Content FREE (and bargain) books for the Kindle - August 2011

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Also free for European customers in the Amazon store:
Charlotte Figg Takes Over Paradise, by Joyce Magnin (DE link)

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When Hummers Dream: A Milford-Haven Story by Mara Purl (Bellekeep Books)

Product Description
Can a hummingbird dream? Artist Miranda Jones thinks so. Sensing the tiny injured bird that wings its way into her world still lives, she paints the creature's dream-garden and seems to reach into his very heart. She reached into her own heart to create a new life for herself in Milford-Haven, the small town of undiscovered beauty on California's Central Coast, where one of her dear friends is environmentalist Samantha Hugo-a brilliant PhD twenty years her senior who gave up a son years earlier. Though the e-book stands alone, it also introduces Book 1 of the Milford-Haven Novels, the critically acclaimed, popular series, a multi-generational saga. Based on Purl's BBC Radio drama Milford-Haven U.S.A.

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Dinners Made Easy by Stonyfield Farm (New Word City)

Product Description
Your dinner crisis, defused. Take the stress out of your after-work dash. With this free e-cookbook from Stonyfield Farm, you'll always have healthy recipes on hand - and on your family's table.

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The House of Dr. Edwardes by Frances Beeding (Rosettabooks)

Product Description
The basis for Hitchcock’s masterpiece Spellbound, Francis Beeding’s The House of Dr. Edwardes is a chilling mystery set in an asylum in France. A study of good and evil that owes some of its brooding, portentous atmosphere to the Gothic fiction of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Beeding’s novel is also a classic page-turner, a gripping work of suspense and intrigue.

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Mute Witness by Robert L. Fish (Rosettabooks)

Product Description
A slimy district attorney, an assortment of inept police officers, an underworld boss turned snitch, and the hardboiled lieutenant charged with protecting him until his trial make up the cast of characters of Robert Fish’s hair-raising 1963 novel Mute Witness. For Lieutenant Clancy of the New York Police Department, the assignment of protecting mobster Johnny Rossi soon turns into an investigation into who wants him dead and why. The inspiration for the Steve McQueen film, Bullitt, Mute Witness is a classic

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The Wheel Spins by Ethel White (Rosettabooks)

Product Description
One of the Iris Carr's companions in coach, a sweet old woman, suddenly disappears on long train ride and none of the other passengers has ever even heard of her. Iris's increasingly desperate search uncovers a web of danger and intrigue. Basis of one of Hitchcock's most famous films, THE LADY VANISHES, (1938, England) with British cast headed by Michael Redgrave.

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God Save the Mark by Donald E. Westlake (Rosettabooks)

Product Description
Donald E. Westlake's great comic suspense novel, won MWA's Edgar Award in 1967. Con men descend upon its gullible hero when he comes into a $317,000 inheritance but Fred Fitch, as lovable as he is naive, stumbles to victory. Westlake's earlier novel THE FUGITIVE PIGEON virtually originated the modern comic-suspense genre so brilliantly refined in this later work.

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Indie:

From The Dead by John Herrick (Segueblue)

Product Description
A preacher's son, a father in hiding, a guilty heart filled with secrets: When Jesse Barlow escaped to Hollywood, he hungered for fame--but eleven years of failure result in a drug-induced suicide attempt. Revived at death's doorstep, Jesse returns to his Ohio hometown to make amends with his preacher father, a former love, and Jesse's own secret son. But Jesse's renewed commitment becomes a baptism by fire when his son's advanced illness calls for a sacrifice--one that could cost Jesse the very life he regained. A story of mercy, hope, and second chances, From The Dead captures the human spirit with tragedy and joy.

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More indies:

Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum by Mark Stevens

Product Description
Broadmoor Revealed gives the reader a glimpse behind the walls of England’s first Criminal Lunatic Asylum.

Focused on the Victorian period, the book tells the stories of some of the hospital’s best-known patients. There is Edward Oxford, who shot at Queen Victoria, and Richard Dadd, the brilliant artist and murderer of his father. There is also William Chester Minor, the surgeon from America who killed a stranger in London, and then played a key part in creating the world's finest dictionary. Finally, there is Christiana Edmunds, ‘The Chocolate Cream Poisoner’ and frustrated lover.

To these four tales are added new ones, previously unknown. There were five women who went on to become mothers in Broadmoor, giving birth to life when three of them had previously taken it. Then there were the numerous escapes, actual and attempted, as the first doctors tried to assert control over their residents.

These are stories from the edge of where true crime meets mental illness. Broadmoor Revealed recounts what life was like for the criminally insane, over one hundred years ago.

