Twilight Fans get a little more! A new short story from Stephenie Meyer

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner: An Eclipse Novella has just been announced as the latest tale from Stephenie Meyer. Due out June 5th and now available for pre-order, this is a short story based on Bree Tanner from the Twilight novel, Eclipse.

I admit, it took me a few moments to remember who Bree Tanner was, probably because I don't think the name Tanner was ever mentioned. FYI: Bree's the newborn spitting and steaming after the Newborn Army battle towards the end of Eclipse.

Anyhoo, Meyer has developed her a little further. $1 of the proceeds of the first printing will be donated to American Red Cross.

Stephen King - Blockade Billy

According to SK's website, "If there are copies available after filling all direct orders [at Cemetary Dance], it will be available through distributors, online stores, and the chains"

From this morning's newsletter: 

Blockade Billy, a never-before-published novella by Stephen is to be released as an exclusive hardcover trade edition and a Deluxe Signed Special Edition.  This beautiful hardcover edition also features cover artwork by Glen Orbik and eight pieces of interior artwork by Alex McVey.

William "Blockade Billy" Blakely may have been the greatest baseball player the game has ever seen, but today no one remembers his name. He was the first--and only--player to have his existence completely removed from the record books. Every effort was made to erase any evidence William Blakely played professional baseball, and with good reason. Blockade Billy had a secret darker than any pill or injection that might cause a scandal in sports today. His secret was much, much worse.
For more details about the book and how to order, please visit the Blockade Billy promotion page.

Blood Sweat and Tea

Tom Reynolds, pen name of Brian Kellet, began his blog about the life of an Ambulance man several years ago. 2 books later, and he's still going strong!
 I picked up the second book, More Blood, More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea as a Kindle freebie and found it an enjoyable book. Yes, it is a bit depressing at times, but due to unexpected reasons. I knew I'd be upset reading about the sick and dying, but I was also somewhat depressed by the abuse of the NHS. As a Brit living in USA, I miss the NHS a LOT, so hearing about the gross misuse and abuse of the LAS (London Ambulance Service) is horrible. On the upside, Reynolds has a great sense of humor and the short blog entries make it a bit like reading short magazine articles that you can pick up and read at any time without losing the plot.

The 1st book - Blood Sweat & Tea - came up number 2 for me, both in reading order (because it was 9.99 on Amazon) as well as contect - but also because of a little Amazon controversy. According to Reynolds' blog,  Random Acts of Reality, Amazon is not authorized to be selling the ebook, only the paperback DTB version (hence my link to the paperbacks).  He says, instead you can download the eBook for FREE at Manybooks.net. So, I did!  Happy for another freebie and to support the authors wish. However, I must say that this format had quite a few issues. The book itself was fine, but the formatting for Kindle was not good.

The main problem with the formatting of the .azw version was the lack of titling, entries/ chapters blending into one so it is hard to see where one ends and the next begins. This happens throughout the whole book, as well as a seeming lack of italics... Reynolds makes notes that were obviously added when editing the book years after the events told, but with no formatting that is sometimes missed. And finally... no images. Just some random <<>> blurb.

Shame really, because I enjoyed many of the stories and learned a bit too!
  
[It's very easy to get a book from Manybooks - select the download type (.azw for Kindle), download it to your pc and then upload to your Kindle via the USB provided.]

Kindle for tablet computers (including iPad)

Kindle have announced an app for new tablet computers (including iPad) and some of the snapshot pages look pretty spiffy, if I do say so myself.

Will I rush out an buy an iPad, or any tablet computer? I can't see it myself. My laptop, cell phone, pc etc etc are all enough gadgets for me. I like to maintain some KISS in my life (Keep It Simple, Stupid) once in a while. Kicking back in my chair/ on the lawn/ in bed reading is all I want when the mood strikes me, not to be tempted by internet or work or... frankly anything else! I don't ask for my paperbacks to be anything but paperbacks, so I'm happy for my ereader to be just that.... a new and improved way to enjoy my favorite pastime. Kindle on Kindle is k-kool for me, but for those out there who want more than that, tablets are coming. And don't forget the Kindle app for pc, mac and blackberry! (Links at the top of the page.)

Josh Grisham on Kindle

I'm going to be honest... I've never read any John Grisham, but now that John Grisham is on Kindle and his books are reasonably priced, I might give him a shot - to support his ebook decision, if nothing else!

