I've moved!

I've moved!

Thanks for stopping by, but it appears you are using a (very) old address for my blog. I've moved to a Wordpress site and you'll need to update your bookmarks for Books on the Knob

I've moved!

Custom Search

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Today's Deals and Bargain Books

Update: Price drop on Notorious Australian Women to $4.99 in the US.

The first two books that were previously only free for UK Kindle customers are now free in the US Kindle store, while four now have an EPUB format available and one is newly free on nook.

The Way of Shadows ($1.99), the first in The Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day. I'd snap this one up in a second, but (for the second day in a row) I already have it in my eLibrary. The next two in the trilogy are $7.99 right now, which means the entire trilogy bought separately comes in for less than the $19.99 bundle price. I'm considering getting his latest, The Black Prism, as it is also $7.99 now that it is out in paperback; it is the start of his new Lightbringer trilogy. There is also a new novella I had not known about, Perfect Shadow, which appears to be a prequel for The Way of Shadows.
Book Description
For Durzo Blint, assassination is an art-and he is the city's most accomplished artist.

For Azoth, survival is precarious. Something you never take for granted. As a guild rat, he's grown up in the slums, and learned to judge people quickly - and to take risks. Risks like apprenticing himself to Durzo Blint.

But to be accepted, Azoth must turn his back on his old life and embrace a new identity and name. As Kylar Stern, he must learn to navigate the assassins' world of dangerous politics and strange magics - and cultivate a flair for death.

Those outside the US usually get skipped on the Daily Deal and a lot of other bargains in the Kindle store. So, here are three just for those outside the US (those in the US, just skip down, as there are more for us further along).

Welcome to My World ($19.99 US; $0.80/£0.49 UK) and Fairytale of New York ($6.99 US; $1.60/£0.99 UK), both by Miranda Dickinson, are on sale for UK customers only (at least, so far), in both the Main and UK Kindle stores. The US pricing on the former looks to have been entered wrong by the publisher (it's double what it is for most markets), while the latter was free for US customers last year.
Welcome to My World
A travel agent who longs to travel. An intrepid explorer who just wants to find a place to call home.

And a Big Idea that changes everything….

Close your eyes and imagine the world is your oyster…And now imagine never seeing it. Welcome to Harriet Langton's world. All her life she's dreamt of travelling the globe - fate always got in the way.Working as a travel agent, the closest Harri comes to her dream destination of Venice is booking the trip for someone else. But everything changes when travel fanatic Alex drops in.

With her boyfriend Rob tied up with work, Harri is persuaded to help Alex in his quest for love. But in her attempts to help, Harri soon discovers that she's alienating those around her.

Desperate to leave her life behind, will her dreams finally come true? Or will Harri's leap of faith be her biggest mistake yet?

A gorgeous love story for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Jill Mansell.

Fairytale of New York
Are happy-every-afters made in Manhattan?Once upon a time an English girl went to New York to live out her very own fairytale…

Florist Rosie Duncan's life couldn't be better, she has a flourishing business on New York's Upper West Side and fantastic friends. Moving to Manhattan feels like the best decision she ever made. Even though at the time, it was her escape route from heartbreak . . .

For the past six years Rosie has kept her heart under lock and key, despite the protests of her closest friends - charming, commitment-phobic Ed, unlucky in love Marnie and the one-woman tornado that is Celia.

Then a blossoming friendship with publishing hot-shot Nate begins to shake Rosie's resolve at the same time as her brother arrives in the Big Apple, hiding a secret.

But a chance meeting brings Rosie face to face with her past, unravelling the mystery behind her arrival in New York. Rosie is forced to confront questions she has long been trying to ignore, including will she ever get her very own happy-ever-after?

A sparkling, romantic comedy about an English girl who finds herself in the city where dreams can come true - or so she thinks…

Notorious Australian Women ($18.99 $4.99 US), by Kay Saunders, is currently discounted for Canadian ($1.09) and Australian ($1.07) customers in the Kindle store.
Book Description
The sensational lives and exploits of some of Australia's most audacious women Notorious Australian Women celebrates the lives of some of Australia's most fearless, brash and scandalous women. There's Tilly Devine, who went from streetwalker in London to wealthy Sydney madam and standover merchant; Mary Bryant, the highway robber and First Fleeter who escaped by rowing from Port Jackson to Timor with her two children; Lola Montez, the Irish-born grande horizontale, who destroyed King Ludwig I of Bavaria; Ellen Tremaye and Marion Edwards, women who challenged the gender order and became men; and Helena Rubinstein, who rewrote her humble Polish background and became one of the most successful and astute businesswomen in the world. From bushrangers, courtesans and cross-dressers, to writers, designers and a radical or two, what these splendid rebels have in common is a determination to take their destinies into their own hands. Kay Saunders AM was Professor of History and Senator of the University of Queensland from 2002 to 2006. In 2001 she received the Medal of the National Museum of Australia, and in 2006 was the recipient of the John Kerr Medal from the Royal Historical Society of Queensland.

A Taint in the Blood ($9.99 US), the first title in the Shadowspawn series by S. M. Stirling, is marked down to $3.24 in several non-US regions: Asia & Pacific, India, Lat. Am & Carribean and Middle East.
Book Description
Eons ago, the powerful Homo Nocturnis ruled the earth. While their numbers have been greatly reduced, they still exist-though not as purebreds. Adrian Breze is one such being. Wealthy and reclusive, he is more Shadowspawn than human. But he rebelled against his kind, choosing to live as an ordinary man. Now, to save humanity, he must battle the dark forces of the world-including those in his own blood...

The Spellman Files ($1.99), starts off the Spellman series by Lisa Lutz
Book Description
Meet Isabel "Izzy" Spellman, private investigator. This twenty-eight-year-old may have a checkered past littered with romantic mistakes, excessive drinking, and creative vandalism; she may be addicted to Get Smart reruns and prefer entering homes through windows rather than doors -- but the upshot is she's good at her job as a licensed private investigator with her family's firm, Spellman Investigations. Invading people's privacy comes naturally to Izzy. In fact, it comes naturally to all the Spellmans. If only they could leave their work at the office. To be a Spellman is to snoop on a Spellman; tail a Spellman; dig up dirt on, blackmail, and wiretap a Spellman.

