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Showing posts with label Romance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Romance. Show all posts

Friday, July 5, 2013

Kindle Daily Deals 7/5

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Death at La Fenice ($1.99), the first Commissario Guido Brunetti Mystery by Donna Leon [Grove Press].
Book Description
Beautiful and serene Venice is a city almost devoid of crime. But that is little comfort to Maestro Helmut Wellauer, a world-renowned conductor whose intermission refreshment comes one night with a little something extra in it-cyanide. For Guido Brunetti, vice-commissario of police and detective genius, finding a suspect isn't a problem; narrowing the large and unconventional group of enemies down to one is. As the suave and pithy Brunetti pieces together clues, a shocking picture of depravity and revenge emerges, leaving him torn between what is and what should be right -- and questioning what the law can do, and what needs to be done.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Shot Through the Heart ($0.99), by D'Ann Lindun [Crimson Romance].
Book Description
When Laramie Porter’s sister-in-law Julie is beaten so badly by her husband she miscarries her baby, Laramie takes her home from the hospital. But just a few minutes after the women arrive home, Julie’s husband, who also happens to be a drug addict and the local police sheriff, shows up at the house on a murderous rampage.

He kills Julie and attempts to murder Laramie. When he doesn’t succeed, he hauls them into the mountains and throws them off a cliff. Julie’s body lands in a pond, but Laramie hits a ledge, where she perches, terrified.

Derrick Garrison is in the mountains moving his cattle when his dog finds Julie’s body in the pond. Creeped out, Derrick at first doesn’t believe his ears when he hears a girl crying for help. But he finds Laramie and pulls her to safety. Before she can tell him anything, a lightning strike starts a forest fire and they flee to a hidden valley.

Fleeing a drug hazed killer, the fire, and a gun-toting old lady bent on collecting a reward, Laramie and Derrick do their best to evade all three . . . and fall in love along the way.

Sensuality Level: Sensual

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is PODs ($1.99), a YA dystopian novel by Michelle Pickett [Spencer Hill Press].
Book Description
Seventeen-year-old Eva is a chosen one. Chosen to live, while others meet a swift and painful death from an incurable virus so lethal, a person is dead within days of symptoms emerging. In the POD system, a series of underground habitats built by the government, she waits with the other chosen for the deadly virus to claim those above. Separated from family and friends, its in the PODs she meets David. And while true love might not conquer all, its a balm for the broken soul.

After a year, scientists believe the population has died, and without living hosts, so has the virus. Thats the theory, anyway. But when the PODs are opened, survivors find the surface holds a vicious secret. The virus mutated, infecting those left top-side and creating... monsters.

Eva and David hide from the infected in the abandoned PODs. Together they try to build a life--a new beginning. But the infected follow and are relentless in their attacks. Leaving Eva and David to fight for survival, and pray for a cure.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is The Curse: Touch of Eternity ($1.99), by Emily Bold and Jeanette Heron (Translator) [Skyscape].
Book Description
A centuries-old curse, a mysterious amulet, and a young love reignite a vendetta that had died down long ago…

When seventeen-year-old Samantha goes on a school-exchange trip to Scotland, she takes with her an old pendant that she found amongst her grandmother’s belongings. As soon as she arrives at her host family’s home, she is drawn into the country’s tales and myths. Then she meets the dangerously attractive Payton –a mysterious Highlander who soon conquers Sam’s heart. Caught up in her feelings, she doesn’t realize how much danger she’s in. Payton’s past holds a dark secret. A secret that has bound together both their families’ fates for hundreds of years and is now also endangering Sam’s life.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 7/5

The Boy from Reactor 4 (£0.99 UK), by Orest Stelmach [Thomas & Mercer], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.99; $1.99 companion audiobook).
Book Description
Nadia’s memories of her father are not happy ones. An angry, secretive man, he died when she was thirteen, leaving his past shrouded in mystery. When a stranger claims to have known her father during his early years in Eastern Europe, she agrees to meet—only to watch the man shot dead on a city sidewalk. With his last breath, he whispers a cryptic clue, one that will propel Nadia on a high-stakes treasure hunt from New York to her ancestral homeland of Ukraine. There she meets an unlikely ally: Adam, a teenage hockey prodigy who honed his skills on the abandoned cooling ponds of Chernobyl. Physically and emotionally scarred by radiation syndrome, Adam possesses a secret that could change the world—if she can keep him alive long enough to do it. A twisting tale of greed, secrets, and lies, The Boy from Reactor 4 will keep readers guessing until the final heart-stopping page.

Grace Grows (£0.99 UK), by Shelle Sumners [Allen & Unwin], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Romance Fans in the UK (the US edition is $8.89).
Book Description
A wonderfully upbeat and quirky romance in which a young textbook editor in New York, who takes herself a little too seriously, falls for a singer-songwriter who appears to take nothing at all seriously . . .

Like many young women, Grace Barnum's life is precariously balanced on sensible choices and uncomfortable compromise. She dutifully edits textbooks that she fears may be more harmful than helpful to kids. She is engaged to a patent attorney with whom she has a reliable relationship. She has a cautious relationship with her fascinating father, a renowned New York painter, and she prefers her mother slightly drunk as she's easier to handle that way.

Always organised, always a planner, Grace carries her life around in a handbag - that is, until the responsibility-challenged Tyler Wilkie shows up. Tyler of the warm eyes and a smile that makes Grace drop things. Worst of all, he writes tender, loving, devastating songs - about her. Tyler reaches something in Grace, something she needs, but can't admit to. Something she wants, but won't succumb to. Falling in love with him would ruin everything. And yet . . .

An enchanting story about learning to love and learning to let go.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Bargain Book Roundup

I hope everyone is having a great Fourth of July! We are going to cook out (if the weather will co-operate) and I've turned up some cookbook deals (and a few others) at Amazon for us. First, Amazon has a number of (paper) cookbooks at 50% off right now. The best deals, of course, are in the Kindle store!

Be sure to enter the the Audible Wish List contest by July 14 - you can win up to $300 worth of audiobooks!

Slow Fire ($2.99 Kindle), by Lampe Ray, Anderson Famous Dave, Beisch Leigh and Leigh Beisch [Chronicle Books]. It's not too late to run down and pick up enough supplies to make Bacon and Blue Cheese Coleslaw for your picnic today.
Book Description
Great barbecue is as simple as meat, fire, smoke, and time. This ode to authentic meaty goodness gives barbecue beginners an essential guide to the tools, techniques, and recipes needed to make smoky, mouthwatering, fall-off-the-bone meats. And seasoned smokers will learn a thing or two, too! Ray Lampe, a.k.a. Dr. BBQ, brings decades of expertise as a barbecue master, providing indispensable wisdom alongside 68 of the best recipes he has encountered in his long and wide-ranging career, from tantalizing mains such as Competition-Style Beef Brisket to lip-smacking sides such as Bacon and Blue Cheese Coleslaw. For both stove-top smokers and regular backyard grills, Slow Fire makes it easy to cook irresistible slow-cooked barbecue right at home.

