Free Overnight Shipping; Clothes and Accessories for your Kindle

I know there are a lot of women getting either a new Kindle (or even a a Kindle DX for Mother's Day), but they won't be getting Amazon's Burgundy Red Leather Cover ($34.99) unless it's already been ordered, as it's now out of stock (so is the Pink one). If you haven't placed an order and need it by tomorrow, you are in luck, as Amazon has Free Overnight Shipping on both Kindle models today.

That won't help with a new cover or skin, though, as even the black cover is two to three weeks behind on shipping. There are, however, some third party choices available and some of those are at amazing bargain prices. I haven't tried any of these myself and some have one or two bad reviews, but the overall reviews seem pretty positive (and some of these covers look just like M-Edge or other high dollar covers). Most of these will incur third-party shipping charges and I doubt you can get them overnight (which would negate the bargain prices), but they are a nice option for those shopping for themselves or who aren't in quite as big a hurry on their gifts.

Her Abstraction and Pink Tranquility Protective Decal Skins ($14.99). No idea if this one is completely new, but it's new to me and would match a pink cover quite well. I like having a skin on my Kindle, as it was picking up smudge marks from handling, before I covered it.

• Each kit covers the front and back of the Amazon Kindle 2
• Non permanent adhesive backing that allows you to simply peel off the skins with no sticky residue
• Scratch resistant protective shields made out of high-quality vinyl
• Thin enough to maintain compatibility with most accessories and cases; tough enough to absorb the minor abuse that makes a device look dingy
• Compatible with Kindle 2 only. NOT for Kindle 1.

CrazyOnDigital has a super price on their Red Leather Case ($8.98), which ships with both an anti-scratch screen protector (which I personally see no need for) and a free CrazyonDigital wristband (these come with many of their products and again, see kind of a waste of space, but your kids might want it). They also have a Black Leather Case for $12.98, with screen protector (but no wristband).

• Securely holds Amazon Kindle 2 in place with flexible strap on each corner
• Sturdy and stylish leather exterior protects Kindle
• Soft suede interior protects screen from scratches
• Premium quality leather case for latest generation Amazon Kindle 2 E-book reading device

There are also a number of case styles available, such as these: the Brown Executive Leather Sleeve ($3.99), the Purse Style Carrying Sleeve ($4.99), theCrocodile Skin Case ($4.99) and the Executive Designer Leather Case Cover ($4.99), as well as a number of NeoPrene Cases and Sleeves, for those who are avoiding leather.

One item I'd pick up for sure, if I was using a Kindle 2 instead of a DX and original Kindle, is this stand: Sync and Charging Dock Cradle ($4.99). If they come up with one for the DX, I'm going to snap it up - charging and angled for reading all at the same time, it would be perfect for use in the Kitchen.

I'm also a bit tempted by some of their accessory kits, such as the one with Green Lime skin case + Auto Car Charger + Home Travel Charger + 2X Screen Protectors for $1.99 -- the skin won't fit mine, but both chargers will work (with the DX), as will the screen protectors (on my K1). Even with shipping, it's under five bucks.

I don't think the Hard Crystal Cases ($1.99) have been all that popular, but the Silicone Skins (this one's pink) ($0.99) seem to be a pretty good deal and can be bought in sets of several colors ($7.99) or picked up as part of a massive Accessory Kit ($14.99) that has four skins, a hard case, a travel charger, a car charger, two screen protectors and a set of earbuds along with a unique Crazyondigital fishbone headphone winder.

See all the CrazyOnDigital products for Kindle, HERE.

If you prefer to stay with a larger name brand (and I'm very happy with the products I've purchased from them), M-Edge has several new styles to choose from, including a purse-like Journey Bag, which is currently on sale for $29.99 (down from $39.99) and comes in several solid or bright color combos, as well as in three different colors of camouflauge. I have the orange and cream version, shown here and my original Kindle will fit inside, but only without it's M-Edge jacket. The K2 should fit inside fine, even with a cover (especially the original cover or some of the CrazyDigital versions above).

• Perfect for travel, the Journey Bag allows for storage of your Kindle and all its accessories in one compact and attractive messenger bag.
• The Kindle-Compatible Journey Bag is made of durable ripstop nylon with a polar fleece interior
• The interior zipper compartment is specially designed, sized perfectly to accommodate Kindle. Users can slide the naked device into the polar fleece compartment for secure storage of the device while on-the-go. The opposite wall contains two mesh pockets for even more accessory storage.
• The bag has a fully adjustable shoulder strap for comfortable carrying while on-the-go. The front flap contains a hidden latch underneath for extra secure closure.
• The center compartment of the Journey Bag is generously sized to accommodate M-Edge covers, chargers, e-Luminator, pens, and other Kindle accessories. The center compartment zips closed to ensure that Kindle and accessories will never fall out.
• Available in six colors: red, orange, yellow, lime green, navy blue, and black.

