Almost Free Book - On the Heels of Evil

On the Heels of Evil, by D.E. Daum, is currently on sale for one penny. Only one review, but looks like an honest one -- for a penny, I'll take a chance on it, as the story line shows promise.

Book Description
Does Kelly Rogers have a relationship with The Almighty? Perhaps. One could interpret the fact that he lives as corroboration of a Godly connection. On the other hand, his survival may be an aberration-an uncanny twist of fate, that has propelled him in the position to be the greatest single fighter of world terrorism. That is the question that author, D.E. Daum, makes his readers wonder, repeatedly, while reading this fast-paced action thriller.

Our protagonist, covert agent, Kelly Rogers, begins to believe it and why shouldn-t he? He was dead, practically cut in half by an assassin-s bomb, but awoke in the hospital as Saleem Rhamsy. Yes, through some inexplicable reason, he now occupies the body of Rhamsy-his double-crossing Arab interpreter.

Kelly, who is by all appearances Saleem Rhamsy, is now in the pre-eminent position to monitor the upcoming plans for terrorist events planned by the most active world wide terrorist organizations and as a bonus inherits Rhamsy-s former beauty queen wife, Mariam.

Working for a secret unit of the CIA, Kelly and his superior, the indomitable Jane DeJong and later his wife, go on to fight not only radical Muslim terrorists, but a troublesome group of Neo-Nazis, who have sponsored many of the terrorist activities, including a nuclear bomb planted in a major American city.

Kindle goes International!

It looks like the temporary issues some international customers had with ordering their Kindle books over the weekend were a test of some new location detection system that Amazon needed before introducing their International Kindle, which you can pre-order as of this morning for $279.

It looks like they'll start shipping on October 19th and if history is any indication, they'll be sold out from the minute they are available. Those that order right away reserve a place in line (and if you don't pay for 2nd day or overnight delivery, even that place will probably be a week after launch). Here's the big difference for those looking at the US versus the International units. Both have:

3G Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle; no annual contracts, no monthly fees, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots

but the International adds:

International Coverage: Enjoy 3G wireless coverage at home or abroad in over 100 countries

Internally, they've added/changed the cell chip, most likely using the empty slot previously discovered by some of those who have disassembled their Kindles (which I don't recommend); for those technically inclined, it's a HSDPA modem (3G) with a fallback to EDGE/GPRS. The international coverage, however, isn't free (understandable, given the vast difference in how cell plans work in other countries, compared to the US), so you'll want to make extra certain that you have the cell connection turned off when you aren't planning on spending more money than usual:

When traveling abroad, you can download books wirelessly from the Kindle Store or your Archived Items for a fee of $1.99

Cell coverage for this Kindle is via AT&T, not Sprint, so that may mean a much lower coverage area inside the US (especially if you believe those Verizon ads running these days). So those outside the US will still want to mainly use their USB cable, but now have a cellular option. There is still no wi-fi, which will no doubt lower their technical support costs, since connecting to a hotspot can be tricky. Adding this option might be their next evolution and it's one that international customers (and US with poor cell coverage) would welcome, at least for those savvy enough to be able to hook up to their home networks and the free hotspots that are starting to blanket the world (and every bookstore, now that Borders has joined Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million in giving away wi-fi to promote ebook sales on the new Sony units they'll be selling this year).

The only other change that I could see was that the 2-year extended warranty sold by Amazon is for US customers only (but works on either Kindle, just only inside the US), while those outside the US (and yes, you can order one and have it shipped anywhere) get the same one-year warranty as any other Kindle customer.

The price on the US version of the Kindle, in the meantime, is $259, with refurbished units at $219 (those $199 units went fast). It looks as though they still have to be shipped to a US address, but if you don't want to risk that $2/book wireless fee, they are still a good option even for international customers or those that travel. On the other hand, if you are out of the country often and must download those books while trapped in yet another airport, the international version will provide more entertainment, almost instantly, for as little as two bucks - a deal which can't be beat, in that situation.

