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Getting Cheap EBooks (or How to Clog Your Kindle on a Tight Budget)

May30

Warning: Reading this post may lead to an excessive accumulation of books on your e-reader and/or sleepless nights spent trying to get to the bottom of your TBR pile.

Recently on my Facebook page I observed that I have 230 unread Kindle books. I was heartened to see that I was not alone in allowing unread books to build up on my e-reader. The fact is that I find it hard to resist the opportunity to acquire a free or deeply discounted ebook which I might someday want to read.

A couple people who responded to the post asked where I get these free/cheap books, so I am writing this blog as a public service :). Of course, if you end up with 300 unread books on your Kindle, you might consider it a disservice.

Because I primarily read romance (in many different sub-genres), this post skews toward finding free books in romance.

1. First, I signed up my email for a number of smaller epublishers. They often run sales on a section (or even all) of their titles. For example, Meryton Press has run two sales on select titles in the past year. When publishers do so, Amazon usually matches the book’s price, so I can get it from the publisher or directly onto my Kindle from Amazon.
http://merytonpress.com/

2. BookBub sends out a daily email listing free and discounted books in your genre (you fill out a form when you sign up). BookGorilla does the same thing. BookBub usually has bigger name authors and more prominent books, but BookGorilla lists more titles and a wider variety. DailyCheapReads also sends a daily email to your inbox (without the customization based on reader preferences). Harlequin sends out its own email about discounted titles called RomanceDeals.
http://www.bookgorilla.com/invite?h=65763cf2377ba9f2e6f5f9366af29043
https://www.bookbub.com/ebook-deals/free-ebooks
http://www.dailycheapreads.com/
http://romancedeals.com/

3. Kindle Nation Daily is a website that has permanent lists of 99 cent books in different genres and also advertises books which are temporarily discounted. Kindle Nation publishes the BookGorilla email, so there’s some overlap on the temporarily discounted titles.
http://kindlenationdaily.com/

4. All Romance Books.com frequently offers sales on a group of titles or a particular publisher’s books, so I keep an eye on the emails I get from them. Under the Omnilit.com site they also maintain a catalogue of free ebooks, some of which you need to pay for at other sites.
https://www.allromanceebooks.com/index.html
https://www.omnilit.com/fiction-ebooks-free.html

5. Amazon itself maintains lists of bestselling free ebooks in every genre. It can be a little tricky to find these lists. You have to search under Kindle books (not just “books”). Below, as an example, is the link to the top 100 free Regency romance.
http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Kindle-Store-Regency-Historical-Romance/zgbs/digital-text/158573011/ref=zg_bs_fvp_p_f_158573011?_encoding=UTF8&tf=1

Pride and Proposals #13 for Classic Literary Fiction Bestsellers

May26

Check it out! Pride and Proposals is #13 among Amazon’s Classic Literary Fiction Bestsellers (I don’t know how it ended up on that list). Right after The Count of Monty Cristo and before The Great Gatsby and A Farewell to Arms. Who knew I’d beat out Fitzgerald and Hemingway? 🙂

Amazon literary Classics 5-25-15

Giveaway of Print or EBook Pride and Proposals at Babblings of a Bookworm

May26

Ceri at the Babblings of a Bookworm blog is hosting a giveaway of Pride and Proposals — ebook or print (your choice).  She is also featuring a guest post from me about how I got started writing Jane Austen Fan Fiction and an excerpt from the book.

http://babblingsofabookworm.blogspot.com/2015/05/pride-proposals-by-victoria-kincaid.html

Five Star Review and Giveaway on Half Agony Half Hope Blog!

May19

Tina at the Half Agony Half Hope blog gave Pride and Proposals a lovely five star review — saying she couldn’t put it down. There’s no greater compliment for an author 🙂  Thank you Tina!

She’s also hosting a giveaway of a copy of the book, so check it out today.

Warning:  There is a bit of a spoiler in the review if you haven’t read the book.

http://halfagonyhalfhopelove.blogspot.com/2015/05/pride-and-proposals-by-victoria-kincaid.html#comment-form

Pride and Proposals E-Book Available on Amazon and Smashwords!

May13

The Pride and Proposals E-book is available on Amazon and Smashwords.  The paperback copy will be available soon.

What if Mr. Darcy’s proposal was too late?
Darcy has been bewitched by Elizabeth Bennet since he met her in Hertfordshire. He can no longer fight this overwhelming attraction and must admit he is hopelessly in love.
During Elizabeth’s visit to Kent she has been forced to endure the company of the difficult and disapproving Mr. Darcy, but she has enjoyed making the acquaintance of his affable cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam.
Finally resolved, Darcy arrives at Hunsford Parsonage prepared to propose—only to discover that Elizabeth has just accepted a proposal from the Colonel, Darcy’s dearest friend in the world.
As he watches the couple prepare for a lifetime together, Darcy vows never to speak of what is in his heart. Elizabeth has reason to dislike Darcy, but finds that he haunts her thoughts and stirs her emotions in strange ways.
Can Darcy and Elizabeth find their happily ever after?

http://www.amazon.com/Pride-Proposals-Prejudice-Variation-ebook/dp/B00XKLDGM0/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1431522183&sr=1-3&keywords=victoria+kincaid

Mother’s Day Thoughts on Mrs. Bennet

May10

For mother’s day: a rumination on Mrs. Bennet. Austen pokes fun at a lot of characters in P&P, but I find myself being most sympathetic to Mrs. B. While Wickham, Collins, and Lady Catherine act wholly out of self-interest, I do believe Mrs. B. is acting out of concern for her daughters and not just mercenary considerations.

Why do I think this? Oddly, it’s because she dislikes Mr. Darcy. If Mrs. B. were solely interested in money and the security that a good marriage could bring her and her family, she would be pushing one of her daughters to pursue Mr. D. even though he’s an unpleasant, proud person– in her opinion. But she decides she doesn’t like him, and that’s the end of him and his ten thousand pounds as far as she’s concerned.

She likes Collins and Wickham (yes, she does have bad judgment) and so thinks they would make good husbands for her daughters (at least once Wickham gets past his little elopement and gambling problem). But she doesn’t push anyone toward Mr. D. because she doesn’t think he is a nice person despite the fact that he’s the best catch in the neighborhood.

I may be influenced by my own motherly instincts; every mom is worried about her child’s future happiness. I know I was less sympathetic to her and more inclined to think of her as meddling and annoying before I had kids.  But, the thing is, she’s not wrong that the stakes are high and, honestly, I don’t blame her for being worried. You just have to look to the beginning of Sense and Sensibility to see what Mrs. B. is afraid will happen. She might go about the solution in the wrong way, but she’s not wrong about the problem.  And that’s why I find it easier to forgive her misguided ways than the other characters in P&P.

Mrs. Bennet