There are a lot of more traditional covers to choose from at M-Edge as well, such as the Halsea Kindle Jacket, currently marked down from $59.99 to $39.99. And for most of the M-Edge selections, you still have time to get them for this weekend, as they are fulfilled by Amazon and qualify overnight shipping (even if it isn't free), but only if you hurry.

It looks like you also get an additional $2.50 off the purchase of an M-Edge e-Luminator2 Booklight ($24.99) if it's bought at the same time as the jacket; if the style you want qualifies, you should see this special promotion under the link for Special Offers and Product Promotions just under the product's picture.

Self-Help for under Three Bucks

These three books share a theme of self-help, but are all from very different aspects of the genre. They are also all from the publisher Hatchette and are marked down under three dollars (most likely for the entire month, but there are no guarantees).

Be Like Water: Practical Wisdom from the Martial Arts ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Joseph Cardillo

Book Description
his entertaining and enlightening guide reveals the philosophy behind the martial arts techniques that lead to a creative and fulfilled life. For anyone interested in deepening their quality of life, karate expert Joseph Cardillo delivers an inspiring and essential guide to the spiritual wisdom of the martial arts.Contrary to what many might think, self-defense is not the main purpose of martial arts training. "See with Your Skin; Find Your Range; Be Like Water" are just some of the wise messages at the heart of all martial art practices that help seasoned warriors, Buddhist monks, even kung fu champions like Bruce Lee maintain their trademark calm in the face of chaos. Now, in 16 easy-to-read chapters, Joseph Cardillo outlines a variety of disciplines from Korea, China, and Japan, and provides narrative examples for how they translate into spiritual well being. Complete with reflective exercises, BE LIKE WATER is a well-grounded, step-by-step approach to applying the warrior mind-set to life's daily challenges.

Everyday Enlightenment: The Twelve Gateways to Personal Growth ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Dan Millman

Book Description
The author of the bestseller, Way of the Peaceful Warrior presents an important, practical guide that reveals twelve keys to transform everyday life into a spiritual adventure. This text is the culmination of Dan Millman's insights and explorations of human potential. The process, he believes, is a journey of awakening, comprising of 12 gateways which must be passed to fulfill potential in relationships, work, finance and health.

From Age-ing to Sage-ing: A Profound New Vision of Growing Older ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Zalman Schachter-Shalomi & Ronald S. Miller

Book Description
In this revolutionary and compassionate book, Rabbi Schachter-Shalomi guides older Americans through a spiritual transformation. He teaches readers how to use their life experiences to enrich their elder years, face mortality, repair relationships, develop a regenerative spirit and transmit wisdom to future generations National print ads & publicity. Using brain/mind research, Zalman shows you how to create radically different ageing processes characterised by adventure, passion, mystery and fulfillment.

Free Book (kobo) - Sucker Punch

Sucker Punch ($9.59 paperback), by Marc Strange, isn't available in the Kindle store (and is out of stock in print), but (this week) you can get the ebook for free from KoboBooks.

Book Description
Joe Grundy is an ex-heavyweight boxer whose main claim to fame was that he got knocked out by champ Evander Holyfield. Now he's chief of security for a posh old hotel, the Lord Douglas, in downtown Vancouver, and life is pretty good. But then a young neo-hippie inherits more than half a billion dollars and decides to give it all away. As soon as the kid checks into the Lord Douglas with the intention of holding a press conference to announce the scheme, Joe knows big trouble is headed his way, especially when the kid winds up dead.

Grundy sets out to discover who murdered the would-be philanthropist only to collide with suspects and sucker punches around every corner. Joe had some pretty tough battles during his days in the ring, but this time the stakes are higher, the opponents are lethal, and the final count could be fatal.

Click HERE to get the free download at KoboBooks. It's a DRM'd EPUB, so you'll need Adobe Digital Editions or the reader software from B&N or Sony.

Two Buck Books: Mystery and Romance

Two mysteries and two romance books from Hatchette are on sale for $1.99 this month. If you picked up the two by Elizabeth Peters last month, be sure to grab the ones this month, which include the start of the series. If you missed them, you can still get The Curse Of The Pharaohs and Seeing A Large Cat for $1.99 at Kobo (but in DRM'd EPUB format, which doesn't work on the Kindle), as they have not yet updated their database with the new books this month.

Crocodile on the Sandbank ($1.99 Kindle, B&N & Sony) by Elizabeth Peters, is the first in her Amelia Peabody series.

Book Description
Thirty-one-year-old Victorian gentlewoman Amelia Peabody has not only inherited her father's fortune, but she is also blessed with his strong will as well. Now she's headed for Cairo, accompanied by a girl with a tarnished past, to indulge her passion for Egyptology. Little did she know that murder and a homicidal mummy lay in wait for her.

