Hacking the Kindle 2, USB Charger for Kindle 1

One of the most popular features of the Kindle that is missing from the Kindle 2 is the ability to set up custom Screen savers. Some people just wanted different artwork or photos of their family, others didn't like seeing the instructions for the screen saver mode all the time, while others added text that identified their Kindle and how to contact them if it was found. This feature was "undocumented", but was built in and only required a keystroke to activate. Removing custom screen savers only required removing a few files in a system directory (which only contained your custom screen savers) and restarting your Kindle. The Kindle 2 no longer has this capability (just one of many features that were removed - either they were overly concerned about tightening down the code or had too many support calls. Now a clever programmer has figured out how to restore that feature in the Kindle 2, but it does require modifying the Kindle's firmware, which may void the warranty (unlike with the original Kindle) and could result in a dead Kindle 2 if not done properly. Nevertheless, a brave group over on Mobile read have already ran the fix (which can be removed when your Kindle needs to be upgraded) and report no problems. First, read this entire thread, then get the latest version of the patch. Make sure you know what you are doing, before you start. If you are not comfortable at the DOS prompt and don't know both what a system file is and how to see them, you are probably better off skipping this one and waiting for Amazon to give the feature back (make sure you tell them you want it back, too, as they'll only do so if enough people complain). For your images, both PNG and JPG are ok (no TIF or BMP). For best results (and no speed delays), size them to 600x800 before copying them to your Kindle.

The second hack has even more risk of killing your Kindle. A lot of people want to be able to tether their Kindle's to their computer, much as you can do with a cell phone, gaining them unlimited free internet access from anywhere Sprint Mobile works. Not only illegal, it is unethical to do so - plus Amazon both knows where you live and has your credit card on file, along with your agreement to the Kindle Terms of Service (which allow them to charge you for internet access other than associated with Kindle purchases). What Jesse Vincent has figured out how to do, however, is sort of the opposite: how to use your computer's internet connection instead of Whispernet. It makes little sense to use this with the basic web browser - after all, if you have your computer and it has internet access, why use the stunted browser of the Kindle? But, if you are in area that doesn't get Whispernet coverage, this hack lets you Kindle think that it does - giving you access to samples and one-click buying from the Kindle and allowing you to use the Save for Later feature that cannot be accessed from the Amazon web site. I'd pay heed to the ample warnings on his blog though - messing around with the Kindle in debug mode, other than as directed by technical support, can break your Kindle and require a trip to Amazon for repair (and they may charge you for it, since this is outside the TOS and warranty). But, if you are familiar with linux, comfortable with the command line and either have a Mac or can translate his directions to Windows (the notebook/desktop PC must have it's networking modified to allow the access, as well, just as with a cell phone, but it is a reverse connection from most tethering setups), then have at it.

Many people have reported that they are using a standard USB charger for their Kindle, but Amazon has warned against doing so, as the USB port wasn't designed for that amount of current. After seeing pictures of iphones and other USB phones that melted or caught fire while charging, that's not a scenario I want to risk. What Alan over at SnarkBytes has done is a little different - he modified a USB cable to charge the Kindle using the standard charging port (which is the same charging tip as used by many Sprint phones). His blog explains in detail what you need to do, how to do it and includes a disclaimer not to blame him if it doesn't work, kills your Kindle or your USB port. It's probably a fairly safe thing to do (if you don't mess up the wiring), but I'll stay with my Gomadic USB Charger (these come in coiled, straight and retractable models; more charging options here). I especially like their Universal Charging Station, as it lets me use a single charger for four devices at a time (and it charges all my handheld devices, if I rotate them around, as few of them need daily charging, reducing phantom power loads from having a half-dozen chargers plugged in). Unlike some organizer boxes for charges, which just hide all the clutter and lock your power bricks inside an overheated box together, the Universal Charging Station has a single (small) power connector and four different spots to plug in devices. It comes with one tip (you can order more on the Gomadic web site), as do most of their chargers/USB cables - with a little planning you probably won't end up needing extra tips at all. There is also a travel version of the 4-way charger and a 4-way car charger available directly from the company.

28 Free Ebooks in Kindle Format

The Kindle Formatting website has convinced 25 28 (yes, twenty-five twenty-eight, plus one excerpt) of their clients to offer their books as a free download this week, in celebration of Read an E-Book Week. These are all in non-DRM mobi format, can be copied or emailed straight to your Kindle or converted to use with other readers. If you think you'll want to read them at all, grab them now - this offer is only good thru March 14. Here's a list of the titles:

Non-Fiction
A Broad Abroad in Thailand
Ahead of the Curve: A Guide to Applied Strategic Thinking
Disrupted Ambitions
Dot Boom: Marketing to Baby Boomers through Meaningful Online Engagement
Dynamic Energetic Healing
The Essential Employee -- The Adventures of Carmen Senz
The Future of Music
Getting Started as an Independent Computer Consultant
Leader's Digest The Leader's Digest: Timeless Principles for Team and Organization Success
The Medicaid Handbook 2008 - Protecting Your Assets From Nursing Home Costs
Questing Marilyn: In Search of My Holy Grail
Spymaster: Wild Bill Donovan, Father of the CIA
The Team Approach: With Teamwork Anything Is Possible