The Fifth Beauty by Ellison James

Product Description
Deep within Chinese legend and folklore are four great beauties – women of such great beauty and intelligence that each influenced history. This story continues the legend with a little-known, fifth great beauty. The fifth great beauty was responsible for a new tea drying process that created fortunes and increased commerce within china, and eventually bringing about the fall of the last great Qing Dynasty to make way for the modern People’s Republic of China. Told from the point of view of Taijin, a lowly scribe working within a tyrannical magistrate’s house. A beautiful and mysterious woman called Azra comes to the magistrate in the night, seduces him, and eventually takes his life, leaving the position open for Taijin to take. But first, Taijin must officiate the tea harvest, now late from the magistrate’s neglect, and find a way to dry the tea in time to make it to market. The result is Lapsang Souchong tea, renowned for its full flavor and portability over the vast ocean. The mysterious woman is none other than Azra, the demon succubus from the novel Lovestruck Succubus in a past attempt to find love. Fear not though, one can enjoy this story without ever reading the novel, although I would hope this story might entice one to read more about Azra in the future.

This story contains adult subject matter involving sexual relations between adults.

Taijin is a lowly scribe, serving a harsh and ruthless magistrate in ancient china. The magistrate is visited by a beautiful, strange, and powerful woman, Azra, who brings about passion, lust, death, and change to an entire tea-growing region in the southern mountains of china. A short story based on the character Azra, the demon succubus from the novel "Lovestruck Succubus. An exciting read about speculative history in ancient China.

Mary Magdalene: A Woman Who Loved by Steve Copland and Keny Joe

Product Description
A beautiful woman, a life changed by tragedy, driven into sin, condemned and rejected by her own people, a slave to despair, and desperate for love. She saw a light, reached out and touched it, and her life was changed forever. A Roman soldier possessed with power finds a calling in the caves of Mithra. Chosen by dark forces to do their bidding, he loses himself in hatred. Two souls beneath the cross of Christ.

Nikolas and Company Episode 1: Nick Lyons (Nikolas and Company: A Creature Most Foul) by Kevin McGill, Toni Rakestraw, Jenny McGill and Carlyle McCullough

Product Description
"The Rones lie about their true intent. They enter the city of Huron at the peril of us all. Save me." - The Voice of Huron

Every steward has a city and every steward hears the voice of the city. Fourteen-year-old Nikolas Lyons has heard the voice of Huron and she will change his life forever.
Nikolas and company are transported to a time when Earth is tethered to the fantastic world of Mon – or as we have come to call her, the Moon. He learns that Mon is filled with fire-breathing winged lions and volcano born nymphs and magic so thick you can breathe it. But not all things are grand and beautiful. While aboard the Mottled Craw and in route to Mon, Xanthus is poisoned by a mysterious creature. It is not long after Nikolas understands that his friend's poisioning and the evil brought on by the Rones are one and the same. Never one for responsibility, Nikolas finds himself tasked with finding a cure for a dying Xanthus, while protecting the city of Huron from the mysterious creature most foul.

The Saga Hoard Volume 1 (Temple Libary Collection - The Saga Hoard) by Unknown and Mark Ludwig Stinson (Jotun's Bane Kindred)

Product Description
The Icelandic Sagas are histories written in prose, describing life and events that took place during the Icelandic Commonweath period, around the 10th and 11th centuries. They are stories of families, adventures, feuding, deal-making, political maneuvers, wars, treasure amassed, great journeys, geneology, tribute given, kings, freemen, history, and myth. They are stories of the Norse and Celtic settlers and their descendants in Iceland during what is sometimes called the Saga Age.

It is believed that the Sagas were written down in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, and that at least some of them originated in the oral storytelling tradition. Their authors remain unknown, but the Sagas are recognized and respected as some of the best of world literature.

What is amazing about the Icelandic Sagas, is the weath of information included in them and the storytelling with which it is presented. Though written hundreds of years ago, they are still enormously compelling to the modern reader. Their style is crisp and quick, and there is action, emotion, and humor to keep one entertained.

The stories describe actions and conversations among the characters, but at no point are we told directly what a character is thinking. But while reading of their deeds and words, we develop a sense of their psychology and their thoughts.

The Icelandic Sagas are more than just great literature about an entertaining subject matter. For Asatruars and Heathens, there is indispensible knowledge to be gained here. These tales give us a window into the world of our heathen ancestors. What did they value? How did they resolve conflicts and disputes? How did they uphold their responsibilities to their famlies and their friends? How did they approach life itself and their places within the community? How did they view and honor their Gods and Ancestors? What sort of men and women were they? While these great stories were compiled and written down by Christians after the conversion, they preserve in their tales of our pagan ancestors much that we should know.