Southern Living Around the Southern Table: Coming home to comforting meals and treasured memories ($2.99 Kindle), by Rebecca Lang and the Editors of Southern Living Magazine [Oxmoor House]. I've grabbed a sample and if it isn't all bread, biscuits and cakes, I'll probably get this; I always read Southern Living Magazine and enjoyed skimming thru the recipes, back when it was a huge monthly magazine. It's a lot smaller than it used to be, but you can also now read a lot of the recipes online (and they have some nice Fourth of July articles, free for everyone to read).
Book Description
Sharing a meal around the table is the perfect expression of all things Southern: hospitality, grace, humor, and a devotion to great food. Author Rebecca Lang--a professionally trained chef and lifelong Southerner--makes the reader feel right at home, with pre-meal sips on the porch, indulgent dinners laced with bacon, decadent desserts, and messy morning-after breakfasts with biscuit crumbs and homemade jelly. These are the recipes that fill our memories of family and home, pull readers into the kitchen, and leave them fulfilled at the table.

Essays from well-known and much-loved Southerners--like Chick-Fil-A founder Truett S. Cathy and novelist Cassandra King--pepper the chapters with wisdom, humor, and insights gained from time spent at their own dining tables. Better yet, Around the Southern Table is filled with recipes for dishes that Southerners crave and cherish for everyday as well as special occasions. From mouthwatering main dishes like Shrimp and Grits or Stuffed Meatloaf to classic desserts like Lemon Pie or Pound Cake and Peach Ice Cream, every recipe tells a story, and, more importantly, is absolutely delicious. Each and every recipe is 100% homemade from-scratch and 100% Southern.

This book invites you to pull up a chair at your favorite table and make great food and unforgettable memories of your own.

The Complete Chile Pepper Book: A Gardener's Guide to Choosing, Growing, Preserving, and Cooking ($2.99 $2.51 Kindle), by Paul W. Bosland and Dave DeWitt [Timber Press]. I did pick this one up, as it is one of my favorite publishers for gardening books.
Book Description
Chile peppers are hot — in every sense of the word. They add culinary fire to thousands of dishes from a variety of cuisines and inspire near-fanatical devotion in those who have succumbed to their incendiary charms. In this comprehensive book, world chile experts Dave DeWitt and Paul W. Bosland have assembled all the information that anyone with an interest in chile peppers could ever hope to find.

Detailed profiles of the 100 most popular chile varieties include information on how to grow chiles; how to diagnose and remedy problems, pests, and diseases; and post-harvest processing and preservation.

The book culminates in 85 mouth-watering recipes that make brilliant use of both the characteristic heat of chile peppers and of their more subtle flavor qualities.

Want to know what the hottest chile pepper in the world is? You'll find it in the fascinating story of 'Bhut Jolokia', acknowledged by Guinness World Records as the fieriest chile on earth. Confused about the identity of those chile peppers you bought? The authors' clear photographs and precise descriptions will clear up the mystery. The Complete Chile Pepper Book is the only guide to chiles you'll ever need. It's a scorcher.

Hot Sauce!: Techniques for Making Signature Hot Sauces, with 32 Recipes to Get You Started; Includes 60 Recipes for Using Your Hot Sauces ($2.51 Kindle), by Jennifer Trainer Thompson [Storey Publishing]
Book Description
Here are 32 recipes for making your own signature hot sauces, ranging from mild to blisteringly hot, as well as 60 recipes that use homemade or commercial hot sauces in everything from barbeque and Buffalo wings to bouillabaisse and black-bean soup. Try making chowders, tacos, ribs, salads, seafood, and more. There are even recipes for scorching cocktails, like Daiquiri Diablo and Slow-Burn Martinis! Author Jennifer Trainer Thompson, recognized as a leader in the spicy foods movement for her cookbooks and four hot sauce posters, has talked about hot sauce on hundreds of talk shows, including Live with Regis and Good Morning America. She has traveled her own personal "Trail of Flame," speaking at conventions and in the media about hot foods, and serving as guest chef at Hot Nights at restaurants in Boston, Philadelphia, and the Berkshires.

The Oxford Companion to Beer ($3.79 Kindle), by Garrett Oliver and Tom Colicchio [Oxford University Press], has a list price of $35 (and is $65 in print!).
Book Description
1st Place Winner of the 2012 Gourmand Award for Best in the World in the Beer category.

For millennia, beer has been a favorite beverage in cultures across the globe. After water and tea, it is the most popular drink in the world, and it is at the center of a $450 billion industry.

The first major reference work to investigate the history and vast scope of beer, The Oxford Companion to Beer features more than 1,100 A-Z entries written by 166 of the world's most prominent beer experts. Attractively illustrated with over 140 images, the book covers everything from the agricultural makeup of various beers to the technical elements of the brewing process, local effects of brewing on regions around the world, and the social and political implications of sharing a beer. Entries not only define terms such as "dry hopping" and "cask conditioning" but give fascinating details about how these and other techniques affect a beer's taste, texture, and popularity. Cultural entries shed light on such topics as pub games, food pairings and the development of beer styles. Readers will enjoy vivid accounts of how our drinking traditions have changed throughout history, and how these traditions vary in different parts of the world, from Japan to Mexico, New Zealand, and Brazil, among many other countries. The pioneers of beer-making are the subjects of biographical entries, and the legacies these pioneers have left behind, in the form of the world's most popular beers and breweries, are recurrent themes throughout the book.

Packed with information, this comprehensive resource also includes thorough appendices (covering beer festivals, beer magazines, and more), conversion tables, and an index. Featuring a foreword by Tom Colicchio, this book is the perfect shelf-mate to Oxford's renowned Companion to Wine and an absolutely indispensable volume for everyone who loves beer as well as all beverage professionals, including home brewers, restaurateurs, journalists, cooking school instructors, beer importers, distributors, and retailers, and a host of others.

Adrenaline ($0.99 Kindle), the first Sam Capra novel by Jeff Abbott [Grand Central Publishing]. Although it's not the same series, you can pre-order Trust Me ($2.99), a stand-alone novel that is finally making to ebook.

Adrenaline
Sam Capra is living the life of his dreams.

He's a brilliant young CIA agent, stationed in London. His wife Lucy is seven months pregnant with their first child. They have a wonderful home, and are deeply in love.

They have everything they could hope for...until they lose it all in one horrifying moment.

On a bright, sunny day, Sam receives a call from Lucy while he's at work. She tells him to leave the building immediately. He does...just before it explodes, killing everyone inside. Lucy vanishes, and Sam wakes up in a prison cell. As the lone survivor of the attack, he is branded by the CIA as a murderer and a traitor.

Escaping from the agency, Sam launches into a desperate hunt to save his kidnapped wife and child, and to reveal the unknown enemy who has set him up and stolen his family. But the destruction of Sam's life was only step on in an extraordinary plot-and now Sam must become a new kind of hero.
Trust Me
Luke Dantry finds the bad guys. . .before they're bad guys. He works for a Washington, D.C. think tank as a minor academic who studies the online venting of would-be extremists, trying to identify those who will move from threatening words to deadly action. Anonymously typing from his computer as he monitors a loose collection of enraged loners, Luke thinks his identity is safe--but he is wrong.

Suddenly kidnapped and left for dead in an isolated cabin, Luke soon realizes that the people he's been watching and studying are more organized and dangerous than he ever imagined. And they aren't the only ones who've kept an eye on him. Now with his former targets-and the federal government--tracking every move he makes, Luke must decipher a murderous web of connections that reaches into his own broken past. Only Luke can stop a looming threat that may kill countless people--including himself.

Deadly Sting ($1.99 Kindle) is the just released eighth novel in the Elemental Assassin series by Jennifer Estep [Simon and Schuster], with the companion audiobook for $3.49. A good series and a good author, I definitely didn't expect to see this one on sale so soon after release. I'd grab this one even if you're behind in the series, so that it's waiting for you when you get caught up.
Book Description
Red is definitely my color. Good thing, because in my line of work, I end up wearing it a lot.

