Today's Deals

BooksonBoard is running a sale for all non-Agency titles; those published in 2012 are 40% off (including rewards dollars) and anything pre-2012 is 50%. On their site you call tell the Agency titles by the presence of a red diamond next to the price. Last I checked they were giving discounts on HarperCollins titles, but no reward dollars, but the other Agency publishers had not yet complied with the court-ordered dissolution of their Agency contracts (there or anywhere else).

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is the Wool Omnibus Edition ($1.99), by Hugh Howey. Although you can still get the first volume, Wool, for free, even at indie author prices it will cost you more to finish out this well-reviewed series when buying the individual titles. Lengthwise, the omnibus is estimated to cover 550 pages in print, so about a 2-novel equivalent in today's market for the genre.

Book Description
This Omnibus Edition collects the five Wool books into a single volume. It is for those who arrived late to the party and who wish to save a dollar or two while picking up the same stories in a single package.

The first Wool story was released as a standalone short in July of 2011. Due to reviewer demand, the rest of the story was released over the next six months. My thanks go out to those reviewers who clamored for more. Without you, none of this would exist. Your demand created this as much as I did.

This is the story of mankind clawing for survival, of mankind on the edge. The world outside has grown unkind, the view of it limited, talk of it forbidden. But there are always those who hope, who dream. These are the dangerous people, the residents who infect others with their optimism. Their punishment is simple. They are given the very thing they profess to want: They are allowed outside.

Rough Weather: A Spenser Novel ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), the 36th novel in the Spencer series by Robert B. Parker, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.99).

Book Description
Heidi Bradshaw is wealthy, beautiful, and well-connected. She's also a notorious gold digger only recently separated from her latest husband – and she's hired Spenser to act as her stand-in spouse.

The Boston P.I. is to accompany Heidi to her private island to attend her daughter's wedding. It should be a straightforward job, but when his old nemesis Rugar – the Gray Man – arrives, Spenser realizes that something is amiss. As a storm strikes, cutting off the island, a kidnapping and a series of murders turn celebrations into chaos.

With six dead bodies and more questions than he can handle, Spenser begins a search for answers – and the Gray Man.

Star Wars: Darth Vader and the Lost Command ($13.91 Hardcover, $2.99 B&N), by Haden Blackman, is the Nook Daily Find, in celebration of Star Wars Read Day. A graphic novel from Dark Horse Comics, there is no Kindle edition.

Book Description
Still haunted by the death of Anakin Skywalker''s beloved Padme in Revenge of the Sith, Darth Vader is tasked with a mission to locate a lost Imperial expeditionary force-led by the son of Vader''s rising nemesis, Moff Tarkin. But the perils of Vader''s journey into the unexplored Ghost Nebula are compounded by traitors among his crew and the presence of the system''s religious leader, the beautiful and mysterious Lady Saro.

The American Spring: What We Talk About When We Talk About Revolution ($7.99 Kindle, $5.99 B&N), by Amelia Stein, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012.

Book Description
Since the eviction of Occupy Wall Street protestors from encampments in many cities throughout the world, smaller and more targeted occupations have continued. Workers in a Chicago factory occupied–with the support of their union–to protest layoffs. Teachers and students in Tucson staged a walkout to protest the removal of Chicano history books from the curriculum. Home foreclosures were disrupted, even avoided, by direct community action. But what does it all mean? What do we talk about when we talk about ‘revolution,’ if we talk about it at all? Journalist Amelia Stein sat down with some of our most prominent thinkers, artists, and activists and asked them. The resulting conversations were lively, thoughtful, and engaging. This is the perfect handbook for anyone looking to engage more deeply with our own, ongoing, American Spring.

Today's Kindle Young Readers Daily Deal is Five Mary Downing Hahn Ghost Stories for $1.99 each.

The Doll in the Garden

When Ashley discovers a turn-of-the-century doll it is just the first of several puzzling events that lead her through the hedge and into a twilight past where she meets Louise, an ailing child whose beloved doll has mysteriously disappeared.

Grade Level: 1 and up

Wait Till Helen Comes

Since its publication in 1986, the deliciously frightening novel Wait Till Helen Comes: A Ghost Story has not only haunted countless readers, it has also won 11 state book awards. The spine-chilling tale begins when 12-year-old Molly and her 10-year-old brother Michael learn they’ll be moving to a refurbished old church in rural Maryland with their mother’s new husband Dave and their younger stepsister Heather. Heather is an insufferable brat, but that turns out to be the least of the family’s worries. When she strikes up a friendship with Helen, the malevolent ghost of a seven-year-old girl who died in a mysterious fire more than 100 years ago, things really heat up… and Heather’s unsettling threat "Wait till Helen comes" becomes a grim reality.

Grade Level: 3 and up

The Old Willis Place

Diana and her little brother Georgie have been living in the woods behind the old Willis place, a decaying Victorian mansion, for what already seems like forever. They aren’t allowed to leave the property or show themselves to anyone. But when a new caretaker comes to live there with his young daughter, Lissa, Diana is tempted to break the mysterious rules they live by and reveal herself so she can finally have a friend. Somehow, Diana must get Lissa’s help if she and Georgie ever hope to release themselves from the secret that has bound them to the old Willis place for so long.
Mary Downing Hahn has written a chilling ghost story in the tradition of her most successful spine-tingling novels. The intriguing characters, frightening secrets, and plot twists will delight her many fans.

Grade Level: 4 and up

Deep and Dark and Dangerous

A chilling supernatural tale!

Just before summer begins, thirteen-year-old Ali finds an old photograph. She recognizes the two children. One’s her mother, the other her aunt Dulcie…but who is the third person, the one who’s been torn out of the picture? Ali will have all summer to figure it out, since she’s spending the summer with her aunt and her cousin in the same house her mom and aunt used to visit when they were kids.

Then Ali meets Sissy. Sissy is mean, spiteful, and determined to ruin Ali’s summer. Sissy also has a secret. Could it have something to do with the old photo? Ali is dying to find out, and if she’s not careful, that’s exactly what might happen to her.

Grade Level: 4 and up

All the Lovely Bad Ones

Travis and his sister, Corey, can’t resist a good trick—so when they learn that their grandmother’s sleepy Vermont inn has a history of ghost sightings, they decide to do a little “haunting” of their own. Scaring the guests proves to be great fun, and before long, the inn is filled with tourists and ghost hunters eager for a glimpse of the supernatural.

But Travis and Corey soon find out that they aren’t the only ghosts at Fox Hill Inn. Their thoughtless games have awakened something dangerous, something that should have stayed asleep. Restless, spiteful spirits swarm the inn, while a dark and terrifying presence stalks the halls and the old oak grove on the inn’s grounds. To lay the ghosts to rest, Travis and Corey must first discover the dark history of Fox Hill and the horrors visited on its inhabitants years earlier.

Grade Level: 4 and up

Today's Deals

Sony has a special offer going this month, for those who buy 6 or more ebooks in their store and who opt in for their newsletter before the end of the month, they'll give you a promotion code for a free book (from a limited selection) in the newsletter next month. There are a few interesting titles in the mix and you don't have to buy high priced book (but free books are excluded, of course). It's not a huge incentive, but a decent reward if you already buy in the Sony store.

