Smart Bitches, Trashy Books

Coupons and Sales

I have found some sales on ebooks and paperbacks, as well as coupons that totally made me grin.

So I share! Here you go!

Links and News and a few Coupons

Author Jim C. Hines has recreated several UF covers. This is so awesome, I don't know where to put my eyeballs first!

The insulin pump site is what makes it extra more awesome. High fives to you, sir!

I am waiting for the 'oops my ballgown is falling off my shoulders and is totally open in the back' pose. When's that coming, Jim?

What poses would you like to see Jim recreate?

In May 2011, a reader asked me about author Alison Richardson, who wrote a series of Spice Briefs. I was contacted by Ms. Richardson, who was very flattered that readers were looking for her. I have a message for you on the original entry from Ms. Richardson.

A Few Coupons and Deals Today!

A handful of coupons and rebates and things involving % signs!

Harlequin has eBook daily deals through 3 January. Today, for 1 January, four featured books are all 25% off with coupon code BESL25OFF at checkout. Sarah Mayberry's Best Laid Plans and Maria Snyder's Outside In are featured today.

You can also save an EXTRA 10% on all Harlequin Ebooks with coupon code SAVE10AFFO at checkout but I don't think you can combine that coupon code with the one above.

For those ordering print books from Harlequin, you can get free shipping with coupon code FREESHIPAFFO at checkout. Print books only - because as far as I know there's no shipping charge for ebooks. Heh.

Finally, you canget $1 Off select Kobo eBooks with coupon code Kobodollaroff. It's not valid on everything but it should work on non-agency titles, and it expires at the end of the month.

Got Ebook Bargains?

There are so many freaking book deals. It's crazy. My inbox overfloweth with the announcementeths. Here. Have a list.

First, Devil's Bride with Bonus Materials by Stephanie Laurens is on sale for .99c. [Amazon | BN] Not only is that an amazing price (though I wonder what the bonus materials are - that must be one heck of a trousseau) but that's an amazing book. I read it all the time. I love this book. 

ETA: from WF, Kindle Store's The Big Deal has a ton of .99c and free-for-Prime-members books as well.

BUT WAIT THERE IS MORE: Eloisa James has asked that her novella Winning the Wallflower be available for free for readers this weekend only (22-26 December 2011) so it's free, cheezy bread, free, for anyone who'd like a copy. [Amazon | Kobo | BN | WORD Brooklyn | iBooks | Sony] Not all retailers have dropped to zero, but they should soon. 

From 21 December to 8 Jan the following books are going to be $1.99 from Sourcebooks. Each book is the start of a series.

50% off All Ebooks at Harlequin Today Only!

 Ebooks are 50% off at Harlequin, today only. 

Shop. Shop like the wind. 

Only so I don't feel  so lonely as I buy upteen eleventy books.

eBook deals

I'd been bemoaning the lack of ebook deals out there amid the holiday sales - apparently grousing is effective! 

Julia Quinn's The Secret Diary of Miss Miranda Cheever is $1.99 [ Amazon | BN ] 

Karen Marie Moning's Darkfever is $1.99 * [ Amazon | BN ] (BN has not reduced the price yet but will soon, I am betting.)

A note of warning about the Darkfever series. A reader wrote in recently about how finishing the series left her bereft - and started a very lively discussion of what happens after Book Rebound syndrome kicks in. Be ye warned: there be crack in the Darkfever series, it seems.

Victoria Alexander's A Visit From Sir Nicholas is .99 [ Amazon | Kobo | BN ].

Two Karen Hawkins books -- To Catch a Highlander [ Amazon | Kobo | BN ] and To Scotland with Love [ Amazon | Kobo | BN ]  -- are both $2.99.

Bezos and Butthead: My Review of the Kindle Fire

I had two questions when I opened the Kindle Fire package and started to play with the device last night:

1. Would this device be as easy to use as the other Kindle products, the ones that come with the world’s shortest printed user guide?

2. Who is the ideal customer or customers for the Kindle Fire?

No, wait, I had a third question:

3. Could I get through a device demo with Hubby on the sofa next to me without either of us saying, “FIRE! FIRE!”

There was a good bit of Beavis and Butthead while we tried out the device, including wonderful moments like:

Nicole Jordan: The Backlist

Terri emailed me recently about author Nicole Jordan’s backlist, which has recently been released digitally. Terri is a longtime fan of Jordan’s books, and she wrote up a very comprehensive guide to the older novels, which I really wanted to share with you. So thank you, Terri, and apologies in advance to your book budgets, y’all.

Here are some recommendations/thoughts on Nicole Jordan’s backlist, many of which were just reissued as ebooks for the bargain price of $2.99 each (the only book below that is not $2.99 is The Warrior)  A quick caveat about these books: Nicole Jordan’s backlist tends to be very old school. Alpha hero with a tortured past - check! Feisty heroine - check! Purple prose – check! 

Here are some of my favorites from Nicole Jordan (pre-Notorious series): 

The Warrior - [AMZ | Kobo | BN] I’m almost ashamed to admit how much I like this medieval romance. It is inexplicably enjoyable. The plot revolves around Ariane, a young woman whose father has been branded a traitor. She tries to defend her keep against Ranulf, the knight who was once her betrothed. She fails, and hi-jinks ensue when she tries to get… read more »

Want to see some cool stuff on the internet?

