Sony Mystery Book Bundle

My internet is still down today, so a quick post from the coffee shop.

This one's for those with a Sony Reader or who don't mind reading on their computers. Three books (one is an anthology) for the price of one - $5.69.

Candy Cane Murder

'Tis the season for trimming the tree, caroling, baking cookies, and curling up by the Yuletide waiting for Santa to drop down the chimney. But in this festive collection of holiday whodunits, murder is also paying a visit... This anthology includes:

• "Candy Cane Murder" by Joanne Fluke
• "The Dangers of Candy Canes" by Laura Levine
• "Candy Canes of Christmas Past" by Leslie Meier

Bake Sale Murder by Leslie Meier
Ever since local developer Fred Stanton and his wife, Mimi, built five modular homes next door to Lucy Stone's farmhouse, life just hasn't been the same. With Mimi complaining about everything from the state of Lucy's lawn to another neighbor's lovable dog, quaint Tinker's Cove, Maine, is now entangled in cul-de-sac politics and backstabbing. And when Mimi doesn't show up for her shift at The Hat and Mitten Fund bake sale, the scent of burnt sugar leads Lucy to a shocking discovery: Mimi, face down on her kitchen floor--with a knife in her back.
While the police start their investigation, Lucy gets busy writing up the murder for the local Pennysaver--and following a few leads of her own. Lucy knows the women in her neighborhood didn't like Mimi, but they certainly didn't want her dead...right?

This Pen for Hire by Laura Levine
Smarmy personals ads. Daring declarations of love. Writer-for-hire Jaine Austen has penned them all. But when one of the love connections she made is broken up by murder, Jaine finds herself freelancing free-of-charge--and uncovering more than she bargained for...

No one seems to need her help more than geeky, gawky Howard Murdoch. His request is simple enough: a letter proclaiming his undying love for Stacy Lawrence, a gorgeous aerobics instructor. The fact that he's never actually met the woman gives Jaine pause--but she soon overcomes her misgivings, warms up her computer, and starts pitching woo on Howard's behalf. To Jaine's surprise, the letter is a success--the unlikely Romeo lands a date! But his triumph is, sadly, short-lived. On Valentine's Day, Howard finds Stacy bludgeoned to death with a Thigh Master--and is quickly named the prime suspect.

Upon hearing the news, Jaine is shocked. Sure, Howard's awkward, eccentric, and a tiny bit odd. But a murderer? That's hard to believe. Especially after a little sleuthing turns up a whole bunch of people who harbored less-than-loving feelings towards the svelte Stacy. But Jaine had better wrangle her clues quickly, before a crafty killer catches on--and puts a whole new spin on her ghost writing career...

Click HERE to see the bundle (but you'll need to use your Sony software to actually buy it).

Almost Free Game - World of Goo

I first heard about World of Goo ($12.24; PC/Mac) as a WIIWare download ($14.99), but there are versions for your PC, Mac and Linux available, with prices ranging from around $12 to $20. For those of you, like me, who never got around to buying the game or weren't sure if they wanted it, you can get it for your PC, Mac or for Linux as a digital download and pay whatever you want, as little as one penny. It's part of a one-year anniversary sale (World of Goo is a year old) and you can get the game by clicking HERE, then on the Get It button half-way down the screen (there are demos farther down the page). You'll use PayPal to check out, after telling them how much you want to pay, but don't have to have a PayPal account (you can use most major credit cards). The sale ends Monday, Oct 19.

Game Description

• 47 beautiful levels backed with a spell binding soundtrack
• 10 different types of goo, each with their own unique abilities
• Use balloons to steady your creation or give your structure flight!
• A huge variety of different puzzles and situations
• Beautiful, fun, and one of the highlights of this year - PC Gamer

Drag and drop living, squirming, talking globs of goo to build structures, bridges, cannonballs, zeppelins, and giant tongues. The millions of innocent goo balls that live in the beautiful World of Goo are curious to explore. But they don't know that they are in a game, or that they are extremely delicious. The most addicting and awe-inspiring puzzle game will set you on an adventure that you'll never forget!

