B1G1F on Kindle: Leighton Gage

Through February 5, 2010, buy the latest (Vol 3) in Leighton Gage's Chief Inspector Mario Silva series, Dying Gasp ($9.99), and receive a free download of the first in the series, Blood of the Wicked (normally $9.99). Two books for essentially five dollars each and both books have very good reviews. Of course, that does leave the middle book of the series, Buried Strangers, to be purchased, currently at $9.99.

Dying Gasp
The granddaughter of a prominent politician is missing. Silva and his team find her in Manaus, a jungle hellhole on the Amazon where an evil female doctor is making gory snuff films. Silva must overcome his own department's indifference and the corrupt local cops before he can obtain a semblance of justice for the victims.

Blood of the Wicked
In the remote Brazilian town of Cascatas do Pontal, where landless peasants are confronting the owners of vast estates, the bishop arrives by helicopter to consecrate a new church and is assassinated.

Mario Silva, chief inspector for criminal matters of the federal police of Brazil, is dispatched to the interior to find the killer. The pope himself has called Brazil's president; the pressure is on Silva to perform. Assisted by his nephew, Hector Costa, also a federal policeman, Silva must battle the state police and a corrupt judiciary as well as criminals who prey on street kids, the warring factions of the Landless League, the big landowners, and the church itself, in order to solve the initial murder and several brutal killings that follow. Justice is hard to come by. An old priest, a secret liberation theologist, finally metes it out. Here is a Brazil that tourists never encounter.

In case you haven't had your Kindle very long, these Buy One, Get One Free offers from Amazon work a little differently for Kindle books, versus other items. When you one-click to buy the first book, you'll find that the second book shows up both on the same Kindle and in your Media Library. You won't, however, see any mention of it on the invoice you are emailed and you don't see the banner at the top of the product page for the second book to indicate that you have previously purchased it. In all other ways, however, it works just like any other purchased book - you can download it to multiple Kindles, read it on your PC, etc. Just don't accidentally purchase the "free" book of the pair or you'll be paying double on these deals - always look for the banner immediately below the list of other formats available that indicates you are on the correct page to get the free book with purchase.

Three Free Books (PDF) from Harlequin

Harlequin has added a few new titles to their free offerings, however these are currently only available as PDF's from their website.

Passion to Die For ($3.60 Kindle), by Marilyn Pappano

Book Description
Little did Ellie Chase know those would be the last words she ever spoke to her estranged mother. When Martha’s body was found the next morning, all eyes were on Ellie… who couldn’t remember what she’d done that night. So when Tommy Maricci—the man she refused to let herself love— came to her rescue, she couldn’t say no.

Tommy believed in his former girlfriend’s innocence—no matter how damning the evidence against her was. She may have broken his heart, but he took her into his home for protection. Because if Ellie wasn’t the killer, someone had set her up. And Tommy refused to let anyone hurt the woman he loved.

The Italian's Inexperienced Mistress ($3.60 Kindle), by Lynne Graham

Book Description
When Angelo sought revenge Gwenna Hamilton added another delicious dimension. Innocent and pretty, she didn’t stand a chance when the Italian tycoon offered her the devil’s bargain: pay for her father’s freedom with her body.

In her naiveté, Gwenna thought that Angelo would tire of her and her innocence very quickly. But he had more in mind that just one night…

Married by Mistake (out of print), by Abby Gaines

Book Description
Do not adjust you set. That really was Casey Greene being jilted by her fiancé on live TV! And that really was Memphis’s most eligible bachelor who stepped in to marry her instead.

Millionaire businessman Adam Carmichael wanted only to help Casey save face. He isn’t prepared for the news that their “fake” wedding is legal and binding.

While they secretly wait for an annulment, media and family scrutiny forces them to put on their best loving-couple act. Except by now, neither one is quite sure who’s acting….

Click HERE to get the titles from Harlequin - you have to locate the cover in the scrolling bar, click on it, then wait for the book info to display, then click on the PDF button to download.

If you have a nook or Sony reader, you can still get the original free "Harlequin 16" titles in their respective stores (they are no longer free for the Kindle).

