Music - Tina Turner for $2.99

This is yesterday's MP3 Deal of the Day, which I missed seeing until now, but it's still valid (at least, right this minute). Tina!, by Tina Turner, is a best of album, with 18 tracks and 1.25 hours of music. Ike Turner is on a couple of the tracks, but otherwise it's all Tina.

Game of the Day - Big Kahuna Words

Amazon's Video Game of the Day is a 99 cent download of Big Kahuna Words, looks to be a word based variation of Big Kahuna Reef, which is a free download and which I played as much for the screensaver/fish tank as I did for the game itself.

Game Description

• Travel Back To The Islands In 2 Unique Play Modes
• Awesome Coral Reef Screensaver
• Earn Word Creation Rewards
• Dive Into Even More Levels Online.

Travel back to the Islands in this brilliant word game of adventure! Dive between the Hammerhead Sharks and other aquatic life, breaking stone blocks with your words in an explosive twist on puzzle game play. Explore an almost infinite number of underwater realms with the levels online to download and included level editor. Discover the might of the Tiki Totem and earn rewards for your word-creation prowess in either Action or Relaxed play. Download and unearth the journey of a lifetime!

Amazon Kindle DTP goes International

As of today, the Amazon Digital Text Platform, which enables publishing on Kindle, is open to International Authors and no longer restricted to US authors. Non-US authors will have taxes withheld according to US law and IRS guidelines (see below, from the FAQ page), which means at a 30% rate unless you are from a reciprocal filing country, obtain a US taxpayer id and file the proper tax forms with Amazon. Sounds like a lot of hoops to jump thru, but they are the same as any non-US person or business jumps thru in order to do business inside the US (which you are doing, even if the only market for your books in a non-English language are outside the US).

I foresee even longer delays in the DTP process for non-US authors who choose to publish in languages other than English, now that Amazon is insisting on verifying copyright of every listing ahead of time, rather than responding to take-down notices as pretty much everyone else in the digital world has chosen to do. However, the complaint that there are no Portuguese language books for those in Brazil can no be answered by responding that the opportunity is there for those that wish to publish them (although doing so will limit the sales of the book, since English is, for now, the unifying language of those who have purchased a Kindle). Also, although it appears that any source language may be published (although the announcement actually only mentioned English, German and French, surely they mean to support Spanish or variants thereof, as that's the second most commonly used language in the US and one that's been asked for almost since the introduction of the Kindle and there is nothing on the FAQ or Terms page that specifies any restrictions), for practical purposes it is limited to those using a Roman based alphabet and specifically those using characters in the 'Latin-1' character set.

2-1 What are the sign up requirements?
Anyone can sign up for a Digital Text Platform account; all you need is Internet access and an email account...

2-4 Why do you need a social security number/taxpayer ID for US publishers?
In order to pay US publishers for sales on the Kindle Store, federal law requires us to collect taxpayer information and report sales income to the federal government.


2-5 Is tax withheld for publishers outside the US?
Royalties paid to a foreign entity or person are subject to tax withholding in the U.S. A foreign entity or person is someone who is not a resident or citizen of the U.S. or a green card holder. The general rate of tax withholding is set by U.S. tax rules and regulations and is currently 30% of royalties paid. This withholding tax rate can be reduced if the recipient (you) is a resident in a jurisdiction that has a valid income tax treaty with the U.S. This reduced rate is only available if we receive the appropriate documentation from you. Without this documentation, the 30% withholding tax rate will apply. This documentation is either Form W-8BEN or Form W-8ECI issued by the Internal Revenue Service and includes a valid U.S. tax-payer identification number (obtained by filing Form W-7 or SS4). For more information on these forms and instructions and description of which form may be appropriate for you, please refer to the Internal Revenue Service website at www.irs.gov. We are required to receive a new form from you every three years. If you are eligible for reducing your tax withholdings, please contact us with the appropriate forms.

Free Game - Word Monaco

You can get a free copy of Word Monaco ($6.99 Amazon Game Downloads) directly from Sandlot Games this week.

Game Description

• A Unique Word Solitaire.
• 50,000+ Entries In A Massive Word List.
• 5 Decks From Easy To Champion.
• 75 Progressively Challenging Levels.

Welcome to Word Monaco! Relax under the warm sun of the Mediterranean and play a unique blend of word-creation and solitaire. Create words by moving letters from column to column and use power-ups for bonus points. When all of the letters are used, you'll move on to the next of 75 progressively difficult levels in 6 different locations! With a word list of over 50,000+ words and 5 decks of varying difficulty, there are endless possibilities.

Click HERE to sign up for the free download. For step by step purchase and installation instructions, see this post.

Free Book (Smashwords) - Cutting the Cheese

Edward C. Patterson has updated Cutting the Cheese and has set up a coupon to get the book free at Smashwords thru the end of the month, since those who have purchased the book on Kindle or other readers are unable to simply download the latest version. Use coupon code FB57N at checkout.

Be sure to read the descriptionm, to make sure the genre is one you are interested in, before downloading If not, there will be another free book along soon, no doubt.

Book Description
Luke Oliver has just come out of the closet and confronts a brave new world - a meeting of the Gay and Lesbian Activist Association of New Birch and Sipsboro (GLAABS) - your run of the mill, gay political caucus. Run of the Mill? . . . my @$$. Stepping across the threshold of the Otterson estate exposes Luke to horny and hilarious shenanigans that give the Boys in the Band a run for its money.