Books on The Knob

Free and Bargain Book Roundup

2012-01-27T14:24:00.001-05:00

Score a double feature (and replace those tattered copies) with Erich Segal's Love Story ($0.99) and the sequel Oliver's Story ($3.99) ... just be sure to stock up on Kleenex before reading!

Love Story
Lose your heart to the novel that defined a generation then...and now.

Love means never having to say you're sorry...

He is Oliver Barrett IV, a rich jock from a stuffy WASP family on his way to a Harvard degree and a career in law.

She is Jenny Cavilleri, a wisecracking, working-class beauty studying music at Radcliffe.

Opposites in nearly every way, Oliver and Jenny immediately attract, sharing a love that defies everything ... yet will end too soon. A love that will linger in your heart now and forever.

Oliver's Story
Oliver Barrett IV found the love of his life in Jenny Cavilleri. And though the time they spent together was brief, it was enough to last a lifetime. Or so Oliver told himself. Living without her for two years now, he still believes he will never love again. Until the day he meets a beautiful and mysterious woman, and suddenly the future seems very different than Oliver thought it would be.

The tale of one man's journey out of the lonely darkness of heartbreak into the warm embrace of love, this moving and beautiful sequel to Love Story will capture your heart as only Erich Segal can.

War Horse ($4.99), by Michael Morpurgo

Book Description
A powerful tale of war, redemption, and a hero's journey....

In 1914, Joey, a beautiful bay-red foal with a distinctive cross on his nose, is sold to the army and thrust into the midst of the war on the Western Front. With his officer, he charges toward the enemy, witnessing the horror of the battles in France. But even in the desolation of the trenches, Joey's courage touches the soldiers around him and he is able to find warmth and hope. But his heart aches for Albert, the farmer's son he left behind. Will he ever see his true master again?

God is an Englishman ($1.99), by R. Delderfield, is one I'll be glad not to have to read in paper, as it weighs in at a hefty 659 pages!

Book Description
The first novel in the epic God Is an Englishman series, this book is a stirring saga of England in the 19th century, as the Industrial Revolution takes hold, forever changing the landscape of England and her people.

Adam Swann, scion of an army family, returns home in 1858 after service with Her Majesty's army in the Crimea and India, determined to build his fortune in the dog-eat-dog world of Victorian commerce. Swann is soon captivated by Henrietta, the high-spirited daughter of a local mill owner. As Swann works to build his name, he and Henrietta share adventures, reversal, and fortune.

A beloved novel by a beloved author, God Is an Englishman is a treasure both for Delderfield fans and the growing legion of fans of historical fiction.

The Old Man and the Wasteland ($0.99), by Nick Cole, is self-published, with a large number of reviews (over 500) that are overwhelming 4 and 5 stars.

Book Description
Forty years after the destruction of civilization...Man is reduced to salvaging the ruins of a broken world. One man’s most prized possession is Hemingway’s classic ‘The Old Man and the Sea.’ With the words of the novel echoing across the wasteland, a survivor of the Nuclear Holocaust journeys into the unknown to break a curse.

What follows is an incredible tale of survival and endurance. One man must survive the desert wilderness and mankind gone savage to discover the truth of Hemingway’s classic tale of man versus nature. Part Hemingway, part Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, a suspenseful odyssey into the dark heart of the Post-Apocalyptic American southwest.

A book lover’s action flick.

If you liked Suzanne Collins' The Hunger Games ($4.69; KLL) or are looking for a title for a slightly younger reader, you might want to check out Gregor the Overlander ($4.99), which kicks off her The Underland Chronicles series for early teens (although the best deal is still the Gregor the Overlander Collection, which contains all five books for $19.22).

Book Description
This irresistible first novel tells the story of a quiet boy who embarks on a dangerous quest in order to fulfill his destiny -- and find his father -- in a strange world beneath New York City.

When Gregor falls through a grate in the laundry room of his apartment building, he hurtles into the dark Underland, where spiders, rats, cockroaches coexist uneasily with humans. This world is on the brink of war, and Gregor's arrival is no accident. A prophecy foretells that Gregor has a role to play in the Underland's uncertain future. Gregor wants no part of it -- until he realizes it's the only way to solve the mystery of his father's disappearance. Reluctantly, Gregor embarks on a dangerous adventure that will change both him and the Underland forever.

For those who can't do pre-orders or want to sample first, What It Was, by George Pelecanos, has shipped and it is still 99 cents on Kindle and from B&N.

Book Description

It isn't just the mid-list authors that are releasing their backlist and short stories on their own. Lawrence Block has released a large number of short stories in the 99 cent price range, along with an anthology of two novelettes, a collection of columns on stamps and seven novels being released by Open Road, all at $2.99 (for now).

The Burglar Who Dropped In On Elvis ($0.99)
Between 1977 and 1983, I wrote and published five books about the lighthearted and lightfingered Bernard Grimes Rhodenbarr, with his secondhand bookstore and his dogwashing buddy, Carolyn. It was 1994 before a sixth Burglar book came along, but by then I’d written a pair of short stories about our lad.

The first, “Like a Thief in the Night,” was exceptional in that it’s told from the point of view of the young woman who walks in on Bernie while he’s burgling a suite of midtown offices. (She’s pretty and personable, and he’s Bernie, so everything works out just fine.) A few years later I was holed up at a writers colony in Virginia with time on my hands, and a whole batch of short stories was the happy result. One was this one, in which Bernie’s enlisted by a supermarket tabloid to take forbidden photos at Graceland.

That same stint in Virginia also yielded “Answers to Soldier,” about a hit man on a job in a small city in Oregon. Each story went straight to Alice Turner at Playboy, who bought them both. A couple of years later I found I had more to say about that hit man, whose name was Keller; there have now been four books about him, and I suspect there’ll be at least one more to come. And as for Bernie, there have been five more books, making a total of ten. And there’s been one more short story, “The Burglar Who Smelled Smoke.” And every once in a while an entire day goes by without someone asking me when I’m going to write another book about the fellow…

Afterthoughts ($0.99)
A collection of afterwords from Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Lawrence Block’s most acclaimed works

In a career spanning more than fifty years, Lawrence Block has produced over one hundred books, ranging in genre from hard-boiled detective stories to pseudonymous erotica. Collected here for the first time are more than forty-five afterwords from the works that made him a master of modern fiction.

Each afterword is an insightful reflection on the experiences that have brought Block’s fiction to life, from the lessons he learned as a reader at a literary agency to the unlikely—and semi-autobiographical—origins of the acclaimed Matthew Scudder series. Witty and inspiring, Afterthoughts is a must-read for Block fans and mystery lovers alike.

This ebook features an illustrated biography of Lawrence Block, including rare photos and never-before-seen documents from the author’s personal collection.

The Night and The Music ($2.99)
Lawrence Block’s 17 Matthew Scudder novels have won the hearts of readers throughout the world—along with a bevy of awards including the Edgar, the Shamus, the Philip Marlowe (Germany), and the Maltese Falcon (Japan). And it’s MattScudder who’s been largely reponsible for Block’s lifetime achievement awards: Grand Master (Mystery Writers of America), The Eye (Private Eye Writers of America), and the Cartier Diamond Dagger (UK Crime Writers Association).

But Scudder has starred in short fiction as well, and it’s all here, from a pair of late-70s novelettes (Out the Window and A Candle for the Bag Lady) through By the Dawn’s Early Light (Edgar) and The Merciful Angel of Death (Shamus), all the way to One Last Night at Grogan’s, a moving and elegiac story never before published. It was short fiction that kept the series alive on the several occasions when the flow of novels wass ingterrupted, and short stories that took Scudder down different paths and showed us unmapped portions of his world.

Some of these stories appeared in such magazines as Alfred Hitchcock, Ellery Queen, and Playboy. The title vignette, The Night and the Music, was written for a NYC jazz festival program; another, Mick Ballou Looks at the Blank Screen, has appeared only as the text of a limited-edition broadside. And the final story, putting Matt and Elaine at a table with Mick and Kristin Ballou in a shuttered Hell’s Kitchen saloon, has its first appearance in this volume.

Several stories look back from the time of their writing, with Scudder recounting events from his former life as a cop, first as a patrolman partnered with the legendary Vince Mahaffey, then as an NYPD detective leading a double life. In Looking for David, Matt and Elaine are on vacation in Florence, where they encounter a man Matt arrested decades earlier; now Matt finally learns the motive behind a brutal homicide.

Along with the eleven stories and novelettes, The Night and The Music includes a list of the seventeen novels in chronological order, and an author’s note detailing the origin and bibliographical details of each of the stories.

Brian Koppelman, the prominent screenwriter and director (Solitary Man, Ocean’s Thirteen, Rounders) and a major Matt Scudder fan, has sweetened the pot with an introduction.

Generally Speaking ($2.99)
In the summer of 2009, award-winning novelist Lawrence Block began contributing a monthly column to Linn’s Stamp News, America’s leading philatelic publication. A collector as a boy and young man, Block had returned to the hobby in the 1990s. Before long he had begun writing about stamps when one of his characters, an assassin-for-hire named Keller, took up philately so he’d have something to do in his impending retirement.

