Kindle Daily Deals 5/3

The current Lightning Deal, for those that read my posts as they go up, is a Sublime Imprint Anti-Fatigue Cobblestone Series Comfort Mat. We have two of these in the kitchen and I truly love them for standing on while cooking or washing dishes. They are, though, a bit pricy and the current additional $20 off drops them from outrageous to just expensive

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is In the Shadow of the Banyan ($1.99), by Vaddey Ratner [Simon and Schuster].

Book Description
Told from the tender perspective of a young girl who comes of age amid the Cambodian killing fields, this searing first novel—based on the author’s personal story—has been hailed by Little Bee author Chris Cleave as “a masterpiece…utterly heartbreaking and impossibly beautiful.”

For seven-year-old Raami, the shattering end of childhood begins with the footsteps of her father returning home in the early dawn hours bringing details of the civil war that has overwhelmed the streets of Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital. Soon the family’s world of carefully guarded royal privilege is swept up in the chaos of revolution and forced exodus.

Over the next four years, as she endures the deaths of family members, starvation, and brutal forced labor, Raami clings to the only remaining vestige of childhood—the mythical legends and poems told to her by her father. In a climate of systematic violence where memory is sickness and justification for execution, Raami fights for her improbable survival. Displaying the author’s extraordinary gift for language, In the Shadow of the Banyan is testament to the transcendent power of narrative and a brilliantly wrought tale of human resilience.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Send Me No Flowers ($1.99), by Trish Jensen [Bell Bridge Books].

Book Description
When she was known as an overweight kid from a “loony” family, he often rescued her from bullies. Now she’s come back home all grownup and gorgeous, and he’s the one who will need rescuing.

Sheriff Rob Townsend of Daredevil, South Carolina remembers Jenny Creighton as the girl mean kids called “Jumbo Jenny.” He was compelled to protect her on more than one occasion, a brand of heroic kindness Jenny never forgot. Jenny’s returned to the small town to claim an inheritance and open a flower shop. On the inside, however, she’s still the chubby girl who doesn’t want anyone to remember her humiliating past.

Rob has turned into a hunk with a painful history of his own—one that makes him the biggest heartbreaker south of the Mason-Dixon line. When he becomes her best customer—buying flowers as goodbye gifts for a growing line-up of ex-girlfriends—the women in Daredevil begin to run from Jenny and her kiss-goodbye bouquets. How can she build a business when all the single gals in town are scared to see her on their doorsteps? And what are the secrets behind her childhood hero’s love-’em-and-leave-’em lifestyle?

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is Sandman Slim ($1.99), by Richard Kadrey [HarperCollins], even though the deals page says it's still The Map of the Sky by Felix J. Palma. The the companion audiobook is $2.99. Not only has this first Sandman Slim novel been issued in a reprint edition, there is a new addition to the series coming later this fall: Kill City Blues (now available for pre-order). If you are a long-time reader, be sure to check your libraries, tho - this novel has been free twice before (2-3 years ago), both times in different editions. If you want the audiobook at the discounted price, tho, you'll need to pick up this newer edition on Kindle, as the two older editions are not linked to the Audible edition.

Book Description
Sandman Slim has arrived—a wild and weird, edge-of-your-seat supernatural roller-coaster rider that propels author Richard Kadrey to the forefront of the fantasy, thriller, and a host of other literary genres. This spellbinding, utterly remarkable tale of a vengeful magician/hitman’s return from hell is part H.P. Lovecraft, part Christopher Moore, part Jim Butcher, and totally, unabashedly dark, twisted, and hilarious.

Today's Kindle Teens Daily Deal is Fever 1793 ($0.99), by Laurie Halse Anderson [Simon and Schuster]. Publisher's Weekly calls this historical novel "extremely well researched" and the reader reviews are overwhelmingly five stars.