More New Year's Fitness Deals at Amazon

First, another group of (paper) magazine subscriptions that you can get for $5/year. Included is Eating Well, Vegetarian Times, Fitness, Yoga Journal and Backpacker Magazine, either as a one-year or automatically renewing subscription (but no info on what the cost would be when it renews). Offer expires January 9, 2010.

The second deal is Today's Goldbox Deal of the day: a number of Fitness DVD Bundles for $19.99 each. It looks as though there is one focused on Yoga, one on Dance, one on Pilates and the last one comes with an Exercise Ball. This one will expire tonight at midnight, PDT.

Amazon Releases Kindle DX with Global Wireless

Amazon has just released the Kindle DX with Global Wireless and it's the the same $489 as the previous version. Unlike the confusion that ensued with the release of the Kindle 6" with Global Wireless, Amazon has immediately marked the US Wireless version of the DX as an obsolete item, pointing you to the newer version and listing only used or refurbished options otherwise. Currently there are no refurbished DX's available and the used units start at $589 (the original Kindle listings are nearly as bad, with the only unit under $200 being one with a cracked screen, which presumably you would then use to try to get a $99 refurbished/replacement Kindle direct from Amazon).

The official shipping date for the newest Kindle is January 19, but orders are being taken now to reserve those earliest units. If the past is any indication, those who pay for overnight shipping will get the ones shipped the very first day, as will perhaps be those who pay for 2nd day shipping. Picking standard or Free SuperSaver shipping will result in a later shipping date (even though you ordered earlier than others than choose the faster shipping method). If you want to be one of those with a bright shiny new toy on Martin Luther King's birthday or any time that week, I'd recommend you pick one of the faster methods. Also, if this is your first Kindle, they ship in clearly marked boxes and it's not the kind of delivery I'd want my postman to leave balanced on top of my mailbox (especially if it is raining).

Free Book (EPUB) - Flip

Random House in Australia has another free EPUB book in return for signing up for one of their newsletters: Flip ($9.59 Kindle), by Peter Sheahan. Again, this one is not Kindle compatible and when I tried to download it, they were having some technical difficulties. Last I heard, they were working on it, but with their time difference from here, I haven't had a chance to check on it again (but will later today).

Book Description
Emphasizing flexible, counterintuitive decision making, Flip calls for a new way of doing business in an economy where conventional wisdom won't get you anywhere

"Business today requires new perspectives" this is how Peter Sheahan, one of the youngest and fastest-rising stars on the international consulting and speaking circuit, begins this essential guidebook for succeeding in the twenty-first century. Sheahan reveals how the world's most effective organizations and individuals distinguish themselves from the competition, instead of running with the pack.

In Flip he uncovers what the superstars of modern business have in common: an ability to "flip" to think counterintuitively and then act boldly, with no regard for "business as usual" conventions. Sheahan explores six major flips:

• Action Creates Clarity -- to move forward you must act in spite of ambiguity. Your action will create the clarity you're looking for.
• To keep pace with rising expectations, you can't just be fast, good, or cheap. Instead you must recognize that Fast, Good, Cheap: Pick Three...Then Add Something Extra has become the new standard in every industry.
• To develop competitive advantage, you must Absolutely, Positively Sweat the Small Stuff.
• To satisfy customers' needs for engagement and contact -- spiritual, emotional, physical -- remember that it's not just business, Business Is Personal.
• To win mass-market success, Find It on the Fringe. The way to separate yourself from the competitive herd is to be courageous and create new market space.
• To Get Control, Give It Up. You cannot command and control customers or the talented staff needed to reach them. Instead you must empower others to create, dream, and believe for you.

Sheahan teaches today's decision makers how to embrace change and successfully operate in an economy that runs on new ideas. Those who take on these lessons will be in position to join other "flipstars" such as Richard Branson, Google, Toyota, Rupert Murdoch, and Apple.

Stick to what you learned in business school at your peril. . . . The small-world economy calls for a new way of doing business. It calls for Flip.

Click HERE to sign up for the free book.