Tag Archive for 'Kindle'

Sink or Swim Beach Read Available for Nook, Smashwords, iTunes, Kindle

I’m happy to announce that my mystery novel with a touch of romance, Sink or Swim, is back on Nook , iTunes and
Smashwords after taking a leave of absence for enrollment in an exclusive Kindle program. It had a very successful Amazon run, appearing at #1 on the Women Sleuths and Romantic Suspense Top 100 bestseller lists, but I’m glad that readers with different kinds of devices will once again be able to download the book.

Sink or Swim is a combination of cozy mystery and light romantic suspense, and is a perfect beach read. It has a reality TV tie-in, which fans of those shows will enjoy. If you dislike reality shows, as long as you’re a mystery fan, I think you’ll still enjoy the book as the reality show is over by Chapter 2.
Personal trainer Cassidy Novak has gained fame for starring on a hit reality show. Not only does she lose and have to walk the plank, but upon returning home, Cassidy discovers she is being stalked. As her former competitors get killed off, Cassidy refuses to play by the stalker’s bizarre rules. She’s also being shadowed by photographer Zach Gallagher, who has been assigned to capture her personal moments for the local newspaper. She wants to trust Zach, but fears he may not be as nice as he seems. When the stalker forces a showdown, Cassidy must walk the plank again – this time for her life.

Here are a few reviews:

“If you need help getting through a murderous workout (pun intended) this book is a wonderful, clever and entertaining distraction. The identity of the stalker left me guessing until the end, and believe me that is a refreshing and pleasant surprise. Congratulations, Ms. Juba, for giving us a great read.”
- Coffee Time Romance & More

“Stacy Juba has done it again! I was so excited to read this book because I loved her previous book, Twenty-Five Years Ago Today, and she did not disappoint! I could not put this book down and was sad that I finished it so quickly. Cassidy was a great character; so down-to-earth that I felt like I was reading a biography. There was action, mystery and romance all tied into one very well-written story.”
- Book-Club-Queen

“Being on a hit reality show not once, but three times, made Sink or Swim really hit home for me… It was an easy read and extremely well written… I would love to see it come out as a movie one day!”
- Stephenie LaGrossa, owner of GiGi Restaurant & Lounge, Philadelphia PA, Television personality and fan favorite Survivor: Palau, Guatemala, Heroes vs. Villains

Trade paperback version available from your local bookseller and the following on-line retailers:
Amazon
Mainly Murder Press (25 percent discount)
Barnes&Noble
$3.99 e-book versions available from:
Amazon Kindle
Barnes&Noble (Nook)
Smashwords
iTunes
Sony Reader Store – coming soon.

Twenty-Five Years Ago Today Reaching New Readers on Kindle

I’m pleased that my Twenty-Five Years Ago Today campaign is going well, with the book currently on three Amazon Top 100 lists including Romantic Suspense and Historical Mystery. During the campaign, the overall ranking went from over 100,000 (yuck) to in the 700s (much better!) and the book is still selling well. Since I just joined a fantastic new tribe of writers and book bloggers on Triberr, I am doing one more blog post to help get the word out to readers of mystery, romance, and literary fiction as the book is a blend of all three. Then I’ll be turning my attention to teddy bears for a bit. (My soon-to-be-released children’s ebook bundle…I’m nothing if not diverse!)

In the meantime, the $2.99 sale for my mystery/romantic suspense novel Twenty-Five Years Ago Today is featured on Pixel of Ink, a great site for learning of free and bargain books for your Kindle. If you get a chance to follow the link and like the post on Facebook and/or tweet it, any help spreading the word is much appreciated.

Should we dig for the truth when Pandora’s Box is a coffin of buried secrets? For twenty-five years, Diana Ferguson’s killer has gotten away with murder. When rookie obit writer and newsroom editorial assistant Kris Langley investigates the cold case of the artistic young cocktail waitress who was obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology, not only does she fall in love with Diana’s sexy nephew, but she must also fight to stay off the obituary page herself.

