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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Contest - Win a Kindle Fire, Day 2 (#epickindlegiveaway)

Update: This blog post's entries are now closed.
Update: We're overwhelming Facebook and the EReader News blog, so I've been asked to let you know not to post on those two anymore. You can still get entries via Twitter (or check out Friday's post for some more ways to enter).

Today is Day 2 of the Kindle Fire Contest. I'm going to try to simplify the directions for entering (but you can refer to the Day 1 post for all the rules. For an entry in the contest, let people on Facebook, Twitter (or even Google+) know about the contest. Make sure you include a link to this post and also include the hashtags free for #kindle and #epickindlegiveaway in your wall post or tweet. Then, post a comment here to let me know about it (once for FaceBook, once for Twitter - if you do both, leave two comments) and don't forget to include how to get in touch with you if you win. If you want additional entries, you can follow the directions on the main contest page (no need to leave a comment here on those).

Note that I'm setting up this post ahead of time, before the price drops have appeared at Amazon. As always, be sure to double check the price on the linked Amazon pages to make sure the book is truly free before one-clicking. Some of these are repeats, so I've bolded the ones that are new today.

TODAY’S FREE KINDLE BOOKS

Scott Nicholson

Aiden James

J.R. Rain

H.T. Night

Today's Deals

Kobo has a new coupon code, c1auto25, good for 25% off (exp 1/16/12) and has apparently reset FirstRead, good for 35% off. Both are one-use coupons and only work on non-Agency titles.

His Last Duchess ($0.99), by Gabrielle Kimm, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.
Book Description
The chilling story of Lucrezia de Medici, duchess to Alfonso d'Este, His Last Duchess paints a portrait of a lonely young girl and her marriage to an inscrutable duke. Lucrezia longs for love, Alfonso desperately needs an heir, and in a true story of lust and dark decadence, the dramatic fireworks the marriage kindles threaten to destroy the duke's entire inheritance–and Lucrezia's future. His Last Duchess gorgeously brings to life the passions and people of sixteenth-century Tuscany and Ferrara.

Tony & Susan ($1.53 / £0.99 UK), by Austin Wright, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US Kindle edition, but you can get the Audible audiobook for $20.95).
Book Description
Fifteen years ago, Susan Morrow left her first husband Edward Sheffield. One day, comfortable in her home, and her second marriage, she receives, entirely out of the blue, a parcel containing the manuscript of her ex-husband�s first novel. As Susan reads, she is drawn into the fictional life of his character Tony Hastings. And as we read with her, so are we.

Tony and Susan is a dazzling achievement: simultaneously a riveting portrayal of the experience of reading and a page-turning thriller, written in startlingly arresting prose. It is also a novel about fear and regret, revenge and aging, marriage and creativity. It is simply unique.

Fearless ($8.99 $4.99 Kindle, B&N), by Max Lucado, is the Nook Daily Find, likely to be price matched on Kindle.
Book Description
Each sunrise seems to bring fresh reasons for fear.

They're talking layoffs at work, slowdowns in the economy, flare-ups in the Middle East, turnovers at headquarters, downturns in the housing market, upswings in global warming. The plague of our day, terrorism, begins with the word terror. Fear, it seems, has taken up a hundred-year lease on the building next door and set up shop. Oversized and rude, fear herds us into a prison of unlocked doors. Wouldn't it be great to walk out?

Imagine your life, wholly untouched by angst. What if faith, not fear, was your default reaction to threats? If you could hover a fear magnet over your heart and extract every last shaving of dread, insecurity, or doubt, what would remain? Envision a day, just one day, where you could trust more and fear less.

Can you imagine your life without fear?

Free Book - When You Don't Know What to Pray (K/N/E)

Update: Probably won't last until mid-evening, but currently also free from Sony.

When You Don't Know What to Pray: How to Talk to God about Anything (US/UK), by Linda Evans Shepherd, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of Christian publisher Revell. It isn't likely to stay free more than a day or so.
Book Description
It's easy to pray for others' needs. If God takes a long time in answering--or answers with a no--it's easier to take. Far more difficult is focusing on your own needs, when sometimes you don't get the answers you want. What do you pray when life gets hard or even unbearable? When you lose a spouse or a child? When your health deteriorates? When your spiritual life seems barren? Linda Evans Shepherd knows what it's like to pray in the most dire of circumstances. She shows readers the how, what, and when of praying for themselves. As she takes readers through her own prayer journey and the stories of others, they will be encouraged and equipped to pray for themselves in any circumstance. They'll also find that whether or not God changes their circumstances, he will use prayer to change them.
Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Free Indie/Backlist Book Roundup

In addition to the books that are free as part of the Kindle Fire Contest, there are several other indie/backlist author published titles free today (that are likely to go back up tomorrow or in a few days, at the latest):
The list isn't sorted in any particular order (in fact, there are a few good ones right at the end). I also haven't added genre, just because I need a few minutes to try to get in a little reading myself, today.

