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Late Addition to Kindle Nation Daily Free Book Alert, Wednesday, October 27: The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet: A Novel by Colleen McCullough, author of Tim and The Thorn Birds, plus the author disappears, and it’s just you and the story in Flaming Dove (Today’s Sponsor), and over 100 other fully updated free Kindle ebook listings

Here’s a late addition to today’s Free Book Listings from Colleen McCullough, the author of Tim and The Thorn Birds…. Well, that didn’t last long! But there are two other new listings today….

But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor


Flaming Dove
by Daniel Arenson 
4.4 out of 5 stars – 5 Reviews
Kindle Price: $2.99
Text-to-Speech: Enabled


(Ed. Note: Jeff Bezos likes to talk about how, once you begin reading on the Kindle, the device disappears and it’s just you and the book. That’s great, but with this novel, you get an even more seamless, zipless experience. The author disappears, and it’s just you and the story, the characters, and a remarkably well-imagined world that shifts astonishingly in time and place….

But let me admit my limitations. As soon as I began reading Flaming Dove I knew almost immediately that I was out of my depth. Sure, I’ve put in my time reading Paradise Lost and even some Dante, but I was concerned. Yet within a moment or two, my concerns vaporized. With the exception of Beatrice I don’t recall characters anywhere near as vivid, as lovely, and as terrible as Laila and her minions and adversaries. There’s a sweep, a fully imagined majesty and a narrative command in this remarkable fantasy novel that allowed me to totally forget the presence of an author and willingly suspend my disbelief. I wish college English majors (like me, some years ago) could have Flaming Dove in hand as a gateway to Milton; we would find his narratives of Heaven and Hell far more accessible. –S.W.)

Here’s the set-up:

Outcast from Hell. Banished from Heaven. Lost on Earth.

The battle of Armageddon was finally fought… and ended with no clear victor. Upon the mountain, the armies of Hell and Heaven beat each other into a bloody, uneasy standstill, leaving the Earth in ruins. Armageddon should have ended with Heaven winning, ushering in an era of peace. That’s what the prophecies said. Instead, the two armies–one of angels, one of demons–hunker down in the scorched planet, lick their wounds, and gear up for a prolonged war with no end in sight.

In this chaos of warring armies and ruined landscapes, Laila doesn’t want to take sides. Her mother was an angel, her father a demon; she is outcast from both camps. And yet both armies need her, for with her mixed blood, Laila can become the ultimate spy… or ultimate soldier. As the armies of Heaven and Hell pursue her, Laila’s only war is within her heart–a struggle between her demonic and heavenly blood. 
 

About the Author

Daniel Arenson is an author of fantasy fiction, from epic to dark and surreal.

Like many writers, he began his career writing short stories. He sold his first story, “Worms Believe in God”, in 1998. Since then, dozens of his stories and poems have appeared in various publications, among them Flesh & BloodChizine, and Orson Scott Card’s Strong Verse.

Five Star Publishing, an imprint of Gale, published Daniel’s fantasy novel Firefly Island in 2007.

His second novel, the dark fantasy Flaming Dove, was released in 2010.

What Reviewers Are Saying

“It’s really very simple: if you want to read about angels tossing around godlight and demons lashing whips and shooting fire while super-powerful archangels and archdemons blow up half the world trying to crush each other….well, here you go.”
– David Dalglish, bestselling author of The Half-Orcs

5/5 stars: “This book is a delightful read, with fluid writing and a nice pacing of action interspersed with tender moments. It was easy to get into this story, and hard to put it down. I love the way nothing is really cut and dry throughout this story; the Ruler of Hell is not without merits, and the archangels not without sin. The author really forces you to take a step back and question where the line between good and evil actually falls, if there is even such a line. The story seems predictable, but I was surprised many times with the events leading up to the climax of the story. Even when I thought I had finished the story, there was one last surprise waiting for me at the end, a surprise that really drove home a main theme of the story. Best of all, the ending did what all the best endings do; it left me with something to ponder. I really enjoyed this story, and I believe Daniel Arenson is an author to watch!”


*  


Each day’s list is sponsored by one paid title. We encourage you to support our sponsors and thank you for considering them. 

