If you were wondering…
January 27th, 2012 | 
Author: If you were wondering how I select the books (free or cheap) that I post on facebook…
It’s complicated. Cause I look at a lot of things.
Have I read them? No. I read pretty slow. Slower now that I have baby girl.
I do look at reviews. How many there are. What the average is. What they are saying.
And I see if they are available for Kindle and Nook. Sometimes that is the killer for me. Kindle will have free items that Nook doesn’t have. Kindle will have stuff that Nook just doesn’t even have!
I have to weigh those options. Sometimes I’ll still post things that aren’t available equally on both devices.
I try to post good reads, not like other sites that seem to post ever single free book they find. Yes, I’ll post lots of deals. Birdies tweet in my ears, and I’ll post things they tell me.
To let yall know, I fell sad when I share something that not everyone can take apart in.
Posted in 
Bring ‘em back!
With Her Ladyship’s Companion by Joanna Bourne returning to print… I had to think about it. What other hard to find books out there do I want to see back in print or e-print?
1. The House Scorpio by Pat Wallace
I read The House Scorpio by Pat Wallace years ago. I read a dog eared copy of my mother’s, and when I found a copy a couple of years later – yes, I snapped it up. Good thing.
Reading around on the Internet – it looks that people are selling copies for $60. For a paperback from the 70′s. Alls fair in free trade – but this is crazy.
So, The House of Scorpio is the first book I will say that I would spend my time to trans-type to bring back into print. (If I got paid – I would be even happier to do it.)
It is kinda hard to describe… kinda gothicy (it was the 70′s), romance, fantasy with the Zodiac woven in.
I would put a plea into the author – but I don’t know if she is still alive or what the state of her estate is – or if the copyright has been reverted to her.
2. The Regency Companion by Sharon H. Laudermilk and Teresa L. Hamlin
Aspiring Regency writers would rejoice. This book current goes for over $300. I was able to get it for $75 a couple of years ago. Last I heard, there was no plan for reprinting.
3. Arnette Lamb’s books
Out of print for more than a decade, Pocket reprinted them in 2008. Did they make them available in e-book? No. Of course, there wasn’t e-book rights with the big publishers in the 90′s (ebooks were just coming around then), so the rights to her e-books still might reside with her estate. Lamb died in 1998 of cancer.
4. Lady in Black by Christina Dodd
Her first contemporary released WAY back in the early 90′s from the long defunct Kismet line. With others releasing their Kismets as e-books now, I just ask… why not? Also – that novella from the Talk Dark and Dangerous anthology – only because that is the one Dodd I don’t have!
5. Suzanne Barclay’s first Knight Trilogy
I still have my copies of Knights Dreams, Knight’s Lady and Knight’s Honor. Harlequin has released others in the series – but not these first ones. Barclay died in 1999 of cancer.
More to come as I think of them…
Meanwhile… Happy to have found:
1. Cheri Scotch’s Voodoo Moon Trilogy (Kindle)
I read these back when they first came out in the mid 90′s. They were urban fantasy before urban fantasy. (The Werewolf’s Kiss, The Werewolf’s Touch, The Werewolf’s Sin)
2. Roberta Gellis’ Tapestry of Dreams (Kindle, Nook) and Fires of Winter (Kindle, Nook) (the Jernaeve pair)
While I haven’t read the classic Roselynde Chronicles, I read these two. They are rich in detail and history, set during England’s Anarchy period. Kudos to Gellis for getting many of her historicals back in print to new readers.
3. Anne Stuart’s Shadow Dance (Kindle, Nook)
Best described as… “Valerian Romney, falsely accused of murdering his father, has no choice but to hide out in women’s clothes, posing as his brother’s wife, which makes falling in love with Sophie an admitted problem. In the meantime, his brother Phelan is falling for Juliette, who, disguised as a boy, is on the run from an abusive husband. Murders, mistaken identities, and true love are only some of the complications that abound. An award-nominated romp of Shakespearean confusion. ” Yes, a hoot!
Back from quarantine, reading Trouble at the Wedding
I swear I have been sick more in the past year. I could blame this last nasty virus on Pax, but she’s wasn’t patient zero in the house this time. It was Juan.
Meanwhile, Pax turned one Saturday. Still can’t believe that it has been that long. She is such a joy. Happy birthday, baby girl.
[Left: day she was born, Right: 11 1/2 months old]
Since I was off yesterday (and sick in bed), I spent the afternoon reading Trouble at the Wedding by Laura Lee Guhrke, which – of course – I find out that it is apart of a series half way through it. Has it distracted me from the story – no… but I haven’t finished, so I don’t know how it will impact me if I haven’t read the others.
Trouble at the Wedding in many was the usual heiress and impoverished peer story – he needs the money, she wants the status upgrade. A little difference here. Annabel’s American New Money, a southern girl, and still viewed as white trash. Christian’s still a heavily in debt British peer, but he’s trying to stop her wedding to a different heavily in debt British peer (who will just spend all her money on mistresses). Annabel’s uncle hires him to talk her into postponing her wedding, cause her uncle doesn’t trust the guy she has her sights on to marry.
Heh… and they are forced to do a little back peddling when Christian stands up and Annabel’s wedding DRUNK saying that the bride and groom shouldn’t get married.