Kindle for Mac

In addition to Kindle for pc (free), Kindle for Blackberry (free) and free Kindle app for your iPhone, finally we have Kindle for Mac -yup, free.

For ebook website links, ebook software (free) and ereader devices, visit my eBook website links page

Tip #15: Accessing Yahoo Mail and Gmail Email from Kindle

Using the Kindle web service is a little like swimming through molasses, unless you keep to simple searches and mobile friendly websites. But it can be done at a pinch and if you don't mind the long wait for pages to open. I wouldn't use it for composing massive emails, but certainly if you want to check your Yahoo email while you're out & about with your kindle, you can!

First, turn on your wireless connection (Menu > Turn Wireless On) and go to the web (Menu > Experimental > Web).

Once at the web, click Menu > Enter URL

Yahoo http://m.yahoo.com/mail

Hotmail: http://mobile.live.com/hm

Gmail: http://m.gmail.com/

Other options:
Yahoo Messenger http://us.m.yahoo.com/p/messenger

Once signed in, you can bookmark this on your Kindle for future access. (Menu > Bookmark This Page).
To access this page at a future date, click Menu > Bookmarks and scroll through the pages

View other tips & tricks

Customer Kindle ads....

With Kindle's newest ad broadcasting on TV last night (better than the last ad, thank goodness) I thought I'd share a great spec commercial by Alex de Campi for an Amazon contest. Very good!

Easyway to Stop Smoking: Book Review Part 2

In November, I posted about my latest attempt to quit smoking. My husband and I went through Allen Carr's Easy Way to Stop Smoking, and at the time of writing I had been smoke free for several days. I was enjoying my freedom but having some unusual side effects, like tingling lips and toes! On the whole, I had quit and was happy to do so!


Well, the proof for these quit smoking "miracles" is always time, so now, 4 months later, I want to report the progress that my husband & I have made. As mentioned back in November, I have tried to quit many times and had always failed.  I've tried almost everything: every nicotine replacement product, counseling, willpower and even hypnotism. So... I am very very proud to announce that not only are my husband and I still cigarette-free, it's been pretty darn easy! My only regret was not finishing & following this book years ago. I have zero desire to ever smoke, and as Carr said I would, I have really begun to pity smokers. I can spot a smoker from 30 ft, the smell alone alerts me. I pity those standing outside the restaurant in the snow - not because of the weather, but because they are still imprisoned! They can't get through a pleasant evening with their friends without "nipping outside" between courses.

Now, I am not going to pretend that my brain suddenly turned into that of a non smoker.  I had smoked for 6,500 days in a row. That's 6,500 evening meals that ended in a cigarette. That's 20,000 cups of coffee sipped with a cigarette for company. That's 131,000 cigarettes smoked by me alone, and about 200,000 light ups because I had the habit of smoking the cigarette in 2 halves. So, it was only absolutely natural that after a meal, my hand would reach to the table where my packet of cigs used to sit, or when I picked up the phone to make a call, I'd look for my lighter.

The difference between after Quit Day and those 6,500 days before Quit Day was that after QD, I had the tools to help me deal with those trigger moments. So when my brain said, "You're drinking coffee, light up," I was more than capable of resisting, and more importantly ENJOYING the fact that I could resist.  There were a few moments in the early days when I had to tell my brain, quite loudly "Would you shut up? I don't smoke anymore."  But it's important to realize that I didn't feel deprived and that I understood these were just natural automatic reactions, like putting my slippers on when I get out of bed.  Let's say I decided not to wear slippers anymore. For a while, I'd stumble out of bed and naturally try to slip my feet into them. Would I be devastated when I realized I wasn't going to wear them anymore? Of course not! I'd just remind myself, oh yeah, I don't do that anymore! That's exactly how I dealt with those cigarette triggers.

Over the months, I've encountered random trigger moments that aren't as obvious as meal time, coffee time or talking on the phone. Getting bad news, dealing with a nasty customer, having a few glasses of wine.... not things that are daily happenings, and therefore can take you by surprise when the old brain tells you to reach for the smokes. I understand I might have these new moments for years, but the important thing to note is that I don't want to smoke, don't like it and fully understand that lighting one wouldn't feel good.

