Audible Wishes Granted Sale Extended

Audible has extended their $6.95 Wishes Granted Sale for another day (now ends January 20, at midnight, ET), so you have several hours left to shop and see if any of the items on your wishlist have been marked down to bargain prices. I found one from my wishlist on the sale, as well as one where the Kindle edition + companion audiobook offered a better price, instead ($1.99 plus $3.49 for the Kindle edition < $6.95!).

Since the audiobooks included are the 120+ most wished for at Audible, there is a pretty nice selection, but you do have to browse all the pages, as there are no categories. One bestseller I found is Wheat Belly: Lose the Wheat, Lose the Weight, and Find Your Path Back to Health, by William Davis MD. Like all of Audible's sales, you must have some type of subscription, even if it is the annual $10 level that doesn't include credits. If you don't have a membership, you can either get 2 free audiobooks in a 30 day trial OR go for the $100 discount on an electronics item (including the Kindle family) with a one-year commitment.

Today's Deals 1/20

Amazon's Android Appstore free App today is iMediaShare, which is usually $5. It lets you watch the video from your Kindle Fire or other Android device on your HDTV, without using wires.

Today's Kindle Teen Daily Deal is If I Stay ($2.99), by Gayle Forman (Penguin).

Book Description
A critically acclaimed novel that will change the way you look at life, love, and family.

In the blink of an eye everything changes. Seventeen ­year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall what happened afterwards, watching her own damaged body being taken from the wreck. Little by little she struggles to put together the pieces- to figure out what she has lost, what she has left, and the very difficult choice she must make. Heartwrenchingly beautiful, Mia's story will stay with you for a long, long time.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Wilderness ($1.99), by Lance Weller.

Book Description
Thirty years after the Civil War's Battle of the Wilderness left him maimed, Abel Truman has found his way to the edge of the continent, the rugged, majestic coast of Washington State, where he lives alone in a driftwood shack with his beloved dog. Wilderness is the story of Abel, now an old and ailing man, and his heroic final journey over the snowbound Olympic Mountains. It's a quest he has little hope of completing but still must undertake to settle matters of the heart that predate even the horrors of the war.

As Abel makes his way into the foothills, the violence he endures at the hands of two thugs who are after his dog is crosscut with his memories of the horrors of the war, the friends he lost, and the savagery he took part in and witnessed. And yet, darkness is cut by light, especially in the people who have touched his life-from Jane Dao-Ming Poole, the daughter of murdered Chinese immigrants, to Hypatia, an escaped slave who nursed him back to life, and finally to the unbearable memory of the wife and child he lost as a young man. Haunted by tragedy, loss, and unspeakable brutality, Abel has somehow managed to hold on to his humanity, finding way stations of kindness along his tortured and ultimately redemptive path.

In its contrasts of light and dark, wild and tame, brutal and tender, and its attempts to reconcile a horrific war with the great evil it ended, Wilderness tells not only the moving tale of an unforgettable character, but a story about who we are as human beings, a people, and a nation. Lance Weller's immensely impressive debut immediately places him among our most talented writers.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Strangers in the Night ($0.99), by Inés Saint.

Book Description
Jake Kelly is Chicago's conservative mayoral candidate. Heir to a dubiously obtained real estate fortune, he's had a hard time convincing people a generous, caring heart lies beneath his cold demeanor. Recent polls have him lagging behind his more family oriented Democratic opponent and his main problem seems to be Chicago's large Hispanic constituency.

Keila Diaz is a warm, sassy, left-leaning violinist of Hispanic descent. She's struggling to make a career out of her passion for playing the violin in the city she loves.

Keila needs more work and Jake needs a consultant. When a friend brings them together to come up with a music program for the city's public school system as part of Jake's plans for education reform, sparks ignite and combust. Jake ignores he'd already met Keila once before and Keila follows his lead.

When photos of the two of them dancing close at a festival mysteriously show up in local media, things get complicated. Voters love the idea of Jake and Keila together, but they have it all wrong... or do they?

Sensuality Level: Tender Sensuality

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Midworld ($1.99), by Alan Dean Foster. This is another of Open Road's reprint editions that I'd snap up if it weren't already on my elibrary shelves.

Book Description

The peaceful inhabitants of the jungle planet Midworld must fight for their survival in this classic adventure novel from Alan Dean Foster

From the rich imagination of science fiction great Alan Dean Foster comes the story of Midworld, a Humanx Commonwealth planet that’s equally fragile and hostile. Covered by a lush rainforest, Midworld is home to a primitive society that lives in harmony with the natural world. But the arrival of an exploitative human company, whose workers know nothing of Midworld’s delicate ecosystem, sparks a conflict. Should Midworld’s villagers aid the humans or stand against them? The hero of Foster’s addictive page-turner, Born, decides to lead two humans across the perilous jungle. His choice propels Midworld toward annihilation—and leads him headlong into a battle for survival.

Storm & Conquest: The Battle for the Indian Ocean, 1808-10 ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), by Stephen Taylor, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
The Indian Ocean, 1809. At stake: Britain's commercial lifeline to India and naval supremacy. In one fatal season, the natural order of maritime power since Trafalgar was destroyed. Storm and Conquest brings together the terrifying ordeal of men, women and children caught at sea in hurricanes, and those who survived to drive the French from the Eastern seas. All shared a need to prove themselves - to make a career, or a fortune, or a marriage - in places which could be at once magnificent and terrifying.

Nancy Clancy, Super Sleuth ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Jane O'Connor, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Nancy Clancy is growing up and ready for a whole new adventure . . . in her chapter book debut!

Nancy and her best friend, Bree, have everything they need to solve a mystery, from their totally professional trench coats to their top-secret code.

But when crime strikes in their classroom, will these super sleuths be able to crack the case?

Find out in the glamorous start to an all-new chapter book series featuring everyone’s favorite fancy girl!