The book has 52 reviews on Amazon and a 4.5 star rating. I hope readers will continue to enjoy it! It’s also available in paperback and for other e-readers such as Nook and Sony. Coming soon on the blog: a Facebook blast event where you can enter for a $100 Amazon code, a terrific guest post on the Kindle Fire, and the release of the Teddy Bear Town Children’s E-Book Bundle (3 picture books in one download.)

Wave of the Future: Digital Textbooks Gaining in Popularity

Textbooks are going digital. For bookworms, digital books appear to be the wave of the future: according to the New York Times, digital books outsold their paper counterparts for the first time last year. But the success of digital books hasn’t translated just yet to textbooks, despite the efforts of several universities and publishers to make them a more integral part of teaching and learning. So, what’s the disconnect? Why haven’t students and teachers been eager to embrace digital textbooks—and how can publishers make inroads into the educational market?

Books plus
One of the more attractive features of digital textbooks is their ability to deliver more than just text to their readers. Videos, interactive illustrations and exclusive online content can all be added to digital textbooks to help students engage with the learning material. Of course, these extra features cost money to produce and can add to the textbook’s price tag, but the idea that digital textbooks should offer more than just the standard chapters and glossaries might provide publishers in the education space a way to connect with students and their instructors.

The portable classroom
The Internet has made it possible for students of all grades to learn online: from elementary school to college, students and their instructors can interact as effectively online as they can in person. And this can create an advantage for digital textbooks: not only can digital texts be read on a laptop, e-reader or mobile phone, but readers can share notes and questions about the text in real time. The ability for online learning programs to incorporate educational material that can be shared can encourage collaboration and help students stay on task no matter where they are. For students in inner city and rural areas, the ability to receive a quality education doesn’t have to be tied to how much tax money their district receives.

Preparation for the workforce
Education isn’t the only area which has been transformed by technology: the business landscape is full of new digital landmarks as well. If used creatively, digital textbooks can both deliver class content to students and teach them to effectively use the online tools they’ll use in their careers. And as more offices go paperless—replacing notepads with laptops and tablets, relying on e-mail and online message programs instead of more conventional communications—digital textbooks can ease students into depending on technology for everyday tasks. Digital natives—and students with access to technology—won’t have as steep a learning curve as older students whose first interactions with technology happen in the classroom. But if e-books are introduced, students can begin to acquire the skills they’ll need to succeed in a high-tech office.

The popularity of digital books will continue to rise as retailers offer more e-reading devices, like Barnes and Noble’s Nook and Amazon’s line of Kindles. And schools all over the country are embracing tablets like the iPad to help facilitate learning. Publishers will have to combine price, convenience and innovation to make digital textbooks the standard by which students learn—but the speed at which technology moves makes that a strong possibility. Digital books are the wave of the future, but the wave needs to be strong enough for students and teachers to jump onto it.

Lindsey is a freelance writer and editor living in the Midwest. She’s currently considering enrolling in an on-line learning program to improve her writing skills.

Face-Off Hockey Novel Perfect Holiday Gift For Teens And Tweens

As of December 5, the Face-Off paperback edition is included in Amazon’s 4 for 3 promotion. Buy any 4 eligible items and get the lowest-priced item free.

I’m thrilled to announce that my young adult hockey novel Face-Off is now available in multiple e-book formats, (on sale for 99 cents for a limited time) as well as in a brand new $7.99 paperback edition. Face-Off is special to me as I wrote this book when I was 16 years old, scribbling in high school study halls and then going home to type up my notes on an electric typewriter. I submitted it into a contest and it won, leading to a publishing contract when I was an 18-year-old college freshman. Its success far exceeded my expectations. It was listed in Best Books for Young Teen Readers: Grades 7-10 and the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Junior Education Program placed Face-Off on its recommended reading list.

I had a blast writing this book, about teenage twin brothers battling it out on the ice and off. I got into hockey during the 1988 Olympics, worshiping players like Craig Janney, Brian Leetch and Bob Joyce. Once the Olympics ended, I quickly became a diehard Boston Bruins fan. I’d buy Hockey Digest and Hockey Illustrated on the newstand, and read biographies of retired players such as Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito. Posters of Cam Neely, Ray Bourque and Wayne Gretzky graced my walls. Boys in my classes chuckled when they saw me wearing a Bruins jersey to school, not believing this shy, non-athletic girl knew anything about hockey. I loved watching their jaws drop when I started spouting off players and stats.

