You Write This Great Book, and Then...

...you have to let people know about it.
Honestly? Yuck.
I'd rather people see the title (A LETHAL TIME AND PLACE--now, isn't that compelling?) and say to themselves, "The '60s? Murder? Plot twists? I have to own that book!"
But no. There are thousands of books and authors out there, clamoring for readers' attention.
So authors do stuff--promotion stuff.
*We do pre-release buzz: Little blurbs all over the place that say, "Hey, this book is cool and unique and you've heard of this woman if you're a mystery fan. She's gotten awards. She's gotten great reviews from all the big guys."
*We do specials. Amazon has a new thing: Kindle Countdown, and A Lethal Time and Place is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 3rd. The idea is that you get the book for 99 cents for the first few days of the sale, then the price starts to slide upward to its original amount. I guess the message is "HURRY! BUY IT NOW!"
*We do more. Announcements. Blogs. We beg for reviews (Please, just 20 words! You can do that!). We Facebook, Tweet, Goodreads, and onward. We get our name out there. We get our book's name out there.
But honestly? Yuck. I'd rather be working on the sequel.

Amazon Prime Members Can Borrow My eBooks with Kindle Owners' Lending Library

Did you know that if you have a Prime membership on Amazon and live in the USA or UK, you can borrow one ebook a month via the Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

You can choose from 180,000+ ebooks FREE, including over 100 New York Times bestsellers. And there are no due dates.

A Prime membership has other advantages too. For only $79/year or £49/year, you'll also receive free 2-day shipping on millions of items on Amazon, plus unlimited streaming of over 25,000 movies and TV shows. There are other perks too. You can learn more about Prime here.

You can borrow directly from your Kindle (e-ink versions and Fire):

1. On e-ink devices (regular Kindles & Touch), click on "See all categories" then scroll down to "Kindle Owners' Lending Library" to view titles. Find a book and click on it to either buy or borrow for free.

2. On Kindle Fire devices, the Lending Library is located in the bookstore. Browse books and look for Prime badge. Click on a title and you'll have the option to either buy or borrow for free.

3. You can also borrow and read on an app for your desktop, iPad and more. Download your borrowed books directly from Amazon.com by looking for titles that show the Amazon Prime icon.

Remember, as a US or UK Prime member, you're entitled to 1 free borrow a month. That's 12 free books each year.

Don't own a Kindle? Get yours now. If you're not a US Prime member, start your one month free trial today. If you live in the UK, start your one month free trial of Prime here.

Borrow Cheryl Kaye Tardif books! Look for the Prime icon.

Free Kindle ebook: WHALE SONG by Cheryl Kaye Tardif

On April 26 and 27, I am giving away free Kindle copies of my "heart book"--WHALE SONG. It is the best gift I can think of to give you.

I call it my "heart book" because it was my first published book and the story I am most emotionally connected to of all my titles. To say I "love" this book is an understatement. :-)

Whale Song has literally changed people's lives. In fact, one woman told me it "saved" her. Another told me it reunited her with her mother, who also read my novel. Another said it helped her deal with the loss of a parent. Many readers have laughed and cried and healed. I am blessed.

So today please accept a free copy of WHALE SONG and share it with a loved one.

This international bestseller, which has received much movie interest, is FREE on Amazon TODAY & TOMORROW only.

WHALE SONG

A "compelling" story of family ties, love, tragedy, sacrifice and transformation that will change the way you view life...and death.

Thirteen years ago, Sarah Richardson’s life was shattered after the tragic death of her mother. The shocking event left a grief-stricken teen-aged Sarah with partial amnesia.

Some things are easier to forget.

But now a familiar voice from her childhood sends Sarah, a talented mid-twenties ad exec, back to her past. A past that she had thought was long buried.

Some things are meant to be buried.

Torn by nightmares and visions of a yellow-eyed wolf and aided by creatures of the Earth and killer whales that call to her in the night, Sarah must face her fears and recover her memories―even if it destroys her.

Some things are meant to be remembered―at all cost.