The Hippopotamus Pool ($1.99 Kindle, B&N & Sony), by Elizabeth Peters, is the eighth in her Amelia Peabody series.

Book Description
A masked stranger offers to reveal an Egyptian queen's lost tomb...and Amelia Peabody and her irascible archeologist husband, Radcliffe Emerson, are intrigued, to say the least. When the guide mysteriously disappears before he tells his secret, the husband-and-wife team sail to Thebes to follow his trail, helped-and hampered-by their teenage son, Ramses, and beautiful ward, Nefret. But before the sands of time shift very far, all will be risking their lives foiling murderers, kidnappers, grave robbers, and ancient curses. And the Hippopotamus Pool? It's a legend of war and wits that Amelia is translating, one that alerts her to a hippo of a different type-a nefarious, overweight art dealer who may become her next archenemy!

A Highlander Never Surrenders ($1.99 Kindle, B&N & Sony), by Paula Quinn

Book Description
Defending Her Was His Duty

Skilled with a sword and quick with her wit, Scottish rebel Claire Stuart cannot be tamed. And nothing can deter her from rescuing her beloved sister and saving them both from arranged marriages--not even the handsome Highlander who vows to protect Claire. His scorching gaze and fiery kiss bring her to the brink of surrender, but she belongs to no man...

Seducing Her Would Be His Reward

Graham Grant has had his share of lasses. But he has never met one as headstrong or as bonnie as Claire--or one with such desperate, dnagerous plans. Helping her could betray his honor, his country, and more. Graham can't claim her. Yet everything in him says: Take her, make her yours, teach her pleasure, and never let her go.

Between the Sheets ($1.99 Kindle), by Robin Wells

Book Description
How do you have a life when everyone in America thinks you gave the president-elect a fatal heart attack during an illicit sex romp?

Emma Jamison never thought she'd have to answer that question, but here she is, smack dab in the middle of a political scandal that would make Monica Lewinsky blush. Trouble is, nobody believes that Emma wasn't the call-girl who killed the president-to-be with her, uh, carnal skills.

So Emma packs up and moves to small-town Chartreuse, LA, to escape her infamy and to start over. But when her grandmother starts dating the grandfather of district attorney Max Duval, the quiet life she was seeking blows up in smoke.

Free Game - Tradewinds Classic

The free game this week at Sandlot Games is Tradewinds Classic ($6.95 Amazon Game Downloads). The precursor to the Tradewinds 2 and Tradewinds Legends, both of which have been offered for free by Sandlot Games. Legends is one that I played for 10 hours straight and completed one character's story mode (I need to back sometime and try the other characters, to see if the story mode changes, plus I unlocked at least one new captain that I haven't tried).

Game Description

• Buy Low, Sell High And Build Your Fortune.
• Choose From 4 Unique Characters.
• Buy More Ships To Dominate The Seas.
• Collect Bounties By Defeating Villainous Pirates.

Travel back in time to a world of danger and mystery; a place where the open waters can mean anything but smooth sailing. Set in the 19th century Far East, go back to the very beginning where buying and selling exotic goods, or collecting bounties on previously thought-to-be-dead pirates, can lead to untold wealth...or ultimate doom. With enough wisdom, courage and luck you too can become a Tai-Pan!

Click HERE to sign up for the free download. For step by step purchase and installation instructions, see this post.

Free Book (Sony) - Executive Privilege

Executive Privilege ($9.99 Kindle), by Phillip Margolin, has a new, free edition available in the Sony ebookstore. Although I would expect the other stores to catch up soon (Sony is usually the last out with these editions), I also still haven't seen The Shop on Blossom Street drop in the Kindle store (and the limited time price at Sony is only until May 4, which is today).

Update: This book is now listed in the Amazon store, Executive Privilege Free with Bonus Material , but is marked as unavailable in the US. Hopefully that will change in a few days and it'll be free on Kindle as well as for Sony readers.

Book Description
New York Times bestselling author Phillip Margolin is back, this time with a powerful tale of murder that snakes its way through Washington, D.C.'s halls of power, leading straight to the White House and the most powerful office on earth.

When private detective Dana Cutler is hired by an attorney with powerful political connections, the assignment seems simple enough: follow a pretty college student named Charlotte Walsh and report on where she goes and whom she sees. But then the unexpected happens. One night, Cutler follows Walsh to a secret meeting with Christopher Farrington, the president of the United States. The following morning, Walsh's dead body shows up and Cutler has to run for her life.

In Oregon, Brad Miller, a junior associate in a huge law firm is working on the appeal of a convicted serial killer. Clarence Little, now on death row, claims he was framed for the murder of a teenager who, at the time of her death, worked for the then governor, Christopher Farrington. Suddenly, a small-time private eye and a fledgling lawyer find themselves in possession of evidence that suggests that someone in the White House is a murderer. Their only problem? Staying alive long enough to prove it.

