Farewell Sookie Stackhouse … Charlaine Harris's bestselling books about vampires were made into the True Blood TV series. Photograph: HBO/Everett/Rex Features

Mourning has broken out among fans of the telepathic Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse after author Charlaine Harris announced that next year would see the publication of the final novel in her Southern Vampire Mysteries series.

Harris, whose bestselling books about vampires, werewolves and other supernatural beings in the small southern town of Bon Temps was made into the popular True Blood television series, has previously hinted that she was planning to bring the story to a close. But she made the definitive announcement on her Facebook page yesterday, telling readers that the 13th and final Sookie Stackhouse book, Dead Ever After, would be on sale next May. She immediately drew more than 5,000 “likes” and hundreds of comments from her fans, from: “Say it ain't so!” to “How can you do that to us!”

I don't have anything left to tell. After the last book, I'll have said everything I have to say about Sookie,” Harris said last week. 

…More at True Blood author can suck no more out of series

Pay us for library ebook loans, say authors

Many writers rely on income from library loans, says the Society of Authors, in calling for digital books to be included in PLR scheme

'There is no difference between ebooks and print books' … Lindsey Davis, of the Society of Authors. Photograph: Bloomberg

Authors are calling on the government to remunerate them when their ebooks are lent from libraries, calling it “patently unjust” that digital titles are currently borrowed with no payment made to the writer.

Authors are paid 6.05p every time their physical books are borrowed from the UK's public libraries, up to a maximum of £6,600, under the government-funded Public Lending Right scheme. But ebooks and audiobooks, a growing sector for library users, are not currently included in the scheme, even though the Digital Economy Act of 2010 paved the way for this to be done.

Nicola Solomon of the Society of Authors called it “terribly unfair” and said that “authors should be properly remunerated” for their work. “It's very important to understand that authors do rely on PLR – it's not just a nice little bonus. Many authors get PLR who are not bestsellers but do very well in libraries. People borrow very different books from the book they buy,” she said. “And authors can't continue to write if they are not paid for their work.”

Authors have a legal right to the payments, she said – and could even consider going to court to recover them. “Since 1992 'rental and lending right' has been a part of copyright protection. That means that authors have a legal right to equitable remuneration whenever their works are lent out,” she said…More at Pay us for library ebook loans, say authors

Alfred, the great king, is said to be dying. Rivals for his succession are poised to tear the kingdom apart. The country Alfred has worked thirty years to build is about to disintegrate.

Uhtred, the King’s warrior, Viking born but Saxon bred, wants more than anything else to go and fight to reclaim his stolen Northumbrian inheritance. But he knows that if he deserts the King’s cause, Alfred’s dream – and indeed the very future of the English nation – will very likely vanish.

Death of Kings is an outstanding novel by a master storyteller of how England was made – and very nearly lost.

The heir to Martina Cole’s crown with a story of murder, the underworld, violence and treachery.

It’s 1983 and Stephanie Crouch’s life is dull. She is desperate to escape the run-down, pokey council house she shares with her overbearing family, but at fourteen years old she has nowhere to go.

When Stephanie meets East End wide-boy Barry, his cockney charm and quick tongue soon have her head over heels in love. Finally Stephanie feels like her dreary life is on the up. But too young to control their fate, Stephanie and Barry are torn apart when he is whisked away to Spain by his family.

Lonely and heartbroken Stephanie turns to Barry’s childhood friend Wayne for comfort, and their friendship soon blossoms into romance, leaving Barry fuming and promising revenge…

Ten years later Barry returns to England. Within one month Stephanie’s happy world with Wayne is turned upside down. People immediately start to point the finger of accusation at Barry, but is he the one to blame?

The Demon King still lives, stronger than ever, devouring souls in search of immortality. Against him stands the scholar Taron, a newly-minted warrior of Lemuria, and Willow, a woman of unearthly loveliness, born of mist…Taron must pass through the waterfall of molten gold that shields the secret portal to his beloved land. His brilliant mind and the speaking sword called CrystalFire are his weapons against evil. But nothing can protect him from the power of love. Willow, whom he once knew as a sprite who could dance in his hand, has been changed by a master stroke of magic into the form of a beautiful, highly sensual woman, desiring a thousand pleasures that she insists he alone can give her. Innocent and eager, Willow arouses his deepest needs and sexual hunger – and his love. He will risk all to save her, even if it means a battle to the death with the ultimate foe…

The eBay marketplace can be daunting for the inexperienced seller and it can seem tough to go up against established PowerSellers. But it is possible for your business to compete successfully, and make a good profit, if you plan carefully, work efficiently and take the right approach.