Most people shy away from blood, but for an assassin like me— Gin Blanco, aka the Spider—it’s just part of the job. Still, it would be nice to get a night off, especially when I’m attending the biggest gala event of the summer at Briartop, Ashland’s fanciest art museum. But it’s just not meant to be. For this exhibition of my late nemesis’s priceless possessions is not only the place to be seen, but the place to be robbed and taken hostage at gunpoint as well. No sooner did I get my champagne than a bunch of the unluckiest thieves ever burst into the museum and started looting the place.

Unlucky why? Because I brought along a couple of knives in addition to my killer dress. Add these to my Ice and Stone magic, and nothing makes me happier than showing the bad guys why red really is my color.

For fans of Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl series, be sure to check out the many titles on sale for $3.99, including a number of the Kindle with Audio/Video Editions that include a different piece of video footage from Eoin Colfer's one man stage show, Fairies, Fiends, & Flatulence in each title and some with companion audiobook editions (I've linked the one under $5). The A/V editions can be read on any Kindles, but the added content is available only on iThings.

Artemis Fowl #1 (companion audiobook)
Twelve-year-old Artemis Fowl is a millionaire, a genius—and, above all, a criminal mastermind. But even Artemis doesn't know what he's taken on when he kidnaps a fairy, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. These aren't the fairies of bedtime stories; these fairies are armed and dangerous. Artemis thinks he has them right where he wants them…but then they stop playing by the rules.
The Arctic Incident #2
Artemis Fowl receives an urgent e-mail from Russia. In it is a plea from a man who has been kidnapped by the Russian Mafiya: his father. As Artemis rushes to his rescue, he is stopped by a familiar nemesis, Captain Holly Short of the LEPrecon Unit. Now, instead of battling the fairies, Artemis must join forces with them if he wants to save one of the few people in the world he loves.
The Eternity Code #3 (A/V Edition)
Artemis Fowl is going straight. As soon as he pulls off the most brilliant criminal feat of his career. At least, that's the plan when he attempts to sell his C Cube, a supercomputer built from stolen fairy technology. When his efforts to broker a deal for the Cube with a powerful businessman go terribly wrong, his loyal bodyguard and friend Butler is mortally injured. The only thing that will save him is fairy magic, so once again he must contact his old rival, Holly Short. It's going to take a miracle to save Butler, and Artemis's luck may have just run out.
The Opal Deception #4 (A/V Edition)
The evil pixie Opal Koboi has spent the last year in a self-induced coma, plotting her revenge on all those who foiled her attempt to destroy the LEPrecon fairy police. And Artemis Fowl is at the top of her list. After his last run-in with the fairies, Artemis had his mind wiped of his memories of the world belowground. But they have not forgotten about him. Once again, he must stop the human and fairy worlds from colliding – only this time, Artemis faces an enemy who may have finally outsmarted him.
The Lost Colony #5 (A/V Edition)
Demons are beginning to materialize without warning on Earth. If humans were to capture one, all fairies would be exposed. In order to protect themselves, the fairies must decipher complicated equations to determine where the next demon will appear. Not even the brilliant Foaly can make heads or tails of the formulas – but he knows someone who can: Artemis Fowl. When a very confused demon imp appears in a Sicilian theater, Artemis is there to meet him. But he is not alone. Someone else has unlocked the secrets of the fairy world…and she is only twelve years old. Now, in a race against time, a newly-reformed Artemis Fowl will have to dip into his bag of dirty tricks if he is to save his fairy friends from his latest nemesis, not to mention a power hungry demon warlord who is poised to invade our dimension with his savage army.
The Time Paradox #6 ($3.99 A/V Edition)
"When Artemis Fowl’s mother contracts a life-threatening illness, his world is turned upside down. The only hope for a cure lies in the brain fluid of the silky sifaka lemur. Unfortunately, the animal is extinct due to a heartless bargain Artemis himself made as a younger boy.

Though the odds are stacked against him, Artemis is not willing to give up. With the help of his fairy friends, the young genius travels back in time to save the lemur and bring it back to the present. But to do so, Artemis will have to defeat a maniacal poacher, who has set his sights on new prey: Holly Short.

The rules of time travel are far from simple, but to save his mother, Artemis will have to break them all…and outsmart his most cunning adversary yet: Artemis Fowl, age ten.
The Artemis Fowl Files ($3.49)
The Artemis Fowl Files is comprised of two original stories: “LEPrecon”: the story of Fairy Police Captain Holly Short’s move from Traffic to Recon following her initiation into the Fairy Police; and “The Seventh Dwarf”, featuring Mulch, Butler, and Artemis himself.

EXTRAS INCLUDE:
• “Behind-the-scenes” interviews with major characters including: Artemis, Holly, Foaly, Mulch, and Eoin
Colfer himself
• Coded section from the Fairy Book for kids to translate
• A section for Fairy Spotters including the different categories of Fairy and their physical characteristics
and personality traits, including: Elves, Trolls, Sprites, Pixies Goblins, Dwarves and Centaurs
• Technical diagrams of Foaly’s inventions

Not To Us ($3.99 Kindle), by Katherine Owen.
Book Description
If you get a second chance, do you take a different path?

There are all kinds of ways for a relationship to be tested, even broken, some, irrevocably; it's the endings we're unprepared for.

Ellie's perfect world unravels.
A best friend's betrayal ends her marriage.
An alarming diagnosis threatens her life.
Yet.
It all leads to Michael...
But, fate soon tests their perfect union.
And, begs the question: if you get a second chance, do you take a different path?

The Beach House ($1.99 Kindle) and Another Summer ($2.99 Kindle), by Georgia Bockoven [HarperCollins]

The Beach House (Update: back to regular price)
The beach house is a peaceful haven, a place to escape everyday problems. Here, three families find their feelings intensified and their lives transformed each summer.

When thirty-year-old Julia, mourning the death of her husband, decides to sell the Santa Cruz beach house they owned together, she sets in motion a final summer that will change the lives of all the families who rent it year after year. Teenaged Chris discovers the bittersweet joy of first love. Maggie and Joe, married sixty-five years, courageously face a separation that even their devotion cannot prevent. The married woman Peter yearns for suddenly comes within his reach. And Julia ultimately finds the strength to rebuild her life—something she once thought impossible.

With equal measures of heartbreak and happiness, bestselling author Georgia Bockoven's unforgettable novel tells of the beauty of life and the power of love, and speaks to every woman who has ever clung to a child or loved a man.
Another Summer
Georgia Bockoven’s enthralling Another Summer—the sequel to her phenomenal bestseller The Beach House—is a must for fans of Jodi Picoult and Marian Keyes. It is the moving and powerful story of four families, the conflicts that tear them apart…and the house that brings them together. Bestselling author Kristin Hannah says, “It will appeal to anyone who believes in the healing power of love,” and Mary Jo Putney advises you to, “Read Another Summer on a day when you want to laugh and cry and feel better about the world.” If you’re looking for the very best in heartbreaking, heart-soaring, uplifting fiction…come in.

