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Housekeeping: Unsolicited advice for authors; Facebook; and Cheap reads

cheapreader — Thu, 17 May 2012 14:45:46 +0000

Unsolicited advice for authors
Dear Author –
You have toiled and labored to bring your creative thoughts to your book. You have read, read, re-read, written and re-written repeatedly. You are to be commended.
You didn’t ask, but I wanted to pass along a little unsolicited advice. It’s free and my opinion only. Other readers may not agree.
You know all those wonderful comments you posted on the book’s webpage? The words of praise for your writing style and the plot and characters in the book have to be encouraging and points of pride for you. Well, first and foremost I want to know the book. If the book description doesn’t draw me in, then the reviews just won’t matter. Please make your book description the first item to read.
About that description. Please use a spell checker. Maybe you could ask a few friends to proofread. If you have spelling, grammar and/or punctuation errors in the description, I immediately think that your book is chock-full of spelling, grammar and/or punctuation errors. The description below was taken exactly from a web page in the Kindle Store:

Two stories in one;

Childhood Enemies: Nicolette had been bullied by Jay for most of her school life and that and a few other things had led to her leaving the small town she’d grown up in. Coming back five years later for the reunion and to visit her best friend, Tammy, she’s shocked to learn that some things havwe changed and others havent…

In the authors’ defense, updating descriptions can become a difficult task in the Kindle Store.
Do you have a pet peeve about book descriptions in the Kindle Store? Leave a comment with advice you would give authors about book descriptions. I’ll write more about descriptions in a few weeks.

Giving more to our Facebook friends
If you follow our site via Facebook, we have improved our look. For each of our posts, you will now see the bookcover. Please like a post every once in awhile to keep our posts coming to your page. We haven’t quite gotten the feed perfected, so you may want to visit the site periodically to see all the postings. Another way to see every post is to subscribe to our daily e-mail using the form in the right sidebar.

Beach Reads
The vacation season will officially start with the Memorial Day holiday later this month. We will be posting the great cheap reads that the publishers will be offering for your summer reading pleasure. Look for this summertime graphic to identify a lighter read at a great cheap price. Have you downloaded these cheap reads?
An Engagement in Seattle by Debbie Macomber (48 cents) – 2-book romance bundle
School for Dangerous Girls by Eliot Schrefer (52 cents) – young adult fiction
The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog, and of His Friend Marilyn Monroe by Andrew O’Hagan (59 cents) – a canine memoir
A Winter Discovery by Michael Baron (89 cents) – contemporary romance filled with irrepressible spirit

Olympic Fever
The 2012 Summer Olympics will open on July 28 in London, England. Publishers may offer books with an Olympics theme over the coming weeks. Let’s hope they are as cheaply priced as the book below – only 99 cents when you pre-order it today.
Book description: David Davis’s stunning account of how Merry Lepper became the first American woman to complete a marathon.
At a time when television was pushing male-dominated sports coverage into living rooms across America, women were struggling just to set foot onto the playing field. Barred from officially registering for long-distance running competitions, some women ran anyway, defying the authorities and the rules. Still, no American woman had ever successfully completed sports’ ultimate endurance test: the marathon.
That changed in December of 1963, when Merry Lepper became the first. Leaping out of her hiding place in the bushes at the start of the race, dodging cars and infuriating race officials, Merry Lepper challenged the status quo and defeated it, years before the ban on female competitors would be revoked. This is the story of the arduous journey women distance runners had to endure to reach equality with men, and the story of how one woman overcame tremendous hurdles to fulfill a shared dream, paving the way for generations of female marathon runners to come.
Pre-order this book today for only 99 cents and receive it June 5.
This ebook also includes a 17-page excerpt from Showdown at Shepherd’s Bush ($12.99) pre-order, the story of the epic clash at the 1908 Olympic Marathon that jump-started the first marathon mania and heralded the modern age in sports.

