|
|
|
|
|
The Kindle Nation
WEEKENDER
January 15, 2012
Before we get into this week's freebies, meaty news briefs, and an interesting story on how indie authors are using the new KDP Select program to connect with more readers than ever, there are two new developments we want to make sure we share ... and perhaps you'll help spread the word among others whom you think may be interested.
First, we appreciate the opportunity to share with your about great reads at great prices on Kindle, but we want to hear from you, too. So we've created a new nightly feature called The Night Shift on our Facebook page, and we invite you to participate! Here's a link to how it went one evening this week.
Second, by popular demand, we've added a Religious Fiction category to our magical Free Book Search tool as well as our tools to find Quality 99-Centers and Kindle Lending Library titles. The category listings are located in the left sidebar on our Kindle Nation Daily website.
And now, on with the show!
Steve Windwalker
|
|
|
|
 Best Deals Ever on Content for Your Kindle May 1953. There are so many different ways of saving money on content for your Kindle dedicated eInk reader or Kindle Fire tablet that it can be hard to keep them all straight. But we don't want you to miss out on any of these opportunities, so we're going to try to organize them for you here in a new section each week.
Heads Up! Just Hours Left to Enter This Week's Brand New KINDLE FIRE Giveaway Sweepstakes, Sponsored by Bonnie Trachtenberg, author of WEDLOCKED
Did you win a Kindle Fire tablet this week?
If you are James Speiser of Grants Pass, Oregon, you did. James won his on Monday in last week's Kindle Nation Daily KINDLE FIRE Giveaway Sweepstakes, and when it arrives at his home today he will become the 14th citizen of Kindle Nation to win a Kindle Fire from us in the past few months.
But we'd like for you to be one of the 50 people who will win one of these Kindle Fire tablets from us during the remainder of 2012, and all you have to do is follow the extremely easy steps at the end of this post -- by 12 noon Eastern on Monday January 16 -- to have a great chance to win.
But first, a word from ... Today's Sponsor
Like each one of our weekly sweepstakes, this week's giveaway is sponsored by a talented author who has proven to be a favorite with our readers.
Wedlocked author Bonnie Trachtenberg is springing for the Kindle Fire that could very well end up with your name on it, so it only makes sense to pay it forward and stimulate both your karma and your imagination at the same time by chancing 99 cents to grace your Kindle with a novel that is averaging 4.8 stars on 42 out of 44 rave reviews from discriminating readers like us.
by Bonnie Trachtenberg
4.8 stars - 44 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Reviews
- "Wedlocked speaks to so many people...Trachtenberg's appealing wit and ability to create characters that jump off the page and into our hearts has a lot to do with it...I highly recommend this book." -The Long Island Tribune
- "I laughed out loud at this story. Got a tad teary here and there and I also loved every page I read. Ms. Trachtenberg is a hoot! If you're looking for a gift novel, here it is-give it to yourself first!!" -Nancy Erickson, Cheryl's Book Nook
- "Wedlocked is a wonderful, amusing escape...you will find yourself laughing throughout the book...Don't miss the read....it is splendid!!! You will love it....I certainly did." Five Stars-Silver's Reviews
- "Trachtenberg's story is not only moving, but inspiring..a beautiful story about friends, family, dreams and most importantly second chances in love and life...I thoroughly enjoyed reading Wedlocked...I highly recommend this novel." Five Stars-Boekie's Book Reviews
- "Bonnie Trachtenberg is T-A-L-E-N-T-E-D! WOW! LOVED this one! This is a story that will have you smiling, frowning and everything in between!...DEFINITELY highly recommend with 5 Books and two thumbs up! I can't wait to see what Ms. Trachtenberg has in store next for her new found fans!" -ReviewsbyMolly.com
- "Wedlocked is a transformational novel, filled with family, friends, love, heartache, and redemption, just like real life-only much, much funnier! Enjoy!" -PopcornReads.com
- "This book has everything - drama, humor, sadness and even some adventure tossed in. Wedlocked is a fast-paced book that makes you giggle and cry at the same time...I didn't want this book to end." -Five Stars (Kitties)-Socrates Book Reviews
- "I can't quite put my finger on what makes Wedlocked so special. Is it the strong characters...or is it the universal story of trying to live up to other's expectations while staying true to your own dreams? Whatever it is, Wedlocked is a fun, emotional and intensely satisfying read that I would highly recommend." -
Here's the set-up:
On what should be the happiest day of her life, Rebecca Ross is panic stricken. Rebecca has just wed Craig Jacobs, but she realizes she put more thought into choosing her florist than she did in choosing the man she's just pledged to love for the rest of her life.
