Month: December 2014

Thrifty Thursday: Jingle for Savings

santa ordering books onlineHere come the holidays, full speed ahead! You don’t have to worry about your budget or your list – we’ve got great gifts and deals for you! Get the most for your dollar by getting your books right here on Thrifty Thursday.

Readers: look in the comment section below. If you see one you like, click over and buy it. How easy is that? (If you don’t see the book covers, adjust your browser’s adblock settings.)

Authors: if you have a book priced at 99¢ or less (that’s right, post your free eBooks here, too!), follow the instructions below and post it right in the comment section. Got more than one bargain book? Go ahead and post them all if you like, but only one book and ONE link per comment please!

We will convert your link to a clickable book cover. Do not attempt to insert an image in comments on your own. Just put the following information in the comment section:

1. Book title
2. Author name
3. A one sentence blurb (~140 characters/tweetable in length)
4. ONE link to download the book (only secure retail sites – Amazon, Smashwords, B&N, Kobo, Apple/iStore, or Sony)
5. Whether your book is free or 99 cents (and for how long/what dates)

Then let your friends and fans know your book is available here today. Use the share buttons below, or copy the link in the address bar above and share the news on your favorite social media platforms. The more, the merrier, right?

So let’s give it a try, shall we? Please make sure to follow the RULES above. Now, go ahead and tell the world about your cheap read. IU is a safe-for-work site. PLEASE do not post links to erotica, religious, or political titles.

(Post your FREE eBooks here, too!)

[Note: if the book cover images below do not display properly, please check your AdBlock settings.]

Which “Claim Jumper” Flash Fiction Story Gets Your Vote?

Vote5It’s Wednesday… that means we need you to tell us which of these stories should win Flash Fiction Champion honors. It’s super easy – choose your favorite and cast your vote below.

Remember, the winning entries will all be included in the next edition of the IU Flash Fiction Anthology.

Check out this week’s entries here. Make your decision, then use those share buttons at the bottom of the post to spread the word.

Voting polls close Thursday at 5 PM Pacific time.

Which "Claim Jumper" story was your favorite?

  • A. L. Kaplan (35%, 19 Votes)
  • M. P. Witwer (31%, 17 Votes)
  • Howard Johnson (25%, 14 Votes)
  • D L Brown (4%, 2 Votes)
  • Jon Jefferson (4%, 2 Votes)
  • Aysha (2%, 1 Votes)
  • Lottie (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Malcolm Campbell (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Tommy Tushit (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Nathan Rokus (0%, 0 Votes)
  • Sharon King (0%, 0 Votes)

Total Voters: 55

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NOTE: Entrants whose submissions exceed the 250 word limit are eliminated from the poll. ONE VOTE PER PERSON, please. Duplicate votes will be deleted. The results displayed above are unofficial until verified by administration.

Book Brief: The Spider and the Stone

Spider and the Stone by Glen CraneyThe Spider and the Stone:
A Novel of Scotland’s Black Douglas
by Glen Craney
Genre: Historical Fiction
120.000 words

As the 14th century dawns, Scotland’s survival hangs by a spider’s thread. While the clans scrap over their empty throne, the brutal Edward Longshanks of England invades the weakened northern kingdom, scheming to annex it to his powerful realm.

But one frail lad stands in the Plantagenet monarch’s path.

The beleaguered Scots cherish James Douglas as their “Good Sir James.” Yet in England, his slashing raids deep into Yorkshire wreak such terror that he is branded the Black Douglas with a reward placed on his head.

As a boy, James falls in love with the ravishing Isabelle MacDuff, whose clan has long inaugurated Scottish monarchs on the hallowed Stone of Destiny. But James’s world is upturned when he befriends Robert Bruce, a bitter enemy of the MacDuffs. Forced to choose between love and clan loyalty, he and Isabelle must make fateful decisions that will draw the opposing armies to the bloody field of Bannockburn.

Here is the story of Scotland’s War of Independence and the remarkable events that followed the execution of William Wallace, whose legend was portrayed in the movie Braveheart. This thrilling epic leads the reader to the miraculous Stone of Destiny, to the famous Spider in the Cave, to the excommunicated Knights Templar, to the suppressed Culdee Church, and to the Declaration of Arbroath, the stirring oath document that inspired the American Declaration of Independence four hundred years later.

The Spider and the Stone: A Novel of Scotland’s Black Douglas is available at Amazon.com, Smashwords, Amazon UK, and most online booksellers.

Continue reading “Book Brief: The Spider and the Stone”

December Barnes & Noble Nook Fest

Barnes & Noble LogoI don’t know about you, but I’m not too happy with Barnes & Noble right now. After the Nook Press for Print announcement, I bet a lot of authors are shaking their heads. But our books are still there – so how about joining in on a Barnes & Noble book page fest?

This is how it works: If you are an author with a book listed on Barnes&Noble.com, in the comments below, write a SHORT one sentence blurb about ONE of your books, then paste in your link to that book below it. (If you post more than one book, to be fair to everyone else, we will delete all except for the top link, so please behave and post only ONE book link! And please do NOT paste your author page.) Make sure you show some love to the links in the comments above yours, and check back throughout the day to catch up.  If you’re a publisher, editor, librarian, or reader, please check out these book pages – you may see something you like!

Just so there is NO question about what should be clicked or shared where, check out this screen capture:
Mr Pish Goes to the Farm on Barnes & Noble

[Don’t forget, if you right-click the links, you can choose to have them open in a separate tab so you don’t have to worry about navigating back and forth to pages.]

This should be fun and should generate a lot of likes for everyone’s books. Let’s get things moving – and here’s a book to get you started: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/upgrade-stephen-hise/1100074854.

To those with concerns about the ethical implications of “liking” a book you have not read, we regard  likes as more analogous to a “high five” than a rating or review. We do not support the idea of rating or reviewing a book you have never read.

PLEASE be sure to reciprocate by liking the other pages. This is give and take. If everyone plays by the golden rule, we all benefit.

IU is a safe-for-work site. PLEASE do not post links to erotica, religious, or political books.