As always with Sony, open up the software and do a search on the title. Pay attention to which one you pick, as there are two editions, one full price and one is free.

Free Book (ADE-DRM) - No Dig, No Fly, No Go

No Dig, No Fly, No Go: How Maps Restrict and Control ($13.50 paperback), by Mark Monmonier, is free TODAY ONLY from the University of Chicago Press.

Book Description
Some maps help us find our way; others restrict where we go and what we do. These maps control behavior, regulating activities from flying to fishing, prohibiting students from one part of town from being schooled on the other, and banishing certain individuals and industries to the periphery. This restrictive cartography has boomed in recent decades as governments seek to regulate activities as diverse as hiking, building a residence, opening a store, locating a chemical plant, or painting a house anything but regulation colors. It is this aspect of mapping - its power to prohibit - that celebrated geographer Mark Monmonier tackles in "No Dig, No Fly, No Go".

Restrictive mapping has been indispensable in settling the American West, claiming slices of Antarctica, protecting fragile ocean fisheries, and keeping sex offenders away from playgrounds. But it has also been used for opprobrium: during one of the darkest moments in American history, cartographic exclusion orders helped send thousands of Japanese Americans to remote detention camps. Tracing the power of prohibitive mapping at multiple levels - from regional to international - and multiple dimensions - from property to cyberspace - Monmonier demonstrates how much boundaries influence our experience, from homeownership and voting to taxation and airline travel.

A worthy successor to his critically acclaimed How to Lie with Maps, the book is replete with all of the hallmarks of a Monmonier classic, including the wry observations and witty humor. Written for anyone who votes, owns a home, or aspires to be an informed citizen, "No Dig, No Fly, No Go" will change the way we look at maps forever.

Click HERE to sign up for the free book. You'll need to give them an email address and then check for their message to get the download link. I'd suggest you do both today, since it's a one-day offer. The book is a DRM'd PDF and will requires Adobe Digital Editions (ADE) to download and read.

Free Audiobook - The Hole in Our Gospel

The Hole in Our Gospel by Richard Stearns, narrated by Tommy Creswell ($9.17 Kindle) is free to download at ChristianAudio.

It's 1998 and Richard Stearns' heart is breaking as he sits in a mud hut and listens to the story of an orphaned child in Rakai, Uganda. His journey to this place took more than a long flight from the United States to Africa. It took answering God's call on his life, a call that hurtled him out of his presidential corner office at Lenox-America's finest tableware company-to this humble corner of Uganda.

This is a story of how a corporate CEO faced his own struggle to obey God whatever the cost, and his passionate call for Christians to change the world by actively living out their faith. Using his own journey as an example, Stearns explores the hole that exists in our understanding of the Gospel.

Two thousand years ago, twelve people changed the world. Stearns believes it can happen again.

Don't overlook the link for the free Study guides, six sessions designed for individuals and small groups wishing to explore the question, “What does God expect of us?” The stories and quotations found in this study are excerpted from The Hole in Our Gospel written by Richard (Rich) Stearns, the president of World Vision.

Get your free audio download HERE; enter the coupon code MAY2010 during checkout. After you finishing your order, you will be asked which format you prefer to download - select MP3 if you want to be able to play the book on your Kindle.

Create/Edit/Manage Your Notes & Highlights on Kindle for PC

Just shy of seven months after Amazon originally released Kindle for PC, they have released a major update that adds the ability to "create new highlights, notes, and bookmarks and manage those created on your Kindle." This ability was originally released on the Kindle for iPad App, for which search and instant dictionary lookup are also promised to be "coming soon," but no announcement yet if Kindle for PC will get this essential feature. I know that some of the cookbooks I've downloaded are missing linked indexes or a comprehensive table of contents, so without this ability it can be difficult to find a specific recipe (it's often easier to search on the DX, then use the location to find the same place in Kindle for PC).

Other improvements announced: Full screen reading view, color modes, and brightness controls. Again, all features originally introduced with the Kindle for iPad App. I'll admit, the full screen view won't be one I'd be tempted to use on most wide-screen monitors and notebooks these days, but it might work well on a netbook that has the ability to rotate it's display ninety degrees (since Kindle for PC doesn't have this ability, although the iPad does, I suspect due to possible lack of support from the graphics card in most PC's), as that screen would be small enough to comfortably hold and read that way (a 17" widescreen is just to long a line of text for me to be comfortable reading). Still, for some books, I can see that it might allow viewing tables and pictures in a much better size.

Now, all we need is the ability to use the dictionary and perform cross-book searches. Although, I no longer use either function on my original Kindle, as they both became too slow once I had more than a few dozen books; with well over a thousand, either can take 10-15 minutes (or more) to return any answer at all. Adding the ability to print would also be welcome, with, at the least, a 'current view' or 'highlighted text' option, even if it were limited to a small percentage of the book (so you can work off a recipe in the kitchen without worrying about splattering grease or flour on your computer or Kindle). There are, of course, workarounds using screenshots that allow you to get around this restriction, but they are not ones that every computer user might be aware of or feel confident in performing.