Free Book - Margaret Thatcher (K)

Margaret Thatcher: A Life, from The Editors of New Word City, is free in the Kindle store.
Book Description
Margaret Thatcher served as Britain’s Prime Minister for 11 years. She prevailed by the force of her ideas, her iron will, her whip-sharp wit, and the strength of her character. Here’s here inspiring story.

Free Book - Winston Churchill's Leadership Lessons (K)

Winston Churchill's Leadership Lessons, from The Editors of New Word City, is free in the Kindle store.
Book Description
Sir Winston Churchill’s particular blend of talents made him uniquely fitted to carry Great Britain through the ordeal of World War II. It was his determination to rally his fellow citizens that not only saved his country but, in all likelihood, all free peoples. Leaders everywhere can profit by emulating him.

Free Book - 7 Bad Habits of Unsuccessful Peopl (K)

7 Bad Habits of Unsuccessful Peopl, by Sydney Finkelstein, is free in the Kindle store.
Book Description
Talented leaders can be brought low by their own success. Self-confidence slides into over-confidence. Good press leads to prideful thinking. Obstinacy, fanaticism, and feelings of invincibility push a competent leader into a hubristic fog. In this brief eBook, Sydney Finkelstein, a Dartmouth professor who has studied bad decisions and business failures for more than 15 years, tells how to avoid the seven bad habits of unsuccessful people.

Free Book - The Stapleton 2012 Gay Guide to Fort Lauderdale (K)

The Stapleton 2012 Gay Guide to Fort Lauderdale, by Jon Stapleton, is free in the Kindle store.
Book Description
The Stapleton Guide is a comprehensive travel guide to Fort Lauderdale, focusing on the interests of gays and lesbians. Lodgings, restaurants, attractions, shopping and nightlife, updated several times a year in ebook form. Though slanted toward the gay world, the Guide is quite comprehensive, covering all other aspects of Fort Lauderdale of interest to anyone.

Free Books - Dark Horse Series (DF)

Kate Sherwood has self-published several novellas and short stories in the same series as Dark Horse, an LGBT romance published by DreamSpinner Press. The first one below takes place shortly before the epilog of the sequel, Out of the Darkness (also DreamSpinner Press). These are 99 cents on Kindle, but you can currently get them free from AllRomance (I'm including links for each). Although there aren't any reviews for the Kindle editions of these (yet), she has pretty decent reviews of her traditionally published titles and good ratings on these at ARe, so it might be worth taking a chance if this is your genre of choice.
On Deck ($0.99 Kindle; $0.00 AllRomance)
When Dan and Evan were struggling with their issues, Dan came up with the suggestion that they go on a date. This is that date. This story is set just before the epilogue of Out of the Darkness. This is just - it's just schmoop, really. Sappy and silly and fun. If you miss the boys and want to check in on them, this is your story, but if you haven't read the series, this probably isn't a great place to start.

Sometimes You Just Know ($0.99 Kindle; $0.00 AllRomance)
Before Dan met Jeff and Evan, he thought he'd only ever love one man. This is the story of Dan and Justin, before things went wrong.

WARNING: Things DO go wrong. Not in this book, but unless you're pretty tough, I'd read Dark Horse first, so you're prepared...


Rough Broke ($0.99 Kindle; $0.00 AllRomance)
A quick peek into Dan's youth, showing where he got he weaknesses, and where he found his strength.

Warning: Emotional and sexual abuse.

Warning 2: Second person, present tense. It's short, you can handle it!


Riding Through Fire ($0.99 Kindle; $0.00 AllRomance)
Evan is the son of Jeff's best friend, and no matter how much the kid flirts, how much he tempts, Jeff will not give in. Then tragedy strikes, and Jeff realizes that Evan needs much more from him than just his body. He also realizes that Evan may not be such a kid, after all.

Head Shy ($0.99 Kindle; $0.00 AllRomance)
Dan's early life left him with some complicated emotions - it's lucky he's got two understanding lovers and a totally annoying best friend to help him work through it all. This story is set between The Date and the epilogue of Out of the Darkness.

Into the Light (#7) ($0.99 Kindle; $0.00 AllRomance)
Chris has always wondered. He's had two best friends in his life, and they've both been gay, so it's not as if he hasn't been exposed to the idea. And while his relationships with women have certainly been enjoyable, they've never lasted, and he's never really cared.

