Free (Kindle DRM-free) Lives of the Savages by Robert Edric [Spec Lit Psych Drama]

[ATDrake]

Not much in the slushpile, which may be due in part that authors seem to be taking their works out of KDP exclusivity and re-adding them to various venues, sometimes even for free.

A minor sfnal-related work as the feature today, but we've also a promising-looking vintage French Revolution historical and some decent quality repeats as well.

The Lives of the Savages by multiply award-nominated Robert Edric (ISFDB, Wikipedia), who really seems to write more in the way of literary fiction rather than straight-up sf/fantasy/horror looks like some sort of speculative literary fiction historical/biographical maybe-psychological thriller novella about persons surrounding the notorious bank robbers Bonnie & Clyde.

This was originally in print as a chapterbook in 2010 and now offered free courtesy of PS Publishing.

Free without DRM for who knows how long @ Amazon main UK DE ES FR IT

Description
Throughout most of their short, violent, disorganised and unrewarding spree as Depression-era bank robbers, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were accompanied by W. D. Jones — drifter, driver, opportunist, psychopath, fantasist and teenager. Towards the end of their time together, having endured Clyde’s mockery and abuse, and despite his obvious affection for Bonnie, Jones abandoned the duo and was swiftly tracked down and arrested.

Awaiting trial, and keen to save his own young neck, Jones was visited by Captain Frank Hamer, ex-Texas Ranger and the lawman tasked with bringing Parker and Barrow’s trail of bloody and increasingly reckless and seamless violence to an end. Hamer and Jones met on several occasions and, manipulative and contradictory as ever, Jones became instrumental in Hamer’s eventual plan to destroy the two killers.

Promising an eager, clamouring press that he was keeping a full and detailed record of everything that passed between himself and Jones, Frank Hamer’s memoirs make only a single reference to his captive’s lengthy confession and reveal nothing whatsoever of Jones’s own endlessly-shifting, self-serving and desperate revelations.

Rita Richie offers an historical adventure/intrigue thriller set during the French Revolution, originally out from W.W. Norton in 1970: Night Coach to Paris

Anthony Neil Smith returns with a 2006 Point Blank small-pressed quirky crime thriller which is either newly free, or an old enough repeat that I don't have it in the KDP-only auxiliary account: Psychosomatic

ISFDBed Amber D. Sistla returns with a short story originally published in Cosmos Magazine, which received an honourable mention in the 26th Dozois-edited Year's Best Science Fiction, according to the blurb. Not KDP Select, but playing pricing catch-up with Smashwords, so may not be free in all regions: A Place to Call Home (Break Bites) She also offers some repeats.

Fellow MR member author Stephen Livingston, who's previously had stories published in university literary press magazines, offers a collection of literary fiction shorts, which he says won several specific prizes: Kindling

Backlist/published story repeats by previously title-featured A.A. Attanasio, Jeremy Shipp, Consuelo Saah Baehr, Liu Cixin. Established author repeats by Arthur Slade, Valerie Douglas, Lise McClendon, Delle Jacobs. Small press new & repeats from Books We Love/BWLPP, Dark Continents Publishing, Deadly Niche Press, MuseItUp Publishing (has some BWLPP authors if you've been following them).

Happy reading, if you manage to spot something you think you might like.

[Synamon]

The 4th in the PI Simeon Grist mystery series, Incinerator, by Edgar-nominated Timothy Hallinan is offered free today (originally published in the 90s by Dutton). Only #5 left to collect now.

[ATDrake]

Thanks for the heads-up on Grist. Sometimes it can take the slushpile a while to settle (or at least, eReaderIQ's listings thereof, which they have a nasty tendency to shuffle over umpteen pages when they update).

More stuff that popped up (or that I just plain missed earlier):

Alan Davidson offers a YA fantasy-ish suspense novel originally 1989 Viking Juvenile-published, with blurb praise from Publisher's Weekly and other outlets: THE BEWITCHING OF ALISON ALLBRIGHT

Previously title-featured ISFDBed David Bischoff edits a collection of crime/gangster stories written by Margie Harris, who apparently was a prominent pulp writer back in the 30s: Queen of the Gangsters: Vol 1: Broadwalk Empire (For fans of Boardwalk Empire)

Carina-published Robert Appleton offers an espionage mystery short: Lot 62 (The Esther May Morrow Collection)

Minor ISFDBed Weird Tales Magazine-published (IIRC) Donna Burgess returns with an sfnal horror thriller: Solstice: a novel of the Zombie Apocalypse

Additional established author repeats from Maureen Child writing as Kathleen Kane (romance), Darrell Delamaide (historical political thriller), David Bain (supernatural).

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Anthony Neil Smith returns with a 2006 Point Blank small-pressed quirky crime thriller which is either newly free, or an old enough repeat that I don't have it in the KDP-only auxiliary account: Psychosomatic

A repeat but definitely a while ago, at least when I grabbed it was the start of the year.

[ATDrake]

Feature still free, early slushpile preliminaries go here.

We have some pretty good stuff today, and a high proportion of actual backlist both new and repeat.