I fully believe that what Carr did with his book was to get me to think like a non-smoker. When a non-smoker has coffee, they don't think "Hmmmm something's missing.... what it is? Oh if only I smoked!"  And I no longer think I am missing out either! I don't feel deprived. Instead, I feel a sense of freedom. When we go to a restaurant, I don't have to sneak out between courses. Now I sit and enjoy the time with my children. I don't rush from the cinema, or even sneak out halfway through the film and then sneak back in knowing I was trailing fumes behind me. Now I just do what I want to do without the restrictions imposed by the cigarettes. I am not just an ex-smoker as I was on previous attempts, I believe thoroughly than I am a complete non-smoker! This self help book is a 5/5 if ever I read one!

Read an Ebook week 2010: Cooking

$3 Meals: Feed Your Family Delicious, Healthy Meals for Less than the Cost of a Gallon of Milk
by Ellen Brown


As I've said a few times in the past year, I'm not much of a cook. Indeed, as I write this, my husband is cooking dinner for the family (thanks, hon!).  However, once in a while I get into a cooking mood and I've been known to spend my weekends trying to use up the 6 dozen eggs piled up from the chicken coop, or I'll have weeks determined to cook super healthy foods to lower cholesterol.

$3 Meals is a recipe book for the Kindle that is my kind of cooking (when I'm not being lazy, that is). Nutritious and cost efficient, the recipes are easy to follow - but the book also comes with some fantastic tips on sensible shopping and eating, as well as simple menu planning for the week.

What it's not: This is not going to teach you how to feed your whole family of 6 for $3. I doubt you can do that with packs of Ramen noodles and some hot dogs. This is good healthy food made from fresh ingredients for $3 per serving.

My favorite tip so far, that I've followed twice and saved myself back the cost of the book: instead of throwing away scraps, keep large ziplock bags in the freezer. In one, save all veg scraps (carrot peelings & tops, the ends off onions, the scrappy bits of broccoli), and use each of the others for scraps of beef, pork and chicken. As one of the meat bags become full, use that and the vegetable scraps to make a stock! Excellent idea and makes the most delicious stock with items that would have ended in the garbage bin!

One more for cooking.... I have to mention again, Al Past's Distant Cousin, whose great heroine, Darcy, brings her exotic extra terrestrial tastes to earth & has inspired me more than once to start experimenting. For Read an Ebook week this is half price at Smashwords

 Previous post: Fictional cooking

Kindle tip #14: Deleting or Archiving Kindle eBooks

My post Tip #6: Organizing Your Kindle written last summer has proved to still be the most popular post. So, as an add-on to that method of organization, I'm writing how to archive or delete items on your Kindle.

Until Amazon bring us folders for our Kindles (which is rumored to be coming this year), archiving and/or deleting is one more method to keep your Kindle a little more organized and clutter free. As my Kindle ebooks and blog subscriptions grow, I decided I wanted to downsize a little, particularly with books that I didn't like or knew I would never read again.

Arching and deleting ebooks is different depending on whether or not you originally downloaded the items from Amazon, or from another website/ personal documents.

Amazon Kindle Edition E-Books only

Archiving relies on the fact that a copy of all your Amazon-purchased/ downloaded Kindle ebooks are stored within your Amazon Manage Your Kindle page.With this in mind, you can remove Amazon Kindle edition eBooks from your Kindle knowing that at any time, you can get them back and read them again.

At the home page of your Kindle device:
 - scroll to the item you want to archive
 - Use your 5 way to scroll left and a note pops up to "remove from device".
 - Click the 5 way to accept.

From there, the eBook is now contained in a folder called Archives on your Kindle. You can access the archive folder on your Kindle device and re-download the book any time using your Whispernet connection.

Other eBooks and pdfs
 
For books not originally downloaded from Amazon, following the above steps will permanently delete the item from your Kindle, with no archive back up.

If, like me, you can't bear to see anything gone forever, you can create a back up on your computer.
 - Connect your Kindle micro-USB to your Kindle and pc.
 - On your computer, click My Computer and find the drive that now says Kindle.
 - Double click, scroll to the Documents folder and find the files/ documents you want to copy.
 - Right click, then click copy
 - Paste the document somewhere on your computer hard drive. I keep a folder on my desktop called "Ebook backup"
 - Go back to My Computer and safely eject the Kindle drive before unplugging (Right click > Eject or Remove)

At this point, you can delete the item from your Kindle. If you want to get it back, simply plug your Kindle back in and copy it from your pc to your Kindle's documents folder.