Grade Level: 2 and up

Today's Deals 1/19

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is 25 Top-Rated Romance Novels, $1.99 or Less. Too many for me to post, but if you are a romance fan, be sure to scan thru the list to see if there are titles you don't yet have. And the full range of the genre is covered, from historical romance, to romantic suspense and there is at least one urban fantasy hidden in the list, as well.


Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Rose Garden ($1.99), by Susanna Kearsley, with the companion audiobook only $3.49.

Book Description
Eva Ward returns to the only place she truly belongs, the old house on the Cornish coast, seeking happiness in memories of childhood summers. There she finds mysterious voices and hidden pathways that sweep her not only into the past, but also into the arms of a man who is not of her time.

But Eva must confront her own ghosts, as well as those of long ago. As she begins to question her place in the present, she comes to realize that she too must decide where she really belongs.

From Susanna Kearsley, author of the New York Times bestseller The Winter Sea and a voice acclaimed by fans of Gabaldon, du Maurier, and Niffenegger alike, The Rose Garden is a haunting exploration of love, family, the true meaning of home, and the ties that bind us together.

Diamond Star Halo ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), by Tiffany Murray, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $8.90).

Book Description
Growing up in a rural recording studio, Halo Llewellyn is rarely star-struck, but when one of the visiting singers gives birth to Fred, she knows right away that he's special.As the golden child grows into the gilded man, she remains dazzled by his ambition and his talent.Up on stage, being screamed at by hundreds of teenage girls, Fred will always turn his spotlight on Halo in the crowd. But that's the problem with falling in love with your charismatic almost-brother - it can never be a secret. In the end, the whole world has to know.

Texas Pride ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), the sixth novel in Leigh Greenwood's Night Riders series, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
A PRINCE AMONG MEN
Carla Reece had never met anyone more infuriating in her life. The blond giant who swaggered up to her door had no right to take over half her ranch - no matter how stupid her brother had been gambling it away in a high-stakes poker game. Her new foreman claimed to be some foreign royalty who promised to leave in a year. Still, a year was way too long to spend with a man who made her madder than a wet hen and weak in the knees all at the same time.

A HELLION AMONG WOMEN
Ivan may have charmed everyone in town into thinking he was the perfect gentleman, but Carla knew better. There had to be a chink in his armor-a red-hot passion under that calm, cool gaze. But once she finds it, she may be in for more than she ever bargained for...

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is The Dragon Princess ($1.99), by E. D Baker.

Book Description
With E. D. Baker's trademark humor, wacky animal and human characters, and almost all-new cast, this is the story of Emma's daughter, Millie, who is trying to survive being a magical princess who happens to keep turning into a dragon. When she cannot stop her own magic any other way, she and three friends (one vampire, one troll and her cousin, a young wizard prince) set off for the Frozen North and the Blue Witch. Together the motley group battles fearsome bears, saves imprisoned dragons, and find their way home in style, with Millie having gained control of her dragon magic.

Grade Level: 5 and up

Today's Deals 1/18

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Pago Pago Tango ($4.99), by John Enright, with the companion audiobook for $1.99.

Book Description
Detective Sergeant Apelu Soifua spent seven years in the San Francisco Police Department, where the job was just a job and solving crimes required cool detachment. But back home on American Samoa, life is personal—especially for a cop. Because on a small island where no one is a stranger and secrets are widely known but never discussed, solving crimes requires a certain…finesse.

Here, Apelu must walk the line between two cultures: Samoan versus American, native versus new. And that gulf never yawns wider than when a white family’s home in Pago Pago is burglarized. And what appears to be a simple, open-and-shut case turns out to anything but. As the evidence piles up, Apelu follows a tangled trail between cultures, dead bodies, hidden codes, and a string of lies on his hunt for the ugly truth buried at the heart of paradise.

Set against the steamy backdrop of the Samoan jungle, this thoughtful whodunit introduces a memorable new gumshoe to the ranks of detective fiction.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Small Town Secrets ($0.99), by Molly Kate Gray.

Book Description
Miller’s Grove’s most eligible bachelor, Josh Owens, could have a different date every night of the week, so he doesn’t understand why he’s drawn to Tara since she’s obviously not interested in him. Tara Sullivan is angry that he’s stolen the coveted prime-time anchor position she’d been promised.

A stranger begins preying on the single young women in Miller’s Grove, and the story’s assigned to Tara. As the number of victims grows, Tara reluctantly accepts help from Josh. As he researches his top suspect in the assaults, he unearths events in the past that more than one resident of Miller’s Grove wants to keep hidden.

Together they discover a web of conspiracy and lies involving the most powerful family in town. Josh and Tara put their reputations at risk in the hope of exposing the truth and, perhaps, finally bringing Tara peace.

Sensuality Level: Sensual

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Blood Maidens ($1.99), the third novel in Barbara Hambly's James Asher vampire series. The first two in the series are published by Open Road (and already in my library, as this one will be soon), but this one and the latest, Magistrates of Hell, are published by Severn House.

Book Description
The new 'James Asher' vampire novel from the best-selling author - It's 1911. War is coming, and according to one of the vampires of St. Petersburg, the Kaiser is trying to recruit vampires. James Asher, Oxford don and formerly on His Majesty's Secret Service, is forced to team up again with his vampire partner Don Simon Ysidro for a journey to the subarctic Russian capital. Are they on the trail of a rogue vampire with a plan to achieve the power to walk in daylight? Asher wonders. Or is Ysidro's real agenda to seek the woman he once loved?

USS Alcatraz ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), by Philip Robinson, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $2.99).

Book Description
Author Philip Robinson blends reality with a dose of the outlandish in this fast-paced thriller:

Kraken Corporation is too big to fail…or control. Spreading its tentacles into every profit centre around the globe—oil, gold, diamonds—it takes what it wants and leaves behind a path of death and destruction.

When Emma Baine, heir to Kraken, publicly announces her intention to end the corporation’s history of profiteering, murder, and monopoly, a bomb explodes on the rostrum, killing her instantly. To her brother Carson, it’s the perfect punch line to Emma’s childish statement. He took out his sister, and now he’s going to take over the firm.