Authors, Publishers, Kindle Accessory Manufacturers:
Interested in learning more about sponsorship? Just click on this link for more information.

October’s Free Contemporary Titles in the Kindle Store 

Cross Fire-Free Preview: The First 30 Chapters
By: James Patterson
Added: 10/27/2010 4:00:50am
Your Secret Name: Discovering Who God Created You to Be
By: Kary Oberbrunner
Added: 10/25/2010 2:01:09pm
Spiritual Rhythm: Being with Jesus Every Season of Your Soul
By: Zondervan
Added: 10/25/2010 2:01:09pm
The Truth About Starting a Business
By: Bruce Barringer
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
How Netflix Produces Happy Endings
By: New Word City
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
Get a Life, Not a Job: It's Your Time--Make the Most of It (Mini E-Book)
By: Paula Caligiuri
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
The Truth About Public Speaking: The Essential Truths in 20 Minutes
By: James O’Rourke
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
The Holy Bible English Standard Version (ESV)
By: Crossway Bibles
Added: 10/21/2010 2:01:19pm
Spy Killer
By: L. Ron Hubbard
Added: 10/19/2010 4:01:12am
Preacher Creature Strikes on Sunday
By: Mike Thaler
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
Never Blame the Umpire
By: Gene Fehler
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
The Choice (Lancaster County Secrets, Book 1)
By: Suzanne Woods Fisher
Added: 10/18/2010 4:01:07am
Mozart's Sister
By: Nancy Moser
Added: 10/18/2010 4:01:07am
Chinatown Beat
By: Henry Chang
Added: 10/16/2010 2:01:04pm
Every Word (A Free Game for Kindle)
By: Amazon Digital Services
Added: 10/15/2010 2:01:09pm
Shuffled Row (A Free Game for Kindle)
By: Amazon Digital Services
Added: 10/15/2010 2:01:09pm
Emotions: Freedom from Anger, Jealousy & Fear
By: Osho
Added: 10/15/2010 4:01:12am
An Unwanted Hunger
By: Ciana Stone
Added: 10/15/2010 4:01:12am
Quiet As They Come (Free Story for Kindle)
By: Angie Chau
Added: 10/13/2010 4:01:25am
Relentless (Dominion Trilogy #1)
By: Robin Parrish
Added: 10/11/2010 8:17:57am
Tahn: A Novel
By: L. A. Kelly
Added: 10/11/2010 8:17:57am
Sin's Daughter
By: Eve Silver
Added: 10/09/2010 4:01:20am
Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery
By: James R. Benn
Added: 10/08/2010 4:01:14am
The Holy Bible: HCSB Digital Text Edition
By: B&H; Publishing Group
Added: 10/07/2010 4:01:07am
Publish on Amazon Kindle with the Digital Text Platform
By: Amazon.com
Added: 10/05/2010 4:01:23am
Thoughts on The Promise and Darkness On The Edge Of Town
By: Bruce Springsteen
Added: 10/03/2010 2:01:31pm
The DNA of Relationships
By: Gary Smalley
Added: 10/03/2010 4:01:24am
The Unsuspecting Mage (The Morcyth Saga Book One)
By: Brian S. Pratt
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Shatter (The Children of Man)
By: Elizabeth C. Mock
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Arousing Love
By: M. H. Strom
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Woman of Sin
By: Debra Diaz
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Outlander: with Bonus Content
By: Diana Gabaldon
Added: 10/01/2010 4:01:02am

Kindle Nation Daily Free Book Alert, Wednesday, October 27: A Mysterious Novella Pre-Order and A Free 30-Chapter Preview of James Patterson’s Cross Fire, plus the author disappears, and it’s just you and the story in Flaming Dove (Today’s Sponsor), and over 100 other fully updated free Kindle ebook listings

Who knows what to expect with this morning’s latest addition to our Kindle Nation Free Book Alert listings? James Patterson is back to his old tricks with a “free 30-chapter preview” of his latest Alex Cross novel, so, what, we should forgive him for writing 87-word chapters and allowing his publisher to set up a bait-and-switch with an exorbitant price for the full ebook? Then there’s a free novella from publisher HarperCollins, but it’s a pre-order for February 1 and as of this writing I see nothing about the author, the book cover, or the full-length book that the free novella might lead us to purchase. Like I say, who knows? Maybe the marketing is in the mystery….