To help you on your way, Robert Pugh, author of the hugely popular eBay Business Handbook, has produced this collection of essential eBay tips. In this concise guide Robert – or Mollybol to the eBay community
– reveals the techniques that have enabled him to become a successful and profitable seller over a period of seven years… and counting!

Find out:
– What to sell and where to find stock
– How to structure your item descriptions
– How to optimise your eBay shop for keyword-based search engines
– Customer service and eBay etiquette that can make a huge difference

And lots more too!

If you have made a start on eBay but are looking to take things to the next level and increase sales and maximise profits, this book will provide you with loads of useful ideas.

Unleashed by Hitler in 1942, the German Tiger tank was by far the most powerful tank ever built at the time. The 60-ton monster could destroy any Allied tank from more than a mile away, and it soon became the most feared tank in the world. Desperate to discover the secret technology used in the Tiger’s manufacture, Winston Churchill close a brilliant young army engineer, Major Doug Lidderdale, as his special agent. In a late-night briefing in the subterranean War Rooms under Whitehall he ordered him: ‘Go catch me a tiger’. Doug did not hesitate and by February 1943 was facing Rommel’s desert army. After several unsuccessful and hair-raising efforts to bag a Tiger on the battlefields of Tunisia, Doug and his team put their lives on the line in a terrifying, close-hand shoot-out with the five-man crew of a Tiger, capturing the tank intact. The morale boost to the Allies was such that both Churchill and King George VI flew to Tunis to examine the Tiger first hand. But the Germans were not finished with Doug. They did not want the secrets of the Tiger benefitting the Allies’ sabotage attempts, and constant attacks by the Luftwaffe and U-boats pursued Doug and his men on every step of the journey back to England. But eventually, by October 1943, the Tiger – number 131 – was delivered to London and gifted to Churchill, who had it placed on London’s Horse Guards Parade. Lidderdale went on to use some of the Tiger technology to develop war machines for the D-Day landings and was promoted to Colonel. Tiger 131 is now kept at Bovington Tank Museum and is the only working Tiger in the world.

Join Jiggly Boggly as he explores the tunnels, streets and schools of London, visiting the secret homes of his marvelous Monsters… Jiggly Boggly is a Monster Caretaker with a forgetful streak. After misplacing his monster map, he begins to hear hums, howls and growls and soon knows it’s time to pack his satchel and set out to find his monsters! Created and named by school children from every borough of London and brought to life by 34 illustrators, Jiggly Boggly and the GOSH Monsters is a unique and imaginative story made by and for children, with all profits from sales of this book donated to Great Ormond Street Hospital.

is probably not going to be a huge popular seller, but, did I tell you my son Paul has a Masters in Chemistry, Medical Chemistry and Pharmacology. This is the sort of tome that he would use for bedtime reading.

This volume in the “Methods in Enzymology” series comprehensively covers Cancer, Cardiovascular and the central nervous system of Nanomedicine. With an international board of authors, this volume is split into sections that cover subjects such as Diabetes and nanotechnology as potential therapy, Nanomedicines for inflammatory diseases, and Development and use of ceramide nanoliposomes in cancer.

And ( to start the sentence with “and” is very poor English I’m told but since I’m a Yorkshireman I don’t care) on the 13th we have advertised as ready for release the following. Please remember this is not a guaranteed list. Publishers retailers and Uncle John Cobley and all can change their minds. Many will be available in The Kindle some will not and all will have different release dates for Hardback and Paperback.

The Ultimate Book of Saturday Science: The Very Best Backyard Science Experiments You Can Do Yourself [Paperback]
Has to be a must buy for every boy from 9 to 109. Slightly cheaper in The Kindle FormatThe Ultimate Book of Saturday Science is Neil Downie’s biggest and most astounding compendium yet of science experiments you can do in your own kitchen or backyard using common household items. It may be the only book that encourages hands-on science learning through the use of high-velocity, air-driven carrots.

Downie, the undisputed maestro of Saturday science, here reveals important principles in physics, engineering, and chemistry through such marvels as the Helevator–a contraption that’s half helicopter, half elevator–and the Rocket Railroad, which pumps propellant up from its own track. The Riddle of the Sands demonstrates why some granular materials form steep cones when poured while others collapse in an avalanche. The Sunbeam Exploder creates a combustible delivery system out of sunlight, while the Red Hot Memory experiment shows you how to store data as heat. Want to learn to tell time using a knife and some butter? There’s a whole section devoted to exotic clocks and oscillators that teaches you how.

The Ultimate Book of Saturday Science features more than seventy fun and astonishing experiments that range in difficulty from simple to more challenging. All of them are original, and all are guaranteed to work. Downie provides instructions for each one and explains the underlying science, and also presents experimental variations that readers will want to try.