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How the USPS Chooses Its Literary Stamps

From BookRiot: “We don’t shy away from artists that people wouldn’t probably instantly recognize. We see the stamp program as an educational piece for the country—part of our history” … Support our news coverage by subscribing to our Kindle Nation Daily Digest. Joining is free right now!


One of the biggest struggles for the United States Postal Service (USPS) stamp program is awareness. At a time when the USPS needs support both financially and politically, it’s important for consumers to know that a lot goes into everything that makes the post office run. Including—even especially—the stamps.

You walk into the post office with a stack of envelopes and order a book of stamps. Perhaps you scan the designs available and choose the one that’s most appealing, or the one that makes you smile. Maybe you just turn the package or letter over and they stamp it for you, and you never even see the designs applied. Maybe, every once in a while, you receive an envelope with a special stamp affixed, and it holds your attention for a moment.

Stamps Services at the Postal Service produces more than 14 billion stamps and generates an estimated $4.5 billion in revenue each year. The Postal Service relies on the sale of this postage, as well as from products and services, to fund its operations—receiving no tax dollars for its operating expenses. The USPS provides an extensive amount of information on the selection process, criteria, and artwork of stamps, as well as additional information about them, on their website, but they’re always looking to expand awareness of the hard work that goes into the stamps that send your mail.

“Ultimately, stamps are just a ticket to show that you paid for your service,” said Bill Gicker, director of stamp services at the U.S. Postal Service. “But we make them so much more.” Book Riot spoke to Gicker about the process of creating a stamp, the Literary Art stamp series, and other bookish stamps, and what goals the USPS has behind the artistic and historical work they do with their stamps.

Giveaway time! Brought to you by Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public’s Health by Judith Walzer Leavitt

Author Judith Walzer Leavitt is today’s Giveaway sponsor!

Go to Giveaway Central to enter and get the scoop on our weekly giveaways where you pick the prize!

And to say thank you here is a bonus entry word: debonair

You can help keep the party going by checking out…

Typhoid Mary: Captive to the Public’s Health

by Judith Walzer Leavitt
4.1 stars – 29 reviews
Everyday Price: $18.99
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
This timely and humanizing portrait of the real Typhoid Mary provides a window into the ethical dilemmas surrounding public health policy both past and present

She was an Irish immigrant cook. Between 1900 and 1907, she infected twenty-two New Yorkers with typhoid fever through her puddings and cakes; one of them died. Tracked down through epidemiological detective work, she was finally apprehended as she hid behind a barricade of trashcans. To protect the public’s health, authorities isolated her on Manhattan’s North Brother Island, where she died some thirty years later.

This book tells the remarkable story of Mary Mallon—the real Typhoid Mary. Combining social history with biography, historian Judith Leavitt re-creates early-twentieth-century New York City, a world of strict class divisions and prejudice against immigrants and women. Leavitt engages the reader with the excitement of the early days of microbiology and brings to life the conflicting perspectives of journalists, public health officials, the law, and Mary Mallon herself.

Leavitt’s readable account illuminates dilemmas that continue to haunt us in the age of COVID-19. To what degree are we willing to sacrifice individual liberty to protect the public’s health? How far should we go? For anyone who is concerned about the threats and quandaries posed by new epidemics, Typhoid Mary is a vivid reminder of the human side of disease and disease control.

It’s the perfect time of year of for a sprawling, gothic, supernatural thriller… The Nosferatu Conspiracy: The Sleepwalker by Brian James Gage

Today’s Thriller of The Day:

The Nosferatu Conspiracy: Book One, The Sleepwalker

by Brian James Gage
4.3 stars – 84 reviews
Everyday Price: $5.99
Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:
A sprawling Gothic supernatural thriller set in Saint Petersburg, Russia, against the backdrop of the Fall of the Romanov Dynasty. Evoking elements of Jack the Ripper and Vlad Dracula, the first book in the Nosferatu Conspiracy series is an action-packed and suspense-filled alternative retelling of Rasputin’s diabolical influence over the final days of the Romanov Dynasty.
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History states Tsar Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and their five children were executed on the morning of July 17, 1918 (OS). This contrasts suppressed documents citing the royal family mysteriously disappeared after fires ravaged Saint Petersburg in December 1916 (OS).