Book Description
It's late summer 1793, and the streets of Philadelphia are abuzz with mosquitoes and rumors of fever. Down near the docks, many have taken ill, and the fatalities are mounting. Now they include Polly, the serving girl at the Cook Coffeehouse. But fourteen-year-old Mattie Cook doesn't get a moment to mourn the passing of her childhood playmate. New customers have overrun her family's coffee shop, located far from the mosquito-infested river, and Mattie's concerns of fever are all but overshadowed by dreams of growing her family's small business into a thriving enterprise. But when the fever begins to strike closer to home, Mattie's struggle to build a new life must give way to a new fight-the fight to stay alive.

Free Book - Deep-Fried Goodness (DF)

Deep-Fried Goodness, which looks to be a 20 recipe sampler of recipes taken from John Martin Taylor's The Fearless Frying Cookbook ($8.76 Kindle), is free direct from Workman Publishing this month, as a part of their Blue Plate Specials promotion. Taylor's earlier cookbook, Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking: Recipes and Ruminations from Charleston and the Carolina Coastal Plain ($13.75 Kindle), has been re-released in a 20th Anniversary Edition by The University of North Carolina Press and he has three more that are still only available as used paper copies (so far).

Book Description
James Beard Award-winning author Crescent Dragonwagon gives the humble bean its proper due, showcasing its versatility in stovetop recipes from refried beans to falafel and tofu.

Get the free ebook from Workman, using promo code d34rd4d (no spaces and those are numbers in places of some letters). You can download a DRM-Free copy in MOBI or EPUB format.

The Fearless Frying Cookbook

Fried food is crispy, juicy, golden, and tasty. It's food that inspires passion, and no matter what anyone says about health you're going to find a way to eat it. But wait, even the health news isn't so bad-if food is fried properly.

Hoppin' John Martin Taylor, well-respected food writer and author of Lowcountry Cooking, first shows how food that is cooked in clean, hot oil can be virtually greaseless. Hoppin' John's collection of over 125 fast, easy-to-prepare recipes not only includes the essentials-from fritters to corn cake, Smothered Steak to Pan-Fried Pork Chops-but offers lots of unexpected treats, too, with Asian, Mexican, Indian, and other influences. There are Vietnamese Spring Rolls, Italian Zucchini Pancakes, and Whole Fried Fish with Spicy Thai Sauce.

Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking

At oyster roasts and fancy cotillions, in fish camps and cutting-edge restaurants, the people of South Carolina gather to enjoy one of America's most distinctive cuisines--the delicious, inventive fare of the Lowcountry. In his classic Hoppin' John's Lowcountry Cooking, John Martin Taylor brings us 250 authentic and updated recipes for regional favorites, including shrimp and grits, she-crab soup, pickled watermelon rinds, and Frogmore stew. Taylor, who grew up casting shrimp nets in Lowcountry marshes, adds his personal experiences in bringing these dishes to the table and leads readers on a veritable treasure hunt throughout the region, giving us a delightful taste of an extraordinary way of life

UK Kindle Daily Deal 5/3

Born Liars: Why We Can't Live Without Deceit (£1.09 UK), by Ian Leslie, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (no US edition).

Book Description
In Born Liars, Ian Leslie takes the reader on an exhilarating tour of ideas that brings the latest news about deception back from the frontiers of psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, and explores the role played by lies - both black and white - in our childhoods, our careers, and our health, as well as in advertising, politics, sport and war. Drawing on thinkers as varied as Augustine, Charles Darwin, Sigmund Freud and Joni Mitchell, the author argues that, far from being a bug in the human software, lying is central to who we are; that we cannot understand ourselves without first understanding the dynamics of deceit. After reading Born Liars you'll never think about lies - or life - in quite the same way again.

Nook Daily Find 5/3

Run the Risk ($4.74 Kindle, $1.99 B&N), by Lori Foster, is the Nook Daily Find. It's likely to be price matched on Kindle later this morning, where the the companion audiobook is $3.49.

Book Description
When Detective Logan Riske goes undercover to find Pepper Yates, a potential link to his best friend's unsolved murder, he vows to gain her cooperation by any means necessary. But the elusive beauty is more suspicious—and in far more danger—than he expected. And the last thing Logan needs is to start caring for her….