If you need help in using the new features, be sure to check the Using Highlights and Notes section of the Kindle for PC's help page, where you'll also find info on the keyboard shortcuts that work inside the application. These can come in handy when reading on a netbook or notebook - turn off the mousepad to save battery power and avoid accidental movements and you can then use the keyboard to completely run the application.

Free Book (Sony) - Sheltering Hearts

Sheltering Hearts ($0.99 Kindle), by Robyn Carr, is free in the Sony bookstore. This novella is a Harlequin release and not quite free in the Kindle store (and not present at all in the B&N or Kobo stores).

Book Description
In this touching story, single mother Dory Finn has focused her life on raising her two children and the volunteer work she does with single parents. After a bad experience in the romance department, Dory is not looking for love. But her feelings begin to change when Clay Kennedy moves in next door and makes his way into both her heart and her children's hearts. Dory must overcome the past in order to learn to love again.

Originally published in the sixth annual More Than Words anthology ($9.99 Kindle):

Little by little, one person at a time, we can make our world a better place. The five dedicated women selected as this year’s recipients of Harlequin’s More Than Words award have done just that, by discovering a seed of compassion, and nurturing it to effect real change in their communities. To celebrate their accomplishments, five bestselling authors have honored the winners by writing short stories inspired by these real-life heroines.

Bargain Book Roundup, Part II

Ties That Bind, Ties That Break ($1.30 Kindle), by Lensey Namioka

Book Description
Third Sister in the Tao family, Ailin has watched her two older sisters go through the painful process of having their feet bound. In China in 1911, all the women of good families follow this ancient tradition. But Ailin loves to run away from her governess and play games with her male cousins. Knowing she will never run again once her feet are bound, Ailin rebels and refuses to follow this torturous tradition.

As a result, however, the family of her intended husband breaks their marriage agreement. And as she enters adolescence, Ailin finds that her family is no longer willing to support her. Chinese society leaves few options for a single woman of good family, but with a bold conviction and an indomitable spirit, Ailin is determined to forge her own destiny. Her story is a tribute to all those women whose courage created new options for the generations who came after them.

Two Cats, Three Tales ($9.99), by Lilian Jackson Braun. Three volumes in one, that's $3.33 per book, while the individual volumes are $6.29 each.

Book Description
The first three Cat Who... mysteries in one volume, from the New York Times bestselling "master of mystery" (People). Prize-winning reporter Jim Qwilleran and his extraordinary Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum always land on their feet. This special volume includes the first three books in this "thoroughly delightful"* series. The Cat Who Could Read Backwards: Modern art is a mystery to many-but for Jim Qwilleran and Koko it turns into a mystery of another sort. The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern: Reporter Qwill isn't thrilled about covering the interior design beat. Little does he know that a killer has designs on a local woman featured in one of his stories. The Cat Who Turned On and Off: Qwill and Koko are joined by Yum Yum as they try to solve a murder in an antique shop.

Someone to Trust ($1.83), by Ginny Aiken

Book Description
So what if she's the fire chief's daughter? Arson investigator Rand Mason doesn't trust Catelyn Caldwell. Seven years ago, he was on the scene when Cate's drunken boyfriend ran her sister and brother-in-law off the road. But the purple-haired brat he remembers sitting in the passenger seat has become a poised, confident woman. With Cate's father critically injured in a meth lab fire, she's determined to find the person responsible. She needs Rand's help...and he needs to keep Cate close. Time to see if she's truly someone he can trust--and love.

Nightwalker ($3.60), by Heather Graham , is only one of the many discounted books by this author in the Kindle store currently.

Book Description
One night, desperate for money to support her grandfather, Jessy Sparhawk places the bet that will change her life forever. Just as she's collecting her winnings, a man stumbles through the crowd, a knife protruding from his back, and crashes into her, pinning her to the table.

Hired to investigate the murder, private detective Dillon Wolf finds himself fascinated by the gorgeous redhead who'd been trapped beneath the victim--and by the single word the dying man had whispered in her ear. Indigo.

One murder leads to another as Dillon and Jessy realize that the nightmare is only just beginning--and that the dead still have a hand left to play.

The Pride of Lions ($3.95), by Marsha Canham

Book Description
They were torn between pride and passion. . .

It was a boastful wager, a bold flirtation meant to win a proposal from the most eligible officer in His Majesty's Royal Dragoons. How was the spoiled and pampered Catherine Augustine Ashbrooke to know the handsome stranger with the brooding midnight eyes would see through her plot and make her the pawn in a dangerous game of his own?

United by a reckless game of chance. . .

