Free Game - Monster Mash

Sandlot Games has another game up as a free download. This week it's Monster Mash ($6.99 Amazon Game Downloads); no reviews at Amazon yet, but it's not the same type of game I've tried there before (looks like a strategy game, though).

Game Description

• Defend Curly Valley.
• 20 Quirky And Bizarre Monsters.
• 9 Unique Scenes.
• Hours Of Challenging Gameplay.

The villagers of Curly Valley are under attack from legions of quirky and bizarre monsters. Use all of your cunning and might to repel these mysterious invaders by fortifying the vulnerable villages with various towers, upgrades and unusual defensive armaments. With more than 25 increasingly powerful tower upgrades and 9 unique storybook-inspired scenes, the grateful villagers of Curly Valley will cheer you on with every conquest in Monster Mash, an addictive, strategic adventure!

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

Changes Afoot at Suvudu Free Library?

One of the reasons there have been so many free books, on the Kindle and other eReaders, over the last year has been the Suvudu Free Library. Each month, two or three fantasy or SciFi books were added to the library, each the first in a series and mostly from Del Rey (or one of their other publishing houses). At first, they added the PDF versions to the web page, followed by links for the big ebookstores, as they were marked as free, then holding the announcements until they were free in all the stores (no doubt, to reduce the complaint emails about only having PDF formats available). At first, the books stayed after being placed in the library (if only in PDF format), but now they disappear from the list after a few months, often when they cease being free on Kindle and in the other stores.

This month, though, no new books have been added. Instead, about a week into the month and again this week, they have added short stories, only in PDF format and only available on the Suvudu Free Library page. I haven't tried converting the three that are up so far or viewing them in their native PDF on my Kindle (mostly because I dislike PDF's on any of the small screens, Sony included), but you can currently download these stories:

• John Langan - City of the Dog
• Kelly Meding - The Hoarder
• Kelly Meding - Pride Before Fall

I just hope that this is a one-month changeup in their offerings and that they are not abandoning their earlier strategy of giving away backlisted titles in series or from prolific authors, in order to attract new readers in the new eformats.

Also, if you like Kelly Meding's short stories, you might want to check out Three Days to Dead ($6.39 Kindle), which takes place in the same universe. It doesn't look as though this one will be a series, at least not with the same heroine (but then again, you never know...)

Book Description
They'll never see her coming. . . .

When Evangeline Stone wakes up naked and bruised on a cold slab at the morgue--in a stranger's body, with no memory of who she is and how she got there--her troubles are only just beginning. Before that night she and the two other members of her Triad were the city's star bounty hunters, mercilessly cleansing the city of the murderous creatures living in the shadows, from vampires to shape-shifters to trolls. Then something terrible happened that not only cost all three of them their lives but also convinced the city's other Hunters that Evy was a traitor--and she can't even remember what it was.

Now she's a fugitive, piecing together her memory, trying to deal some serious justice--and discovering that she has only three days to solve her own murder before the reincarnation spell wears off. Because in three days Evy will die again--but this time there's no second chance. . . .

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.