Disguised Blessing ($0.99 Kindle), by Georgia Bockoven [HarperCollins]
Book Description
After years of being alone, Catherine Miller thinks she's finally found happiness. Engaged to an adoring, successful executive, she lives in a luxurious house, and her beautiful fifteen-year-old daughter, Linda, is on the brink of college and adulthood. Then, Catherine's rose-colored world is shattered. Her daughter is burned terribly in a freak accident, and just when Catherine needs him most, her fiancé abandons her. Now Catherine must call on every ounce of courage and strength she has to help her beloved daughter recover. Fortunately, she's got help in fire captain Rick Sawyer, an expert burn counselor. Ruggedly handsome, appealingly down-to-earth, Rick is like no man Catherine has ever met. But Catherine made the wrong choice before. How can she trust her emotions--especially when it's not just her heart at stake but her daughter's life, too?

In the tradition of Barbara Delinsky comes this poignant, moving story of the bonds of family, the strength of love, and the courage to dare.

Dust ($5.99 Kindle), by Hugh Howey, is now available for pre-order and I have it in my queue! I expect to be up late one or two nights in a row finishing it, as I did with Wool and Shift.
Book Description
WOOL introduced the silo and its inhabitants.

SHIFT told the story of their making.

DUST will chronicle their undoing.

Welcome to the underground.

Kindle Daily Deals 7/4

Gamers may want to check out the 2013 #NoDRM SUMMER SALE FINALE at GOG.COM; they have 500+ games at up to 85% off, from puzzles to full RPGs.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Infinite Jest ($1.99), by David Foster Wallace [Hachette].
Book Description
A gargantuan, mind-altering comedy about the Pursuit of Happiness in America set in an addicts' halfway house and a tennis academy, and featuring the most endearingly screwed-up family to come along in recent fiction, Infinite Jest explores essential questions about what entertainment is and why it has come to so dominate our lives; about how our desire for entertainment affects our need to connect with other people; and about what the pleasures we choose say about who we are. Equal parts philosophical quest and screwball comedy, Infinite Jest bends every rule of fiction without sacrificing for a moment its own entertainment value. It is an exuberant, uniquely American exploration of the passions that make us human - and one of those rare books that renew the idea of what a novel can do.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is two romantic and exciting stories about the settling of the American West by Reid Lance Rosenthal for $1.99 each.

Threads West: An American Saga
The July 2013 reprint of the #1 bestselling Threads West--multiple award winning first book and namesake of the sweeping Threads West, An American Saga multi-era series compared by reviewers and authors to Lonesome Dove, Centennial, Louie L'Amour ("with steam") and called by some "The Gone With The Wind of the West" The tale bursts with the adventure, romance and promise of historical America and the West wrapped in a silver bolo of the American spirit.

You will recognize the characters who live in these pages. They are your friends, neighbors, your co-workers, and your family. They are you. They are us.
This is not only their story. It is our story.
It is Threads West, An American Saga.

The epic saga of Threads West begins in 1854 with the first of five, richly textured, complex generations of unforgettable, multicultural characters. The separate lives of these driven men and independent woman are drawn to a common destiny that beckons seductively from the wild and remote flanks of the American West. Swept into the dangerous currents of the far-distant frontier by the mysterious rivers of fate, the power of the land and the American spirit, their journeys are turbulent quests intertwined with romance and adversity, passions and pathos, despair and triumph.

Fifteen hundred miles to the west of St. Louis lies the lawless untamed spine of the continent, the Rocky Mountains. Their energy draws this vanguard of generations to love and struggle in the beautifully vibrant but unforgiving landscape of the West. The personal conflicts inherent to these brave, passion-filled characters are exacerbated by a nation in transition, the budding enmity between North and South, the broken treaties with Native Americans and the accelerating melting pot of diverse cultures that marks this magical moment in American history.
Maps of Fate
Set in 1855, Book Two, continues the page turning tale of four richly-textured, complex generations of unforgettable personalities. Suspense builds as they hurtle towards unknown destinies, propelled by one adventure, danger, romantic twist and encounter to the next.

Forged in the crucible of history, shaped on the dangerous anvil of the land, the threads of their lives and torrid loves interweave with the evolution of the West. Indian conflicts, the rancor of slavery, and the discovery of gold, all create lethal surprises when the characters are forced to defend their lands, their loved ones, and their honor. The tragic end of the First Nations begins to unfold. New characters with dark hearts, lost souls, and hopeful innocence, color the tapestry of this epic saga. Others, in search of place rightful freedom, and catapult into the story.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is The Songs of Distant Earth ($1.99), by Arthur C. Clarke [RosettaBooks].
Book Description
More than two thousand years in the future, a small human colony thrives on the ocean paradise of Thalassa—sent there centuries ago to continue the human race before the Earth’s destruction.

Thalassa’s resources are vast—and the human colony has lived a bucolic life there. But their existence is threatened when the spaceship Magellan arrives on their world—carrying one million refugees from Earth, fleeing the dying planet.

Reputed to be Arthur C. Clarke’s favorite novel, Songs of Distant Earth addresses several fascinating scientific questions unresolved in their time—including the question of why so few neutrinos from the sun have been measured on Earth. In addition, Clarke presents an inventive depiction of the use of vacuum energy to power spacecraft—and the technical logistics of space travel near the speed of light.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is What the Dog Said ($2.99), by Randi Reisfeldl.
Book Description
Ever since her police officer father was killed a few months ago, Grace Abernathy hasn't wanted to do much of anything. She's pulled away from her friends, her grades are plummeting . . . it's a problem. The last thing Grace wants is to be dragged into her older sister Regan's plan to train a shelter dog as a service dog. But Grace has no idea how involved she'll get-especially when a mangy mutt named Rex starts talking to her. Has Grace gone off the deep end? Or might this dog be something really special-an angel? A spirit? Either way, he is exactly the therapy that Grace needs.

Age Level: 10 and up

UK Kindle Daily Deal 7/4

Wounds of Honour (£1.49 UK), by Anthony Riches [Hodder], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $8.66).
Book Description
Thrilling, authentic and action-packed, this novel introduces soldier hero Marcus Valerius: a centurion stationed on Hadrian's Wall in the second century during a revolt against the Roman Empire.

Marcus Valerius Aquila has scarcely landed in Britannia when he has to run for his life - condemned to dishonorable death by power-crazed emperor Commodus. The plan is to take a new name, serve in an obscure regiment on Hadrian's Wall and lie low until he can hope for justice. Then a rebel army sweeps down from the wastes north of the Wall, and Marcus has to prove he's hard enough to lead a century in the front line of a brutal, violent war.

Dare You To (£0.99 UK), by Katie McGarry [Harlequin Teen], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Romance Fans in the UK (the US edition is $2.99).
Book Description
"I dare you…"

If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does….

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock—with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams—and his life—for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Kindle Daily Deals 7/3

Today on Amazon's Gold Box, Get Up to 73% Off "Stargate: Atlantis" and "Stargate SG-1" Collections.

Amazon's Android Free App of the Day is Zen³.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is A Drink Before the War ($1.99), the first Kenzie and Gennaro novel by Dennis Lehane [HarperCollins], with the companion audiobook for $4.99. The third in the series, Sacred, is also on sale at $2.99.

A Drink Before the War
As richly complex and brutal as the terrain it depicts, here is the mesmerizing, darkly original novel that heralded the arrival of Dennis Lehane, the master of the new noir -- and introduced Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, his smart and tough private investigators weaned on the blue-collar streets of Dorchester.