Using Kraken’s “private security force,” a mercenary army that rolls over every obstacle to profitability, and the USS Alcatraz, an old Russian nuclear sub retrofitted into a gargantuan underwater prison, Carson imprisons everyone he perceives as an enemy—while the highest figures in government turn a blind eye.

But there’s one obstacle Carson can’t grind under his heel: an ex-Marine named Vaughan. As Emma’s former lover and bodyguard, Vaughn is tough, smart…and very angry.

Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog ($3.99 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Ted Kerasote, is the Nook Daily Find, which I picked up last April (at Amazon's current sale price). It's likely to end up price matched on Kindle by the afternoon.

Book Description
Now including a wonderful new photo insert chronicling Merle’s life, this national bestseller explores the relationship between humans and dogs. How would dogs live if they were free? Would they stay with their human friends?

Merle and Ted found each other in the Utah desert— Merle was living wild and Ted was looking for a pup to keep him company. As their bond grew, Ted taught Merle how to live around wildlife, and Merle taught Ted about the benefits of letting a dog make his own decisions.

Using the latest in wolf research and exploring issues of animal consciousness and leadership and the origins of the human-dog relationship, Ted Kerasote takes us on the journey he and Merle shared. As much a love story as a story of independence and partnership, Merle’s Door is tender, funny, and ultimately illuminating.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Good News, Bad News ($1.99), by Jeff Mack.

Book Description
Good news, Rabbit and Mouse are going on a picnic. Bad news, it is starting to rain. Good news, Rabbit has an umbrella. Bad news, the stormy winds blow the umbrella (and Mouse!) into a tree.So begins this clever story about two friends with very different dispositions. Using just four words, Jeff Mack has created a text with remarkable flair that is both funny and touching, and pairs perfectly with his energetic, and hilarious, illustrations.Good news, this is a book kids will clamor to read again and again!

Grade Level: P and up

This book features Kindle Text Pop-Up for reading text over vivid, full-color images when using Kindle Fire/HD or select Kindle Reading Apps (Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for iPad or Kindle for Android); unlike some other Text Popup books, this one won't work on any of the eInk Kindles.

Today's Deals 1/17

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is The Glitch in Sleep ($1.99), the first title in The Seems series by John Hulme and Michael Wexler.

Book Description
Twelve-year-old Becker Drane has definitely got the coolest job of any seventh grader in Highland Park, New Jersey. He works as a Fixer for The Seems. From the Department ofWeather to the Department of Sleep, The Seems is a secret organization that makes sure our world keeps running-and more importantly, sticks to The Plan that's been made for it. When a Glitch is reported in the Department of Sleep, Becker is dispatched to Fix it, but he's not so sure this is a routine mission. Could the Bed Bugs, who are behind our Worst Nightmares, be responsible for the problem?Or maybe it's The Tide, an underground organization bent on destroying The Seems? No matter what, Becker's in for quite an adventure, and it'll take all his training, a little luck, and the coolest Tools™ known in (or out of) The Seems to Fix the problem.Look out for the other books in the Seems series: The Split Second and The Lost Train of Thought!

Grade Level: 5 and up

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Breaking Night ($1.99), by Liz Murray.

Book Description
Breaking night: (Urban slang) staying up through the night, until the sun rises

Breaking Night is the stunning memoir of a young woman who at age fifteen was living on the streets, and who eventually made it into Harvard.

Liz Murray was born to loving but drug-addicted parents in the Bronx. In school she was taunted for her dirty clothing and lice-infested hair, eventually skipping so many classes that she was put into a girls’ home. At age fifteen, Liz found herself on the streets when her family finally unraveled. She learned to scrape by, foraging for food and riding subways all night to have a warm place to sleep.

When Liz’s mother died of AIDS, she decided to take control of her own destiny and go back to high school, often completing her assignments in the hallways and subway stations where she slept. Liz squeezed four years of high school into two, while homeless; won a New York Times scholarship; and made it into the Ivy League. Breaking Night is an unforgettable and beautifully written story of one young woman’s indomitable spirit to survive and prevail, against all odds.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is The Name of the Game ($0.99), by Lisa Weseman.

Book Description
He thinks she’s a flake. She thinks he’s a stick-in-the mud. But each time Kyle and Mac are together, they feel an undeniable spark.

After a long day on her feet, all flight attendant Kyle McKinney wants is a cool glass of wine, a warm bath, and a hot man in her bed. Instead, she ends up in a tug-of-war over misdelivered mail with her sexy-but-nerdy neighbor, Kyle “Mac” McKinney.

Thrown together by a shared name and address, Kyle and Mac butt heads as their very different lives begin to overlap. He wears sweater vests and teaches college accounting. She dresses like Carmen Miranda and practices scream therapy. But together, they must deal with a nosy elderly neighbor, a misguided stripper, and an overzealous IRS agent—without killing each other.

When opposites attract, it’s like playing with fire. But will Kyle and Mac figure out that love is the name of the game . . . before it’s too late?

Sensuality Level: Sensual

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is The Cardinal's Heir ($0.99), by Jaki Demarest.

Book Description
Cardinal Richelieu is dead, a victim of poison. The throne of France, which he has long protected, is once more unstable as rival factions vie for power. But the Cardinal has appointed two heirs: one to his religious position, and one to head the elite spy ring that has maintained France's fragile political balance. Francoise Marguerite de Palis, the Cardinal's lovely but low born niece, is devastated by her uncle's murder and vows revenge, which she sets out after immediately. Though the task is daunting, she at least has some formidable tools at her command. Not only is she now the head of the Cardinal's Eyes, but is arguably the most powerful Sorciere in all France. Shapeshifting into her character Biscarrat, notorious swordsman, she sets out to find her uncle's murderer. But with an unexpected ally. Handsome and dashing Jean de Treville, head of the King's Musketeers, is saddened to learn of the Cardinal's death, though both headed groups not generally fond of one another. Sadness turns to stunned amazement, however, when he learns who has been appointed to lead the Cardinal's spy ring and who is also, in fact, the swordsman who has bested him on numerous occasions. Not to mention the beautiful, and untouchable, wife of Court favorite, Antoine de Palis. But just as there is more, much more, to the enchanting Francoise, so is there more than simple murder afoot. Side by side, Francoise and Jean descend into a maelstrom of magic as they battle another powerful Sorcier, and enter a bloody race to obtain a fabulous jewel. And the throne of France hangs in the balance, supported only by the magic and mastery of the cardinal's heir.