Collectors can probably imagine what became of Keller’s retirement fund; it dwindled even as his collection thrived, and he’s gone on to star in four novels—Hit Man, Hit List, Hit Parade, and Hit & Run—with a fifth, Hit Me, coming from Mulholland Books in 2013.

Block’s column, “Generally Speaking,” quickly became one of Linn’s most popular features. It consists of the reflections and observations of a general worldwide collector—the author, like Keller, collects the whole world during philately’s first century, 1840 to 1940, plus British Empire through the reign of George VI.

The column ranges widely in theme, sometimes dealing with the choices a collector has to make (“Mint or Used?”, “Condition, condition, condition”), sometimes with the day to day tasks one confronts (“Album Bulge and Other Afflictions”, “Buying the Same Stamp Twice”), and often shining the light of philately upon some intriguing social or cultural topic. (“The Philatelic Upside of War” examines the profusion of collectible stamps resulting from the First World War; the philatelic impact of Germany’s hyperinflation of 1923 is assessed in “How Much is That Dachshund in the Fenster?”)

Generally Speaking gathers together the first twenty-five of Block’s columns. If you’ve been reading them in Linn’s, now you can have all the columns at hand in one place. If you’re a collector but haven’t read Lawrence Block before, you’re in for a treat.

And if you’re a fan of the bestselling author’s fiction, but have always regarded a stamp as something to stick on an envelope, here’s your chance to get a little more insight into what keeps Keller hard at work. Even if you don’t rush out to equip yourself with a pair of tongs and a packet of hinges, you’ll have a good time reading about it, and will very likely emerge with a little more respect for what has long been called the King of Hobbies and the Hobby of Kings.

My Heart May Be Broken, but My Hair Still Looks Great ($0.99), by Dixie Cash, is one of several superbargains from HarperCollins right now.

Book Description
Welcome to Salt Lick, Texas, home of big hair,
big ranches, and two of the biggest busybodies ever
to wield a blow-dryer—Debbie Sue and Edwina,
also known as the Domestic Equalizers. Their motto:
Don't run over him—get over him! Their mission:
Track down and expose your straying man. And they
won't stop until female domestic justice is served.

Debbie Sue Overstreet and Edwina Perkins-Martin have never encountered a problem that couldn't be fixed with a strong margarita, a whole lot of hairspray, and an ear for gossip. They've learned that you'll only find a straying spouse—or solve a crime—by keeping your senses alert. After all, every red-blooded Texas woman knows ears are more than just a place to hang your diamond earrings!

Newcomers stand out in Salt Lick like a preacher in a liquor store, and all ears—and eyes—are on Paige McBride and Spur Atwater. Paige arrived in town with nothing more than two hundred dollars in her pocket and a Cadillac SUV packed with designer clothes. Her oil-rich daddy has cut her off without a penny and now it's time for her to get one of those real jobs.

The Domestic Equalizers know that Paige and her Barbie-doll looks are gonna stir things up. Soon every cowboy, trucker, and even one of Debbie Sue's ex-boyfriends, a rodeo star, is knocking on Paige's door. And, at just about the time she turns up to start her job tending the best cutting horses in Texas, the horses start disappearing from all the local ranches.

Paige discovers she actually likes her work. After all, horses are more loyal than most men. But she doesn't like Spur, the new town veterinarian. Besides being movie-star good-looking, Spur's an ex–football star. Women of all ages love the new vet, and suddenly, more cats and dogs are getting sick than ever before.

Working on the ranch means Paige can't avoid the man, and all those disappearing horses bring her together with the Domestic Equalizers. Edwina and Debbie Sue think that Spur and Paige make the cutest couple—whether they're too bull-headed to realize it or not. But finding themselves knee-deep in the muck of a horse-thievin' and husband-cheatin' escapade is a whole other issue. No doubt about it, hearts are definitely going to get broken, but if these gals have anything to do with it, the hairstyles around town are still gonna look great!

Untie My Heart ($1.99), by Judith Ivory

Book Description
Stuart Aysgarth, the new Viscount Mount Villiars, doesn't know he's playing with fire when he inadvertently runs afoul of Emma Hotchkiss. True, the exquisite Yorkshire lady is a mere sheep farmer, but she also guards a most colorful past that makes her only more appealing to the handsome, haunted lord. Emma has come to him seeking justice -- and Stuart is determined that she will not leave until she has shared her secrets ... and his bed. Her clever revenge scheme must fail in the face of his soft words and tender caress -- and then he turns the tables on his bewitching adversary, seducing her into a daring deception of his own ...

Still in My Heart (Ryland Brothers) ($0.99), by Kathryn Smith

Book Description
Brahm Ryland is a man used to getting everything he desires...

Another London season has just wound down and Brahm Ryland, Viscount Creed, is thankful for it. Since a horrible mistake ruined his betrothal to the beautiful Lady Eleanor Durbane, his life as a scandalous bachelor has grown tedious; every day without Eleanor seems longer than the last. But then a break in the monotony appears: an invitation to a shooting party at the home of Lord Burrough, Eleanor's father, and he knows his chance to make amends has come at last.

Yet Brahm soon finds that Eleanor will need more than a simple apology to atone for his betrayal -- and after so many years of hurt it will take time and care to make her learn to trust again. When all her sisters warn her against him, she knows she would be a fool to give their passion another chance. But what Eleanor doesn't know is that London's boldest viscount will do anything -- anything -- it takes for a second chance at his one true love ...

The First Rule of Ten (Dharma Detective) ($0.99), by Gay Hendricks and Tinker Lindsay, is an interesting looking title from Hay House.

Book Description
"Don't ignore intuitive tickles lest they reappear as sledgehammers." That's the first rule of Ten. Tenzing Norbu ("Ten" for short)-ex-monk and soon-to-be ex-cop-is a protagonist unique to our times. In The First Rule of Ten, the first installment in a three-book detective series, we meet this spiritual warrior who is singularly equipped, if not occasionally ill-equipped, as he takes on his first case as a private investigator in Los Angeles. Growing up in a Tibetan Monastery, Ten dreamed of becoming a modern-day Sherlock Holmes. So when he was sent to Los Angeles to teach meditation, he joined the LAPD instead. But as the Buddha says, change is inevitable; and ten years later, everything is about to change-big-time-for Ten. One resignation from the police force, two bullet-wounds, three suspicious deaths, and a beautiful woman later, he quickly learns that whenever he breaks his first rule, mayhem follows. Set in the modern-day streets and canyons of Los Angeles, The First Rule of Ten is at turns humorous, insightful, and riveting-a gripping mystery as well as a reflective, character-driven story with intriguing life-lessons for us all.

The Power of Intention ($0.89), by The Power of Intention, is another Hay House bargain.

Book Description
Intention is generally viewed as a pit-bull kind of determination propelling one to succeed at all costs by never giving up on an inner picture. In this view, an attitude that combines hard work with an indefatigable drive toward excellence is the way to succeed. However, intention is viewed very differently in this book. Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has researched intention as a force in the universe that allows the act of creation to take place. This book explores intention—not as something you do—but as an energy you’re a part of. We’re all intended here through the invisible power of intention. This is the first book to look at intention as a field of energy that you can access to begin co-creating your life with the power of intention.

Part I deals with the principles of intention, offering true stories and examples on ways to make the connection. Dr. Dyer identifies the attributes of the all-creating universal mind of intention as creative, kind, loving, beautiful, expanding, endlessly abundant, and receptive, explaining the importance of emulating this source of creativity. In Part II, Dr. Dyer offers an intention guide with specific ways to apply the co-creating principles in daily life. Part III is an exhilarating description of Dr. Dyer’s vision of a world in harmony with the universal mind of intention.

In My Heart (Donally Family) ($0.99), by Melody Thomas

Book Description
After a whirlwind affair and elopement with one of her father's officers, Lady Alexandra Marshall, daughter and sole heir of the Earl of Ware, watched helplessly as her husband was shipped off. An annulment followed, and though she waited with packed bags, Christopher never returned for her. Now, 10 years later, she can't help but wonder if fate is giving them a second chance at love.

Anne Frank ($1.99), by Francine Prose, is a well-reviewed addition to the body of Anne Frank literature available.

Book Description
In June 1942, Anne Frank received a red-and-white- checked diary for her thirteenth birthday, just weeks before she and her family went into hiding in an Amsterdam attic to escape the Nazis. For two years, with ever-increasing maturity, Anne crafted a memoir that has become one of the most compelling documents of modern history. She described life in vivid, unforgettable detail, explored apparently irreconcilable views of human nature—people are good at heart but capable of unimaginable evil—and grappled with the unfolding events of World War II, until the hidden attic was raided in August 1944.

But Anne Frank's diary, argues Francine Prose, is as much a work of art as a historical record. Through close reading, she marvels at the teenage Frank's skillfully natural narrative voice, at her finely tuned dialogue and ability to turn living people into characters. And Prose addresses what few of the diary's millions of readers may know: this book is a deliberate work of art. During her last months in hiding, Anne Frank furiously revised and edited her work, crafting a piece of literature that she had hoped would be read by the public after the war.

Read it has been. Few books have been as influential for as long, and Prose thoroughly investigates the diary's unique afterlife: the obstacles and criticism Otto Frank faced in publishing his daughter's words; the controversy surrounding the diary's Broadway and film adaptations; and the claims of conspiracy theorists who have cried fraud, along with the scientific analysis that proved them wrong. Finally, Prose, a teacher herself, considers the rewards and challenges of sharing one of the world's most read, and most banned, books with students.