Alexander Cameron may have won the highborn English beauty in a duel, but not even the lure of long-forgotten desires could keep him from his meeting with destiny. He had no choice but to carry his reluctant bride off to the Highlands, to a world of ancient blood feuds and a brewing rebellion--a world where fiery passion and breathtaking courage would prove that even legendary warriors could lose their hearts.

Bestselling, award-winning author Marsha Canham sweeps us into the turbulence and romance of Scotland's quest for freedom in a saga of two born enemies whose lives and destinies are irrevocably bound to the fate of an empire.

No Mercy ($4.47), by John Gilstrap

Book Description
Deep inside the dangerous world of rescue operations, one anonymous hero pays no ransom, takes no prisoners, and breaks every rule. Meet Jonathan Grave. . .

No names. No feds. No trace evidence. That's how Jonathan Grave operates. As a freelance specialist in covert rescues, he has to work outside the law to get things done-especially in highly sensitive hostage situations. But when an Indiana college student is abducted, and Jonathan's meticulous plan explodes into a deadly shooting spree, the local authorities are out for blood-and they're not alone. Someone wants to control a devastating secret . . . someone rich and powerful . . . someone willing to capture, torture, and kill anyone to get it. Even the people Jonathan loves most. . .

And here are a few independent authors who have their books on sale for 99 cents. The first one ends today, a few end this weekend and the others have more indefinite dates before their prices go back up.

Coombe's Wood ($0.99), by Lisa C Hinsley, should bounce up to $2.99 after today.

Book Description
Izzy Santana and her 13-year-old son Connor move into a Reading Council-provided flat in the sleepy village of Cedham. Locals darkly warn her to stay away from nearby Coombe’s Wood, hinting first at elves, then at multiple murders… which may or may not have taken place in the woods hundreds of years ago. It’s all ludicrously superstitious, and Izzy is so delighted to have found a haven for her son – after being threatened by her sadistic ex-partner George – that she takes little notice.

She meets a neighbour who seems kindly, if a trifle fey, and who takes a great interest in her son. Connor seems instantly comfortable with him. She begins to feel as if she is also falling under his spell. But Connor is bullied at school, and one night she finds herself tracking those bullies in the wood, where she believes they are waiting for him. She doesn’t find them, but something closes in on her – something that sounds like a savage animal. As she runs she realises she may have been set up – or Connor was – to be caught by whatever the animal was. She strengthens the barricades in her flat, no longer puts all the local tales about ‘danger in them woods’ down to superstition, and even begins to wonder about the way she was selected by the Reading Council officer to live in the village in the first place.

Then a slit rabbit turns up on her doorstep, along with a distinctive cigarette butt, and she knows George has found her. Desperately compassionate, her neighbour calls the police, who turn up next day, harumph the ceiling, and take the attitude: You’ve not been attacked, then, Miss? You haven’t actually seen him? Why, if your ex-lover has tracked you down, do you suppose he would he dump a rabbit at your door…? Her own question, more urgent, is: if George can get in the front door of the building, can he get into her flat?

What Izzy needs to do is protect Connor. She has already started to uncover the ancient secrets of the village, and now she works out the perfect way to get rid of George… for good.

Firefly Island ($0.99), by Daniel Arenson

Book Description
Want to escape to a magical land? Discover a world at the edge of imagination. Visit Firefly Island. In Firefly Island, you'll meet Aeolia, a girl enslaved to an ogre on a faraway farm. With the magic of fireflies, she must escape the ogre, then journey to find her long-lost brother. Join Aeolia as she explores Firefly Island, a strange land of firefly magic. Her quest takes her from hills swarming with ogres, to jungles full of fierce tree warriors, to castles brimming with knights in armor, to an underworld of outlaws on dark city streets, to twisting dungeons, and into landscapes of flame and war.

Quest for the Simurgh ($0.99) and Tales of a Texas Boy ($0.99), by Marva Dasef, are marked down for Mother's Day.

Book Description
Quest for the Simurgh
The village magician, Wafa, has gone missing. His star pupil Faiza thinks he has left a clue for her on a page of the Magicalis Bestialis. With the page open and marked with an X, she believes Wafa is telling them to seek out the Simurgh, the mythical birds who possess all the knowledge of the universe. She convinces her three classmates that they must seek the help of the Simurgh to find their teacher.

She leads the boys on a difficult journey into the mountains in search of the elusive birds. A strange little man becomes their guide. However, they do not know he is a spirit leading them toward a battle between good and evil. Spirits, gods, and demons confront the four friends, who are being set up by the otherworldly forces for a much larger task than finding their teacher. The students were chosen to take sides in the battle which might spell the end of the world: a battle between the demons and the spirits.