Before Craig, Rebecca, a talented Long Island girl, dreamed of following in her grandmother's footsteps with an acting career. Unfortunately, she was cut down to size by years of disappointment, and by her first love-a Hollywood director. She returned to Long Island a lost and broken woman, and ended up in the last place she ever wanted: her old bedroom at her parents' house.
But Rebecca's mother, an overzealous convert to Judaism, has a long held dream too: marry off her three daughters to Jewish men. So no one is more thrilled than her when Rebecca meets and marries bon vivant Craig Jacobs, the man who has won over the whole family. Too bad they're all about to discover that underneath his charismatic shell, this Prince Charming is anything but!
"Wedlocked is a funny, warm, and engaging story about life, love, marriage and family. This page-turner is the perfect summer read!" -Wendy Walker, bestselling author of Social Lives
And here, just in case you forgot, are the details on how to
Enter Our KINDLE FIRE Giveaway Sweepstakes:
- There's no purchase required, but we do need you to go to our Kindle Nation Facebook page and "Like" us if you have not done so already.
- You'll need to do this on a computer rather than a smartphone, and you should give the page a few seconds to load, because for some reason it takes a little longer.
- Then just follow the prompts to enter the sweepstakes, and you're done!
- Limit of one entry per weekly sweepstakes, but feel free to enter every single week!
Good luck! And happy reading!
Save 50% to 100% on Amazing Reads & Apps!
|
|
This Week's Sponsor:
The Guild of the Cowry Catchers
by Abigail Hilton
|
by Abigail Hilton
4.8 stars - 6 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
GET STARTED FREE WITH THE ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF BOOK I$0.00 (Kindle Fire owners are in for a real treat with this deluxe illustrated edition!) Here's the set-up: The Guild of the Cowry Catchers is a dark, nautical fantasy about pirates, wyverns, and redemption. This is the complete, 5-book series - about 300,000 words. It is *not* illustrated. The illustrated books are available as individual downloads. Learn more at cowrycatchers.com Imagine that the Chronicles of Narnia were written for adults and told with the gritty realism of George R. R. Martin's Westross. The Guild of the Cowry Catchers is a dark, nautical fantasy for anyone who loves Robin Hobb, Stephen R. Donaldson, Pirates of the Caribbean, or any high seas fantasy adventure with complex, morally ambiguous characters. These characters inhabit a chain of island kingdoms called Wefrivain. The kingdoms' querulous lords are united only by religion, a wyvern cult ruled by an eccentric High Priestess. The Temple is under attack by a gang of pirates, known as the Guild of the Cowry Catchers. They've been preying on Temple treasure ships. The Temple Police charged with eradicating this menace keep disappearing. Enter Gerard, a young prince, exiled from his small island kingdom for marrying the court minstrel. Chosen by the High Priestess as the new Captain of Police, Gerard is smart, honorable, and a little naïve. To break the pirate ring, he must cooperate with a wily, amoral admiral, who has already tried to kill him twice. As Gerard struggles to protect his talented wife, obey his seductive employer, and forge a complicated friendship with his dangerous coworker, he becomes increasingly aware that the pirates have a legitimate quarrel with the wyverns. Dark secrets lurk in the Temple dungeons, and solving them will cost Gerard far more than his honor. This download includes all 5 books in the Guild of the Cowry Catchers series. This 300,000-word series is DRM-free and carefully formatted. The books are: - Embers
- Flames
- Ashes
- Out of the Ashes
- Shores Beyond the World
These books are also available in individual illustrated versions. The illustrated version of Book 4 should be done around the end of 2011/beginning of 2012, and Book 5 will appear around fall of 2012. The single-volume download of the complete series is *not* illustrated (file size would be enormous). Learn more about the series on the author's website at cowrycatchers.com.
Each issue of the Weekender is sponsored by one paid title. We encourage you to support our sponsors and thank you for considering them.
Pss't ... Don't miss the first book in this blockbuster series: Okay, we're really here to talk about the latest book in this series, but we can't keep this a secret.... This just in from author Richard Bard: BOGO? Buy 1, Get 1? Doesn't matter what we call it - it's just a great...
Read more »
Now you can get our most popular Kindle books ever
FREE -- with Amazon Prime
Kindle readers have downloaded our Kindle guides over 300,000 times to make them the most popular books ever on how to get the most out of your Kindle, and we recently added these titles to the Kindle Lending Library so that Amazon Prime members can borrow them absolutely free with no due date. Just click on the titles below to borrow or buy!
