My fingers are getting a bit sore from one-clicking this morning, but I've found a few more for you to grab today, while they are free.
First up, two free books from Scott Nicholson, who runs the small press Haunted Computer Books:
The Skull Ring (Julia Stone) and
As I Die Lying. Scott has been kind enough to send me review copies of his books from time to time, but I didn't have either of these in my library. His children's book,
Duncan the Punkin, is still free today and you'll find a number of titles at 99 cents if you look thru
his catalog.
The Skull Ring (Julia Stone)
Julia Stone's past comes creeping back when she discovers a strange silver ring, and three men want to help her--but choosing the wrong one could cost not only her heart but her soul.
THE SKULL RING
Dr. Pamela Forrest is determined to bring Julia's memories to the surface, hoping to heal Julia's panic disorder. The therapist keeps returning Julia to a night twenty-three years ago when Julia was four. A night of hooded figures, strange chants, pain, and blood. The night her father disappeared from the face of the earth.
But the line between the past and the present begins to blur when Julia finds a silver skull ring that bears the name "Judas Stone." Someone is leaving strange messages inside her house, even though the door is locked. The handyman, who has a key, spends a lot of time in the woods behind her house. Her boyfriend Mitchell becomes distant and violent. And the cop who investigated her father's disappearance has followed her to the small Appalachian town of Elkwood.
Now she has a head full of memories, but she doesn't know which are real and which are the creations of Dr. Forrest. The shadows of Julia's panic are growing larger and darker. But succumbing to madness seems safer than heeding the whispers that claim ownership of her body and soul.
As I Die Lying
Richard's life is a horror story. And it's all the fault of that evil, soul-hopping spirit that took over his head. Or maybe the other four people in there.
Richard Coldiron journeys through a troubled childhood, where he meets his invisible friend, his other invisible friend...and then some who aren’t so friendly.
There’s Mister Milktoast, the protective punster; Little Hitler, who leers from the shadows; Loverboy, the lusty bastard; and Bookworm, who is thoughtful, introspective, and determined to solve the riddle of Richard’s disintegration into either madness or genius, and of course only makes things worse. They reside in the various rooms of his skull, a place known as the Bone House. And the people outside his head aren't so comforting, either--little Sally, his hapless mother, his cruel dad, and a misfit teen named Virginia who also hears voices.
Richard keeps his cool despite the voices in his head, but he’s about to get a new tenant: the Insider, a malevolent soul-hopping spirit that may or may not be born from Richard’s nightmares and demands a co-writing credit and a little bit of foot-kissing dark worship.
Now Richard doesn’t know which voice to trust. The book’s been rejected 117 times. The people he loves keep turning up dead. And here comes the woman of his dreams.
I do have a review copy of Steven Konkoly's
The Jakarta Pandemic floating around on my Kindle, but haven't managed to start reading it yet (past the sample, anyway). Today, you can all get a copy and see if you can beat me to finishing it. If you are into military fiction, you might also check out his other title,
Black Flagged, currently $2.99 (and in the KLL).
Book Description
THE DEADLIEST PANDEMIC FLU IN HISTORY IS BEARING DOWN ON NEW ENGLAND, AND ALEX FLETCHER HAS A BIG PROBLEM...
HIS FAMILY IS PREPARED, BUT NOBODY ELSE IS.
AS THE FLU SPREADS, AND THE WINTER INTENSIFIES...
THE FOOD TRUCKS STOP, HOSPITALS TURN AWAY THE SICK, AND RIOTS ROCK THE CITIES. POWER PLANTS WILL START TO TRIP OFFLINE WITHIN DAYS.
EVERYONE IS DESPERATE...
ALEX'S PROBLEM IS ABOUT TO EXPLODE!
In the late fall of 2013, a lethal pandemic virus emerges from the Islamic Republic of Indonesia and rages unchecked across every continent. When the Jakarta Flu threatens his picture perfect Maine neighborhood, Alex Fletcher, Iraq War veteran, is ready to do whatever it takes to keep his family safe. As a seasoned sales representative for Biosphere Pharmaceuticals, makers of a leading flu virus treatment, Alex understands what a deadly pandemic means for all of them. He particularly knows that strict isolation is the only guaranteed way to protect his family from the new disease.