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was supposedly murdered by high-ranking Russian officials on December 16, 1916 (OS), for his unprecedented and perceived nefarious influence over the royal family. He was poisoned, shot twice, and clubbed into submission, yet remained alive. His attackers finally drowned him underneath the icy Neva River.

Rasputin’s autopsy was reportedly performed three days later by Professor Kossorotov, a high-ranking Okhrana agent and future Kremlin operative. Cause of death: drowning. The document states Rasputin broke free of his bindings and his fingernails showed signs he’d tried to claw through the ice.

The stories surrounding Rasputin’s death are gross falsifications. His body was never recovered for examination, and his status within the Russian intelligence community to this day remains: At Large.

This is the true story of Rasputin’s paranormal coup d’etat and his conjuring of ancient vampires that destroyed Saint Petersburg, Russia, in December 1916.

History is a lie. The truth will be exposed.

Free Books Time! Five Kindle freebies—download now!

Today’s Sponsor:

The Trouble With You: A Best Friend’s Sister Romance (Rixon Raiders Book 1)

by L A Cotton
4.5 stars – 378 reviews
Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

From the author of the Wicked Bay series, comes an angsty YA/NA enemies-to-lovers romance. Cocky football players, school rivalry, and the girls who get in their way. Get ready … The Raiders are coming!

Hailee Raine only has to survive one more year.

One year of life in her football obsessed town.
One year of nauseating school spirit.
Just one more year of her cruel step-brother Jason; and his cocky, arrogant, football-playing friends.
She hates them. Especially, Cameron Chase, the guy she thought was different.

Cameron Chase has the world at his feet.

He has it all; good looks, talent, and the charm to go with it.
He has colleges lined up at the door, all wanting a piece of Rixon Raiders star wide receiver.
Until something threatens everything he’s ever worked for, and only one person can quiet the war raging inside him.
But he’s supposed to hate her; his best friend’s sister.

She’s off-limits.
Untouchable.
She’s trouble with a capital T.

Then Hailee finds herself in the middle of a football prank gone wrong…

And suddenly hating each other never felt so good.

The Trouble With Youis the first book in The Rixon Raiders series. All books in this series can be read as standalones!

Check out our Free Book Search Tool for a boatload of free books or check here for the best deals today on Kindle!

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Beautiful Heartbreaker: A Pam of Babylon Novella

by Suzanne Jenkins
4.3 stars – 29 reviews
Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

“Don’t look now, but Jack Smith is right behind you,” Marian whispered. A flush of pleasure cruised through Genevieve’s body, but later, she thought it might have been a warning.

The years of Jack Smith’s coming of age occurred during the best and worst times in Manhattan’s history. The son of Upper West Side elitists, raised with the best of everything, one secret aspect of his childhood set him apart from others in his class.

Beautiful Heartbreaker tells the story of Jack’s transformation from a young, innocent boy to a larger than life icon who took the city by storm.

For followers of Pam of Babylon, Beautiful Heartbreaker fills in some of the blanks his death left unanswered. Will the mystery of Jack ever be unlocked?

* * *

Claiming the Cowboy for Christmas (The Hills of Texas Book 4)

by Kadie Scott
4.5 stars – 51 reviews
Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

Her thermostat was set to frosty, until her Christmas cowboy cranks up the heat

Ashley Hughes would love to cancel Christmas this year. Instead of holiday plans, she’s back in her Texas hometown planning her twin sister’s wedding — to her ex! Nothing like small town speculation to make her life cheery and bright. No one believes that she’s over the groom, until a certain cowboy secret crush steps in to be her plus one. Ashley’s tried to friend zone Jennings since high school, because she’s always known kissing the casual charmer would lead to a love she’d never forget.

Jennings Hill would be the first to admit that his feelings for his ex-best friend are more likely to land him on the naughty list. When he sees Ashley again, he only wants to help but then a rumor links them romantically and that’s when their lives get complicated.