Fiction
Beneath the Sassafras (One)
Dustin and a Mouse Named Cody in The Mouse That Stirred on the Night Before Christmas
Esmeralda & The Pirates Esmeralda & The Pirates
Microbe
Nathan, Paw-Paw & The Dinosaurs
Poison Pen
RHYTHM: A Novel
Spa Deadly, An Allie Armington Mystery
Thaddeus T. and Barnaby
Where's Blackie?
The Cabal (Three Chapters Only)

Extra Large Print, courtesy of the Virgina M. Woolf Foundation
A Canticle for Leibowitz
PartnerShip
Childhood's End
Leaves of Grass
Screwtape Letters

Free Ebook: Mighty Hammer Down

Mighty Hammer Down, by David J. Guyton, is available in PDF format for FREE ($0.99 on Kindle, $10.99 in Paperback).

This one is direct from the author; simply email him at d [AT] davidjguyton [DOT] com (just substitute the proper punctuation in the address) and he'll send you a PDF copy. All he asks in return is that if you like it, write a short review on amazon.com. Just getting reviews and readers can be difficult for self-published authors (and Amazon won't let them give their books away for free, unlike the larger publishing houses), so I'd expect more deals like this from independent authors in the future. If you'd prefer to get a copy already formatted for your Kindle (or don't want to write a short review), it's still a bargain at $0.99. I picked this up a while back at $1.59, which I considered quite a bargain then, and it's gotten quite a few good reviews on Kindleboards and Amazon.

Synopsis

A longstanding peace is about to be shattered by villains in the shadows of Medora. They conspire with distant nations to cripple the western Empire and spread their venom eastward. In their secretive attempt, they stumble across the power to slay Arius, the god of war, and replace him with a human puppet. That mission fails however, and they not only pave the path for the seven gods to walk the earth, but create a god of war who is bent on their destruction. He clumsily learns to use his powers and hones them into a powerful weapon to wield against the Mages and their twisted vision of society. In the chaos, a great war ignites and threatens all nations and cultures.

Rommus has no idea that he has become the new god of war. He also has no idea that his companion Alana is responsible for the assassination attempt on his father, the General of the Medoran army. While the Medoran Legions head east to aid the Vindyri in their battle against the oppressive Bhoors, Rommus follows the visions he sees in his dreams, pulling him north towards the Land of the Gods. Along the way they meet a strange man named Vohl who claims to be immortal, and the three of them end up before the golden throne of the great god Oderion. But Rommus refuses to be like the uncaring gods, and quickly makes six very powerful enemies.

In all of this mayhem, the small flames of the old magic roar to mighty infernos; burning some and lighting the way for others. Great beasts now walk the earth again, and the gods themselves have come down to influence the world of man once more. But the new god of war is not interested in their agenda, and instead joins the battle on the Vindyri planes. He fights with all his might for the freedom of mankind, struggling to bring light to the coming darkness.

Read an eBook Week - lots of free ebooks!

This week is Read an Ebook Week and there are a number of authors and publishers making one or more of their ebooks available for free. These range from short stories to full novels to entire libraries, with topics from self-help to fiction to erotica. Something for nearly everyone, if you look around a little.

For your first stop, go by eBookGuru and sign up for the special eBook Week mailing list. They've partnered up with partnered with Champagne Books and will send you a link and passwordd for two books, both in PDF and MOBI format (no DRM, so you can convert to any format from there): Invisible By Kimber Chin and Mis-Staked by J. Morgan.

Zumaya Publications has an entire page of free ebooks. These are all in non-DRM ereader format and are not Kindle compatible without some conversion.

BeWrite Books is giving away a different selection of books every day this week. Be sure to check back there every day; today's selections are all Mysteries, while tomorrow is poetry, etc. Click on the covers on the special promotion page (not on the author info pages) to get to the special zero cost versions of these books. All of the selections will be in PDF format.

Amanda Young has several free reads available on her blog, in PDF format.

There are links to many more at the Read an E-Book Week website.

And, of course, there are the sites that provide a steady source of new and newly formatted ebooks in the public domand and under Creative Commons licenses. These include:

MobileRead
Feedbooks
ManyBooks

Almost free on Kindle: Soul Identity

Soul Identity by Dennis Batchelder is now available for $0.01. This is is $10.20 in paperback and has several reviews, all three stars or above (and enough of them that it probably isn't just the authors friends and family). The premise looks interesting and it's currently the #1 seller in the Technothrillers category at the Kindle Store. For some reason Amazon has set up two links to buy this title, one at the previous sale price of $0.99 and the current penny sale - careful you don't overpay! Today's mystery is: what is the difference between the $0.99 edition and $0.01 edition of this book? The file sizes are different and often that means that there is a difference in covers or one is topaz format and the other mobi (topaz files are often larger, due to the embedded fonts). However, with this book, the more expensive version is 50% longer: 6868 locations instead of 4352 (they end the same). It could be just a formatting difference (on the first page, the chapter heading is left justified on one, right on the other, but otherwise, they seem the same for the first few pages). I've emailed the author and will let you know what I find out. Update - mystery solved, see below.