But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor


Flaming Dove
by Daniel Arenson 
4.4 out of 5 stars – 5 Reviews
Kindle Price: $2.99
Text-to-Speech: Enabled


(Ed. Note: Jeff Bezos likes to talk about how, once you begin reading on the Kindle, the device disappears and it’s just you and the book. That’s great, but with this novel, you get an even more seamless, zipless experience. The author disappears, and it’s just you and the story, the characters, and a remarkably well-imagined world that shifts astonishingly in time and place….

But let me admit my limitations. As soon as I began reading Flaming Dove I knew almost immediately that I was out of my depth. Sure, I’ve put in my time reading Paradise Lost and even some Dante, but I was concerned. Yet within a moment or two, my concerns vaporized. With the exception of Beatrice I don’t recall characters anywhere near as vivid, as lovely, and as terrible as Laila and her minions and adversaries. There’s a sweep, a fully imagined majesty and a narrative command in this remarkable fantasy novel that allowed me to totally forget the presence of an author and willingly suspend my disbelief. I wish college English majors (like me, some years ago) could have Flaming Dove in hand as a gateway to Milton; we would find his narratives of Heaven and Hell far more accessible. –S.W.)

Here’s the set-up:

Outcast from Hell. Banished from Heaven. Lost on Earth.

The battle of Armageddon was finally fought… and ended with no clear victor. Upon the mountain, the armies of Hell and Heaven beat each other into a bloody, uneasy standstill, leaving the Earth in ruins. Armageddon should have ended with Heaven winning, ushering in an era of peace. That’s what the prophecies said. Instead, the two armies–one of angels, one of demons–hunker down in the scorched planet, lick their wounds, and gear up for a prolonged war with no end in sight.

In this chaos of warring armies and ruined landscapes, Laila doesn’t want to take sides. Her mother was an angel, her father a demon; she is outcast from both camps. And yet both armies need her, for with her mixed blood, Laila can become the ultimate spy… or ultimate soldier. As the armies of Heaven and Hell pursue her, Laila’s only war is within her heart–a struggle between her demonic and heavenly blood.

About the Author

Daniel Arenson is an author of fantasy fiction, from epic to dark and surreal.

Like many writers, he began his career writing short stories. He sold his first story, “Worms Believe in God”, in 1998. Since then, dozens of his stories and poems have appeared in various publications, among them Flesh & BloodChizine, and Orson Scott Card’s Strong Verse.

Five Star Publishing, an imprint of Gale, published Daniel’s fantasy novel Firefly Island in 2007.

His second novel, the dark fantasy Flaming Dove, was released in 2010.

What Reviewers Are Saying

“It’s really very simple: if you want to read about angels tossing around godlight and demons lashing whips and shooting fire while super-powerful archangels and archdemons blow up half the world trying to crush each other….well, here you go.”
– David Dalglish, bestselling author of The Half-Orcs

5/5 stars: “This book is a delightful read, with fluid writing and a nice pacing of action interspersed with tender moments. It was easy to get into this story, and hard to put it down. I love the way nothing is really cut and dry throughout this story; the Ruler of Hell is not without merits, and the archangels not without sin. The author really forces you to take a step back and question where the line between good and evil actually falls, if there is even such a line. The story seems predictable, but I was surprised many times with the events leading up to the climax of the story. Even when I thought I had finished the story, there was one last surprise waiting for me at the end, a surprise that really drove home a main theme of the story. Best of all, the ending did what all the best endings do; it left me with something to ponder. I really enjoyed this story, and I believe Daniel Arenson is an author to watch!”


*  


Each day’s list is sponsored by one paid title. We encourage you to support our sponsors and thank you for considering them. 

Authors, Publishers, Kindle Accessory Manufacturers:
Interested in learning more about sponsorship? Just click on this link for more information.

