 packages, each complete with Kinect and a $100 gift card Holiday Play Giveaway. Follow the link to both Like the Amazon Studios page on Facebook, then enter the giveaway (two steps).

Win a Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G LTE and a $250 Gift Card

The Amazon Android Appstore is giving away 5 Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G LTE packages, each complete with a cover and a $250 gift card Ultimate HD Entertainment Giveaway. Follow the link to both Like the Amazon Appstore for Android page on Facebook, then enter the giveaway (two steps).

Blog Tour Stop and Giveaway - Big Sky Mountain

This post is a stop on the Blog Tour for Big Sky Mountain, by Linda Lael Miller, the sequel to Big Sky Country, which I featured a couple of months ago and which is currently #7 on the Western Romance Bestseller list at Amazon. Big Sky Mountain is on the Hot New Releases list itself and climbing in the charts.

Book Description
With his rugged good looks, vast wealth and family name, hell-raiser Hutch Carmody is still the golden boy of Parable, Montana. But he's done some growing up—making peace with his illegitimate half brother and inheriting half of Whisper Creek Ranch, which should have been all his. These days, Hutch knows there are some things money can't buy: like the heart of loving, ladylike divorcée Kendra Shepherd.

Kendra's quiet mansion reminds her of what she wants most—a devoted husband and the pitter-patter of little feet. She can't get Hutch Carmody out of her mind. But a rough-and-tumble cowboy like Hutch, coming home for family dinner? Seems crazy! Then again, crazier dreams have become reality under the vast Montana sky.

I've been reading the review copy provided by BookTrib and it's a refreshing change from some of the titles I received for review: well written, edited and proofed (then again, this is published as part of Harlequin's main line, so I didn't expect anything less from them or this author). From the synopsis, you know what will happen in the end (it is a romance, after all), so the journey from the surprising opening to that final stop is what makes it worth reading.

As with the first book, the action takes place in a small Montanan town; the characters you came to know in the first book continue in this one (although you can read Big Sky Mountain standalone, if you are going to read the series, I do suggest you start with Big Sky Country). There will be a third title about the first of the year and I am fairly certain I've already spotted the couple that will be involved in it.

Excerpt:

She’d been on the road for three days, and even after a good night’s sleep in Joslyn’s guest room and two showers, she felt rumpled and grungy.

She stood up. She’d get Madison and head for town, she decided, hurry to her own place, where she should have gone in the beginning.

Not that she planned to live there very long.

The mega-mansion was too big for her and Madison, too full of memories.

“Kendra,” Joslyn ordered kindly, “sit down.”

Opal could be heard poking around in the pantry, still talking to herself.

Slade came down the back stairway, looking like himself in worn jeans, a faded flannel shirt and boots.

Passing Joslyn, he paused and leaned down to plant a kiss on top of her head. Kendra sank slowly back into her own chair.

“Don’t start without me,” Slade said, spreading one big hand on Joslyn’s baby-bulge and grinning down into her upturned face.

Be sure to check out the Blog Tour webpage for a chance to win a Cowboy necklace. We can't let them have all the fun, though, so if you leave your name below, I'll draw tomorrow and a lucky winner will receive a paperback copy of the book (limited to US and Canadian addresses). All I need is the email address and Booktrib will get into contact with you to arrange delivery.

Note: A review copy of the book was provided by BookTrib as a part of the Tour promotion.

Win a Free Cloth Shopping Bag

The giveaway is over at Green Bag Lady's blog and you can enter by simply leaving a comment anytime before 10pm(CST) Thursday, July 26, 2012.

When you do, be sure to tell them that Books on the Knob sent you, as that enters me into her contest to also win a lunch kit.

Book Blog Tour - Big Sky Country

A little bit of fun for you today, as this post is a part of the Blog Tour Scavenger Hunt for Linda Lael Miller's newly released Big Sky Country ($5.99 Kindle). I've got an author Q&A, a book excerpt and a chance to win a copy of the book.

Author Q&A
Q: Which part of BIG SKY COUNTRY was the most enjoyable to write?
A: I loved writing about the livestock auction (go figure), which compromised the hero and heroine’s first date. (That’s a cowboy for you.) I also enjoyed penning the horse race scene.