If you have little ones and a Kindle Fire or other Android device, don't miss today's free Android App, Alphabet Car, an alphabet and spelling game.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City ($1.99), by Nelson Johnson and Terence Winter.

Book Description
Providing the inspiration and source material for the upcoming HBO series produced by Academy Award–winning director Martin Scorsese and Emmy Award–winning screenwriter Terence Winter, this riveting and wide-reaching history explores the sordid past of Atlantic City—forever a freewheeling town long-dedicated to the fast buck—from the city's heyday as a Prohibition-era mecca of lawlessness to its rebirth as a legitimate casino resort in the modern era. A colorful cast of powerful characters, led by “Commodore” Kuehnle and “Nucky” Johnson, populates this stranger-than-fiction account of corrupt politics and the toxic power structure that grew out of guile, finesse, and extortion. Atlantic City's shadowy past—through its rise, fall, and rebirth—is given new light in this revealing, and often appalling, study of legislative abuse and organized crime.

Fracture ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), by Megan Miranda, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $8.54).

Book Description
By the time seventeen-year-old Delaney Maxwell is pulled out of the icy waters of a frozen lake, her heart has stopped beating. She is in a coma and officially dead. But Delaney pulls through. How? Doctors are mystified. Outwardly she has completely recovered. But Delaney knows something is very wrong. Pulled by sensations she can't control, she finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her brain predicting death or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who lost his whole family in a car accident and emerged from a coma with the same powers as Delaney. At last she's found a kindred spirit who'll understand what she's going through. But Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature - or something much more frightening?

Death of a Kitchen Diva ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), the first novel in the Hayley Powell Food and Cocktails Mystery series by Lee Hollis, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Welcome to Bar Harbor, Maine, one of New England's most idyllic coastal towns. But as new food writer Hayley Powell is about to find out, the occasional murder can take a bite out of seaside bliss. . .

Single mom Hayley Powell is barely keeping her leaking roof over her head when her boss at the Island Times gives her a new assignment--taking over the paper's food column. Hayley's not sure she has the chops--she's an office manager, not a writer, even if her friends clamor for her mouth-watering potluck dishes. But the extra income is tempting, and Hayley's chatty first column is suddenly on everyone's menu--with one exception.

When rival food writer Karen Appelbaum is found face-down dead in a bowl of Hayley's creamy clam chowder, all signs point to Hayley. To clear her name, she'll have to enlist some help, including her BFFs, a perpetually pregnant lobster woman, and a glamorous real estate agent. As she whips up a list of suspects, Hayley discovers a juicy secret about the victim--and finds herself in a dangerous mix with a cold-blooded killer.

Includes seven delectable recipes from Hayley's kitchen!

The Affluent Society ($9.39 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by John Kenneth Galbraith, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012.

Book Description
Galbraith's classic on the "economics of abundance" is, in the words of the New York Times, "a compelling challenge to conventional thought." With customary clarity, eloquence, and humor, Galbraith cuts to the heart of what economic security means (and doesn't mean) in today's world and lays bare the hazards of individual and societal complacence about economic inequity. While "affluent society" and "conventional wisdom" (first used in this book) have entered the vernacular, the message of the book has not been so widely embraced--reason enough to rediscover The Affluent Society.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Hush Little Baby ($1.99), by Sylvia Long. There are two editions and this is the older one, which should work on all Kindles, although it is optimized for larger screens; the second and much newer edition is for Kindle Fire and selected apps only.

Book Description
Bedtime is a special ritual for parents and children. Lullabies often play an important role. This best-selling version of the beloved lullaby Hush Little Baby is now available in a sturdy board book making it perfect for sharing with the youngest children.

Grade Level: P and up

Today's Deals

Over at Kobo, it looks like WANTEDMAN30 is working for most titles, not just the Jack Reacher title (although it may only work for some regions, still).

Tantor Media has a number of romances in their current $6.99 download sale, along with a nice selection of SciFi, Thrillers and even some non-fiction, for those that enjoy listening to audiobooks.

For those in the UK, Amazon has a Grisly Reads for under £2 sale to get you ready for Halloween. Choose your fright from gritty, scary or horrid on the Grisly Meter.

Today is the last day to take advantage of this KSO deal:

• Get a Select Kindle Book for $1

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is For the King's Favor ($1.99), the third title in the William Marshal historical fiction series by Elizabeth Chadwick, which was also released under the title "The Time of Singing" in other markets. This was briefly free for part of one day in early 2011, apparently as part of a pricing error. If you missed it then, this is a good price to pick it up, as her books aren't often on sale and seldom at a lower price.

Book Description
A Bittersweet Tale of Love, Loss, and the Power of Royalty

When Roger Bigod arrives at King Henry II's court to settle a bitter inheritance dispute, he becomes enchanted with Ida de Tosney, young mistress to the powerful king. A victim of Henry's seduction and the mother of his son, Ida sees in Roger a chance to begin a new life. But Ida pays an agonizing price when she leaves the king, and as Roger's importance grows and he gains an earldom, their marriage comes under increasing strain. Based on the true story of a royal mistress and the young lord she chose to marry, For the King's Favor is Elizabeth Chadwick at her best.

In the Land of the Long White Cloud ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), by Sarah Lark and D.W. Lovett (Translator), is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $3.99/KLL eligible). This selection is also historical fiction, but in a completely different setting; it's an Amazon exclusive translation from their AmazonCrossing imprint.

Book Description
Helen Davenport, governess for a wealthy London household, longs for a family of her own—but nearing her late twenties, she knows her prospects are dim. Then she spots an advertisement seeking young women to marry New Zealand’s honorable bachelors and begins an affectionate correspondence with a gentleman farmer. When her church offers to pay her travels under an unusual arrangement, she jumps at the opportunity.

Meanwhile, not far away in Wales, beautiful and daring Gwyneira Silkham, daughter of a wealthy sheep breeder, is bored with high society. But when a mysterious New Zealand baron deals her father an unlucky blackjack hand, Gwyn’s hand in marriage is suddenly on the table. Her family is outraged, but Gwyn is thrilled to escape the life laid out for her.

The two women meet on the ship to Christchurch—Helen traveling in steerage, Gwyn first class—and become unlikely friends. When their new husbands turn out to be very different than expected, the women must help one another find the life—and love—they’d hoped for.

Set against the backdrop of colonial nineteenth-century New Zealand, In the Land of the Long White Cloud is a soaring saga of friendship, romance, and unforgettable adventure.

The General: Charles de Gaulle and the France He Saved ($4.99 Kindle, B&N), by Jonathan Fenby, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. Rather than historical fiction, B&N has chosen actual history for their selection today. It's a bit more than their usual choices, but the list price on this one is $33. If you have a history buff on your shopping list, don't forget that you can set it up as a gift and have it delivered at the time of your choosing.