October’s Free Contemporary Titles in the Kindle Store 

Cross Fire-Free Preview: The First 30 Chapters
By: James Patterson
Added: 10/27/2010 4:00:50am
Your Secret Name: Discovering Who God Created You to Be
By: Kary Oberbrunner
Added: 10/25/2010 2:01:09pm
Spiritual Rhythm: Being with Jesus Every Season of Your Soul
By: Zondervan
Added: 10/25/2010 2:01:09pm
The Truth About Starting a Business
By: Bruce Barringer
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
How Netflix Produces Happy Endings
By: New Word City
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
Get a Life, Not a Job: It's Your Time--Make the Most of It (Mini E-Book)
By: Paula Caligiuri
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
The Truth About Public Speaking: The Essential Truths in 20 Minutes
By: James O’Rourke
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
The Holy Bible English Standard Version (ESV)
By: Crossway Bibles
Added: 10/21/2010 2:01:19pm
Spy Killer
By: L. Ron Hubbard
Added: 10/19/2010 4:01:12am
Preacher Creature Strikes on Sunday
By: Mike Thaler
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
Never Blame the Umpire
By: Gene Fehler
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
The Choice (Lancaster County Secrets, Book 1)
By: Suzanne Woods Fisher
Added: 10/18/2010 4:01:07am
Mozart's Sister
By: Nancy Moser
Added: 10/18/2010 4:01:07am
Chinatown Beat
By: Henry Chang
Added: 10/16/2010 2:01:04pm
Every Word (A Free Game for Kindle)
By: Amazon Digital Services
Added: 10/15/2010 2:01:09pm
Shuffled Row (A Free Game for Kindle)
By: Amazon Digital Services
Added: 10/15/2010 2:01:09pm
Emotions: Freedom from Anger, Jealousy & Fear
By: Osho
Added: 10/15/2010 4:01:12am
An Unwanted Hunger
By: Ciana Stone
Added: 10/15/2010 4:01:12am
Quiet As They Come (Free Story for Kindle)
By: Angie Chau
Added: 10/13/2010 4:01:25am
Relentless (Dominion Trilogy #1)
By: Robin Parrish
Added: 10/11/2010 8:17:57am
Tahn: A Novel
By: L. A. Kelly
Added: 10/11/2010 8:17:57am
Sin's Daughter
By: Eve Silver
Added: 10/09/2010 4:01:20am
Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery
By: James R. Benn
Added: 10/08/2010 4:01:14am
The Holy Bible: HCSB Digital Text Edition
By: B&H; Publishing Group
Added: 10/07/2010 4:01:07am
Publish on Amazon Kindle with the Digital Text Platform
By: Amazon.com
Added: 10/05/2010 4:01:23am
Thoughts on The Promise and Darkness On The Edge Of Town
By: Bruce Springsteen
Added: 10/03/2010 2:01:31pm
The DNA of Relationships
By: Gary Smalley
Added: 10/03/2010 4:01:24am
The Unsuspecting Mage (The Morcyth Saga Book One)
By: Brian S. Pratt
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Shatter (The Children of Man)
By: Elizabeth C. Mock
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Arousing Love
By: M. H. Strom
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Woman of Sin
By: Debra Diaz
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Outlander: with Bonus Content
By: Diana Gabaldon
Added: 10/01/2010 4:01:02am

Shaken Moves to Top 15 in Kindle Store as Amazon Flexes Muscles

When I reported yesterday morning that Shaken was available for immediate purchase and download, I suggested that the new Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels detective thriller by Joe Konrath would shake up the publishing world by moving “soon” into the top 50 among Kindle Store bestsellers.

Silly me. Shaken debuted at #143, broke into the top #100 by noon and into the top 50 by 10 p.m. This morning it sits at #15!

Shaken is published by Amazon’s publishing imprint, AmazonEncore, and yesterday Joe mentioned on his blog that “the real reason I’m working with Amazon, ego and pleasantries aside, is because of their marketing muscle.”

Indeed. When I went directly to the Kindle Store this morning, here’s what I saw at the top of the page:

Now that’s muscle. Nice. #14 or #15 may not be the limit….

WANTED: J.A. KONRATH

Thanks to editor Tom Dulaney at our sister blog, Planet iPad, for letting us share in this bit of fun concerning an individual who, as the authorities might say, is “known to us” here at Kindle Nation. And if you have an iPad, iPhone, or iPod Touch and use any of them to read ebooks, you’ll want to check out Planet iPad on a regular basis!