Synopsis

You can't take it with you...but what if you could? Most people believe their souls outlive their bodies. Most people would find an organization that tracks their souls into the future and passes on their banked money and memories compelling. Scott Waverly isn't like most people. He spends his days finding and fixing computer security holes. And Scott is skeptical of his new client's claim that they have been calculating and tracking soul identities for almost twenty-six hundred years. Are they running a freaky cult? Or a sophisticated con job? Scott needs to save Soul Identity from an insider attack. Along the way, he discovers the importance of the bridges connecting people's lives.

Update

I contacted the author about the two versions and the different file sizes and location counts. I had wondered it perhaps one version was abridged, since there was quite a difference. Seems he checks his email fairly often even on weekends and quickly sent back this reply (reprinted with his permission):

the background: both books were uploaded back in november 2007 from the same
mobipocket creator-produced file. the dollar version is sold directly by
amazon ($0.99 is the least they'll list a book for), and the penny version
is sold through mobipocket.com ($0.01 is their minimum). both companies are
owned by amazon, so they both publish into the kindle market.

i went through the penny and dollar versions, and the words are the same:
all the chapters are in both, and there is no adbridging going on.

so why the location problem? here's what i've noticed: the penny version
shows 9-10 "locations" per page, and the dollar version shows 18-20
"locations" per page. this explains the discrepancy how amazon shows the
size bars.

Dennis Batchelder

So, we know that not only were at least two copies of his book sold today (although he is out a penny one one of them), but that everyone else that grabs up this bargain is getting the full book. I suspect the author makes a few cents more on the Amazon version, but if you enjoy his book, you can always help him out by spreading the word (or buying a print copy for a friend that doesn't yet have a Kindle).

Just we we think we have locations figured out, it seems that they still don't quite mean what we think, if two different mobi versions of the same book can be off so much in the location count. If you've been using location counts to compare the "thickness" of books, much as you would measure the spine size on your bookshelf when deciding what to read next, it seems that they really can't be used in that manner. Since not every book comes with a "page count" (which is often from the paperback or hardback version of the book), we are left without any real method of telling how "big" a book really is.

Kindle iPhone pictures

Here's an example of a graphic on a page - it's in color, but there is no way to zoom in (and the text in the graphic is very, very small - practically impossible to read on the iPhone -- but extremely clear, much more than on the Kindle or Kindle 2). Double click on the photo to get a larger view and you can see that if only the iPhone's screen were as physically large as the Kindle's, that the graphic would be very readable.
And a side-by-side comparison of text and a cover page on all three devices. As you can see, at the same font size, there is more text on both the iPhone and Kindle 2, than on the original Kindle. Again, you can double click to get a larger view of the photo.
On the cover page, you can more clearly see how the differences proportions of the screen from the iPhone to the Kindle affect graphics, forcing them to a smaller size in order to be fully displayed.
I can definitely see using the iPhone Kindle App for quick viewing (and I prefer the iPhone for reading blogs or news web sites), but it's not going to be the one I go to for long reading or curling up with a good book. The backlight may let you read in the dark, but the glare from sunlight means it is unusable outside and that same backlight causes eyestrain, especially in the dark, if used for long periods of time. For those in non-Whispernet areas, however, this opens up the entire world of Kindle samples, basically putting the same bookstore at your fingertips that everyone else has been enjoying. Those outside the US who get the App can get Kindle samples and can purchase books so long as you have met all the other requirements for a regular Kindle, including a US credit card (or a gift card balance) and a US address registered to your account, in order to purchase books, and have a US iTunes account, in order to get the App ). You don't have to purchase the Kindle hardware itself in order to purchase Kindle books; just register your Kindle iPhone app (it's automatic when you log in the first time).

Get the Kindle iPhone app free and be reading your Kindle books on your iPhone within minutes.

Kindle Marries the iPhone

Kindle has arrived on the iPhone, instantly giving Amazon's ebookstore millions of new customers, all of whom have already paid for their hardware and carry it with them everyday. The Kindle App for iPhone includes free samples and works over Wireless - no need to have a cell plan (I've tested it with a non-activated iPhone and it's advertised to work with the iPod Touch as well). For those who live in a non-WhisperNet zone, this is the perfect method of trying out new books. Download the sample to your iPhone, then after your purchase, settle down to read the full book on your Kindle, without the eyestrain. Using WhisperSync, you can switch back and forth between the two devices and they will automatically open up to the last page read each time. For those who don't yet have a Kindle, you get access to more than 240,000 books at great Amazon pricing.