Tales of a Texas Boy
How do you handle a crazy jackass? Eddie knows. If you ask Eddie, he'll tell you pigs can fly and show you where to find real mammoth bones. Take his word for it when he tells you always to bet on the bear. These are things he learned while dreaming of becoming a cowboy in West Texas during the Depression. Through Eddie, the hero of "Tales of a Texas Boy," we find that growing up is less about maturity and more about roping your dreams. Hold on tight. It's a bumpy ride. A wonderful read for anyone who enjoys books like "Little House on the Prairie" or "Tom Sawyer." A great bit of nostalgia for seniors, too.

Recollections: A Baby Boomer's Memories of the Fabulous Fifties ($0.99), by Jim Chambers

Book Description
As one of the first post-WWII Baby Boomers, the author's childhood and early teenage years were in the 1950s, a remarkable decade for the United States that saw enormous political, technological, and cultural changes. Although many books have covered the headline-making events of the era in great detail, few of these books give the reader a real feel for what daily life was like for Americans living in that decade, especially for kids growing up then. The author remembers the little nuts and bolts things of daily life for families during the fascinating decade known as the Fabulous Fifties. "Recollections" perfectly blends paying homage to the little day-to-day rituals with a larger scale examination of social issues and mores of the times, and it’s equally entertaining on either level. "Recollections" is a warm, lovingly honest, and fascinating portrait of America in the mid-20th Century.

Second Chances ($0.99), by Kristie Leigh Maguire

Book Description
Jane Porter’s dreams of marrying Mike Farley, the handsome cowboy who lives on the neighboring ranch, are shattered when Mike suddenly marries a redheaded stranger he met at the Wild Horse Saloon in Casper, Wyoming. After Mike stomped all over Jane’s heart with his cowboy boots, can Jane ever trust her heart to a man again?

Mike Farley marries beautiful Samantha Jo Smith after a whirlwind courtship with no thought to Jane Porter, his childhood sweetheart and the woman everyone in Fremont County thought he would marry one day. Mike soon learns to regret his hasty marriage to Samantha. Can Mike win back Jane’s heart even though he had shattered it into a million pieces?

Longtime friends and neighbors Jim Porter and Liz Farley turn to each other for support, and help in raising their children Jane and Mike, after the unexpected death of their spouses. Will Jim and Liz’s friendship turn into something deeper even though they both feel they have had, and lost, their chance at love?

Is it ever too late for love? Is it ever too late for second chances?

Set in rural Wyoming, Second Chances is a delightful read that will warm your heart.

The Wife of Freedom ($0.99), by Camille LaGuire

Book Description
New Acteron is on the verge of rebellion, and so is Mary Alwyn, the upstanding wife of a local revolutionary. Mary was once a wild orphan, who loved to run barefoot and jump in the mud, but she's been raised to be a good and proper wife. Everyone thought that the irrepressible Jackie Alwyn would be a good match for her, but he's married to the revolution, isn't he?

When a charming nobleman comes along, he's like a big mud-puddle, and Mary just can't help but jump in bed with him.

But when she betrays her lover's trust for the revolution, Jackie holds her up as a hero and calls her the Whore of Freedom in public. If Mary's ever going to live down the first part of that name, she's going to have to live up to the second. So she sets out to be a real spy, as brazen and bold as the reputation that precedes her, while learning anew what it is to be a real friend to those you love. But she'll never really be free until she returns to face her past.

The Other Side of Tuscany ($0.99), by N. A. Stolfo Corti

Book Description
A heartbreaking true story of one woman's personal triumph over an abusive relationship set amidst the high-stakes world of Italy's fashion elite.

Intimate in feeling, astonishing in scope, and impossible to put down, The Other Side of Tuscany captures the beauty and power achieved when we come to forgive those who hurt us the most.

A tour de force for women. And for the power of love.

Finally, BookView Cafe is having a sale in honor of the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention. They have several books marked down to the one-to-three dollar range (although some are only in PDF format), HERE.

Bargain Book Roundup, Part I

The Chicago Way ($1.59 Kindle; $1.99 B&N, Kobo & Sony), by Michael Harvey, whose just released The Third Rail ($9.99 Kindle) is also on 100% rebate at fictionwise.com this week.

Book Description
From the co-creator and executive producer of the television show Cold Case Files, a fast-paced, stylish murder mystery featuring a tough-talking Irish cop turned private investigator who does for the city of Chicago what Elmore Leonard did for Detroit and Raymond Chandler did for Los Angeles.

Chicago private investigator Michael Kelly is hired by his former partner, John Gibbons, to help solve an eight-year-old rape and battery case, a case it turns out his old friend was once ordered to forget. When Gibbons turns up dead on Navy Pier, Kelly enlists a team of his savviest colleagues to connect the dots between the recent murder and the cold case it revived: Diane Lindsay, a television reporter whose relationship with Kelly is not strictly professional; his best friend from childhood, Nicole Andrews, a forensic DNA expert; Nicole’s boyfriend, Vince Rodriguez, a detective with a special interest in rape cases; and Bennett Davis from the DA’s office, a friend since Kelly’s days on the force. To close the case, Kelly will have to face the mob, a serial killer, his own double-crossing friends, and the mean streets of the city he loves.