How has the life and death of one girl become emblematic of the lives and deaths of so many, and why do her words continue to inspire? Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife tells the extraordinary story of the book that became a force in the world. Along the way, Francine Prose definitively establishes that Anne Frank was not an accidental author or a casual teenaged chronicler, but a writer of prodigious talent and ambition.

How has the life and death of one girl become emblematic of the lives and deaths of so many, and why do her words continue to inspire? Anne Frank: The Book, The Life, The Afterlife tells the extraordinary story of the book that became a force in the world. Along the way, Francine Prose definitively establishes that Anne Frank was not an accidental author or a casual teenage chronicler, but a writer of prodigious talent and ambition.

The Red Heart of Jade ($1.99) is the third in the Dirk & Steele series by Marjorie M. Liu. It's likely you already have Tiger Eye, as it was free last August.

Book Description
Beneath passion and purifying fire is . . . The Red Heart of Jade

Dean Campbell can see and sense things that others cannot—an extraordinary ability that drew the ex-cop to the Dirk & Steele Detective Agency, a global association of more-than-human men and women. Dean and his peers—shapeshifters, psychics, and other paranormals—are dedicated to protecting life. But there are those who live for destruction.

Now Dean's investigation into a series of unthinkable killings is calling him to Taipei, where a pattern is emerging that is more deadly than anything he could have foreseen. At the center is a power that could change the world . . . and the woman who can truly complete him: Mirabelle Lee, the girl Dean loved in his youth, the childhood sweetheart he once believed dead. Now that his heart has been reawakened, he will not lose her again—even as the forces of an immortal evil gather to destroy them and everything they love.

Deep in the Heart ($1.99), by Sharon Sala, is only one of a number of this author's titles currently being discounted. This one is published by HarperCollins, but I see Mira and Silhouette amongst the other titles (I counted 23 titles under $4, ranging from pure romance to romantic suspense).

Deep in the Heart
Samantha Carlyle knows someone is watching her—someone who wants her dead. So she runs to the safety of her tiny Texas hometown, and to the sweet, haunting memories of John Thomas Knight. A dedicated small-town sheriff as tender as he is tough, John Thomas was Samantha's best friend, her first love—and now he is her only chance. Fate has carried them down different roads, but the fire has never died—and the passion flares white-hot the moment their eyes meet again. But this time Samantha must trust the proud, strong, devastatingly handsome lawman with more than her heart—she must trust him with her life. Because there is another man who wants her, and he's waiting for the right time to strike. And the next sweet, sensuous kiss she and John Thomas share could well be Samantha's last.

Snowfall ($3.59)
A killer's hunger rages.... A woman waits in fear.... A cop races to stop the unthinkable....

It's December in Manhattan. Falling snow blankets the city--and covers the body of a murdered woman that bears a special message from a twisted killer.

High in her elegant apartment, bestselling mystery author Caitlin Bennett shivers in fear, holding the latest in a string of notes from a deranged "fan." No longer able to endure the growing terror alone, Caitlin agrees to hire ex-cop Connor "Mac" McKee as a bodyguard.

With Mac's protection, Caitlin begins to feel safe again. But when two more victims are discovered, each bearing a remarkable resemblance to Caitlin, they realize that she's the target. And that a deranged killer is now coming to claim his final victim....

Today's backlist/indie free books on Kindle (not likely to be free for long):

Blood Hunt (Garreth Mikaelian Detective Series), by Lee Killough, is a must-get for her fans
Margaret Lake's Regan O'Reilly, Private Investigator should increase your library for this author
Hollywood Confessions (Hollywood Headlines), by Gemma Halliday
Windswept, by Cynthia Thomason
Touched by Fire, by Colleen Thompson and Gwyneth Atlee
Galaxy of Heroes and Galaxy of Heroes II: War Heroes, by Gus Flory
Libby Sternberg's SLOANE HALL (A Tale of Old Hollywood), is on it's last free day that is allowed in the KLL
Doors to Eternity (Temple of the Traveler), by Scott Rhine
Repossession , by Nicola Thorne
Master Of Paradise, by Virginia Henley
Knights: The Eye of Divinity (A Novel of Epic Fantasy), by Robert E. Keller
To The Stars (The Harry Irons Trilogy), by Thomas Stone
The Phoenix Conspiracy, by Richard Sanders
Neptune Crossing (The Chaos Chronicles), by Jeffrey A. Carver
Madeline Mann (The Madeline Mann Mysteries), by Julia Buckley
Big Chills, by John McDonnell
The Essential Species of Pennsylvania, by Nicholas J. Henshue, Jennifer Henshue (Illustrator) and Zackery Zdinak (Illustrator) [nice flora/fauna field guide]
Peace Warrior, by Steven L. Hawk
My Name is Martha Brown, by Nicola Thorne
Conflict: The Callahans Book Two, by Gordon Ryan
The Fourth Nail, by Paul Argentini
The Countess (The Bride Quest 2) , by Claire Delacroix
The Touch, by Jaymie Holland
The CleanUp Woman, by Alisha Yvonne
The Devil's Paradise (The Talisman Chronicles #2), by Aiden James
Love in a Small Town, by Betty Jo Schuler
Love of a Stonemason, by Christa Polkinhorn
Hannah's Blessing, by Collette Scott
The Ghosts of Varner Creek, by Michael Weems
The Book of Lost Souls (The Ivy MacTavish Novels), by Michelle Muto
The Storykeeper, by Jade Buchanan
Five volumes w/ eleven novels by H.T. Night(who also has a box set of 5 vampire novels for $2.99)

The Indie Book Collective is having another contest, with five free books by the sponsoring authors. You should be able to visit all five today, leave a comment and get a book in your email.

Free Book - India's Summer (K/N)

2012-01-27T11:10:00.001-05:00

India's Summer, by Therese, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, courtesy of Fiction Studio.

Book Description
India Butler, single and about to turn forty, travels to LA in an attempt to reinvent her life. In a world rarely illuminated by the flashbulbs of the paparazzi, she discovers the true meaning of “having it all.”

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Today's Deals

2012-01-27T10:55:00.000-05:00

There are new 25% off coupon codes for KoboBooks this weekend: jan26au25, jan26us25, jan26uk25, jan26ca25, jan26row25

There are actually 20 free books in the B&N Classics program right now (thanks, Pinky, for the heads up!), so I've updated the links on this post to help you find them:

~~Ten~~ Twenty Free Books from B&N Classics Series (N)

City of Masks ($1.99), the first in the Cree Black series by Daniel Hecht, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day. It has good reviews (critical and customer), features New Orleans and ghosts and doesn't end after just a few pages (and you don't have to try to keep all 466 pages balanced and open when reading on the Kindle!); I'm definitely grabbing a sample on this one.

Book Description
In City of Masks, the first Cree Black novel, parapsychologist Cree and her partner take a case in New Orleans's Garden District that leaves them fearing for their own lives. The 150-year-old Beauforte House has long stood empty, until Lila Beauforte resumes residence and starts to see some of the house's secrets literally come to life. Tormented by an insidious and violent presence, Lila finds herself trapped in a life increasingly filled with childhood terrors. It takes Cree's unconventional take on psychology and her powerful natural empathy with Lila to navigate the dangerous worlds of spirit and memory, as they clash in a terrifying tale of mistaken identity and murder.

The Final Murder ($1.54 / £0.99 UK), the second title in the Johanne Vik (Vik and Stubo) series by Anne Holt, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $12.99 and titled What Never Happens).

Book Description
All over Oslo, celebrities are turning up dead in the most macabre of situations: a talk show host with her tongue cut out, a politician crucified with a copy of the Koran stuffed up her private parts, a literary critic stabbed in the eye. It's clear that the killer seeks some sort of retribution, but for what?

Adam Stubo and Johanna Vik, recently new parents, are reluctantly drawn into the investigation. As Stubo leads the inquiry, Johanna is exhausted by the new baby. But she is haunted by a pattern she discovers from a time long ago when she was in the FBI, a time she has tried to forget . . . and time is running out to stop the killer from completing this chilling series of murders.

Seek Me with All Your Heart (Land of Canaan Series #1) ($3.99 Kindle, B&N), by Beth Wiseman, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
What would cause the Amish to move to Colorado, leaving family and friends behind?

Some Amish are making the trek to Colorado for cheaper land. Others are fleeing strict bishops with long memories.

For Emily Detweiler and her family, the move is more personal. Tragedy struck Emily in Ohio, shaking loose everything she believed was firm, including her faith. Her family took the bold step of leaving Ohio to resettle in a small Amish community in Canaan, Colorado, where they hope the distance will help erase painful memories.

David Stoltzfus's family moved to Colorado for reasons he doesn't understand. But Canaan is turning out to be something other than the promised land they all anticipated. Fearing that a health condition will cut his life short, David plans to return home to Paradise, Pennsylvania, as soon as he can. But then he meets Emily, who stirs feelings in his heart despite his apprehension about the future.

Emily's growing love for David surprises her, but she fears that he will find out the truth about her past and reject her. But what if the truth is that they are made for each other? And that God longs to give them the desires of their hearts if only they will seek Him first?