He decides to take a chance with a player from another team. Ryan is a laid-back, carefree musician, and he makes everything seem easy. But maybe it's too easy, as both Chris and Ryan start to wonder whether they've stepped into the light, or stumbled even further into darkness.

Today's Deals

Additional formats on these free books are now available:

The Wombles ($1.53 / £0.99 UK), by Nick Price and Elisabeth Beresford, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is also discounted, at $3.99).
Book Description
The Wombles is the first ever Wombles book and introduces the stern but kindly Great Uncle Bulgaria; Orinoco, who is particularly fond of his food and a subsequent forty winks; general handyman extraordinaire Tobermory, who can turn almost anything that the Wombles retrieve from Wimbledon Common into something useful; Madame Cholet, who cooks the most delicious and natural foods to keep the Wombles happy and contented; and last but not least, Bungo, one of the youngest and cheekiest Wombles of all, who has much to learn and is due to venture out on to the Common on his own for the very first time . . .

The First American Army ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Bruce Chadwick, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle (an a buck less than I paid over the summer).
Book Description
This is the first book that offers a you-are-there look at the American Revolution through the eyes of the enlisted men. Through searing portraits of individual soldiers, Bruce Chadwick, author of George Washington's War, brings alive what it was like to serve then in the American army.

With interlocking stories of ordinary Americans, he evokes what it meant to face brutal winters, starvation, terrible homesickness and to go into battle against the much-vaunted British regulars and their deadly Hessian mercenaries.

The reader lives through the experiences of those terrible and heroic times when a fifteen-year-old fifer survived the Battle of Bunker Hill, when Private Josiah Atkins escaped unscathed from the bloody battles in New York and when a doctor and a minister shared the misery of the wounded and dying. These intertwining stories are drawn from their letters and never-before-quoted journals found in the libraries belonging to the camps where Washington quartered his troops during those desperate years.

The Kill ($0.99), by Jan Neuharth, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.
Book Description
When word reaches her in war-torn Afghanistan that her beloved Uncle Richard has been brutally murdered, globe-trotting photojournalist Abigale Portmann reluctantly abandons her assignment and returns to the rolling hills and rocky relationships of her past in the picturesque equestrian community of Middleburg, Virginia—a place she has painstakingly avoided for 17 years. While the sheriff thinks the murder is a random robbery gone bad, Abigale soon becomes convinced her uncle was slain by someone he knew. Suspicion swirls among colorful characters in the tweedy, foxhunting crowd, including a superficial nouveau riche social climber, the lazy heir to an old-money fortune, and, most painfully to Abigale, her former childhood sweetheart. As the gripping plot unfolds, friends become suspects and family ties are tested, until events spin out of control and the riveting tale races to a terrifying finish.

Contest - Win a Kindle Fire (#epickindlegiveaway)

Update: This blog post's entries are now closed.
Update: We're overwhelming Facebook and the EReader News blog, so I've been asked to let you know not to post on those two anymore. You can still get entries via Twitter (or check out Friday's post for some more ways to enter).

The contest below is one that this blog is participating in along with several authors in the Kindle store. There will be a variation on this post each of the next two days (and the free books will change a bit each time) - you can enter each day, increasing your chances to win.

You win, in any case, since you'll get links to free books from the authors each day (Jan 11-13) and hopefully I'll win a bit, by getting some extra traffic and pick up some new, regular readers. And four (maybe even six!) lucky winners in the contest will have new Kindle Fires in the mail, while others will be getting some Amazon gift certificates. Note that the prizes are being given by the authors involved (not me) - I'll tally the entries on this blog each day and send in to Scott Nicholson (who is coordinating); the winners will be drawn by his local Library staff, using one of the random number generator websites.

Note that I'm setting up this post ahead of time, before the price drops will appear at Amazon. As always, be sure to double check the price on the linked Amazon pages to make sure the book is truly free before one-clicking.

Kindle Fire Contest

Want to win a Kindle Fire? Authors Aiden James, Scott Nicholson, J. R. Rain, and H.T. Night are teaming up Jan. 11-13 to give away $1,000 in prizes, including four Kindle Fires, $200 in Amazon gift cards, and 45 free Kindle books.

There are four ways to enter during Jan. 11-13:
  1. Share this blog link on social media according to blogger’s directions
  2. Follow the authors on Facebook (J.R. Rain, H.T. Night, Aiden James, and Scott Nicholson) and look for "Click to share" posts
  3. Follow Ereader News Today on Facebook and click to share their free book bundles
  4. Go to the free books below on Amazon, click "like" and then "share" each book on Twitter and Facebook, using the hashtags “free for #kindle” and “#epickindlegiveaway”

TODAY’S FREE KINDLE BOOKS

Scott Nicholson

H.T. Night

J.R. Rain

Aiden James

If one of the four authors hits #1 on the Kindle Free list, they will give away another Kindle Fire. If at any time during the event, the four authors hold all the Top 10 slots on the Kindle Free list, they will give away a sixth kindle. The bonus Kindle winners will be selected using the #epickindlegiveaway hashtags on Facebook and Twitter.