Part Nancy Drew, part Dirty Harry, Izzy walks an indistinguishable line between Spellman family member and Spellman employee. Duties include: completing assignments from the bosses, aka Mom and Dad (preferably without scrutiny); appeasing her chronically perfect lawyer brother (often under duress); setting an example for her fourteen-year-old sister, Rae (who's become addicted to "recreational surveillance"); and tracking down her uncle (who randomly disappears on benders dubbed "Lost Weekends"). But when Izzy's parents hire Rae to follow her (for the purpose of ascertaining the identity of Izzy's new boyfriend), Izzy snaps and decides that the only way she will ever be normal is if she gets out of the family business. But there's a hitch: she must take one last job before they'll let her go -- a fifteen-year-old, ice-cold missing person case. She accepts, only to experience a disappearance far closer to home, which becomes the most important case of her life.

Objects in Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear: A Novel ($1.99), by Katharine Weber
Book Description
Harriet Rose, 26, is an American photographer just winning recognition for her work. A travel fellowship brings her to visit her best friend and former roommate, Anne Gordon, in Switzerland. In an ongoing letter to her boyfriend, Harriet reports on strange developments in Anne's life, most notably her affair with a much older married man, which seems to be leading to a disastrous conclusion. Before she can rescue Anne, events take a series of unexpected turns, and Harriet must reexamine her own life and past, and come to terms with the difficulties and possibilities of human relationships.

Already excerpted in The New Yorker, Katherine Weber's witty first novel of attraction and deception, a tale with the sensibility of a Margaret Atwood, pulses with cultural references and word games that echo Nabokov.

Murder on the Eiffel Tower ($2.99) is the first in the Victor Legris Mystery series by Claude Izner. This dropped on a price match with Sony and the price there has already gone back to $9.99.
Book Description
The brand-new, shiny Eiffel Tower is the pride and glory of the 1889 World Exposition. But one sunny afternoon, as visitors are crowding the viewing platforms, a woman collapses and dies on this great Paris landmark. Can a bee sting really be the cause of death? Or is there a more sinister explanation? Enter young bookseller Victor Legris. Present on the tower at the time of the incident, and appalled by the media coverage of the occurrence, he is determined to find out what actually happened. In this dazzling evocation of late nineteenth-century Paris, we follow Victor as his investigation takes him all over the city and he suspects an ever-changing list of possible perpetrators. Could mysterious Kenji Mori, his surrogate father and business partner at the bookstore Legris operates, be involved in the crime? Why are beautiful Russian illustrator Tasha and her colleagues at the newly launched sensationalist newspaper Passepartout always up-to-date in their reporting? And what will Legris do when the deaths begin to multiply and he is caught in a race against time?

Murder on the Eiffel Tower is painstakingly researched, an effortless evocation of the glorious City of Light, and an exciting opening to a promising series of eight books featuring Victor Legris.

Community Organizing for Conservatives: A Manifesto for Localism in the Tea Party Movement, by Lorie Medina, and First, Do No Harm: The President's Cousin Explains Why His Hippocratic Oath Requires Him to Oppose ObamaCare, by Milton Wolf, are two of eight political treatises for the Tea Party, published by an imprint of HarperCollins, Broadside Books. ($1.99 each)
Community Organizing for Conservatives
Lorie Medina explains how she became involved with the Tea Party movement and how her background prepared her for her important role. She shares with the reader how to start a local grassroots organization and helps to prepare them for many of the challenges they will face. Lorie uses real people and real situations to explain best practices for local tea party groups. Throughout the book, Lorie focuses on the necessity of local groups to truly affect lasting change in America.

First, Do No Harm
The discussion what role—if any—the government should play in regulating and dictating the delivery of health care in the United States has become ground zero in the much larger age-old struggle between statism and individual liberty. Personifying this struggle is the conflict between the big government schemes of President Barack Obama and the free market principles of the President's own cousin, the private practice physician Milton R. Wolf, M.D. When Barack Obama and Dr. Milton Wolf met for the first time in May 2010, it marked the beginning of a new phase in this all-American family feud. In this work, Dr. Wolf takes the gloves off and describes the results of decades of government intervention in health care, the disastrous doubling down on failure of ObamaCare and finally the alternative free market reforms that will save our system and ultimately our nation.

The Zoo on the Road to Nablus: A Story of Survival from the West Bank ($4.32), by Amelia Thomas
Book Description
In a unique zoo in one of the world's most turbulent regions, one man wages a strange and heroic battle for its animals' survival.

The last Palestinian zoo stands on a dusty, deadend street in the once prosperous farming town of Qalqilya, on the very edge of the West Bank.

The zoo's bars are rusting; peacocks wander quiet avenues shaded by broad plane trees; a teenage baboon broods in solitary confinement; walls bear the pockmarks of gunfire. And yet the zoo is an extraordinary place, with a bizarre, troubling and inspiring story to tell. At the center of this story is Dr. Sami Khader, the only zoo veterinarian in the Palestinian territories. Family man, amateur inventor, and dedicated taxidermist, he is fiercely independent, apolitical, and resourceful in times of crisis. Dr. Sami dreams of transforming the zoo into one of an international caliber.

In The Zoo on the Road to Nablus, Amelia Thomas brings the reader into a world rarely glimpsed from the outside, weaving the stories of the zoo's animals, its staff, and its visitors into a rich, colorful chronicle of the indomitability of the human--and animal--spirit.

Katie Macalister has several of her backlist/self-published titles marked down to 99 cents. The first two are the first and third in her Noble romance series; the second isn't on Kindle (at least, not yet). The third is a novella in her Dark Ones series (the first title of which, A Girl's Guide to Vampires, is still free for Australians only, courtesy of HarperCollins). The last one is a stand-alone novel, just published this year.
Noble Intentions
Noble Britton suffered greatly at the hands of his first wife, and he refuses to fall into the same trap again. This time he intends to marry a quiet, biddable woman who will not draw attention to herself or cause scandal. Gillian Leigh’s honest manner and spontaneous laughter attract him immediately. It matters little that she is accident-prone; he can provide the structure necessary to guide her.

But unconventional to the tips of her half-American toes, his new bride turns the tables on him, wreaking havoc on his orderly life. Perpetually one step behind his beguiling spouse, Noble suffers a banged-up head, a black eye, and a broken nose before he realizes Gillian has healed his soul and proven that their union is no heedless tumble, but the swoon of true love.

