Three Books for Three Cents

Skeeter: A Cat Tale, by Anne L. Watson, is the second book she has released on the Kindle platform that is selling for a penny.

Book Description
When a stray kitten romps into Lynne's life, she has no idea what she's getting into. As Lynne describes in letters to her friend Angie, Skeeter is all cat -- high-spirited, contrary, and inventive. He's so goofy that he reminds Lynne of her own nuttiest escapades; so irrepressible that even Lynne's neighbor, Mark, gets wound around his paw. And when Angie visits to see Skeeter for herself . . . . Well, no one who meets Skeeter will ever be quite the same again.

Pacific Avenue, by Anne L. Watson, the first book she has released on the Kindle, back in January. Some of you may have missed it when I wrote about it in March, so I'm including it again; it's still selling for a single penny.

Book Description
Where do you go from the end of the line? This is the question facing Kathy Woodbridge as she steps off the bus in the port city of San Pedro, California. Nineteen years old, from Louisiana, she is running away from her past. There's a lot to run away from.

What do you do when there's no one to do for? That's what Lacey Greer wants to know, with her only child off at college. When Kathy gets a job at the office where Lacey works, she can tell that Kathy's in trouble. Lacey's husband advises her to stay out of it -- but what's she supposed to do, buy a rocking chair?

Set in San Pedro, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans in the early seventies, Pacific Avenue explores themes of love, belonging, helpfulness, hope, forgiveness, reconciliation, interracial marriage, and healing from the trauma of war. At the end of the line, will Kathy find a way to return home?

Timothy Tolliver and the Bully Basher, by Aaron Shepard, is a childrens book (and fairly short), an update on a Jewish legend (and does contain a few expressions with Jewish holidays, which may need explaining to children not yet exposed to Hanukkah or Passover).

Book Description
Timothy Tolliver and his friend Arnie Rosenberg have a problem -- a gang of older bullies called the Stinks. But besides being a fourth-grader, Timothy is also a world-class inventor. He and Arnie get the bright idea of defending themselves with Timothy's science-project robot.

When their first try fails, Timothy finds a way to update the mystical formulae that gave life to the Jewish clay monster, the Golem. The robot comes alive, and it looks like their worries are over -- till the robot stops following orders and takes matters into its own hands.

Can Timothy bring his creation back under control? Find out, as the Golem legend replays in a modern American elementary school.

Thanks to Xia for the tip on these.

Everyone's Reading - and now they can do it for free!

Mills and Boon publishing is celebrating the fist anniversary of their ebook program by giving everyone a free book out of each of their series, ten in all. They also have a contest to win a Sony Reader (they are in the UK, so the Kindle isn't there, yet) and it appears you can re-enter each month until the end of the year. Some of these are either out of print or only available as imports in the US, but enough of them are at Amazon that I'm including links here, for those that want to check out the reviews before downloading. All total, these books would cost $26.40 if bought thru Amazon and you'd have to skip three of them completely.

Romance
Mistress: Hired for the Billionaire's Pleasure ($3.40 Kindle)
The Rake's Unconventional Mistress ($4.32 Kindle)
Pleasure, Pregnancy and a Proposition ($3.40 Kindle)
The Midwife's Little Miracle ($3.40 Kindle)
Father Material ($3.96 Kindle)
Adopted: Outback Baby ($2.88 Kindle)
The Player (Out of Print)
The Billionaire's Baby Negotiation (Out of Print)

Mystery/Suspense/Thrillers
Diagnosis: Danger (IMPORT)
Silent in the Grave ($5.04 Kindle)

Click HERE to get the free downloads. You can choose between EPUB or MOBI/PRC (Kindle) formats (I'd skip having the book sent to your phone, unless you are in the UK). Also, it's a bit tricky to download the books. First, click on the cover image of the book you are interested in (not the "download" button underneath). The image at the right of the screen will change, showing you the book's cover. Next, click on the red banner over the large cover image. This will replace the image with a synopsis of the book and the two links (just above the synopsis). Click on the picture of the format your want - the first one is EPUB and the second picture shown is for Mobi/PRC (that's the one you want for your Kindle). You'll be prompted to save the file; just be sure to pick a place you can find it later, when you want to copy it onto the Kindle. If you are not prompted to save the file and instead the MobiPocket Reader (or other program) starts when you click the link, you'll need to instead Right Click and choose Save Link As or Save Target As from the menu, then name the book once the save file dialog is displayed.

UPDATE: If you open the books on your Kindle and there seems to be nothing there other than a few pages of advertisements, check the location number -- some people are reporting that the books open at the end, rather than the beginning. To find the beginning, use the Menu to select the Cover, Table of Contents or Location (enter "1"), not "the Beginning", as this flag is incorrectly set. I haven't seen the issue on the desktop with the Mobi or Epub, but don't have a Sony Reader to test it there (someone want to send me one?).

Two Dollar Deals from Hatchette Publishing

In addition to Brian Haig's Secret Sanction (see Monday's post), Hatchette Books has four more titles discounted to $1.99 this month.

Storm Track, by Margaret Maron, is a legal mystery/thriller under the Mysterious Press imprint.

Book Description
Judge Deborah Knott blows the lid off a murder investigation with gale force winds in this newest entry in the award-winning series. As Hurricane Fran strikes the North Carolina coast, Judge Knott seeks clues to a motel murder and a determined killer finds a perfect time to strike again.

The Hook, by Donald E. Westlake, is another from Mysterious Press, this time more psychological suspense than thriller.

Book Description
Bryce Proctorr has a multi-million dollar contract for his next novel, a trophy wife raking him over the coals of a protracted divorce, a bad case of writer's block and an impending deadline. Wayne Prentice is a fading author in a world that no longer values his work. Proctorr has a proposition: if Prentice will hand over his unsold manuscript to publish under Proctorr's name, the two will split the book advance fifty-fifty. There's just one small rider to the deal...