$1.99 EBook Sale at Drollerie Press

Drollerie Press has been holding a $1.99 sale on their web site - every book at $1.99 or less. They lowered the prices at mobipocket.com, as well and I kept waiting for the Kindle prices to drop, but they never did. In any case, the sale should continue thru tomorrow on the web site. It turns out that the books you buy from them direct are DRM-Free, which means you can load them onto your kindle (unlike the ones at mobipocket.com) and there are multiple formats available, in case you have a different reader. You might want to check out the sale before it ends. If you do buy a book, make sure you don't use the Safari browser to download it. For whatever reason, Safari (at least on the Mac) will scramble the file as it is downloaded, rendering it unreadable. They download just fine with Firefox (on any platform) or Internet Explorer on a PC.

99 Cent Game Download - Ricochet Xtreme

Amazon's Video Game of the Day deal today is a 99 cent game download, Ricochet Xtreme.

Game Description

• 170 Exciting Levels.
• 4 Unique Environments.
• 15 Awesome Power-Ups.
• 13 Specialty Bricks.

Ricochet is an award winning breakout style game featuring state of the art graphics, sound, and lots of new twists on the old classic. It's a winning combination that your WHOLE family will enjoy. As one person wrote us: "My family is thrilled with Ricochet, we have all played it enthusiastically for months!"

SciFi and Fantasy - Bargains and free reads

If you missed Dragonflight/Dragonquest, by Anne Mccaffrey, last November, when it was $1.25, you can still get a good deal on this double volume at it's current $6.39 price. After you read that one, you'll want to check out Masterharper of Pern ($4.79).

Book Description
In a time when the deadly scourge Thread has not fallen on Pern for centuries--and many dare to hope that Thread will never fall again--a boy is born to Harper Hall. A musical prodigy who has the ability to speak with the dragons, he is called Robinton, and he is destined to be one of the most famous and beloved leaders Pern has ever known. It is a perilous time for the harpers who sing of Thread--they are being turned away from holds, derided, attacked, even beaten. In this climate of unrest, Robinton will come into his own. But despite the tragedies that beset his own life, he continues to believe in music and in the dragons, and he is determined to save his beloved Pern from itself--so that the dragonriders can be ready to fly against the dreaded Thread when at last it returns.

Way of The Wolf ($$2.00) is the first in E.E. Knight's Vampire Earth series. I suspect the price drop is part of a promotion due to the most recent release in the series, Winter Duty ($9.99), but it hasn't been publicized by Amazon.

Book Description
Louisiana, 2065. A lot has changed in the 43rd year of the Kurian Order. Possessed of an unnatural hunger, the bloodthirsty Reapers have come to Earth to establish a New Order built on the harvesting of human souls. They rule the planet. And if it is night, as sure as darkness, they will come.

But on this pitiless world, the indomitable spirit of man still breathes in Lieutenant David Valentine. And his mission is to win back Earth...

MetaGame ($2.39), by Sam Landstrom, is no longer a penny in the Kindle store - but you can download it for free from his website, in several DRM-free formats (get mobipocket for your Kindle).

Book Description
Life is a game, literally. Winners earn immortality, while losers are condemned to aging and death. D_Light, a gifted player, knows this all too well and he-s willing to do anything to win-even kill. It is no wonder then that when given the chance to enter a MetaGame-an exclusive, high-stakes, anything goes contest-he-s quick to jump at the opportunity. The MetaGame starts out well enough for D_Light, the first quest being to hunt down a dangerous fugitive, but through his own ambition, the tables turn and D_Light finds himself the renegade. Now, D_Light pits himself against his world to find the truth behind -The Game- and must decide between winning it and saving what-s left of his humanity.