Blogs and Magazine Subscriptions

These can be deleted in the same way, but note that it will not cancel your subscription!  You still need to go to your Amazon Manage Your Kindle page to cancel any monthly subscriptions.


To completely WIPE your Kindle blank, example, sending it back for an exchange or if selling it, you can do Menu> Settings, Menu> Restore Factory Settings. This cannot be reversed!
You could also link up by USB to your computer, enter the Kindle folder from My Computer and go through each folder deleting the contents.


View more Kindle tips & tricks

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, ebook (or not?)

One of the number one Google searches that bring people to my blog is my old comment back in September 2009 where I said I would like to see Catching Fire (The Second Book of the Hunger Games)in ebook format! 

Since so many people seem to be looking for this information, I decided to ask Scholastic via their website if/ when it would become available as an ebook.

This morning I received a disappointing email response:

"At this time, we do not have any plans with ebooks or kindle.
We truly appreciate learning of customer reactions to our products and promotions and have forwarded your comments to our corporate headquarters in New York.
We thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with us."

 Darn it!  So what can we do?  I plan to keep clicking "I'd like to read this book on Kindle"  - as I have also been doing for the upcoming Mockingjay (see sidebar to the right!) and I'll just step it up & try to contact Scholastic HQ too.  Join me at least with the easy clicks on Amazon!  Let's try to get the whole series on ebook sometime this year!

Win a Kindle competition from RW Ridley

Check out RW Ridley's latest giveaway to win a kindle. Ridley is author of my daughter's favorite kids' horror series, Oz Chronicles, and with his latest competition, Ridley asks you to spread the word about The Takers and his most recent work, Lost Days.

Frankly, I think The Takers is not just a kids book - from the first line, it's shocking and full of suspense, and a great read for any age group! As a King and Koontz horror fan, I don't scare easily so this is impressive!

See my previous review of The Takers

Win a Kindle (open until March 28th 2010)

Win a kindle competitions are everywhere! Check out Trailer to The Stars - watch some book trailers, vote on your favorite and be entered into the competition to win a kindle!

Read an Ebook week 2010: Gardening and Eco-Living

My husband and I both like gardening and are committed to making our lives more self sufficient and earth friendly.  I prefer gardening on the Pretty Flower variety while he prefers to put food on the table.

With a rough economy, more and more people are looking to ways to save money and often grow food or raise livestock such as chickens. Plenty of books - both paid and free - are now available to help with just that!

Although we have our favorites, it's hard to limit recommendations to just a handful of books: are you looking for growing some potatoes on your patio? Planning an acre of veggies? Check out the 3+ starred and above: Vegetable Gardening books and blogs for Kindle and ebooks for raising chickens



Next on my reading list are some of the great ebooks on eco-living:

Read an Ebook week 2010: eBooks & Kindle Books for Children

Ebooks are becoming increasingly popular with kids, whether they are reading them on the Kindle, on an iPhone app or directly on their pc. Frequently, I see parents wondering whether there are enough ebooks for children/ teens currently available to justify gifting an ereader. I didn't expect so many children/ teen ebooks to be available, but there are enough to keep your child busy reading for a long time, and an increasing number for even the youngest readers!

I've listed a few of our favorites below, but please feel free to comment with your favorites, or links for other YA/ Children's ebook websites!

Of course, there are the tens of thousands of public domain books - wonderful classics like Robinson Crusoe, 1001 Arabian Nights, Gulliver's Travels, The Railway Children and The Wind in the Willows - books that don't seem to be promoted in schools so much anymore (certainly not in our local public schools). Children don't need to miss out on these great books - even as they embrace modern technology. All are available for free in ebook format, and can be read on existing devices.

Free software options: Kindle for PC ~ Kindle for Blackberry, or if you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can download the Kindle app for free.

Contemporary Fiction:

Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson Series) - now even more popular with a movie release, 3 of this series are available in Kindle format for under $5.00

A series that managed to bewitch teenage girls and moms alike, The Twilight Series has been topping the book and ebook charts seemingly for years!

Other bestselling ebooks for teenagers:

  

Tween ebooks: Magic Treehouse, John Flannagan's "Ranger's apprentice" and The Everything Kids Science Experiments Book

To see even more, visit Kids eBooks on Amazon

Eread.com Young Adult ebooks
Sharing Books
Sylvan Dell Publishing