Book Description
No leader of modern times was more uniquely patriotic than Charles de Gaulle. As founder and first president of the Fifth Republic, General de Gaulle saw himself as “carrying France on [his] shoulders.” In his twenties, he fought for France in the trenches and at the epic battle of Verdun. In the 1930s, he waged a lonely battle to enable France to better resist Hitler’s Germany. Thereafter, he twice rescued the nation from defeat and decline by extraordinary displays of leadership, political acumen, daring, and bluff, heading off civil war and leaving a heritage adopted by his successors of right and left. Le Général, as he became known from 1940 on, appeared as if he was carved from a single monumental block, but was in fact extremely complex, a man with deep personal feelings and recurrent mood swings, devoted to his family and often seeking reassurance from those around him. This is a magisterial, sweeping biography of one of the great leaders of the twentieth century and of the country with which he so identified himself. Written with terrific verve, narrative skill, and rigorous detail, the first major work on de Gaulle in fifteen years brings alive as never before the private man as well as the public leader through exhaustive research and analysis.

Lincoln and Douglas: The Debates That Defined America ($13.99 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), by Allen C. Guelzo, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012. This has a publisher set price from Simon and Schuster, so it may be price matched on Kindle later today (and probably should be already).

Book Description
In 1858, Abraham Lincoln was known as a successful Illinois lawyer who had achieved some prominence in state politics as a leader in the new Republican Party. Two years later, he was elected president and was on his way to becoming the greatest chief executive in American history.

What carried this one-term congressman from obscurity to fame was the campaign he mounted for the United States Senate against the country's most formidable politician, Stephen A. Douglas, in the summer and fall of 1858. Lincoln challenged Douglas directly in one of his greatest speeches -- "A house divided against itself cannot stand" -- and confronted Douglas on the questions of slavery and the inviolability of the Union in seven fierce debates. As this brilliant narrative by the prize-winning Lincoln scholar Allen Guelzo dramatizes, Lincoln would emerge a predominant national figure, the leader of his party, the man who would bear the burden of the national confrontation.

Of course, the great issue between Lincoln and Douglas was slavery. Douglas was the champion of "popular sovereignty," of letting states and territories decide for themselves whether to legalize slavery. Lincoln drew a moral line, arguing that slavery was a violation both of natural law and of the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence. No majority could ever make slavery right, he argued.

Lincoln lost that Senate race to Douglas, though he came close to toppling the "Little Giant," whom almost everyone thought was unbeatable. Guelzo's Lincoln and Douglas brings alive their debates and this whole year of campaigns and underscores their centrality in the greatest conflict in American history.

The encounters between Lincoln and Douglas engage a key question in American political life: What is democracy's purpose? Is it to satisfy the desires of the majority? Or is it to achieve a just and moral public order? These were the real questions in 1858 that led to the Civil War. They remain questions for Americans today.

I highly recommend today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal, Ashfall ($1.99), by Mike Mullin. Even if this title is "supposed to be" for younger teens, due to the age of the main character, it is really better suited for an older audience, in some ways, which is reflected in the description of the sequel. I received a review copy of this title and the sequel and stayed up all night reading them straight thru. The timing of the sale is pretty good, too, as Ashen Winter will be released in five days. There are only a very few bad reviews on this one (one hated the writing and that it wasn't Christian Fiction, one objected to the sexual content and violence), with the majority at 4 and 5 stars. Most parents will probably want to read this first for less mature teens (like in SM Stirling's Emberverse series, people trying to survive do awful things), but most should be able to relate well (and have been exposed to the baser nature of man via the news and internet).

Book Description
Many visitors to Yellowstone National Park don’t realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying geysers are caused by an underlying supervolcano, so large that the caldera can only be seen by plane or satellite. And by some scientific measurements, it could be overdue for an eruption.

For Alex, being left alone for the weekend means having the freedom to play computer games and hang out with his friends without hassle from his mother. Then the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts, plunging his hometown into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence. Alex begins a harrowing trek to seach for his family and finds help in Darla, a travel partner he meets along the way. Together they must find the strength and skills to survive and outlast an epic disaster.

Grade Level: 6 and up

Kindle Lightning Deals

Starting at 5PM Eastern/2PM Pacific, Amazon will be having a different Kindle accessory (and one for the iPad) in the Lightning Deals every hour. There are clues as to which ones we'll see, but not the prices. If they are popular, or there aren't many available at the sale price, count on these selling out just after the hour changes each hour.

• 5PM/2PM - Reduce glare, fingerprints, and smudges on your Kindle Fire (not compatible with HD models)
• 6PM/3PM - Give your Kindle, Paperwhite, or Touch some international flare with this popular case from Verso
• 7PM/4PM - Save on a great Belkin standing case for your Kindle Fire HD 7"
• 8PM/5PM - Save on a genuine leather case for your Kindle Fire (not for HD)
• 9PM/6PM - Great deal on highly reviewed iPad stand - great for gifting!

Today's Deals

Edit to add: Sorry for the earlier partial Post. My computer is acting up and not all my edits were saved when I clicked to publish.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Breakdown ($1.99), by Katherine Amt Hanna. This is a genre I read more than most, so I'll definitely be checking out the sample on this one.

Book Description
An influenza plague decimates humanity...

A man loses his wife and baby daughter...

Six years after a pandemic devastates the human population, former rock star Chris Price finally makes it from New York to Britain to reunite with his brother. His passage leaves him scarred, in body and mind, by exposure to humankind at its most desperate and dangerous. But another ordeal awaits him beyond the urban ruins, in an idyllic country refuge where Chris meets a woman, Pauline, who is largely untouched by the world’s horrors. Together, Chris and Pauline undertake the most difficult facet of Chris’s journey: confronting grief, violence, and the man Chris has become. They will discover whether the human spirit is capable of surviving and loving again in this darker, harder world.

The Real Mad Men: The Remarkable True Story Of Madison Avenue's Golden Age, When a Handful Of Renegades Changed Advertising For Ever ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), by Andrew Cracknell, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $11.06).

Book Description
In New York City in the late 1950s and the 1960s - the era and location of TV's Mad Men - advertising went through a revolution. In a booming market, a punchy and proud new workforce of younger, multi-ethnic writers and art directors gorged themselves on a vibrant and artistic social scene. In many ways they were similar to Don Draper, Roger Sterling and Peggy Olsen: confident, driven and ambitious, they lived the three-martini life and worked the machine to their advantage. Also clever, creative and streetwise, they outclassed and out-thought the old advertising establishment, implementing a new way of thinking and behaving which spread across the newspapers, magazines and TV screens of America and beyond. The story of modern advertising starts here, with these real Mad Men - and women - of Madison Avenue who created the most radical and influential advertising ever, transforming the methods, practice and execution of the business. Their legacy still resounds in the industry today. How did this golden age of advertising happen? It is a remarkable, inspiring story of creativity, ingenuity and larger than life personalities who made it up as they went along.

Scarpetta ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), the sixteenth novel in the Kay Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. The latest in the series, The Bone Bed, can now be pre-ordered and will be delivered Oct 16.