Ten Twenty Free Books from B&N Classics Series (N)

2012-01-26T17:22:00.002-05:00

Update: OK, I've taken Pinky's list and added direct links for the ones that B&N doesn't put on their own Classics list (instead, these are labeled as part of their Kickstart Program, but don't show up in searches).

B&N has made 10 of their Barnes & Noble Classics Series available for free, once again (if you've collected these in the past, you probably already have them all, as I do). The ones available for free are:

Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift
House of Mirth by Edith Wharton
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy
Odyssey by Homer
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and Dubliners by James Joyce
Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
The Awakening and Selected Short Fiction by Kate Chopin
The Good Soldier by Ford Madox Ford
Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

These are more than just scans of the classics, as B&N uses their own translations and illustrations and generally includes commentary and other notes from a scholar in the field.

Series Description
Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:

New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars

Biographies of the authors

Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events

Footnotes and endnotes

Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work

Comments by other famous authors

Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations

Bibliographies for further reading

Indices & Glossaries, when appropriate

All editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.

Free Book - Highland Sanctuary (K/N/E)

2012-01-26T10:48:00.000-05:00

Highland Sanctuary, the second title in the Highland series by Jennifer Hudson Taylor, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble and ChristianBook, courtesy of Christian publisher Abingdon Press.

Book Description
A Sanctuary of Secrets...

Gavin MacKenzie, a chieftain heir who is hired to restore the ancient Castle of Braigh, discovers a hidden village of outcasts who have created their own private sanctuary from the world. Among them is Serena Boyd, a mysterious and
comely lass, who captures Gavin's heart in spite of harboring a deadly past that could destroy her future.

The villagers happen to be keeping an intriguing secret as well. When a fierce enemy launches an attack against them, greed leads to bitter betrayal. As Gavin prepares a defense, the villagers unite in a bold act of faith, showing how God's love is more powerful than any human force on earth.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.

Free Book - A Time for Peace (K/N/E)

2012-01-26T10:41:00.000-05:00

A Time for Peace, the third (and latest) title in the Quilts of Lancaster County series by Barbara Cameron, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble and ChristianBook, courtesy of Christian publisher Abingdon Press.

Book Description
After Years of Hardship, Jenny's Life Appears Perfect. So Why Does Something Seem to Be Missing?

Jenny Bontrager finally feels loved and cherished by her husband, Matthew, and his children. Life seems golden with both her family and career as a writer. Then one day her grandmother, Phoebe, falls ill, and Jenny cares for her. As she reaches into Phoebe's closet for a robe, Jenny finds a letter from her father dated the summer when she was nearly eighteen. As she struggles to understand her father's words, Jenny's love for him, and her recently renewed faith and trust in God are thrown into question again. And without warning, her perfect life is thrown into question . . .

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.

Free Book - A Texan's Promise (K/N/E)

2012-01-26T10:35:00.001-05:00

A Texan's Promise, the first title in the Heart of a Hero series by Shelley Gray, is a repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble and ChristianBook, courtesy of Christian publisher Abingdon Press.

Book Description
Past promises will be tested as new ones are given...

When Clayton Proffitt, foreman of the Circle Z Ranch in Texas, discovers Vanessa Grant is the victim of her stepfather's advances, Clayton knows he must spirit her away to safety.

As they make their way west, a deep bond develops between Vanessa and Clayton- far more significant than mere friendship or his sense of duty. But their journey also brings unexpected confrontations with Vanessa's stepfather. As Clayton and Vanessa place their faith in God, will they find healing and hope for the future together? Written by NY T bestselling author Shelley Gray.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.

Free Book - Always the Baker, Never the Bride (K/N/E)

2012-01-26T10:29:00.002-05:00

Always the Baker, Never the Bride, by Sandra D. Bricker, is a repeat freebie in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble and ChristianBook, courtesy of Christian publisher Abingdon Press.

Book Description
Thirty-six-year-old Emma Rae Travis has been baking specialty cakes and melt-in-your-mouth pastries at The Backstreet Bakery in historic Roswell, just outside of Atlanta, for the last six years. But here's the rub about her job as a baker Emma is diabetic. When she tastes her creations, it can only be in the most minute portions. Emma is considered an artisan for the stunning creme brulee wedding cake that won her the Passionate Palette Award last year, but she's never even had one full slice of it.

When Jackson Drake hears about this local baker who has won a prestigious award for her wedding cake artistry, he tells his assistant to be sure and include her in the pastry tastings scheduled at his new wedding destination hotel the following week. And for Jackson, that particular day has started out badly with two workmen trapped in a broken elevator and a delivery of several dozen 300-thread-count bed linens in the wrong size abandoned in the lobby. But when the arrogant baker he met a week prior in Roswell stumbles into the dining room with a platter of pastries and a bucketful of orders, he knows for certain: It's going to be a really rotten day.

Can these two ill-suited players master the high-wire act and make a go of their new business venture? Or will they take each other crashing downward, without a net? And will the surprise wedding at The Tanglewood be theirs?

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.

Today's Deals

2012-01-26T10:16:00.000-05:00

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

Get $2 off an Amazon Favorites MP3 Album

There are several albums in the $5 (pre-coupon) range and if you are into Classical Music, there is one at $1.99 and another at $2.49 that are good choices.

A Drowned Maiden's Hair ($0.99), by Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day. Looks like one you'll want in your library if you have middle grade readers in your household (or will have in the future).

Book Description
Maud Flynn is known at the orphanage for her impertinence. So when the charming Miss Hyacinth chooses her to take home, the girl is pleased but baffled, until she learns of her new role: helping to stage elaborate séances for bereaved patrons. As Maud is drawn deeper into the deception, playing the "secret child," she is torn between her need to please and her growing conscience. It takes a shocking betrayal to make clear just how heartless her so-called guardians are. Filled with fascinating details of turn-of-the-century spiritualism and page-turning suspense, this novel from Newbery Medalist Laura Amy Schlitz features a feisty heroine whom readers will not soon forget.

Mirage Men ($1.70 / £1.09 UK), by Mark Pilkington, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $9.99).

Book Description
In Mirage Men Mark Pilkington explores the complex, symbiotic relationship between the US military and intelligence agencies and the UFO enigma itself, together with its attendant culture of researchers, enthusiasts, mystics and charlatans. Amongst them are the Mirage Men, a close-knit group of men and women whose careers span science, medicine, the military and the intelligence services. All believe that they have received parts of a flying-saucer-shaped puzzle whose final pieces lie tantalisingly out of reach. Yet for how long?

Many of the Mirage Men believe that official ‘disclosure’ – a government announcement about the extraterrestrial presence – is just around the corner.The catch is that the world of the Mirage Men may actually be the real world, or at least the world as it really is – it’s just that the rest of us haven’t realised it yet. If we listen to the Mirage Men, somewhere deep within the sprawling apparatus of US government lies the ultimate truth about UFOs and extraterrestrials. This is the Holy Grail that the Mirage Men are chasing.

Mirage Men is not your average UFO book: it is about UFOs, those who believe in them, and those who would have us believe in them.

Fifty-to-One ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Charles Ardai, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle. This is the 50th book published by small press Hard Case Crime.

Book Description
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF HARD CASE CRIME!

Okay, not really. But what if, instead of having been founded 50 books ago, Hard Case Crime had been founded 50 years ago, by a rascal out to make a quick buck off the popularity of pulp fiction? Such a fellow might make a few enemies – especially after publishing a supposed non-fiction account of a heist at a Mob-run nightclub, actually penned by an 18-year-old showgirl. With both the cops and the crooks after them, our heroes are about to learn that reading and writing pulp novels is a lot more fun than living them...

If you are a big football fan and like video games, you might want to check out this current deal: $10 Off Madden NFL 12 plus Get the Madden NFL 12 (Kindle Fire Edition) Free.

Game Description
Madden NFL 12 continues the rich tradition of the storied franchise by bringing fans closer to the NFL than ever before. Featuring all 32 teams, stadiums, and your favorite players in the league, Madden NFL 12 is true to the game.

All-New Collision System
Now maintain full control of players up to the point of impact - from tackling to blocking - providing the most authentic collisions in franchise history. This new system uses a player's momentum and over 100 new tackle animations, including 40 gang tackles, to provide more impactful hits, stolen tackles, and consecutive hit tackling.

Advanced Defensive AI
Over 100 defensive A.I. enhancements resulting in the smartest Madden defense ever. Players in zone and man coverage will properly recognize and react to plays, including the ability to break out of assignments when appropriate, resulting in a defensive team that truly works together.

Custom Playbooks
The #1 most requested feature by fans in recent years, allows you to build the ultimate game plan by modifying an existing playbook or creating your own by selecting up to 400 offensive or defensive plays from 75 different playbooks. Integrate your custom playbook into a game plan for use with the improved GameFlow system, which executes an authentic, situational game plan for you.

Broadcast Redefined
Experience NFL Sundays like never before with completely overhauled presentation, including 32 team-specific run outs featuring mascots and cheerleaders, over 500 dynamic broadcast cameras authentic to every NFL stadium, innovative "real" on-field cameras shot by expert NFL Films cameramen, and a network inspired new broadcast graphics package.