A few things do work differently - you buy the books via the web site, using Safari (most likely due to a restriction from Apple, which doesn't allow buying content via an App). Also, you cannot yet make annotations/notes on the iPhone (but you can do standard iPhone screen captures, see below), simply due to the differences in hardware. You can, however, create bookmarks and view the annotations and bookmarks made on the Kindle. For most books, you are reading simple text and there are font size changes, just as with the Kindle. For books that include graphics, however, they can appear in full color (I tested this on The Clutter Diet and had blue tables, instead of grey), although there does not appear to be a way to zoom in on those graphics with the iPhone. You also don't (yet) have the ability to view personal documents or non-Amazon books. However, there are already other apps out for both of these uses, so you aren't losing any functionality (WhisperSync only works with Amazon's Kindle books, even on the Kindle, not on personal books or documents).

Get the Kindle iPhone app free and be reading your Kindle books on your iPhone within minutes.

To do a screen capture of your Kindle page on the iPhone: Hold down the Home and Power buttons at once, and a picture of the screen will be stored in the Camera Roll (under Photos), which you can then email or sync to iPhoto.

Free Ebook: Solomon's Grave

Small publishing firm Dragon Moon Press is offering a free pdf download of Solomon's Grave by Daniel G. Keohane for free. This book has not even be released in the US yet (paperback, $19.95). You can share the ebook (as is, only, and it is a secured PDF) with anyone you like (as long as you don't charge or claim it for your own work) and print out one copy for your own use. Originally printed in Germany (in German, natch!).

Synopsis:

Nathan Dinneck's new role as pastor may be shorter than he expects.

For thousands of years a secret has been hidden from the world and protected from those who covet its power. Popes and Kings have sought it. Theologians and historians have debated its very existence. In every generation since the days of Solomon, one person is chosen to keep its secret, protect it from an ageless group claiming the treasure for their own dark god. After millennia of searching, they are finally closing in on their prize.

Evil has followed Nathan home to Hillcrest, Massachusetts.

Nightmares of temples and blood sacrifice, visions of angels and cemeteries foreshadow a dark battle to come. In the balance hangs the lives and souls of those chosen to protect history's most holy relic, perhaps even the gateway to heaven itself.

Two free ebooks from eHarlequin

Both of these are available in several formats, with DRM that limits them to three devices, but they cannot be read on your Kindle.They are both fairly short, though, so you can read them on your PC or phone without too much eyestrain or on an ereader that supports Adobe or Mobipocket DRM.

Triple Threat by Jennifer LaBreque. This one was available to pre-order a few days ago, but may not have shown up in your library (it didn't in mine). Since it is free, just re-order it today.

Subject: Airborne Captain Eli Murdoch.

Current status: Ready and raring to go!

Mission: Serve his country.

Obstacle: Sexy Tara Swenson. Impossible to resist.

Weddings are a minefield for Eli Murdoch. Each time he goes to one, he falls into bed with the same woman—Tara Swenson! But a relationship between a footloose soldier and a homebody can never work. Can it?

Tara can't seem to keep her panties on and her legs together around her former high school crush. But she wants more than wham bam, thank you ma'am. Although Captain Hard Body is very good at that!

When he returns for a third wedding, Tara's faced with a man trained to outmaneuver her! So she makes the first offensive move. Directly into Eli's very willing arms...

The Amazon's Curse by Gena Showalter. This is a short story that is part of the Atlantis series.

Zane, a fierce vampire warrior, has been enslaved by the Amazons. Nola, a lovely Amazon soldier, has been cursed with invisibility. Now, these two stubborn enemies must overcome the pasts that haunt them and embrace a love that can set them free...

$1 Bargain Ebook: Pleasure Unbound

Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione. There is no content warning on this one, but from the description, it appears to be on the erotica side of the Romance genre.

Someone has been cutting up demons and removing their body parts, and this doesn't make sense to doctors Eidolon and Shade, the only surgeons in the world who care exclusively for demons. One patient after another has been arriving at the "demon ER" with missing internal organs, and Eidolon vows to find who has been targeting his race and for what purpose.To make matters worse for Eidolon's demon-kind, he's just gone and treated a female demon-slayer who heats his blood as no other has. Tayla is a sexy, lustful, demon-slaying warrior who works for The Aegis, a council of humans who have vowed to rid the world of demons. Eidolon knows Tayla's deepest secret: that she is actually half demon herself. She is, in fact, the only being Eidolon has ever seen who has half-demon, half-human blood. And she's the only woman who has ever captivated him so. But is this woman, who is trained to eradicate Eidolon's species, the person responsible for the rash of demon mutilations that are turning his hospital upside down?

Also available at Fictionwise, BooksonBoard, Diesel and Sony for those who need alternate formats.

Bargain and Free Ebooks Roundup

The Crimson Shadow ($7.99) by R. A. Salvatore. This single volume contains all three novels of The Crimson Shadow trilogy: The Sword of Bedwyr (hardcover only, $28.00), Luthien's Gamble ($5.59), and The Dragon King) ($5.59). Not only is it a bargain price, but the first novel in the series is not yet available for the Kindle as a single title.

... an acclaimed fantasy bestseller of nonstop action and thrilling adventure. Alone, young noble Luthien Bedwyr can do little to save the land of Eriador from a foul wizard's demon armies. But with the help of mysterious allies, Luthien transforms into a legendary outlaw: a fearless rebel leader who strikes at will, remains hidden from foes, and casts...