A cabal of powerful Boston politicians is willing to pay Kenzie and Gennaro big money for a seemingly small job: to find the missing cleaning woman who stole some secret documents. As Kenzie and Gennaro learn, however, this crime is no ordinary theft. It's about justice. About right and wrong. But in Boston, finding the truth isn't just a dirty business ... it's deadly.
Sacred
A beautiful, grief-stricken woman has vanished without a trace. So has the detective hired to find her. And a lot of money…

Enter tough-nosed private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. Rooted in the streets of blue-collar Dorchester, they've seen it all – and survived. But this case leads them into unexpected territory: a place of lies and corruption, where trusting anyone could get them killed, and where nothing is sacred.

Another superior thriller from Dennis Lehane, the bestselling and acclaimed author of Mystic River, Shutter Island, and Gone, Baby, Gone.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Omega ($1.99), the third novel in The Penton Vampire Legacy by Susannah Sandlin [Montlake Romance], with the companion audiobook only $0.99. The first two in the series, Redemption and Absolution, are only $3.99 (and can be borrowed from the Prime Lending Library).
Book Description
The bloody war between the Vampire Tribunal and the defiant scathe of Penton, Alabama, rages on, forcing its residents and their bonded humans to retreat into the underground fortress of last resort: Omega. There, Will Ludlam is charged with the care of Penton’s humans, though he longs to fight alongside his vampire brethren. He knows the risks: as the renegade son of the Tribunal’s vicious leader, Will’s capture could doom the resistance. Yet he is determined to prove his worth to his adopted scathe, to his vengeful father—and to former US Army officer Randa Thomas, his beautiful, reluctant partner. Randa has little faith that a former member of the vampire elite has what it takes to fight a war. But as their enemies descend upon Omega, Will’s polished charm—and Randa’s guarded heart—finally give way to the warrior within. Fans of Susannah Sandlin’s Penton Legacy are sure to devour this long-awaited third installment of the steamy paranormal series.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Jack Of Hearts ($1.99), by Ricardo Bare [Bell Bridge Books].
Book Description
Slave. Loner. Assassin.

Some boys throw their hearts away. Jack let a witch take his.

He surrendered it long ago to the Lady of Twilight so that he would never feel heartache—or anything else—again. But there was a price. The Lady transformed him into a callous hunter forced to do her bidding, and now she’s commanded him to chase down and kill a thieving wizard named Moribrand. Love, hope, and human connection are concepts he can no longer comprehend, painful weaknesses he chose to cast aside. But when Jack meets a beautiful girl trapped in a mirror, the impossible happens—he feels an echo of his distant heart, and the sensation staggers him.

Cassandra, a spellbound girl who can only communicate through her mirror image, awakens something in him more dangerous, more impossible, than he ever imagined: a memory of who he once was and how it felt to care about another human being. She challenges his loyalty to the Lady and shows him his heart might be worth saving. What will it take for Jack to take his heart back from a witch, who has no intention of giving it up?

Today's Kindle Teens Daily Deal is The Call of Eirian ($1.99), the second novel in the Faelin Chronicles by C. Aubrey Hall [Skyscape]. The series starts with Crystal Bones and continues with Mage Fire, both currently marked down to $3.99.
Book Description
Faelin twins Diello and Cynthe, children of a Fae mother and human father, found their lives changed forever the day their parents were brutally murdered by a goblin horde. They discovered that their parents' cautious ways hid a lifetime of secrets, including Eirian, a magical sword buried on their farm. Now their little sister has been taken by someone who wants that sword and the ultimate power that comes with it. The twins along with their friends, a goblin boy and a talking wolf pup will have to journey to Embarthi, the realm of the Fae, and seek the family they have never known to find their sister and the truth about their parents mysterious past.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 7/3

Masaryk Station (£1.09 UK), by David Downing [Old Street Publishing], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.43).
Book Description
Berlin, 1948. Still occupied by the four Allied powers and largely in ruins, the city has become the cockpit of a new Cold War. The legacies of the war have become entangled in the new Soviet-American conflict, creating a world of bizarre and fleeting loyalties—a paradise for spies. As spring unfolds, a Western withdrawal looks increasingly likely. Berlin’s German inhabitants live in fear of the Soviet forces who occupy half the city, and whose legacy of violence has ripped apart many families.

John Russell works for both Stalin's NKVD and the newly created CIA, trying his best to cut himself loose from both before his double-agency is discovered by either. As tensions between the great powers escalate, each passing day makes Russell’s position more treacherous. He and his Soviet liaison, Shchepkin, seek out one final operation—one piece of intelligence so damning it could silence the wrath of one nation and solicit the protection of the other. It will be the most dangerous task Russell has ever taken on, but one way or the other, it will be his last.

Wish Upon a Star (£0.99 UK), by Olivia Goldsmith [HarperCollins], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Romance Fans in the UK (no US edition).
Book Description
From the bestselling author of THE FIRST WIVES CLUB comes a sparkling romantic comedy. Perfect for fans of Candace Bushnell.

For Claire, a secretary from Staten Island who takes the ferry each morning into Manhattan, it’s spent working 9 to 5 at a law firm, reading romantic novels, desperately wishing that her life could be as full of excitement as the heroines featured. That is until she is offered her the chance of a trip to London – all expenses paid.

When Claire sets foot on British soil she falls head over heels in love – with a country. Life in NYC is forgotten as she rents a room and sets out to make a whole new life as an American in London. But she reckons without the obstructive efforts of a very strait laced Englishman…

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Kindle Daily Deals 7/2

This week on Amazon's Software Deals, you can get 67& off on the software downloads for learning Spanish, French, German and English as a second language, from Individual Software, or up to $170 off on select Rosetta Stone titles.

For those who prefer to learn on their phones and tablets, the Appstore has a 50% off sale on Learn-on-the-Go, Phrasebooks and Talking Dictionaries from Ectaco Inc., which you can use for studying for a class or while on your vacation or work trip. Languages included in the sale are Spanish, German, French, Chinese, Thai, Japanese and English (for French or German Speakers).

Amazon's Android Free App of the Day is Flowpaper, an interactive drawing tool. Looks like a fun app, for artists and kids.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Edward Adrift ($1.99), by Craig Lancaster [Amazon Publishing], with the companion audiobook for $0.99.
Book Description
It’s been a year of upheaval for Edward Stanton, a forty-two-year-old with Asperger’s syndrome. He’s lost his job. His trusted therapist has retired. His best friends have moved away. And even his nightly ritual of watching Dragnet reruns has been disrupted. All of this change has left Edward, who lives his life on a rigid schedule, completely flummoxed.

But when his friend Donna calls with news that her son Kyle is in trouble, Edward leaves his comfort zone in Billings, Montana, and drives to visit them in Boise, where he discovers Kyle has morphed from a sweet kid into a sullen adolescent. Inspired by dreams of the past, Edward goes against his routine and decides to drive to a small town in Colorado where he once spent a summer with his father—bringing Kyle along as his road trip companion. The two argue about football and music along the way, and amid their misadventures, they meet an eccentric motel owner who just might be the love of Edward’s sheltered life—if only he can let her.

Endearing and laugh-out-loud funny, Edward Adrift is author Craig Lancaster’s sequel to 600 Hours of Edward.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is The Biscuit Witch ($1.99), A Crossroads Café Novella and the first book in the MacBrides series by Deborah Smith [Bell Bridge Books].
Book Description
This time, the MacBrides are home to stay.