Pepper has spent years dodging the corrupt club owner who will stop at nothing to keep her silenced. She can trust no one, not even the handsome new "construction worker" who's moved in next door. The heat between them is undeniable. But will surrendering to passion bring her the safety she so desires—or will her feelings for Logan draw them both into a killer's crosshairs?

Kindle Daily Deals 5/2

Today's Gold Box at Amazon is with "Up to 60% Off Jewelry Gifts for Mother's Day". If you (or Mom) have an iPhone 4 or 5, you can also get 60% off of a custom case over at AmazonLocal, including having a case made with your own photo (from $12; you can still get them overnighted in time for Mother's Day or get free shipping if you don't mind a later delivery date).

Amazon's Android Free App of the Day is Jump Desktop (RDP & VNC). This app for remotely viewing and controlling your desktop PC normally costs $10 and looks like it is supported on almost all my Android devices (phone, Fire, a tablet).

For those with a subscription at Audible, the the 3-for-2 Sale is back. Pick from 200+ books in several categories and get three books for only two credits (usually, if you don't have two credits, Audible will also show you an offer to buy three at a discount when sales like this are going on). Sale ends May 9 (and often ends before the midnight time shown, so don't wait until the last minute).

Today's Kindle Teen Daily Deal is A Certain Slant of Light ($1.99), by Laura Whitcomb [Graphia 2005]. Since I don't see any activity on the Graphia label since 2007 on Houghton Mifflin's website and I know Diane Duane is now publishing her backlist from there, I suspect that this is also an indie-published backlist selection (so, more money goes to the author!).

Book Description
In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: for the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen—terrified, but intrigued—is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.

Today's Kindle Daily Deal is Greatest Knight ($1.99), by Elizabeth Chadwick [Sourcebooks Landmark], with the companion audiobook for $3.99.

Book Description
Royal protector. Loyal servant. Forgotten hero.

A penniless young knight with few prospects, William Marshal is plucked from obscurity when he saves the life of Henry II's formidable queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine. In gratitude, she appoints him tutor to the heir to the throne, the volatile and fickle Prince Henry. But being a royal favorite brings its share of danger and jealousy as well as fame and reward.

A writer of uncommon historical integrity and accuracy, Elizabeth Chadwick resurrects the true story of one of England's greatest forgotten heroes in a captivating blend of fact and fiction. The Greatest Knight restores William Marshal to his rightful place at the pinnacle of the Middle Ages, reflecting through him the triumphs, scandals, and power struggles that haven't changed in eight hundred years.

Today's Kindle Romance Daily Deal is Hawk's Prize ($0.99), by Elaine A. Barbieri [Montlake Romance].

Book Description
Drew is the last of the four siblings to return to Galveston, the first to admit he is in over his head. Stranded in a high-priced bordello because of a wounded leg, Drew finds himself being nursed by a woman of mystery. Sensual lady of the night or innocent angel of mercy, she keeps her identity secret. But as he is reunited with his brother and sisters, and the wrongs of the past are righted, one thing becomes clear: Tricia Lee Shepherd is the other half of his soul, the only person who can make his future shine bright.

Today's Kindle SciFi/Fantasy Daily Deal is The Map of the Sky ($2.99), by Felix J. Palma [Atria Books/Simon and Schuster]. It appears that Mr. Palma has moved to Atria from HarperCollins, as his bestseller The Map of Time is available (for now, until S&S notices this) from both publishers and HarperCollins has their edition on sale for $3.79, making this Daily Deal a double header!

Book Description
The New York Times bestselling author of The Map of Time returns with a mesmerizing novel casting H.G. Wells in a leading role, as the extraterrestrial invasion featured in The War of the Worlds is turned into a bizarre reality.

A love story serves as backdrop for The Map of the Sky when New York socialite Emma Harlow agrees to marry millionaire Montgomery Gilmore, but only if he accepts her audacious challenge: to reproduce the extraterrestrial invasion featured in Wells’s War of the Worlds. What follows are three brilliantly interconnected plots to create a breathtaking tale of time travel and mystery, replete with cameos by a young Edgar Allan Poe, and Captain Shackleton and Charles Winslow from The Map of Time.