Free Book Roundup

Repeats from Christian publisher:

• A Texan's Promise (K/N/E)
• Highland Sanctuary (K/N/E)
• A Time for Peace (K/N/E)
• Always the Baker, Never the Bride (K/N/E)

These managed to make Amazon's Limited Time Offers list, but all look self-published. The only other thing they seem to have in common is a high digital list price ($9-$10):

• Dominion (Fantasy) , by Daryl Chestney
• Solace, by Bernard Anthony Philips (spiritual/self-help)
• Acadian Redemption: From Beausoleil Broussard to the Queen's Royal Proclamation, by Warren Perrin (biography)
• The Third Floor, by Judi Loren Grace (memoir)
• Sleeper Cells, by Sandra Yvette Desjardins (SF Romance)

Today's backlist/small press/indie, totally free, books for everyone on Kindle. These are are not likely to be free for long, so double check prices before one-clicking (genres are my best guess), as most of them go back up after a day or two (sometimes less), at which point most of them become eligible for the Kindle Lending Library. Those searching the freebies on their own at Amazon may have noticed an unusually high number of titles that were tripping along the edge of erotica into porn (ok, some of them had clearly tripped over the edge and fallen into the pit). It seems that Smashwords has had to eject certain categories of erotica from the catalog, due to enforcement from PayPal. As a result, it seems, many of those authors have moved their books to Amazon or taken the plunge into the KDP Select program, in order to get their 5 days free. One side effect is that you might not want to let any of your small children search the free lists for a while (the titles along are pretty explicit) or do searches yourself from any work computer. I don't guarantee there won't be some erotica in the lists here from time to time, but I think we can skip the ones where the titles themselves are XXX rated.

• In the Cavern of the Night (Silvergirl), by William Barton (SF)
• Fantasy & Science Fiction, Stories on the Nebula Ballot 2011, by Gordon Van Gelder, Carolyn Ives Gilman, Geoff Ryman, Ken Liu
• Puppet Master, by Linda McNabb (YA Fantasy)
• The Unknown, by Linda Pendleton (SF suspense)
• Echoes, by Erin Quinn (Romantic Suspense)
• Golden Chances Book 4 - The Rebel, by Jane Toombs (Historical Romance)
• Into a Dangerous Mind, by Tina Gerow (Romantic Suspense)
• Simple Simon (An Art Jefferson Thriller), by Ryne Douglas Peterson
• The Shadow Box and Whistler's Angel (The Bannerman Series), by John R. Maxim (Mystery & Thrillers) - the formatting is terrible, but grab them now and hope he updates everyone when the corrected versions go online
• The Pickled Apocalypse of Pancake Island, by Cameron Pierce (SF)
• The Pegasus Quest (Dragon Roads), by Rhondi Vilott (fantasy)
• Divine Witness, by Ryan Seek (teen mystery)
• Chasing the Bard (The Fey With Us) , by Philippa Ballantine; edited by Tee Morris, Pip Ballantine (fantasy)
• Dust on the Davenport (Tale from the Archives), by O M Grey; edited by Pip Ballantine, Philippa Ballantine, Tee Morris (paranormal short stories)
• Aladdin and His Wonderfully Infernal Device, by Tee Morris; edited by Philippa Ballantine, Pip Ballantine (steampunk/novella)
• Five "Delicious and Nutritious Gluten-Free" cookbooks by Martha McBride
• The Green Gourmet Perfect Cup Of Tea Book, by Lori Jane Stewart
• The Cookbook of North American Truffles: Recipes for Forest Treasures , by North American Truffling Society (NATS) [is that a MOUSE holding a truffle on the cover? EWWW!]
• Priscilla the Great, by Sybil Nelson (teen/paranormal)
• Easy Slow Cooker Recipes (Delicious Party Appetizers), by Marie Jones
• The Cheesecake Recipe Book, by Judith Stone
• Losing Control, by Cheyenne McCray as Jaymie Holland (erotica)
• Keeping the Dead, by Aaron Polson (horror/short stories)
• Death Calls, by Courtney Vail (horror/poetry/short stories)
• A Gentle Hell, by Autumn Christian (horror/short stories)
• MCMURDO SOUND, by Billie Sue Mosiman (horror/short story)
• The Comfort of a Stranger, by Mark Edward Hall (horror/short story)
• Forever, by Lee Moan (horror/short story)
• CARNIVAL OF SOULS "Special Collector's Edition", by JAZAN WILD (Jazan Wild)
• Bella's Vineyard, by Sally Quilford (romance/novelette)
• The Blue Children: Short Vampire Fiction, by Donna Burgess
• Waiting for a Bus and other stories, by John Whitbourn
• Three books by Marilyn Peake (YA fantasy)

Free Book - Moscow Sting (K/N/E)

Update: 3/1/12 Now free from Barnes & Noble.