Previously title-featured Edgar Award-winning Julie Smith returns with the 2nd in her New Orleans debutante-turned-cop mysteries (1st was said Edgar-winning title feature earlier) originally out from St. Martin's Press in 1991: The Axeman's Jazz (The Skip Langdon Series)

Previously title-featured Alexandria Constantinova Szeman returns with a collection of her assorted literary fiction short stories published as Sherri Szeman, for which the blurb cites several particular awards: Naked, with Glasses

Brenda Hiatt offers a 2000-HarperTorch historical shipwreck-based romantic drama: Ship of Dreams

Colleen Thompson/Gwyneth Atlee returns with another 2003-Zebra shipwreck-based historical romance, originally written under the name Colleen Easton: Dangerous Attractions

Harlequin-published Karen Rose Smith returns with surprising set of science fiction-themed short stories (may or may not be romantic), some of which the blurb says were previously published: Journey Into Chaos

Daire St. Denis who has a book upcoming from Carina Press next week offers an f/m/m contemporary western erotic romance : How To Break A Cowboy (Savage Shorts)

Margaret Tanner's 2010-The Wild Rose Press historical post-WWI romantic drama/women's fiction originally published under the title Shattered Dreams is re-offered via Books We Love: Lauren's Dilemma

Mundania Press-published Canadian Krista D. Ball returns with a Newfoundland-set supernatural/paranormal disaster-thwarting urban fantasy action/suspense thing: Spirits Rising (Spirit Caller Series)

Resplendence LLC-published Eliza Gayle offers a paranormal romantic suspense novella: Vampire Awakening

Minor ISFDBed Mark Edward Hall offers some kind of quirkily humourous horror-ish short involving pesticides: BugShot Incidentally, I read that "bug assassin" book from Poisoned Pen Press' monthly 99 cent introductory sale offerings for May, and it is hilarious and highly recommended if you think you might like zany screwball nerdy comedy-of-errors escalating murder action thrillers.

M.G. Sanchez' blurbs suggests that s/he does some kind of litfic/academia and whoever they are, they offer a bunch of fiction and non-fic set around the Rock of Gibraltar, if you're interested: Linkage for the lot

Backlist repeats by Craig McDonald, Dawn DeAnna Wilson, Diane Story. Established author repeats by Steven Torres, Lawrence De Maria, Patricia Rosemoor, Jennifer Malin, David Bain. Small press repeats from ImagineThat Studios & Books We Love/BWLPP.

Happy reading, if indeed you think you think you see something you might like.

ETA: Marvel & DC comics artist Steve Uy returns with another graphic novel, which is the sequel to a previously-freebied one: Mortal Immortal

[wyndslash]

got the mortal immortal, but i'm afraid i didn't get the prequel

[ATDrake]

Feature still free, minor updates below, though we have some promising sfnal stuff and a military conspiracy thriller for those who like military conspiracy thrillers.

Norma Beishir offers a conspiracy/mystery thriller of a daughter on the trail of her disappeared CIA father, originally out from Berkley in 1990 under the title A Time for Legends and now revised by the author: The Unicorn's Daughter

James Maxey (ISFDB entry) offers a collection of his most critically acclaimed sfnal short stories, which have appeared in Asimov's Magazine and other venues: There is No Wheel

Small sfnal/horror press Anarchy Books returns with a trio of offerings by prominent ISFDBed authors. Some of these may be new, others repeats. The last time they did this, it was well before I had the newer KDP-only auxiliary account set up, so I can't really tell. Nevertheless, worth getting if you don't have them already: Linkage for the lot Angry Robot-published Anarchy Books editor Andy Remic also offers a repeat of a multi-author anthology under his own name.

A non-fiction writing guide & a some kind of personal meditation on science and mysticism by the late Don Pendleton, author of those Mack Bolan Executioner novels, in conjunction with his co-writer and wife Linda Pendleton, plus a repeat of an Ashton Ford Psychic Detective volume: Linkage for the lot

R.J. Jagger who's some kind of crime/thriller writer who quotes praise from the usual review outlets in his blurbs returns with another: Lawyer Kill (Nick Teffinger Thriller)

I once included this self-pub author for a cracktastic-looking historical comedy/horror thing and mentioned that this related short looked fun and I would pick it up if it were to go free. And lo and behold, it has gone free! : Henry the VIII and the Zombie Army

Backlist repeats from Jory Sherman, Michael Parker, Ryne Douglas Pearson, Carol Grace. Established author repeats from Michael Hogan, Dave Zeltserman, Valerie Douglas, David Bain, Barbara Bartholomew, Phil Edwards, via small press/re-publisher Stay Thirsty Media.

Happy reading, if you manage to spot something you think you like.

[ATDrake]

Feature still free, which is probably just as well as there's not much of interest in the slushpile today unless you like westerns; updates go here.

Larry D. Names returns with another volume of his historical western drama, originally published as Creed: Wanted under the name Bryce Harte by Berkley in 1991: TEXAS PAYBACK - CREED #2

Xcite Books, a former Read an Ebook Week participant offers a probably-erotic contemporary romance by Primula Bond: Out of Focus (Xcite Romance)

A number of ISFDBed authors including DAW-published Katharine Kerr contribute to this mythological fantasy anthology from ISFDBed small press Morrigan Books: The Phantom Queen Awakes

A number of authors including Penguin-published Stephanie Dray contribute to this YA anthology: Eternal Spring (A Young Adult Short Story Collection)

Cheryl Solimini who has written living-with-medical-conditions books for Plume offers a literary finding-secrets-about-oneself mystery/suspense which she says has a number of specific indie award nominations: Across the River: A Mystery

Backlist repeats from Carol Grace, Barry Graham, Paul Clayton, Joni Rodgers, Marsha Canham. Established author repeats from Scott William Carter, J.D. Rhoades, Robert W. Walker, Elena Santangelo, Tim Vicary, Simon Worrall.

Happy reading, if you manage to spot something you think you might like.