Kindle Bargain Ebook Roundup - History/Military

Miracle at St. Anna ($2.70), by James McBride

Book Description
James McBride's memoir, The Color of Water, was a literary achievement that topped bestseller lists for more than two years. Now McBride turns his extraordinary gift for storytelling to fiction. Miracle at St. Anna is a tale of courage and redemption inspired by the famed Buffalo soldiers of the 92nd Division and a little-known historic event in a small Tuscan village at the end of World War II-the massacre at St. Anna di Stazzema.

The acclaimed novel is now a major motion picture directed by Spike Lee, coming to theaters Sept. 28.

The Raiders: Sons of Texas($4.79), by Elmer Kelton

Book Description
In 1816, Mordecai Lewis, a veteran of Andrew Jackson's Indian campaigns and battles against the British, moves his family into the western Tennessee canebrakes. But Mordecai, a born wanderer, is not satisfied with farming, and with his sons Michael and Andrew and some other backwoodsmen, he leads a foray into Spanish-held Texas to hunt wild horses and return the mustang herd to sell in Tennessee.

Crossing the Sabine River, Mordecai's party encounters a Spanish patrol determined to repel all American invaders. After a bloody skirmish leaves their father dead, Michael and Andrew find their way back to their Tennessee farm.

Five years later, after the Spanish government in Mexico City has agreed to permit 300 American families to settle in Texas, the Lewis brothers have their opportunity to re-enter Texas. They ride to the frontier town of Natchitoches, Louisiana, where Michael falls in love with Marie Villaret, daughter of a wealthy French landowner, then cross the Sabine to find Stephen F. Austin, a Missouri entrepreneur in charge of the new American colony.

But the Lewises are considered interlopers and horse thieves and are dogged by a patrol led by the same ruthless Spanish offer who killed their father five years before.

Sons of Texas is the first volume in a trilogy that follows the lives and adventures of the Lewis family through the era of the Alamo and Texas Independence under Sam Houston.

The Warrior ($2.54), by FRANCES RICHEY

Book Description
A heart-rending memoir-in-verse that speaks to a mother's love for her son. When Frances Richey's only child, Ben, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a Green Beret, went on the first of his two deployments to Iraq, she began to write the twenty-eight unflinching poems that make up The Warrior. This urgent and intensely personal collection describes the world of those who wait while their loved ones are in combat or perilous situations; it is universal in its expression of the longing, anguish, love, and hope that constitute close relationships.

Thugs: How History's Most Notorious Despots Transformed the World through Terror, Tyranny, and Mass Murder ($2.42), by Micah D. Halpern

Book Description
From Hitler to Hussein, Napoleon to Pol Pot, Alexander the Great to Idi Amin, this is a trenchant look into the lives, politics, and horrible deeds of history's most notorious world leaders-and how they shaped our world for the worst.

Slavery, Resistance, Freedom ($3.54), by Gabor S. Boritt & Scott Hancock (Editors)

Book Description
Americans have always defined themselves in terms of their freedoms--of speech, of religion, of political dissent. How we interpret our history of slavery--the ultimate denial of these freedoms--deeply affects how we understand the very fabric of our democracy.

This extraordinary collection of essays by some of America's top historians focuses on how African Americans resisted slavery and how they responded when finally free. Ira Berlin sets the stage by stressing the relationship between how we understand slavery and how we discuss race today. The remaining essays offer a richly textured examination of all aspects of slavery in America. John Hope Franklin and Loren Schweninger recount actual cases of runaway slaves, their motivations for escape and the strains this widespread phenomenon put on white slave-owners. Scott Hancock explores how free black Northerners created a proud African American identity out of the oral history of slavery in the south. Edward L. Ayers, William G. Thomas III, and Anne Sarah Rubin draw upon their remarkable Valley of the Shadow website to describe the wartime experiences of African Americans living on both borders of the Mason-Dixon line. Noah Andre Trudeau turns our attention to the war itself, examining the military experience of the only all-black division in the Army of the Potomac. And Eric Foner gives us a new look at how black leaders performed during the Reconstruction, revealing that they were far more successful than is commonly acknowledged--indeed, they represented, for a time, the fulfillment of the American ideal that all people could aspire to political office.
Wide-ranging, authoritative, and filled with invaluable historical insight, Slavery, Resistance, Freedom brings a host of powerful voices to America's evolving conversation about race.