Dear Dr. Firth:
I know you are in your cups at this time, drinking and sleeping under trees, but I have some experience rehabilitating lost souls in that regard, and so I am enclosing a box of my biscuits and a cold-wrapped container of cream gravy for dessert. Please eat and write back.
We need a veterinarian of your gumption here in the Crossroads Cove of Jefferson County.
—Delta Whittlespoon, proprietress of The Crossroads Café

Biscuit witches, Mama called them. She’d heard the term as a girl. She’d inherited that talent. My mother could cast spells on total strangers simply by setting a plate of her biscuits in front of them. –Tal MacBride

Welcome back to the Crossroads Cove where new loves, old feuds, and poignant mysteries will challenge siblings Tal, Gabby, and Gus MacBride to fight for the home they lost and to discover just how important their family once was, and still is, to the proud people of the Appalachian highlands.

Tallulah MacBride hasn’t been back to North Carolina since their parents’ tragic deaths, twenty years ago. But now, Tal heads to cousin Delta Whittlespoon’s famous Crossroads Café in the mountains above Asheville, hoping to find a safe hiding place for her young daughter, Eve.

What she finds is Cousin Delta gone, the café in a biscuit crisis, and a Scotsman, who refuses to believe she’s passing through instead of “running from.” He believes she needs a knight in shining flannel.

When a pair of sinister private eyes show up, Tal’s troubles are just beginning.

For Tal’s brother and sister—Gabby, the Pickle Queen, and Gus, the Kitchen Charmer—the next part of the journey will lead down forgotten roads and into beautiful but haunted legacies.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Last Stop ($1.99), the first novel in the Watchers series by Peter Lerangis [Open Road Media Young Readers], which was selected by the American Library Association as a 1999 Best Book for Reluctant Young Adult Readers.
Book Description
To find his missing father, a young boy must cross over to another dimension

It’s been six months since David Moore’s father disappeared. After months of strange behavior—baby talk, forgetfulness—he simply vanished forever. The Public Guardians searched Franklin City, but they couldn’t turn up a single clue. David is beginning to give up hope when his subrail train stops between stations at the abandoned Granite Street platform. On the other side of the glass he sees a crowd of people. In the middle is his father, waving.

When a psychic suggests that David may have the power to see into another dimension, he and his friends scour the city in search of a portal to the other side. To learn if his father is alive or dead, David will need to discover the secrets of the abandoned station.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Peter Lerangis including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is I Love You! ($0.99), by Calee Lee [Xist Publishing].
Book Description
"I love you like a skipping stone...I love you like a doggy's bone..."

Celebrating the love between a parent and a child, this rhyming book features a host of animals and the things they love about each other. Perfect for babies, toddlers, preschoolers and as a reminder to the big kids in your life.

Age Level: 4 and up

Nook Daily Find 7/2

Scoundrel for Hire ($4.99 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), the first novel in the Velvet Lies series by Adrienne deWolfe [ePublishing Works!], is the Nook Daily Find.
Book Description
Raphael Jones is a Kentucky-born scoundrel, who has never played by the rules. When Colorado mining heiress, Silver Nichols, hires him to stop her precious daddy from marrying a golddigger, Rafe sets out to seduce Silver and win her fortune.

But beneath Silver's cool veneer, Rafe encounters a sweet vulnerability and an aching secret that threatens to send his whole world up in smoke.

Now the wily scoundrel must choose: walk away or wager the one thing he can't afford to lose—his heart.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 7/2

Harm's Way (£0.99 UK), by Celia Walden [Bloomsbury], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.99).
Book Description
I always think that if you walk around thinking you can have anything you want, you usually can.

For confident nineteen-year-old Anna, finding men is easy, holding on to them unnecessary. Moving to Paris brings her a new job, a new life and a new friend in the form of a woman twenty years her senior, Beth. As they fall in love with the city, Anna is irresistibly drawn to Beth's warmth and charm. When Beth falls in love with an attractive Frenchman, Christian, Anna struggles to overcome her increasing jealousy. But who is her real rival: Christian or Beth? A sultry tale of betrayal and regret, Harm's Way traces Anna's story as she learns one of life's hardest lessons: that if you believe you can have anything you want, you may end up with nothing but regret.

Shades of Gray (£0.99 UK), by Amanda Ashley [Montlake Romance], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for for Romance Fans in the UK (the US edition is $2.00).
Book Description
The fifth vampire romance by bestselling author Madeline Baker writing as Amanda Ashley! Lost in darkness, Grigori found new sustenance in the light of Marisa's love, and new purpose in his life. Only he could protect her from the evil that stalked the night. Now, hungering for her bittersweet caress, he vowed to show her that not all of the undead were monsters, and that somewhere between the black and white of damnation and desire lay infinite shades of gray.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Daily Deal - Island of the Swans (E)

Island of the Swans ($15.99 $8.79 Kindle), a romantic historical novel by Ciji Ware [Sourcebooks Landmark], is today's Deal of the Day at at Diesel E-Books, where it's discounted to $2.60 (8 copies left).
Book Description
Re-issued in its original full length, this acclaimed and bestselling romantic historical novel by award-winning author Ciji Ware tells the true story of passionate and flamboyant Jane Maxwell, the 4th Duchess of Gordon (1749-1812). In love since childhood with Thomas Fraser, when she hears that he's been killed in America, she marries the Duke of Gordon with disastrous results. But Fraser, very much alive, returns to England to claim her love.

In addition to telling a heart-wrenching love story, Island of the Swans also paints a fascinating portrait of a powerful and controversial woman and the tumultuous era in which she lived. Patroness of poet Robert Burns, advisor to King George, painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds, Jane Maxwell was a towering figure in her own time and is an unforgettable heroine.
Get the book from Diesel; be sure to check the sales price, as the Deal of the Day often sells out. Deals change at 11AM Eastern Time, USA.

Kindle Daily Deals 7/1

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Canada ($2.99), by Richard Ford [HarperCollins], with the companion audiobook for $5.99.
Book Description
The only writer ever to win both the Pulitzer Prize and Pen/Faulkner Award for a single novel (Independence Day), Richard Ford follows the completion of his acclaimed Bascombe trilogy with Canada. After a five-year hiatus, an undisputed American master delivers a haunting and elemental novel about the cataclysm that undoes one teenage boy’s family, and the stark and unforgiving landscape in which he attempts to find grace.

A powerful and unforgettable tale of the violence lurking at the heart of the world, Richard Ford’s Canada will resonate long and loud for readers of stark and sweeping novels of American life, from the novels of Cheever and Carver to the works of Philip Roth, Charles Frazier, Richard Russo, and Jonathan Franzen.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is For the Love of Jazz ($0.99), by Elke Feuer [Crimson Romance].
Book Description
Restoration architect Josie Fagan takes on a project with lawyer and senator’s son, Patrick Pullman. It’s the perfect match. She needs his endorsement to save her business and he wants to restore his ancestral Chicago home. Love wasn’t part of her plan. Neither was being asked to stay at his home, haunted by ghosts, or discovering she has a claim to his home - which she adores. When she finds out his family may be responsible for her aunt’s disappearance fifty years ago, it’s a race to unearth the truth before she loses not only her business and her heart, but also her life.

Patrick can’t deny his attraction to Josie and is willing to take a chance on love since his broken engagement a year earlier. Things become complicated when he learns of their family connection and her claim to the home he loves. He doesn’t believe in ghosts, or that his family is involved in her aunt’s disappearance, so insists they work together. But, when he starts seeing his uncle’s ghost, and threats are made on her life, he’s forced to confront the possibility his family could be responsible.

