Free Book - His Robot Girlfriend

HistoryWes · 05-26-2009, 11:50 AM

My latest novel is called His Robot Girlfriend and is available as a free download at my blog http://amathar.blogspot.com/ or on Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1864.

Mike Smith’s life was crap, living all alone, years after his wife had died and his children had grown up and moved away. Then he saw the commercial for the Daffodil. Far more than other robots, the Daffodil could become anything and everything he wanted it to be. Mike’s life is about to change.

From the author of “Princess of Amathar comes the tale of the year 2032, when robots are common… not to mention, cute.

Folding back the two flaps of the box lid, Mike looked down to find it filled with packing peanuts. Brushing some of them out of the way, he almost immediately found a patch of smooth white skin. It was remarkably real looking—pearlescent on the surface and kind of peachy pink beneath, but not a single blemish or mole or hair upon it. Mike brushed more packing peanuts out onto the floor and uncovered more skin, and then plastic with black hair inside. Finally, setting the knife on the coffee table, he tipped the box over, dumping the contents into the center of the floor. White packing went everywhere. The Daffodil rolled out and came to rest on its side, facing away from him. It was curled up tightly into a ball.

At first, Mike thought he must have ordered the wrong robot. Curled up as it was, it looked like a child. He just stared at it for a moment; at its naked back and buttocks and its black hair wrapped up in plastic. Finally he kicked around through the packing peanuts. There didn’t seem to be a manual—just a single sheet of paper marked “Quick Setup”. He picked it up and looked at it. There were two pictures and no words. The first picture showed line drawing of the back of a human-looking neck, except that the neck had three round holes in it and below them a button. The second picture showed the button being pushed by a line-drawn finger. Next to the button and the finger were the numerals 1, 2, 3. Bending down, Mike lifted up the plastic wrapped hair and examined the Daffodil’s neck. There were the three holes and there was the button. He pressed it and counted aloud “one, two, three”. Then he let go.

I apologize if anyone feels I've overposted, since I discussed this book on the "Tell us about your ebooks" thread in the Writer's Corner, but I wanted to post a complete description here. And thanks to everyone who downloads and reads the book.

dreams · 05-26-2009, 02:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HistoryWes

I apologize if anyone feels I've overposted, since I discussed this book on the "Tell us about your ebooks" thread in the Writer's Corner, but I wanted to post a complete description here. And thanks to everyone who downloads and reads the book.

It's always good to post as, trying to keep up with all the threads on MR is getting to be like reading a newspaper! Sometimes, I miss something just because I cruised through at the wrong time of day.

Thank you for offering your work to us. This looks like it will be a fun read.
I have downloaded and placed it in my summer vacation to-be-read folder in my 505

.

HistoryWes · 05-27-2009, 05:05 PM

Thanks again to all of you who have downloaded His Robot Girlfriend. There have been over 500 downloads so far. Now, if one or two of you could find the time to read it, and maybe even write and post a review on Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1864? I know its asking a lot, but I would really appreciate it.

P.S. Alternatively you could post your review to Amazon.com, where it is listed in paperback form.

slayda · 05-27-2009, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HistoryWes

Thanks again to all of you who have downloaded His Robot Girlfriend. There have been over 500 downloads so far. Now, if one or two of you could find the time to read it, and maybe even write and post a review on Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1864? I know its asking a lot, but I would really appreciate it.

P.S. Alternatively you could post your review to Amazon.com, where it is listed in paperback form.

I had problems trying to DL the RTF version. Got the MOBI & PDF just fine.

Thanks.

HistoryWes · 05-28-2009, 01:42 PM

Thanks for letting me know. If rtf is important you might try downloading it again. I just checked it and it seemed alright for me. The original upload was rtf so theoretically it should be the least problematic format. I'm glad the other formats were okay. Thanks for downloading it.

GypsyWoman · 05-28-2009, 06:37 PM

Thank you!!

Just downloaded 'His Robot Girlfriend'. Looking forward to reading it.

am_mread · 05-28-2009, 11:32 PM

It was a fun read, read it pretty quickly this afternoon! Good job.

Jill75 · 05-29-2009, 01:24 AM

This seems to be an interesting read. I'll download it immediately and thanks for offering your work to us.

chorpler · 05-30-2009, 12:54 AM

I'm reading it right now, and it's very cool so far. It would be nice if you had an HTML version that you could download as one big file to read locally -- the HTML version online seems to be broken up in pages, as does the JavaScript version. The text version, oddly enough, is full of HTML tags, so I just had to make a few adjustments to get it to display the way I like it in my browser (I like a blank space between paragraphs) and rename it as an HTML file, and it sufficed, but I don't know if I'm missing any italics and other formatting.