Reviews:

“I read Whale Song and loved it.” ―Jodelle Ferland, actress (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Case 39)

“Tardif’s story has that perennially crowd-pleasing combination of sweet and sad that so often propels popular commercial fiction…Tardif, already a big hit in Canada…a name to reckon with south of the border.” ―Booklist

“Whale Song is deep and true, a compelling story of love and family and the mysteries of the human heart...a beautiful, haunting novel.” ―NY Times bestselling novelist Luanne Rice, author of Beach Girls

“A wonderfully well-written novel. Wonderful characters [that] shine. The settings are exquisitely described. The writing is lyrical. Whale Song would make a wonderful movie.” ―Writer’s Digest

“Whale Song is reminiscent of Ring of Endless Light by M. L’Engle, and Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.” ―Carol D. O’Dell, author of Mothering Mother

“One doesn’t simply read a Tardif story, one experiences it! Among the very few authors I’ve ever said that about is my all-time favorite Pat Conroy. Like him, Cheryl Kaye Tardif has a definite way with words.” ―Betty Dravis, co-author of Dream Reachers I & II.

“Tardif leaves a lasting mark on her readers…Moving and irresistible.” ―Midwest Book Review

Pick up your FREE Kindle copy of WHALE SONG today. You can read it on your Kindle ereader, smartphone, tablet with the Kindle app, PC or laptop.

Did I Tell You About My New Book?

Writers are worse than grandparents sometimes at extolling the virtues of their newest addition. I am often surprised at how many authors NEED to tell me the plot of their book, from page one to the end. Um, why should I buy the book when you just told me the WHOLE THING???? Anyway.

I have a new suspense novel out this month called SHAKESPEARE'S BLOOD. Here's what you need to know about it:

While touring Britain, Mercedes Maxwell finds a handwritten notebook that claims William Shakespeare had a brother named John who was an agent for James I of England. Captured by outlaws, John died rather than reveal the location of a trove of Spanish gold. When someone is willing to kill for the notebook, Mercedes realizes that the story might be true.
In a reign of terror, those who know about the notebook are murdered and left posed as characters from Shakespearean tragedy. Solving the book’s clues is the only way to stop the killing, but although Mercedes can call on several people for help, she fears that none of them can be trusted where treasure is concerned.
The unraveling of the clues becomes even more critical as the killer turns his sights on Mercedes. The message from the man who called himself John Shakespeare leads her across Britain in a terrifying race to find the treasure, to stay alive, and to learn the secrets of Shakespeare’s blood.
You can buy it for Kindle now. Nook, although slower, is working on it.

Intrigued? Oh, I hope so. Here's the buy link to Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Shakespeares-Blood-ebook/dp/B0053GCTLE/ref=sr_1_6?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1307965956&sr=1-6#sfmsg_-7890@@

Kindle Nation Daily features $0.99 ebook sale

Looking for great Kindle bargains?

Check out this post at Kindle Nation Daily.

MysterEbooks This Week

Here is the list of ebooks featured on mysterebooks.blogspot.com this week:
Monday

Title: L.A. HEAT

Author: P.A. Brown

Genre: Police Procedural w gay characters

Setting: Los Angeles


Tuesday

Title: TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY

Author: Stacy Juba

Genre: Mystery/Romantic Suspense

Setting: New England


Wednesday

Title: JOURNEY TO DIE FOR
Author: Radine Trees Nehring

Genre: Mystery/senior citizen detectives

Setting: The story opens on the (real) A&M Railroad historic excursion train operating between towns in Northwest Arkansas, unfolds in the 1809 Arkansas River town of Van Buren, moves to Kansas City, and then back to Van Buren. Though the book refers back to historic events, action time is present day.


Thursday

Title: THRILLED TO DEATH

Author: L.J. Sellers

Genre: mystery / suspense / police procedural

Setting: Eugene, Oregon


Friday

Title: HER HIGHNESS' FIRST MURDER

Author: Peg Herring

Genre: Historical mystery

Setting: Tudor London (1500s)

The write stuff

The last post has the New Kids On the Block song The Right Stuff running through, my head. Lucky me.
Well, I'm new to Criminal Minds at Work so I thought I'd introduce myself.
I'm Chris Redding.
I write suspense and romantic suspense. Corpse Whisperer will be out soon on the Kindle. Incendiary will be out in print later in the year.
I also have my own blog where I host authors regularly. http://chrisredddingauthor.blogspot.com/.  The third "d" is for "Duh, I didn't check my spelling."
When I'm not writing I work part time for the Emergency Medical Services Department of my local hospital. I also teach an online course several times a year called "Show Up Naked: Writing the Male POV." I'm also working on two other courses for next year. Summer's fun that way. I write curriculum.
I plan to bring you authors, my observations about crime and any other oddities I can find.

Thank you to Cheryl for asking me to join this fun group.  And her's a pic of our three week old mini-rex bunnies.