THERE'S AN APP FOR THIS! Click on the image to get the Kindle Nation Daily app for the Kindle Fire absolutely FREE today!
|
|
|
Author Scott Nicholson's Boxed Set Giveaway Illustrates How New KDP Select Options Are Working Well for Many Authors and Readers
|
(Editor's Note: Our reporter Tom Dulaney filed the accompanying story on Friday the 13th when Scott Nicholson's boxed set was being offered free on Kindle through the relatively new KDP Select program, but even though prices have changed since then, it's testimony to the creative and ultimately effective ways in indie authors and small press publishers are now using zero-price promotions, and the free Kindle Lending Library borrowing magic available to Amazon Prime members, to level the playing field and take even more market share away from the high-priced traditional publishers behind the agency model price-fixing scheme that is now under investigation on two continents.
And it's equally clear that Kindle owners are benefiting from the new programs. Amazon launched the KDP Select program just over a month ago on December 9, and certainly suffered some criticism -- including this broadside from Kindle Nation fave Cheryl Kaye Tardif -- over the fact that the company demanded distribution exclusivity as a condition of participation [Translation: To be eligible for enrollment in KDP Select, titles can't be offered on iBooks, the nOOKsTore, Smashwords, etc.] Since the launch of KDP Select, the number of titles offered for free borrowing through the Kindle Lending Library has grown from 5,378 to about 80,000. Kindle Nation Daily estimates that readers have downloaded millions of free books in the past month, and Amazon announced this past week that readers borrowed 295,000 paid KDP Select books free through the Kindle Lending Library during the month of December, with authors and/or publishers receiving $1.70 per borrowed copy as their share of a prorated $500,000 fund which Amazon said would be inflated to $700.000 for January.
Meanwhile, Scott Nicholson's boxed set is back at $7.99, the free offering and Facebook frenzy described here in reporter Dulaney's story has worked very well. The set remains in the Top 1,000 in the Kindle Store as of price story and -- importantly -- it is currently in the Top 20 among 80,000 Kindle Lending Library titles. Amazon changed the way it calculates its overall bestseller lists when it allowed KDP authors to set zero-price promotions, but the Kindle Lending Library popularity listings still give plenty of weight to free book downloads and borrows. --S.W.)
By Tom Dulaney
January 13, 2012
Rising indie-publishing star Scott Nicholson wondered in a Facebook post how giving
 | | Authors like Scott Nicholson are leading the way in figuring out how to use the new KDP Select programs to connect with as many readers as possible. |
Well, the set is now No. 5 in the Kindle Free list at the moment and No. 1 in the Free Mysteries & Thrillers list at the moment.
Nicholson stopped in a frantic - and fun - day to chat with BookGorilla on Facebook. When asked how things were going, he said:
"Our blogspot epickindlegiveaway.blogspot.com got FB-blocked because it got too active!
"We are about to go mega-epic later this afternoon! All these people are having so much fun! And boy do they want Kindle Fires! We are going to try to completely melt down Facebook this evening... We reined it in yesterday but now we don't care! But our Facebook link still seems safe.
"We are going to use "Blocked by Facebook: Yes!" in a meme I am working on when we shift into high gear! http://www.facebook.com/EpicKindleGiveaway
"Facebook is a jealous mistress!"
He adds: "This is a great new era and people are back in control!"
About the boxed set:
"Keep both hands on your pants, because Nicholson is about to scare them off." - J.A. Konrath, Origin
A boxed set of four supernatural, suspense, and mystery novels from an international bestselling author. More than 230,000 words of fiction, DRM-free. Includes the complete text of:
CREATIVE SPIRIT: Artists at a remote Appalachian retreat discover their work is bringing a malevolent spirit to life.
DISINTEGRATION: Twin brothers vie for a family empire built on deceit and dark secrets, with one woman standing between them and another waiting in the shadows.
CRIME BEAT: When a new reporter joins a small-town newspaper, a crime spree erupts that soon escalates to serial killing.
BAD BLOOD: A vampire is lured to a mystical resort to investigate rumors of ritualistic murders. Written with J.R. Rain and H.T. Night.
|
Kindle Nation Briefs: News, Tips and Bargains
|
|
|
|
|
|
Elizabeth Reyes' Romero is here to sponsor our list of free Romance titles in the Kindle store: Romero (The Moreno Brothers series #4) by Elizabeth Reyes 4.7 stars - 20 Reviews Kindle Price: $2.99 Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
Here's the set-up:
Prim and proper schoolteacher Isabel Montenegro has always run away from men like Ramon Romero, but this time she is completely captivated. Falling fast and hard for someone so flawlessly sweet only makes him more aware that he's far from perfect. But when her meddling sister does the worst thing imaginable-bring other men between him and his Izzy-that fuse is lit and all bets are off.