To Set Prometheus Free: Essays on Religion, Reason and Humanity ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), by A.C. Grayling, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.89).

Book Description
In 2007 Anthony Grayling wrote Against All Gods, a collection of polemical essays attacking religion. Now in To Set Prometheus Free he develops those themes more comprehensively, unpicking the claims and arguments of religious apologists, summarising the views of his fellow secularist (Bertrand Russell in particular detailing the controversy over 'Intelligent Design' and outlining his personal, naturalistic world-view.

He robustly calls for humanity to choose deliverance from religion because, as he puts it, 'large portions of mankind remain in some degree in thrall to myths dating from an ignorant and illiterate past.'

Negotiating to Win ($45.64 Kindle, $2.99 B&N), a collection of titles by Richard Templar, Leigh Thompson, Terry J. Fadem and Jonathan J. Herring, is the Nook Daily Find. There's a big price difference between the two stores on this one, but even if it isn't price matched on Kindle later today, I suspect you can pick it up free sometimes in the next few months anyway (assuming you don't already have it from when it was free last August), if FT Press rotates it back around in their giveaway list.

Book Description
Negotiate and communicate to get what you want—no matter who’s on the other side of the table!

Four great books show you how to negotiate, persuade, influence…get what you want! In How to Get What You Want…Without Having to Ask, best-selling author Richard Templar brings his inimitable blend of originality, imagination, wisdom, and straight talk to the challenges of getting people to say “yes” to you! Templar offers up to 100 clever, simple, pain-free techniques for becoming the kind of person people want to support…helping people say yes…saying just the right thing if you do need to ask! Next, in How to Argue, leading lawyer Jonathan Herring reveals the secrets and subtleties of making your case and winning hearts and minds. Herring covers everything from making your point more crisply to keeping your cool in heated situations. In The Truth About Negotiations, Leigh L. Thompson teaches 53 proven negotiation principles and bite-size, easy-to-use techniques that work. You’ll learn how to prepare within one hour…negotiate with friends, colleagues, and spouses…master the win-win litmus test…become a truly world-class negotiator. Finally, in The Art of Asking: Ask Better Questions, Get Better Answers, Terry J. Fadem reveals the core questions that every manager needs to master...shows how to avoid the mistakes business questioners make most often...identifies ten simple rules for asking every question more effectively. You’ll learn how to ask tough questions and take control of tough situations... use questions to promote innovation, drive change, identify hidden problems, and get failing projects back on track!

Today's Deals 1/16

Amazon's Android Appstore free app today is Italian Recipes from Italyum.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is The Good Braider ($1.99), by Terry Farish, which has multiple starred reviews and is now published by Amazon Children's Publishing after being donated to Amazon's Worldreader program.

Book Description
In spare free verse laced with unforgettable images, Viola's strikingly original voice sings out the story of her family's journey from war-torn Sudan, to Cairo, and finally to Portland, Maine. Here, in the sometimes too close embrace of the local Southern Sudanese Community, she dreams of South Sudan while she tries to navigate the strange world of America - a world where a girl can wear a short skirt, get a tattoo or even date a boy; a world that puts her into sharp conflict with her traditional mother who, like Viola, is struggling to braid together the strands of a displaced life. Terry Farish's haunting novel is not only a riveting story of escape and survival, but the universal tale of a young immigrant's struggle to build a life on the cusp of two cultures.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Agenda 21 ($2.99), by Glenn Beck and Harriet Parke.

Book Description
“I was just a baby when we were relocated and I don’t remember much. Everybody has that black hole at the beginning of their life. That time you can’t remember. Your first step. Your first taste of table food. My real memories begin in our assigned living area in Compound 14.”

Just a generation ago, this place was called America. Now, after the worldwide implementation of a UN-led program called Agenda 21, it’s simply known as “the Republic.” There is no president. No Congress. No Supreme Court. No freedom.

There are only the Authorities.

Citizens have two primary goals in the new Republic: to create clean energy and to create new human life. Those who cannot do either are of no use to society. This bleak and barren existence is all that eighteen-year-old Emmeline has ever known. She dutifully walks her energy board daily and accepts all male pairings assigned to her by the Authorities. Like most citizens, she keeps her head down and her eyes closed.

Until the day they come for her mother.

“You save what you think you’re going to lose.”

Woken up to the harsh reality of her life and her family’s future inside the Republic, Emmeline begins to search for the truth. Why are all citizens confined to ubiquitous concrete living spaces? Why are Compounds guarded by Gatekeepers who track all movements? Why are food, water and energy rationed so strictly? And, most important, why are babies taken from their mothers at birth? As Emmeline begins to understand the true objectives of Agenda 21 she realizes that she is up against far more than she ever thought. With the Authorities closing in, and nowhere to run, Emmeline embarks on an audacious plan to save her family and expose the Republic—but is she already too late?

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Love Restored ($0.99), by Lieze Gerber.

Book Description
Rachel Swift’s life is irrevocably changed when, mere weeks after the birth of their twin babies, her husband walks out on her. Deeply wounded, Rachel bravely rebuilds her life and her career as an architect and vows that no man will ever have the opportunity to reject her again.

Three years later, at a glamorous affair in Monaco, Rachel meets Alain Léon. Their first, fiery kiss awakens hidden, almost forgotten, emotions deep inside Rachel. Passion flares, and a tentative Rachel senses that Alain might be the man to restore her faith in love. However, her world is shattered by Alain’s impetuous reaction when he wrongfully misinterprets Rachel’s motives for their romance. Pride triumphs over truth, and leaves Rachel crushed and heartbroken - once again.