Some Sagas have been lost to history. We read of their existence or see reference to these lost Sagas in other works, and it is impossible to not feel the tragic loss. But a large body of work has been preserved, and it forms an amazing resource and foundation for our reconstruction of the heathenry of our Ancestors, in our modern times.

Contained in this volume are nearly 800 pages of Icelandic Sagas. Read, learn, and enjoy these tales of our Ancestors.

Irid by Deana Zhollis (Night Before Day)

Product Description
It has been over 100 years since the Null War, and the Irids are still dying off. The only hope of survival is to find the Zircon: the only person who can weld the Prism power. However, their kind had all been murdered before the war, and popular belief is that only a Zircon can find a Zircon. Yet, Tarah's grandmother believes that Zircons still exist and claims to have discovered the key to finding one. But there is one problem; Tarah’s grandmother is insane.

It's up to Tarah to convince her hebdomad (the seven who weld each of the special power of the Irids) that they have no choice but to delve into the past and find a way to save their race. To do so, Tarah must break every rule of Irids, be seduced by the power of darkness and learn the harsh realities of light.

The Ant-Man of Malfen (The Chronicles of the Nameless Dwarf) by D.P. Prior and C.S. Marks (Homunculus)

Product Description
The Nameless Dwarf follows the trail of the last of his race to the mountains bordering Qlippoth, a wasteland born from the dreams of a craven god.

But the survival of the dwarves depends on his willingness to confront the bloody deeds of his past, and the ruler of the brigand town of Malfen, who guards the pass into Qlippoth—an aberration known as the Ant-Man.


The Chronicles of the Nameless Dwarf are a blend of Sword and Sorcery and contemporary fantasy, combining strange worlds, dark magic, heroic action and an astonishing depth of world building.

The Ant-Man of Malfen reintroduces the Nameless Dwarf from the acclaimed SHADER series by D.P. Prior.

Nameless is a manic-depressive pariah whose past is littered with atrocities. With an almost elemental ferocity and a gift for violence, he alternates between bouts of crippling depression and boisterous episodes of elation, which are usually brought on by the prospect of a good fight. He also has an eye for the women - particularly those under four feet tall.

This story also introduces Silas Thrall, a student of the mantic arts with a dark secret that consumes him more each day; and Nils Fargin, son of the most feared guildmaster in New Jerusalem.

Short:

The Calm by William Butler

Death With A Conscience by Andre Cruz

Dog, Passing Through by Andre Cruz

The Dark, Dark House by Lynette Ferreira

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another free indie:

A Knight in Central Park by Theresa Ragan

Product Description
The year is 1499. As Alexandra Dunn’s farmhouse is set ablaze, her grandfather places precious stones in her palm, telling her she has until the next full moon to return with a hero...a brave, chivalrous knight to help save her family. Familiar objects become a blur as she is swallowed in darkness. Suddenly Alexandra is standing in the middle of Central Park, but she has no time to ponder on the wondrous powers of the stones or the amazing sights before her...she must find a hero before all is lost.

Joe McFarland would be the first to admit that he’s far from hero material…definitely not the man she’s looking for. A firm believer of quietude and non-violence, he avoids conflict at all costs. At thirty-four, he is one of the younger Professors at NYU where he lectures and teaches History: The High Middle Ages. Joe’s main goal in life is to gain membership into the Medieval Academy, a highly distinguished group of archaeologists and historians. He believes membership will bring him respect and recognition…but what he really wants is to be reunited with his father; a man who has spent his entire life searching for the Black Knight, the last of the medieval knights.

Joe’s organized, well-structured life begins to unravel the moment he meets Alexandra Dunn. He figures she majored in medieval history before going off the deep end…until days later when he is miraculously transported through time, to 1499 England. Dressed in Dockers and a button down shirt, Joe thought he was ready for anything...anything but this! An armored man with a very authentic looking broadsword is about to strike him down. With only nail clippers and a Bic to defend himself, Joe has no time to think about such an implausible phenomenon as traveling through time…not if he wants to live to see another day.

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FYI, currently just free for those in Europe

The Everything Guide to Algebra (Everything Series) by Christopher Monahan (AdamsMedia) (Amazon Main, Amazon DE)

Product Description
Whether you need help solving equations or determining the slope of a line, this guide gives you the tools you need to find your answers! Beginning with the basics, you will learn and practice all the skills needed to enhance your algebra expertise. This comprehensive guide covers all the key concepts, including:
Variables and expressions
Linear equations and inequalities
Monomials and polynomials
Exponents
Rational expressions
Quadratic systems
Sequences and series
Graphs and charts
Inside you'll find hundreds of examples to illustrate the basics and plenty of exercises to ensure mastery of these fundamentals. No matter if you're a student looking for a companion to your textbook, or a curious learner who's been away from the classroom too long, this will be your indispensable algebra primer.