Q: Which part was the least enjoyable?
A: I enjoy the whole process, though I admit I find the love scenes to be the most challenging. Trying to bring something new to a thing that’s as old as time can be hard work.

Q: How did you come up with the character, Joslyn Kirk?
A: Joslyn, like most of my characters, simply came to me as a brown-haired woman returning to her hometown to right an old wrong—one she’d had nothing to do with. As I wrote about Joslyn, she sort of flowered into a person I’d know if I met her on the street. It’s that way with all my story people—they become friends and I’m convinced that they’re real, somewhere.

Q: If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything in the book?
A: I would worry less about getting it perfect and just have fun with the process. Since “Big Sky Country” is the first in a series, the staging has to be just right to carry not only that book, but the others coming after it.

Q: How much, and what kinds of research went into creating this novel?
A: I do a sort of ongoing research—I consult a friend who’s an expert on rodeos, for instance. Most of my stories, though, are pure imagination. I try to get things right, but I’m much more interested in giving the reader an emotional experience and a little vacation from the real world.

Book Excerpt
By this time, he reckoned, all his deputies and Becky, the longtime receptionist, were probably fixing to send out a search party, complete with cadaver dogs and a plan drawn out on a grid.

The idea made him smile as he headed back toward the courthouse.

Joslyn Kirk overslept that morning, and when she opened her eyes, it took her a few seconds to recognize her surroundings and realize she was right back in the one place she’d sworn never to set foot in again—Parable, Montana.

Joslyn sat up in her sleeping bag—she’d arrived late the night before and hadn’t bothered to put sheets on the antique brass bed—and looked around, taking in the cabbage-rose wallpaper, the worn planks in the floor and ornate woodwork, the heavy wardrobe that served as a closet.

She was in the guesthouse behind that mansion that had been her home for most of her childhood.

Be sure to check out the rest of the Blog Tour for your chance to win a copy of the book and a necklace from Etsy (the entry button is on the bottom of the page). There will be a second part to the Scavenger Hunt next month, when her Big Sky Mountain is released.

The publicist sent me a paper copy of Big Sky Country for review and I'm about half-way thru it (I'll admit, I miss reading on the Kindle when I have to back to a paper book); after getting past the rather incredulous setup in the first chapter, it's been a pretty good read. Of course, I'm pretty sure I know how it will end, but isn't that true of most romances? It's the journey, not the ending, that makes the book.

Book Description
The illegitimate son of a wealthy rancher, Sheriff Slade Barlow grew up in a trailer hitched to the Curly-Burly hair salon his mother runs. He was never acknowledged by his father…until now. Suddenly, Slade has inherited half of Whisper Creek Ranch, one of the most prosperous in Parable, Montana. That doesn't sit well with his half brother, Hutch, who grew up with all the rights of a Carmody—including the affections of Joslyn Kirk, homecoming queen, rodeo queen, beauty queen, whom Slade has never forgotten.

But Joslyn is barely holding her head up these days as she works to pay back everyone her crooked stepfather cheated. With a town to protect, plus a rebellious teenage stepdaughter, Slade has his hands full. But someone has to convince Joslyn that she's responsible only for her own actions—such as her effect on this lawman's guarded heart.

Contest - iTunes Codes

OK, I promised you guys another contest and here it is. I have a number of extra iTunes codes that are up for grabs. All you have to do is leave a comment, along with your first and second choice and some method to get in touch with you. Any comment that doesn't include contact info will be disqualified.

Here's what there is to choose from:

• App - Lostwinds (2)
• App - Golfplan (2)
• Song - Banjo by Leonard Cohen (2)
• Book - After Friday Night Lights by Buzz Bissinger (4)
• TV Episode - No Reservations with Anthony Bourdain - Naples (2)

The book looks pretty short and is iBooks compatible only.

Winners of the iTunes App

Congrats to the winners on the last contest (which I kept forgetting to post). I need an email address on a couple of you, though, as the blogger profiles that come up don't have any way to get in touch with you:

Isabel - cookbook
Lyzz - ABC's (I need your email address!)
Krissie - bonus app: W.E.L.D.E.R.

If the last two will leave me a note here, I'll email you the codes to enter into iTunes.