Life seems to smile at Rachel when her fledgling architect firm wins a contract for the restoration of a fire-damaged chateau in Provence. However, on her first day at the construction site, Rachel’s world is rocked when she is introduced to the man who will be working with her on the project - Alain Leon.

Working with Alain on the project leaves Rachel torn between the painful memories of their passionate night in Monaco, and the hot rush of desire that floods her body in his physical presence. Alain struggles with his own demons, constantly having to fight his desires to stay true to his moral compass.

Hot tempers, passion, and desires clash with stubborn pride and internal conflict to tell the passionate story of a stormy love between two people - a love that might be lost on them forever.

Sensuality Level: Sensual

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is The Futurological Congress: From the Memoirs of Ijon Tichy ($1.99), by Stanislaw Lem, whose Eden was yesterday's pick (and which is now back up to $8.80).

Book Description
Bringing his twin gifts of scientific speculation and scathing satire to bear on that hapless planet, Earth, Lem sends his unlucky cosmonaut, Ijon Tichy, to the Eighth Futurological Congress. Caught up in local revolution, Tichy is shot and so critically wounded that he is flashfrozen to await a future cure. Translated by Michael Kandel.

God On Every Wind ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), by Farhad Sorabjee, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $6.39).

Book Description
Philomena is a born rebel, disillusioned with her middle-class comfort and the expectations of her parents. Nestor is an impoverished African exile with the heart of a poet. When the two meet by chance on the streets of 1960s Bombay, their attraction will change their lives forever. Spanning two continents and following a story of love, loss and politics set against a backdrop of turbulent societies, times and allegiances, God on Every Wind is a powerful debut novel exploring the possibilities and limitations of individual and political revolution. Will appeal to readers with special interests in the best of contemporary world literature, with strong crossover potential for readers who have enjoyed the work of recent success stories from the sub-continent, such as Mohsin Hamid’s Moth Smoke.

My Lunatic Life ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), the first title in the series by Sharon Sala, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. Long time readers will have this in their library, as it was free on Kindle in Oct '11.

Book Description
She plays for Team Spirit.

High school senior Tara Luna's got all the usual teen problems: a new school, her attraction to a hunky guy, feuds with the Mean Girls, being regarded as an oddball outsider-PLUS she has psychic powers, a duo of protective, meddlesome ghosts AND an angry, threatening teen girl ghost who wants Tara to solve her murder-or else.

Now you know why she calls this "my lunatic life."

About the Author
Sharon Sala's books repeatedly make the big lists, including The New York Times, USA Today, and Publisher's Weekly lists, and she's been nominated for a RITA seven times, which is the romance writer's equivalent of having an Oscar or an Emmy nomination. MY LUNATIC LIFE is the first book in her Lunatic Life series for teen readers. Coming soon: THE LUNATIC DETECTIVE.

Audible 3-for-2 Sale

If you are an Audible member (with credits), you can shop today in their 3-for-2 Sale and pick from 200+ audiobooks, grouped by genre.

If you don't qualify for the sale (due to membership, lack of credits or geographic restrictions, etc.), you'll get Audible's unhelpful error page.

Today's Deals 1/15

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is A Drop of the Hard Stuff ($1.99), the seventeenth and newest novel in the Matthew Scudder series by Lawrence Block, with the companion audiobook $3.99.

Book Description
Facing his demons in his first year of sobriety, Matthew Scudder finds himself on the trail of a killer. When Scudder's childhood friend Jack Ellery is murdered, presumably while attempting to atone for past sins, Scudder reluctantly begins his own investigation, with just one lead: Ellery's Alcoholics Anonymous list of people he wronged. One of them may be a killer, but that's not necessarily Scudder's greatest danger. Immersing himself in Ellery's world may lead him right back to the bar stool.

In a novel widely celebrated by critics and readers, Lawrence Block circle back to how it all began, reestablishing the Matthew Scudder series as one of the pinnacles of American detective fiction.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Smitten Image ($0.99), by Pam B. Morris.

Book Description
In high-speed, high-tech New Chicago, 2039, magic has gone viral. Lily Barnett, a brilliant but drifty artist wanders into a strange magic shop where she impulsively guzzles a love potion. Erratic and unpredictable powers awake inside her. Her houseplants turn ravenous and strings of flamingo lights spout poetry. When she paints a portrait of her perfect man, he steps free of the canvas and stalks her. Desperate, she turns to her best friend, Daniel, for help.

But Daniel has problems of his own. He’s a telepath who must shield thoughts, emotions, and desires or go mad. He wants Lily, desperately, but knows his passion will drive her away and that his friendship is of more value to her than his love.

As Lily negotiates the catastrophic blends of her fear, imagination, and chaotic magic, Daniel must fight against his own impenetrable reserve and the psychic gifts he’s always despised.

Magic and love might save them, but can they survive each other?

Sensuality Level: Sensual

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Eden ($1.99), by Stanislaw Lem.

Book Description
A six-man crew crash-lands on Eden, fourth planet from another sun. The men find a strange world that grows ever stranger, and everywhere there are images of death. The crew's attempt to communicate with this civilization leads to violence and to a cruel truth-cruel precisely because it is so human. Translated by Marc E. Heine. A Helen and Kurt Wolff Book

Moon Underfoot: A Jake Crosby Thriller ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), by Bobby Cole, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $3.99).

Book Description
Eighteen months ago, stockbroker Jake Crosby and his daughter Katy narrowly survived a living nightmare at a remote Alabama hunting camp. To save Katy, Jake killed two men—men who were friends and business associates of notorious outlaw and drug-runner Ethan “Moon Pie” Daniels. That night, Moon Pie made a blood promise of revenge. And in Moon Pie’s dark world of violence, such promises are always kept.

Jake Crosby doesn’t regret what he did that night; he knows it was kill or be killed. But he can’t shake the feeling that the horror isn’t over, that Katy and his wife, Morgan, aren’t yet safe—and that retribution is coming. All he knows for sure is that he will do anything—everything—to protect his family. That’s a vow the dangerous Moon Pie will put to the ultimate test on a cold, moonless night deep in the heart of a river swamp.