UPDATE: We now have photographic evidence of a B&E; caper in which Konrath and his ebook broke into the Kindle Store top 100 at #97 at noon Tuesday.


RAP SHEET: J.A. KONRATH, TIME TWISTER

SUBJECT: J.A. Konrath, AKA Jack Kilborn, AKA Joe Kimball

KNOWN ASSOCIATES: Planet iPad, Kindle Nation Daily, Amazon.com, Detective Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels of the Chicago PD, numerous other authors of a similar bent
BACKGROUND: Subject born 1970 in Skokie, IL. Occupation: Writer

WANTED FOR QUESTIONING: In connection with the whereabouts of and recent investigations being conducted by Chicago Police Department Detective Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels. Department records indicate Daniels is currently in hot pursuit of the serial killer known as Mr. K. 
Konrath by his own admission in print was seen with Det. Daniels at the time of her disappearance.
(Investigator’s note: Daniels appears to have taken the capture of Mr. K as a personal crusade following her initial encounter with the killer twenty one years ago.) Konrath has six priors, novels based on his relationship with Det. Daniels.
Konrath, an outspoken commentator on the publishing industry, is a maverick. His outbursts about publishers and advertisers are well known.
His statements, writings and his blog for writers — especially new writers or, perhaps, African-American writers — seem to advocate the overthrow of traditional publishing practices. His most recent activity is the innovative release of a book called Shaken.  Evidence indicates links between Konrath and corporate giant Amazon.com.  He also has ties to two net-based publications:  bestselling blog Kindle Nation Daily and, more recently, the blog Planet iPad.
These conspirators this week released the third installment of a “pre-quel” or serialization of massive segments of the book.  Expressing no remorse, they vow to make good on their threat to publish a fourth segment on Monday.
Sources report the entire book will be released from an undisclosed location inside Amazon.com computers to police and the general public on October 26 as an “ebook” or “ee-boucke.” Printed copies are being held until on February 22, 2011. Such a scheme, according to our unpaid informants, is sometimes known on the street as “reverse windowing.”
Unfortunately, the ploy appears to be working to the extent that Shaken is already poised to break and enter the top 100 listings in the Kindle Store, a kind of “Most Wanted” list maintained by Konrath’s co-conspirator Amazon. It is not known whether there will still be readers of so-called “Dead Tree Books” come February when the co-conspirators have threatened the publication of a print edition. Also not known: how many trees Konrath may murder, single-handedly, if he carries out that threat. What is very clear, however, is that sufficient numbers of individuals are purchasing and “downloading” the electronic edition of Shaken that Konrath is likely to be encouraged to further serial activity.
Below find a Planet iPad report of the perpetrators’ unconventional publishing scheme.
Konrath should be considered armed with computers and tools of the writer’s trade, as well as a vivid imagination, and is widely considered as dangerous to traditional writing and publishing methods.
Under his alias of Jack Kilborn the subject has associated with psychotic killers (see the book Afraid.)  Konrath/Kilborn’s own extensive preoccupation, in book form, suggests an unbreakable fascination with horror as well as his fascination with crime.
Be advised Konrath may be difficult to apprehend, as he has somehow managed to slip into the future, 2054 to be specific, where under the alias Joe Kimball he claims to accompany Det. Daniel’s grandson. These reports can only be classified as science fiction at this time.

From report published on Planet iPad:

By Tom Dulaney
In Shaken maverick author J.A. Konrath violates most of the rules of literature that writing professors warn about when it comes to “flashbacks”– jumping back in time in a novel. “Flashbacks” are generally viewed by the profs as dangerous ploys, a technique that has generally gone out of date. Young writers in classes and conferences are nearly uniformly warned to stay well clear of flashbacks.
In Shaken, Konrath jumps into flashbacks and flash-forwards with leaps to and from three major time-space points: 21 years ago, 3 years ago, current time. The “Bonus Content” included with Shaken irons out the dizzying flashes, putting the story in chronological order for those who like their literary time travel at a more orderly, sedate pace.
Consider the dangers of such a daring architecture for a novel. The book, plot and characters must track sensibly in the helter-skelter flash-arounds spanning two decades.  You cannot know something in, say, chapter 5 that you will not learn until chapter 7.
Now scramble the chapters back into chronological order, and apply the same rule.
Does the dare of toying so roughly with time work?
Yes, says bestselling author and Konrath fellow traveler Tess Gerritsen in her “5 very enthusiastic stars out of 5” review, which appears suspiciously right on the book’s Amazon page:
J.A. Konrath achieves the stupendous feat of blending both a prequel and a sequel in this timeline-hopping thriller, expertly making the pieces click together like an intricate Swiss watch.
Over the course of her decades-long career, Detective Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels has pursued her own great white whale: a sickeningly twisted serial killer named Mr. K. Years ago, Jack came heartbreakingly close to catching him, but he managed to slip away. 
Now Mr. K is back from her nightmares, and she’s his captive, in a secret place where she’s beyond rescue. Bound and gagged, the clock ticking down till zero, Jack faces a death more excruciating than anyone’s worst imaginings. She has seen Mr. K.’s other victims, so she knows how terrible her end will be.
In flashback, we see just how Jack ended up at this moment in her life. From her first exposure as a rookie to Mr. K’s handiwork, through her career-long pursuit of her nemesis, we watch Jack grow as a cop, as a woman, and as a friend to her two eccentric colleagues, Harry and Herb. That journey is both terrifying and wildly hilarious, a wacky combination that only a writer as good as Konrath can pull off. Throw in a deeply moving denouement, and you have a story that hits every single mark.
The pace is frantic, the horrors truly horrifying, and the dialogue will have you laughing out loud even as you’re gripping the pages in terror. Konrath is so good, he makes other novelists jealous–and count me as one of them.
‘5 Very Enthusiastic Stars Out of 5’–Tess Gerritsen
Last (in our time stream at least) is the printed version of the book, being published under the AmazonEncore imprint. Pre-order it today, get it next year on February 22.
Konrath, Shaken and Amazon have even upended the apparent flow of time with the “Shaken project.”
They give us an “encore” on paper from imprint AmazonEncore that you can order before you could get the teaser, which was published a few months ago, or the next several teasers released earlier this month. Or the next teaser, coming yesterday only on Planet iPad and Kindle Nation Daily.
Related posts:

Konrath’s SHAKEN Debuts at #143 #136 #134 #110 #97, with a Bullet

Joe Konrath’s Shaken debuted this morning at #143 in the Kindle Store overall bestseller list and has already climbed to #136 and #134 in the past two hours, and is #10 on the Kindle Movers and Shakers list despite launching on the same day as new books by John Grisham, Keith Richards, and Jennifer Cruise.

UPDATE: We now have photographic evidence of a B&E; caper in which Konrath and his ebook broke into the Kindle Store top 100 at #97 at noon Tuesday.

Here’s a screen shot showing recent Kindle Store rankings of some of the books we are tracking here at Kindle Nation:

Kindle Nation Daily Free Book Alert, Tuesday, October 26: Don’t Delay in Picking Up Younger Next Year*: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy — Until You’re 80 and Beyond, plus Sharon Potts’ Red Hot Suspense Debut In Their Blood (Today’s Sponsor), and over 100 other fully updated free Kindle ebook listings

This morning’s latest addition to our Kindle Nation Free Book Alert listings became a favorite of mine when The Kindle Chronicles podcaster Len Edgerly recommended it to me over a year ago at $9.99, so I’m thrilled to be able to pass on to you that it’s currently free in the Kindle Store a different listing — The Heart Foundation Book — which may be a sign that it won’t be free for long!

But first, a word from … Today’s Sponsor

 Don’t you owe it to yourself to find out why Publisher’s Weekly took the unusual step of giving Sharon Potts’ debut a starred review and called it “a red-hot suspense novel,” complete with a Peruvian-French sexpot, a midnight intruder, and some shifty accounting?
 

