How about a freebie?

Destined for Darkness is currently free on Smashwords with this code:

KZ92T

It expires 9/1/12

so check it out. and maybe leave a glowing review because I could use some of those.

Link to the book

and then check out the second book, Devil in the Branch, which came out yesterday.

That is all.

no movie post today

because I have book things! plus we ended up turning off our Netflix movie because it was really boring.
Tomorrow is a big day - the release of the second AnnaBeth book - Devil in the Branch! I have some fun stuff planned for this week.

First up, an excerpt. The first five chapters of the book are available for reading on Scribd. Here is a link.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/101582716/Devil-in-the-Branch-Chapters-1-5

Also, I'm pleased to share that my interview with Darcia Helle from earlier this year is in her new ebook: A Word Please, Conversations with 24 Authors

It's available as a free download on her website at the link below.

http://www.quietfurybooks.com/freedownloads.html

Be sure to check out Darcia's books and of course, the other authors in the book in A Word Please.

That's all I have for now.

books as apps

I've seen some discussion about books as apps lately, whether they can or should be converted into a more interactive experience.

While I appreciate the value of just reading books, there are some really cool things that can be done with apps. They could offer a reader even deeper immersion in the story if done correctly.

The book app I read about today is a new version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. You can actually change parts of the story by making choices for Victor. They added some meat to the book, of course. The original is only 70,000 words, which isn't really all that long for a book.

Some people would care that they messed with a classic. I don't mind all that much (obviously, I monkeyed around with Stoker's work) because you aren't removing the original from existence. It's still there in all its glory in print and as an ebook.

I know this is probably, technically a mashup, which I have likely expressed distaste for in the past. However, this isn't just slapping new words on top of old words. It's an entirely new art form that isn't going to stop at being pretty and semi-functional. They're going to offer a new level of immersion in the story that books usually can't offer.

So what could a book app potentially offer aside from user influenced story lines? Artwork, of course, maybe a soundtrack, videos, author readings, footnotes, maybe a link into a message board where people discuss the book, share buttons for social networks like facebook, pretty much anything that can be displayed on a screen or played as audio.

The only potential downfall of the book as app is the expense of creating one. In order to justify the expense, whoever is sponsoring the endeavor would probably want to be sure they're going to recover any expenses. Not all books turn a profit.

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/digital/Apps/article/51618-frankenstein-app-and-the-state-of-adult-targeted-apps.html

u don't have to

I read an article this morning about how Amazon is lifting free ebooks from my beloved Project Gutenberg and selling them. They are making a profit from content that's available elsewhere for free.

There's a reason they can do that.

Amazon has done a really good job of chaining Kindle users to their website. The Kindle can connect to their website via a wireless internet connection, log in automatically, and boom - you can buy an ebook without removing butt from couch.

Woo! Convenience! Well, convenience sometimes costs you money, honey.

Guess what. You don't HAVE to get all your ebooks from Barnes and Noble or Amazon or whoever else sold you that shiny ereader.

I have a Kindle, so I'm going to talk about that one.

When you plug your Kindle into your computer with a USB cord, it can be read as a mass storage device, like a USB drive. If you download an ebook to your computer and want to add it to the Kindle, you go to My Computer --> Removable Storage Media (or whatever your computer calls it) --> Documents.

Your books are in that documents folder. All you have to do is drag and drop ebook files from the computer into that Documents folder. I'm willing to bet that other ereaders work in a similar fashion.

There is probably a way to download from other sites wirelessly too (on the Kindle itself), but I don't do it that way.

Anyway, now that I have hopefully liberated at least one person from the Kindle store, I will offer direction.

Free public domain ebooks are available at the Project Gutenberg website.

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

Smashwords has pay and free ebooks by many an indie author who would love to have your support.

http://www.smashwords.com

Also, many authors (like me) offer free ebooks via their websites. See Fiction Freebie tab above.

That is all. Go forth and download, my minions.
_________________________
Other places to find me:
http://www.LeaRyan.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/LeaRyan1