SUMMER OF THE DRUMS ($0.92), by T. V. Olsen

Book Description
An innocent family becomes embroiled in the turbulence of the Black Hawk War. Living in Wisconsin territory in the 1830's, fifteen-year-old Kevin and his family try to remain neutral in the increasingly violent war between the Sac Indians and the white settlers.

Kindle Bargain Ebook Roundup - Romance

Dark Summer ($1.85), by Iris Johansen

Book Description
It begins with a single shot.

Devon Brady is a devoted veterinarian working in a makeshift hospital on a remote search and rescue mission. When a man arrives with his wounded black Lab named Ned, Devon has no idea that she’s about to be plunged into a whirlwind of terror and destruction…

Jude Marrock is out for revenge—and he has no choice but to involve Devon in a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game with an escalating body count. She doesn’t trust Jude one bit… but when the shots start flying and friends start falling, Devon finds herself with nowhere else to run. And there are innocent lives, both human and animal, at stake, including Ned and his mysterious pack. Is Jude her salvation or her damnation? Are the secrets he’s protecting worth killing for—or dying for?

Woman in Red ($2.32), by Eileen Goudge

Book Description
A powerful story of love and redemption, and what one woman will do to overcome the buried secrets of her past.

Alice Kessler spent nine years in prison for the attempted murder of the drunk driver who killed her son. Now she's returned home to Gray's Island to reconnect with the son she left behind. Her boy, Jeremy, now a sullen teenager, is wrongly accused of rape, and mother and son are thrown together in a desperate attempt to prove his innocence. She's aided by Colin McGinty, a recovering alcoholic and 9/11 widower, also recently returned to the island in the aftermath of his grandfather's death. Colin's grandfather, a famous artist, is best known for his haunting portrait, "Woman in Red," which happens to be of Alice's grandmother.

In a tale that weaves the past with the present, we come to know the story behind the portrait, of the forbidden wartime romance between William McGinty and Eleanor Styles, and the deadly secret that bound them more tightly than even their love for each other. A secret that, more than half a century later, is about to be unburied, as Alice and Colin are drawn into a fragile romance of their own and the ghost of an enemy from long ago surfaces in the form of his grandson, the very man responsible for sending Alice to prison.

Redemption ($2.48), by Karen Kingsbury

Book Description
When Laura Baxter Jacobs finds out that her husband is involved in an adulterous relationship and wants a divorce, she decides she will love him and remain faithful to her marriage at all costs. This book shows how God can redeem seemingly hopeless relationships, and it illustrates one of Gary Smalley's key messages: Love is a decision.

Redemption is the first book in the five-book Redemption series that Gary and Karen will write about the Baxter family--their fears and desires, their strengths and weaknesses, their losses and victories. Each book will explore key relationship themes as well as the larger theme of redemption, both in characters' spiritual lives and in their relationships. Each book includes study questions for individual and small-group use as well as a "teaser" chapter of the next book in the series.

Just Sex ($2.79), by SUSAN KAY LAW

Book Description
Ellen just got handed the dream of half of the wives in America-her husband told her to have an affair.With her CEO husband, her kids, and her house keeping her busy, passion was never Ellen's first priority. But somehow her husband managed to make time in his schedule for it-with other women. Now he wants Ellen to believe that his reckless liaisons were nothing more than "just sex." In fact, he's so desperate to prove his point that he's challenged her to find out for herself.After so many years, Ellen is hauling out her rusty flirting skills and following her free-spirited best friend into a world she thought she'd left behind at the altar. She might not have any more faith in this marriage, but she's about to find some in herself-and what starts out as "just sex" might end up being a second chance to find something better.