In Their Blood: A Novel 
by Sharon Potts 
4.0 out of 5 stars – 14 Reviews – Kindle Price: $7.99 
Text-to-Speech: Enabled 
Here’s the set-up from Publishers Weekly‘s Starred Review of this novel by Sharon Potts (photo, below right): 

At the start of Potts’s debut, a red-hot suspense novel, a midnight intruder murders D.C. Stroeb, an economics professor at Miami Intercontinental University, and his CPA wife, Rachel, in their exclusive Lotus Island, Fla., estate. Oddly, the killer takes only the couple’s laptops. Their 16-year-old daughter, Elise, who was home at the time, suffers emotional trauma in the aftermath. Their 22-year-old son, Jeremy, who can’t believe anyone could kill his parents, returns from backpacking abroad to assume the guardianship of Elise, against the wishes of his lawyer uncle, Dwight Stroeb. Jeremy connects with a sympathetic Miami detective, gets a job at his mother’s CPA firm and enrolls at his father’s university, where he becomes involved with his father’s female graduate assistant, a Peruvian-French sexpot. The clue hunt sizzles in a plot driven largely by shifty accounting. By the end, the dangers of creative number crunching are all too apparent.

Review

“A crackling debut crime novel.” -Jeremiah Healy, author of Rescue

“Successfully blends edge-of-the-seatsuspense with the emotional journey into adulthood.” -Barbara Parker, NYT best-selling author of The Dark of Day

“Starts with a bang and never lets up. Thriller writing the way it is supposed to be.” -Michael Connelly, NYT best-selling author of The Scarecrow

Click here to download In Their Blood: A Novel (or a free sample) to your Kindle, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Android-compatible, PC or Mac and start reading within 60 seconds!

*  
UK Kindle customers: Click here to download In Their Blood: A Novel


Each day’s list is sponsored by one paid title. We encourage you to support our sponsors and thank you for considering them. 

Authors, Publishers, Kindle Accessory Manufacturers:
Interested in learning more about sponsorship? Just click on this link for more information.

October’s Free Contemporary Titles in the Kindle Store 

Click here for a separate listing of free and bargain erotica titles for your Kindle.




 Younger Next Year*: Live Strong, Fit, and Sexy — Until You’re 80 and Beyond
by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D.
(DON’T DELAY! FREE FOR NOW IN THE KINDLE STORE, 
but listed as “The Heart Foundation Book”)
Added Manually: 10/26/2010 7 am EST

Your Secret Name: Discovering Who God Created You to Be
By: Kary Oberbrunner
Added: 10/25/2010 2:01:09pm
Spiritual Rhythm: Being with Jesus Every Season of Your Soul
By: Zondervan
Added: 10/25/2010 2:01:09pm
The Truth About Starting a Business
By: Bruce Barringer
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
How Netflix Produces Happy Endings
By: New Word City
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
Get a Life, Not a Job: It's Your Time--Make the Most of It (Mini E-Book)
By: Paula Caligiuri
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
The Truth About Public Speaking: The Essential Truths in 20 Minutes
By: James O’Rourke
Added: 10/25/2010 4:01:09am
The Holy Bible English Standard Version (ESV)
By: Crossway Bibles
Added: 10/21/2010 2:01:19pm
Spy Killer
By: L. Ron Hubbard
Added: 10/19/2010 4:01:12am
Preacher Creature Strikes on Sunday
By: Mike Thaler
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
Never Blame the Umpire
By: Gene Fehler
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
The Choice (Lancaster County Secrets, Book 1)
By: Suzanne Woods Fisher
Added: 10/18/2010 4:01:07am
Mozart's Sister
By: Nancy Moser
Added: 10/18/2010 4:01:07am
Chinatown Beat
By: Henry Chang
Added: 10/16/2010 2:01:04pm
Every Word (A Free Game for Kindle)
By: Amazon Digital Services
Added: 10/15/2010 2:01:09pm
Shuffled Row (A Free Game for Kindle)
By: Amazon Digital Services
Added: 10/15/2010 2:01:09pm
Emotions: Freedom from Anger, Jealousy & Fear
By: Osho
Added: 10/15/2010 4:01:12am
An Unwanted Hunger
By: Ciana Stone
Added: 10/15/2010 4:01:12am
Quiet As They Come (Free Story for Kindle)
By: Angie Chau
Added: 10/13/2010 4:01:25am
Relentless (Dominion Trilogy #1)
By: Robin Parrish
Added: 10/11/2010 8:17:57am
Tahn: A Novel
By: L. A. Kelly
Added: 10/11/2010 8:17:57am
Sin's Daughter
By: Eve Silver
Added: 10/09/2010 4:01:20am
Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery
By: James R. Benn
Added: 10/08/2010 4:01:14am
The Holy Bible: HCSB Digital Text Edition
By: B&H; Publishing Group
Added: 10/07/2010 4:01:07am
Publish on Amazon Kindle with the Digital Text Platform
By: Amazon.com
Added: 10/05/2010 4:01:23am
Sandman Slim with Bonus Content
By: Richard Kadrey
Added: 10/05/2010 4:01:23am
Thoughts on The Promise and Darkness On The Edge Of Town
By: Bruce Springsteen
Added: 10/03/2010 2:01:31pm
The DNA of Relationships
By: Gary Smalley
Added: 10/03/2010 4:01:24am
The Unsuspecting Mage (The Morcyth Saga Book One)
By: Brian S. Pratt
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Shatter (The Children of Man)
By: Elizabeth C. Mock
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Arousing Love
By: M. H. Strom
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Woman of Sin
By: Debra Diaz
Added: 10/01/2010 2:01:18pm
Outlander: with Bonus Content
By: Diana Gabaldon
Added: 10/01/2010 4:01:02am