Unprecedented On-Field Authenticity
Hundreds of visual improvements across all areas of the game including: new player equipment, helmet stickers, pylon and ball physics, a player degradation system that affects uniforms and helmets based on weather and field surface, 3D grass, and new player specific animations that showcase the personalities of each NFL player.

Build a Franchise
Over 100 new features and enhancements for franchise fanatics that includes expanded rosters, cut days in preseason, an all-new rookie scouting system, a free-agent bidding system, player roles, hot and cold streaks in-season, and much more.

The Fine Print:
Until February 5, 2012 get $10 off Madden NFL 12 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or Wii plus get the Madden NFL 12 (Kindle Fire Edition) for free.

Simply add any version of Madden NFL 12 from the list below to your cart and proceed to checkout in order to receive the promotion. You will receive a $4.99 promotional code valid on Madden NFL 12 (Kindle Fire Edition) via e-mail within two days after your order ships.

Valid when shipped and sold by Amazon.com, while supplies last.

Shipping fees and taxes may apply.

Amazon reserves the right to change or terminate this promotion at any time.

The promotion is limited to one per customer.

Offer expires at 11:59 p.m. PST on Sunday, February 5.

Seven Free Books from New Word City (K)

2012-01-25T15:45:00.001-05:00

There are seven new free titles from New Word City today (and three still free from their earlier promotions). Here are the new titles:

The Real Pirates of the Caribbean, by Colin Woodard
The Making of The Constitution, by Thomas Fleming
George Washington's First Test, by Thomas Fleming
The Story of Flight, by Andrew Curry
Harry Truman Gives 'Em Hell, by Willard Sterne Randall and Nancy Nahra
What You Can Learn from Dwight D. Eisenhower, by Maurice Coyle and Donna Sammons Carpenter
The Wikinomics Way, by Don Tapscott and Anthony Williams

Free and Bargain Book Roundup

2012-01-25T15:17:00.000-05:00

If you resisted the previous 3-in-1 Dark Swan bundle from Richelle Mead, perhaps due to already owning the first or second books included, you may want to pre-order the Richelle Mead Dark Swan Bundle: Storm Born, Thorn Queen, Iron Crowned & Shadow Heir, which at $9.99 works out to under $2.50/title and is even a reasonable price if you already own one or two in the series. If, like me, you already have the first three, then you can pick up #4, Shadow Heir, for $4.99, just squeaking under the bargain book threshhold (in fact, the entire series is on sale for under $5/each, if you just need to fill in a single title).

Book Description
Just typical. No love life to speak of for months, then all at once, every horny creature in the Otherworld wants to get in your pants. . .

Eugenie Markham is a powerful shaman who does a brisk trade banishing spirits and fey who cross into the mortal world. Mercenary, yes, but a girl's got to eat. Her most recent case, however, is enough to ruin her appetite. Hired to find a teenager who has been taken to the Otherworld, Eugenie comes face to face with a startling prophecy--one that uncovers dark secrets about her past and claims that Eugenie's first-born will threaten the future of the world as she knows it.

Eugenie Markham is a shaman for hire, paid to bind and banish creatures from the Otherworld. But after her last battle, she's also become queen of the Thorn Land. It's hardly an envious life, not with her kingdom in tatters, her love life in chaos, and Eugenie eager to avoid the prophecy about her firstborn destroying mankind. And now young girls are disappearing from the Otherworld, and no one--except Eugenie--seems willing to find out why.

New York Times bestselling author Richelle Mead takes readers back to the Otherworld, an embattled realm mystically entwined with our world--and ruled by one woman's dangerous choice. . .

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land's queen, she's fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful gentry fear. . .

#1 New York Times bestselling author Richelle Mead returns to the Otherworld, a mystic land inextricably linked to our own--and balanced precariously on one woman's desperate courage . . .

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham strives to keep the mortal realm safe from trespassing entities. But as the Thorn Land's prophecy-haunted queen, there's no refuge for her and her soon-to-be-born-children when a mysterious blight begins to devastate the Otherworld. . .

Denise's Daily Dozen: The Easy, Every Day Program to Lose Up to 12 Pounds in 2 Weeks ($2.99), by Denise Austin, looks to be the antidote for those who have oversampled the recipes from Southern Biscuits ($1.99). Looks like she'll still let me use my Sunday Soup ($2.99) recipes, though! LOL!

Book Description
eBook Bonus: Links to Exercises and Trivia Quiz

From Denise Austin comes the perfect health book for anyone who wants to live better but just can't seem to find the time. Much more than just another excercise book, Denise's Daily Dozen covers a whole range of health and diet related concepts yet manages it all in a no-stress, time-conscious program of 12's. At it's core, this book contains the minimum daily requirements to keep the reader flexible, strong and trim. Organized simply into seven chapters, which equal the seven days of the week, it covers a full week in daily allotments. Each day will have it's own focus from Monday being "fat burning day" to Sunday's "recharge and rejuvenate."

Denise has created a total body program, including a 7-day balanced meal plan that includes healthy recipes, and a workout that encompasses 12 exercises done in 12 minutes each day. Everyone can take just 12 minutes, at whatever time of the day works for them, and turn it over to these simple and fun exercises. Cardio, toning, yoga and breathing exercises...they're all here but in a way the maximizes effect while minimizing time.

Beyond a dozen exercises for each day of the week this book will include many other of Denises dozens for each day.

Life Is a Verb: 37 Days to Wake Up, Be Mindful, and Live Intentionally ($3.99), by Patti Digh

Book Description
In October 2003, Patti Digh’s stepfather was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died 37 days later. The timeframe made an impression on her. What emerged was a commitment to ask herself every morning: What would I be doing today if I had only 37 days left to live? The answers changed her life and led to this new kind of book. Part meditation, part how-to guide, part memoir, Life is a Verb is all heart.

Within these pages—enhanced by original artwork and wide, inviting margins ready to be written in—Digh identifies six core practices to jump-start a meaningful life: Say Yes, Trust Yourself, Slow Down, Be Generous, Speak Up, and Love More. Within this framework she supplies 37 edgy, funny, and literary life stories, each followed by a “do it now” 10-minute exercise as well as a practice to try for 37 days—and perhaps the rest of your life.

Goals!: How to Get Everything You Want -- Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible ($2.99), by Brian Tracy

Book Description
This new edition of a classic, quarter-million-copy-selling book on how to set and achieve goals — by bestselling author and motivational speaker Brian Tracy — is updated throughout and includes three new chapters applying the book’s methods to improving core areas of everyone’s life: money, relationships, and health. Well over 100,000 of the original edition sold.

Building Powerful Community Organizations: A Personal Guide to Creating Groups that Can Solve Problems and Change the World ($2.99), by Michael Jacoby Brown

Book Description
Intended for individuals who want to start, strengthen, or revitalize a group to address a community issue, this indispensable guide includes a series of practical steps that help build a successful community orgranization and offers sample cases that more clearly illustrate each step. In addition to addressing common problems that are often encountered, the book also discusses how to run engaging meetings, recruit and motivate community members, raise necessary funds, and turn a passion into a powerful tool for social change.

The Power of Your Past: The Art of Recalling, Recasting, and Reclaiming ($0.53 Kindle; $0.56 paperback), by John P. Schuster

Book Description
Most of us don’t use our yesterdays very well. With our cultural obsession with “living in the moment,” we neglect to engage in creative reflection on our personal histories. In The Power Of Your Past, John Schuster systematically demonstrates that our pasts are the biggest, most accessible, and most under-utilized of resources for anyone wanting to make positive changes. In contrast to other more technical, spiritual, or therapeutic guides that address working with one’s past, he offers a balanced, practical and accessible approach through an actionable three-phase model: Recalling, Reclaiming, and Recasting. He provides exercises that link past events to achieving sounder interpretations and illustrates the process with inspiring histories of those who have experienced transformative results through embracing their own professional and personal pasts.

Schuster provides insight, encouragement, and steps for essential professional and personal development. Readers who follow this model will make progress in careers short on heart and meaning, overcome obstacles that other methods can’t address, and make decisions based on their truth, not the “versions” of truth they have inherited and not fully examined. They will enjoy the peace of mind that comes with the knowledge that all they need to grow—insight, courage and persistence are the ingredients—is already within.

Loyal to the Sky: Notes from an Activist ($1.22), by Marisa Handler

Book Description
Combining captivating personal memoir and astute political reportage, Marisa Handler offers a fascinating inside look at the burgeoning global justice movement through her own compelling coming-of-age story.

Born in apartheid South Africa, Handler emigrated to Southern California at the age of twelve. Her gradual realization that injustice existed even in this more open, democratic society spurred a lifelong commitment to activism that would take her around the world and back again.

Handler shares intimate details of her life as a global justice activist to offer a revealing perspective on what drives the movement. Tracing her own evolution as an activist, her story crisscrosses the globe, examining current sociopolitical issues from apartheid and racism to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, corporate globalization, and the wars of the Bush administration. Along the way, Handler paints compelling portraits of the people she's encountered, shares gritty details of the sometimes-harrowing events that have changed and shaped her, and describes how she came to advocate a spiritually based, nonviolent activism as the best means for building the kind of world we wish to see.

