Free Book (PDF) - Being Young

Being Young ($9.99 Kindle), by Astrid Young, is a free download from Wowio this month.

Book Description
Neil Young is known as one of rock’s great artists, his influence extending far beyond his own generation. Being Young looks at a lifetime of love, humor, disappointment, and proud moments, picking up where Scott Young’s book Neil and Me left off in 1984. The book is a testament to a Woodstock-generation rocker whose independence and determination have seen him through his life as a prolific musician who is still producing to this day.

Being Young by Neil Young’s sister, Astrid Young, offers a fresh perspective on one of rock’s most recognized cultural icons. Astrid goes deep inside the motivations that shaped their family unit, exploring all the ways it came apart and how, in the end, a tenacious and undeniable kindred spirit was able to pull it back together. The story is in part a celebration of the legacy of a family that many of us grew up feeling we knew and in part the meaningful and intimate reflection of one who experienced it all.

Astrid Young started writing creatively at an early age. A musician by trade, her career has taken her around the world, both on her own and singing backup for her brother Neil Young. Astrid lives in Toronto.

This PDF eBook includes a new chapter from the updated print edition plus a bonus, WOWIO-exclusive video interview with Astrid Young (you’ll need recent versions of Adobe Reader and QuickTime to view the video within the eBook).

Click HERE for the free download. There are about three different places you can click to get the book once there; it'll be a Secured PDF, but loads in Adobe Reader (ADE isn't required).

Game of the Day - Simplz: Zoo

Today's game download pick is Simplz: Zoo, which Amazon has marked down to $2.99 for today only. There are two reviews so far, both of which rave about this match-3 style game, and there is a trial version so you can test it out for half an hour before committing to buy.

Game Description
A new type of simulation game, Simplz: Zoo takes the task of getting resources and turns it into a game inside a game, creating two games in one. In the simulation part, you'll build your zoo. In the puzzle part, you'll match tokens to gather resources such as money and building materials so that you can further expand your zoo. Each exhibit you add to your zoo will also directly impact the puzzle part of the game as every exhibit comes with a power-up or other item that will change the puzzle game play, keeping things continually fresh and fun!

Gameplay

Simplz: Zoo is played in two different game boards. The Zoo gives players an overhead view where they will control every aspect of layout, positioning paths, trees, bushes, flowers, and of course the large animal exhibits, anywhere they choose. The Puzzle game board takes the popular match-3 mechanic to the next level by adding in diagonal swaps, and including more power-ups and power-up types than any other game of its type.

Key Game Features

• A combination of two types of games: Simulation and Puzzle.
• Over 90 different animals to add to the zoo and more than 50 different building types.
• Diagonal movement in the match-3 game opens up the board with play that is easy to pick-up, but provides exciting new possibilities that are difficult to master.
• Hidden secret codes can be used to obtain additional decorations, resources, and amazing animal exhibits such as the Yeti.
• Fun friendly animals full of comical character and whimsical charm.
• Multiple types of match-3 gameplay including resource gathering, tile clearing, object collection, and clearing a path to lead animals home.
• Zoo visitors react to the zoo and will also speak their mind, sharing bits of interesting trivia and zoological facts as they wander the zoo.
• The Puzzle game play is always evolving. Every building you place in the zoo simulation will change some aspect of the puzzle game, making for a fun game that is continually fresh.

Also note that there is an in-game bonus:

Order Simplz: Zoo, and unlock an in-game Yeti. Enter "AMAZON" in the unlock box, when prompted in the game.

Free Book (nook) - Scandal Sheet

Scandal Sheet ($6.99 paperback; the Kindle edition is missing from the store), by Gemma Halliday, is free in the Barnes and Noble store today.

Book Description
Gossip columnist Tina is stopped in her tracks when she learns one of the celebrities she's reported on wants her dead. Teamed with an oversized bodyguard, a bubbly blonde, and an alcoholic obituary writer, Tina sets off to find out which juicy piece of Hollywood gossip is worth killing over.

Click HERE for the free download. B&N has been having problems with this one randomly charging people, but it does appear to be fixed now. In any case, be sure to check your confirmation page for the price. If it isn't $0.00, then call their customer service at 1-800-843-2665 and request "Digital Support."