The Trouble With Harry (aka Noble Pursuits)
Just What is the Trouble With Harry?

1. He is Plum’s new husband. Not normally a problem, but when you consider that Harry advertised for a wife, and Plum was set to marry his secretary, there was cause for a bit of confusion.

2. He has a title. Plum has spent the last twenty years hiding from the ton, and now Harry wants her to shine in society? Horrors!

3. He doesn’t know about her shocking secret. How is she going to explain about the dead husband who isn’t a husband…and who now seems to be alive again?

4. He’s fallen in love with her. And yet, the maddening man refuses to confide in her. For Plum knows the real trouble with Harry is that he’s stolen her heart.

Bring Out Your Dead
Battling a demon lord is all in a day’s work for the Dark One named Sebastian. But now he must take on a horde of unhappy zombies and an obnoxious teen vampire if he wants to win the hand of the one woman who can make him whole.

Ysabelle is a woman with a past, and not a whole lot of future if a certain demon lord has his way. With zombies, demons, and a little thing like death standing in her way, will she find happiness in the man who’s seen more darkness than she can imagine?

Note: this novella was published in 2006 and again in 2010 in the Just One Sip and My Zombie Valentine anthologies, respectively. Readers should be aware that this is a republishing of a previously published novella.

Suffragette in the City
Cassandra Whitney is a New Woman, from her forward-thinking attitudes toward women and society, right down to her determination to take a lover—just as soon as she can find one who doesn’t dribble soup, or yell at her for her involvement with the suffrage movement.

Unfortunately, the only candidate she’s found worthy is the annoying, but sinfully attractive, Griffin St. John. It’s just too bad he appears to be central in a plot to destroy everything she’s worked for…

Veneer: Living Deeply in a Surface Society ($0.99), by Timothy D. Willard and Jason Locy, is marked down courtesy of HarperCollins imprint Zondervan.
Book Description
The world has a love affair---with itself. Armed with Facebook, Twitter, and blogs, we think of ourselves as mini celebrities, and we use consumption and technology to convince our friends that this facade is who we are. Veneer illustrates that consumption is more than just acquiring more stuff; it is a potentially dangerous mindset---a mindset turning everything, even people, into products.According to authors Timothy Willard and R. Jason Locy, there is evidence of consumption in all channels of culture---even the church. Most Christian commentators suggest that the church should speak the language of the congregants. Willard and Locy suggest the opposite approach: if congregants are steeped in a culture of consumption, the church should not speak their language at all.Veneer encourages the church to become a refreshing voice amidst a veneered world, inviting you to lead an unveneered life of freedom, honesty, and beauty. Taking on an original concept that addresses the potential dangers of consumption and technology, Veneer speaks to many Christians who are unsure how to live with true meaning among the ever-changing trends and technology our culture offers.

Karin Slaughter's Kindle Single Thorn in My Side is currently half price, at $0.99. She is also featured in a short story collection that Macmillan has marked down and two of her novels at HarperCollins are also being discounted.
Thorn in My Side
It could have been just any night, and they could have just been any two brothers--but it wasn't, and they weren't. The scene is an Atlanta bar. The music is loud and the dance floor is packed. The good-looking brother picks up a girl. But when dark deeds ensue out in the parking lot, what happens next can only be described in two words: vintage Slaughter. From the opening scene to the last line, Thorn in My Side is as wicked as it is entertaining--an unforgettable piece of writing from one of the most beloved storytellers working today.

First Thrills: Volume 3 ($2.99)
New York Times bestselling author Lee Child and the International Thriller Writers, Inc. present a collection of remarkable stories in First Thrills. From small-town crime stories to sweeping global conspiracies, this is a cross section of today’s hottest thriller-writing talent. This original collection is now split into four e-book volumes, packed with murder, mystery, and mayhem!

First Thrills: Volume 3 contains stories five original stories by: Jeffery Deaver, Karin Slaughter, Rebecca Cantrell, Gregg Hurwitz and Theo Gangi

A Faint Cold Fear Grant County series #3 ($3.99)
An apparent student suicide has brought medical examiner Sara Linton to the local college campus, along with her ex-husband, police chief Jeffrey Tolliver. But a horribly mutilated corpse yields up few answers. And a suspicious rash of subsequent "suicides" suggests that a different kind of terror is stalking the youth of Heartsdale, Georgia -- a nightmare that is coming to prey on Sara Linton's loved ones.

A small town is being transformed into a killing ground. And the key to a sadistic murderer's motive and identity may be held in the unsteady hands of a campus security guard -- a former police detective driven from the force by the hellish memories that will never leave her. Lena Adams survived the unthinkable and has paid a devastating price. Now the survival of future victims may depend upon her ... when she can barely protect herself.

Indelible Grant County series #4 ($1.99)
Two armed men enter the police station in tiny Heartsdale, Georgia, and open fire. When the shooting stops, an officer is dead, Police Chief Jeffrey Tolliver is seriously wounded, and the survivors -- including a class of grade-school children and medical examiner Sara Linton -- are held hostage. In a tense standoff that could erupt at any moment into more bloodletting -- with her ex-husband on the threshold of death -- Sara must search for answers and an escape in the memories of a time at the start of their relationship when another brutal, shocking crime shattered their small-town world. Because the sins of the past have caught up with Sara and Jeffrey ... with a vengeance.

Circle Series 4-in-1 ($14.41), by Ted Dekker, gives you all four books in the Books of History Chronicles at $3.60 each, at a lesser cost than just the first three in Black/Red/White (The Circle Trilogy 1-3) ($14.49), which is what I picked up a few years ago. I'll have to look for a good deal on Green, which is the only one I'm missing.
Book Description
Rare is the story that takes readers out of this world and into another.

Rarer still the story that captures heart, soul, and mind...leaving the reader forever transformed.

This is that story.

Dive deep and enter the Circle.

The Circle is an epic story of evil and rescue, betrayal and love, and terrorist threat unlike anything the human race has ever known.

It beings when a man named Thomas hunter finds himself being chased down an alley after working the late shift at a coffee house. When a bullet grazes his head, he awakens in an entirely different reality. Now every time he falls asleep, he wakes up in the other reality--and every choice he makes impacts the fate of two worlds.