Moscow Sting, the second title in the Finn series by Alex Dryden, is free in the Kindle store and from Kobo. The last 10% or so (at least in the EPUB) is an excerpt from his forthcoming The Blind Spy. I actually expect this one to be free at B&N (perhaps their Free Friday Book), but it may be a pricing error and not last that long (it's a bit unusual to have them pop up in the middle of the day).

Book Description
When Finn, a former British spy, is poisoned by a Russian assassin, his ex-boss Adrian, the chief of MI6, wants vengeance. He also wants answers—information that only Finn's widow knows. But Anna, a former KGB colonel who betrayed her country for love, vanished with her child shortly after Finn's death.

Adrian isn't the only one eager to find Anna. Finn accessed intelligence so sensitive that the KGB killed to protect it—and now Anna is in the KGB's crosshairs, as the only person who knows the true identity of the Kremlin insider, superspy, and double agent called Mikhail. The CIA and Cougar, a giant American private intelligence company, are also hunting her. With the Kremlin still in the grasp of all-powerful Vladimir Putin, Mikhail is the West's best hope for revealing Russia's obscure intentions for its newfound oil wealth.

Anna holds the key to the secrets of her motherland, and now the former Russian agent faces her greatest test. To secure her freedom and protect her child, she must uncover the full truth before anyone else does—even as friend and foe set her in their sights.

Moving from Paris to New York, from the Kremlin to the American Southwest, Moscow Sting is an absorbing and timely tale of intrigue, betrayal, fatal lies, and complex truths, told with the authentic detail and chilling insight of an experienced insider.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from Kobo.

Two Free Books for Aussies (K)

There are two new free pre-orders for Australians in the Kindle store today, both published under HarperCollins' Mischief imprint (and likely not safe for work). It looks like both are going to be short story anthologies, from the descriptions, but there are no covers yet (and no authors listed).

Girls Girls Girls Girls Girls: Guy Free Fun ($3.99 US / $0.00 AU), by Various

Book Description
Sapphic love has proven to be one of the most enduring forms of erotic pleasure since the first frolicking nymphs were painted upon the side of amphora. But the secret love of women, without male participation, will never be old hat, because there will always be something deliciously forbidden and titillatingly taboo about the seductions, indiscretions and trysts of one woman with another. And Mischief wouldn’t be a leading publisher of erotica if it didn’t explore, update and let loose these very special feminine lusts of one girl for another.

Improper Conduct: Misbehaviour at Work ($3.99 US / $0.00 AU), by Various

Book Description
The workplace is never exclusively a place for hard graft, tedium and ambition. As we spend over half of our adult lives at work, it has long been a pressure cooker of unrequited desire, barely disguised lust, sexual manipulation, and obsessions for colleagues thinly disguised by professionalism, duty and formality. Which is precisely why Mischief commissioned ten erotica short stories to pursue the explicit shenanigans of work mates who just can’t contain themselves.

Get a Kindle Fire for $169

Amazon has refurbished units of the Kindle Fire for $169 today (while they last). I've bought a refurbished Kindle units in the past (and had a couple of Kindle replaced in the last few years) and can never tell any difference between the new and refurbished ones, other than a code on the outside of the boxes and there is no charger block with the eInk Kindles (there is with the Kindle Fire). You can't get the Amazon 2-year extended warranty on these, but last I checked, Square Trade was offering their warranties on refurbished units.

Each Certified Refurbished Kindle Fire is tested, certified, and repackaged like new. Comes with the same one-year limited warranty as a brand-new Kindle Fire. Learn More

Free Book - My Kindle Fire (K/N)

My Kindle Fire, by Jim Cheshire, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble. I bet we can all guess why it has only a single review and it's only one star at B&N, while it has numerous 4 and 5 star reviews at Amazon....

Book Description
My Kindle Fire is the most comprehensive one-stop guide to the all-new Kindle Fire tablet device. With this book you will learn how to tap into every Kindle Fire feature, including many of the hidden ones not discussed in other books. From setting up your Kindle Page, managing your music, watching movies, and downloading content - this book covers everything. The task based full-color format allows you to quickly and easily find the exact task you want to accomplish and walks you through it in a delightfully concise and visual manner.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.