This month's $1 Orbit book is Empress ($1.00) by Karen Miller. Non-Kindle formats available at Sony and Booksonboard.com (it is not marked down yet at Fictionwise). This is book one of the GodSpeaker trilogy (The Riven Kingdom ($6.39), Hammer of God ($6.39).

In a family torn apart by poverty and violence, Hekat is no more than an unwanted mouth to feed, worth only a few coins from a passing slave trader. But Hekat was not born to be a slave. For her, a different path has been chosen. It is a path that will take her from stinking back alleys to the house of her God, from blood-drenched battlefields to the glittering palaces of Mijak.
This is the story of Hekat, precious and beautiful.

The Legend of Witch Bane ($0.99, Paperback $13.45), by Kevis Hendrickson is a bargain Young Adult title and is priced under a dollar for a limited time: High Queen Rhiannon Eldess has placed the kingdom of Kaldan under a terrible curse. Only Kòdobos, Anyr, and Laris can save their people from a dark fate. Danger awaits the children as they face the queen's evil minions in their desperate quest to save their kingdom. To gain final victory the children must find Witch Bane, the magic sword which will give them the power to defeat Rhiannon once and for all! But a prophecy foretelling of the return of an ancient evil threatens to doom them all. It will take all their courage to survive the malevolent forces of evil gathered against them. Will they fail or will they succeed? Prepare for the adventure of a lifetime!

Those who can't wait for health reform might want to check out How To Do Your Own Dentistry ($0.45). Although I really doubt most of us are up for doing more than pulling out a loose baby tooth. Luckily, this is a (short) graphic story and is more of advice for those wanting to set up their own dental practice (of sorts). So far it has two reviews: one loved it, the other hated it.

Next, there are a number of free ebooks worth checking out. First up is King Dog, by Ursula K. Le Guin. This one is a screenplay and in HTML format. Each chapter is a separate page, use the Print button to get a clean copy of each chapter and cut/paste them into a Word document, then email to your Kindle once you have it assembled).

A little background: The character of King Ashthera, with his dog, and his gambling streak, is derived from King Yudhisthira in the Mahabharata, the wonderful and interminable epic of India. When, towards the end of the story, Yudhisthira gets to Heaven, he is outraged to find some of his enemies are there, and some of his friends are not; and he decides not to enter Heaven at all unless they let his dog in with him. I stole all that.

The theme of figuring out what one’ s duty is and how to follow it is from the Mahabharata too. The rest is my invention. Yudhisthira’s dog’s name is Dharma, but Ashthera’s dog is just Dog.

From Amazon, pick up The Healthy House Answer Book: Answers to the 133 Most Commonly Asked Questions, by John & Lynn Marie Bower.

Among the various healthy housing books, The Healthy House Answer Book by John and Lynn Bower is something a little different. While the rest of the offerings in this field are thick, very comprehensive volumes, this is a smaller book in both size and depth--sort of a "pocket healthy housing guidebook." While covering the major concerns anyone would have about all aspects of construction and maintenance, all the information is presented in a very concise Q and A format. With subject chapters and a complete index, this is a great introductory book for anyone interested in the subject.

Peyton Lee has a large number of novels as free downloads on LuLu. There is an index on his web page; most of the titles are Historical Romance, including the six volume Geneva Saga.

Sean Williams is offering The Crooked Letter (Book One of The Cataclysm) as a free download in PDF format (paperback $12.46). From the author:

For those who aren't familiar with it, The Crooked Letter is kinda urban New Weird on a massive scale. It's been compared to China Mieville, Philip Pullman, Ursula K Le Guin, Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Michael Moorcock, yada yada, and it won both the Aurealis and Ditmar Awards the year it was released (the first fantasy novel in the history of the awards to do so). Chronologically speaking, it's the first book in my Change series, and stands as a prequel to The Stone Mage & the Sea, The Blood Debt, and The Changeling. It's also my attempt to take all the world's religions and wrap them up in a crazy Darwinian package that even an atheist like me might be tempted to believe. It was the most difficult book I ever wrote, and now it's free. Check it out!

The world had shattered into a million pieces, and he didn't know if he could ever put it back together again...

Hadrian's mirror twin, Seth, is dead, stabbed in front of him, and the woman he and his brother both loved has seemingly disappeared. As Hadrian searches for her, the cityscape becomes more nightmarish by the second.

Figures from legend swirl around him to help and hinder. These figures give darks hints of secret histories and sleeping gods stirring. Was everything he ever knew about the world a lie?

Caught between ancient forgotten magic and an uncertain future, Hadrian must learn to trust in the only person he has left: himself.

For those who would rather listen than read, Stranded, by Lori Foster, is available again as a free download from Audible.com. You'll need to either log on first, before trying to download the title, or create a new account after clicking the download button (no option is given to log in on that screen and the purchase doesn't go thru the "cart" process).

Last, for those who fancy taking a stab at writing, rather than reading, be sure to pick up a copy of Strunk & White's The Elements of Style, free on feedbooks.