This riveting follow-up to Bobby Cole’s heart-stopping thriller The Dummy Line deftly explores the perils of revenge…and the profound power of a husband and father’s love.

Mortal ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), the second novel in the Books of Mortals series by Ted Dekker & Tosca Lee, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
Centuries have passed since civilization's brush with apocalypse. The world's greatest threats have all been silenced. There is no anger, no hatred, no war. There is only perfect peace...and fear. A terrible secret was closely guarded for centuries: every single soul walking the earth, though in appearance totally normal, is actually dead, long ago genetically stripped of true humanity.

Nine years have gone by since an unlikely hero named Rom Sebastian first discovered a secret and consumed an ancient potion of blood to bring himself back to life in Forbidden. Surviving against impossible odds, Rom has gathered a secret faction of followers who have also taken the blood-the first Mortals in a world that is dead.

But The Order has raised an elite army to hunt and crush the living. Division and betrayal threaten to destroy the Mortals from within. The final surviving hope for humanity teeters on the brink of annihilation and no one knows the path to survival.

On the heels of Forbidden comes MORTAL, the second novel in The Books of Mortals saga penned by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee. Set in a terrifying, medieval future, where grim pageantry masks death, this tale of dark desires and staggering stakes peels back the layers of the heart for all who dare take the journey.

The Books of Mortals are three novels, each of which stands on its own, yet all are seamlessly woven into one epic thriller.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Slipping ($1.99), by Cathleen Davitt Bell.

Book Description
What begins with a sense that Michael's deceased grandfather might be inhabiting his body soon escalates to "slipping" into to the river of the dead. When Michael slips, he relives moments of his grandfather's life and tries to help him find peace. But each time he ventures into the river it's harder to come out again. Michael will have to depend on an unlikely group of friends to keep him from slipping . . . permanently. A penetrating twist on the classic ghost story, full of humor and insight about family relationships.

Grade Level: 5 and up

Free Baen Bundle - Feb 2013

I have a coupon code to give away for the February 2013 Book Bundle at Baen Books. The only requirements - leave me a message with an email address and I'll send the code out to one of you (chosen by random.org) just after noon or so today.

Today's Deals 1/14

Amazon's Android Appstore free app today Audubon Butterflies - A Field Guide to North American Butterflies. A great deal for those of you that didn't buy it on sale last year (as I did; at least it was only a buck).

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is The Devil Colony ($1.99), the seventh novel in the Sigma Force series by James Rollins. The latest in the series, The Eye of God, can now be pre-ordered for delivery in June. Looking thru my records, it appears I've picked up all but the first and last two in this series at steep discounts over the years.

Book Description
From New York Times bestselling author James Rollins comes a novel of boundless imagination and meticulous research, a book that dares to answer a frightening question at the heart of America: Could the founding of the United States be based on a fundamental lie? The shocking truth lies hidden within the ruins of an impossibility, a lost colony of the Americas vanished in time and cursed into oblivion. A place known only as The Devil Colony.

Deep in the Rocky Mountains, a gruesome discovery--hundreds of mummified bodies--stirs international attention and fervent controversy. Despite doubts about the bodies' origins, the local Native American Heritage Commission lays claim to the prehistoric remains, along with the strange artifacts found in the same cavern: gold plates inscribed with an unfathomable script.

During a riot at the dig site, an anthropologist dies horribly, burned to ashes in a fiery explosion in plain view of television cameras. All evidence points to a radical group of Native Americans, including one agitator, a teenage firebrand who escapes with a vital clue to the murder and calls on the one person who might help--her uncle, Painter Crowe, Director of Sigma Force.

To protect his niece and uncover the truth, Painter will ignite a war among the nation's most powerful intelligence agencies. Yet an even greater threat looms as events in the Rocky Mountains have set in motion a frightening chain reaction, a geological meltdown that threatens the entire western half of the U.S.

From the volcanic peaks of Iceland to the blistering deserts of the American Southwest, from the gold vaults of Fort Knox to the bubbling geysers of Yellowstone, Painter Crowe joins forces with Commander Gray Pierce to penetrate the shadowy heart of a dark cabal, one that has been manipulating American history since the founding of the thirteen colonies.

But can Painter discover the truth--one that could topple governments--before it destroys all he holds dear?

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is The Soldier ($1.99), the second novel in the Duke's Obsession series by Grace Burrowes.

Book Description
Be among the first to discover rising star Grace Burrowes, whose searing debut, The Heir, captured awards, rave reviews, and a crusade of fans who can't stop talking about it.

Even in the quiet countryside he can find no peace...

His idyllic estate is falling down from neglect and nightmares of war give him no rest. Then Devlin St. Just meets his new neighbor...

Until his beautiful neighbor ignites his imagination...

With her confident manner hiding a devastating secret, his lovely neighbor commands all of his attention, and protecting Emmaline becomes Deviln's most urgent mission.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is SWELL ($1.99), by Corwin Ericson.

Book Description
Reminiscent of Christopher Moore’s ‘Fluke’ and Neil Gaiman’s ‘American Gods,’ this slightly fantastical tale is told from the perspective of ever reluctant Orange Whippey, the story of his involvement in the comically unnecessary Whale Network unfolds as rival whaling factions, Korean smugglers/ultra tourists/storytellers, and a privacy advocating talking head all do their best to keep him from doing what he would ultimately prefer to do: Nothing. Set on the tiny, fictional island of Bismuth, it moves at a languid pace as Orange is dragged, far too often, to writhing lagoons, rusted ship hulks, hellish saunas, and private islands, creating a subtly farcical, always absurd setting for numerous misadventures.

The Extinction Club ($1.60 / £0.99 UK), by Jeffrey Moore, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
Nile Nightingale, a troubled man in search of refuge, arrives in the Laurentian mountains of Quebec: a remote land home to rare wildlife and a violent hunting community. He soon finds haven, in the form of a run-down country church for sale.