Book Description
Leaving behind her private forensic pathology practice in Charleston, South Carolina, Kay Scarpetta accepts an assignment in New York City, where the NYPD has asked her to examine an injured man on Bellevue Hospital’s psychiatric prison ward. The handcuffed and chained patient, Oscar Bane, has specifically asked for her, and when she literally has her gloved hands on him, he begins to talk—and the story he has to tell turns out to be one of the most bizarre she has ever heard.

The injuries, he says, were sustained in the course of a murder . . . that he did not commit. Is Bane a criminally insane stalker who has fixed on Scarpetta? Or is his paranoid tale true, and it is he who is being spied on, followed and stalked by the actual killer? The one thing Scarpetta knows for certain is that a woman has been tortured and murdered—and more violent deaths will follow. Gradually, an inexplicable and horrifying truth emerges: Whoever is committing the crimes knows where his prey is at all times. Is it a person, a government? And what is the connection between the victims?

In the days that follow, Scarpetta; her forensic psychologist husband, Benton Wesley; and her niece, Lucy, who has recently formed her own forensic computer investigation firm in New York, will undertake a harrowing chase through cyberspace and the all-too-real streets of the city—an odyssey that will take them at once to places they never knew, and much, much too close to home.

Throughout, Cornwell delivers shocking twists and turns, and the kind of cutting-edge technology that only she can provide. Once again, she proves her exceptional ability to entertain and enthrall.

End This Depression Now! ($3.99 Kindle, B&N), by Paul Krugman, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
A call-to-arms from Nobel Prize–winning economist and best-selling author Paul Krugman.
The Great Recession is more than four years old—and counting. Yet, as Paul Krugman points out in this powerful volley, "Nations rich in resources, talent, and knowledge—all the ingredients for prosperity and a decent standard of living for all—remain in a state of intense pain."

How bad have things gotten? How did we get stuck in what now can only be called a depression? And above all, how do we free ourselves? Krugman pursues these questions with his characteristic lucidity and insight. He has a powerful message for anyone who has suffered over these past four years—a quick, strong recovery is just one step away, if our leaders can find the "intellectual clarity and political will" to end this depression now.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Sheep in a Jeep ($1.99), by Nancy E. Shaw and Margot Apple (Illustrator).

Book Description
A flock of hapless sheep drive through the country in this rhyming picture book.

Grade Level: K and up

Bargain Book Roundup

Newly published On The Train ($0.99), a short story collection by Rachel Turtledove, Harry Turtledove and Mike Resnick (Editor), is on sale as an intro special (but only for one more day).

Book Description
Is travelling on The Train a means to an end…a way to complete one’s journey…or is The Train the destination itself, rolling endlessly through realms both magical and mechanical?

And what of Javan, the lad from Pingaspor, whose third-class ticket entitles him to a spot on a hard bench? He has given up everything he had for that cherished spot. But where, exactly, is he headed?

Javan’s story is followed by the tale of nanny Eli, hired by Baroness Vasri to take care of her son and daughter as they travel on The Train in first class. But the Baroness’ agenda may run contrary to that of those running The Train...and what will become of the children?

Cold Vengeance ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), the eleventh and newest in the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, is marked down

Book Description
Devastated by the discovery that his wife, Helen, was murdered, Special Agent Pendergast must have retribution. But revenge is not simple. As he stalks his wife's betrayers-a chase that takes him from the wild moors of Scotland to the bustling streets of New York City and the darkest bayous of Louisiana-he is also forced to dig further into Helen's past. And he is stunned to learn that Helen may have been a collaborator in her own murder.

Peeling back the layers of deception, Pendergast realizes that the conspiracy is deeper, goes back generations, and is more monstrous than he could have ever imagined-and everything he's believed, everything he's trusted, everything he's understood . . . may be a horrific lie.

COLD VENGEANCE

Nothing is what it seems.

Two Graves ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), the twelfth in the Pendergast series by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, is now available to pre-order. This is either a very short time promo price or a pricing error, I suspect, as there is also a free "sample" edition at Amazon and a short story in the series, Extraction, which is priced at $1.99.

Book Description
After his wife, Helen, is brazenly abducted before his eyes, Special Agent Pendergast furiously pursues the kidnappers, chasing them across the country and into Mexico. But then, things go terribly, tragically wrong; the kidnappers escape; and a shattered Pendergast retreats to his New York apartment and shuts out the world.

But when a string of bizarre murders erupts across several Manhattan hotels--perpetrated by a boy who seems to have an almost psychic ability to elude capture--NYPD Lieutenant D'Agosta asks his friend Pendergast for help. Reluctant at first, Pendergast soon discovers that the killings are a message from his wife's kidnappers. But why a message? And what does it mean?
When the kidnappers strike again at those closest to Pendergast, the FBI agent, filled anew with vengeful fury, sets out to track down and destroy those responsible. His journey takes him deep into the trackless forests of South America, where he ultimately finds himself face to face with an old evil that-rather than having been eradicated-is stirring anew... and with potentially world-altering consequences.

Confucius once said: "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, first dig two graves." Pendergast is about to learn the hard way just how true those words still ring.

Trunk Music ($2.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), the fifth Harry Bosch novel by Michael Connelly, who also has a new short story collection, Mulholland Dive, out for the series.

Book Description
Back on the job after an involuntary leave of absence, LAPD homicide detective Harry Bosch is ready for a challenge. But his first case is a little more than he bargained for.

It starts with the body of a Hollywood producer in the trunk of a Rolls-Royce, shot twice in the head at close range - what looks like "trunk music," a Mafia hit. But the LAPD's organized crime unit is curiously uninterested, and when Harry follows a trail of gambling debts to Las Vegas, the case suddenly becomes more complex - and much more personal.

A rekindled romance with an old girlfriend opens new perspectives on the murder, and he begins to glimpse a shocking triangle of corruption and collusion. Yanked off the case, Harry himself is soon the one being investigated. But only a bullet can stop Harry when he's searching for the truth . . .

I read Feed ($1.99 Kindle, B&N, Kobo), the first title in the Newsflesh Trilogy by Mira Grant, as part of the Hugo nominees for 2011; I immediately had to go buy Deadline (sure, I could have waited a year - it made the Hugo nominee list for 2012) and put Blackout on my "watch for" list ... and now I see it is available!

Book Description
The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beat the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED.

NOW, twenty years after the Rising, Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives-the dark conspiracy behind the infected. The truth will out, even if it kills them.

Sheri S. Tepper's Six Moon Dance ($0.99) and The Companions ($0.99) are stand-alone Science Fiction novels, published by HarperCollins.

Six Moon Dance

It was many years ago that humans came and settled the world of Newholme-cruelly bending the planet to their will; setting down roots and raising up cities and farms and a grand temple to their goddess.But now the ground itself is shaking with ever-increasing violence. And the Great Questioner, official arbiter of the Council of Worlds, has come to this isolated orb to investigate rumors of a terrible secret that lies buried deep within Newholme's past—a past that is not dead, not completely. And it will fall to Mouche, a beautiful youth of uncommon cleverness and spirit, to save his imperiled home by dicovering and embracing that which makes him unique among humans. For every living thing on newholme is doomed, unless Mouche can appease something dark and terrible that is coiled within...and surrender to the mysterious ecstatic revelry taht results when the six moons join.