Win $1000 from AmazonMom

Amazon is giving away $1000 thru their AmazonMom Facebook page. See the official rules for details, but basically all you have to do is Like the page, then enter your info on the Sweepstakes tab.

Fine print:
Eligibility. If you are an individual legal resident of the 50 United States or the District of Columbia and are the older of 18 years of age or the legal age of majority in your state of residence at the time of entry, you are eligible to enter the Sweepstakes. Our employees, their immediate family members (spouses, domestic partners, parents, grandparents, siblings, children and grandchildren), and our affiliates, advisors or advertising/promotion agencies (and their immediate family members) are not eligible to enter the Sweepstakes.

Win a Kindle Fire and a $2,000.00 Gift Card

Amazon is giving away a Kindle Fire plus a $2,0000 gift certificate in their "Dr. Seuss' The Lorax" Movie Sweepstakes.

Enter for a chance to win a Kindle Fire plus a $2,000.00 Amazon.com Gift Card. Use your gift card to build your Kindle Fire library, buy books to donate to your school or library, or shop from millions of other items at Amazon.com.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Begins on 2/10/12, at 12:00:01 a.m. PT and ends on 3/4/12 , at 11:59:59 p.m. PT. Must be a legal resident of the 50 US or DC, 18 or older. See Official Rules for complete details. Sponsor: Amazon Services LLC.

Feel free to share a link to this post via Facebook, Twitter or email and let everyone you know enter.

Contest - Win a Kindle Fire, Day 3 (and some free books)

Update: The winners have been announced. Make sure you contact Scott if your name is on the list or they'll have to draw someone else.

Update: This blog post's entries are now closed.
It's the last day of the Kindle Fire Contest, so (of course), the rules are changing on how to enter. First off - you don't have to use Facebook (in fact, the contest has spread so much on Facebook, that they would prefer we not mention it there, today) and you don't have to "like" or "share" the books from the Amazon site (just pop over there to pick up the newly free books for the day).

Instead, just tell someone about the contest and link them here to this blog. You can do that in any forum (that allows such things), in an email to your family, on Twitter or any other way that you can think of. Let them know that the links are here for the free books (and that they won't be free after today, at least, not all as a single group as they are now). Then, leave a comment on this blog post (if you subscribe via email, you'll need to visit the website for this part), with some method of contacting you, in case you win.

If you want additional entries, you can follow the directions on the main contest page (no need to leave a comment here on those).

Note that I'm setting up this post ahead of time (once again), before the price drops have appeared at Amazon (they've been dropping sometime around 4AM the last few days). Be sure to double check the price on the linked Amazon pages to make sure the book is truly free before one-clicking. Some of these are repeats, so I've bolded the ones that are new today.

TODAY’S FREE KINDLE BOOKS
Want to win a Kindle Fire? Authors Aiden James, Scott Nicholson, J. R. Rain, and H.T. Night are teaming up Jan. 11-13 to give away $1,000 in prizes, including four Kindle Fires, $200 in Amazon gift cards, and 45 free Kindle books.

There are four ways to enter during Jan. 12-13:

• Share this blog link according to the blogger’s directions
• Share our free books and event from epickindlegiveaway.blogspot.com
• Spread the news about our contest on your favorite Internet hangouts and the Kindle Fairy is searching and putting names in her Magic Hat

TODAY’S FREE KINDLE BOOKS

Scott Nicholson

• Drummer Boy (supernatural thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK (Update: this one doesn't seem to be dropping in price, so be careful clicking)
• The Red Church (supernatural thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• As I Die Lying (psychological thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Creative Spirit (haunted house thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Disintegration (suspense thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Zombie Bits (zombie stories) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Transparent Lovers Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Speed Dating with the Dead Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• The Skull Ring Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Scott Nicholson Library, Vol. 4 Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• October Girls (YA paranormal) Amazon Main / Amazon UK

H.T. Night

• A Boy's Life (Young Adult) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Boy Meets Girl (Young Adult) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Everlasting Love (Poetry) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Getting Yours (Romantic Comedy) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Paranormal Love Stories (Vampire/Werewolf Love Story) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• The Werewolf Whisperer (Vampire Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Vampire Love Story (Vampire Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Winning Sarah’s Heart: Back to School (YA Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Winning Sarah’s Heart: Boys Being boys (YA Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK

J.R. Rain

• BAD BLOOD - A Vampire Thriller Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• BLACK RAIN: 15 Short Stories Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• ELVIS HAS NOT LEFT THE BUILDING - A murder mystery Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• JUDAS SILVER - An adventure screenplay Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• LOST EDEN - An adventure screenplay Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• THE BODY DEPARTED - A ghost story Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• THE VAMPIRE CLUB - supernatural fantasy comedy Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• THE VAMPIRE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO -mystery novella Amazon Main / Amazon UK

Aiden James

• Aiden James Vampires (Vampire adventure) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Cursed Immortals (Supernatural Thriller/Vampires) Amazon US Amazon UK
• The Raven Mocker (Horror/Mystery) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Deadly Night (Murder mystery/Supernatural) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• The Forgotten Eden (Supernatural Thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Twice Bitten (Vampire adventure) Amazon Main / Amazon UK

If one of the four authors hits #1 on the Kindle Free list, they will give away another Kindle Fire. If at any time during the event, the four authors hold all the Top 10 slots on the Kindle Free list, they will give away a sixth kindle. Kindle Fire winners will be selected by the Watauga County (NC) Public Library staff using random.org.

Contest - Win a Kindle Fire, Day 2 (#epickindlegiveaway)

Update: This blog post's entries are now closed.
Update: We're overwhelming Facebook and the EReader News blog, so I've been asked to let you know not to post on those two anymore. You can still get entries via Twitter (or check out Friday's post for some more ways to enter).

Today is Day 2 of the Kindle Fire Contest. I'm going to try to simplify the directions for entering (but you can refer to the Day 1 post for all the rules. For an entry in the contest, let people on Facebook, Twitter (or even Google+) know about the contest. Make sure you include a link to this post and also include the hashtags free for #kindle and #epickindlegiveaway in your wall post or tweet. Then, post a comment here to let me know about it (once for FaceBook, once for Twitter - if you do both, leave two comments) and don't forget to include how to get in touch with you if you win. If you want additional entries, you can follow the directions on the main contest page (no need to leave a comment here on those).

Note that I'm setting up this post ahead of time, before the price drops have appeared at Amazon. As always, be sure to double check the price on the linked Amazon pages to make sure the book is truly free before one-clicking. Some of these are repeats, so I've bolded the ones that are new today.

TODAY’S FREE KINDLE BOOKS

Scott Nicholson

• The Red Church (supernatural thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• As I Die Lying (psychological thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Creative Spirit (haunted house thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Disintegration (suspense thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Zombie Bits (zombie stories) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Transparent Lovers (paranormal mystery) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Duncan the Punkin (children’s book) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Speed Dating with the Dead Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• The Skull Ring Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Scott Nicholson Library, Vol. 4 Amazon Main / Amazon UK

Aiden James

• Aiden James Vampires (Vampire adventure) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Cursed Immortals (Supernatural Thriller/Vampires) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• The Vampires’ Birthright (Vampire adventure) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Cades Cove (Horror/Mystery) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Vampire Twist (Vampire adventure/Mystery) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• The Raven Mocker (Horror/Mystery) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Deadly Night (Murder mystery/Supernatural) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• The Forgotten Eden (Supernatural Thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Twice Bitten (Vampire adventure) Amazon Main / Amazon UK

J.R. Rain

• ARTHUR - A modern-day spiritual adventure Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• BAD BLOOD - A Vampire Thriller Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• BLACK RAIN: 15 Short Stories Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• CURSED - Supernatural horror thriller Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• DARK QUESTS: Two Adventure Screenplays Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• ELVIS HAS NOT LEFT THE BUILDING - A murder mystery Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• GHOST COLLEGE - A supernatural mystery Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• JUDAS SILVER - An adventure screenplay Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• LOST EDEN - An adventure screenplay Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• THE LOST ARK - An adventure novel Amazon Main
• THE BODY DEPARTED - A ghost story Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• THE VAMPIRE CLUB - supernatural fantasy comedy Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• THE VAMPIRE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO -mystery novella Amazon Main / Amazon UK