Until, that is, he stumbles upon something in its snow-covered graveyard. A bloody sack, tied with Christmas ribbon. Inside, slashed and beaten, is fourteen-year-old Céleste Jonquères, whose recent testimony has put the hunters' leader, a man who's killed more animals than a hundred winters, behind bars.

What follows is a darkly comic tale, in which the very urban Nile and the country-smart Céleste teach each other about life and death, love and loss. Inspired by true events, The Extinction Club is a powerful portrayal of wildlife plunder and those who dare to oppose it.

Abuse of Power ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Michael Savage, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
From New York Times bestselling author and nationally syndicated radio talk-show host Michael Savage comes a high-intensity debut thriller, the story of a smeared network journalist who uncovers a chilling terrorist plot.

Jack Hatfield is a hardened former war correspondent who rose to national prominence for his insightful, provocative commentary. But after being smeared as a bigot and extremist by a radical leftist media-watchdog group, he ultimately loses his job and finds himself working in obscurity as a freelance news producer in San Francisco.

One afternoon Hatfield is on a ride-along with the SFPD bomb squad when a seemingly routine carjacking turns deadly, after police find several pounds of military-grade explosives in the jacked car. And when the FBI urges Hatfield to stay out of it, he knows he's onto something big.

This event will open up a shadowy trail that leads Hatfield from San Francisco to Tel Aviv, London, Paris, and back again, as he works with a stunning Yemeni intelligence agent and a veteran Green Beret to expose a terrorist group known as the Hand of Allah—and a plot within the highest corridors of power that will dwarf 9/11.

Abuse of Power is a lightning-paced thriller, spanning the globe from Europe and Israel to the back alleys of San Francisco's Chinatown. Jack Hatfield must make the choice between protecting his own life and investigating a terrorist cell whose goal is nothing less than total political control—no matter what the cost.

Today's Kindle Kids Daily Deal is Charlie the Ranch Dog ($1.99), by Ree Drummond and Diane deGroat.

Book Description
Meet Charlie. He's a ranch dog. Breakfast is his life, especially when bacon is involved. Charlie has dangly ears, floppy skin, and big fat paws. And he loves living in the country. That's because he works like a dog...fixing fences, gardening, and helping his family out on the range. Yep, it's all work, all the time for Charlie the ranch dog. In fact, he's probably working right now... Zzzzzzz.... A ranch dog's work is never done! Come along as Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman, introduces us to her beloved short-legged pioneer dog named Charlie.

Grade Level: P and up

This book features Kindle Text Pop-Up for reading text over vivid, full-color images when using Kindle Fire/HD or select Kindle Reading Apps (Kindle Cloud Reader, Kindle for iPad or Kindle for Android); unlike some other Text Popup books, this one won't work on any of the eInk Kindles.

Bargain Cookbooks (K/E)

I know, I'm supposed to be looking thru the list of today's Daily Deal books, but I got distracted over in the cookbook section. For those that are on sale at Kobo, you can use promo code vouchercodes40 for an additional 40% off (non-Agency only, of course).

Top Chef: The Cookbook ($3.99 Kindle) with a foreword by Tom Colicchio. A must for fans of the show, there are also a lot of recipes for those more enticed by the food than the behind the scenes tidbits (and none of them are for liver covered with chocolate, which received a vote for the most vile food produced on the show from one of the judges). I took a look thru the cookbook while at the bookstore the other day and there were enough good recipes that I grabbed it at this price (which isn't matched in the other stores that I checked).

Book Description
Top Chef presents the official companion cookbook to the No. 1 rated food show on cable television! Featuring 100 fabulous recipes from the first three seasons of the show, including dishes from the Elimination Rounds and the Quick-Fire Challenges. In-depth discussions with contestants, judges, and crew reveal the inner workings of the show, and lavish photographs take readers behind-the-scenes into the Top Chef pantry and the competition sites. This cookbook will have aspiring culinary contenders reliving classic show moments and relishing new recipes just in time to obsess over Padma's outfits in Season 4.

Raw Energy: 124 Raw Food Recipes for Energy Bars, Smoothies, and Other Snacks to Supercharge Your Body ($2.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Stephanie L. Tourles

Book Description
It’s time to rescue snacks from the realm of empty-calorie packaged junk food and transform everyday pick-me-ups into healthful, satisfying mini meals. Why waste calories on cookies or chips that have no nutritional value and provide only short-term satisfaction when raw foods are delicious, simple to prepare, and bursting with natural energy boosters that everybody needs to stay fit and healthy?

Thanks to Raw Energy, it has never been easier to add a full spectrum of raw ingredients to a healthful lifestyle. Author Stephanie Tourles’s 125 recipes for trail mixes, parfaits, energy bars, juice blends, smoothies, soups, vegetable chips, zippy dips, candies, and cookies combine raw ingredients in delicious snacks that are chock-full of nutrients and long-term energy boosters.

Made from real, whole foods that are uncooked, unadulterated, and unprocessed, these snacks are 150- to 250-calorie packages of health and vitality, dense with naturally occurring vitamins, minerals, fiber, and enzymes. The snacks in Raw Energy do not rely on refined white flour or sugar, they are not cooked in any way, and, with the exception of honey, they do not use animal products.

They do include raw nuts and seeds, nut butters, dried and fresh fruits, oats, carob, cocoa, freshly extracted juices, and vegetables. They taste great and are easy to digest. Tourles provides a complete overview of the benefits of raw foods, along with an introduction to "uncooking" techniques and an ingredient-by-ingredient food guide. For anyone looking for more nutritional punch from low-calorie snacks, Raw Energy provides 125 tasty starting points.

Push-up Pops ($1.99 Kindle), by Courtney Dial Whitmore and Kyle Dreier (Photographer)

Book Description
A well-known stylist and writer in the field of party design and décor, Courtney Dial Whitmore knows what’s hot! Capitalizing on the popular trend of push-up pops, Courtney’s love of entertaining turns Push-Up Pops into the perfect party resource. These treats use the ordinary off-the-shelf clear plastic molds but transform them into frozen fruit Popsicles, cake and pudding parfaits, cupcakes and 40 other treats. These beautiful layers are sweet additions to any party!