The Companions

Three planets have been recently discovered in deep space, and prosaically named to reflect their respective environments. Jungle, lush and foreboding, swallowed up an eleven-member exploratory team more than a decade earlier, while hot, harsh, and dusty Stone turned out to be phenomenally rich in rare ore, the most profitable new world to be found in a century. But it is the third, Moss, that could well prove to be the most enigmatic . . . and dangerous.

Enlisted by the Planetary Protection Institute -- an organization founded to assess new worlds for potential development and profit -- famed linguist Paul Delis has come to Moss to determine whether the strange multicolored shapes of dancing light observed on the planet's surface are evidence of intelligent life. With Delis is his half sister, Jewel, the wife of one of the explorers lost on Jungle. Working together, they are to determine the true nature of the “Mossen” and decipher the strange "language" that accompanies the phenomenon.

Yet the great mysteries of this bucolic world -- three-quarters covered in wind-sculpted, ever-shifting moss -- don't end with the inexplicable illuminations; there is the puzzle of the rusting remains of a lost fleet of Earth ships, moldering on a distant plateau. Perhaps the biggest question mark is Jewel Delis herself and her mission here at the far reaches of the galaxy. Leaving an overpopulated homeworld that is rapidly becoming depleted of the raw materials needed for human survival, Jewel is a member of a radical underground group opposing a recent government edict that will eliminate all of the planet's “nonessential” living inhabitants. And it is here, at the universe's unexplored edge, where the fate of endangered creatures may ultimately be decided -- though it will mean defying ruthless and unforgiving ruling powers to repair humankind's disintegrating relationship with the beasts of the Earth.

Leviathan Wakes ($1.99), by James S.A. Corey, has been on sale a couple of times in the last couple of years, but never at this low a price. I checked the sample and it appears this edition is the one that also includes the full text of Daniel Abraham's The Dragon's Path, which is $9.99 on it's own.

Book Description
Humanity has colonized the solar system - Mars, the Moon, the Asteroid Belt and beyond - but the stars are still out of our reach.

Jim Holden is XO of an ice miner making runs from the rings of Saturn to the mining stations of the Belt. When he and his crew stumble upon a derelict ship, The Scopuli, they find themselves in possession of a secret they never wanted. A secret that someone is willing to kill for - and kill on a scale unfathomable to Jim and his crew. War is brewing in the system unless he can find out who left the ship and why.

Detective Miller is looking for a girl. One girl in a system of billions, but her parents have money and money talks. When the trail leads him to The Scopuli and rebel sympathizer Holden, he realizes that this girl may be the key to everything.

Holden and Miller must thread the needle between the Earth government, the Outer Planet revolutionaries, and secretive corporations - and the odds are against them. But out in the Belt, the rules are different, and one small ship can change the fate of the universe.

I bought Stan Nicholls' Orcs ($2.99) at Fictionwise, back before the Agency agreements pretty much killed it for larger publisher selections. I checked the sample of the Kindle edition and it also appears to be the omnibus edition of the Orcs: First Blood trilogy that I bought, containing all three novels in the series: Bodyguard of Lightning (1999), The Legion of Thunder (1999) and Warriors of the Tempest (2000).

Book Description

"Look at me. Look at the Orc."

"There is fear and hatred in your eyes. To you I am a monster, a skulker in the shadows, a fiend to scare your children with. A creature to be hunted down and slaughtered like a beast in the fields.

It is time you pay heed to the beast. And see the beast in yourself. I have your fear. But I have earned your respect.

Hear my story. Feel the flow of blood and be thankful. Thankful that it was me, not you, who bore the sword. Thankful to the orcs; born to fight, destined to win peace for all."

This book will change the way you feel about Orcs forever.

The Dwarves ($2.99), by Markus Heitz, gives us another viewpoint on the fantasy pantheon, also published by Orbit. This is the first novel of the series and it's 700+ pages should keep you reading for several days.

Book Description
For countless millennia, the dwarves of the Fifthling Kingdom have defended the stone gateway into Girdlegard. Many and varied foes have hurled themselves against the portal and died attempting to breach it. No man or beast has ever succeeded. Until now. . .

Abandoned as a child, Tungdil the blacksmith labors contentedly in the land of Ionandar, the only dwarf in a kingdom of men. Although he does not want for friends, Tungdil is very much aware that he is alone - indeed, he has not so much as set eyes on another dwarf. But all that is about to change.

Sent out into the world to deliver a message and reacquaint himself with his people, the young foundling finds himself thrust into a battle for which he has not been trained. Not only his own safety, but the life of every man, woman and child in Girdlegard depends upon his ability to embrace his heritage. Although he has many unanswered questions, Tungdil is certain of one thing: no matter where he was raised, he is a true dwarf.

And no one has ever questioned the courage of the Dwarves.

$5 Amazon MP3 Credit (KSO)

This offer is only for those with a Kindle with Special Offers (including any Kindle Touch or Kindle Keyboard that opts in to Special Offers, but not Kindle Fire with Special Offers):

Get $5 to Spend on Digital Music at Amazon

Click on the offer, then click on the link on the offer page sign up and you'll get an email with the promotion code. Sign-up for this offer expires October 7, 2012.

You'll get an email (right away), a link to the Amazon MP3 store page, a promotion code and a link to the redemption page. This one works like a gift card and you need to apply the credit to your account first, before going shopping. Once you have entered the promotional code(s), you have until October 14, 2012 to complete your purchases.

I'd recommend that you apply the credit right away, since it works on any MP3 purchase - then you can shop on the web or from your phone or Kindle Fire and it will be used automatically. The exception would be if you have the MP3 Album for $3 credit on your account. These credits don't combine well (when I tried to buy my album, it ate up all my existing credit, rather than only $3, and I had to get customer service to help straighten it out). So, use that credit first, then apply this credit to your account.

Edit to add: I found the best way to ensure that your credits are being used the way you want: send your MP3 choice to yourself as a gift. On the first page you'll see the Amazon price (ignoring any promos or credits) and you enter your email address. On the next page (the confirmation page), you'll see the exact price you pay and any promos that are being used for the purchase. By doing this, you can make sure that aren't using $8 of credit for what should be a $3 album (which is what happened to me the first time). In order to use my $3 album credit, it looks like you need to make sure you don't have any coinstar credits first.

Today's Deals

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is What Happened to Sophie Wilder ($1.99), by Christopher Beha.

Book Description
Charlie Blakeman is living in New York, on Washington Square, struggling to write his second novel and floundering, when his college love, Sophie Wilder, returns to his life. Sophie, too, is struggling, though Charlie isn’t sure why. They’ve spoken only rarely since falling out a decade before. Now Sophie begins to tell Charlie the story of her life since then, particularly the days she spent taking care of a dying man with his own terrible past and the difficult decision he presented her with. When Sophie once again abruptly disappears, Charlie sets out to discover what happened to Sophie Wilder.

The Telling ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), by Jo Baker , is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $8.90).