The internet is full of all kinds of awesome things. I like it here.

First up, from JD Drew: decrepit Victorian homes built of Legos. Prepare to be impressed because CREEPY and AWESOME are here in equal doses.

Next: how awesome is this? Puffin, a division of Penguin, as donated use of Roald Dahl’s digital books , James and the Giant Peach, Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to the Worldreader program. Worldreader makes digital books available to readers in developing worlds, and Amazon, Random House, and now Penguin are part of the program. High fives, y’all. That is amazing.

(Oddly, I couldn’t find digital editions of those books available in the US, but hey, developing nations first? I am ok with that. I trust there will be Dahl ebooks here eventually.)

EIKAL: The Celebratory Giveaway of HOLY CRAP AWESOME

Everything I Know About Love I Learned from Romance Novels is out in stores everywhere (or should be!), so let’s celebrate with HUGE GIVEAWAYNESS OF AWESOME!

So many authors contributed to EIKAL, and shared such amazing and valuable stories about their own experiences with romance that I wanted to celebrate EIKAL’s release with a GIANT BASKET of every author’s book that I could get my hands on.

PLUS, if you’re curious about digital reading, you get a choice of those, too (thanks to Jeaniene Frost for the idea!).

Here’s the deal: leave a comment, and tell me one thing you’ve learned from romances - silly, sad, serious, wtfish, whatever - and you’re entered to win.

This contest is open to anyone anywhere, including the space station (Hi Astronauts!), and I will ship internationally. You must be 18 or over, and this is void where prohibited. The comments are open from now until noon EDT, Tuesday 11 October.

What do you win?

Your choice of:

Ebooks Free and Discounted This Weekend

Christine Merrill’s The Inconvenient Duchess is a free PDF download from TryHarlequin.com. This book was released in 2006, and has pretty high Amazon reviews from its release.

Also in the TryHarlequin collection are three Spanish language novels—scroll all the way to the right to find them.

But wait, there’s more!

This weekend only, Fictionwise is offering 50% off all titles with coupon code

92311

092311 (SORRY!). There are two caveats: one, the coupon is not valid on Samhain titles and certainly not on any agency publisher titles. Two, there’s not a huge selection at Fictionwise, alas. But they do have Harlequin titles, and at 50% off you can get quite a few for not a lot of money.

So what are you reading this weekend?

Deals and Digital Discounts

Just in time for me to travel tomorrow to New Orleans for Heather Graham’s Writers for New Orleans conference, there’s ebooks on sale. HOT DIGGITY!

Johanna Lindsey’s Once a Princess, which was recommended by several Bitchery readers as a good intro to Lindsey’s novels, is on sale for $2.99 in ebook form [Kindle | Kobo | BN  | WORD Brooklyn]

Funny enough, the “other” Once a Princess, a fantasy/scifi type story, is free online right now. Lots of discounted princesses!

Also part of the Amazon $3.99 or under sale: Suzanne Enoch’s The Care and Taming of a Rogue for $2.99 - and not just at Amazon, woo hoo! [Kindle | Kobo | BN | WORD Brooklyn]

Also: you can get 20% off Kobo eBooks with code “June20off”. The code is still valid, and works on ebooks except for those pesky Agency publisher books, which can’t be discounted.

And, there are still $99 refurb WiFi-only Kindles available. If you click on the Kindle main page, under the words “In Stock” are “used” and “refurbished.” There’s refurbs still available… read more »

Holy Heyer Sale: $1.99 Heyer Digital Sale All Week

To celebrate Georgette Heyer’s birthday, Sourcebooks has put their entire digital collection of Heyer novels on sale for $1.99. NICE. Ready to shop? Hope so!

I struggled recently with The Grand Sophy, which I read last week, but Heyer’s books are, unquestionably, quite a legacy to the romance community. $1.99 is quite a nice price, too. The books should be at this price from 15-21 August at most major e-retailers, though sometimes there is a delay with switching the price. You may have to check back.

Here’s a comprehensive list for you. I’ve tried to find links to many major retailers whenever possible.

REGENCY ROMANCE

1. Arabella [Kindle | Kobo | BN | AllRomance | WORD Brooklyn]

2.  Bath Tangle [Kindle | Kobo | BN ]

3.  Beauvallet [Kindle | Kobo | BN | AllRomance | WORD Brooklyn]

4. The Black Moth [Kindle | BN | AllRomance | WORD Brooklyn]

5. Black Sheep [Kindle | Kobo | BN | AllRomance | WORD Brooklyn]

Johanna Lindsey: Which One First?

More ebooks have been released from Avon, including Hearts Aflame, which is their current .99c offering (Amazon | BN | WORD | Kobo). This book is a classic medieval Lindsay.

While I am not as big a fan of medieval -set romances, I know this book has some fans.

ESPECIALLY since the original cover looked like THIS:

Links!

There’s always something happening on the Internet. It’s so cool that way.

First up: Paul Biba, my fellow Jersey-an, has an interview with Susan Edwards, COO of Ellora’s Cave, about their new direct-to-consumer eReader that will debut at RomantiCon in September.

A branded version of a device that, according to Paul, is very similar to devices from Russian companies Digma and Prology, the EC reader will come stocked with short stories, and will be sold at the convention. They haven’t set a price.

Best part: It vibrates.