H.T. Night

• A Boy's Life (Young Adult) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Boy Meets Girl (Young Adult) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Everlasting Love (Poetry) Amazon Main / Amazon UK *Link updated
• Getting Yours (Romantic Comedy) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Paranormal Love Stories (Vampire/Werewolf Love Story) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• The Werewolf Whisperer (Vampire Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Vampire Love Story (Vampire Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Winning Sarah’s Heart: Back to School (YA Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Winning Sarah’s Heart: Boys Being boys (YA Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Vampires and Werewolves Beginnings (Vampire Romance) Amazon Main

Contest - Win a Kindle Fire (#epickindlegiveaway)

Update: This blog post's entries are now closed.
Update: We're overwhelming Facebook and the EReader News blog, so I've been asked to let you know not to post on those two anymore. You can still get entries via Twitter (or check out Friday's post for some more ways to enter).

The contest below is one that this blog is participating in along with several authors in the Kindle store. There will be a variation on this post each of the next two days (and the free books will change a bit each time) - you can enter each day, increasing your chances to win.

You win, in any case, since you'll get links to free books from the authors each day (Jan 11-13) and hopefully I'll win a bit, by getting some extra traffic and pick up some new, regular readers. And four (maybe even six!) lucky winners in the contest will have new Kindle Fires in the mail, while others will be getting some Amazon gift certificates. Note that the prizes are being given by the authors involved (not me) - I'll tally the entries on this blog each day and send in to Scott Nicholson (who is coordinating); the winners will be drawn by his local Library staff, using one of the random number generator websites.

Note that I'm setting up this post ahead of time, before the price drops will appear at Amazon. As always, be sure to double check the price on the linked Amazon pages to make sure the book is truly free before one-clicking.

Kindle Fire Contest

Want to win a Kindle Fire? Authors Aiden James, Scott Nicholson, J. R. Rain, and H.T. Night are teaming up Jan. 11-13 to give away $1,000 in prizes, including four Kindle Fires, $200 in Amazon gift cards, and 45 free Kindle books.

There are four ways to enter during Jan. 11-13:

1. Share this blog link on social media according to blogger’s directions
2. Follow the authors on Facebook (J.R. Rain, H.T. Night, Aiden James, and Scott Nicholson) and look for "Click to share" posts
3. Follow Ereader News Today on Facebook and click to share their free book bundles
4. Go to the free books below on Amazon, click "like" and then "share" each book on Twitter and Facebook, using the hashtags “free for #kindle” and “#epickindlegiveaway”

TODAY’S FREE KINDLE BOOKS

Scott Nicholson

• The Red Church (supernatural thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• As I Die Lying (psychological thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Creative Spirit (haunted house thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Disintegration (suspense thriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• The Harvest (technothriller) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Zombie Bits (zombie stories) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Transparent Lovers (paranormal mystery) Amazon Main / Amazon UK

H.T. Night

• A Boy's Life (Young Adult) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Boy Meets Girl (Young Adult) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Everlasting Love (Poetry) Amazon Main / Amazon UK *Link updated
• Getting Yours (Romantic Comedy) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Paranormal Love Stories (Vampire/Werewolf Love Story) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• The Werewolf Whisperer (Vampire Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Vampire Love Story (Vampire Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Winning Sarah’s Heart: Back to School (YA Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Winning Sarah’s Heart: Boys Being boys (YA Romance) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Vampires and Werewolves Beginnings (Vampire Romance) Amazon Main

J.R. Rain

• ARTHUR - A modern-day spiritual adventure Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• BLACK RAIN: 15 Short Stories Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• CURSED - Supernatural horror thriller Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• DARK QUESTS: Two Adventure Screenplays Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• ELVIS HAS NOT LEFT THE BUILDING - A murder mystery Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• GHOST COLLEGE - A supernatural mystery Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• THE LOST ARK - An adventure novel Amazon Main
• THE VAMPIRE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO -mystery novella Amazon Main / Amazon UK

Aiden James

• Aiden James Vampires (Vampire adventure) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Cursed Immortals (Supernatural Thriller/Vampires) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• The Vampires’ Birthright (Vampire adventure) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Cades Cove (Horror/Mystery) Amazon Main / Amazon UK
• Vampire Twist (Vampire adventure/Mystery) Amazon Main / Amazon UK

If one of the four authors hits #1 on the Kindle Free list, they will give away another Kindle Fire. If at any time during the event, the four authors hold all the Top 10 slots on the Kindle Free list, they will give away a sixth kindle. The bonus Kindle winners will be selected using the #epickindlegiveaway hashtags on Facebook and Twitter.