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FYI, currently just free for those in Europe

The Everything Guide to Study Skills (Everything (School & Careers)) by Cynthia C. Muchnick (AdamsMedia) (Amazon Main, Amazon DE)

Product Description
Product Description
• Includes all the basics, plus new information on web research, digital textbooks, virtual classrooms, and online study and writing tools• Fifteen percent of students take the SAT three or more times due to poor performance (Newsweek.com)• Only 63 percent of all students entering four-year colleges have their degrees within six years, according to government statistics (USNews.com)• The Everything® Study Book has sold more than 37,000 copies• Everything® education titles have sold more than 305,000 copiesStudying for school doesn't have to be a chore. This fun and accessible resource is perfect for students who want to develop better study habits and achieve academic success. Educational consultant Cynthia C. Muchnick helps readers improve transcripts for college applications; ace standardized tests; and become better, more successful students at any level of education.This indispensable guide shows students how to:• Get the most out of class time• Use the most effective strategies for note-taking and memorizing• Improve writing skills• Prepare effectively for tests• Safely and effectively conduct online research• Use Skype, iChat, or social media to form study groupsWith The Everything® Guide to Study Skills in their backpack, readers will be able to balance school and activities, avoid pre-test panic, and achieve consistently better results.

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FYI, currently just free for those in Europe

The Slackers Guide to U.S. History by John Pfeiffer (AdamsMedia) (Amazon Main, Amazon DE)

Product Description
What does Miley Cyrus have in common with Sacagawea? How could Steve Jobs have helped Eisenhower? What does the moon landing have to do with the Hilton sisters? In less time than it takes to recite the preamble to the Constitution, most Americans can spout off all their U.S. history knowledge. (Hint: it starts with -In 1492- and ends with -sailed the ocean blue.-) That-s because most history books are as interesting as the phone book - and have the same number of pages. The average Joe (the guy who TiVo-d John Adams on HBO but won-t make Colonial Williamsburg his next vacation spot) needs a witty and edgy history book - and he has it, with this guide. Hysterical authors - and self-described slackers - Don Stewart and John Pfeifer give readers the bare minimum on important events such as: The Civil War (the war that pitted brother vs. brother-about the bruthas); The expedition of Lewis and Clark (the ultimate road trip); The Boston Tea Party (not much of a party unless that tea was from Long Island); and the assassination of JFK (one vacation that ended particularly badly). Combining current pop culture references and accessible historical information, this satirical book catches readers up on what they slept through in History 101.

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FYI, currently just free for those in Europe

Hurricanes in Paradise by Denise Hildreth Jones (Tyndale) (Amazon Main, Amazon DE)

Product Description
When Riley Sinclair stepped into her new job as director of guest relations at a posh resort on Paradise Island, she felt the final pieces of her once-broken life coming together. But the waters become choppy when Riley discovers that some who come to the Atlantis Hotel are accompanied by paralyzing secrets and overwhelming fears. Riley and three guests are in desperate but unknowing need of each other, eventually forging unlikely yet powerful friendships. With a hurricane headed straight for the island, together they embark on a journey of laughter, heartache, and healing.

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FYI, currently just free for those in Europe

Please Stop Laughing at Me - Special eBook Edition by Jodee Blanco (AdamsMedia) (Amazon Main, Amazon DE)

Product Description
While other kids were daydreaming about dances, first kisses, and college, Jodee Blanco was just trying to figure out how to get from homeroom to study hall without being taunted or spit upon as she walked through the halls. This powerful, unforgettable memoir chronicles how one child was shunned-and sometimes physically-abused by her classmates from elementary school through high school. It is an unflinching look at what it means to be the outcast, how even the most loving parents can get it all wrong, why schools are often unable to prevent disaster, and how bullying has been misunderstood and mishandled by the mental health community.
You will be shocked, moved, and ultimately inspired by this harrowing tale of survival against insurmountable odds. This vivid story will open your eyes to the harsh realities and long-term consequences of bullying, and how all of us can make a difference in the lives of teens today. This newly-updated edition also includes a Reader's Guide and all-new information on cyberbullying. This eBook special edition includes exclusive bonus life-saving tips for parents of a bullied or excluded child.