The Facebook and Twitter hashtags must accompany a link to one of the free books, a participating book blog, or the contest home page at http://epickindlegiveaway.blogspot.com or it won’t count as a valid entry. Thanks, good luck, and enjoy the free books!

OK, to get an entry under method #1, share a link to this blog post on Facebook or Twitter, making sure you use the hashtags “free for #kindle” and "#epickindlegiveaway", as outlined above (this will also become the entry for any bonus Kindles that are given away). Then, leave me a comment below with some info where you posted (link to FB entry or twitter name), along with how to get in touch with you if you win (an email you maintain for contests, link to your google profile, etc). If you share on both, you get two entries (just leave two comments). You can also enter using methods 2-4 to increase your odds of winning.

Free Book - Bound In Sin (K/DF)

Update: 1/20/12 Now free in the Kindle store.

Note - it looks like search is completely down at Amazon, at least via the website. So, sit back and read what you've already downloaded or grab this DRM-free novella to keep you thru the night.

Bound In Sin ($0.99 Kindle), a novella by Cynthia Eden, is free over on AllRomance eBooks.
Book Description
What’s the price of sin?

Human Paige Sloan once loved werewolf Drake Wyler more than life, but then that life was taken away from her. Attacked by vampires, Paige was bitten, and, on a cold, dark night, the life she’d known ended.
She was reborn as a vampire—a werewolf’s deadliest enemy.

Paige ran from the vampires who attacked her, and she ran away from her lover. She didn’t want Drake to know what she’d become, and she didn’t want to face the fury of his pack. But a girl can only run for so long until the past catches up with her.

Some sins mark your soul.

When Paige learns that Drake is being targeted for death, she knows that she can’t hide in the shadows any longer. She has to return to him, and she will do anything—anything—in order to make sure that he keeps living. The vampires might have destroyed her chance to live and love Drake, but they won’t take him. Not over her undead body. She’ll slay them all…and maybe, just maybe…she’ll even have the chance to sin—one more time--with the werewolf who’d marked her as his mate.

Some sins are worth dying for…
Get the free ebook from AllRomance (DRM-free, but must select a format).

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Bargain and Free Book Roundup

These two are now free for US Kindlers:
Today's backlist/indie/small-press free books on Kindle (not likely to be free for long):
Today's theme for bargain books is HarperCollins published titles. Since this is an Agency publisher, you should be able to find the same prices at Barnes & Noble and Kobo or Sony, although for the sake of time, I'm only including Kindle links below. None of these will be eligible for coupons at Kobo, but they are also all priced below a buck, so you can fill up your library without spending much.

Dark Time ($0.99) is the start of the Mortal Path series by Dakota Banks.
Book Description
Three hundred years ago, she sold her soul to a demon. Now she wants it back.

For centuries, the woman calling herself Maliha Crayne has lived a second life—as an assassin for the malevolent creature who owns her soul. A haunted killer with the blood of countless victims on her hands, she has finally discovered a way to nullify the demonic pact that chains her: If she saves a life for every one she has taken, she will be free.

But if she fails, her punishments will be unspeakable, unendurable . . . and neverending.

This Will Change Everything ($0.99), by John Brockman
Book Description
"What game-changing scientific ideas and developments do you expect to live to see?"

This is the question John Brockman, publisher of Edge.org, posed to more than 100 of the world's most influential minds. Exhilarating, visionary, sometimes frightening, but always fascinating, their responses provide an eye-opening road map of our near future.

Vesper ($0.99) is the first title in the young adult Deviants series by Jeff Sampson.
Book Description
Emily Webb is a geek.And she’s happy that way. Content hiding under hoodies and curling up to watch old horror flicks, she’s never been the kind of girl who sneaks out for midnight parties. And she’s definitely not the kind of girl who starts fights or flirts with other girls’ boyfriends.Until one night Emily finds herself doing exactly that . . . the same night one of her classmates—also named Emily—is found mysteriously murdered.

The thing is, Emily doesn’t know why she’s doing any of this. By day, she’s the same old boring Emily, but by night, she turns into a thrill seeker. With every nightfall,Emily gets wilder until it’s no longer just her personality that changes. Her body can do things it never could before: Emily is now strong, fast, and utterly fearless. And soon Emily realizes that she’s not just coming out of her shell . . . there’s something much bigger going on. Is she bewitched by the soul of the other, murdered Emily? Or is Emily Webb becoming something else entirely—something not human?