At long last, all four novels in this groundbreaking series have been brought together in one adrenaline-laced volume.

Four novels. Two Worlds. One Story.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,
Bookmark and Share

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Georgette Heyer pre-order $1.99 (nook) and Two Free Books (noDRM)

You may have noticed that I am posting a "Deals and Bargain Books" post each day. Besides the Kindle Deal of the Day, which changes, well, daily, I found that I was uncovering a number of bargain books that I never got around to posting, especially if a particular day had a large number of free books. With the new daily post (which I try to get out before the email update gets sent out), I am hoping to make sure that fewer of those bargain books get overlooked, while cutting down on those 60 bargain book posts at the end of the month. I will still post the free books as I find them and the occasional review, game or music post (just as before), but I'll try to limit the bargain posts to one a day. Of course, there will be exceptions and this post is one of them - I was afraid this pre-order price might change before I could add it to tomorrow's post.

Let me know what you think about the new posts - both the deals and the format/frequency. There haven't been many comments on them, yet (so far, a couple of thank-you's for a music selection and one person that now hates the blog, complete, it seems).

For all the Georgette Heyer fans out there, Barnes & Noble has just reduced the pre-order price of Toll-Gate ($9.99 Kindle; B&N link) down to $1.99. I've already reported the lower price to Amazon, but the more that do, the better the chance it will drop. If you missed the bit $1.99 sale, by-the-way, there are actually a number of Georgette Heyer's books that have dropped back down to that price range again on Kindle (a couple at B&N are still/again $1.99, as are a handful at Kobo).
Book Description
His exploits were legendary...

Captain John Staple, back from the battlefront, is already bored with his quiet civilian life in the country. When he stumbles upon a mystery involving a disappearing toll-gate keeper, nothing could keep the adventure-loving captain from investigating.

But winning her will be his greatest yet...

The plot thickens when John encounters the enigmatic Lady Nell Stornaway and soon learns that rescuing her from her unsavory relatives makes even the most ferocious cavalry charge look like a particularly tame hand of loo. Between hiding his true identity from Nell and the arrival in the neighborhood of some distinctly shady characters, Captain Staple finds himself embarked on the adventure-and romance-of a lifetime.

Over at Pocket After Dark, you can get a free download of a short story by Sherrilyn Kenyon and Dianna Love, Fire Bound, which runs about 50 pages, plus an excerpt from their upcoming novel, Alterant, the second in their Belador Code series, following Blood Trinity
Book Description
A dangerous creature is on the loose. Evalle, Tzader and Quinn take a VIPER team just outside of Atlanta for a sting operation that takes a deadly turn. Killing the half-human creature would be easy, but national security is on the line until the team can discover who created the monster, and whether more like it are waiting in the wings to be unleashed on the human world. The op goes bad with Beladors in the middle of it, and nothing turns out as expected, least of all for Evalle.

Today is the last day to get a free copy of Jack Matthews's A Worker's Writebook: How Language Makes Stories, over on his website, or to take advantage of the 99 cent price at Amazon. Besides being an author himself, he was a distinguished professor of Fiction Writing at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio for over 4 decades, so should have a few good tips for aspiring authors (or even those who are already published).
Book Description
Jack Matthews has not only published more than 15 books of fiction, he taught classes in fiction writing to students at Ohio University for over four decades. This 75,000 word book consists of his teachings, insights, ramblings and ruminations about the art of fiction.

Many books have been written about the craft of fiction writing; how is this one different?

First, a Worker's Writebook: How Language Makes Stories consists of essays and dialogue (called interludes). These interludes punch holes in the rules and pronouncements made in the essays; they also help the book avoid seeming too dogmatic. The two voices in the interludes are not exactly "characters" but the author and a contrarian voice within the author. The comparison to Platonic dialogues is apt; Matthews received his undergraduate degree in classical Greek literature and has always found echoes of the classical age in contemporary art and life. Still, the "poetics" of Writebook is grounded less in Aristotle than Aristophanes.

Writebook touches upon some practical aspects of writing fiction (such as naming characters and writing speech cues). But Writebook focuses on helping the writer write more boldly and with more attention to the linguistic vehicles of thought. For Matthews, most stories fail through under-invention, not because the rules of narrative have been disregarded.

Chapter 2 (Taxonomies) and 3 (Structural Matters) cover various paradigms for plot and character development. These are worthy subjects and Matthews has interesting things to say (especially when he tries to analyze his story Funeral Plots with these same paradigms). At the same time Matthews recognizes that there is no magic paradigm or archetype capable of explaining what makes all stories successful – these are just guides. At some point you just have to trust writerly intuition. Writebook helps the potential storyteller to cultivate this intuition and be flexible enough to bend rules when necessary. Matthews writes, "Anything can be done if it's done in the right way: with style, panache and cunning."

Many writing books include a chapter or two listing literary cliches to avoid. For the most part, Writebook doesn't do that. Instead it goes deeper and analyzes why some metaphors succeed and others do not. The funny Parable of the Indifferent Ear provides a good case study about how linguistic inventiveness doesn't always translate into effective writing.

Literary insights from Writebook can be applied to drama, novels and poetry; but they are especially applicable to smaller forms like the short story (though Matthews' claim that a short story of more than 10,000 words rarely succeeds is sure to be controversial). Writebook introduces lots of new ideas and terminology: the non-sequential time opening, the Swamps of Antecedence, pointedness (which, as I understand it, is how stories gain enough momentum to escape the gravitational pull of the author), linguistic vehicles (the actual words which transport the thought) and why flat characters aren't always bad.

Matthews wrote Writebook in the mid 1990s (and distributed it to his creative writing students throughout the years). Since then, Matthews has retired and kept busy with various writing projects (described in greater detail in his 2009 interview in Chapter 7). At 85 years old, Jack Matthews is still writing fiction and teaching occasional writing classes.