The Facebook and Twitter hashtags must accompany a link to one of the free books, a participating book blog, or the contest home page at http://epickindlegiveaway.blogspot.com or it won’t count as a valid entry. Thanks, good luck, and enjoy the free books!

OK, to get an entry under method #1, share a link to this blog post on Facebook or Twitter, making sure you use the hashtags “free for #kindle” and "#epickindlegiveaway", as outlined above (this will also become the entry for any bonus Kindles that are given away). Then, leave me a comment below with some info where you posted (link to FB entry or twitter name), along with how to get in touch with you if you win (an email you maintain for contests, link to your google profile, etc). If you share on both, you get two entries (just leave two comments). You can also enter using methods 2-4 to increase your odds of winning.

Odds & Ends and a Free Audiobook

First off, I've drawn the winner for the Out of Time Series Omnibus and it's Kimberly! Congrats and I've passed your email info along to the author.

Second, I'm working on joining up with a contest to give my readers a chance to win a Kindle Fire! If nothing else, you'll get some inside tips on free books (and hopefully pass along the info to others, which should result in more readers here on the blog). Stay tuned - if it all works out, it will start sometime next week.

Third, if you've been on the fence about one of the 25 Award-Winning Books for $1 in the current KSO offer, don't dally. Two of the books on the original list are already gone (and one of them, The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan), also dropped out of the Kindle Lending Library at the same time. Amazon has added two books as replacements, so there are still 25, but there's no telling how long the current books that are there will last. Of the ones left, my top choices are (although not necessarily in this order):

• The Spirit Ring, by Lois McMaster Bujold
• The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi
• A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole
• Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
• The Crossing Places (Ruth Galloway), by Elly Griffiths

According to someone who spoke to someone at Amazon, there are often a limited number of books available at the $1 prices and once they are gone, those books drop off the offer and may or may not be replaced. Remember, if you have a current generation Kindle (but not the Kindle Fire), you sign up for Special Offers on the Manage My Kindle page at any time and then turn them back off, without any charge (if you paid full price originally).

Of my top picks, most are in mobi format, but (for those who care), A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole, is in Topaz format. That always means a larger file size and often some formatting issues (although sometimes only noticeable at certain font sizes). I just checked and the free version at Audible is still (or once again) free! You won't find it searching in the store, though, so follow this link to add it to your Audible library. If you are on the fence on which KSO book to get, you can grab this one and use the KSO offer on a different selection.

Book Description
"A green hunting cap squeezed the top of the fleshy balloon of a head. The green earflaps, full of large ears and uncut hair and the fine bristles that grew in the ears themselves, stuck out on either side like turn signals indicating two directions at once."

So enters one of the most memorable characters in recent American fiction. The hero of John Kennedy Toole's incomparable, Pulitzer Prize-winning comic classic is one Ignatius J. Reilly, "huge, obese, fractious, fastidious, a latter-day Gargantua, a Don Quixote of the French Quarter". His story bursts with wholly original characters, denizens of New Orleans' lower depths, incredibly true-to-life dialogue, and the zaniest series of high and low comic adventures.

As you may know, one of the methods of subscribing to my blog is to get it in the Amazon Kindle store. I checked late last night and I was up to #91 in Arts & Entertainment blogs (I've crept up a bit since then, it looks like). I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Amazon has dropped the price to only 99 cents a month (I don't have any control over the pricing; Amazon sets it based on content and frequency of posting). It has been at $1.99 for a long time, no doubt due to the frequency of posts. For whatever reason, though, it's now less than cup of coffee or a soda (at least, at most places I've tried around here) - I know one of the commenters mentioned the price (of $1.99/month) as their only issue with the subscription. Amazon updates the blog during the day to your subscribed Kindle device (it looks like they have made it available on all the eInk Kindles), so those of you who aren't around a computer during the day might find this a better way of keeping up with any limited time promotions I might mention.