Book Description
Her mother recently deceased, Rachel sets off alone for her family’s isolated country house in order to pack up and sell off the remnants of her estate. She tells herself the process will only take a few weeks, but from the moment she steps through the front door, Rachel feels that the house contains more than she had expected. Along with the memories of her mother, there is something else in the house, a presence trying to make itself felt. As Rachel struggles to put her mother’s affairs in order, she grows ever more convinced that the house holds a message for her. Can the ghosts of the past be nudging their way into the present, or is Rachel really beginning to lose her mind?

Miss New India ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Bharati Mukherjee, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Anjali Bose’s prospects don’t look great. Born into a traditional lower-middle‑class family, she lives in a backwater town with only an arranged marriage on the horizon. But her ambition, charm, and fluency in language do not go unnoticed by her charismatic and influential expat teacher Peter Champion. And champion her he does, both to powerful people who can help her along the way and to Anjali herself, stirring in her a desire to take charge of her own destiny.

So she sets off to Bangalore, India’s fastest‑growing metropolis, and soon falls in with an audacious and ambitious crowd of young people, who have learned how to sound American by watching shows like Seinfeld in order to get jobs in call centers, where they quickly out‑earn their parents. And it is in this high‑tech city where Anjali — suddenly free of the confines of class, caste, and gender — is able to confront her past and reinvent herself. Of course, the seductive pull of life in the New India does not come without a dark side . . .

Young Mr. Obama: Chicago and the Making of a Black President ($9.99 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Edward McClelland, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012.

Book Description
Barack Obama's inspirational politics and personal mythology have overshadowed his fascinating history. Young Mr. Obama gives us the missing chapter: the portrait of the politician as a young leader, often too ambitious for his own good, but still equipped with a rare ability to inspire change. The route to the White House began on the streets of Chicago's South Side.

Edward McClelland, a veteran Chicago journalist, tells the real story of the first black president's political education in the capital of the African American political community. Obama's touch wasn't always golden, and the unflappable and charismatic campaigner we know today nearly derailed his political career with a disastrous run for Congress in 2000. Obama learned from his mistakes, and rebuilt his public persona. Young Mr. Obama is a masterpiece of political reporting, peeling away the audacity, the T-shirts, and the inspiring speeches to craft a compelling and surpassingly readable account of how local politics shaped a national leader.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Fracture ($1.99), by Megan Miranda.

Book Description
Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine - despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

For fans of best-sellers like Before I Fall and If I Stay, this is a fascinating and heart-rending story about love and friendship and the fine line between life and death.

Age Level: 12 and up

Today's Deals

It's the start of a new month and Amazon has updated their 100 Kindle Books for $3.99 or less. Not as many cookbooks this time, although there is How to Grill: The Complete Illustrated Book of Barbecue Techniques, A Barbecue Bible! Cookbook for $2.99 and I see one that has been on my "paperback replacement wishlist" for a while: All New Square Foot Gardening ($2.99), by Mel Bartholomew. Neither is in Topaz format, either, for those that prefer Mobi or KF8 formats. No doubt several of them will end up dropping a few cents more by month end, but I also usually see at least one book disappear from the list on the first or second day, either due to the publisher not wanting their book to be steeply discounted or a certain number of sale copies being allocated.

The start of a new month also means there will be a flurry of new books today, so it may take me a while to get them all posted.

While they last, Google still has their last day's 25 cent apps up and Amazon had price matched several of them, including Spy Mouse, when I last checked.

Now free in the Kindle store in addition to B&N.

• Vegetarian 101 (K/N)
• Baking Basics and Beyond (K/N)
• Magazine - The Point (K/N)
• Out and Proud in Chicago (K/N)

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Pour Your Heart Into It ($1.99), by Howard Schultz.

Book Description
The success of Starbucks Coffee Company is one of the most amazing business stories in decades. What started as a single store on Seattle’s waterfront has grown into a company with over sixteen hundred stores worldwide and a new one opening every single business day. Just as remarkable as this incredible growth is the fact that Starbucks has managed to maintain its renowned commitment to product excellence and employee satisfaction.

In Pour Your Heart Into It, CEO Howard Schultz illustrates the principles that have shaped the Starbucks phenomenon, sharing the wisdom he has gained from his quest to make great coffee part of the American experience. Marketers, managers, and aspiring entrepreneurs will discover how to turn passion into profit in this definitive chronicle of the company that “has changed everything . . . from our tastes to our language to the face of Main Street.” (Fortune)

Brighton Belle ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), a Mirabelle Bevan Mystery by Sara Sheridan, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.79).

Book Description
1951. Brighton. With the excitement of the war over and the Nazis brought to justice at Nuremberg, Mirabelle Bevan (retired Secret Service) thinks her skills are no longer required. After the death of her lover she moves to the seaside to put the past behind her and takes a job as a secretary at a debt collection agency run by the charismatic Big Ben McGuigan. But when confronted by the case of Romana Laszlo, a pregnant Hungarian refugee, Mirabelle discovers that her specialist knowledge is vital. With enthusiastic assistance from the pretty insurance clerk down the corridor, Vesta Churchill, Mirabelle follows a mysterious trail of gold sovereigns, betting scams and corpses to a dark corner of Austerity Britain where the forces of evil remain alive and well.

Room ($9.99 $2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Emma Donoghue, is the Nook Daily Find. ETA: Now price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and grew up; it's where he lives with his Ma as they learn and read and eat and sleep and play. At night, his Ma shuts him safely in the wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits.

Room is home to Jack, but to Ma, it is the prison where Old Nick has held her captive for seven years. Through determination, ingenuity, and fierce motherly love, Ma has created a life for Jack. But she knows it's not enough...not for her or for him. She devises a bold escape plan, one that relies on her young son's bravery and a lot of luck. What she does not realize is just how unprepared she is for the plan to actually work.

Told entirely in the language of the energetic, pragmatic five-year-old Jack, ROOM is a celebration of resilience and the limitless bond between parent and child, a brilliantly executed novel about what it means to journey from one world to another.

Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail '72 ($9.99 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), by Hunter S. Thompson, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012.

Book Description
Forty years after its original publication, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 remains a cornerstone of American political journalism and one of the bestselling campaign books of all time. Hunter S. Thompson’s searing account of the battle for the 1972 presidency—from the Democratic primaries to the eventual showdown between George McGovern and Richard Nixon—is infused with the characteristic wit, intensity, and emotional engagement that made Thompson “the flamboyant apostle and avatar of gonzo journalism” (The New York Times). Hilarious, terrifying, insightful, and compulsively readable, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ’72 is an epic political adventure that captures the feel of the American democratic process better than any other book ever written.

In recognition of National Bullying Prevention month, today's Kindle Young Readers Daily Deal features two empowering books for girls for only $1.99 each.

Stand Up for Yourself and Your Friends: Dealing with Bullies and Bossiness and Finding a Better Way, by Patti Kelley Criswell and Angela Martini (Illustrator)

This book teaches girls how to spot bullying and how to stand up and speak out against it. Quizzes, quotes from other girls, and "what do you do?" scenarios present advice in an age-appropriate, digestible way. The message in this book is that there is no one right way to deal with bullying. Instead, there are lots of options for girls to try, from ignoring a bully and trying a few clever comebacks to reporting bullying to a trusted adult. Readers learn how to stand up for others and be a good friend, too. The book ends with a pledge girls can sign, plus tear-out tips for girls to share with their parents.