An avid reader, I yearned to read a fiction novel about hockey, but all I found were biographies of 1970s hockey players. I’d been writing stories for years and started toying with the idea of creating my own hockey-themed novel. Having grown up as an only child, I was always fascinated by my friends with siblings. I found myself creating the McKendrick family – bickering twin brothers Brad and T.J., their kid brothers Chris and Jory, and their tense parents, who are on the verge of a separation. I wrote the book as entertainment for myself, as it was pure fun to create. One of my best friends, Joanne, would read my handwritten pages in study hall. Every day, she’d say, “Got any more pages?” Although I’d never spent much time around boys, somehow I pulled off telling the story from Brad and T.J.’s viewpoints. They were cool and athletic, but not perfect. I had a soft spot for Brad – he was sort of my alter ego. Brad shared my love of writing, my competitiveness, and my hotheadedness. He was also caring, especially toward his younger brothers. Once you got to know Brad, he had qualities you wouldn’t expect, like I did.

Over the years, I received tons of hand-written fan letters from kids from ages 9-16. Many wrote to me as a school project – word got around in Michigan that I wrote back! You can read snippets of these fan letters here. Eventually, the book went out of print. And I kept writing, spurred on by this early success. With technologies such as Kindle and Nook bringing so many opportunities for authors, I decided to publish an e-book edition and a new paperback for today’s generation of kids. (or adults who’d like to revisit their high school years.) About ninety-five percent of it is the same as the original, except I deleted some outdated references to TV shows, retired hockey players, and rock groups.

Face-Off is great for reluctant readers, as well as proficient readers, both boys and girls. If you know anyone with kids ages 9-16 – kids who love to read or dislike reading – please do me a favor and share this link. If you have kids in that age group on your holiday shopping list and you buy them the book, e-mail me through my contact page and I’ll send you some signed, personalized bookplate stickers to make the gift extra special. You can buy the paperback via Amazon, B&N, or through the publisher, and if you’re placing a bulk order, check out my group orders page. The e-book editions are at the following retailers:
Amazon Kindle
Smashwords
Barnes&Noble (Nook)
iPhone, iPad or iPod touch
I had such fun rereading and revising this book for its new editions. I think Face-Off is a good book to get kids reading and I’m pretty sure they’ll love it. I hope you’ll help me to spread the word and help kids to discover this book.

Win a Kindle and Amazon Gift Cards at Red’s Trick or Treat Bash

Would you like to win a Kindle? I’m going to tell you how you can enter for some great prizes and have some Halloween fun at the same time. Author Red Tash is sponsoring a Trick or Treat bash to celebrate the release of the book This Brilliant Darkness. Here are the prizes:

1. Grand prize – an Amazon Kindle 3G loaded up with lots of spooky stories donated by authors, including myself.

2. Second prize -a $25 Amazon gift card and a free copy of This Brilliant Darkness.

3. Third prize – A $10 dollar Amazon gift card and a free copy of This Brilliant Darkness.

The best news is that you don’t just get one entry. You can enter as many times as you’d like, between now and October 16. There are loads of ways to get entries, including Trick or Treating on participating blogs.

You can get entries just by leaving a comment below and in any of my other blog posts. There is a limit of one blog comment per post, per day. Be sure to mention RedTash.com in the comment so that Red can find your entry among all the other non-entry comments on my blog posts, something like: “Trick or Treat! Thanks for playing Red’s Trick or Treat Bash! I’m looking forward to reading your book on my new Kindle! RedTash.com, Red sent me!” Please include your e-mail address also.

Full details for the event are on the Trick or Treat bash web site, where you’ll find tons of other Trick or Treat sites and ways to get extra entries Have fun and good luck!

Spring E-Book Sale! 99 Cent Kindle, Nook & More

In celebration of spring and to get the word out about my books, I’m having a 99 cent Kindle sale for ALL FOUR of my Kindle titles! I’m also inviting other authors to post their 99 cent Kindle, Nook or Smashwords sales (or free downloads) in the comments – authors, please carefully read the instructions at the bottom of this post. Readers, be sure to check the comments of this post frequently for more 99 cent bargains and free ebooks as they may be added throughout the month. You’ll be able to easily access it from my right sidebar.