Dirty Little Secrets from Otherwise Perfect Moms ($3.03), by Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile

Book Description
Trisha Ashworth and Amy Nobile conducted interviews with hundreds of mothers while researching their best-selling book I Was a Really Good Mom Before I Had Kids. It didn't take long before these moms began to reveal their Dirty Little Secrets—surprising, thought-provoking, guilty confessions they hadn't told anyone else. Cringe-worthy moments ("I bit my daughter's finger trying to steal a bite of her cookie.") meet real insights ("I love my kids but I didn't always. It took time to fall in love with them."). These are the private thoughts that every mom has—and every mom can relate to.

Super-Charged Smoothies ($2.99), by Sara Corpening Whiteford and Mary Corpening Barber

Book Description
)Twin sisters) Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford are back with Super-Charged Smoothies, the high-octane follow-up to Smoothies and Super Smoothies. Just as lively and colorful as their previous Smoothies titles, this latest installment stands out with all-new recipes for delicious elixirs rich with the nutrient-packed, disease-fighting, life-changing superfoods that promote energy and vitality. Learn to mix, blend, and sip your way to a healthier life with fruits, vegetables, and base ingredients (such as Greek yogurt and kombucha) containing the phytochemicals, omegas, and probiotic and antioxidant qualities that make one look and feel better every day. Super-Charged Smoothies = fast + yummy + good for you.

Dead Game: A John Marquez Crime Novel ($3.99), by Kirk Russell

Book Description
Third in the series of crime novels featuring what Booklist called 'far and away the most inventive new detective hero,' California Fish and Game warden John Marquez's new investigation begins with Marquez on the phone to a confidential informant as she's mysteriously abducted. Marquez and his understaffed team-which is slated for shutdown by top brass-search frantically for the informant in their remaining weeks, while also pursuing sturgeon poachers (who may have something to do with the kidnapping) and tangling with both the Russian mob and the FBI along the way. And you thought your job was tough.

Today's backlist/indie free books on Kindle (not likely to be free for long):

The Visitor, by Maryann Miller
Hollywood Vampires: Unholy War, by Matt R. Jones
Black Ops The Gate and BLACK OPS: THE LINE, by Bob Mayer
Cuba Blue, by Robert W. Walker and Lyn Polkabla
Psychology 101 for Writers & Their Characters, by Robert W. Walker
Fresh Powder (Irish winter romance), by Susanne O'Leary
Patricia Watters' Her Master's Touch and Wicked Pleasures, a 2-in-1 volume
Golden Chances Book 2 - The Interloper, by Jane Toombs
The Rock 'n Roll Detective's Greatest Hits - A Spike Berenger Anthology, by Raymond Benson (two novels + short story)
Spellbound, by Patricia Simpson
Hal Junior: The Secret Signal, by Simon Haynes; Hal Spacejock is still free on Kindle and on Smashwords, along with a couple of short stories
The Living End: A Zombie Novel, by James Robert Smith
Servando and Rowan's Random Reunion (Gulliver's Travelers), by Justin Luke Zirilli
The Stapleton 2012 Gay Guide to Las Vegas, by Jon Stapleton
Delaplaine's 2012 Guide to Las Vegas, by Andrew Delaplaine, along with two more guides (South Beach and Walt Disney World & Orlando)
The Meter Maid Murders and The Running Mate (A Jack Houston St. Clair Thriller), by Andrew Delaplaine
Feast of Fear, by Mark Edward Hall
HELP! WANTED: Tales of On-the-Job Terror, by Peter Giglio
Wolfkind, by Stephen Melling
Stubborn Town, by Chester Burton Brown and Matthew Hemming (Illustrator)
Feeling Lucky [America's Galactic Foreign Legion #1], by Walter Knight
Overprotected, by Jennifer Laurens
Think and Be Happy: 365 Empowering Thoughts to Lift Your Spirit, by Shadonna Richards
Moon Spell (The Tale of Lunarmorte #1) , by Samantha Young
Circuits of the Wind: A Legend of the Net Age, by Michael Stutz
Voodoo Children - A Bubba the Monster Hunter Short Story, by John G. Hartness
Revenants: A Digital Chapbook, by R. Thomas Riley and John Grover (short stories)
Femoral Depravity, by Edward G. Talbot (short story)
On My Way to Paradise, by David Farland
Children of Roen Part 1 Book 1 and a Pound of Flesh, by Kimberly Raiser (short stories)
Island Ghosts: A Will Castleton Adventure, by David Bain (short story)
Hookers or Cake (Animal Spirits, Pop Culture, God and Robots), by Jade Bos (given "best fake reviews" award recently by a poster at MobileRead, which are apparently worth reading on their own, even if the book is not)
Three books by Patricia Traxler
Several short stories by M.C.A. Hogarth on Smashwords

New Year, New You - Kindle Active Content for 99 cents

2012-01-25T12:05:00.000-05:00

Amazon's New Year, New You promotion has a number of $0.99 Kindle Active Content titles to choose from. In addition to the expected calorie counters and exercise tracking apps, there are language tutorials, notepad, two calendar/dayplanner apps, a calculator and a finance managing app to choose from, amongst a few other non-exercise apps.

Promotion Description
Start the year off right with active content for your Kindle that will help you to reach your goals for health, wellness, learning, and more. These Kindle Active Content titles are $0.99 through the end January 31 and work with Kindle, Kindle Keyboard, and Kindle DX devices.

Today's Deals

2012-01-25T11:12:00.000-05:00

The Copper Sign ($0.99), by Katia Fox and Lee Chadeayne (translator), is today's Kindle Deal of the Day. This translation was commissioned by AmazonCrossing, so it's an exclusive for Kindle customers.

Book Description
England 1161: Ellen, a blacksmith’s daughter, wants to become a swordsmith, but for a girl this profession is unimaginable. Forced to run away from home, she disguises herself as a boy and wins the opportunity to travel with a famous swordsmith to Normandy, where the sons of the greatest barons are trained to be knights. Under the assumed identity of Alan, Ellen is able to learn the trade and become familiar with court life. But when she falls in love with Guillaume, a brilliant knight, her secret is threatened and Ellen must run for her life. Across countries and time, Ellen struggles to achieve her dream of working as a swordsmith and eventually forging a sword for the king. It is a quest rich in intrigue, betrayal, and treachery.

As epic as it is intimate, The Copper Sign is a passionate tour de force that will leave you breathlessly awaiting book two, The Silver Falcon.

About the Authors
Katia Fox, born in 1964, grew up in Germany and southern France, and started her career as an interpreter and translator. After the birth of her third child, she turned her attention to the English Middle Ages and started to research blacksmithing. That research directly inspired the first installment in her captivating trilogy set in medieval England, The Copper Sign. Katia Fox lives with two of her three children splitting her time between a small town near Frankfurt and Provence. She also visits England as often as possible to continue her research.

Translator Lee Chadeayne is a former classical musician, college professor, and owner of a language translation company in Massachusetts. He was a charter member of the American Literary Translators Association and has been an active member of the American Translators Association since 1970. His translated works are primarily in the areas of music, art, language, history, and general literature. Most recently this includes the bestselling The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Pötzsch and The Copper Sign by Katia Fox.

The Girl With Glass Feet ($1.53 / £0.99 UK), by Ali Shaw, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $5.65).

Book Description
Strange things are happening on the remote and snowbound archipelago of St Hauda's Land. Unusual winged creatures flit around icy bogland; albino animals hide themselves in the snow-glazed woods; jellyfish glow in the ocean's depths...

And Ida MacLaird is slowly turning into glass. A mysterious and frightening alchemical metamorphosis has befallen Ida Maclaird - she is slowly turning into glass, from the feet up. She returns to St Hauda's Land, where she believes the glass first took hold, in search of a cure. Midas Crook is a young loner, who has lived on the islands his entire life. When he meets Ida, something about her sad, defiant spirit pierces his emotional defenses. As Midas helps Ida come to terms with her affliction, she gradually unpicks the knots of his heart, and they begin to fall in love...

What they need most is time - and time is slipping away fast. Will they find a way to stave off the spread of the glass? "The Girl with Glass Feet" is a dazzlingly imaginative and gripping first novel, a love story to treasure.

The Bridge: The Building of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge ($2.99 Kindle, B&N), by Gay Talese and Bruce Davidson, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
The Bridge is a riveting human drama of politics and courage, and a demonstration of the legendary Gay Talese's consummate skills as a reporter and storyteller.

Towards the end of 1964, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge-linking the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Staten Island with New Jersey-was completed. It remains an engineering marvel almost forty years later-at 13,700 feet (more than two and a half miles), it is still the longest suspension bridge in the United States and the sixth longest in the world. Gay Talese, then early in his career at the New York Times, closely followed the construction, and soon after the opening his book The Bridge appeared. Talese's memorable narrative is captivating in how it captures the human and mechanical drama that surrounded this remarkable achievement.

Free Audiobook - Her Royal Spyness

2012-01-25T10:52:00.001-05:00

Audible has their audiobook edition of Her Royal Spyness ($7.99 Kindle), a cozy mystery by Rhys Bowen, free for US (and presumably Canadian) customers.

Book Description
INTRODUCING “A FEISTY NEW HEROINE” (JACQUELINE WINSPEAR) who’s thirty-fourth in line for the throne—and flat broke....