Read more »
|
Word is going around today that Apple is sending out invites. that rumored NYC digital publishing event is indeed happening next Thursday. And yes, I have an invite (via eBookNewser). As you can see from the image at right, this event has something to do with education. Given that Apple is a tech company,...
Read more »
|
Earlier this evening I posted about Apple's digital textbook announcement. I don't know much more than you, but Mike Cane responded to the post with an interesting quote from the Isaacson biography on Steve Jobs. I think ti gives a couple major hints into what next week's announcement might be. From the Isaacson biography:...
Read more »
|
Business Insider reports on Amazon's new HTML5 iPad web app store, Accessible from the "Kindle Store" section of Amazon's website (if you're browsing from Mobile Safari on the iPad), tapping the bookmark icon and choosing "Add to Home Scree...
Read more »
|
Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story by Ingrid Ricks Hippie Boy: A Girl's Story by Ingrid Ricks 4.9 stars - 34 Reviews Kindle Price: $1.99 FREE for Amazon Prime Members through the Kindle Lending Library Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled Don't have a Kindle? Get yours here. "A soft-spoken yet resounding reminder of the power...
Read more »
|
|
From USA Today: It's reflected on USA TODAY's Best-Selling Books list, which tracks combined sales of e-book and print editions. The latest list, based on sales data from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1, shows a remarkable burst of digital book sales aft...
Read more »
|
Amazon announced today that its "Send to Kindle" function now works for PCs. Using this tool readers can send documents from their Kindle or Kindle app from Windows Explorer. To do so, users can right-click on one or more documents in Windows Explo...
Read more »
|
Readers have spoken, and you won't want to miss the book they have chosen as #1 Top rated Kindle Fantasy #2 Top rated Kindle Fiction #1 Top rated Genre Fiction #1 Top rated Horror Books .
Read more »
|
The Last Letter by Kathleen Shoop 4.0 stars - 94 Reviews Kindle Price: $2.99 Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled Don't have a Kindle? Get yours here. Here's the set-up: Katherine wouldn't have believed it if she hadn't found the letter... Katherine Arthur's mother arrives on her doorstep, dying, forcing her to relive a past...
Read more »
|
Hot Summer by Judy Powell Hot Summer by Judy Powell 4.1 stars - 8 Reviews Kindle Price: 99 cents Text-to-Speech: Enabled Don't have a Kindle? Get yours here. Here's the set-up: 'Hot Summer, a Compelling Read'. From the streets of Chicago to the beaches of Jamaica, Ms. Powell takes the reader on an...
Read more »
|
|
One hundred grand. That's how much I've made on Amazon in the last three weeks.This is just for my self-pubbed Kindle titles. It doesn't include Shaken and Stirred, which were published by Amazon's imprints. It doesn't include any of my legacy sales, p...
Read more »
|
My story about making $100,000 in three weeks on Kindle is getting widely passed around, and I've noticed that folks are reacting in a few specific ways.1. Some are happy for me, and for the possibilities this opens up for them. They know the work and ...
Read more »
|
Goodbye Neverland by Sharon Potts 5.0 stars - 4 Reviews Kindle Price: $2.99 Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled Don't have a Kindle? Get yours here. Here's the set-up: "Humor and poignancy go hand in hand in Sharon Potts's latest, GOODBYE NEVERLAND. You can't help but laugh out loud on page one when Potts's...
Read more »
|
Can't say that Amazon doesn't take advantage of every opportunity. Today they unveiled a Kindle site that has been specifically optimized for the iPad. Above is a screen shot from my iPad 2. By the way, in regards to my article about GU...
Read more »
|
Broken Shield by Isabella Broken Shield by Isabella 4.3 stars - 12 Reviews Kindle Price: $9.99 Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled Don't have a Kindle? Get yours here. Here's the set-up: Tyler Jackson, former paramedic now firefighter, has seen her share of death up close. The death of her wife caused Tyler to rethink...
Read more »
|
|
After her parents die, Ruby awakens from a lifetime of shadows and finds herself thrust into a world of lies, betrayal and the supernatural. When her true identity is unveiled, she is forced to choose between two of the mysterious men who continually seem to crop up in her life.
She chooses poorly. Abandoned, Ruby must learn to call on the darkness within to survive, or spend a hellish eternity in its prison.
Read more »
|
Border Crossings - An Aid Worker's Journey into Bosnia by Aubrey Verboven Kindle Price: $2.99 Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled Don't have a Kindle? Get yours here. Here's the set-up: In 1994, the world beyond Justin's scope is crumbling. Daily images of genocide in Africa and ethnic cleansing in Eastern Europe assault his...