Bargain Book Roundup - Under Three Bucks

In addition to the free books being offered in the Kindle store and elsewhere, several of the big publishers have started discounting one backlist title by an author, either to stir interest before a new title is released or as an introduction to a series. Today's roundup are all $2.99 or less

Raven Black ($2.99), by Ann Cleeves, is the first of the Shetland Island Quartet, which was completed with Blue Lightning ($11.99 Kindle) this month. Also available at B&N, Kobo & Sony ($2.99).

Book Description
Winner of Britain’s coveted Duncan Lawrie Dagger Award, Ann Cleeves introduces a dazzling new suspense series to U.S. mystery readers.

Raven Black begins on New Year’s Eve with a lonely outcast named Magnus Tait, who stays home waiting for visitors who never come. But the next morning the body of a murdered teenage girl is discovered nearby, and suspicion falls on Magnus. Inspector Jimmy Perez enters an investigative maze that leads deeper into the past of the Shetland Islands than anyone wants to go.

Bad Thoughts ($2.39), by Dave Zeltserman, is the first in the Bill Shannon series. Also available at Kobo ($2.39), B&N & Sony ($2.99).

Book Description
One afternoon 13 year-old Billy Shannon comes home to a living nightmare. His mother being brutally murdered is only the beginning…

20 years later, Bill Shannon is now a cop in Cambridge, Massachusetts. As the twenty-year anniversary of his mother’s death is approaching, women are being murdered in the same horrific grisly fashion. And while this is going on, he’s having blackouts which only seem to be getting worse…

Everything seems to be pointing to one of two possibilities: Shannon has gone insane or his mom’s killer is back to his old tricks. Except if it’s mom’s killer, he’s come back a long way to do these new killings… all the way from the grave.

Agatha Raisin and the Haunted House ($2.99 Kindle), by M C Beaton, is the fourteenth in the very long Agatha Raisin series, which is an appropriate read for this time of year (yes, I've seen haunted houses already open); the latest in the series, Busy Body ($11.99 Kindle), releases next month. Also available at B&N, Kobo & Sony ($2.99).

Book Description
Just back from an extended stay in London, Agatha Raisin finds herself greeted by torrential rains and an old, familiar feeling of boredom. When her handsome new neighbor, Paul Chatterton, shows up on her doorstep, she tries her best to ignore his obvious charms, but his sparkling black eyes and the promise of adventure soon lure her into another investigation.

Paul has heard rumors about Agatha's reputation as the Cotswold village sleuth and wastes no time offering their services to the crotchety owner of a haunted house. Whispers, footsteps, and a cold white mist are plaguing Mrs. Witherspoon, but the police have failed to come up with any leads, supernatural or otherwise. The neighbors think it's all a desperate ploy for attention, but Paul and Agatha are sure something more devious is going on. Someone's playing tricks on Mrs. Witherspoon, and when she turns up dead under suspicious circumstances, Agatha finds herself caught up in another baffling murder mystery.

Reign Check ($2.22 Kindle), by Michelle Rowen, is actually the second (and latest) in the Demon Princess series, which starts with Reign or Shine ($7.51 paperback).

Book Description
Fresh from finding out she is a demon princess and meeting her father for the first time, Nikki Donovan is looking forward to getting back to her regular high school life. But then Rhys, the handsome teenage king of the faery realm, enrolls at her school as a "foreign exchange student." Her conflicted feelings for Rhys and her boyfriend are getting in the way of her new relationship with the Shadow-creature Michael. But this love triangle from hell isn't even Nikki's biggest problem: There's a new prophecy that claims she will destroy all the demon and human worlds. Her best friend Melinda just might be a demon-slayer-in-training. Throw in a field trip to none other than the Underworld itself . . . and Nikki's going to be hoping for a rain check on more than just her homework!

You've no doubt heard that David Morrell has signed an exclusive deal with Amazon, bringing 10 of his backlist titles to Kindle exclusively for a year. While all of those are over our limit, his latest novel, The Shimmer ($2.03 Kindle) isn't. Also available at B&N.