Lady Victoria Georgiana Charlotte Eugenie, 34th in line for the throne, is flat broke. She’s bolted Scotland, her greedy brother, and her fish-faced betrothed for London. The place where she’ll experience freedom, learn life lessons aplenty, do a bit of spying for HRH—oh, and find a dead Frenchman in her tub. Now her new job is to clear her long family name.

About the Author
Rhys Bowen is the Bestselling Author of the Royal Spyness Series, Molly Murphy Mysteries, and Constable Evans. Awarded the Agatha Best Novel Award and nominated for the Edgar Best Novel Rhys's titles have received rave reviews around the globe.

Rhys Bowen is a transplanted Brit who now divides her time between California and Arizona. She currently writes two mystery series, the Molly Murphy novels, about an Irish immigrant in 1900s New York City and the lighter Royal Spyness mysteries about a penniless minor royal in 1930s Britain. Her books made bestseller lists, garnered many awards, nominations, and starred reviews.

Get the free audiobook from Audible.

Free Book - A Game of Thrones Enhanced Edition (K-AU)

2012-01-25T10:43:00.000-05:00

In what is, no doubt, another pricing error, you can pick up the Kindle Edition with Audio/Video of A Game of Thrones Enhanced Edition: Book 1 of A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin, if you are an Australian Kindle customer. Those in the US can't buy it, at all, while it is over $10 in most other countries that I checked.

Book Description
A stunning enhanced edition of the hugely popular and highly acclaimed epic fantasy, featuring an interactive map tracking main characters’ journeys, audio extracts of key scenes and a hyperlinked character glossary.In the game of thrones, you win or you die. Now a major HBO series.

Summers span decades. Winter can last a lifetime. And the struggle for the Iron Throne has begun.It will stretch from the south, where heat breeds plot, lusts and intrigues; to the vast and savage eastern lands; all the way to the frozen north, where an 800-foot wall of ice protects the kingdom from the dark forces that lie beyond. Kings and queens, knights and renegades, liars, lords and honest men… all will play the Game of Thrones.

Winter is coming…

Free Book - Bleed for Me (K)

2012-01-24T14:19:00.000-05:00

Bleed for Me, the fourth title in the Joseph O'Loughlin series by Michael Robotham, is free to pre-order in the Kindle store. This is likely another pricing error, so grab it fast.

Book Description
She's standing at the front door. Covered in blood. Is she the victim of a crime? Or the perpetrator?

A teenage girl--Sienna, a troubled friend of his daughter--comes to Joe O'Loughlin's door one night. She is terrorized, incoherent-and covered in blood.

The police find Sienna's father, a celebrated former cop, murdered in the home he shared with Sienna. Tests confirm that it's his blood on Sienna. She says she remembers nothing.

Joe O'Loughlin is a psychologist with troubles of his own. His marriage is coming to an end and his daughter will barely speak to him. He tries to help Sienna, hoping that if he succeeds it will win back his daughter's affection. But Sienna is unreachable, unable to mourn her father's death or to explain it.

Investigators take aim at Sienna. O'Loughlin senses something different is happening, something subterranean and terrifying to Sienna. It may be something in her mind. Or it may be something real. Someone real. Someone capable of the most grim and gruesome murder, and willing to kill again if anyone gets too close.

Free Book - Orcs: Inferno (K)

2012-01-24T13:06:00.000-05:00

Orcs: Inferno, the third title in the Orcs: Bad Blood series by Stan Nicholls, is free to pre-order in the Kindle store. This is the latest book in this series and is most likely a pricing error - grab it quick before the publisher gets it corrected.

Book Description
Using the mysterious artifacts known as instrumentalities, the Wolverines embarked on a world-hopping mission to liberate fellow orcs and to take revenge on their old antagonist Jennesta. But it isn't working out too well for the warband. Saddled with novices and a pair of humans of doubtful loyalty, and pursued by a powerful group bent on retrieving the instrumentalities, life is proving far from simple.

And destiny has more complications in store. The instrumentalities can no longer be relied upon and have left the band trapped in a world where enemies mass on every side. While tensions in the band threaten to rip it apart, Thirzarr, mate of Wolverines captain Stryke, has been seized by Jennesta and faces a living death.

With the fate of worlds at stake, daunting obstacles, and fresh adversaries blocking their path, the Wolverines are about to be drawn into the greatest battle of their lives.

Free Book - Pay Me In Flesh (K/N)

2012-01-24T12:56:00.001-05:00

Pay Me In Flesh (Mallory Caine, Zombie at Law), by K. Bennett, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
Hungry For Justice-And Brains

Meet Mallory Caine. Attorney at law. Zombie at large. She's not like those "Living Dead” losers you see in the movies. She doesn't slobber, drool, or lurch-she's smart, stylish, and sexy. Sure, she's a zombie and a lawyer but, hey, a girl's got to eat. When Mallory's not in the courtroom, going head to head with her ex-boyfriend, killer-prosecutor Aaron Argula, she's in the seedy streets of Hollywood, hunting brain after brain. That is, until some psycho starts hunting zombie after zombie…

The Defense Never Rests-In Peace

The undead are decapitated, a letter "Z” carved in their flesh. Mallory doesn't want to lose her head, but she's worried. Like a lot of lawyers in L.A., she doesn't have a soul-a side effect of being a zombie, not a defense attorney. If Mallory dies before she gets her soul back, she goes straight to hell. No appeals. Objection overruled. If the killer isn't stopped, it's case closed for zombies everywhere. But Mallory is an undying champion of justice. And she won't go down-without a bite…

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - The Pleasures of Sin (K/N)

2012-01-24T12:54:00.000-05:00

The Pleasures of Sin, by Jessica Trapp, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
She'll Give Her Heart To No One. . .

Banished to her family's castle tower for refusing to marry, Lady Brenna spends her days indulging her secret passion for painting provocative works of art. If they are discovered, Brenna knows she will hang. But her life changes the day England's most notorious privateer James Vaughn, the Earl of Montgomery, arrives to claim Brenna's younger sister as his bride. Brenna knows her sister will be no match against such a man. To save her, Brenna dons the wedding veil and marries the brute herself. . .

Except The Man Who Completely Arouses Her. . .

Known as The Enforcer, James Montgomery has been charged with ridding the land of rebels disloyal to the king. He's not amused to learn he's been tricked into marrying the wrong sister. In retaliation, he decides to tempt his new wife until she begs to be taken to his bed. Yet, James soon finds that it is he who is enticed. But when a secret about Brenna is revealed, James discovers that all of his love may not be enough to save her. . .

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - The Vampire Defanged (K/N/E)

2012-01-24T12:11:00.001-05:00

The Vampire Defanged, by Susannah Clements, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, Sony and ChristianBook, courtesy of Christian publisher Brazos Press. This is a Baker imprint and is likely to only be free today.

Book Description
Vampires first entered the pop culture arena with Bram Stoker's 1897 novel, Dracula. Today, vampires are everywhere. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer to the Twilight Saga to HBO's True Blood series, pop culture can't get enough of the vampire phenomenon.

Bringing her literary expertise to this timely subject, Susannah Clements reveals the roots of the vampire myth and shows how it was originally immersed in Christian values and symbolism. Over time, however, vampires have been "defanged" as their spiritual significance has waned, and what was once the embodiment of evil has turned into a teen idol and the ultimate romantic hero. Clements offers a close reading of selected vampire texts, explaining how this transformation occurred and helping readers discern between the variety of vampire stories presented in movies, TV shows, and novels. Her probing engagement of the vampire metaphor enables readers to make Christian sense of this popular obsession.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from ChristianBook.
Get the free ebook from Sony.

Today's Deals

2012-01-24T12:01:00.000-05:00

If you are a big horror fan, you might want to check out the "all-you-can-read" subscription from publisher Cemetary Dance. Not only do you get a copy of all their current ebooks, but also one download of everything published this year and a signed, limited edition hardcover, all for $49 (plus S&H).

As I told you in a previous post, author LC Evans passed away recently after a brief battle with cancer and her daughter is handling her book sales to help pay the medical bills. If you want to help support the cause, but chick lit isn't your thing, then (today only), a number of other authors are pitching in a free copy of one of their books for each of Ms. Evans' books that you buy. Every name also goes into the hat for a drawing to win 40 ebooks for free.

Additional formats on these free books are now available:

Instant Self-Hypnosis (K/N/I)

A Heart for Freedom ($1.99), by Chai Ling, is today's Kindle Deal of the Day.

Book Description
MY NAME IS CHAI LING.
I was born at the beginning of China’s Cultural Revolution. Like all Chinese children, I was taught to love my country, sacrifice my own needs, and be ready to give up my life for a greater good. We were not allowed to know God.

In 1989, I became a leader of a student hunger strike in Tiananmen Square, a peaceful movement for a better, freer, and more loving China. There I discovered the truth about the government I had been taught to love. In the early-morning hours of June 4, I stood with my friends and watched in horror as the tanks rolled in. During the crackdown, thousands were wounded or killed.

I survived.

A lifetime later, after escaping to freedom and achieving success beyond the wildest American dream, I was still trapped between the past and the future. Haunted by memories of standing against the force of a powerful regime, I had lost my purpose, my homeland, and my strength . . . until God met me and healed me. When my eyes were then opened to another life-and-death battle, would I have the courage to join it and risk losing my most precious loved ones again? Do I dare hope that, with God’s help, we can finally see true freedom in China?