As Emily hunts for answers, she finds out that she’s not the only one this is happening to—some of her classmates are changing as well. Who is turning these teens into monsters—and how many people will they kill to get what they want?

The Unidentified ($0.99) is Rae Mariz's debut novel with HarperCollins.
Book Description
Fifteen-year-old Katey (aka Kid) goes to school in the Game—a mall converted into a “school” run by corporate sponsors. As the students play their way through the levels, they are also creating products and being used for market research by the sponsors, who are watching them 24/7 on video cameras.

Kid has a vague sense of unease but doesn’t question this existence until one day she witnesses a shocking anti-corporate prank. She follows the clues to uncover the identities of the people behind it and discovers an anonymous group that calls itself the Unidentified. Intrigued by their counterculture ideas and enigmatic leader, Kid is drawn into the group. But when the Unidentified’s pranks and even Kid’s own identity are co-opted by the sponsors, Kid decides to do something bigger—something that could change the Game forever.

This funny, sharp, and thought-provoking novel heralds the arrival of a stunning new voice in teen fiction.

Entwined ($0.99), by Heather Dixon
Book Description
Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.

The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.

Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.

But there is a cost.

The Keeper likes to keep things.

Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

Hereafter ($0.99) is the start of a new series by Tara Hudson
Book Description
Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, Hereafter is a sensation you won't want to miss.

Unearthly ($0.99) is the start of a YA series by Cynthia Hand.
Book Description
In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.

Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.

As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

Unearthly is a moving tale of love and fate, and the struggle between following the rules and following your heart.

Bumped ($0.99) begins a new series by NYT bestselling author Megan McCafferty.
Book Description
When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

Ten Things We Did (and Probably Shouldn't Have) ($0.99), by Sarah Mlynowski
Book Description
2 girls + 3 guys + 1 house – parents = 10 things April and her friends did that they (definitely, maybe, probably) shouldn't have.

If given the opportunity, what sixteen-year-old wouldn't jump at the chance to move in with a friend and live parent-free? Although maybe "opportunity" isn't the right word, since April had to tell her dad a tiny little untruth to make it happen (see #1: "Lied to Our Parents"). But she and her housemate Vi are totally responsible and able to take care of themselves. How they ended up "Skipping School" (#3), "Throwing a Crazy Party" (#8), "Buying a Hot Tub" (#4), and, um, "Harboring a Fugitive" (#7) at all is kind of a mystery to them.

In this hilarious and bittersweet tale, Sarah Mlynowski mines the heart and mind of a girl on her own for the first time. To get through the year, April will have to juggle a love triangle, learn to do her own laundry, and accept that her carefully constructed world just might be falling apart . . . one thing-she-shouldn't-have-done at a time.

Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M.: Audrey Hepburn, Breakfast at Tiffany's, and The Dawn of the Modern Woman ($0.99), by Sam Wasson
Book Description
Audrey Hepburn is an icon like no other, yet the image many of us have of Audrey—dainty, immaculate—is anything but true to life. Here, for the first time, Sam Wasson presents the woman behind the little black dress that rocked the nation in 1961. The first complete account of the making of Breakfast at Tiffany's, Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. reveals little-known facts about the cinema classic: Truman Capote desperately wanted Marilyn Monroe for the leading role; director Blake Edwards filmed multiple endings; Hepburn herself felt very conflicted about balancing the roles of mother and movie star. With a colorful cast of characters including Truman Capote, Edith Head, Givenchy, "Moon River" composer Henry Mancini, and, of course, Hepburn herself, Wasson immerses us in the America of the late fifties before Woodstock and birth control, when a not-so-virginal girl by the name of Holly Golightly raised eyebrows across the country, changing fashion, film, and sex for good. Indeed, cultural touchstones like Sex and the City owe a debt of gratitude to Breakfast at Tiffany's.

In this meticulously researched gem of a book, Wasson delivers us from the penthouses of the Upper East Side to the pools of Beverly Hills, presenting Breakfast at Tiffany's as we have never seen it before—through the eyes of those who made it. Written with delicious prose and considerable wit, Fifth Avenue, 5 A.M. shines new light on a beloved film and its incomparable star.

Withering Tights ($0.99) is the first title in the Misadventures of Tallulah Casey series by Louise Rennison.
Book Description
Wow. This is it. This is me growing up. On my own, going to Performing Arts College. This is good-bye, Tallulah, you long, gangly thing, and hellooooo, Lullah, star of stage.

Tallulah Casey is ready to find her inner artist. And some new mates. And maybe a boy or two or three.