Anthony S. Policastro, author and freelance writer with articles in The New York Times, American Photographer, and other national, regional and local publications, is generously offering both of his mystery/thrillers, Dark End of the Spectrum and Absence of Faith, to the Kindle community for FREE! Check out the interview below, for more about the author.

To read these on your Kindle, get the ebook versions at Smashwords, as they are already in Mobi (Kindle) format (LuLu uses PDF and you'd have to convert it, but they do have a print version of Absence of Faith). In fact, since the Smashwords book comes in many formats, you'll be able to read these on your PC, iPhone and most current ebook reading devices, not just the Kindle. Once you have the Mobi file downloaded, just copy it to your Kindle using the USB cable or email it directly to your Kindle for wireless delivery.

Dark End of the Spectrum - normally $2.99 ($4.79 for Kindle at Amazon; paperback coming soon) , is FREE for a limited time at Smashwords. Be sure to use the coupon code JJ86F when checking out.

DARK END OF SPECTRUM will make you think twice before turning on your cell phone or PDA!

DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM is a frighteningly plausible, headline ripping tale of the real threats that loom in cyberspace based on the author's years of research.

DARK END OF THE SPECTRUM is a thriller that will connect with everyone with a cell phone, PDA or wireless device.

When digital terrorists known as ICER take over the US power grid and the cell phone network, they give the government an ultimatum - bomb the borders of Afghanistan and Pakistan with nuclear weapons to put an end to Al-Quada. When the government refuses,the group destroys most of the downed aircraft in several major airports.

When ICER sends a pulse that will kill people on the East Coast, only security expert Dan Riker can stop them, but ICER has kidnapped his family.

Will Dan save his family or will millions die?

Absence of Faith - FREE to download at Smashwords (although you can pay for if you wish; to get it free, enter $0.00 as the price) and available in PDF for free and print at $15.99 at LuLu (304 pages).

In this medical mystery thriller, Doctor Carson Hyll falls asleep and drives into a river and experiences one of the worst nightmares of his life. The young intern is knocked unconscious and has a negative near death experience so real, so frightening that he thinks he died and went to hell.

When others in the highly-religious small town of Ocean Village have similar negative near death experiences and wake up with burnt skin, they believe they went to hell and that God has abandoned them.

Matters get worse when a local Satanic cult emerges to promote their beliefs and win over the town residents. Will the heroine, Chantress, be able to stop cult leader Kyle Mabus or will he succeed in destroying all known religions in the world?

Bestselling author and psychic Sylvia Browne writes in her book, Prophecy, that, "...our beliefs are the driving force behind our behavior, our opinions, our actions. Without faith, without our beliefs, we're lost."

Interview

Q. Where do you get your ideas for a book?

ASP: I’m always thinking of what ifs. I guess this goes back to my curiosity as a kid. I was always interested is how things worked, what made them work and why? I still have that curiosity. I like to push the envelope and see what happens, and then I know how and why things work the way they do. One of my favorite web sites is How Stuff Works. Sometimes I think that site was made for me. I think to be a good writer you have to be curious about everything.

Q. How did you come up with the idea for Absence of Faith?

ASP: I had just finished my first novel and my wife and I were discussing story ideas for the next book when we came up with the idea for Absence of Faith. What would you do if you lost your belief in religion, your belief in God and thought everything was hopeless? What if you lost something that was extremely important to you? What would you do?

Bestselling author and psychic Sylvia Browne writes in her book, Prophecy, that, "...our beliefs are the driving force behind our behavior, our opinions, our actions. Without faith, without our beliefs, we're lost." These are the issues addressed in the novel.

Q. How did you come up with the plot for Absence of Faith?

ASP: I always start out with a basic concept, a unique what if situation and let the plot evolve from there. I’ve tried outlining the plot chapter by chapter and found it too constricting on my creativity. I found myself trying to fit the characters into the plot rather than letting the characters create the plot for me.

Q. The characters create the plot for you? How does that work?

ASP: Each character has unique qualities and traits and when you put that character into a specific situation, he or she will react in a certain way. If you have a character that is very stubborn and you put him in a situation where he is faced with a multiple of decisions, he will most likely pick the decision that he knows works rather than the right decision. His actions then drive the plot forward. For every action there is a reaction.

Q. Why did you write this book?

ASP: I have wanted to write a novel since I was 17, but when I sat down to write, I had nothing to say. I hadn’t lived long enough; I didn’t have enough life experiences to write anything outside of myself.

I have always had this urge to write, to communicate my thoughts to others. I believe I have a unique perspective on the world and I want to share that with others. I also believe we all have a unique perspective, but some have an urge to share it while others don’t give it a second thought.

I wrote this book to communicate an idea; to let people into the unique way I view the world. I love to communicate to people information that helps them or enlightens them. I like to invent unique situations and characters and see how people react to them with laughter, sadness, elation, surprise, or delight. I’m thrilled when that happens.

Q. Do you think you have a bestseller?

ASP: That’s a loaded question. Every author believes they have a bestseller, but the truth will be known when people read it and recommend it to others. I hope so, but the market will decide that for me.