As for my books, I have two new children’s picture books on Kindle for 99 cents. While exploring Amazon customer forums, I noticed that there seems to be many parents who are seeking Kindle titles for their younger children – inexpensive titles (cheaper than a physical book) to share with their child at bedtime. To help fill this niche, I decided to put my two picture books, The Flag Keeper and Victoria Rose and the Big Bad Noise, into multiple ebook formats. My adult mystery/romantic suspense novels Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim are also on sale this month for 99 cents on Kindle. Each of these four Kindle editions contains bonus content such as excerpts, interviews and essays. All of the books except Victoria Rose are also available in gift quality paperback. You can visit the Store for links to discounted paperbacks and more bargain ebook editions.

Here are my 99 cent Kindle titles, with a few Nook sales included also, and don’t forget to subscribe to the comments or check back in during the month for more 99 cent bargains and free books.

The Flag Keeper - Available in paperback and multiple e-book editions. Elizabeth may be a little bear, but she treats the American flag with big respect. After Dad leaves for a trip, Elizabeth pledges to raise the flag all by herself and create her own Independence Day. This illustrated picture book teaches children about U.S. flag etiquette through a fiction story, flag facts, activity idea, and discussion questions. Also 99 cents
on Nook, the Apple store and Smashwords.

Victoria Rose and the Big Bad Noise – This illustrated picture book is exclusively available in multiple 99 cent e-book formats including Nook, the Apple store, and on Smashwords. Victoria loves her home and family, but boy does she hate the noises that invade her daily life. Her imagination transforms the blender into a growling bear, the vacuum cleaner into a lion and the lawnmower into a spaceship filled with monsters. With the help of a CD player, she decides that maybe a nasty noise like the blender is just music that doesn’t know how to sing.

Twenty-Five Years Ago Today – Kris Langley has always been obsessed with murder. She blames herself for the violent death of her cousin when they were kids and has let guilt invade every corner of her existence. Now an editorial assistant and obit writer for a Massachusetts newspaper, Kris stumbles across an unsolved murder while compiling “25 Years Ago Today” items from the microfilm. She grows fascinated with the case of a young cocktail waitress who was bludgeoned to death and dumped in the woods. Determined to solve the case and atone for the death of her cousin, Kris immerses herself in the mystery of what happened to Diana Ferguson, a talented artist who expressed herself through haunting paintings of Greek mythology. Not only does Kris face resistance from her family and her managing editor, she also clashes with Diana’s suspicious nephew, Eric Soares – until neither she nor Eric can deny the chemistry flaring between them. Kris soon learns that old news never leaves the morgue and that yesterday’s headline is tomorrow’s danger, for finding out the truth about that night twenty-five years ago may shatter Kris’s present, costing her love, her career, and ultimately, her life.

Sink or Swim – Ambitious personal trainer Cassidy Novak has gained national fame for starring on Sink or Swim, nicknamed SOS, a hit reality game show set aboard a Tall Ship. She hopes the prize money will help to launch her dream of owning a chain of fitness centers. Not only does she lose the competition and have to walk the plank in the finale, after the game show ends, the terror begins. Upon returning to her small Massachusetts hometown, Cassidy discovers she has attracted a stalker masterminding his own twisted game. She struggles to focus on her health club job and celebrity endorsement opportunities, but her stalker has other plans. As her former competitors get knocked off one-by-one, Cassidy refuses to play by his bizarre rules. She’s also being shadowed by hunky photographer Zach Gallagher, who has been assigned to capture her personal moments for a spread in the local newspaper. She wants to trust Zach, but fears he may not be the nice guy that he seems. With or without Zach’s help, when the stalker forces a showdown by threatening her family, Cassidy must once again walk the plank – this time for her life. Also on sale for 99 cents on Nook.