This 122,000 word (~400 page) novel blends emerging political and cultural trends, such as gaming culture, globalization, and the ever-increasing hegemony of corporations, with technological trends, such as genetic engineering, artificial intelligence, and virtual reality. Emerging from this stew is an original world for you to explore through the point of view of its many "players".

The Flame Within ($1.49), by Eric Noss, is Book One of the Keepers' Garden Trilogy

Book Description
The royal seat of Keepers' Garden has been usurped through assassination and the loose confederation of city-states within its borders is crumbling. After months of conflict, the Liberation and Imperials have emerged as the two major contenders for the throne.
But as one battle draws to a climax, another, darker cloud looms on the horizon.

The Flame Within follows Spirit Knight Aralon Mittel, part of a select elite of the soldiery trained in magic and the sword since late childhood. Yet Aralon is less known for his personal achievements than he is for being the younger brother of the missing Hyval Mittel, the Garden's greatest Spirit Knight.

Aralon is accompanied by Darvin Hegg, his former instructor and now his second officer, and Kiyana Irhan, a Mist Elf from beyond the reaches of the Garden. Join them as they attempt to end the Garden's civil war and are propelled into a conflict more profound than any had ever imagined...

Day Omega ($14.95), by Craig Harms, is available for free on his website. His royalties on the book were supposed to go to a charity, but the publisher has apparently disappeared on him, so he hasn't received anything from the Kindle or paperback sales. Instead, he invites you to get the book directly from him and, if you enjoy it, make a donation to www.campcallahan.com.

Book Description
Life in Chicago is bad for Sam Dimas, and it’s about to change – for the worse. After an argument with his wife, Sam storms out of the house. A vivid flash seems to rip the sky apart, and his wife has gone – along with millions of other people around the world. This is an exciting and thought provoking story, with unexpected twists and turns. Prepare for a thrilling ride – the end of the world is coming, the seven-year countdown to Christ’s return has just started!

Shayla Black is giving away , a novella introduction to her Doomsday Brethren series. You can get a free copy from Simon and Schuster, if you sign up for a newsletter, or you can read it online or download it from ScribD and skip the signup.

Book Description
They were meant to be together…but will magic tear them apart?

You can't buy Steven Lake's The Oort Perimeter ($15.99 paperback) in the Kindle store, but you can get it for free from his website (Epub or PDF). You can even download the audio version, HERE.

Book Description
Born of a need to protect their homeworld, Earthfleet, the military arm of the Society, struggles continuously to ensure the safety of Earth and all who live on it. But a dark force arises within the galaxy, one who wishes to use Earth as a pawn in their quest for power. In a struggle for survival, the Society, Earthfleet and their allies must race against time to uncover the truth of this dark force, before it can destroy Earth, and the nine races. Failure means extinction of the human race.

Harper Collins is letting you read Terry Pratchett's The Color of Magic ($7.99) for free this month, but online as a online read, HERE.

Book Description
Terry Pratchett's profoundly irreverent novels are consistent number one bestsellers in England, where they have garnered him a revered position in the halls of parody next to Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Douglas Adams, and Carl Hiaasen.

The Color of Magic is Terry Pratchett's maiden voyage through the now-legendary land of Discworld. This is where it all begins--with the tourist Twoflower and his wizard guide, Rincewind.

In closing, here's an update to a previous post. Ricky Sides, author of The Peacekeepers series, has dropped the price of books 2-5 down to $2.00, at least for the near term. If his sales stay up, the books will stay at that price; if not, they'll go up to the planned $3.99. I've already finished the first two books and have the next three waiting on my Kindle (although I'm taking a break to read another genre for a bit, so I don't burn out on the series). It may take a day or two for the price drop to hit the Kindle store, but the sale price is already in effect at Smashwords: The Birth of the Peacekeepers, Some Gave All, Liberty or Death, Eternal Vigilance and Descent into Madness.