Book Description
When a high-speed chase goes terribly wrong, Santa Fe police officer Dan Page watches in horror as a car and gas tanker explode into flames. Torn with guilt that he may be responsible, Page returns home to discover that his wife, Tori, has disappeared. Frantic, Page follows her trail to Rostov, a remote town in Texas famous for a massive astronomical observatory, a long-abandoned military base, and unexplained nighttime phenomena that draw onlookers from every corner of the globe. Many of these gawkers-Tori among them-are compelled to visit this tiny community to witness the mysterious Rostov Lights. Without warning, a gunman begins firing on the lights, screaming "Go back to hell where you came from," then turns his rifle on the bystanders. A bloodbath ensues, and events quickly spiral out of control, setting the stage for even greater violence and death. Page must solve the mystery of the Rostov Lights to save his wife. In the process, he learns that the decaying military base may not be abandoned at all, and that the government may have known about the lights for decades. Could these phenomena be more dangerous than anyone could have possibly imagined?

Shadowfae ($2.99 Kindle), by Erica Hayes, is the first in the series by the same name; the second and third in the series, Shadowglass ($9.99 Kindle) and Poison Kissed ($7.99 Kindle), both released this year.. Also available at B&N, Kobo & Sony ($2.99).

Book Description
Imagine a secret world veiled in fairy glamour and brimming with unearthly delights. A city swarming with half-mad fairies, where thieving spriggans rob you blind, beautiful banshees mesmerize you with their song, and big green trolls bust heads at nightclubs. And once you’re in, there’s no escape…

Enslaved by a demon lord, Jade is forced to spend her nights seducing vampire gangsters and shapeshifting thugs. After two hundred years as a succubus, she burns for freedom and longs to escape her brutal life as a trophy girl for hell’s minions. Then she meets Rajah, an incubus who touches her heart and intoxicates her senses. Rajah shares the same bleak fate as she, and yearns just as desperately for freedom. But the only way for Jade to break her bonds is to betray Rajah—and doom the only man she’s ever loved to a lifetime in hell.

The Up And Comer ($1.99 Kindle), by Howard Roughan, is a first novel, although not part of a series. Also available at Kobo & Sony ($1.99).

Book Description
On an island of glitz, in a season of ambition, Philip Randall is getting what everyone wants. A rising career in a big New York law firm. A rich and beautiful wife. A cavernous downtown loft. And enough disposable income to turn Manhattan into a movable feast. So why is Philip testing fate by sleeping with his best friend's wife? And who is the man watching every move Philip makes-and waiting to make a move of his own?

Set against a glittering backdrop of success, money, and power, this tale of a brilliantly calculating "man on the rise" has sent waves of anticipation through the literary world. Heralding the debut of a gifted young writer, it is a thriller for our time: funny, hip, and terrifying.

Devil In My Bed ($2.99 Kindle), by Celeste Bradley, is the first in her Runaway Brides series, the latest of which, Scoundrel In My Dreams ($7.99 Kindle), released this month. Also available at B&N, Kobo & Sony ($2.99).

Book Description
The three-year-old girl sitting on the steps of Brown’s Club for Distinguished Gentlemen insists that one of its members is her papa. Aidan de Quincy feels obligated to help the wee thing, even though she certainly isn’t his—or is she? To find answers, Aidan must first track down the lovely widow he swore to forget when their passionate affair came to a painful end. It doesn’t help that Madeleine Chandler is as sensual and enticing as ever…

For three years, Madeleine had dreamed of seeing Aidan on her doorstep. The secret that once forced her to leave him now compels her to pretend that this sweet child is hers—a lie Aidan will surely never forgive. Yet the contented days and exquisite nights that follow are worth the heartbreak she knows must come. The truth will out—and when it does, there will be the devil to pay…

Free Book - The Tempest

The Tempest: A Guy of Gisborne Story ($1.79 Kindle), by Charlotte Hawkins, is not only currently being discounted in the Kindle store, but is free (today only) at Smashwords. The author has updated the version on Kindle, correcting some formatting issues and decided to make it free for a day, since those who had previously purchased it in the Kindle store could not get the new version.

Book Description
Guy of Gisborne is a fierce, brooding knight. He is both feared and scorned by those under his command. But under his harsh exterior is a tormented soul, haunted by his many sins...

Cassia is a peasant with a gift for healing, and a secret longing for the feared lord Gisborne. When fate thrusts him into her hands, she quickly finds that he lives up to his dark reputation. But she also learns there is more to him than meets the eye...

Soon they are drawn into a passionate affair, discovering that love is a power that can overcome all things.

Click HERE to get the free download at Smashwords (be sure to back it up on your computer, as you can't save this one in your library at Smashwords, as it will disappear when the price goes back up).