The more time they spend together, the more Jennings worries she’s not over her ex, but Ashley starts wishing Jennings was her present wrapped under the Christmas tree.

CLAIMING THE COWBOY FOR CHRISTMAS is a sweet and sexy standalone Texas romance in a series of standalones! Saving the Sheriff, Resisting the Rancher, Taming the Troublemaker and Claiming the Cowboy for Christmas can be read in any order.

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Secondhand Secrets (Miss Main Street Book 1): A Small Town Story of Friendship and Romance

by Angela Castillo
4.3 stars – 197 reviews
Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

Clean, Christian slice-of-life women’s fiction with romance.

Darcy’s escaping a glitzy life in Los Angeles to run her grandma’s shop in the sleepy town of Wimber, Texas. But every small town has secrets, and Darcy’s about to discover a few she’d forgotten. Like the boy she left behind, with her first kiss still on his lips.
Owning a business isn’t as easy as it seems. But a group of friendly women who meet to talk shop might offer the keys Darcy needs to succeed.
Darcy is determined to push forward, despite the obstacles that cross her path. And maybe love is still waiting on the other side of the shop’s battered old door.
If you love small-town sweet romance, you will love the Miss Main Street series!

“Sweet story about small town life with interesting folks.” –Amazon Reviewer

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Switch

by Allen Kent
4.5 stars – 37 reviews
Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

Suppose, without any warning, you found yourself in another place and time
“Zap. Just that fast! And even worse, in someone else’s body. Then, a month later, zap. You’re back where you were before, as yourself, trying to explain to people what had happened to you. But no one believes you because during that month, people didn’t think you’d been gone at all. Just that you’d been acting really weird. Because someone else had been there in your body, someone who claimed she was another person. Everyone would think you were completely nuts. Right? I can promise you they would. Because that’s just what happened to me.”

>>>The Switch – A soccer-loving Texas teen and a 19th century colonist living in South Africa
Why do Alyssa (Ally) Wallis, a soccer-loving teen from Texarkana, Texas, and Emmeline Caywood, a prim, artistic British immigrant to South Africa’s 1820s Cape Colony of Bathurst, suddenly switch places and bodies? Has Emme been cursed by the local Xhosa chieftain for breaking a taboo, as her maid insists? Did a fall launch Ally into a world of hallucination where what seems so real is no more than a creation of a wounded mind? Or does each have a role in rectifying a centuries-old injustice that will change forever both of their lives and the lives of those they love?

>>>”Switch” is a page-turning journey into the lives of two young women whose bond over time changes who they are, who they become, and the lives of everyone they love.

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Rae is at risk of losing everything and everyone she cares about–unless she steps up… Life On Hold by Karen McQuestion

Family eBook of The Day

Life On Hold

by Karen McQuestion
4.2 stars – 200 reviews
Everyday Price: $3.99
FREE with Kindle UnlimitedLearn More
Text-to-Speech: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

A gripping novel about the power of friendship and following your heart.

Rae Maddox’s mom, Gina, thinks nothing of packing up and moving. New apartment, new town, new job–all of it is an adventure to Gina, but for Rae, each move is just one more friend lost, one more chance to feel like an outsider. When they arrive in Wisconsin, Gina promises to stay put until graduation. Cautiously optimistic, Rae wades into the social whirl at Whitman High School, making a few friends and even earning a chance at love.

But when the vice principal pairs her with a new student, Allison Daly, things go bad in a big way. It seems Allison was orphaned after her parents died in a suspicious house fire, leaving their daughter to bounce between relatives’ homes. When a sleepover at Rae’s house goes terribly wrong, Rae sees a troubling side of Allison–and learns a few secrets about her own mother in the process. Suddenly Rae is at risk of losing everything and everyone she cares about–unless she steps up and takes charge of her life once and for all.