One more thing. Writebook is wickedly funny. I won't spoil any of the jokes; suffice to say that one of his former students said Matthews was "so damn witty" in the classroom that he reminded her of Groucho Marx. Writebook has serious and even lofty aims. But this is fun reading. Matthew's style is playful and pedantic; Matthews enjoys inventing characters on the fly to illustrate his points and adding qualities to them until you begin to wonder if Writebook is going to veer into becoming a novel.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , , , , ,
Bookmark and Share

Today's Deals and Bargain Books

Life ($3.99), by Keith Richards, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day. This is a very good price on a very good book; I actually paid full price ($15) for it last year. Had I waited a month, then, I would have paid $2 more for the Kindle Edition with Audio/Video (too bad that edition isn't on sale today).
Book Description
The long-awaited autobiography of the guitarist, songwriter, singer, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Ladies and gentlemen: Keith Richards.

With The Rolling Stones, Keith Richards created the songs that roused the world, and he lived the original rock and roll life.

Now, at last, the man himself tells his story of life in the crossfire hurricane. Listening obsessively to Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters records, learning guitar and forming a band with Mick Jagger and Brian Jones. The Rolling Stones's first fame and the notorious drug busts that led to his enduring image as an outlaw folk hero. Creating immortal riffs like the ones in "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Honky Tonk Women." His relationship with Anita Pallenberg and the death of Brian Jones. Tax exile in France, wildfire tours of the U.S., isolation and addiction. Falling in love with Patti Hansen. Estrangement from Jagger and subsequent reconciliation. Marriage, family, solo albums and Xpensive Winos, and the road that goes on forever.

With his trademark disarming honesty, Keith Richard brings us the story of a life we have all longed to know more of, unfettered, fearless, and true.
Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band have a Bonus EP free over on iTunes this week. Six songs and you can't beat the price. Crosby & Nash also have a free single on iTunes this week, Don't Dig Here. This one appears to be a new release, while the former is a new compilation of previously released titles.

Additional formats available on free books:
One tip on the books from Kobo - click on "Save for Later" or "Add to Library" directly under the book cover, then ignore that page for a couple of minutes (or more) - eventually, it will change to say "Added to your library.". These books don't have a download option on the product pages, but once added to your library, you can download them there (for the nook, Sony reader or desktop use) or read them in the Kobo app.

Ruby's Slippers, by Leanna Ellis, is just one of twenty titles that Christian publisher B&H Publishing Group has marked down today to 99 cents (from a normal $9.99, it appears).
Book Description
Dottie Meyers, 35, is a real-life Dorothy Gale living with her little black dog on a small farm in Kansas that’s about to be hit by a tornado. Knocked unconscious by the storm, she awakes three months later at a recovery facility in California where her father, last seen when she was four, has left her a mysterious pair of ruby slippers.

But unlike The Wizard of Oz, this isn’t a dream, and the yellow brick road journey that Dottie and three friends are about to take from Los Angeles to Seattle in search of her dad will show the realities of a broken childhood. More importantly, everything connected to those sparkling red shoes will prove to Dottie that there’s only one true wonder worker behind the so-called curtain who can heal her wounds and prepare the heart for love.
Here are the rest of the titles in today's sale:
  1. Elvis Takes a Back Seat, by Leanna Ellis
  2. Lookin' Back, Texas, by Leanna Ellis
  3. Santa Fe Woman (Wagon Wheel Series #1), by Gilbert Morris
  4. Joelle's Secret (Wagon Wheel Series), by Gilbert Morris
  5. Forsaken, by James David Jordan
  6. Double Cross, by James David Jordan
  7. Shade, by John B. Olson
  8. Powers: A Novel, by John B. Olsen
  9. Room of Marvels: A Novel, by James Bryan Smith
  10. Havah, by Tosca Lee
  11. Shadow of Colossus (Seven Wonders Series), by T.L. Higley
  12. City of the Dead (Seven Wonders), by T.L. Higley
  13. Words, by Ginny Yttrup
  14. The Duchess and the Dragon, by Jamie Carie
  15. Wind Dancer, by Jamie Carie
  16. Certain Jeopardy, by Jeff Struecker and Alton Gansky
  17. Deliver Us from Evil, by Robin Caroll
  18. Sweet Waters, by Julie Carobini
  19. A Shore Thing, by Julie Carobini
Wicked with Bonus Material: Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West ($2.99), by Gregory Maguire, is a pre-order that will be released Oct 4. If you haven't read this view of The Wizard of Oz for adults, you can sample the full priced edition. The bonus edition includes an excerpt from the upcoming Out of Oz: The Final Volume in the Wicked Years, which will be released Nov 1 (about which time I expect this bonus version to disappear). I've already placed my order and moved my paper copy over to the stack to take to the used bookstore.
Book Description
When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil?

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil.

By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept ($4.99), by Paulo Coelho, has joined what seems like the perennially discounted The Witch of Portobello from the same author.
Book Description
From Paulo Coelho, author of the international bestseller The Alchemist, comes a poignant, richly poetic story that reflects the depth of love and life.

Rarely does adolescent love reach its full potential, but what happens when two young lovers reunite after eleven years? Time has transformed Pilar into a strong and independent woman, while her devoted childhood friend has grown into a handsome and charismatic spiritual leader. She has learned well how to bury her feelings . . . and he has turned to religion as a refuge from his raging inner conflicts.

Now they are together once again, embarking on a journey fraught with difficulties, as long-buried demons of blame and resentment resurface after more than a decade. But in a small village in the French Pyrenees, by the waters of the River Piedra, a most special relationship will be reexamined in the dazzling light of some of life's biggest questions.

Abarat with Bonus Material ($1.99), by Clive Barker, is now available for download, for those that don't do pre-orders.
Book Description
Discover the magical and illuminating world of Clive Barker’s bestselling Abarat. This ebook also includes excerpts from the sequel, Abarat: Days of Magic, Nights of War, and the long-anticipated third installment: Abarat: Absolute Midnight.

It begins in the most boring place in the world: Chickentown, U.S.A. There lives Candy Quackenbush, her heart bursting for some clue as to what her future might hold. When the answer comes, it's not one she expects. Out of nowhere comes a wave, and Candy, led by a man called John Mischief (whose brothers live on the horns on his head), leaps into the surging waters and is carried away.

Where? To the Abarat: a vast archipelago where every island is a different hour of the day, from The Great Head that sits in the mysterious twilight waters of Eight in the Evening, to the sunlit wonders of Three in the Afternoon, where dragons roam, to the dark terrors of Gorgossium, the island of Midnight, ruled over by the Prince of Midnight himself, Christopher Carrion.