Click here to purchase Marathon Crasher

Darker Still: A Novel of Magic Most Foul – Young adult paranormal romance – Today’s Barnes & Noble price match – $1.99

cheapreader — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:45:39 +0000

I was obssessed.
It was as if he called to me, demanding I reach out and touch the brushstrokes of color swirled onto the canvas. It was the most exquisite portrait I’d ever seen—everything about Lord Denbury was unbelievable…utterly breathtaking and eerily lifelike.
There was a reason for that. Because despite what everyone said, Denbury never had committed suicide. He was alive. Trapped within his golden frame.
I’ve crossed over into his world within the painting, and I’ve seen what dreams haunt him. They haunt me too. He and I are inextricably linked—bound together to watch the darkness seeping through the gas-lit cobblestone strets of Manhattan. And unless I can free him soon, things will only get Darker Still.
Buy this young adult Gothic tale for only $1.99 today as a Barnes & Noble price match.

Click here to purchase Darker Still

A Little More Scandal – Historical romance novella – 99 cents to pre-order

cheapreader — Thu, 17 May 2012 10:45:58 +0000

Rising star Carrie Lofty, author of Flawless ($7.99) and Starlight ($7.99 pre-order), continues her Christies family saga with A Little More Scandal, a sensual eBook novella featuring William Christie and the woman who steals his heart.
Self-made industrialist Sir William Christie tempts the scorn of London society by attempting to seduce Catrin Jones, a modest but opinionated battlefield nurse who earned notoriety after surviving a naval shipwreck. His ambition to secure her exclusive story is part of his latest business plan, while her intention is to marry well before her moment of fame expires. With respectability, wealth, and security at stake, they must decide whether love is worth embracing just a little more scandal…
Pre-order this 80-page novella for only 99 cents today and receive it May 29.

Click here to purchase A Little More Scandal

Free now: Contemporary fiction from Bell Bridge Books

cheapreader — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:42:14 +0000

Free now: Contemporary fiction from Bell Bridge Books.
Always confirm price before purchase. Many free and reduced books are offered for a limited time only and only in some geographical regions.

Free now: Inspirational fiction from faith-based publishers.

cheapreader — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:38:51 +0000

Free now: Inspirational fiction from faith-based publishers. All have been offered free previously.
Always confirm price before purchase. Many free and reduced books are offered for a limited time only and only in some geographical regions.

Today’s Kindle Deals: Identity: Lost & Fragger App

cheapreader — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:14:54 +0000

Thursday:
Identity: Lost ($0.99) In Chicago, 1975, young James Overstreet testified against a group of youths accused of murder, but authorities botched the case and James’s family is sent into hiding in Arizona. Thirty years later, James is working as a prosecutor when his dangerous Windy-City past reappears to turn his life upside down.

Free App for Kindle Fire and Android Devices
Fragger (Free) The world of Fragger is at risk, and he needs your help to explode all enemies. Unleash your shooting abilities to kill all the enemies and unlock three different perks. Play the interactive tutorial to get comfortable launching the grenades, and then put your game face on; it’s Fragger time.

Prices good today only until 11:59pm Pacific Time. Regular daily posts are below this post.

Clover – A short, contemporary novel – $1.99

cheapreader — Thu, 17 May 2012 00:45:19 +0000

Clover is ten years old when her father, Gaten Hill, the principal of an elementary school, marries a white woman, Sara Kate. Hours later there is an automobile accident, and Clover’s father is dead, leaving her to be raised by her new stepmother.
In this stunning novel, Dori Sanders tells a story of black-white relationships like no other ever written, as seen through the eyes of a witty, keenly perceptive, and honest ten-year-old girl. Clover’s family–her father, Gaten; her uncle Jim Ed and aunt Everleen, who operate the family peach orchard; her aunt Ruby Helen, who would like for Clover to live with her Maryland after her father’s death; and Sara Kate, who is steadfast in her determination to see Gaten’s wishes through–inhabits the rural, small-town South of today, no longer racked with racial tumult but still struggling to overcome differences of race and class.
You can add this novel to your Kindle for only $1.99 today.