The ticket to achieving these lofty goals? Enrolling in a summer performing arts program, of course. She's bound for the wilds of Yorkshire Dales—eerily similar to the windswept moors of Wuthering Heights. Tallulah expects new friends, less parental interference, and lots of drama. Acting? Tights? Moors? Check, check, check.

What she doesn't expect is feeling like a tiny bat's barging around in her mouth when she has her first snog.

Bestselling author Louise Rennison returns with her trademark wit, a hilarious new cast, and a brand-new cheeky heroine who is poised to discover plenty of opportunities for (mis)adventure!

The Poison Diaries ($0.99) begins the series by Maryrose Wood and The Duchess of Northumberland.
Book Description
In the right dose, everything is a poison. Even love . . .

Jessamine Luxton has lived all her sixteen years in an isolated cottage near Alnwick Castle, with little company apart from the plants in her garden. Her father, Thomas, a feared and respected apothecary, has taught her much about the incredible powers of plants: that even the most innocent-looking weed can cure -- or kill.

When Jessamine begins to fall in love with a mysterious boy who claims to communicate with plants, she is drawn into the dangerous world of the poison garden in a way she never could have imagined . . .

Lucky ($0.99) is the first title in the Avery Sisters Trilogy by Rachel Vail.
Book Description
It's all good . . . and lucky Phoebe Avery plans to celebrate by throwing an end-of-the-year bash with her four closest friends. Everything will be perfect—from the guest list to the fashion photographer to the engraved invitations. The only thing left to do is find the perfect dress . . . until Phoebe goes from having it all to hiding all she's lost.

Phoebe's older sisters warn her to keep the family's crisis totally secret. Unfortunately, her alpha-girl best friend looks increasingly suspicious, and Phoebe's crush starts sending seriously mixed signals. Phoebe tries hard to keep smiling, but when her mother is humiliated in Neiman Marcus while buying Phoebe that perfect dress and her father decides to cancel her party, she panics. How far will she go to keep up her image as a lucky girl?

With lucky, Rachel Vail begins a powerful sisterhood trilogy, comprised of one book for each of the three fascinating Avery sisters, with all their secrets laid bare during the year that completely changes their lives. Phoebe is the youngest; her story combines first love and flip-flops, friendship and sisterhood, humor and tears. Breezy, witty, and poignant, lucky is Rachel Vail at her breathtaking best.

Songs for a Teenage Nomad ($0.99), by Kim Culbertson, was free last May; for those that missed it, this is a good price. It's not from HarperCollins, but from Sourcebooks, but fits the theme today, so I'm including it anyway.
Book Description
What is the soundtrack of your life?

After living in twelve places in eight years, Calle Smith finds herself in Andreas Bay, California, at the start of ninth grade. Another new home, another new school...Calle knows better than to put down roots. Her song journal keeps her moving to her own soundtrack, bouncing through a world best kept at a distance.

Yet before she knows it, friends creep in-as does an unlikely boy with a secret. Calle is torn over what may be her first chance at love. With all that she's hiding and all that she wants, can she find something lasting beyond music? And will she ever discover why she and her mother have been running in the first place?

The House on Fortune Street ($0.99), by Margot Livesey
Book Description
It seems like mutual good luck for Abigail Taylor and Dara MacLeod when they meet at university and, despite their differences, become fast friends. Years later they remain inseparable: Abigail, the actress, allegedly immune to romance, and Dara, a therapist, throwing herself into relationships with frightening intensity. Now both believe they've found "true love." But luck seems to run out when Dara moves into Abigail's downstairs apartment. Suddenly both their friendship and their relationships are in peril, for tragedy is waiting to strike the house on Fortune Street.

Told through four ingeniously interlocking narratives, Margot Livesey's The House on Fortune Street is a provocative tale of lives shaped equally by chance and choice.

Bad Monkeys ($0.99), by Matt Ruff
Book Description
Jane Charlotte has been arrested for murder.

She tells police that she is a member of a secret organization devoted to fighting evil; her division is called the Department for the Final Disposition of Irredeemable Persons—"Bad Monkeys" for short.

This confession earns Jane a trip to the jail's psychiatric wing, where a doctor attempts to determine whether she is lying, crazy—or playing a different game altogether. What follows is one of the most clever and gripping novels you'll ever read.

Air Battle Force ($0.99) is the eleventh in the Patrick McLanahan series by Dale Brown. Not to be confused with Dan Brown or Don Brown, Dale writes military technothrillers.
Book Description
In military circles it's known as Air Battle Force -- an air combat unit of the future, under the command of aerialwarfare expert Major General Patrick McLanahan,capable of launching stealthy, precision-guidedfirepower to anywhere on the globe within hours. And now McLanahan and his warriors have their first target.