In light of all the interest in spirituality and religion that was spawned by The DaVinci Code and other books, my book may be of interest. It is about the affirmation of faith; it doesn’t matter what religion you practice or what you believe in as long as you have faith in something. This is the message in my book.

Q. Have you written other novels?

ASP: Yes. Dark End of the Spectrum, my third book, is a mystery suspense thriller about hackers who take over the US power grid and cell phone network. My first novel, The Water Witch, which I wrote in 1990 has to be modernized to bring it into the 21st century, and I have a new one that I started last year, Looking for Lucy, that I hope to finish in the next few months.

Q: Where do you get all these ideas for novels?

ASP: Funny you asked that. I may be reading something in a magazine or online and suddenly an idea jumps into my head – a what if question. Then I do a little research on the question to see if it is plausible and to make sure no one has written a novel with the same concept. If I don’t have the time to research it right away, I write the idea down and do it later.

Q. What are your goals as a novelist?

ASP: I want to tell a story that helps people live more meaningful lives - a story that enables them to better understand the problems facing everyone. A lot of writers write for themselves and there is nothing wrong with this because what they write sometimes helps all of us. I always write with the reader in mind and what they will get out of my work.

Q. What advice would you give to upcoming writers?

ASP: Never give up if you truly want to be an author. It’s a tough road, but every published author I know goes down the same road and has a bag full of disappointment, self-doubt, and loss of purpose. Just keep writing.

About the Author

Anthony S. Policastro has been writing all his life. The publication of his first novel, Absence of Faith, is the pinnacle of his work having previously published articles in The New York Times, American Photographer and other national, regional, and local publications.

Policastro was the former editor-in-chief of Carolina Style magazine, a regional lifestyle publication similar to Southern Living magazine. He was a former journalist, photographer, and web master.
The author’s background is in technology, business intelligence, and communications.

He has two BA degrees - one in Creative Writing, and another in American Studies from Penn State University, both of which have greatly enhanced his writing career.

His short essay on “What does it mean to be an American family” won in the Borders Books Gather.com contest to promote the movie and book, Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri.

He currently writes a blog with Michael Neff, creator and editor of the Webdelsol and Algonkian websites, about writers’ issues called The Writer’s Edge. Policastro and Neff have been referred to as the Ebert and Roeper of the literary scene with their point/counterpoint posts.

Born in New Jersey, he now lives in North Carolina with his wife. He has two sons and a daughter.

Danielle Steele has been digitized

Danielle Steele is one of the world's most popular authors and one of the holdouts from the digital revolution, with over 580 million books sold and not one of them in digital form, until now, and they have made quite a splash in the Kindle catalog. A search turns up 71 titles currently available, two at 5.59, ten at $6.00, four at $9.99 and the rest at 6.39. With one click, you can be reading her latest, One Day at a Time ($9.99), in less than a minute. Her entire catalog might take you nearly an hour, between clicking and downloading (although you could start reading as soon as the first one arrived), but would keep you occupied reading for most of the year!

Synopsis
Danielle Steel celebrates families of every stripe in her compelling new novel-a tale of three very different couples who struggle and survive, love, laugh, and learn to take life-Coco Barrington was born into a legendary Hollywood family, her last name loaded with expectations. Her mother is a mega-bestselling author who writes under the name of Florence Flowers-and her sister, Jane, is one of Hollywood-s top producers. They-re not your typical family by any means.-Jane has lived with her partner, Liz, for ten years, in a solid, loving relationship. Florence, widowed but still radiant, has just begun a secret romance with a man twenty-four years her junior. And Coco, a law school dropout and the family black sheep, works as a dog walker, having fled life in the spotlight for the artsy northern California beach town of Bolinas.But when Coco reluctantly agrees to dog-sit in Jane-s luxurious home, she soon discovers how much things can change in just a matter of days.-It turns out Jane-s house comes complete with an unexpected houseguest: Leslie Baxter, a dashing but down-to-earth British actor who-s fleeing a psycho ex-girlfriend. Their worlds couldn-t be more different. The attraction couldn-t be more immediate. Suddenly Coco is seeing things differently: Leslie is not just a celebrity, he-s a single dad to an adorable six-year-old girl. Her mother is not just a self-centered walking advertisement for great cosmetic surgery, she-s a woman in love, with vulnerability and new insight. And Jane and Liz are about to take the bravest plunge of all-into parenthood. As Coco contemplates a future with one of Hollywood-s hottest stars, as her mother and sister settle into their lives, old wounds are healed and new familes are formed-some traditional, some not so traditional, but all bonded by love.With wit and intelligence, Danielle Steel-s new novel explores love in all its guises, taking us into the lives of three unusual but wonderfully real couples. Funny, sexy, and wise, One Day at a Time is at once moving, thought provoking, and utterly impossible to put down.

The most expensive Kindle Book yet!