Sensuality Level: Behind Closed Doors

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is The Year of the Jackpot ($0.99), by Robert Heinlein [RosettaBooks].
Book Description
This novelette appeared in the March 1952 issue of GALAXY and is the only work which Heinlein wrote specifically for Horace Gold, the editor of GALAXY magazine. (Heinlein’s novel THE PUPPET MASTERS had been serialized in the September through November 1951 issues of GALAXY but Gold had merely acquired serial rights to a contract novel which had been written for Scribner’s.) Heinlein never again appeared in Gold’s GALAXY. This novelette, set in a near-future only subtly different from the McCarthyite and politically menacing present deals with social deterioration, cultural breakdown in a careful, documentary style which becomes terrifying. His romantically-linked leads are emotionally affecting but never sentimentalized, the background of chaos in which they enact their tragic, drowning love, is sparingly but furiously painted. Heinlein’s 1952 is clearly the apotheosis of those “Crazy Years” which he had noted in his famous chronological Future History, published a decade earlier in ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION as a precis of his intended career. Perhaps no story of this period limns its political and cultural dysfunction as accurately as this novelette. Overshadowed by Heinlein’s juveniles and his famous later novels, THE YEAR OF THE JACKPOT may be the purest version of his portfolio and his most memorable work of less than novel length. It is one of his most exemplary stories and perhaps his best.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert A. Heinlein (1907-1988) was the first great science fiction writer of the so-called “Modern” (post-Campbellian) period and still perhaps the best. His first story, “Life-Line” was published in the August 1939 issue of ASTOUNDING, within three years with novels and novelettes such as SIXTH COLUMN, BLOWUPS HAPPEN, UNIVERSE, THE ROADS MUST ROLL, METHUSALEH’S CHILDREN he had become the most dominant writer in the history of science fiction; this was a position he did not relinquish for the rest of his life nor has it yet been relinquished. A list of his novels is virtually a pocket history of science fiction--THE MOON IS A HARSH MISTRESS, STARSHIP TROOPERS, STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND, DOUBLE STAR, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL--and all of them remain in print and controversial to this moment. He won the Hugo for Best Novel four times, was three time Guest of Honor at the World Science Fiction Convention and was the first Grand Master of the Science Fiction Writers of America. His history and that of modern science fiction cannot in any way be disentangled.

ABOUT THE SERIES
Horace Gold led GALAXY magazine from its first issue dated October 1950 to science fiction’s most admired, widely circulated and influential magazine throughout its initial decade. Its legendary importance came from publication of full length novels, novellas and novelettes. GALAXY published nearly every giant in the science fiction field.

The Galaxy Project is a selection of the best of GALAXY with new forewords by some of today’s best science fiction writers. The initial selections in alphabetical order include work by Ray Bradbury, Frederic Brown, Lester del Rey, Robert A. Heinlein, Damon Knight, C. M. Kornbluth, Walter M. Miller, Jr., Frederik Pohl, Robert Scheckley, Robert Silverberg, William Tenn (Phillip Klass) and Kurt Vonnegut with new Forewords by Paul di Filippo, David Drake, John Lutz, Barry Malzberg and Robert Silverberg. The Galaxy Project is committed to publishing new work in the spirit GALAXY magazine and its founding editor Horace Gold.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is The Timekeeper's Moon ($2.99), by Joni Sensel [Dream Factory Books], the sequel to The Farwalker's Quest in The Farwalker Trilogy and which is followed by The Skeleton's Knife, which is also on sale for $2.99.

The Timekeeper's Moon
When Ariel Farwalker hears the moon talking to her, she thinks she must be going crazy. Then she discovers an ancient map, and learns that the moon is part of a mysterious summons that's calling her on a new journey.

With her surly guardian Scarl by her side, Ariel sets out on an adventure that leads her to new friends-the beautiful Flame-Mage Sienna and the mute boy Nace, who captures Ariel's heart. As the four travel on, strange things start to happen-fragments of Ariel's past appear in the present, so that it seems that time itself is coming undone. At the end of the journey, Ariel will learn where her journey began, and have a chance to save her life as she knows it.

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up
The Skeleton's Knife
Unable to choose between an old love and a new one, 14-year-old Ariel Farwalker sets out to escape the conflict and return a dead enemy's knife to its source. There, she meets a new friend with a smuggler's savvy and a talent for charming the wind. Yet Ariel's failure to let go of the past lends strength to an evil that soon threatens the life of someone she loves. To save him, she must travel to a place where few dare to walk. If she fails, neither she nor her most beloved friends will survive. Fantasy/adventure for readers of ages 9-14.

UK Kindle Daily Deal 7/1

Blank Slate (£0.99 UK), by Tiffany Snow [Montlake Romance], is the Kindle Deal of the Day for those in the UK (the US edition is $3.99). Originally released as a Kindle Serial, all episodes now download as a complete book.
Book Description
Special Agent Erik Langston has been tracking Clarissa O'Connell for nearly a year, always one step behind the cyber hacking thief. She's escaped his clutches often and easily.

Except tonight.

In the snow-covered switchbacks of the Colorado mountains in a worsening snowstorm, a car crash robs Clarissa of her memory and lands her as Erik's prisoner.

Riding out the storm in a cabin, Erik is forced to protect someone he knows to be a criminal, though O'Connell isn't anything like he'd imagined her to be.

In a race to stay one step ahead of those who'll do anything for what she knows, Clarissa and Erik must dig into her locked memories if they're going to survive. Can she trust his feelings even when he knows the truth?

Is it really possible to start over with a blank slate?

The M.C. Beaton Regency Collection (£0.99 UK), by M.C. Beaton [Canvas], is the Kindle Romance Deal of the Day for those in the UK (no US edition).
Book Description
The first titles from four delightful and charming Regency Romance series by bestselling author M.C. Beaton.

Emily Goes to Exeter (The Travelling Matchmaker Series)
A dead employer's legacy of five thousand pounds allows spinster Hannah Pym to resign from housekeeping and find adventure travelling the English countryside by stagecoach. But adventure soon finds Miss Pym in the form of Miss Emily Freemantle, a spoilt violet-eyed beauty fleeing an arranged marriage to a rake she has never met.

What the girl's darkly handsome betrothed boards their stage, Miss Pym is certain Emily was rash to bolt from this aristocratic catch! And so as soon as the travellers repair to an inn, Miss Pym begins her matchmaking... and although Lord Ranger Harley complains he'll not marry an ungrateful minx, Miss Pym suspects once she's marshalled the couple into sharing intimate household chores, all romantic knots will be untangled!

Minerva (The Six Sisters Series)
Raven-haired Minerva, eldest daughter of an impecunious vicar, When the Reverend Charles Armitage, an impecunious country vicar in Regency England, announces that raven-haired Minerva, the eldest of his six daughters, is to have her coming-out in London, the news is not well received by the rest of the family. Mrs. Armitage has one of her Spasms and has to be brought round by burning a quantity of feathers under her nose. Annabelle, the nearest in age to Minerva, is clearly jealous, the boys are all surly, and the other girls just start off crying.

Minerva is despatched to Town under the wing of the disreputable old Lady Godolphin. Her task - to find a rich husband and thereby restore the ailing family fortunes.

But the other five daughters will all get their chance, because Minerva is but the first volume in The Six Sisters series by M.C. Beaton.

Refining Felicity (The School for Manners Series)
'If you have a Wild, Unruly, or Undisciplined Daugher, two Ladies of Genteel Birth offer to Bring Out said Daughter and Refine what may have seemed Unrefinable. We can make the Best of the Worst'

When Amy and Effie Tribble, two charming but impoverished spinster sisters, lose out on an inheritance, they place this advertisement in The Morning Post and hire themselves out as professional chaperones. Vowing to prepare even the most difficult misses for marriage, the Tribble sisters will spend a London season on each client, educating them in their School for Manners.