Today’s Kindle Deal is sponsored by this week’s YA eBook of The Week:

Hell High

by Cindi Madsen
4.2 stars – 4 reviews
FREE with Kindle UnlimitedLearn More
Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

As if being Satan’s daughter isn’t bad enough, Daddy Dearest shows up on my seventeenth birthday and says I’m required to report to Hell for one year of Temptress Training—joint custody is such a bitch. Not only do I have to take classes like Granting Wishes in Exchange for Souls, Which Demon to Send, and Getting People to Commit the Seven Deadly Sins, everyone already hates me.

My dad wants me to stay and rule the kingdom with him, but I’m determined to just do my time and return to my life on Earth. But the pull of Hell is stronger than expected, and otherworldly creatures keep attacking me, making it clear someone wants me dead. Then there’s Tristan, the damned boy with the no-longer-beating heart of gold. Now I’ve got an impossible choice: keep my soul or ensure the safety of the boy I’m falling for.

Was it actually Red who hunted the wolf? What if the prince was the one in distress? Not all fairy tales are as they appear…. Once Upon Another World: A Twisted Fairy Tale Box Set

Once Upon Another World: A Twisted Fairy Tale Box Set

4.4 stars – 6 reviews
Here’s the set-up:

Not all fairy tales are as they appear.

Was it actually Red who hunted the wolf? What if the prince was the one in distress? Did the straw really get spun into gold? How well did those glass slippers truly fit?

Where princesses do their own rescuing, princes aren’t who they first appear to be, and beasts are friends, not foe—and maybe something more…

With stories spanning from true love’s kiss to reverse harem, skyscrapers to ancient castles, sweet romance to steamy nights, these alluring tales will satisfy readers of fantasy and romance alike.

Grab your copy of ONCE UPON ANOTHER WORLD and discover 22 twisted fairy tales with a happily ever after unlike anything you’ve ever read before.

Authors included in the box set are: Monique Singleton, Joel Crofoot, Zack Hacker, D.E. Chapman, Erin McFadden & K.L. Bone, Jaclyn Roche, L.R.W. Lee, JB Trepagnier, Silvana G. Sanchez, Cassidy K. O’Connor, Jude Cocaigne, M.L. Garza, Hunter S. Jones, Aldrea Alien, Amari Ara Dreamer, D.C. Gambel, Krista Ames, K.A. Fox, Christa Ann, Iris Sweetwater & Chandra Trulove Fry, and Lianne Willowmoon & Phillip Shadowdragon

Abbe is sexy and intelligent—and her little girl wins Grant’s heart immediately… Shotgun Ridge: Bachelors of Shotgun Ridge, Book 7 by Mindy Neff

❤️ Kindle Nation Daily Romance of the Day ❤️

Shotgun Ridge: Small Town Contemporary Romance: Bachelors of Shotgun Ridge, Book 7

by Mindy Neff
4.6 stars – 45 reviews
Everyday Price: $3.99
Lending: Enabled
Here’s the set-up:

Wanted: Women and Babies. Where: Shotgun Ridge, Montana. When: As soon as possible!

She’s on the run for her daughter’s life…and her own.

Abbe Shea witnesses the mob hit of her fiancé and the killer’s warning is clear: talk and he’ll be back for her two-year old daughter. Abbe flees Las Vegas and makes her way to Shotgun Ridge, Montana…and to the safety of Grant Callahan’s horse ranch.

Grant rents Abbe the ranch guest house, but he has his suspicions. She’s sexy and intelligent—and her little girl wins his heart immediately. Still, years as an elite member of the U.S. Special Forces tells him Abbe is hiding something. Then the FBI comes looking for her, and Grant wants the truth.

When Abbe admits her connection to Vegas crime boss—and to him—Grant is stunned. Her revelations could destroy his reputation as a breeder of million-dollar horses. Yet right now, all that matters to Grant is protecting Abbe and her daughter. Because if the feds have found her, the mob isn’t far behind…

“Mindy Neff weaves a tale with lots of action, twists and surprises. Abbe and Grant are well developed characters put in their places by an all too cute two-year-old with a doll named Lambie-pie. This is a must read.” Amazon Reviewer

“Fans of Neff’s will enjoy catching up with their favorite characters…new readers are in for a sinful and sexy treat.” Romantic Times Review 4 ½ stars, TOP PICK