Mariannes Motifs

Ebook Readers

You all know I am a Kindle girl when it comes to ebook readers.  For work and games tthe PlayBook is fantastic, and for pure reading its an e-ink tablet.  I bet that a Nook or Sony, or Kobo would all be great too.

I love the way I can get a book at any time, day or night.  It's such a luxury!  Like the food replicator on Star Trek, but for books.  Ahhh....  I revel in the wonder of being able to read just about anything at any time.  And it even has a built in light!

Free Victorian Romance - Vanquished

I always check out the free Kindle books.  Sometimes they are good, sometimes you know why they are giving them away for free. 

This time I hit gold and a enjoying a Vicorian era historical called Vanquished.  This one is not your average - it touches on social issues such as prostitution, women's sufferage, and poverty.  I am about halfway through and am enjoying it.  The hero is in the middle of a dilema as he has been hired to ruin a lady, but finds himself very attracted to her.  He is a good person, but also very pragmatic due to his history as a poor orphan who makes good.  What will he do - how will he get out of the mess he is in and keep his morals intact?

The cover is a bit racy - I think its supposed to represent the art photography the hero has up in his photpgraphy shop.  I would redo the cover if I were the author.  It doesn't do the book justice.

 

Writing a Book

I've been mulling around the idea of writing a book for most of my life.  When I was a kid  used to staple together stories about my cat.  One time in college I wrote about 11 pages of a romance novel.

The other day I came to the realization that with four blogs worth of content over the course of four or so years, I have already written the equivalent of a book.  I started thinking about some of what I think are my best posts.  What if I looked at these posts as a series of essays?  What if I took these essays and edited them into a coherent package? 

Between the tools available from Amazon, and Smashwords I could format an ebook and upload it for sale at most of the major ebook markets.  I also found a website that has TONS of wonderful information about self publishing an ebook - selfpublishingadventure.com

I don't expect that I will make thousands of dollars publishing my own non fiction advice book, but I know that the experience will be a positive one for me.  As well, being a published author will be a great tool in my toolbelt professionally both as a blogger and in the business world where I hae another life that involves technical writing and project management.

 

Looking for Stuff to Read?

If you are looking for book reviews, how to find Kindle freebies, and other stuff you might want to check out my Sci Fi themed blog.  I don't just cover Sci Fi - I really focus on Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal, and Epic Fantasy books.

Reading Right Now - Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch  - Police procedural crossed with Urban Fantasy

How to Find Good Free Kindle Books page

Great Women Charaters in Fantasy Books

 

 

Free MJ Putney Story

MJ Putney is the young adult alter ego to Mary Jo Putney, one of my favorite authors.  So I am excited to have some more works form her to read.  I beleive her YA stories are alternate historicals in a Victorian age where magic is real, but not approved for the aristocracy.

She's offering a free sample, which is a Kindle pre-order.

I"m definately going to check it out as well as her full lenghth Dark Mirror.

Free Ebook - Math for Moms and Dads

Since my 7 year old is pretty good at math and shows an interest in it, I downloaded this free book from Kaplan.  I think most of us happily forget math concepts as soon as we are out of high school so it can be a challenge to help the kids with their homework after a while.

So if struggling with your kids math homework has you ready to search for the nearest detox centers, try this book. 

This is free in most of the major ebook stores, click below for the Kindle link:

 

Good Cheesy Romance Free on Kindle - This means you Mom!

I actually bought this book back when it came out in dead tree edition and really enjoyed it.  It's a romance novel but based on an alternate history when magic is real in England.  So its a little like a Regency romance with mages in it. 

 

The book reminds me of Mary Jo Putney's paranormal historical romances.  I much prefer reading romance novels to attempting hoodia weight loss.  In fact I am more likely to attempt hoody weight loss where you wear a size XXL hooded sweatshirt to hide your back fat.

Great Deal on Steven Saylor's Roma $2.99 Kindle Version

Here's a great bargain.  This is one of my Mom's favorite authors - he writes mysteries set in ancient Rome.  This one seems to be a multi-generational epic.  Normally $15.95, it's on sale in Kindle format for just $2.99.

Save money on books and you have more left over for stuff like designer jeans., I found a place that sells some really cute stuff designed by Beyonce called dereon.

The Lace Reader Mini Review

I just read The Lace Reader, which is now selling at $4.99 on Amazon Kindle.  I got the sample sent to my Kindle and it sucked me in.  If I had known what it was going to be about I would have never read it, but the story pulls you in and you are sort of sucked into the madness before you know it.

It is very well written, and I would recommend it but its not exactly cheerful, if you know what I mean.  At least the ending was not sad.  I absolutely HATE sad endings.  I am still mad about that freaking Time Traveler's Wife.  Don't even get me started on that one.

Anyway, this is an interesting book, with some information on Salem, boating, precognition, and lace making.  I know this is a short noxycut review, but I don't want to give too much away so just read it for yourself if you are interested.  I would not be surprised at all to see this made into a movie, by the way.   It's a bit of a psychological  thriller.

Free Book from Barnes and Noble Summer Reading Program

Barnes and Noble has a great Summer Reading program for school kids.  You download a summer reading "passport" and have your kid keep track of 8 books they read over the summer.  Then they bring it in to BandN and get to pick out a free book.

My son Ben did this last year and this year I have TWO readers to take part.