Also, I was quite surprised to see that you live very close to me. Awesome!

HistoryWes · 05-30-2009, 03:24 PM

Thanks to all of you for your kind words. I am going back to see if it is me or Smashwords that is causing those problems. Also, I hope to have a Feedbooks version up soon. They use a different converter, so it may be better for some formats.

tech_au · 05-31-2009, 02:14 AM

This book seemed quite interesting so I pushed it ahead on my reading queue and I am so glad I did as it would have to be one of my favorite author freebies.
Reading author freebies is a pretty hit and miss affair that sometimes you have to start 4 or 5 of them to get an interesting one buy His Robot Girlfriend hit the spot

By the way if you enjoy this seek out the 80's movie Cherry 2000 which also deals with this situation albeit in a different way.

ladyjane · 05-31-2009, 08:52 AM

Thanks for the book, just finished downloading to my sony and it looks great..one more book to finish and yours will be next.

Cassy · 06-01-2009, 10:02 PM

Just wanted to say thank you! I'm about half way through it and its great so far

HistoryWes · 06-02-2009, 08:22 PM

Thank you for the kind words. I really hope you enjoy the rest of it. For those having some difficulties with the edition at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1864, there is now a feedbooks edition at http://www.feedbooks.com/userbook/5854. Someday I really want to learn to make my books look like the hand crafted books here.

cbell · 06-02-2009, 10:49 PM

I read this book for 3 straight hours last night, until I couldn't stay awake to read any more. I've just started chapter 10, so I'm nearly finished. I can't wait to dip back into it and finish it tonight.

Its fun and a nice, light read. Thanks for sharing your book with us, Wes... I want my own Daffodil now!

05-26-2009, 11:50 AM	#1
HistoryWes Teacher/Novelist Posts: 632 Karma: 2274466 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Nevada Device: Nook STR, iPad	Free Book - His Robot Girlfriend My latest novel is called His Robot Girlfriend and is available as a free download at my blog http://amathar.blogspot.com/ or on Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1864. Mike Smith’s life was crap, living all alone, years after his wife had died and his children had grown up and moved away. Then he saw the commercial for the Daffodil. Far more than other robots, the Daffodil could become anything and everything he wanted it to be. Mike’s life is about to change. From the author of “Princess of Amathar comes the tale of the year 2032, when robots are common… not to mention, cute. Folding back the two flaps of the box lid, Mike looked down to find it filled with packing peanuts. Brushing some of them out of the way, he almost immediately found a patch of smooth white skin. It was remarkably real looking—pearlescent on the surface and kind of peachy pink beneath, but not a single blemish or mole or hair upon it. Mike brushed more packing peanuts out onto the floor and uncovered more skin, and then plastic with black hair inside. Finally, setting the knife on the coffee table, he tipped the box over, dumping the contents into the center of the floor. White packing went everywhere. The Daffodil rolled out and came to rest on its side, facing away from him. It was curled up tightly into a ball. At first, Mike thought he must have ordered the wrong robot. Curled up as it was, it looked like a child. He just stared at it for a moment; at its naked back and buttocks and its black hair wrapped up in plastic. Finally he kicked around through the packing peanuts. There didn’t seem to be a manual—just a single sheet of paper marked “Quick Setup”. He picked it up and looked at it. There were two pictures and no words. The first picture showed line drawing of the back of a human-looking neck, except that the neck had three round holes in it and below them a button. The second picture showed the button being pushed by a line-drawn finger. Next to the button and the finger were the numerals 1, 2, 3. Bending down, Mike lifted up the plastic wrapped hair and examined the Daffodil’s neck. There were the three holes and there was the button. He pressed it and counted aloud “one, two, three”. Then he let go. I apologize if anyone feels I've overposted, since I discussed this book on the "Tell us about your ebooks" thread in the Writer's Corner, but I wanted to post a complete description here. And thanks to everyone who downloads and reads the book. Last edited by HistoryWes; 05-26-2009 at 12:05 PM.

