Free Book (nook) - The Writing Circle

The Writing Circle ($11.99 Kindle), by Corinne Demas, is free from Barnes and Noble. This one may be a glitch (it says it's a review copy), but grab it while it's free (and let Amazon know there is a lower price, of course).

Book Description
They call themselves the Leopardi Circle — six members of a writing group who share much more than their works in progress.

When Nancy, whose most recently published work is a medical newsletter, is asked to join a writing group made up of established writers, she accepts, warily. She’s not at all certain that her novel is good enough for the company she’ll be keeping. Her novel is a subject very close to her heart, and she isn’t sure she wants to share it with others, let alone the world. But Nancy soon finds herself as caught up in the group’s personal lives as she is with their writing. She learns that nothing — love, family, loyalty — is sacred or certain.

In the circle there’s Gillian, a beautiful, scheming, world-famous poet; Bernard, a pompous but lovable biographer; Virginia, a respected historian and the peacemaker of the group, who also happens to be Bernard’s ex-wife; Chris, a divorced father and successful thriller writer; and Adam, the youngest of the group, an aspiring novelist who is infatuated with Gillian. And then there’s Nancy, an unassuming fiction writer embarking on a new chapter in her own life. They meet to read their work aloud and offer feedback. Over the course of a year, marriages are tested, affairs begin, and trust is broken.

Through their complicated relationships, these eccentric characters share their families, their beds, and their histories, and soon find that buried secrets have a way of coming to light. Hearts break and emotions are pushed to the limit in this richly engaging tale of love, betrayal, and literature.

Click HERE for the free download.

Free Book (Sony) - American Quartet

American Quartet ($5.56 Kindle), by Warren Adler, is free in the Sony store (once again; this has been an on and off special price there, but it's never been free in the Kindle store).

Book Description
Never underestimate the power of failure In this first book of the Fiona series, four seemingly unconnected D.C. murders stimulate Fiona FitzGerald's sense of history as she delves into our country's dark past. In her search to solve the crimes, she uncovers the disturbing sexual and homicidal obsessions of a socially prominent but failed Washington politician.

Fiona FitzGerald, daughter of Senator FitzGerald and a Sergeant in the Homicide Division of the Metropolitan Washington Police Department, finds herself confronted with three gruesome slayings. Gradually, she senses a disturbing linkage. Fiona pursues her quarry through the political and diplomatic jungle, then back in time to a trio of presidential murders, convinced that a brilliant – and evil – intelligence is moving to make a trio of murders into a quartet.

Set among the rich and mighty of the nation's capital, American Quartet ingeniously links past and present in a novel of transcendent suspense and authenticity. Critically acclaimed for its inventive and intriguing plot, American Quartet, the first novel of the Fiona series, was selected by the New York Times as one of the ten best crime novels of the year. Five successive Fiona Fitzgerald mysteries have followed: American Sextet, Senator Love, Immaculate Deception, The Witch of Watergate, and The Ties That Bind.

Click HERE for the free download.

Free Book (nook) - Mussolini's Rome

Mussolini's Rome: Rebuilding the Eternal City ($14.97 Kindle), by Borden Painter, is free in the Barnes and Noble store. Be sure to let Amazon know of the lower price (even if non-fiction architectural history isn't your thing, there is sure to be another reader out there who would love this one).

Book Description
An eye-opening look at the architectural mark fascism left on one of the world's most beloved cities R ome was Mussolini's obsession. After coming to power as a result of his famed march on the city in 1922, he promised Italians that his fascist revolution would unite them as never before and make Italy a major power on the world stage. In the next two decades, he set about rebuilding Rome as the foremost site and symbol of the new fascist order. Through an ambitious program of demolition and construction, he sought to make Rome a capital that both embraced modernity while preserving and glorifying the city's ancient past. Building the new Rome put people to work; 'liberated' ancient monuments from cluttered surroundings; cleared slums; produced giant complexes for education, sports, and cinema; produced wide new boulevards and piazzas; and provided the regime with a showcase in which to assert the power and identity of fascism. This intriguing book reveals Mussolini's tremendous and lasting impact on the city to which millions flock each year.

Click HERE to get the free download.

Free Book (nook) - Child of the Northern Spring

Child of the Northern Spring ($9.99 Kindle), by Persia Woolley, is free from Barnes & Noble (so be sure to let Amazon know about the lower price).

Book Description
The story of a queen who deserves to become a legend - a startlingly original tale of Arthur & Guinevere

Often portrayed as spoiled, in Persia Woolley's hands Guinevere comes alive as a high-spirited, passionate woman. When she is chosen by Arthur to be his wife, Guinevere's independence wars with her family loyalty. As the wedding approaches and hints of rebellion abound, she learns that the old gods are in revolt against the new Christian church, and that scattered kingdoms are stirring from their uneasy peace. This is Arthurian epic at its best, filled with romance, adventure, authentic historical detail, and a landscape alive with the mystery of Britain in the Dark Ages.

"This is truly original. As a re-creation of the legend in a version closer to the realities, it's far better than anything else I've read." —Geoffrey Ashe, author of The Discovery of King Arthur

"This richly detailed novel is romantic, its characters are vivdly drawn, and Woolley's clear styles flows as smoothly as her unfolding story." —Morgan Llywelyn, author of Lion of Ireland and The Horse Goddess.

Click HERE to get the free download.

New Kindle Game - Panda Poet

There is a new game out for Kindle, Panda Poet (A Word Game for Kindle) ($2.99), from Spry Fox. Two 5-star reviews already this morning and I've just downloaded it to my Kindle as well. I had to make myself stop playing, so I could finish the post (hey, I got a 7-letter word, already).

Book Description
Do you like word games? And pandas?

With Panda Poet you use the letters on the game board to form words. Words formed from letters in open spaces create pandas. Words formed from letters near pandas make existing pandas grow.

The goal is grow the biggest panda possible. You get the highest scores from either creating the biggest possible panda or from forming the longest possible words.

To add to the challenge, each letter is only available for a fixed number of turns. Each time you enter a word, all the letters on the screen come one step closer to expiring. When a letter expires, it is replaced by a skull, which prevents you from growing your pandas in that direction. This makes playing Panda Poet a delicate balancing act: you must consider where a letter is located on the grid and how soon it will expire, not simply spell the longest word you can.

Try it today and see!