Felicity Baronsheath, their first assignment, turns out to be more of a challenge than they could have ever imagined. Not only is Felicity indifferent to the idea of marriage, she is also a spoilt brat! And when, despite their best endeavours, Felicity insists on remaining unrefined and hoydenish, the Tribbles begin to fear that her season - and their new business venture - will end in disaster.

The Miser of Mayfair (A House for the Season Series)
Is Number 67 Clarges Steet the unluckiest house in Mayfair?

Every Season the beaux mondes of the Regency would hire a house in the heart of London's fashionable West End at disproportionately high rent for often inferior accommodation and yet No.67 Clarges Street, a town house complete with staff, remains vacant from year to year. Could it be that it is associated with ill luck and even death? Something must be done so that the servants of this house don't lose their livelihood...

Salvation seems to come in the form of Roderick Sinclair who confirms he wishes to rent the house for the current Season. The staff are overjoyed - until they find that Mr Sinclair is a terrible miser who is planning no parties. Furthermore, his ward, Fiona, though a dazzling Highland beauty, does not seem to possess one bright idea in her head. But it is Rainbird, No.67's clever and elegant butler, who sees through her façade and resolves to help his mysterious mistress in whatever way he can...

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Kindle Daily Deals 6/30

Amazon's Android Free App of the Day is Farm 123 - StoryToys Jr., a counting game for kids.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is The One I Left Behind ($1.99), by Jennifer McMahon [HarperCollins].
Book Description
The summer of 1985 changes Reggie’s life. An awkward thirteen-year-old, she finds herself mixed up with the school outcasts. That same summer, a serial killer called Neptune begins kidnapping women. He leaves their severed hands on the police department steps and, five days later, displays their bodies around town. Just when Reggie needs her mother, Vera, the most, Vera’s hand is found on the steps. But after five days, there’s no body and Neptune disappears.

Now, twenty-five years later, Reggie is a successful architect who has left her hometown and the horrific memories of that summer behind. But when she gets a call revealing that her mother has been found alive, Reggie must confront the ghosts of her past and find Neptune before he kills again.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Faerie ($0.99), by Delle Jacobs [Montlake Romance], with the companion audiobook for $1.99.
Book Description
Like her mother before her, Leonie of Bosewood carries Faerie blood in her veins, a secret she harbors to protect her own life. For although the people of eleventh-century England believe in magic, their ignorance and fear have made being different a very dangerous prospect. Caught between the human and Faerie worlds, yet belonging in neither, Leonie must guard her heart…no matter how strong the temptations.

As the king’s emissary, Philippe le Peregrine has watched Leonie mature from gangly girl to alluring woman. With each encounter, his attraction grows, but he knows a match between them can never be. For Philippe hides his own secret, one that has condemned him to a life of lonely celibacy for fear of harming the woman he loves. But when powerful forces prompt them to unite against a sorcerer intent on conquering the world, Leonie and Philippe realize that only together are they strong enough to combat the evil threatening to engulf them.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is three thrilling alternative history adventure stories in The Foreworld Saga by Greg Bear, Neal Stephenson, Mark Teppo and Erik Bear $0.99 apiece [47North].

The Mongoliad: Book One (companion audiobook $1.99)
With bonus material! This Kindle edition features extra content only found in the Collector’s Edition of The Mongoliad: Book One, including an illustrated character glossary, a Foreworld map, and Sinner, a prequel to the Mongoliad series.

The first novel to be released in The Foreworld Saga, The Mongoliad: Book One, is an epic-within-an-epic, taking place in 13th century. In it, a small band of warriors and mystics raise their swords to save Europe from a bloodthirsty Mongol invasion. Inspired by their leader (an elder of an order of warrior monks), they embark on a perilous journey and uncover the history of hidden knowledge and conflict among powerful secret societies that had been shaping world events for millennia.

But the saga reaches the modern world via a circuitous route. In the late 19th century, Sir Richard F. Burton, an expert on exotic languages and historical swordsmanship, is approached by a mysterious group of English martial arts aficionados about translating a collection of long-lost manuscripts. Burton dies before his work is finished, and his efforts were thought lost until recently rediscovered by a team of amateur archaeologists in the ruins of a mansion in Trieste, Italy. From this collection of arcana, the incredible tale of The Mongoliad was recreated.

Full of high adventure, unforgettable characters, and unflinching battle scenes, The Mongoliad ignites a dangerous quest where willpower and blades are tested and the scope of world-building is redefined.

A note on this edition: The Mongoliad began as a social media experiment, combining serial story-telling with a unique level of interaction between authors and audience during the creative process. Since its original iteration, The Mongoliad has been restructured, edited, and rewritten under the supervision of its authors to create a more cohesive reading experience and will be published as a trilogy of novels. This edition is the definitive edition and is the authors' preferred text.
The Mongoliad: Book Two (companion audiobook $1.99)
With bonus material! This Kindle edition features extra content only found in the Collector’s Edition of The Mongoliad: Book Two, including an illustrated character glossary, a Foreworld map, and Dreamer, a prequel to the Mongoliad series.

This riveting second installment in Stephenson and company’s epic tale focuses on the aftermath of the world-shattering Mongolian invasion of 1241 and the difficult paths undertaken by its most resilient survivors.

The Shield Brethren, an order of warrior monks, search for a way to overthrow the horde, even as the invaders take its members hostage. Forced to fight in the Mongols’ Circus of Swords, Haakon must prove his mettle or lose his life in the ring. His bravery may impress the enemy, but freedom remains a distant dream.

Father Rodrigo receives a prophecy from God and believes it’s his mission to deliver the message to Rome. Though a peaceful man, he resigns himself to take up arms in the name of his Lord. Joining his fight to save Christendom are the hunter Ferenc, orphan Ocyrhoe, healer Raphael, and alchemist Yasper, each searching for his place in history.

Deftly blending fact and fantasy, The Mongoliad: Book Two captures the indomitable will to survive against immense odds.
The Mongoliad: Book Three (companion audiobook $1.99)
With bonus material! This Kindle edition features extra content only found in the Collector’s Edition of The Mongoliad: Book Three, including an illustrated character glossary and a Foreworld map.

The final book of the Mongoliad trilogy from Neal Stephenson and company tells the gripping personal stories of medieval freedom fighters to form an epic, imaginative recounting of a moment in history when a world in peril relied solely on the courage of its people.

The shadow of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II hangs over the shattered Holy Roman Church as the cardinals remain deadlocked, unable to choose a new pope. Only the Binders and a mad priest have a hope of uniting the Church against the invading Mongol host. An untested band of young warriors stands against the dissolute Khan, fighting for glory and freedom in the Khan’s sadistic circus of swords, and the brave band of Shield-Brethren who set out to stop the Mongol threat single-handedly race against their nemesis before he can raise the entire empire against them. Veteran knight Feronantus, haunted by his life in exile, leads the dwindling company of Shield-Brethren to their final battle, molding them into a team that will outlast him. No good hero lives forever. Or fights alone.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is What If Your Best Friend Were Blue? ($1.99), by Vera Kochan [Two Lions].
Book Description
What if your best friend were blue? What if your doctor were yellow? Would it change things? A child imagines what the world would be like if people in his community each had a different skin color. Child-friendly acrylic illustrations and a strong read-aloud text gently teach colors while showing that it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: Pre K and up