What do you get when someone self-publishes, no one is checking the price entered and Amazon's software is not set up to at least alert someone to double check the listing if the price is over a certain threshhold? The most expensive Kindle book to date (be sure not to one-click it, even if you do have a very high credit limit on your Amazon linked credit card):


Yes, that's right, you SAVE more than $10,000.00 with the current Kindle discount on this title (that would buy a fleet of Kindle 2's). Those really interested in the subject matter, though, might want to check out the paperback version - it's only $52.95 (currently discounted to $47.65). It won't load on your Kindle, but you could mark up and lose several dozen copies and not put a dent into the price asked for the electronic version.

It's all a pricing error, of course. It's pretty obvious that the publisher was trying to set the price on the two editions, Kindle and Paperback, at the same $52.95 level. But his finger slipped and hit the 3 instead of the period (it's just one key above on the numeric keypad). Not only was the error not seen when submitted, you have to think that someone must have the job of checking the listings once up and that Amazon probably notified them of the listing being up (and probably sent an acknowledgement of the listing when first submitted, which may have also shown the price that was being set). And you would also think that someone over in the IS department might have set up a threshold (whether $100 or $1,000) as Apple did in the AppStore to at least flag items over that price and require a confirmation from the listing person (with a simple form where they retype the price, at least forcing them to make the same error twice), preventing such a listing from even being submitted, let alone posted to the store.

Then again, maybe this is part of the vendors plan to prove to his shareholders that ebooks simply don't sell and that they shouldn't bother with them for future titles. It might backfire - one copy may make more profit than all the paperback copies he sells in a year, if anyone ever actually orders it.

Amazon Kindle 2 ships a day early!

Unlike the prior version of Kindle, which sold out the first day and then was back ordered, sometimes for months, the rest of the 14 months it was out, the Kindle 2 has shipped a day early. Two days really - those who preordered starting seeing charges over the weekend and the Kindles shipped yesterday. For everyone else, you can order today and Amazon has Kindles ready to ship. Rather than being a sign of lack of demand, since all those sold out and undelivered Christmas orders (where Kindle was the best selling Electronics item pretty much the entire season) have been filled with Kindle 2, this shows that Amazon has better prepared (so far) for the demand for their device.

Order today and you can be reading your 28 free Kindle books tomorrow!

Free Ebook on Kindle: The Holy Bible English Standard Version

The Holy Bible English Standard Version (ESV). Publisher: Good News Publishers/Crossway Books (November 29, 2007)

Synopsis
The English Standard Version (ESV) Bible is an essentially literal Bible translation that combines word-for-word precision and accuracy with literary excellence, beauty, and depth of meaning.

This brings the total number of free books (not including public domain and promotional chapters) for your Kindle that are currently available at Amazon to 28.

Free Ebook on Kindle: Last Chance, My Love

Last Chance, My Love by Lynne Connolly.

Synopsis
What if you're in love -- but you can't make love?
Book One of the Triple Countess series. Miranda and Daniel, Earl and Countess of Rosington, are in love, but for the past five years their love has been purely platonic. Because if Miranda has another child, she will die. Daniel resolves to take a mistress, one who will understand the purely physical business arrangement, but when Miranda discovers his plan, she can't bear it. So Daniel's brothers scheme, and Daniel finds himself on the losing end of a wager.

Daniel and Miranda must pose as a simple innkeeper and his wife, forced to work together to save a failing business. Their masquerade brings them into temptation, their searing desire for each other threatening to ruin their good intentions, but it also brings danger, in the presence of the brutal father of a young girl who turns for them for help.

Can Daniel and Miranda save themselves, their protege and their marriage?

Warning, this title contains the following: explicit sex.

Free game download: Big Kahuna Reef

Amazon has added another free game, Big Kahuna Reef, to the new Game Downloads site. This is an older game and no doubt a teaser to get you excited about the newly released Big Kahuna 2. (which is a $6.98 download as part of today's Video Games Deal of the Day, which also includes a $3.98 download for Ricochet Extreme).

Go Hawaiian in this gorgeous underwater adventure! Discover Sea Turtles and other aquatic life as you break open boxes in this classic style matching game, questing for the Mask of the Tiki. Using the revolutionary Mouse Party, you can play with multiple players on the same computer through an almost infinite number of levels, thanks to the included level editor. As you play, you will uncover greater challenges including the Skeleton Fish of Kamehameha. Lead on Kahuna...your quest awaits!

Free Ebook (Kindle) and Audiobook: Summer's Path

Summer's Path by Scott Blum is now available as both a free download for the Kindle and as a free audiobook at Audible.

Synopsis

A prequel to Waiting for Autumn, Summer's Path is the remarkable story of Don Newport, an engineer that comes face to face with his personal destiny under extraordinary circumstances. After losing his job and his health insurance, Don learns he has a terminal disease with only a few months left to live. On his death bed, he meets Robert, a brazen angel of death that promises to help Don with a graceful exit. As Don prepares to say his last goodbyes to his loving wife, Robert attempts to change Don's perspective about his mortality and proposes an exceptionally unique option. Robert leads Don through an astounding meditation of life and death and reveals various healing and spiritual concepts including walk-ins, embodiment and soul destiny. On this magical journey of self realization, Don discovers that it's never too late to learn profound life lessons about ourselves and our loved ones.