Driven from Afghanistan, the parasitic forces of the deposed Taliban regime have decided to feed on a new host -- an isolated, oil-rich Central Asian neighbor that's ripe for the conquering. The battle for control of the world's largest oil deposits has begun, with unsteady alliances forming and opposing forces set to collide. And now a handful of American commandos half a world away, aided by McLanahan's unproven robotic warplanes, will have to triumph against overwhelming numbers in a war that nobody -- including "friendly" forces at home -- wants them to win.

Some that I've mentioned previously are also still at 99 cents - I'm just listing them quickly, for those that are new readers:

Today's Deals

Additional formats on these free books are now available:
Today is the last day to take advantage of this KSO deal:

For today's Kindle Daily Deal, you can Save up to 80% on More Than 500 Kindle Books for Students, including such deals as a number of Merriam-Webster Dictionaries starting at $1.59 and some interesting looking titles on writing (Business Writing $2.99 to Student's Guide to Writing College Papers $1.59 to Academic Writing $2.39 to Getting Published $2.39). Be sure tpo click on each category (and look for page numbers in each one), in order to find all the deals. Although the books are geared towards students, it doesn't matter if you're a student or have a child in school or just want to pursue learning on your own -- I don't see any restrictions on the deal that depend on whether Amazon thinks you are a student. There are a number of books that are still in the $10-$15 range, but these are books that have digital list prices of $50 and more (several are textbooks in the Computer Science or Digital Imaging fields that I saw). There are already a couple of the selections that are marked as unavailable, no doubt pulled from the store after Amazon started setting up the deal; I wouldn't be surprised if one or two more disappear before the end of the day.


The AmazonEncore edition of MetaGame ($1.53 / £0.99 UK), by Sam Landstrom, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $3.99).
Book Description
Speculative science fiction at its finest, MetaGame by Sam Landstrom is a ‘future gamers’ field guide and a philosophical cyberpunk adventure. In this original and disturbingly irreverent prospective world, gaming is more than a diversion—and gamers are, literally, in it for life. The OverSoul, an enigmatic, unifying force, offers winners points that add up to currency. Reigning champs are given the gift of immortality—while losers are condemned to aging and death. D_Light is one of the best players in his Family and will do anything to win, even if it means committing murder. When he’s invited to a MetaGame—an exclusive, high-stakes competition—he jumps at the chance. But after the first quest, D_Light’s overly ambitious ways brand him a renegade. With a warped sense of freewill that is needed to prevail, D_Light must either kill someone he’s grown to love—or lose everything.

Zoo Station (John Russell Series #1) ($8.99 $3.19 Kindle, $3.60 B&N), by David Downing, is the Nook Daily Find; it's likely to be price matched on Kindle by morning.
Book Description
By 1939, Anglo-American journalist John Russell has spent over a decade in Berlin, where his son lives with his mother. He writes human-interest pieces for British and American papers, avoiding the investigative journalism that could get him deported. But as World War II approaches, he faces having to leave his son as well as his girlfriend of several years, a beautiful German starlet.

When an acquaintance from his old communist days approaches him to do some work for the Soviets, Russell is reluctant, but he is unable to resist the offer. He becomes involved in other dangerous activities, helping a Jewish family and a determined young American reporter. When the British and the Nazis notice his involvement with the Soviets, Russell is dragged into the murky world of warring intelligence services.

Free Book - Songs of Three Islands (K-UK)

Songs of Three Islands: A Story of Mental Illness in an Iconic American Family (Main/UK), a memoir by Millicent Monks, is free for UK customers in the Kindle store. It won't likely be free for US customers, as this edition is currently geographically restricted; there is a US edition at $9.99, with a different publisher.
Book Description
Millicent Monks was born into one of the most famous families in America; her great-grandfather was the brother of Andrew Carnegie.
Their fabled wealth enabled them to amass great houses and even private islands, but it was a dynasty torn apart by a succession of tragedies: suicide, alcoholism, and extremities of mental illness were passed on from generation to generation.

For the women in the family, the consequences of this legacy have been painful. After a difficult childhood, the author’s daughter was diagnosed at the age of eighteen with what is now known as borderline personality disorder, a debilitating mental illness that was for the parents—in the words of the novelist Sebastian Faulks—"a public shame as well as private devastation." Like all mothers of children afflicted with this condition, Monks suffered from guilt and self-recrimination as she struggled to heal a disease that had no cause but for which she was held responsible.

In the end, through the intervention of a wise Jungian therapist, meditation, and—most important of all—acceptance, the author achieves a self-insight that enables her and her daughter to arrive at a delicate peace. Songs of Three Islands powerfully demonstrates that we are not defined by our inheritance alone.

Free Book - Blown Away (K/N)

Update: 1/10/12 Now free in the US Kindle store.

