Showing posts with label Cheap Kindle Deals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cheap Kindle Deals. Show all posts

Friday, January 12, 2018

Wow! #ebooks for #free or #cheap by Vonnie Davis

Okay, hands up. Who doesn't love a good sale? I certainly do. There's just something satisfying about saving ten cents on a pound of chicken or eighteen dollars on a sweater. Books are no different. Yesterday, I read an ad about Bookbuh, claiming to be THE new hot spot for readers. A book bargain bonanza. https://tinyurl.com/yam6fzez

Signing up is easy; just give then your email and chose four or five genres you love to read. You'll get a daily email with a list of free or deeply reduced ebooks for a day or a week.

One lady claims she's gotten more books for free from this site than she'll ever read. OUCH! Not what a writer likes to hear.

On the other hand, books put on sale there for a day or more make authors money due to volume sold. It also helps us build a reader base YAY!

A few of my books have been put on Bookbub by the publisher. One book with Harper Collins sold over 2500 copies on the day it was featured on sale. This was a book in a series of four. All benefited from that one book's sale day. That is to say, my rankings shot up on all of them over the next month.

When Random House places one of my books on Bookbub, that book will shoot to the top one-hundred and higher rankings on Amazon and the top twenty or higher on Barnes & Noble. My books typically sit in the 100,000 to 350,000 rankings. So this boost, even for a few days, is a boon for me.

But how hard is it for an independent author to place his/her book on Bookbub? First, you have to come up with the money. Calvin's checked into it for me and costs run between $400 to $800. per day, depending on the genre. For example, the romantic suspense I thought about trying to get listed would cost us roughly $500.

The numbers of reviews play into your chance of getting a spot, too. Not for a publisher, it seems, because my book with Harper Collins barely had 30 reviews. The last time I tried to get one of my independent books on Bookbub, I was told it didn't have enough reviews. But I was never told what the minimum was. How come, I wonder.

So, I'm slowly trying to get more reviews of Book One of my Paris Intrigue series in hopes of one day getting it on Bookbub.

AMAZON BUY LINK: http://a.co/3zrBkVT

CHAPTER ONE

 A grim-faced guard stepped in front of Alyson Moore when she raised her camera to take a picture. “Madame, in the Louvre, we do not photograph the Mona Lisa.” His lips fashioned a thin line of disapproval.
 Alyson’s eyes scanned the crowd, for even as the security guard admonished her, scores of other tourists, their arms upraised, used cell phones to snap photos. “Am I the only one trying to take a picture here?” Without waiting for a reply, she pocketed her camera, and the snippy, tight-assed guard moved on.
She shouldered her way through the early morning crowd in the Salon Carrẻ to get a closer look at the painting encased in bullet-proof glass. Seeing Da Vinci’s masterpiece was a dream come true. No one, not even an overzealous guard, would spoil her time with Mona.
Once the museum opened its doors at nine sharp, and Alyson passed through security, she hurried to see this woman of mystery. The throngs of people already crowding the gallery surprised her.
She slipped between two men and stepped closer to the leading lady of the gallery. Alyson’s nose twitched from the sweet and sour blitz of assorted perfumes and various degrees of hygiene. Murmurings of adulation echoed off the gallery walls as if the Mona Lisa were a five-hundred-year-old rock star. How had one painting achieved such stardom?
If the ever-present guard wouldn’t allow photographs, she’d sketch some of Mona’s fans standing, spellbound by her enigmatic smile. When she finally tugged her large sketchpad free from the tight confines of her yellow leather bag, other items fell and scattered.
Alyson crouched to retrieve pieces of charcoal, just as the man standing next to her bent to place a black backpack, the style European men were so fond of carrying, on the marble tile floor.
Their eyes locked.
“Excuse me, you’re standing on my things.” Alyson pointed to his shoe. The man, face damp with perspiration, scowled, raised his foot and snatched her navy scarf, hotel keycard and passport, crushing them into a ball. He stuffed the wadded scarf into her outstretched hand and stood.
Alyson reached, fingering for the last charcoal pencil that rolled beyond her reach. She straightened and realized the man in the dark green t-shirt was walking away. The tattoo of a scorpion on the back of his neck. “Sir? Sir, you’ve forgotten your bag. Monsieur?
He didn’t respond.
She called after him again.
The man disappeared into the crowd.
The museum guard approached. “Is there a problem, Madame?”
“Yes, that man left his backpack here.” Alyson indicated the black canvas bag on the floor. “He set it down at the same time I dropped some things.” She held out her navy scarf to show the guard and suddenly it hit her that her scarf was empty. She shook it out to make sure. “My hotel key and passport!” Pulling apart the sides of her shoulder bag, she rummaged through its contents, hoping against hope she’d shoved them inside without thinking. Still, with her passport the same shade as her scarf, she assumed it was wrapped in the scarf’s folds.
“I don’t believe this. He took my keycard and passport. Why would he take my things and leave his bag behind?”
The guard’s eyes widened for a second. “Madame, you are sure the man left this bag?” He pressed a button and spoke into a speaker attached to the lapel of his uniforme, a scowling gaze intent on Alyson.
“Yes. He…he was setting it on the floor at the same time I squatted to retrieve my fallen items. I asked him to move his foot since he was standing on them.” Alyson groaned as realization sunk in. She was in a foreign country with no passport. Oh, hell!
The guard cautiously unzipped the backpack. Yellow wires. The man stepped back,  depressed the communications button again, and spoke rapid-fire French. Pandemonium erupted. Armed guards rushed toward the abandoned black bag. Once the word “bomb” was uttered, visitors screamed as they stampeded from Mona Lisa’s room.
Suddenly, Alyson stood in the eerie deafening silence with only the pounding of her heart and the cocking of guns reverberating in her ears—she and the black bag containing explosives surrounded by eight armed guards.
Holy effing shit!