A Game of Chance ($3.60), by Linda Howard

Book Description
On the trail of a vicious criminal, agent Chance Mackenzie found the perfect bait for his trap: Sunny Miller. So Chance made himself the only man she could trust-and then arranged for her long-missing father to find out about them. What Chance hadn't foreseen was that Sunny had reasons of her own for hiding from her father-and now Chance's deception had brought them both one step closer to the end of everything they held dear.

Loving Evangeline ($3.60), by Linda Howard

Book Description
How to describe successful tycoon Robert Cannon? "Cool, ruthless and with a hint of cruelty," said his enemies. "Seductive, passionate and charming," claimed the women he dated. But what would Evangeline Shaw think when she became Robert's next target -- in both ways?

Kindle Bargain Ebook Roundup - Paranormal/Romance

Wolf at the Door ($2.99), by Christine Warren, is book one of her Others series. You can also pick up the next two books in the series at bargain prices: She's No Faerie Princess ($4.99) and The Demon You Know ($4.99).

Book Description
Sullivan Quinn didn't travel 3,000 miles from his native Ireland and his wolf pack just to chase rabidly after the most delectable quarry he's ever seen. Quinn is in America on a mission-to warn his Other brethren of a shadowy group willing to use murder and mayhem to bring them down. But one whiff of this Foxwoman's delicious honeysuckle fragrance and he knows that she is more than a colleague or a conquest-she is his mate.

Anthropologist Cassidy Poe is a world-renowned authority on social interaction, but the overpowering desire she feels around Quinn defies every ounce of her expertise. Working by his side to uncover The Others- enemies poses risks she never expected-to her own safety, to those she loves, and to her heart, as every encounter with Quinn proves more blissfully erotic than the last.

Now, with no one to trust but each other, Quinn and Cassidy face a foe that's edging closer every day, threatening to destroy the life they've always known, and the passion they've just discovered.

Raintree ($2.00), by Linda Howard, Beverly Barton & Linda Winstead Jones. Contains three novels in one volume and 608 pages in print.

Book Description
Inferno

Two hundred years after the Raintree clan defeated them, the Ansara wizards are rising up again to take on their bitterest foes. As king, it's up to Dante Raintree to protect his clan, but when Lorna Clay walks into his life, suddenly fire, always his to control, defeats him, leaving him wondering whether Lorna is to blame. Will Dante's strength be enough to win the fight of his life?

Sanctuary

For Mercy Raintree, war with the evil Ansara clan means she must assume her position as guardian of the Sanctuary--the sacred Raintree home deep in the Smoky Mountains. But doing so threatens to disclose her most precious secret. Dranir Judah Ansara wants to kill Mercy, personally. Then he comes face-to-face with her--and with her daughter, Eve.

Will Mercy's closely guarded secret change not only the outcome of the battle...but also Judah's own bitter heart?

Haunted

Homicide detective Gideon Raintree can harness electricity and talk to ghosts. To solve his newest case--a relentless serial killer unleashed by the dark Ansara wizards--he will need to wield gifts he's kept hidden. With evil lurking at every turn, Gideon and his alluring new partner, Hope Mallory, are in a race against time to save their love, their family...and their newly conceived child.

Magic in the Wind ($2.39), by Christine Feehan, is book one of her Drake Sisters series.

