A Tale of Two Novels

It was the best of novels, it was the worst of… Okay, it was neither. The thing is, my daughter gave me a Kindle for the holidays last year, and I am now a sucker for free books. I now have an opportunity, even on my miniscule budget, to try new authors. Yes, I do read them, and yes, I do buy other books by the authors I discover this way.

This blog is a story of two of those free books. Both novels, both had good titles and covers, both sounded interesting. I hadn’t read anything by either of the authors before. One was excellent. I finished the first in the series (free) last night. I bought the second in the series today and will start reading it tonight. I loved the story and the characters. I’d never heard of the author before, but I’m now a fan. Was it the best book I’ve ever read? Probably not. I wrote that one. (Yikes, did I say that out loud!) Seriously, I’d be hard pressed to name my favorite novel. It’d be like choosing between my daughters.

The other free book I read, not so great. Big fact holes, a heroine I’d love to slap, and just not that appealing. Not horrible, but not great. I won’t go out of my way to read another of her books.
The first, great, book was self-published. The second, not so good, was by a NYT bestselling author. Shocked? I’m not.

Please understand, I’m not saying the second author is a bad writer. Maybe I just got hold of her worst book. Maybe one day I’ll read another of her books and love it. Or not. Who knows? I won’t mention her name.

I will mention the first author’s name, Barbra Annino www.barbraannino.com/ the book I read was Opal Fire, the first in the Stacy Justice series.

It was eye opening for me, a dead tree book person who is now an ebook convert. Better for the environment, easier to hold and carry, and the fun of reading a book seconds after hitting the buy button is amazing. I still love paper books and bookstores and libraries. But it is a changing world, and the readers are going to be the winners.

Have a great weekend!

Cheryel
www.cheryelhutton.com

13 F-ed Up Reasons To Download My Fantasy Novella

This is Read an Ebook Week, did you hear? As part of the Festivities, I've allowed my Fantasy novella, A Mage By Any Other Name, to go FREE at Amazon.com, as this is its last month available exclusively at Amazon. It will be free until March 10. Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/Mage-Any-Other-Name-ebook/dp/B006RO3LVS

Quick Blurb: Mary's new job with Wizard Williwim is perfect. Through gainful employment and access to the classified central library, she hopes to discover a route to the respect and approval she yearns for. For years she’s attempted one plan after another, and this one appears to be working.

But Mary’s life has never been that easy. When an enemy from her past reappears to endanger everything she has nearly achieved, she has to decide whether to confess some dangerous secrets she’s been hiding.

A tricky choice, when those secrets could lead to her and Williwim being cast out of the district...or being very, very dead.

Anyway, if you need further convincing, here are 13.5 F-'d up reasons to click on that link:

1) It's Free.

2) It's Funny.

3) It's Fantasy.

4) It's Feminist-ish.

5) It's Frabjuous.

6) It's (not) Feeble.

7) It's From Jody Wallace (because I KNOW this is convincing).

8) It's Funky, kind of.

9) It's Frisky, but not that kind of.

10) It's Fresh (only 2.5 months old!)

11) It's Fairly well edited (me and mine are good at the spelling, yo!)

12) It's Full of worldbuildy goodness.

13a) It's Feudal. Not as in feuds, but as in, based in a somewhat feudal system of government, owing to it being a relatively standard fantasy novel set in a pseudo-Middle Ages era that should be FAMILIAR to readers of this genre but still accessible to readers not as familiar with the genre.

13b) Come to think of it, it's Feudy too. There is a definite feud in the book that influences the progression of the plot.

Until March 10, then. Have at it and avast and stuff!

Jody W.
So much cyberspace, so little time!
www.jodywallace.com  / www.meankitty.com

Do you own a Kindle?

I am so excited to announce that my romantic suspense, Deception, is being offered FREE to anyone who owns a Kindle. This is part of a program my publisher, Samhain, runs and i was extremely pleased to be included in it.

All you have to do is go here, click on the link and Deception will be downloaded to your Kindle for absolutely nothing. Nada. How can you pass this up? As my husband has taught my kids to say, "Free is for me!"

Thirteen Great Things About the Cool Yule Giveaway

1. It’s free.

2. It’s easy. All you have to do is attach a comment to any post on this blog—any post!—and provide enough information to allow us to get back in touch with you.

3. It’s completely without obligation. Nobody will be hounding you with newsletters. We’re more scared of those things than you are.

4. There will be twelve winners, one for every day of Christmas—but without all those pesky pooping partridges.

5. You need to pamper yourself…with the Bath & Body Works offered by Kaye Chambers.

6. Dragons, shapeshifters and weres turn you on—especially those penned by Bianca D’Arc, Sharon Cullen, Ember Case and D. McIntire.

7. You love Carolan Ivey’s ghosts and Celtic legends, and have a soft spot for Sela Carson’s cursed selkies.

8. The fairies of Dayna Hart and Jody Wallace are totally your thing—especially when you add Jody’s extra special gift bag to the mix.

9. You long to meet the man of your dreams in your dreams, like the heroine of Meg Allison’s Dream Walk.

10. What rocks your world is Joely Skye’s futuristic m/m.

11. You need more Christmas recipes—and I just added a paper copy of The Write Ingredient cookbook to the download of With Nine You Get Vanyr.

12. You still have time to qualify. Just comment before noon EST, December 21.

13. You know you want to. All the cool kids are doing it. Besides, you’ve been good all year. Santa will forgive a little naughty. Heck, he’s an elf. He’ll encourage it. How do you think he got to be so jolly?

Books Are The Best Gifts

It's the giftiest season of the year and you've got a long list of people to treat. Some of them you know well. Some you don't know well at all, but for whatever reason, you have some obligation to purchase them a gift. So what do you do?

Giftcards are small and convenient, yes, but they can be impersonal. Electronics are expensive, household items can send the wrong message (you need to cook more! your house is ugly!), and holiday themed items can only be used once a year. Clothing in general is dicey, and holiday sweaters in particular are best suited for ugly sweater parties. Food items are perishable. Except for fruit cakes, but chances are if you give somebody a fruit cake, you're gonna get it regifted to you next year. In the exact same condition as when you gifted it in the first place.

What about books? They're portable, economically feasible, varied, multipurpose, and there's one to fulfill anyone's interest. Even nonreaders (gasp!) might enjoy certain how-to volumes, magazines or coffee table type photo books. Plus, the purchase of books as gifts keeps the publishing industry, and authors like us, in business.

Just think of it. One trip to one bookstore (or online bookstore), and all your gift shopping could be OVER. Oh, the pleasure!

So what books do you want as gifts this holiday season? What are some great book gifts you've given in the past to people you knew really well or didn't know that well? What are some books you might have been given (or given) that really missed the mark?

Tell us all about your book gifting experiences and wishes in the comments! And don't forget, anyone who comments on this blog until December 21st is entered in our Cool Yule contest to win FREE BOOKS!

Jody W.
http://www.jodywallace.com
A SPELL FOR SUSANNAH--In Paper, Samhain Publishing
LIAM'S GOLD--In Electrons, Samhain Publishing

PS: If you must buy a giftcard, make it a bookstore giftcard!