With his family and home prepared for an extended period of seclusion, Alex has few real concerns about the growing pandemic. But as the deadliest pandemic in human history ravages northern New England, and starts to unravel the fabric of their Maine neighborhood, he starts to realize that the flu itself is the least of his problems. A mounting scarcity of food and critical supplies turns most of the neighbors against him, and Alex is forced to confront their unexpected hostility before it goes too far. Just when he thinks it can’t get any worse, the very face of human evil arrives on Durham Rd. and threatens to destroy them all. Alex and his few remaining friends band together to protect the neighborhood from a threat far deadlier than the flu, as they edge closer to the inevitable confrontation that will test the limits of their humanity.
Doranna Durgin has another title free today,
Making the Rules, a stand-alone action romance, previously published by Silhouette .
Book Description
Kimmer Reed is a Hunter Agency operative, a street foundling escaped from an abusive family and raised to be code-name Chimera--a fierce, savvy loner with a natural gift for reading people. Now on her first assignment with the one man she trusts--the one man she can't read--she finds herself overseas in the Basque countryside, framed for the theft of the very antiquity she has been sent to guard and doubting her ability to work with a partner at all--never mind the man she loves.
Rio Carlsen, former CIA field officer who left the agency with scars both physical and emotional, joins Hunter Agency field operations with reservations--and only because his partner is Kimmer. Now he's caught in the schemes of a woman from Kimmer's past. Political terrorism, antiquities theft, and revenge--this woman wants it all, and she's on her way to getting it.
Framed, cut off from the agency, and tangled in Basque Nationalist splinter terrorist groups, the biggest challenge Kimmer and Rio face is coming to terms with their pasts and with each other--so they can live through the day on the way to saving it.
My Lord Viking was originally published by ImaJinn Books under the pen name J A Ferguson in 2001, then reprinted in 2007 under Jo Ann Ferguson as part of their Forever Romance line.
Book Description
Viking Nils Bjornsson turns his back on a warrior's reward to find his chieftain's stolen knife and erase the dishonor brought upon Nils's family. When he appeals to the Norse gods to send him a handmaiden to help him fulfill his pledge to bring the knife to his chieftain, he forgets how the old gods like to meddle in the lives of mortals.
Lady Linnea Sutherland knows her father wishes her to marry their neighbor Lord Tuthill. It is certain to be the perfect match for a Regency miss. But Linnea is looking for a hero, a man who excites her heart as boring Lord Tuthill does not. When she discovers Nils injured on the shore, she is caught up in the adventure of helping this handsome, dangerous man complete the vow he made nearly a millennium before. But first she must teach this Viking how to act like a Regency gentleman.
To help Nils means that Linnea must dare the ancient ways of his past and risk her future. In a game played in the Norse gods' hall of Asgard, two human hearts are of little consequence and love can become an ally or a foe.
Speaking of Imajinn Books, you'll find
fifteen of their books free in the Kindle store today, including
The Sea Star, by Jean Nash.
Book Description
When Susanna Sterling's brother loses his half interest in the Sea Star to Jay Grainger, a powerful hotel magnate, she fears that Grainger will ultimately gain full control of her beloved hotel.
As she battles to regain her birthright, Susanna finds herself falling in love with her irresistible adversary. Meanwhile, her mother, who abandoned the family years ago, returns to the Sea Star to further complicate Susanna's life.
In time, duplicity, a tragic secret, and a devastating fire threaten to destroy Susanna's love for Jay and all that she holds dear.
If your reading tastes lean more towards erotica, author Selena Kitt has a half-dozen of
her titles for free, including
Foreign Exchange (An Erotica / Erotica Coming of Age Romance).
Book Description
David has been brightening up his gray Surrey, England days with the porn collection hidden in his parents' shed, but when he finds that their American foreign exchange student, Dawn, has discovered his magazines, things really begin to heat up. David’s parents insist that he look for a job, but Dawn has the week off and is determined to work on her tan. Distracted David finds himself increasingly tempted by their seductive, older foreign exchange student, who makes it very clear what she wants. In spite of the Study Abroad program’s policy that no “relations” are allowed between a student and anyone in their host family--not to mention David’s mother’s insistence that they treat each other as “brother and sister,”--Dawn’s teasing ways slowly break down the barrier between them until they both give in to their lust. But what are they going to do about the feelings that have developed between them in the meantime?
Author's Note: This story appeared in another, now rather infamous book of mine titled NAUGHTY BITS. Foreign Exchange is a slightly less naughty, but no less sexy re-telling of those events--updated and redressed for your reading pleasure.