Read more »
|
Kindle Nation Daily Bargain Book Alert: "Quality Fiction Beyond Your Wildest Dreams!" - Celebrate the One-Year Anniversary of This Great New Indie Publisher with Their Across-the-Board 99-Cent Sale on All Their Titles! Suspense, Mystery, Thrillers, Horror, Paranormal, Romance, YA and Historical Fiction Here's a special offer from our friends at Imajin Books. To celebrate their 1 year anniversary and all the great books they've published, Imajin Books is having a 99 Cent Anniversary Sale. "We wanted to thank our readers and do something special to mark our first official year," says publisher Cheryl Tardif. "We know that January can be a tough month for many, so we've made our ebooks affordable for everyone. You can buy 10 of our ebooks for about the price of 1 paperback in a store." This is the first time that all of their ebooks have been marked down this low -and the sale is on for 4 DAYS ONLY, so load up your Kindles today Read more »
|
|
|
Kindle Nation Free Book Alert:
Over 1,500 Free Contemporary Titles on Kindle!
SEARCH AND SORT FREE KINDLE BOOKS BY CATEGORY:All Free Kindle Books
FICTION Classics Erotica Fantasy Gay & Lesbian General Horror Literary Mystery & Thriller Religious Fiction Romance Science Fiction
NONFICTION Advice & How-To Arts & Entertainment Biography & Memoir Business & Leadership Computers & Internet Cooking, Food & Wine General History Lifestyle & Home Parenting & Families Politics & Current Events Reference Religion & Spirituality Travel
Humor Sports YA & Kids or Click here to search and sort thousands of quality 99-cent titles by category! or
Click here to check out thousands of Kindle Prime-eligible titles available for free reading (limit 1 per month for Kindle Prime customers) by category!
Please note: For the convenience of our readers, a Kindle book must maintain a rating of 4.0 stars or better on at least 4 reviews to be included in our Quality 99-Centers listings. |
400+ New Freebies Since Last Week! But first ... a word from This Week's Sponsor!
by Abigail Hilton
4.8 stars - 6 Reviews
Text-to-Speech and Lending: Enabled
GET STARTED FREE WITH THE ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF BOOK I$0.00 (Kindle Fire owners are in for a real treat with this deluxe illustrated edition!) Here's the set-up: The Guild of the Cowry Catchers is a dark, nautical fantasy about pirates, wyverns, and redemption. This is the complete, 5-book series - about 300,000 words. It is *not* illustrated. The illustrated books are available as individual downloads. Learn more at cowrycatchers.com Imagine that the Chronicles of Narnia were written for adults and told with the gritty realism of George R. R. Martin's Westross. The Guild of the Cowry Catchers is a dark, nautical fantasy for anyone who loves Robin Hobb, Stephen R. Donaldson, Pirates of the Caribbean, or any high seas fantasy adventure with complex, morally ambiguous characters. These characters inhabit a chain of island kingdoms called Wefrivain. The kingdoms' querulous lords are united only by religion, a wyvern cult ruled by an eccentric High Priestess. The Temple is under attack by a gang of pirates, known as the Guild of the Cowry Catchers. They've been preying on Temple treasure ships. The Temple Police charged with eradicating this menace keep disappearing. Enter Gerard, a young prince, exiled from his small island kingdom for marrying the court minstrel. Chosen by the High Priestess as the new Captain of Police, Gerard is smart, honorable, and a little naïve. To break the pirate ring, he must cooperate with a wily, amoral admiral, who has already tried to kill him twice. As Gerard struggles to protect his talented wife, obey his seductive employer, and forge a complicated friendship with his dangerous coworker, he becomes increasingly aware that the pirates have a legitimate quarrel with the wyverns. Dark secrets lurk in the Temple dungeons, and solving them will cost Gerard far more than his honor. This download includes all 5 books in the Guild of the Cowry Catchers series. This 300,000-word series is DRM-free and carefully formatted. The books are: - Embers
- Flames
- Ashes
- Out of the Ashes
- Shores Beyond the World
These books are also available in individual illustrated versions. The illustrated version of Book 4 should be done around the end of 2011/beginning of 2012, and Book 5 will appear around fall of 2012. The single-volume download of the complete series is *not* illustrated (file size would be enormous). Learn more about the series on the author's website at cowrycatchers.com.
Each issue of the Weekender is sponsored by one paid title. We encourage you to support our sponsors and thank you for considering them.
| |
|
Thanks for making the Kindle Nation Weekender part of your weekend -- it's an honor to be included.
Sincerely, Stephen Windwalker Kindle Nation Daily
|
|
|
|
|
|