Chai Ling was a key student leader in the 1989 Tiananmen Square movement. Today, she serves as founder, president, and coo of Jenzabar, Inc., a leading higher education software services provider. She holds an mba from Harvard Business School, an mPa in public affairs and international relations from Princeton University, and a ba in psychology from Peking University. Nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize, Chai Ling is founder of All Girls Allowed , an organization dedicated to restoring life, value, and dignity to girls and mothers and revealing the injustice of China’s one-child policy.

In the Meantime ($1.54 / £0.99 UK), by Robin Lippincott, is the Kindle Deal of the day for those in the UK (the US edition is $4.99).

Book Description
From the intimacy of small town America to big city life, from World War II to 9/11, In the Meantime vividly encapsulates an unforgettable era.

On a hot summer's day in 1931, three five-year-olds meet on a dusty street in a small Midwestern town, beginning a friendship that will last all their lives. Kathryn, the oldest in an ever-expanding family, is bright and earnest, and thinks she wants to become a nurse. Starling is an only child with an absent father. He doesn't yet know that he is of mixed race-he doesn't even know what that means-all he knows is that when he grows up he will be a star. Luke doesn't know what he wants, except for his older brother not to be dead.

Together they experience the joys and pains of childhood, although the anxieties of puberty and awakening sexuality nearly destroy their three-way friendship forever. Reaching adulthood after World War II, they follow their dreams to New York City, where they discover that not even Manhattan is free of racism and prejudice.

Through the years of their ever-entwined adult lives some dreams are realized while others grow dim, but one constant remains: their bond of friendship. At the book's end, some seventy years after it began, only one of them remains to tell the story of their lives, and of what happened…in the meantime.

An Impossible Attraction ($1.99 Kindle, B&N), by Brenda Joyce, is the Nook Daily Find, price matched on Kindle.

Book Description
With her mother's passing, Alexandra Bolton gave up on love to take care of her family. Now, with the Bolton name in disgrace due to her father's profligate ways, marrying an elderly squire might be the only way to save her family from absolute ruin. But when she meets the infamous Duke of Clarewood, old dreams--and old passions--are awakened as never before. Yet she cannot accept his shocking proposition!

He is the wealthiest, most powerful peer in the realm, and having witnessed the cold horror of marriage as a child, he has vowed never to wed. But Alexandra Bolton inflames him as no woman has ever done, and she also serves him his first rejection! Now Clarewood--who always gets what he wants--will choose which rules to play by. But when passion finally brings them together, a terrible secret threatens to tear them apart....

Today's backlist/indie free books on Kindle (not likely to be free for long):

Amanda's Blue Marine, by Doreen Owens Malek (a new release, to join her previous backlist freebies)
Divas Doing Business: What the Guidebooks Don't Tell You About Being a Woman Entrepreneur, by Monique Hayward
Northanger Abbey and Angels and Dragons, by ane Austen, Vera Nazarian
Toros & Torsos (The Hector Lassiter Series), by Craig McDonald
Secrets to Die For (A Detective Jackson Mystery), by L.J. Sellers
Hallow House - Part One and Golden Chances Book 3 - The Dancer, by Jane Toombs
Deep Rough - A Thriller in Augusta, by Chris Blewitt
Marrying the Musketeer, by Kate Silver
The Man Who Crossed Worlds (A Miles Franco Urban Fantasy), by Chris Strange
9 / 11 & W.(TF): A Story Minute Selection, by Carol Lay, William Glass
The Wary Widow (The Wetherby Brides, Book 3), by Jerrica Knight-Catania
Gordon Ryan Collection and The Leashes of Dogwood Hollow, by Gordon Ryan
Shanghai Girl, by Vivian Yang
The River, by Cheryl Kaye Tardif
Badass Zombie Road Trip, by Tonia Brown
Taking Chances, by Jade Buchanan (short story)
Wild Mustang Man, by Carol Grace
Museum Beetles, by Simon Kewin
No Time To Run (Legal Thriller Featuring Michael Collins), by J.D. Trafford
Chill Waters, by Joan Hall Hovey
Floaters - A Jack Daniels/Alex Chapa Mystery, by J.A. Konrath and Henry Perez
Butterfly, A novel , by Julie O'Yang
Dead Man's Tattoo, by Miette Korda
Hush Don't Die, by Carole Gill
When Pigs Fly, by Jennifer Cooke Rinehart, Gretchen Cooke, Sara Coker (Illustrator) and Jessica Cooke Illustrator)
Chasing Destiny, by Linda Eble Swain
Marriage by Mistake, by Alyssa Kress
The Grief Frequency, by Kealan Patrick Burke
Obligations of a Cobalt Hue, by Amber D. Sistla (plus two short stories on Smashwords)
Schooled In Lies (Kendra Clayton), by Angela Henry
A Feral Darkness, by Doranna Durgin
Love In Bloom and Heartfire (Search For Love), by Karen Rose Smith
The Second Fly Caster: Fatherhood, Recovery and an Unforgettable Tournament, by Randy Kadish(short story)
The Kissing Stars, by Geralyn Dawson
Seven Exes Are Eight Too Many and Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo, by Heather Wardell
Office Weapons, by Instructables Authors
Naga Kecil Peliharaanku is the Indonesian edition of the (previously free) children's book My Little Pet Dragon, by Scott Gordon
Two children's books by Tom Watson

Free Book - Quick & Easy Family Dinners Cookbook (K/N)

2012-01-23T13:42:00.000-05:00

Quick & Easy Family Dinners Cookbook, another mini-cookbook from Gooseberry Patch, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
There's nothing like gathering around the table for a homecooked meal. Our favorite dinners are always those tried & true recipes that have been handed down, or ones shared by a good friend. Start with Homestyle Baked Spaghetti, Oven Beef & Noodles or Barbecued Honey Ham, and then add a tasty side dish like Confetti Coleslaw, Creamy Macaroni & Cheese or Mom's Potato Salad. And who can resist scrumptious desserts? Cherry Delight, Peach Crinkle, Crustless Apple Pie and Sunny Day Brownies are all yummy ways to end a family meal.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.

Free Book - Highland Mist (K/N/DF)

2012-01-23T13:38:00.001-05:00

Highland Mist, the first title in the Druid Glen series by Donna Grant, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, AllRomance and direct from the publisher, Ellora's Cave.

Book Description
An honorable laird...
Conall MacInnes was born to a clan that for centuries has been charged with the guarding of the sacred Druids. It's a duty he has always met with a willing heart, until the day his sister, a Druid priestess, goes missing and the very Druids he has protected refuse to help him find the last remaining member of his family. Then a three-hundred-year-old prophecy places a Druid in his hands for safekeeping. It's the chance at revenge he's been waiting for, but is he willing to pay the cost his revenge will demand--the loss of his mate and the future of Scotland?

A willing lass...
Glenna MacNeil wants only to be free, to find the purpose of her life. When she is told to look for the dark laird who would free her, she eagerly goes with the powerful Highlander who fights her clan, not realizing she has set in motion events that will change the course of history. Publisher's Note: Previously published elsewhere under the same title.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from AllRomance.
Get the free ebook from Ellora's Cave.

Free Book - Through My Window (K/N/DF)

2012-01-23T13:32:00.000-05:00

Through My Window, the first short story in the Red Light series by Jayne Rylon, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble, AllRomance and direct from the publisher, Ellora's Cave.

Book Description
“Through my window, a sea of strangers swirl and retreat like waves in an ocean of humanity. I brush my hair, fix my makeup and flip on the glaring red light in my booth before turning to face my audience on the other side of the glass.”

For Star, this is another night on the job, though no two are ever alike. Adaptable and perceptive, she becomes many things in the course of one evening—whore, lover, nurse, psychologist and friend. But above all, she’s still a woman. Join her, through her window.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.
Get the free ebook from AllRomance.
Get the free ebook from Ellora's Cave.

Free Book - What's Really Working in Business (K/N)

2012-01-23T13:11:00.000-05:00

Jim Champy on What's Really Working in Business, a collection of three of his titles, is free in the Kindle store and from Barnes & Noble.

Book Description
What it takes to win, big, now! In 3 new eBooks, Jim Champy brings together breakthrough approaches to strategy, marketing, and execution!

Jim Champy revolutionized business with Reengineering the Corporation. Now, in these three concise, fast-paced eBooks, he’s done it again – revealing today’s most innovative strategies for breakthrough business success. Deliver!: How to Be Fast, Flawless, and Frugal shows how to leverage the rich treasure of potential competitive advantage hidden in your operations. Through five case studies, he presents organizations performing at “impossible” levels – thanks not to strategy, but to goals, discipline, details, and gritty, everyday execution. Next, in Outsmart!: How to Do What Your Competitors Can't, Champy reveals the winning strategies of “high velocity” companies, identifying eight powerful ways to compete in even the most brutal marketplace. You’ll discover how to find distinctive market positions and sustainable advantages in products, services, delivery methods, and niches nobody else ever considered. Finally, in Inspire!: Why Customers Come Back, Champy shows how to define a consistent value proposition your customers will be passionate about—and will stay passionate about. You’ll learn how to engage a new generation of customers who value transparency and authenticity above all, and transcend mere “marketing” to lead crusades customers want to join.

Get the free ebook from Barnes & Noble.