Blown Away (US/UK), by Shane Gericke, is free for UK customers in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble. It will likely be free for US Kindle customers by morning.
Book Description
A serial killer is playing a deadly game.
There are no rules except one:
The killer always wins.
The loser always dies.

Since joining the force, rookie cop Emily Thompson has had one ambition: to work homicide. Now she's got her chance. A twisted sociopath is turning her safe Chicago suburb into a brutal killing field, and every single one of his grisly clues leads directly to Emily. In 72 hours, on her fortieth birthday, he intends to make her his greatest trophy. If she doesn't stop him before then, Emily's first case will be her last.
Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - On Thin Ice (K)

Update: 1/10/12 Now free in the US Kindle store.

On Thin Ice (US/UK), by Eve Gaddy , is free for UK customers in the Kindle store. It will likely be free for US customers by morning.
Book Description
His voice promised midnight sin and passion.

Attorney Gabrielle Rousseau lives her life by simple rules: Never let a man stand in the way of your ambition and never drop expensive lingerie at the feet of a charming Texas rogue. As sinfully gorgeous Devlin Sinclair helps her retrieve her most intimate purchases, Gabrielle knows she’s in trouble. His suggestive smile and dark smoldering gaze leave no doubt that he’d be happy to deliver on her long-resisted fantasies. None of which she can afford to indulge. Not now. Not with him.

Devlin Sinclair is an attorney with ambition to match her own, and the new obstacle in her path to partner. Avoiding him is not an option, but sharing a case—at the insistence of her boss—is flirting with danger. Devlin makes her forget everything except the feel of his hands on her.

Devlin knows the lady doesn’t believe in forever, but he’s never walked away from anything he’s wanted. He’s determined to share the pain that shadows her and find a way to teach her that what they have is forever.

ON THIN ICE is sensual, sultry romance at its best—as only Eve Gaddy can deliver.

Free Book - Don't Know Much About Mythology (K/N/I/E)

Update: 1/10/12 Now free from Barnes & Noble, iTunes and Sony.

Don't Know Much About Mythology, by Kenneth C. Davis, is free in the Kindle store.
Book Description
The latest installment in the New York Times bestselling Don't Know Much About® series -- a magical journey into the timeless world of mythologyIt has been fifteen years since Kenneth C. Davis first dazzled audiences with his instant classic Don't Know Much About® History, vividly bringing the past to life and proving that Americans don't hate history, they just hate the dull, textbook version they were fed in school.

With humor, wit, and a knack for storytelling, Davis has been bringing readers of all ages up to speed on history, geography, and science ever since. Now, in the classic traditions of Edith Hamilton and Joseph Campbell, he turns his talents to the world of myth.Where do we come from? Why do stars shine and the seasons change? What is evil? Since the beginning of time, people have answered such questions by crafting imaginative stories that have served as religion, science, philosophy, and popular literature. In his irreverent and popular question-and-answer style, Davis introduces and explains the great myths of the world, as well as the works of literature that have made them famous. In a single volume, he tackles Mesopotamia's Gilgamesh, the first hero in world mythology; Achilles and the Trojan War; Stonehenge and the Druids; Thor, the Nordic god of thunder; Chinese oracle bones; the use of peyote in ancient Native American rites; and the dramatic life and times of the man who would be Buddha.

Ever familiar and instructive, Davis shows why the ancient tales of gods and heroes -- from Mount Olympus to Machu Picchu, from ancient Rome to the icy land of the Norse -- continue to speak to us today, in our movies, art, language, and music. For mythology novices and buffs alike, and for anyone who loves a good story, Don't Know Much About® Mythology is a lively and insightful look into the greatest stories ever told.
Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from iTunes.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Monday, January 9, 2012

Save $10 at Soap.com (KSO)

This offer is only for those with a Kindle with Special Offers:

Save $10 on a $20 grocery purchase at Soap.com

Click on offer, then click on the link on the offer page to receive an email with the promo code. Sign-up for this offer expires on January 11.

You'll get an email (right away), a link to the Special Offer page and a promotion code to enter at checkout. Once you have the promotional code, you have until February 11, 2012 to complete your purchase. Like previous offers, this one requires you to use the full checkout process in order to enter your promotional code. Also, like all Amazon sales that use promotional codes, if you have a gift card balance, you must use it for the payment (if there is not a sufficient balance, then you can pick which credit card or other payment to use).

Limit one offer per customer and per device.

Soap.com is a subsidiary of Amazon (and it even talks about Amazon on the offer page); I found many of the same items that I buy routinely from Amazon, so I'm sure I'll find at least one or two items I can get to add up to $20 (and then get half off), although I didn't see anything similar to the Subscribe & Save offers that I take advantage of at Amazon.