Click here to purchase Clover

As Seen On TV by Lucy Grealy – $2.99

cheapreader — Wed, 16 May 2012 22:45:37 +0000

Whether she is contemplating promiscuity or The New Testament, lamenting about what she should have said to Oprah, or learning to tango, Grealy seduces and surprises the reader at every turn. With the sheer brilliance of her imagination, Grealy leads us on delightful journeys with her wit, unflinching honesty and peerless intelligence. A completely original thinker and a remarkable writer, the author leaves the reader with plenty to ponder.
As Seen On TV breaks the mould of the essay, and is destined, like the memoir that preceded it, to become a modern classic. Buy this book for only $2.99.

Click here to purchase As Seen On TV

Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure: A Summersby Tale – Pre-order for $3.99 today

cheapreader — Wed, 16 May 2012 20:45:50 +0000

It’s going to be a wild ride . . .
Lady Alexandra Summersby is not your average society miss. Not only is she more likely to climb a tree than she is to wear a dress, but she has also sworn off marriage. Alex loves taking chances, which is how she finds herself embroiled in a secret mission as she races across the country with the Earl of Trenton. But Alexandra is about to discover that the real danger lies not in duels, but in her completely unexpected reaction to Lord Trenton’s company.
Michael Ashford, Earl of Trenton, is a man of duty. Honorable, charming, and a hit with the ladies, he’s never had trouble staying focused—until now. Lady Alexandra is like no other woman he’s ever met, and suddenly the prospect of marriage seems far more appealing. Now, to convince Alexandra that a life together could be an adventure like no other . . .
Pre-order this historical romance today for only $3.99 and receive the book on May 22.

Click here to purchase Lady Alexandra’s Excellent Adventure

Queen of Last Hopes: The Story of Margaret of Anjou – Historical fiction – $2.99

cheapreader — Wed, 16 May 2012 18:45:02 +0000

A man other than my husband sits on England’s throne today.
What would happen if this king suddenly went mad? What would his queen do? Would she make the same mistakes I did, or would she learn from mine?
Margaret of Anjou, queen of England, cannot give up on her husband-even when he slips into insanity. And as mother to the House of Lancaster’s last hope, she cannot give up on her son-even when England turns against them. This gripping tale of a queen forced to stand strong in the face of overwhelming odds is at its heart a tender tale of love.
Award-winning author Susan Higginbotham will once again ask readers to question everything they know about right and wrong, compassion and hope, duty to one’s country and the desire of one’s own heart. Add this historical fiction to your Kindle today for only $2.99.

Click here to purchase Queen of Last Hopes

Eight Hamish MacBeth mysteries by M.C. Beaton – Pre-order for $2.99 each

cheapreader — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:45:08 +0000

Eight of the first nine Hamish MacBeth mysteries are now available for pre-order for only $2.99 each. Hamish Macbeth is a fictional police officer who serves as his town’s detective in a series of mystery novels created by M. C. Beaton (Marion Chesney). Wikipedia sited an interview, in which the author recalls,

I was at a fishing school in Sutherland in the very north of Scotland, and I thought, what a wonderful setting for a classical detective story, 11 people isolated in this Highland wilderness. So Hamish Macbeth was born.

Hamish Macbeth is the eldest of seven siblings and has three brothers and three sisters. He lives in Lochdubh’s police station and keeps some sheep and chickens and grows some vegetables.
Early in the series, Macbeth has an on-again, off-again love affair with Priscilla Halburton-Smythe, the daughter of a wealthy local landowner. Hamish is very attached to his pets, first his dog Towser, then in later books his dog Lugs (Scots for “ears”) and a “domesticated” wildcat named Sonsie (Scots for “cheeky”).
Click the link to see the eight Hamish MacBeth myteries by M.C. Beaton, selling for $2.99 each when pre-ordered today. Delivery is June 1.