05-27-2009, 05:05 PM	#3
HistoryWes Teacher/Novelist Posts: 632 Karma: 2274466 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Nevada Device: Nook STR, iPad	Thanks again to all of you who have downloaded His Robot Girlfriend. There have been over 500 downloads so far. Now, if one or two of you could find the time to read it, and maybe even write and post a review on Smashwords http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1864? I know its asking a lot, but I would really appreciate it. P.S. Alternatively you could post your review to Amazon.com, where it is listed in paperback form. Last edited by HistoryWes; 05-27-2009 at 05:08 PM.

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05-28-2009, 01:42 PM	#5
HistoryWes Teacher/Novelist Posts: 632 Karma: 2274466 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Nevada Device: Nook STR, iPad	Thanks for letting me know. If rtf is important you might try downloading it again. I just checked it and it seemed alright for me. The original upload was rtf so theoretically it should be the least problematic format. I'm glad the other formats were okay. Thanks for downloading it.

05-28-2009, 06:37 PM	#6
GypsyWoman Groupie Posts: 154 Karma: 553 Join Date: May 2008 Location: PA Device: Sony E Reader PRS-505/iTouch/Blackberry Curve-Pink	Thank you!! Just downloaded 'His Robot Girlfriend'. Looking forward to reading it.

05-28-2009, 11:32 PM	#7
am_mread Head Goat Posts: 74 Karma: 50 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. Device: Kindle Paperwhite Gen 11.	It was a fun read, read it pretty quickly this afternoon! Good job.

05-29-2009, 01:24 AM	#8
Jill75 Zealot Posts: 135 Karma: 150 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: none	This seems to be an interesting read. I'll download it immediately and thanks for offering your work to us.

05-30-2009, 12:54 AM	#9
chorpler Zealot Posts: 128 Karma: 278 Join Date: Jun 2008 Device: Kindle; PRS-500; MobiPocket on Windows Mobile	I'm reading it right now, and it's very cool so far. It would be nice if you had an HTML version that you could download as one big file to read locally -- the HTML version online seems to be broken up in pages, as does the JavaScript version. The text version, oddly enough, is full of HTML tags, so I just had to make a few adjustments to get it to display the way I like it in my browser (I like a blank space between paragraphs) and rename it as an HTML file, and it sufficed, but I don't know if I'm missing any italics and other formatting. Also, I was quite surprised to see that you live very close to me. Awesome!

05-30-2009, 03:24 PM	#10
HistoryWes Teacher/Novelist Posts: 632 Karma: 2274466 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Nevada Device: Nook STR, iPad	Thanks to all of you for your kind words. I am going back to see if it is me or Smashwords that is causing those problems. Also, I hope to have a Feedbooks version up soon. They use a different converter, so it may be better for some formats.

05-31-2009, 02:14 AM	#11
tech_au Oz Bookworm Posts: 516 Karma: 4056 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Australia Device: Sony PRS 505,PRS 650	This book seemed quite interesting so I pushed it ahead on my reading queue and I am so glad I did as it would have to be one of my favorite author freebies. Reading author freebies is a pretty hit and miss affair that sometimes you have to start 4 or 5 of them to get an interesting one buy His Robot Girlfriend hit the spot By the way if you enjoy this seek out the 80's movie Cherry 2000 which also deals with this situation albeit in a different way.

05-31-2009, 08:52 AM	#12
ladyjane I hate to clean Posts: 125 Karma: 1155 Join Date: May 2009 Location: Burlington, ontario Device: Sony PRS-505, Acer NetBook	Thanks for the book, just finished downloading to my sony and it looks great..one more book to finish and yours will be next.

06-01-2009, 10:02 PM	#13
Cassy Zealot Posts: 106 Karma: 22 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Silver Sony PRS 505	Just wanted to say thank you! I'm about half way through it and its great so far

06-02-2009, 08:22 PM	#14
HistoryWes Teacher/Novelist Posts: 632 Karma: 2274466 Join Date: May 2008 Location: Nevada Device: Nook STR, iPad	Thank you for the kind words. I really hope you enjoy the rest of it. For those having some difficulties with the edition at http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1864, there is now a feedbooks edition at http://www.feedbooks.com/userbook/5854. Someday I really want to learn to make my books look like the hand crafted books here.

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06-02-2009, 10:49 PM	#15
cbell Frenetic Posts: 590 Karma: 8181 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Australia Device: iLiad V2	I read this book for 3 straight hours last night, until I couldn't stay awake to read any more. I've just started chapter 10, so I'm nearly finished. I can't wait to dip back into it and finish it tonight. Its fun and a nice, light read. Thanks for sharing your book with us, Wes... I want my own Daffodil now!