Grade Level: 3 and up

Smart Girl's Guide to Sticky Situations, by American Girl Editors and Bonnie Timmons (Illustrator)

Girls will learn to take charge and feel confident in a variety of tough situations, from being threatened by a bully to getting caught in an earthquake to falling down the stairs at school. Problem-solving strategies and tips from experts empower girls, and warm writing and humorous illustrations keep the book's tone light.

Grade Level: 4 and up

Today's Deals

For those ho also have the mystery $200 "Kindle Editions" credit on their account, it seems to be for this: Save 20% on AmazonCrossing Books. "Customers who subscribed to the AmazonCrossing Delivers newsletter on or before August 30, 2012, are eligible for a special 20% discount on the titles shown below through December 31, 2012. This offer is good toward up to $1,000 in qualifying purchases, for a total potential savings of $200." So, it's a discount on only select books from AmazonCrossing (most of which I already have) in ebook or print form (and you'd have to buy quite a few print copies to use much of the credit, really). I've bought some AmazonCrossing books since the credit hit, but they weren't on this list, so the entire credit just sits there, taunting me.

This weekend's Fictionwise code is 092812 for 45% off.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership with a Search-and-Rescue Dog ($1.99), by Susannah Charleson.

Book Description
An unforgettable memoir from a search-and-rescue pilot and her spirited canine partner

In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, Susannah Charleson clipped a photo from the newspaper of an exhausted canine handler, face buried in the fur of his search-and-rescue dog. A dog lover and pilot with search experience herself, Susannah was so moved by the image that she decided to volunteer with a local canine team and soon discovered firsthand the long hours, nonexistent pay, and often heart-wrenching results they face. Once she qualified to train a dog of her own, she adopted Puzzle, a strong, bright Golden Retriever puppy who exhibited unique aptitudes as a working dog but who was less interested in the role of compliant house pet. Scent of the Missing is the story of Susannah and Puzzle’s adventures as they search for the missing—a lost teen, an Alzheimer’s patient wandering in the cold, signs of the crew amid the debris of the space shuttle Columbia disaster—and unravel the mystery of the bond between humans and dogs.

The Girl in the Painted Caravan ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by Eva Petulengro, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $6.84).

Book Description
Born into a Romany gypsy family in 1939, Eva Petulengro’s childhood seemed to her to be idyllic in every way. She would travel the country with her family in their painted caravan and spend evenings by the fire as they sang and told stories of their past. She didn’t go to school or visit a doctor when she was unwell. Instead her family would gather wild herbs to make traditional remedies, hunt game and rabbits, and while the men tended horses to make a living, the young girls would join the women in reading palms. But Eva’s perfect world would be turned upside down as the countryside became increasingly hostile to all travellers. Eva describes the wonderful characters in her family, from her grandfather ‘Naughty’ Petulengro to her four beautiful aunts who entranced everyone they met, as well as the fascinating people they came across on the road. Moving, evocative, romantic and funny, The Girl in the Painted Caravan vividly captures a way of life that has now, sadly, all but disappeared.

Sugar Rush ($3.99 Kindle, B&N), the first title in Donna Kauffman's Cupcake Club romance series, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Devil's Food. . .Angel Cake. . .Red Velvet. . .Praline Crunch. . .Lemon Chiffon. . . How's a woman to choose?

Luckily, the members of the Cupcake Club are about to taste it all. . .

When baker extraordinaire Leilani Trusdale left the bustle of New York City for Georgia's sleepy Sugarberry Island, she didn't expect her past to follow. Yet suddenly, her former boss, Baxter Dunne, aka Chef Hot Cakes, the man who taught her everything pastry, wants to film his hit cooking show in her tiny cupcakery. The same Chef Hot Cakes whose molten chocolate brown eyes and sexy British accent made Lani's mouth water and her cheeks blush the color of raspberry filling--stirring all kinds of kitchen gossip, much of which Lani wished was true. . .

Lani's friends are convinced that this time around, Baxter is the missing ingredient in her recipe for happiness. But convincing Lani will be a job for Baxter himself. And he'll need more than black velvet frosting to sweeten the deal. . .

The Constitution Made Easy ($10.16 Hardcover, $1.99 B&N), by Michael Holler, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012, price matched on Kindle. Originally self-pubilshed, this edition is published by Sterling, so there is no Kindle edition.

Book Description
Written by a fixture on the Tea Party rally circuit, and unofficially adopted by the Party as its U.S. Constitution guide, this book goes to the ultimate source for answers to the hot-button questions about how our nation is meant to be governed. Each spread pairs a page from the Constitution with a modernized version, clearing up the archaic legalese and making the meaning of the original accessible to anyone. An insightful introduction and detailed endnotes further illuminate the original principles outlined by the architects of the Constitution.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is all four novels in Wendy Corsi Staub's Lily Dale urban fantasy teen series for $1.99 apiece.

Awakening

Calla thought that her boyfriend breaking up with her in a text message was the worst thing that could ever happen to her. But just two weeks later, her mother died in a freak accident, and life as she knew it was completely over. With her father heading to California for a new job, they decide that Calla should spend a few weeks with the grandmother she barely knows while he gets them set up.

To Calla's shock, her mother's hometown of Lily Dale is a town full of psychics-including her grandmother. Suddenly, the fact that her mother never talked about her past takes on more mysterious overtones. The longer she stays in town, the stranger things become, as Calla starts to experience unusual and unsettling events that lead her to wonder whether she has inherited her grandmother's unique gift. Is it this gift that is making her suspect that her mother's death was more than an accident, or is it just an overactive imagination? Staying in Lily Dale is the only way to uncover the truth. But will Calla be able to deal with what she learns about her mother's past and her own future?

Believing

After spending the summer in Lily Dale, Calla has decided to stay for a few more months, and will soon be starting school at Lily Dale High. She's finally getting used to her new home and her newly realized gift. But lately, the visions occur much more frequently and have a greater sense of urgency. There may be someone who needs her help but there might also be a killer on the loose. Now that Calla believes in her own ability, can she learn to use it properly? And will she be able to learn more about her mother's mysterious death without putting herself in serious danger?

Connecting

Now that Calla has accepted her ability to communicate with the Other Side, she's desperate to connect with the spirit of her late mother. But she gets more than she bargained for when she stumbles across a shocking secret that will change her future forever.

Discovering

After finally learning who was behind her mother's death, Calla still doesn't understand why it happened. Somewhere out there, someone seems to share the powerful psychic abilities that allow Calla to see not only into the past, but to the Other Side-someone who apparently doesn't want to be found. Will Calla's journey lead to the closure she's been searching for, or will it force her to accept yet another loss and forever wonder what might have been? As new mysteries unfold and old ones are solved, this spine-tingling series continues. With an eye-catching new look, Wendy Corsi Staub's fans will not be disappointed.