The first three books in the series are:

Everything We Ever Wanted: A Novel – Contemporary fiction – $2.99

cheapreader — Wed, 16 May 2012 14:45:26 +0000

A recently widowed mother of two, Sylvie Bates-McAllister finds her life upended by a late-night phone call from the headmaster of the prestigious private school founded by her grandfather where her adopted son Scott teaches. Allegations of Scott’s involvement in a hazing scandal cause a ripple effect, throwing the entire family into chaos. For Charles, Sylvie’s biological son, it dredges up a ghost from the past who is suddenly painfully present. For his wife Joanna, it forces her to reevaluate everything she’s hoped for in the golden Bates-McAllisters. And for Scott, it illuminates harsh truths about a world he has never truly felt himself a part of.
But for all the Bates-McAllisters, the call exposes a tangled web of secrets that ties the family together: the mystery of the school hazing, the event that tore Charles and Scott apart the night of their high school awards ceremony, and the intended recipient of a certain bracelet. The quest to unravel the truth takes the family on individual journeys across state lines, into hospitals, through the Pennsylvania woods, and face-to-face with the long-dormant question: what if the life you always planned for and dreamed of isn’t what you want after all?
Download this book today when you buy it for $2.99.

Click here to purchase Everything We Ever Wanted

The Gift of an Ordinary Day – Today’s Barnes & Noble price match – $2.99

cheapreader — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:45:22 +0000

The Gift of an Ordinary Day is an intimate memoir of a family in transition-boys becoming teenagers, careers ending and new ones opening up, an attempt to find a deeper sense of place, and a slower pace, in a small New England town. It is a story of mid-life longings and discoveries, of lessons learned in the search for home and a new sense of purpose, and the bittersweet intensity of life with teenagers–holding on, letting go.
Poised on the threshold between family life as she’s always known it and her older son’s departure for college, Kenison is surprised to find that the times she treasures most are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life, the very moments that she once took for granted, or rushed right through without noticing at all.
The relationships, hopes, and dreams that Kenison illuminates will touch women’s hearts, and her words will inspire mothers everywhere as they try to make peace with the inevitable changes in store. You can purchase this memoir today for $2.99 as a Barnes & Noble price match.

Click here to purchase The Gift of an Ordinary Day

Carrie Goes Off the Map by Phillipa Ashley – Contemporary romance – $1.99

cheapreader — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:45:58 +0000

Carrie lets her best friend talk her into a scenic European road trip as the perfect getaway from a nasty breakup. Unexpectedly along for the ride is the gorgeous Matt Landor, MD, who sorely tests Carrie’s determination to give up men altogether. Careening through the English countryside, these two mismatched but perfectly attuned lonely hearts find themselves in hot pursuit of adventure and in entirely uncharted territory.
Buy this contemporary romance by Phillipa Ashley for only $1.99.

Click here to purchase Carrie Goes Off the Map

Free now: Inspirational non-fiction from faith-based publishers

cheapreader — Wed, 16 May 2012 10:15:55 +0000

Free now: Inspirational non-fiction from faith-based publishers
Always confirm price before purchase. Many free and reduced books are offered for a limited time only and only in some geographical regions.

Free now: Healthcare textbooks from Kaplan

cheapreader — Wed, 16 May 2012 04:12:11 +0000

Free now: Healthcare textbooks from Kaplan. These books are quite large and may take significant time to download.
Always confirm price before purchase. Many free and reduced books are offered for a limited time only and only in some geographical regions.

Joe by Larry Brown – Literary fiction – $1.99

cheapreader — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:45:59 +0000

Nearing fifty, Joe Ransom won’t slow down, not in his pickup, not with a gun-and certainly not with women. But all the fast living in Mississippi won’t fill the hunger Joe can’t name. At fifteen, Gary Jones is already slipping through the cracks. Part of a hopeless, homeless wandering family, he’s desperate for a way out. He finds it in Joe. Together they follow a twisting map to redemption-or ruinAn understated, powerful, beautiful evocation of a place, a time, a people.
Purchase this novel today for $1.99.