The website OverHalfSale.com has a 16GB micro-SDHC card (with adapter) on sale today for $11.99 (plus $2 shipping). I haven't tried them out, but have read comments from others that have, and it seems to be a decent bargains website. If you need a memory card for your phone, nookColor, nookTablet or just to use for backups, this might be a great chance to get one. The sales there are limited time and while they last, so there are only about 9 hours left to get this one.

Win a copy of the Out of Time Series Omnibus

I won a copy of the Out of Time Series Omnibus ($5.99 Kindle), by Monique Martin, which contains the first two novels in the Out of Time Series: Out of Time & When the Walls Fell.

 Since I already had copies of both titles, I've arranged with the author to give it away to a lucky reader, instead.

Book Description
BOOK 1: OUT OF TIME
Professor Simon Cross has spent his life searching for evidence of vampires and avoiding emotional entanglements. When a mysterious accident transports Simon and his new assistant, Elizabeth West, back in time, Simon finally finds both the proof that he's been looking for, and the romance that he hasn't.



In 1920s Manhattan, they find that are more than mobsters vying for power in the city's speakeasies. Will Simon and Elizabeth's developing relationship survive the vampires' teeth? Will they survive to make it back? Or will they be forever out of time?

BOOK 2: WHEN THE WALLS FELL
Professor Simon Cross and his assistant Elizabeth West have returned from their accidental journey into the past and are adjusting to their new life together as a couple. But an unwanted visit from the Council for Temporal Studies could change everything.



A murder in the past is changing the future, and if the killing isn't stopped, Simon Cross might never be born.



When they arrive in 1906 San Francisco, Elizabeth and Simon have no idea who wants Victor Graham dead or how it will happen. With the earthquake that leveled most of the city just days away, the race to save Graham thrusts them into a complex mystery of jealousy and revenge where murder might be the least of their worries.


Out of Time and When the Walls Fell are time travel adventures filled with suspense, mystery, romance and a dash of the paranormal.



If you want to be entered into the drawing, leave a comment here (those who read via email or the Kindle will need to visit the web site to enter), along with an email address I can use to get in touch with you. For an additional entry, let others know about the contest using Twitter, Facebook or your own blog and post here to let me know about it (don't forget to include your email address there, too). I'll let the contest run until the end of the year (which is only three days from now), then generate a random number to pick a winner. I'll confirm with the winner and then send their contact info to Monique and she will gift you the book on Amazon.

Summer Kindle Sales Reminders

Just a reminder that today is the last day of the Amazon Sunshine Deals Sale. If you have any samples from the sale that you haven't read thru, you have until midnight Pacific time to do so (or just buy now and you'll have seven days to do a return, if needed).

Today is also the last day to take advantage of the KSO offer to Spend $5 on Kindle Singles and get a $5 Amazon.com Gift Card. I've already bought one at $1.99 (the Bittman title I mentioned in the post), so I might as well go ahead and buy a few more, since I'll get it all back as a credit on the account, at this point. My biggest problem is that I had already bought a few of the Singles, so now have to look a little deeper to see which ones I might want to read (there are new ones, though, including at least one new one today, so I should be able to find two or three).

For those in the UK, there is also a Summer Sale going on, which includes titles such as Robert Wilton's debut novel, The Emperor's Gold, for £1.00 (not available in the US). Most of the prices don't translate well for those in the US, but a many of the titles do seem to be marked down here, as well (for example, the two titles in the Cornelius Quaint Chronicles are $3.99 each, which means I can pick up the second in this series, as I got the first free in Feb '10). There are four titles in Ken McClure's Dr.Steven Dunbar Mystery series at $2.22 or less and another 17 by the same author at $5 ... cheaper than the UK prices, from what I can tell. David Ashton's Shadow of the Serpent is only $1.10 in the US and the next in the series, Fall from Grace, is only $2.22. Although it's not part of the sale, while looking at these books, I ran across The Innocent, by Vincent Zandri , for 99 cents. I don't like the cover much (too dark), but the reviews look promising.

Last, for those in the US, don't forget to enter the Amazon Father's Day Sweepstakes today, as one of the possible prizes is a $100 Amazon Gift Certificate.