Courtney Dial Whitmore’s expertise has been seen in HGTV.com, Pawsh Magazine, Nashville Lifestyles Magazine, Ladies Home Journal, AOL’s DIY Life, Get Married Magazine, MarthaStewart.com, and more. In addition to designing everything from children’s birthday celebrations to chic dinner parties, she is also a writer for several online food and lifestyle publications including SHE KNOWS, Hostess With the Mostess, and Tablespoon. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.

Sweet additions for any party

The Big Book of Soups and Stews: 262 Recipes for Serious Comfort Food ($2.99 Kindle), by Maryana Vollstedt

Book Description
Where the best-selling Big Book of Casseroles brought bubbling cheese and golden bread crumbs, The Big Book of Soups and Stews brings succulent meats, tender vegetables, and creamy, savory goodness with 262 comforting recipes for soups, chowders, and stews. From a hot and hearty stew for a cold night to a cool, refreshing Vichyssoise for a sizzling afternoon, there's a recipe here for every occasion. Also included are nostalgic classics (like everyone's favorite Chicken Noodle Soup) as well as innovative new creations inspired by the cuisines of the world—from Thai Ginger Chicken to Mexican Seafood. With a wonderful selection of quick bread recipes and a crockpot full of tips and hints to help soup-makers hone their skills, The Big Book of Soups and Stews is the ultimate one-stop comfort food cookbook.

The Big Book of Casseroles: 250 Recipes for Serious Comfort Food ($2.99 Kindle), by Maryana Vollstedt

Book Description
Bubbling cheese, golden bread crumbs, tender vegetables, and succulent meats - what's not to like about casseroles? Comfort food just doesn't get any cozier, or more convenient. Now, thanks to Maryana Vollstedt, busy cooks don't have to call up Mom in order to make delicious one-dish meals for family and friends. The Big Book of Casseroles boasts over 250 recipes (including low-fat and vegetarian dishes), plus handy planning, freezing, and storage tips. For hot-from-the-oven dinners equally at home in the dining room or on the kitchen table, cooks need look no further than The Big Book of Casseroles, because serious comfort food never goes out of style.

The Italian Slow Cooker ($3.99 Kindle), by Michele Scicolone

Book Description
Finally a book that combines the fresh, exuberant flavors of great Italian food with the ease and comfort of a slow cooker. Michele Scicolone, a best-selling author and an authority on Italian cooking, shows how good ingredients and simple techniques can lift the usual “crockpot” fare into the dimension of fine food. Pasta with Meat and Mushroom Ragu, Osso Buco with Red Wine, Chicken with Peppers and Mushrooms: These are dishes that even the most discriminating cook can proudly serve to company, yet all are so carefree that anyone with just five or ten minutes of prep time can make them on a weekday and return to perfection.

Simmered in the slow cooker, soups, stews, beans, grains, pasta sauces, and fish are as healthy as they are delicious. Polenta and risotto, “stir-crazy” dishes that ordinarily need careful timing, are effortless. Meat loaves come out perfectly moist, tough cuts of meat turn succulent, and cheesecakes emerge flawless.

The G-Free Diet: A Gluten-Free Survival Guide ($2.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Elisabeth Hasselbeck; this has been on sale before (and I snapped it up the first time it dropped this low). There is a free companion app, Eating Out G-Free, which you can find in the iTunes store (and use even if you don't get the book).

Book Description
For years, Elisabeth Hasselbeck couldn't figure out what was making her sick. She asked doctors and consulted nutritionists, but no one seemed to have any answers. It wasn't until spending time in the Australian Outback, living off the land on the grueling Survivor TV show, that, ironically, her symptoms vanished. Returning home, she pinpointed the food that made her sick -- gluten, the binding element in wheat. By simply eliminating it from her diet, she was able to enjoy a completely normal, healthy life. But that wasn't all. Hasselbeck discovered the myriad benefits that anyone can enjoy from a gluten-free diet: from weight loss and increased energy to even the alleviation of the conditions of autism.

In this all-inclusive book, Hasselbeck shares her hard-earned wisdom on living life without gluten and loving it. She gives you everything you need to know to start living a gluten-free life, from defining gluten - where to find it, how to read food labels - to targeting gluten-free products, creating G-Free shopping lists, sharing recipes, and managing G-Free living with family and friends.

Wheat-Free Recipes & Menus ($5.99 Kindle, Kobo), by Carol Fenster Ph.D., who wrote some of my earliest gluten-free cookbooks, is one worth looking at (note that although the title "wheat free", it is, in fact, a gluten-free cookbook, also eliminating barley and rye, as well).

Book Description
Hundreds of delicious, easy, and nutritious recipes and menus for the home cook—all without wheat or gluten

The millions of people who avoid wheat and gluten due to celiac disease, allergies, or intolerance—or simply to improve their health—know how difficult creating balanced, tasty meals can be. Gluten is found not just in bread, pasta, and cereal, but in unexpected items like cream soups, sauces, and condiments. Preparing a simple, homemade meal without gluten-based products can seem daunting.

Carol Fenster, Ph.D., has been using her expert knowledge and cooking know-how to keep herself and her gluten-free family happy and healthy for over ten years. In Wheat-Free Recipes and Menus, Fenster shares her years of experience, explaining how to incorporate new ingredients into down-home, easy to prepare meals, free of wheat but full of taste. Employing easy-to-find substitutes for gluten-based ingredients, Dr. Fenster’s meals are rich and flavorful without relying on excess fat and salt. Recipes range from simple snacks to elaborate dinners, and include gluten-free recipes for favorites like breads, pizza, dumplings, and all kinds of baked goods.

Avoiding wheat and gluten no longer means resigning to dietary boredom or risking an unhealthy diet. Dr. Fenster's recipes emphasize fresh, wholesome ingredients and clear instructions that make for fail-proof preparation of mouthwatering, gluten-free meals.