Book Description
"New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan presents the story of Sarah, the eldest of the extraordinary-and magical-Drake sisters, now rewritten and expanded, in this very special collector's edition. "Sarah Drake has come home." Ever since Damon Wilder sought refuge in Sea Haven, he's heard the same breathless rumor pass the lips of nearly every local in the sleepy coastal town. Even the wind seems to whisper her name-a reverie so powerfully suggestive that it carries the curious Damon to Sarah's cliff-top home, and seeks to shelter him there. But Damon has not arrived alone. A killer has tracked him to Sea Haven, and into the shadows of Drake House. But Sarah has her own secrets, and danger-as well as a desire more urgent than either has ever known-is just a whisper away..."

Heart Dance ($1.38), by Robin D. Owens

Book Description
DuFleur Thyme is a scientist who's secretly experimenting with time. She'll allow no distractions from her work -- not even from a HeartMate. Meanwhile, Saille T'Willow has sent his HeartGift out into the world in hopes of finding his HeartMate, who, it turns out, is DuFleur. Still, DuFleur wants nothing to do with Saille, especially when she discovers that it was his grandmother who brought about her father's ruin. Unfortunately, her body can't help but submit to the passion he stirs within her. But when a scandal threatens Saille's position as head of the family, will DuFleur stand by his side?

Checkmate ($3.60), by Annmarie McKenna

Book Description
What's an alpha shape-shifting wolf to do when the woman pre-destined to be his mate no longer trusts men?

After returning home from an eight-month security job, Eli Graham is ready to claim his best friend's little sister as his mate. He'd put it off for years, thinking he was doing the right thing by waiting. Instead of the stubborn, independent, carefree girl he left behind, Eli finds a shell of the woman he once knew.

Having lived through a near fatal attack, Nikki Taylor has hidden herself away from the world. Now the time has come to face head-on the one man who could devastate her completely, Eli Graham. She's loved him forever, craves him, body, heart and soul, but he's never treated her as anything but a little sister.

When Nikki witnesses a murder, she has no choice but to rely on Eli's expertise. While guarding her from the man bent on wiping out a witness, Eli shows Nikki that he'll not only protect her body, but he'll show her just what it means to be a wolf's mate.

Warning, this title contains the following: hot, explicit sex, graphic violence and language, and is not for the faint of heart!

Kiss Me Forever/Love Me Forever ($3.83), by Rosemary Laurey, is two novels in one.

Book Description
Kiss Me Forever

He's Hot. He's Sexy. He's Romantic. He's Immortal.

If there is one thing Dixie LePage does not need in her life, it's complications. And the man sitting across the table from her in a crowded English pub, the one offering to buy the library of her inherited estate in a small English village, is a major complication. For starters, there's the broad shoulders. The slightly amused smirk. That smoldering look that makes it impossible to concentrate. And that infuriating, old-fashioned, and well, okay, incredibly appealing sense of chivalry. No doubt about it, the guy is hot and sexy. Of course, there is one wee little problem: He claims to be a vampire named Christopher Marlowe, as in THE Christopher Marlowe, famous playwright, contemporary of Will Shakespeare. Right. Amend that to hot, sexy, and totally insane. Please see "no more complications." So why can't Dixie seem to resist the warmth of Christopher's charm, the protective feel of his strong hands, or the tempting pull of his full mouth when the sun goes down. . .?

Love Me Forever

Does This Come In My Size?

Justin Corvus. That was the name of the gorgeous, dark-eyed charmer holding her hand in a sensual clasp, turning her knees into jelly. All struggling, single mother Stella Schwartz meant to do was let her son, Sam, browse through books at Dixie's Vampire Emporium. She hadn't counted on the shop assistant being a stylish super-hunk with the kind of Hugh Grant accent that makes a woman's thoughts wander through a neighborhood called Take Me Now, Please. And to top it off, the man's a sweetheart. The way he picked up on the fact that she didn't have two red cents for the Halloween costume Sam wanted but made it happen anyway? Total head-over-heels time. When Justin smiles at her, it's as if he's known her forever. . .and when he asks for her phone number--to let her know when the costume is ready, of course--Stella can't help wanting this feeling to go on forever. There's something very different about Justin Corvus. . .different and irresistible. . .