Click here to purchase Joe

Who Killed HealthCare? : America’s $2 Trillion Medical Problem – and the Consumer-Driven Cure – $2.95

cheapreader — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:45:53 +0000

In the battle for U.S. health care, patients and doctors are losing.
Who Killed Health Care? shows how to win the war.
One of the nation’s most respected health care analysts, Regina Herzlinger exposes the motives and methods of those who have crippled America’s health care system-figures in the insurance, hospital, employment, governmental, and academic sectors. She proves how our current system, which is organized around payers and providers rather than the needs of its users, is dangerously eroding patient welfare and is pushing costs out of the reach of millions.
Who Killed Health Care? then outlines Herzlinger’s bold new plan for a consumer-driven system that will deliver affordable, high-quality care to everyone. By putting insurance money in the hands of patients, removing the middleman in the doctor-patient relationship, and giving employers cost relief, consumers and physicians will be empowered to make the system work the way it should. Herzlinger describes in precise detail how her innovative program will provide
*Smaller, disease-focused medical facilities that provide complete care for patients
*A national system of medical records that provides privacy with confidential access by approved practitioners
*Mandatory performance evaluations of all hospitals and all other medical organizations
*Mandatory health insurance with subsidies for those who cannot afford it
Who Killed Health Care? is a call to arms that must be answered; the welfare of every American hangs in the balance. This book was published in 2007 and has many insights into the health care industry relevent to today’s debate. You can buy the book today for $2.95.
Click here to purchase Who Killed HealthCare?

Falling Together – Contemporary women’s fiction – $2.99

cheapreader — Tue, 15 May 2012 20:45:20 +0000

What if saying hello to an old friend meant saying good-bye to life as you know it?
It’s been six years since Pen Calloway watched her best friends walk out of her life. And through the birth of her daughter, the death of her father, and the vicissitudes of single motherhood, she has never stopped missing them.
Pen, Cat, and Will met on their first day of college and formed what seemed like a magical and lifelong bond, only to see their friendship break apart amid the realities of adulthood. When, after years of silence, Cat—the bewitching, charismatic center of their group—e-mails Pen and Will with an urgent request to meet at their college reunion, they can’t refuse. But instead of a happy reconciliation, what awaits is a collision of past and present that sends Pen and Will, with Pen’s five-year-old daughter and Cat’s hostile husband in tow, on a journey across the world.
As Pen and Will struggle to uncover the truth about Cat, they find more than they bargained for: startling truths about who they were before and who they are now. They must confront the reasons their friendship fell apart and discover how—and if—it can ever fall back together. Download this book to your Kindle for only $2.99 today.

Click here to purchase Falling Together

Baby Proof by Emily Giffin – $4.99

cheapreader — Tue, 15 May 2012 18:45:37 +0000

From the author of the smash hits Something Borrowed ($7.99) and Something Blue ($7.99)comes a novel that explores the question: is there ever a deal-breaker when it comes to true love?
First comes love. Then comes marriage. Then comes . . . a baby carriage? Isn’t that what all women want?Not so for Claudia Parr. And just as she gives up on finding a man who feels the same way, she meets warm, wonderful Ben. Things seem too good to be true when they fall in love and agree to buck tradition with a satisfying, child-free marriage. Then the unexpected occurs: one of them has a change of heart. One of them wants children after all.
This is the witty, heartfelt story about what happens to the perfect couple when they suddenly want different things. It’s about feeling that your life is set and then realizing that nothing is as you thought it was–and that there is no possible compromise. It’s about deciding what is most important in life, and taking chances to get it. But most of all, it’s about the things we will do–and won’t do–for love.
Enjoy this popular chick lit novel for $4.99 today.

Click here to purchase Baby Proof

Night of the Living Deb – A cozy whodunit selling for $1.99

cheapreader — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:45:16 +0000

Renegade rich girl Andy Kendricks isn’t the belle of any Dallas ball—and that’s just the way the debutante dropout likes it! She’s got a good life and a great man: her defense attorney boyfriend, Brian Malone. Brian’s such a straight arrow that he had to be dragged kicking and screaming to a close friend’s bachelor party at a sleazy local “gentleman’s club.”
So why is the groom-to-be saying that Brian left the bacchanal arm-in-arm with “the hottest body in the Lone Star State?” And what was that hot body doing stone-cold dead in the trunk of Brian’s car? And where is Brian anyway? The cops are looking for Andy’s allegedly unfaithful/possibly homicidal beau who hasn’t been seen since the party. But Andy can’t believe her upstanding lover is a murdering fool, and she’s determined to prove it—though she might end up with a lot more broken than just her heart.
This cozy mystery is available today for only $1.99.
Click here to purchase Night of the Living Deb