Candy has a place in this extraordinary world: She is here to help save the Abarat from the dark forces that are stirring at its heart. Forces older than Time itself, and more evil than anything Candy has ever encountered.

William Randolph Hearst : The Early Years, 1863-1910 ($1.99), by Ben Procter
Book Description
William Randolph Hearst was one of the most colorful and important figures of turn-of-the-century America, a man who changed the face of American journalism and whose influence extends to the present day. Now, in William Randolph Hearst, Ben Procter gives us the most authoritative account of Hearst's extraordinary career in newspapers and politics. Born to great wealth--his father was a partial owner of four fabulously rich mines--Hearst began his career in his early twenties by revitalizing a rundown newspaper, the San Franciso Examiner. Hearst took what had been a relatively sedate form of communicating information and essentially created the modern tabloid, complete with outrageous headlines, human interest stories, star columnists, comic strips, wide photo coverage, and crusading zeal. His papers fairly bristled with life. By 1910 he had built a newspaper empire--eight papers and two magazines read by nearly three million people. Hearst did much to create "yellow journalism"--with the emphasis on sensationalism and the lowering of journalistic standards. But Procter shows that Hearst's papers were also challenging and innovative and powerful: They exposed corruption, advocated progressive reforms, strongly supported recent immigrants, became a force in the Democratic Party, and helped ignite the Spanish-American War. Procter vividly depicts Hearst's own political career from his 1902 election to Congress to his presidential campaign in 1904 and his bitter defeats in New York's Mayoral and Gubernatorial races. Written with a broad narrative sweep and based on previously unavailable letters and manuscripts, William Randoph Hearst illuminates the character and era of the man who left an indelible mark on American journalism.

Original Sin: A Sally Sin Adventure ($1.99), by Beth Mcmullen
Book Description
After falling in love and making a quick exit from her nine-year career in the USAWMD (United States Agency for Weapons of Mass Destruction), ex-spy Sally Sin does her best to become Lucy Hamilton, a stay-at-home mom in San Francisco. No one, not even her adoring husband Will, knows about her secret agent escapades — chasing no-good masterminds through perilous jungles, escaping evil assassins, and playing dangerous games of cat and mouse with her old nemesis, Ian Blackford, a notorious and dashing illegal arms dealer.

In her new life as Lucy Hamilton, she squeezes inside forts crafted from couch cushions by her three-year-old son Theo, makes organic applesauce, and frequents the zoo. But sometimes her well-honed spy reflexes refuse to lay low. She can’ t help breaking into her own house to check on the babysitter or stop herself from tossing the yoga instructor who gets on her nerves. And when Ian Blackford, who is supposed to be dead, once again starts causing trouble for the USAWMD, the agency becomes desperate to get Sally back on the job.

How can Sally or Lucy or whatever her name is save the planet while at the same time keeping her own family’ s world from spinning out of control?
Every bit as much fun as a spy-mom thriller ought to be, Original Sin is a fast-paced adventure story for mothers and spies, and anyone who has ever dreamed about being either.

What Washington Can Learn From the World of Sports ($1.17), by George Allen
Book Description
Politics and sports: they’re two of America’s greatest passions. And George Allen -- former U.S. Senator, former Virginia Governor, and son of the great NFL coach George Allen, Sr. -- brings these two worlds together in his new book, The Triumph of Character: What Washington Can Learn From the Principles of Sports. Having spent his life with one foot in the sports arena and the other in the political arena, Allen brings his unique perspective and experiences to The Triumph of Character. Through personal stories, anecdotes, and interviews, Allen draws both parallels and contrasts between two of our nation’s favorite passions. From national security, to wasteful government spending, to judicial activism, Allen proves that our government need look no further than the football field, baseball diamond, or basketball court to solve today’s pressing problems. Timed to launch just before Father’s Day, The Triumph of Character shows what Washington can learn from the greatest moments -- and failures -- in sports, as well as from the spirit and principles of fair play, hard work, and keeping score.

TThe Hanover Square Affair ($0.99), the first in the Captain Lacey series by Jennifer Ashley (aka Ashley Gardner), is one of eight backlist Regency cozy mysteries the author has listed in the Kindle store (some of which are novella length).
Book Description
London, 1816
Cavalry captain Gabriel Lacey returns to Regency London from the Napoleonic wars, burned out, fighting melancholia, his career ended. His interest is piqued when he learns of a missing girl, possibly kidnapped by a prominent member of Parliament. Lacey's search for the girl leads to the discovery of murder, corruption, and dealings with a leader of the underworld. At the same time, he struggles with his own disorientation transitioning from a soldier's life to the civilian world, redefining his role with his former commanding officer, and making new friends--from the top of society to the street girls of Covent Garden.

The Subversive Copy Editor: Advice from Chicago (or, How to Negotiate Good Relationships with Your Writers, Your Colleagues, and Yourself) (Chicago Guides to Writing, Editing, and Publishing) ($2.47), by Carol Fisher Saller, looks like another good reference for those are writers or who have to deal with those who are (or just think they are!).
Book Description
Each year writers and editors submit over three thousand grammar and style questions to the Q&A page at The Chicago Manual of Style Online. Some are arcane, some simply hilarious—and one editor, Carol Fisher Saller, reads every single one of them. All too often she notes a classic author-editor standoff, wherein both parties refuse to compromise on the "rights" and "wrongs" of prose styling: "This author is giving me a fit." "I wish that I could just DEMAND the use of the serial comma at all times." "My author wants his preface to come at the end of the book. This just seems ridiculous to me. I mean, it’s not a post-face."

In The Subversive Copy Editor, Saller casts aside this adversarial view and suggests new strategies for keeping the peace. Emphasizing habits of carefulness, transparency, and flexibility, she shows copy editors how to build an environment of trust and cooperation. One chapter takes on the difficult author; another speaks to writers themselves. Throughout, the focus is on serving the reader, even if it means breaking "rules" along the way. Saller’s own foibles and misadventures provide ample material: "I mess up all the time," she confesses. "It’s how I know things."

Writers, Saller acknowledges, are only half the challenge, as copy editors can also make trouble for themselves. (Does any other book have an index entry that says "terrorists. See copy editors"?) The book includes helpful sections on e-mail etiquette, work-flow management, prioritizing, and organizing computer files. One chapter even addresses the special concerns of freelance editors.