Dead Before Dying, by Deon Meyer, is also a thriller, but this time under Little, Brown and Company.

Book Description
Someone in Cape Town has chosen a conspicuous murder weapon -- a century-old German handgun, with ancient bullets that tear through flesh and bone. Three men who have nothing in common are found murdered, and the string of vicious killings pushes the city toward panic. Captain Mat Joubert is left scrambling for answers in a case that might be his last chance to prove that his life's slow spiral will not pull him under. DEAD BEFORE DYING is a heart-racing thriller about a troubled detective determined to find the single thread that weaves together what is otherwise just an assortment of strangers, dead by the same hand.

Bitten & Smitten, by Michelle Rowen is another romance from the Warner Forever label. There were four of these back in June (one is still available for 1.99),

Book Description
In Rowen's death-defyingly funny debut--a cross between "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Sex in the City"--Sarah Dearly goes on a blind date . . . with a vampire.

If you don't have a Kindle, but have a Sony Reader, you can find these same deals in the Sony EBookstore.

UPDATE: Looks like you can get all of these at BooksOnBoard.com as well, although the formats available vary (all appear to be available in DRM'd PDF, some also in Mobi/PRC, Epub or LIT). You can even get the audio version of Secret Sanction for $1.99, which is a real bargain. As for Fictionwise.com - they only have one of the titles at the $1.99 price, so I'd skip them for this deal, just as with the Orbit Dollar Book that they still haven't marked down this month.

Two Books from Brian Haig for Two Bucks

From August 1st-August 31st, 2009, you could buy Brian Haig's Secret Sanction and receive a free download of Mortal Allies. At the time, both were being sold for $6.39 and I meant to order them, but never go around to doing so. This month, Secret Sanction has been marked down to $1.99 (along with a few others ... post upcoming with details) and due to what is no doubt a glitch at Amazon, you still get the second book for free. It's not the first time - several of the "expired" Buy One, Get One Free offers from Amazon still work, although there this no longer any indication of the deals on the first book's product page.

Secret Sanction
Word of Honor meets A Few Good Men in this gripping thriller that pits the Green Berets, the CIA and the U.S. government against a top Army lawyer conducting an investigation everyone wants quashed.

Mortal Allies
Army lawyer Sean Drummond has gotten himself in way over his head-with a case that challenges his deepest fears and a co-counselor who challenges just about everything else.

Two Trilogy Conclusions: Ravenshade & Final Battle

The endings to two different trilogies I've been reading were recently released on Kindle. Both are at bargain prices for a limited time. For those without a Kindle, the second series is available at Mobipocket.com, as well.

Ravenshade ($0.99), by C.S. Marks, completes the Alterra series, concluding the quest of the heroines Gaelen and Nelwyn, Wood-elves of the Greatwood Forest, began in Elfunter ($0.99) and continued in Fire-Heart ($2.99). I expect the sale price on this third volume to rise to the same $2.99 as the second volume, in the next week or so (if not sooner). You can get the entire trilogy for under $5 (under three, if you grabbed Fire-Heart when it was introduced at 99 cents), a bargain and a good read, so far, for the entire family. These are also quite large volumes - this one looks to be close to the same 2.5 MB size as the last one, as it includes all the graphics from the print version, which has a page count of "only" 540 pages versus 732 for the middle volume and for the 516 first.

Book Description
In the third of the Tales of Alterra, the World that Is…

…the Elfhunter is forced into a confrontation with Gaelen of the Greatwood, setting into motion a tale of deceit and betrayal from which neither may emerge. In an effort to prevail over his wily enemy, Gorgon forms a powerful, poisonous alliance with an ancient, sinister force darker and deadlier than any the Company has yet known. Each side must weave a web of deception that ultimately drives them deep into the ruined northern lands, even as the World of Alterra is plunged into war. Will the armies of Lord Wrothgar overwhelm all who stand against them? Does the fate of the Light rest on the shoulders of one small Wood-elf as Gaelen strives to defeat the Elfhunter at last? At the heart of it all is the Stone of Léir and the mighty but forlorn spirit trapped within it.

The second trilogy that has been completed is In Her Name, by Michael R. Hicks, concluding with the volume Final Battle ($1.59). This trilogy was released first as a single volume and was later split into three titles due to the sheer size (bookstores complained about the print edition). The author has been hard at work on a prequel trilogy, the first of which has now released (In Her Name: First Contact, $4.79), so was delayed getting the separate conclusion volume out for this first one. Not only is it available at a bargain price, he's also lowered the price of the Omnibus Edition that has all three volumes back to the original $5.59 introduction price, as well as each individual volume (Empire, Confederation, Final Battle) to $1.59, letting you choose whether or not you want all three volumes on your home page, or one massive entry where the progress bar moves along quite slowly.

Book Description
In the final book of an epic trilogy, In Her Name: Final Battle picks up where In Her Name: Confederation left off:

Reza Gard awakens in a hospital on Earth after having been in a coma for months. Charged with murder and high treason, he finds himself the scapegoat for a daring plot to assassinate the President of the Confederation.

Escaping with the help of Jodi Mackenzie, who is now hunted for what she knows about the death of the president, Reza discovers that something is deeply wrong with the Empire: the warriors have lost their will to fight. Compelled to step into a trap set for him and Jodi, the two once again find themselves bound for Erlang. But this time it is to meet Tesh-Dar, who has been captured.

Captured and sentenced to death, they can only watch as a human armada gathers for a strike against the Kreelan homeworld. But the human fleet - and humanity itself - will be doomed to utter annihilation unless Reza can save his Empress from death...