Another book in the Debutante Dropout series is selling cheap:
Too Pretty to Die ($3.99) They call them “pretty parties,” and they’re the latest rage among Dallas debutantes—get-togethers with light refreshments, heavy gossip, and Dr. Sonja Madhavi and her magic Botox needles. Former socialite Andy Kendricks normally wouldn’t be caught dead at such an event, but she’s attending as a favor to her friend Janet, a society reporter in search of a juicy story. And boy does she find one when aging beauty queen Miranda DuBois bursts into the room—drunk, disorderly, and packing a pistol.
Miranda’s wrinkles have seen better days, and she blames it all on Dr. Madhavi. Luckily, Andy calms her down and gets her home to bed . . . where she’s found dead the next morning. The police suspect suicide, but Andy knows that no former pageant girl would give up that easily. She’s determined to find Miranda’s killer herself, but she’ll have to be careful. After all, Botox can make you look younger, but it can’t bring you back from the grave.

The Ninth Wife – Contemporary fiction – $2.99

cheapreader — Tue, 15 May 2012 14:45:38 +0000

What sane woman would consider becoming any man’s ninth wife?
Bess Gray is a thirty-five-year-old folklorist and amateur martial artist living in Washington, DC. Just as she’s about to give up all hope of marriage, she meets Rory, a charming Irish musician, and they fall in love. But Rory is a man with a secret, which he confesses to Bess when he asks for her hand: He’s been married eight times before. Shocked, Bess embarks on a quest she feels she must undertake before she can give him an answer.
With her bickering grandparents (married sixty-five years), her gay neighbor (himself a mystery), a shar-pei named Stella, and a mannequin named Peace, Bess sets out on a cross-country journey—unbeknownst to Rory—to seek out and question the wives who came before. What she discovers about her own past is far more than she bargained for.
The Ninth Wife is a smart, funny, eye-opening tale of love, marriage, and the power of stories to unlock the true meaning of home and family. Purchase this contemporary novel for your Kindle for $2.99 today.

Click here to purchase The Ninth Wife

Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man by Steve Harvey – Today’s Barnes & Noble price match – $1.99

cheapreader — Tue, 15 May 2012 12:45:41 +0000

Steve Harvey, the host of the nationally syndicated Steve Harvey Morning Show, can’t count the number of impressive women he’s met over the years, whether it’s through the “Strawberry Letters” segment of his program or while on tour for his comedy shows. These are women who can run a small business, keep a household with three kids in tiptop shape, and chair a church group all at the same time. Yet when it comes to relationships, they can’t figure out what makes men tick. Why? According to Steve it’s because they’re asking other women for advice when no one but another man can tell them how to find and keep a man.
Sometimes funny, sometimes direct, but always truthful, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man is a book you must read if you want to understand how men think when it comes to relationships. You can purchase the book today for only $1.99 as it is today’s Barnes & Noble price match.

Click here to purchase Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man

Wyoming Tough by Diana Palmer – Western romance – $1.35

cheapreader — Tue, 15 May 2012 10:45:32 +0000

A cowboy through and through, ranch owner Mallory Kirk knows what it means to put in a full day’s work. But does his new cowgirl? He has his doubts that Morie Brannt will be able to pull her own weight, even if the petite young woman does seem to have a lot of spirit.
As they spar over events at the ranch and a past that threatens their hopes for the future, sparks begin to fly, and Mallory can’t help but notice Morie in a new light. But is this tough Wyoming man ready to love?
Another Western romance by Diana Palmer - only $1.35 today.
Click here to purchase Wyoming Tough

Free now: Inspirational fiction and non-fiction from Revell, a faith-based publisher

cheapreader — Tue, 15 May 2012 09:40:05 +0000

Free now: Inspirational fiction and non-fiction from Revell, a faith-based publisher
Always confirm price before purchase. Many free and reduced books are offered for a limited time only and only in some geographical regions.