Saller’s emphasis on negotiation and flexibility will surprise many copy editors who have absorbed, along with the dos and don’ts of their stylebooks, an attitude that their way is the right way. In encouraging copy editors to banish their ignorance and disorganization, insecurities and compulsions, the Chicago Q&A presents itself as a kind of alter ego to the comparatively staid Manual of Style. In The Subversive Copy Editor, Saller continues her mission with audacity and good humor.

The Ghost of Hannah Mendes ($2.99), by Naomi Ragen
Book Description
When Catherine da Costa, a wealthy Manhattan matron, learns she has only a short time to live, she realizes that her family tree will die unless she passes on its legacy and traditions to her granddaughters. But Suzanne and Francesca, beautiful young women caught up in trendy causes and ambitious careers, have no interest in the past. Catherine almost despairs until one night she is visited by the ghost of her family's anscestor, an indomitable Renaissance businesswoman named Hannah Mandes.

The ghost of Hannah Mendes encourages Catherine to use every trick in the book to coerce the granddaughters to journey across Europe and acquaint themselves with their roots. While the sisters honor their grandmother's request out of loyalty, they believe their quest is futile--until it starts to uncover ancient pages from Hannah Mendes's fascinating memoir, and brings new loves into their lives.
Posted by at
Labels: , , , ,
Bookmark and Share

Save $10 on Software Downloads (KSO)

This offer is for those with a Kindle with Special Offers only. View the Special Offers on your Kindle (Menu, Special Offers) and you should see a new promotion (if you don't, turn on your wireless, click Menu, Sync & Check for New Items, then after the sync has completed, go to the Special Offers screen):

Save $10 on a $25 purchase of select software downloads at Amazon.com

Click on offer, then click on the link on the offer page sign up and get an email with the promotion code. Sign-up for this offer expires on September 17. You'll get an email (right away), a link to list of eligible downloads and a promotion code to enter at checkout. Once you have the promotional code, you have until October 17 to complete your purchase. Like previous offers, this one requires you to use the full checkout process in order to enter your promotional code. Also, like all Amazon sales that use promotional codes, if you have a gift card balance, you must use it for the payment (if there is not a sufficient balance, then you can pick which credit card or other payment to use).

This offer is limited to one per device AND one per customer (and, like all recent offers, is non-transferable).

There is a very limited selection and I only found two below $30 and a handful under $40 (although there are a number of items in the hundreds of dollars range). If you were already going to get one of these choices - perhaps updating your financial or antivirus package, then it's a $10 gift, but otherwise it isn't much of a discount on most of the items.
Posted by at
Labels: ,
Bookmark and Share

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Today's Deals and Bargain Books

The following free books have additional formats available:
Amazon has refurbished Kindles back in stock, for those who have been waiting for the price to drop below $100 (or want 3G without ads at less than the KSO3G price).
Today's the last day of a sale from publisher Open Road, for the following titles (most of which sell in the $10 range, usually):

Soulless ($1.99), the first title in the The Parasol Protectorate series by Gail Carriger, is the Kindle Deal of the Day. This and the next two in the series are still available as a bundle, though, for $9.99, which is a better bargain if you haven't started on this series. The next two in the series are also only $7.99 each (Heartless and Timeless, available March 2012), rather than the all-too common $12.99+.
Book Description
Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she's a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire -- and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

With unexpected vampires appearing and expected vampires disappearing, everyone seems to believe Alexia responsible. Can she figure out what is actually happening to London's high society? Will her soulless ability to negate supernatural powers prove useful or just plain embarrassing? Finally, who is the real enemy, and do they have treacle tart?

SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

Strange Mercy ($3.99), by St. Vincent, is Amazon's MP3 album of the day. However, if you first enter the promo code INDIE150, you'll get another $1.50 of that price. The code works on a select number of new indie releases, but the others on that page are full price. The code expires Sept 18, but you can enter it now and wait on one of the other albums, if you want to see if something else drops in price.

WIRED ($0.79), by Douglas E. Richards, is my indie pick of the day. I'm a bit over half-way thru the book and, although it may not be quite "keep you up all night", it is definitely a page-turner (and the bad guys seem to change every chapter or so, as you learn more of what is going on).
Book Description
Kira Miller is a brilliant genetic engineer who discovers how to temporarily achieve savant-like capabilities in all areas of thought and creativity. But what if this transcendent level of intelligence brings with it a ruthless megalomania?

David Desh left the special forces after his team was brutally butchered in Iran. Now he has been reactivated for one last mission: find Kira Miller, the enigmatic genius behind a bioterror plot that threatens millions. But when Desh learns that the bioterror plot is just the tip of the iceberg, he is thrust into a byzantine maze of deception and intrigue, and he becomes a key player in a deadly game he can't begin to understand. A game that is certain to have a dramatic impact on the future course of human history. . .

WIRED is a smart thriller crammed with breakneck action, mind-expanding science, and intriguing concepts readers will be contemplating long after they've read the last page.

Darkness on Fire ($3.99), the ninth book in the Paladins of Darkness series by Alexis Morgan, is currently available for pre-order. This looks like it falls heavily on the romance side of urban fantasy and is listed as an omnibus/anthology volume on some sites, including the author's, but digging around shows it as a novella (per the author's site), rather than a full length novel (the publisher shows the list price as $4.99), but also is supposed to have 240 pages (publisher's site).
Book Description
When Kalith geologist Jora b'Larth notices strange seismic activity occurring around the underground energy barrier in Yellowstone National Park, she realizes someone otherworldly has been siphoning off energy. Keeping her identity under wraps, she reaches out to the enemy Paladins for help. When Paladin Penn Sebastian shows up, ready to investigate her allegations, Jora is unexpectedly attracted by his handsome face and intense blue eyes. And as they work together to solve the rift between their two worlds, something surprising happens: the two sworn enemies begin to fall in love.

Feeling For Bones ($0.89), by Bethany Pierce, published by Christian publisher Moody.
Book Description
ressurized family dynamics and a dysfunctional church experience force 16-year-old Olivia to seek her own reality. Hounded by the distorted reflections of mirrors, car doors, and shop windows, she sets things in order by papering her bedroom wall with glossy clippings from glamour magazines.