I also have three free books for you to download - the First Annual BestsellerBound.com Sample Anthologies, put together by author Joel Blaine Kirkpatrick. This consists of three separate volumes of sample chapters from books written by various author-members of BestsellerBound. You’ll find a wide variety of writing styles and genres to sample. You can download all three volumes and hopefully find new authors whose work you just have to read. You can find various options for downloading them on the Quiet Fury Books web site.

Authors, if you have a 99 cent sale on Kindle, Nook or Smashwords, (or a free download somewhere) I’d love to have you list it in the comments. Here’s how:
1. Your sale must last through at least May 8 as I will be featuring this post in my sidebar until after the Spring Blog Carnival Giveaway Blog Hop which ends on the 8th.
2. Please leave a one paragraph description and no more than two links in your comment.
3. You can leave multiple books, but my spam filter only allows two links per comment so please leave additional comments if necessary. If you have several titles and formats on sale, it may be easier to steer visitors toward your web site or Amazon author page rather than to individual retail links.
4. Please use the Share icons for Facebook and Twitter if you leave a link to help spread the word to readers about this post.

$10 Amazon Gift Card – Tweet Kindle Links for Bonus Entries!

As many of you know, I am giving away a $10 Amazon gift card on my blog – two gift cards if I reach 500 Google Friend Connect followers before the promotion ends on March 19 at 11:59 p.m. I noted in the post that there are ways to gain bonus entries. My mystery novel Sink or Swim is being featured today on Kindle Nation Daily, a wonderful site for Kindle users to learn about new books. I’m also having a Kindle campaign on Twitter this weekend, trying to get as many people to download the Kindle book as possible, which will lower the Amazon ranking and lead to more readers stumbling across the book.

I would appreciate any help with getting the word out to Kindle users. (of course, I’d appreciate any help with getting the word out about the other editions also, such as the print book!) But, today my focus is the Kindle edition. If you have a chance to put out any of these messages on Twitter or Facebook, I’d be very grateful.

1.Sink or Swim featured at Kindle Nation Daily @stacyjuba http://bit.ly/eVtw0x
2.Sink or Swim by @stacyjuba $2.99 #Kindle http://amzn.to/i8ZRqX

Once you share one or both of those, please visit the post for my $10 Amazon Gift Card giveaway and let me know in the comments that you shared the Kindle message. Leave a separate comment for each time you shared so you will receive multiple entries, and if you read the post, there are also several simple things you can do to receive additional entries. Thank you for your support!

Nook and Kindle Comparison: Which One Comes Out on Top?

Since I have two books available in e-book format, with more coming in the near future, I was very interested in this guest article written by Diane Johnson. If you own an e-reader, feel free to chime in the comments and share your experiences with Kindle, Nook, or other e-readers. If you don’t have an e-reader yet but are interested in exploring options, then this article will give you a fabulous start:

There’s been no better time than now to purchase an e-reader. Hardware is cheaper than ever and there have never been so many book titles available. Counting the free library of public domain titles, the numbers reach the millions. But it seems two leaders have clearly emerged in the e-reader race: Barnes and Noble’s Nook and the Amazon Kindle. So to decide between these two top contenders, let’s look at the stats.

Nook

• 7-inch Touchscreen, no glare, like-paper
• Color screen on higher end model
• 8-GB of space
• Social features that allow you to borrow, share and recommend books to friends.
• NOOkbook, a personalized shopping feature that recommends books from B&N experts.
• Web features like Facebook, Twitter, Pandora radio, crossword puzzles and Sudoku.
• Most titles cost $9.99 or less and there are lots of free ones.
• Access to 2 million titles.
• 3G and Wifi for $249; Wifi for $149.

Kindle

• 6-inch Screen
• Up to 4-GB of memory
• Dictionary, highlight and note taking features allow for a closer, more studious reading.
• No glare screen allows for reading in bright light and sun.
• Batter life—lasts up to a whole month.
• Built in Twitter and Facebook for sharing thoughts and passages while you read.
• Read to me—Kindle can read English language content out loud to you.
• Titles average around the $9.99 range, but can get pricier.
• Access to 630,000 titles.
• 3G and Wifi for $189; Wifi for $139.