Today's Deals

Sorry for the late post today, but I wasn't in all morning and the Kindle Fire definitely isn't a good choice for writing a lot text or for copying in links to these deals (although it surfs the web better than the iPad at the same place, which could not connect to the weak WiFi).

Another Kobo promo code, Save30Sep28, gets you 30% off specific crime books (may be US/UK only; exp. Oct 5).

If you pre-ordered JK Rowling's newest novel, The Casual Vacancy, you probably could not read it - as the only font choices are small enough to require a magnifying glass or so large a single word won't fit across the page. Hatchette has uploaded a new edition (and ignore any press/blogs telling you to try buying it again) and you need to go to the Manage Your Kindle page and click on the Actions button and choose to get the updated version. For other book readers, try re-downloading and see if that gets you the updated edition (as this was a problem in all the stores - apparently Hatchette didn't feel they should test the file before releasing it or thought that you should only get the print size the author preferred ... although who knows on which device). If you haven't ordered it yet, you might want to read thru the decidedly mixed reviews before doing so (and I know I'll be waiting for it to hit my library or for a large price drop, if I even read it at all). During this video of the author reading an excerpt, Rowling jokes that it is a very short work, as well; however, the Kindle edition claims to be about 400 pages, while the hardcover clocks in at over 500 pages (no doubt due to the use of the same overly large font size I always saw in the H.Potter print editions).

Download a free edition of The Devil's Dictionary at Copia and scribble your own definition into the margin using their app and you could win $2,000 in eBooks and eTextbooks.

The Audubon Insects & Spiders app, which works on Kindle Fire and most Android Tablets and phones, is 99 cents in the Amazon Appstore and on iTunes for those using Apples devices. Their Audubon Birds app is supposed to be on sale for $4.99, but it is $2.99 at Amazon as I type this.

At Google Play, the new day's list of 25 cent apps has been released. May not be price matches yet at Amazon (but they can be reported and will hopefully be matched by morning). I know I want to get Cut the Rope HD, but would much rather only pay 25 cents.

Today is the last day to take advantage of this KSO deal:

• $5 Instant Amazon Instant Video Credit (you can rent today and usually have up to 30 days to start watching, the 24-48 hours to watch)

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is 10 globetrotting mystery and thriller novels for just $1.99 each. "Featuring masterfully developed characters, tense action, and page-turning plot twists, the novels span a range of settings, from the austere and secretive confines of the Vatican to the wooded spaces of rural Maine, and more."

It's getting late, so I'm not going to list them all - click the link above and you'll get all ten on one page. There are some good deals and a couple I had picked out for a bargain post already and are now $2 less than when I looked yesterday.


Catcher, Caught ($1.61 / £0.99 UK), by Sarah Collins Honenberger, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $3.99/KLL Eligible). This was the Kindle Young Adult Deal in the US earlier this month and is part of the $3.99 or less sale for this month.

Book Description
After an earth-shattering diagnosis of leukemia, 15-year-old Daniel Landon sees a reflection of himself in the words of J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye. Inspired by Holden Caulfield, Daniel begins to question the intentions and authority of those around him in his own search for identity as he faces death. Tired of his cramped surroundings and hippie parents’ alternative approaches to his treatment, he follows the footsteps of Caulfield to New York City in search of the same eternal truths, only to discover the importance of home when death looms. A coming of age story, a love story, and a new classic, Catcher, Caught will engage the imagination of more than one generation, searching for lasting values.

Threat Warning ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), the third title in John Gilstrap's Jonathan Grave series, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle and where you can get the companion audiobook for $4.95. The first in the series, No Mercy, was free on Kindle a couple of years ago and it and the second in the series, Hostage Zero, are both under $5 right now.

Book Description
In his most terrifying thriller yet, New York Times bestselling author John Gilstrap exposes the darkest threat to America’s freedom, a secret society of merciless killers, watching and waiting to strike…

The first victims are random. Ordinary citizens, fired upon at rush hour by unseen assassins. Caught in the crossfire of one of the attacks, rescue specialist Jonathan Grave spies a gunman getting away-with a mother and her young son as hostages. To free them, Grave and his team must enter the dark heart of a nationwide conspiracy. But their search goes beyond the frenzied schemes of a madman’s deadly ambitions. This time, it reaches all the way to the highest levels of power…

Home of the Brave: Honoring the Unsung Heroes in the War on Terror ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Caspar Weinberger, is the Nook Daily Find: Election 2012, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description

They are nineteen of the most highly decorated soldiers, sailors, airmen, and marines in the United States military, and yet most Americans don't even know their names. In this riveting, intimate account, former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and Wynton C. Hall tell stories of jaw-dropping heroism and hope in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Home of the Brave takes readers beyond the bullets and battles and into the hearts and minds of the men and women who are fighting terrorists overseas so that America doesn't have to fight them at home. These are the powerful, true-life stories of the hopes, fears, and triumphs these men and women experienced fighting the War on Terror. But more than that, these are the stories of soldiers who risked everything to save lives and defend freedom. Including:

• Lieutenant Colonel Mark Mitchell, the Green Beret leader whose 15-man Special Forces team took 500 Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners, and posthumously repatriated the body of the first American to die in combat in the War on Terror, CIA agent Johnny "Mike" Spann.
• Army National Guard Sergeant Leigh Ann Hester, the first woman ever to be awarded the Silver Star for combat, whose sharp-shooting and bravery played an enormous role in fighting off over fifty Iraqi insurgents while her ten-person squad protected a convoy of supplies on the way to fellow soldiers.
• Sergeant Rafael Peralta, a Mexican immigrant, enlisted in the Marines the same day he received his green card. Wounded from enemy fire, Peralta used his body to smother the blast of an enemy grenade and gave his life so that his marine brothers could live.

These real-life heroes remind us of American history's most enduring lesson: Ours would not be the land of the free if it were not also the home of the brave.

At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

Today's Kindle Teens Daily Deal is Spinning Out ($1.99), by David Stahler Jr. With a list price of $14, I'd bet this is usually $10 or more.

Book Description
High school senior Frenchy is just getting by, smoking pot with his best friend Stewart and skating through life. But Stewart is up to something and he wants Frenchy to join in--by trying out for the high school musical, Man of La Mancha. A perfect plan for Stewart's most legendary prank ever, right? Wrong. Stewart is serious, and convincing. The next thing Frenchy knows they have won the lead parts of Don Quixote and his sidekick Sancho. Stewart's passion infuses the whole production, but his antics begin to border on obsessive, and Frenchy has to step in more and more often to reign him in. Ultimately, like Quixote, Stewart is spiralling into the beginning stages of schizophrenia. Frenchy embodies and then explodes his role as sidekick both in the play and in life as he figures out how to be a friend, a leader, and a man.

David Stahler has delicately woven a layered story about class, friendship, and the uncertainty of adulthood. With all the fun of High School Musical with a depth and grace of reality, this is a memorable coming of age novel that will resonate with a variety of readers.

Amazon Goldbox Kindle Deals

All morning Amazon is running Kindle case deals in the Gold box & Lightning deals page. I'm typing on my Fire, so will not add more other than go check it out.