Olivia's baggy clothes and exhaustive calorie scrutiny can't cover up the fact that she is allowing her body to wither away. As she encounters small town prying and a tighter-than-comfortable rental house Olivia's escape becomes her art. And her goal becomes the impossible perfection of the airbrushed models on her wall.

Feeling for Bones is Olivia's story as her struggles become more than physical and she is finally led to the answers she was running from all along.

This novel opens a window to the thought processes and struggles of teen and college-aged women who struggle with eating disorders. Young women will find a friend who thinks like they do and mothers will find a compatriot in the battle to help their daughters deal with body image.

The Truth Seeker ($0.89), by Dee Henderson, is from Christian publisher Tyndale House.
Book Description
Women are turning up dead, and Lisa O'Malley has a habit of walking into crime scenes, curious. She's a forensic pathologist, and mysteries are her domain. U.S. marshall Quinn Diamond has found loving her is easier than keeping her safe. Lisa's found the killer, and now she's missing too.

Introducing the O'Malleys, an inspirational group of seven, all abandoned or orphaned as teens, who have made the choice to become a loyal and committed family. They have chosen their own surname, O'Malley, and have stood by each other through moments of joy and heartache. Their stories are told in CBA best-selling, inspirational romantic suspense novels that rock your heart and restore strength and hope to your spirit.

The Flight of the Century : Charles Lindbergh and the Rise of American Aviation (Pivotal Moments in American History) ($1.99), by Thomas Kessner, is from Oxford University Press (and 336 pages in print).
Book Description
In late May 1927 an inexperienced and unassuming 25-year-old Air Mail pilot from rural Minnesota stunned the world by making the first non-stop transatlantic flight. A spectacular feat of individual daring and collective technological accomplishment, Charles Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris ushered in America's age of commercial aviation. In The Flight of the Century, Thomas Kessner takes a fresh look at one of America's greatest moments, explaining how what was essentially a publicity stunt became a turning point in history. He vividly recreates the flight itself and the euphoric reaction to it on both sides of the Atlantic, and argues that Lindbergh's amazing feat occurred just when the world--still struggling with the disillusionment of WWI--desperately needed a hero to restore a sense of optimism and innocence. Kessner also shows how new forms of mass media made Lindbergh into the most famous international celebrity of his time, casting him in the role of a humble yet dashing American hero of rural origins and traditional values. Much has been made of Lindbergh's personal integrity and his refusal to cash in on his fame. But Kessner reveals that Lindbergh was closely allied with, and managed by, a group of powerful businessmen--Harry Guggenheim, Dwight Morrow, and Henry Breckenridge chief among them--who sought to exploit aviation for mass transport and massive profits. Their efforts paid off as commercial air traffic soared from 6,000 passengers in 1926 to 173,000 passengers in 1929. Kessner's book is the first to fully explore Lindbergh's central role in promoting the airline industry--the rise of which has influenced everything from where we live to how we wage war and do business. The Flight of the Century sheds new light on one of America's fascinatingly enigmatic heroes and most transformative moments.

The Folding Star and The Line of Beauty, by Alan Hollinghurst, are both marked down to $2.51. Both novels were Man Booker Prize finalists (one one a winner).
The Folding Star
The 1995 Booker Prize finalist finally back in print.

Alan Hollinghurst's hypnotic and exquisitely written novel tells the story of Edward Manners, a disaffected 33-year-old who leaves England to earn his living as a language tutor in a Flemish city. Almost immediately he falls in love with one of his pupils, but can only console himself with other, illicit affairs. With this novel, Hollinghurst exposes us fearlessly to the consequences of unfulfillable, annihilating desire.

The Line of Beauty
Winner of 2004’s Man Booker Prize for fiction and one of the most talked about books of the year, The Line of Beauty is a sweeping novel about class, sex, and money that brings Thatcher’s London alive. Nick Guest has moved in with the Feddens, a family whose patriarch is a conservative member of parliament. An innocent in matters of politics and money, Nick becomes caught up in the Feddens’ world of parties and excess, as well as in his own private pursuit of beauty. Framed by the two general elections that returned Margaret Thatcher to power, The Line of Beauty unfurls through four extraordinary years of change and tragedy.

Newbery Medal winner Island of the Blue Dolphins ($4.49), by Scott O'Dell, has been called one of the best 10 American children's books in the last 200 years.
Book Description
In the Pacific there is an island that looks like a big fish sunning itself in the sea. Around it, blue dolphins swim, otters play, and sea elephants and sea birds abound. Once, Indians also lived on the island. And when they left and sailed to the east, one young girl was left behind.

This is the story of Karana, the Indian girl who lived alone for years on the Island of the Blue Dolphins. Year after year, she watched one season pass into another and waited for a ship to take her away. But while she waited, she kept herself alive by building a shelter, making weapons, finding food, and fighting her enemies, the wild dogs. It is not only an unusual adventure of survival, but also a tale of natural beauty and personal discovery.

The Funny Man ($2.69), by John Warner, is available to pre-order; I expect the price to go up, when the hardcover comes out at the end of the month.
Book Description
The funny man is a middling comic in an unnamed city. By day he takes care of his infant son, by night he performs in small clubs, sandwiched between other aspiring comics. His wife waits tables to support the family. It doesn’t sound like much, but they’re happy, more or less. Until the day he comes up with it. His thing. His gimmick. And everything changes. He’s a headliner, and the venues get bigger fast. Pretty soon it’s Hollywood and a starring role in a blockbuster, all thanks to the gimmick.

Which is: He performs with his fist in his mouth to the wrist. Jokes, impressions, commercials—all with his fist in his mouth to the wrist. The people want him—are crazy for him—but only with his fist in his mouth.

And the funny man, he is tired of having his fist in his mouth.

Thus, as the novel begins, his career’s in tatters, his family’s left him, and he’s on trial for shooting an unarmed man six times. But for the second time in his life, against all odds, he’s found love. This time with another celebrity, who may or may not be sending him coded messages, and may or may not be equally in love—or even know he exists. A coruscating satire of our culture of celebrity, this debut novel documents one individual’s slide from everyman to monster, even as it reveals the potential for grace—and mercy—in his life.
Posted by at
Labels: , ,
Bookmark and Share
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)