Ferociously plotted and crackling with wit, The Chicago Way is first-rate suspense steeped in the glorious, gritty atmosphere of a great city: a marvelous debut.

The Curse of the Pharaohs ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo & Sony), by Elizabeth Peters, second in the Amelia Peabody series.

Book Description
One of the best-loved of mystery writers weaves another tale of intrigue featuring Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe of Crocodile on the Sandbank. This time the willful and witty duo must catch a murderer at an excavation of an ancient Egyptian tomb.

Seeing a Large Cat ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo & Sony), by Elizabeth Peters, ninth in the Amelia Peabody series.

Book Description
No villain is safe in 1903 Egypt as feisty archaeologist Amelia Peabody embarks on her ninth adventure.

According to an ancient Egyptian papyrus, dreaming of a large cat means good luck. And that's just what Amelia Peabody could use, as her growing family matures in the new century. What's more, Amelia's dashing husband Emerson has received a mysterious warning not to enter the Valley of the Kings. To Emerson's annoyance, Amelia's meddling distracts her attention as she exposes a fraudulent spiritualist, saves a marriage, and plays matchmaker. But diabolical forces are at work when an unknown tomb reveals a shocking murder -- and the Peabody family dodges bullets from an assassin determined to put an end to their discoveries.

Spellbound ($1.79 Kindle, $1.99 B&N & Sony)

Book Description
While world-famous photographer Calin Farrell enjoys a much-needed vacation in Ireland, he becomes bewitched by the ravishingly beautiful Bryna Torrence. In fact, so bewitched that he refuses to believe in the spell that has brought them together—and could destroy them both.

The biggest problem with buying Midnight In Death ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo & Sony) or Interlude In Death ($1.99 Kindle, Kobo & Sony), by JD Robb, is that the third in the series is not available in ebook form and is out of print. Instead, you can pick up all three in one volume, at only slight more per book: Three in Death: Midnight in Death/Interlude in Death/Haunted in Death ($6.29 Kindle, $6.99 B&N)

Book Description
Midnight in Death
Eve’s name has made a Christmas list, but it’s not for being naughty or nice. It’s for putting a serial killer behind bars. Now the escaped madman has her in his sights. With her husband, Roarke, at her side, Eve must stop the man from exacting his bloody vengeance - or die trying…

Interlude in Death
In early spring of 2059, Lieutenant Eve Dallas is called off planet to face a grueling ordeal - giving a seminar at the largest police conference of the year, to be held in a swanky resort. It's supposed to be at least partly a vacation, but work intrudes in the form of a bloody homicide. The case is complicated by Eve's personal history with the victim - and by the killer's history with Roarke.

Haunted in Death
Number Twelve is an urban legend in 2060 New York City. The hot club in the 1960s, it is now reported to be haunted…and cursed. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is called there to investigate the apparent murder of Radcliff Hopkins, its new owner and the grandson of the man who made Number Twelve a cultural icon. With everyone around her talking about the supernatural, pragmatic Eve won’t let rumors of ghosts distract her from hard evidence.

4 Day Detox ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo & Sony), by Ian K. Smith

Book Description
Dr. Ian Smith's diets really work. America has lost millions of pounds following his bestselling programs: The Fat Smash Diet, Extreme Fat Smash and, his newest, The 4 Day Diet-an eating plan that allows readers to avoid the normal (and fatal) pitfalls of dieting. Now you can try THE 4 DAY DETOX: the first of seven four-day modules straight from The 4 Day Diet by Dr. Ian. As seen on -The Rachael Ray Show- and -Celebrity Fit Club-, THE 4 DAY DETOX will charge up your system and remove some of the toxins your body may have accumulated and that keep you in an unhealthy eating rut. In his detox, Dr. Ian provides specific marching orders for invigorating, extremely healthy foods that not only mop up the toxins floating around in your body but naturally increase your energy and prime you to lose excess pounds. THE 4 DAY DETOX will cleanse your body, help you lose weight fast, and focus your mind on what you can do when you commit to change.

Things that Make You Feel Good ($1.99 Kindle, B&N & Sony), by Todd Parr

Book Description & Author Bio
Open this book to find out things that make you feel good and the things that make you feel bad. This children's book is written by the author of This Is My Hair.

Even if you have never seen one of his books, you may already be familiar with Todd Parr's work from seeing bedding or toys emblazoned with his bold, colorful art. With his positive, slyly humorous picture books, Parr encourages toddlers and preschools to embrace their individuality and communicate what they feel. It's nearly impossible to look at his pages and not smile, no matter what age you are.