WWW.VONNIEDAVIS.COM

Friday, September 19, 2014

Sometimes, you have to make things fall into place by Alicia Dean


Don’t you just love it when things fall into place? You know, when plans fall into place, a job falls into place, kids fall into place, and especially when a manuscript falls into place.

As all writers know, some books are a struggle, some go rather smoothly (although I have never been lucky enough to have a book ‘write itself’). My upcoming release, Without Mercy, did NOT fall into place. As a matter of fact, I had to grab it, wrestle it down, beat it into submission, and SHOVE it, kicking and screaming, into place.

I started writing WM in 2009. I liked the idea, and the first half a dozen chapters came fairly easily. Then, I hit a wall. Hard. My characters were in a BIG PICKLE, and I didn’t know how to get them out of it. Over the years, I would pick it back up and write a little here and there, but I never progressed very far, and definitely not very quickly.

A few months ago, I picked it up again. This time, I was determined to finish it. Come hell or high water, bald spots and all. Even if it meant doubling up on the anti-anxiety meds.

Again, I struggled, but this time, I powered my way through, with a bit of brainstorming help from my CP’s. My writing style has changed some since 2009, so I had to ‘fix’ quite a few problem areas. Oh, and also, at one point during the recent rewriting, my flash drive became corrupted, and I lost all the progress I’d made. So that was awesome. (NOT) But, again, I powered through. Now, I am pleased to say, the book is finished and currently with a proofreader. (After a lot of help from wonderful beta readers, among them, Diane Burton, and with help from my critique partners, who always have my back.)

Yes, finally, it ‘fell into place.’ J

Is there a manuscript or project that has given you fits like this? Did you conquer it? Give up on it? Or is the jury still out on that one?

Below is a blurb and excerpt from Without Mercy. I hope at least some readers feel it was worth the trouble.
Available September 26, 2014 - Pre-order for an introductory price of only 99¢:

Click here to Pre-order for Kindle

Blurb:

How far will a mother go to protect her child?

When an apparently random bank robbery turns out to be a sinister plan, single mother China Beckett is thrust into a nightmare.  

A group of mercenaries take over her life, threatening her young daughter and everyone they love. Each time China makes a mistake, someone dies. She’ll fight to the last breath to protect her child, but with no idea what move will be the wrong one, that might not be enough.  

As the lives of China’s loved ones are jeopardized, she must take action, although she has no idea where to turn—and time is running out. But then, a startling truth is revealed and China discovers that the only person who can save them might be a ghost from the past.

Excerpt:

The shrill alarm pierced the morning, jerking China from a dream about Aiden. He’d shown up at her door, dark eyes smiling. In his thick Irish brogue, he’d said, “No more worries, lass. I’m here now.” Relief and love filled her heart. She’d thrown her arms around his neck, clung to him tightly—she could almost feel his warm, strong body—and whispered, “Come meet your daughter…”
She’d been cocooned in sweet, safe warmth. Maybe if she stayed in bed and lay very still, the dream wouldn't leave.
It didn’t work. The illusion fled, and there was nothing left but to face reality. Annoyed and exhausted from another restless night, she stumbled from bed and down the stairs.
Gunnar was sitting at the kitchen table.
“Today is your first instruction,” he said.
“Oh, goody.” Did Gunnar recognize good ole American sarcasm? She jerked a mug from the cupboard and sloshed strong, hot coffee in it.
“You must find out which day the Norman, Oklahoma branch will have the most money on hand.”
Ice surrounded her heart. “You’re going to rob another bank?”
“I did not rob a bank.”
She let out a frustrated sigh. He was like some kind of robot, processing information in the most literal sense.
“Your gang is going to rob another bank?”
“It is not for you to ask questions. Only to follow instructions.”
Dread welled in her chest as she took a gulp of the hot brew. She couldn’t be a part of this. Couldn’t aid in another robbery. Another murder. She shook her head. “I can’t. I just…can’t.”
“You dare to refuse? Do you think we are playing?”
She remembered the web cam feed. The image of the couple she’d sentenced to death. “I know you’re not playing.”
“The deaths that have taken place so far have been those you are not particularly close to, true?”
She nodded.
“They will rob the bank no matter what. They wish to have information that will gain the most profit. If you do not get this for them, the next victim will be quite different from a boss you were not fond of. You are very close to your aunt, am I right?”
Fear moved through her, tingling along her scalp. “You won't... Please don't hurt Lucy.”

“Perhaps she will not feel much pain. Perhaps she will. I cannot make any promises about that. But I can promise you that she will die.”