Feature Comparison
• Battery Life
One concern people always have when it comes to electronics is battery life. Nothing can be more annoying than having to constantly plug in your device. Kindle easily beats out the Nook in this case. Kindle batteries last up to a month; Nook barely lasts half that time. But part of this has to do with Nook’s color, touch screen (only on the $249 model, not the $149 model), which consumes more battery.
• Touchscreen
The Nook sports a wicked touchscreen (available on both models), something the Kindle does not. This makes navigating the Nook much more simple than the Kindle. And the Nook’s screen reads just as well as Kindle’s in any light.
• External Memory
The Nook carries an external slot for nearly unlimited memory space and reads more different types of files than Kindle. As well, the Nook allows you to share entire books with friends on many other devices. The Kindle does not.

Overall I think the external memory storage gives the Nook the edge—it has a better bigger screen, still lasts a really long time, cheaper titles, book-sharing capability, and more apps.

About the author: Diane Johnson graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in political science. When she’s not traveling she enjoys writing articles about University of Phoenix Online, reading books, and shopping.

Limited Time Offer — Get Mystery Novels for 99 Cents on Kindle Through January 2nd

If you got a Kindle for Christmas or enjoy reading books using the Kindle apps, I have a special limited time offer. I’m embarking on a huge marketing campaign for my books in 2011 and as a small baby step, I’m working to get my novels better featured in the Amazon system. I hope this will raise awareness about the trade paperback versions of Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim, as well as the Kindle editions. The better a title’s Amazon ranking, the more lists it becomes featured on and the more likely that Amazon readers will stumble across it. Also, Amazon readers will often review books they’ve purchased and sometimes cross-post these reviews on sites such as Goodreads, Library Thing, Shelfari and their own blogs.

Since so many people received Kindles for Christmas, this seemed like a good time to experiment with a short-term sale as a method of getting the word out. As a result, I’m offering Twenty-Five Years Ago Today and Sink or Swim for 99 cents on Kindle through January 2. On January 3, I’ll be bringing both titles up to full price, where I expect them to remain for the rest of the year. If you enjoy reading Kindle books, please feel free to take advantage of this special offer and if you have a friend who owns a Kindle, it takes less than a minute to send a Kindle book as a gift by clicking the Give As a Gift option.

Happy New Year!

Buy “The Cutting Edge” on Kindle Today for 99 Cents To Support Indie Authors & Food Bank

Today is the day of The Cutting Edge Amazon Campaign! Not only can you buy a fantastic new book for a special 99 cent discount price, you can also participate in an experiment to see how powerful social networking can be in propelling an indie book onto the Amazon Kindle Bestseller List, as well as help raise money for a food bank. I am asking my blog followers, Facebook and Twitter friends to help out the campaign by sharing this post using the Share Icons in the right sidebar. Sharing it on book sites such as Goodreads would also be helpful.

Bestseller Bound, a site that connect readers with indie authors, reviewers and bloggers, is sponsoring the project. The goal is to get as many people as possible to purchase author Darcia Helle’s book The Cutting Edge in Kindle format for 99 cents today on Amazon. The book is normally $3.99 on Kindle so this is a great bargain! Buy it for yourself, or send the Kindle book as a gift for a friend using Amazon’s new “Give as a gift” function. Notifications of Kindle Books gifts are delivered instantly via e-mail and the recipient redeems the gift in the Kindle Store to read on any Kindle or free Kindle app. Kindle books can be read either on Kindle or on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, or Android Phone using one of the free reading apps.

If a large number of people purchase it today, that would help to significantly improve the book’s Amazon ranking and will put it on the radar of other Kindle users. Top 100 books get much more visibility on Amazon. You’ll also be supporting charity. As part of this campaign, Darcia will donate all her profits from today’s sales of The Cutting Edge to Metropolitan Ministries, a non-denominational church in Tampa, Fla. that runs a food bank and feeds the homeless and the poor. If you’re doing some Amazon shopping today, please remember that my brand new book Sink or Swim is now available in Kindle format for $2.99 as well as in trade paperback. To celebrate, I’ve decided to lower the Kindle edition of my mystery novel Twenty-Five Years Ago Today to 99 cents as a limited time holiday offer. Please visit my Books page for more information about both titles.

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