SHAKEN is Now Available! Will Konrath Shake Up the Publishing World Again?

Joe Konrath’s novel Shaken, the seventh book in his Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels detective series, arrived quietly on thousands of Kindles overnight, but I’m guessing the book’s effect on the publishing world will be anything but quiet. After publishing the first six books with traditional publishers, Konrath jumped their sinking ship and swam for shore via AmazonEncore, which has just released the direct-to-Kindle version with bonus chapters and will bring Shaken out in paperback in February.

Kindle Nation was honored to play a small role in the launch of Shaken with free installments of the first 75 percent of the book (still available here!), and we will be watching with great interest to see where it debuts on the Kindle Store bestseller list later today! I will be very surprised if I don’t see it among the top 50 bestselling Kindle books very soon. And, as we learned from Amazon’s press release earlier this week, if you are in the top 50 Kindle books, that probably means you are in the top 50, period.

Amazon has posted a 5-star review by author Tess Gerritsen on the Kindle page for Shaken, and we faithfully reproduce it here:

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Exclusive: Tess Gerritsen Reviews Shaken

Tess Gerritsen is a physician and an internationally bestselling author. She gained nationwide acclaim for her first novel of medical suspense, the New York Times bestseller Harvest. She is also the author of the bestsellers Ice Cold, The Keepsake, The Bone Garden, The Mephisto Club, and more. Read her exclusive guest review of J.A. Konrath‘s Shaken:


J.A. Konrath achieves the stupendous feat of blending both a prequel and a sequel in this timeline-hopping thriller, expertly making the pieces click together like an intricate Swiss watch.

Over the course of her decades-long career, Detective Jacqueline “Jack” Daniels has pursued her own great white whale: a sickeningly twisted serial killer named Mr. K. Years ago, Jack came heartbreakingly close to catching him, but he managed to slip away. Now Mr. K is back from her nightmares, and she’s his captive, in a secret place where she’s beyond rescue. Bound and gagged, the clock ticking down till zero, Jack faces a death more excruciating than anyone’s worst imaginings. She has seen Mr. K.’s other victims, so she knows how terrible her end will be.

In flashback, we see just how Jack ended up at this moment in her life. From her first exposure as a rookie to Mr. K’s handiwork, through her career-long pursuit of her nemesis, we watch Jack grow as a cop, as a woman, and as a friend to her two eccentric colleagues, Harry and Herb. That journey is both terrifying and wildly hilarious, a wacky combination that only a writer as good as Konrath can pull off. Throw in a deeply moving denouement, and you have a story that hits every single mark.

The pace is frantic, the horrors truly horrifying, and the dialogue will have you laughing out loud even as you’re gripping the pages in terror. Konrath is so good, he makes other novelists jealous–and count me as one of them.

Five very enthusiastic stars out of five. –Tess Gerritsen