Yeah, that makes the whole situation look so good for Annabel’s reputation. Not.
So, I hope I finish over the next couple of days. I’m enjoying it. So far it feels a little refreshing to read. In a market where it seems that the hotter, the sexier, the better, it’s nice to read something where they have only kissed where I am at in the book (about 1/2 way).
Ponders New Years Resolution
Okay, so I have the usual - eat less, move more, lose weight.
But I need a reading resolution!
So I have been thinking, there are books/authors that I have never read. So hear goes. I have to read at least 12 books by authors I don’t read or have never read and probably SHOULD have read. My list this thus far:
Jane Austen
Georgette Heyer
Kathleen Woodiwiss
Lavyrle Spencer
Victoria Holt
Sandra Brown
Debbie Macomber
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Jayne Ann Krentz
Barbara Cartland
Jude Devereaux
Judith McNaught
Tom and Sharon Curtis (specifically The Windflower)
I’m sure everyone is coming up with other authors, but the author has to be in print prior to 1992. My resolution, my list, my rules.
So if you can provide a specific book or specific author and tell me why, I’ll consider reading it.
For the Jane Austen enthusiasts
I still haven’t read Jane Austen! (Maybe I need to make my reading resolutions for the year…) But if you like the idea of spin-off novels from her classics… here are a few to look at.
What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown
Kindle Price: $4.96
Nook: $4.96
When a modern woman goes back to Jane Austen’s time, she needs to know…
Everything! Eleanor agrees to travel back in time to prevent a deadly duel, but she doesn’t know how to behave, what to say, and most importantly…
How to tell a villain from a rake
The captivating, infuriating, and mysterious Lord Shermont is a renowned rake and womanizer—but is he also a dangerous cutthroat and spy? Eleanor has to get up close and personal to find out…
Otherwise, she could fall into a most shocking scandal…
Thankfully, Miss Jane Austen herself arrives on the scene, with sage guidance and a twinkle in her eye, to help Eleanor navigate countryhouse society and the dangerous terrain of her own heart…
From the author of Hundreds of Years to Reform a Rake, a new time travel romance featuring a modern day career woman swept back in time to Regency England, where she thwarts a Napoleonic spy, chats with Jane Austen, and falls in love with a notorious rake.
Emma and the Vampires by Wayne Josephson
Kindle Price: $3.51
Nook: $10.19
What better place than pale England to hide a secret society of gentlemen vampires?
In this hilarious retelling of Jane Austen’s Emma, screenwriter Wayne Josephson casts Mr. Knightley as one of the most handsome and noble of the gentlemen village vampires. Blithely unaware of their presence, Emma, who imagines she has a special gift for matchmaking, attempts to arrange the affairs of her social circle with delightfully disastrous results. But when her dear friend Harriet Smith declares her love for Mr. Knightley, Emma realizes she’s the one who wants to stay up all night with him. Fortunately, Mr. Knightley has been hiding a secret deep within his unbeating heart-his (literal) undying love for her… A brilliant mash-up of Jane Austen and the undead.
Pemberley Ranch by Jack Caldwell
Kindle Price: $1.99
Nook: $9.89
When the smoke has cleared from the battlefields and the civil war has finally ended, fervent Union supporter Beth Bennet reluctantly moves with her family from their home in Meryton, Ohio, to the windswept plains of Rosings, Texas. Handsome, haughty Will Darcy, a Confederate officer back from the war, owns half the land around Rosings, and his even haughtier cousin, Cate Burroughs, owns the other half.
In a town as small as Rosings, Beth and Will inevitably cross paths. But as Will becomes enchanted with the fiery Yankee, Beth won’t allow herself to warm to the man who represents the one thing she hates most: the army that killed her only brother.
But when carpetbagger George Whitehead arrives in Rosings, all that Beth thought to be true is turned on its head, and the only man who can save her home is the one she swore she’d never trust…
Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Lynn Rigaud
Kindle Price: $1.99
Nook: $9.89
Darcy’s as hot as he is talented…
Fast music, powerful beats, and wild reputations-on and off stage-have made virtuoso guitarist Fitzwilliam Darcy’s band into rock’s newest bad boys. But they’ve lost their latest opening act, and their red-hot summer tour is on the fast track to disaster. Now Darcy and bandmates Charles Bingley and Richard Fitzwilliam are about to meet their match…
But she’s about to rock his world…
Enter Elizabeth Bennet, fiercely independent star of girl-band Long Borne Suffering. Elizabeth, her sister Jane, and friend Charlotte Lucas have talent to spare and jump at the opening band slot. Elizabeth is sure she’s seen the worst the music industry has to offer. But as the days and nights heat up, it becomes clear that everyone is in for a summer to remember.
Kismet’s Kiss by Cate Rowan
I finally read Kismet’s Kiss recently. I got it a while back. Okay, last summer, after reading a blog post about her first year as an indie (self-published) author. I’m old school. I like the idea of a publisher, vetting processes, editing, etc… But I have to say… New York – you are missing out on a wonderful book here.
Cate Rowan finaled twice… TWICE… in the Golden Heart (Romance Writer’s of America’s Unpublished contest) with this story – and she wasn’t able to sell it.
Why? There isn’t a flaw in it. This is a wonderful fantasy romance about a healer and the sultan who need her help to save his children, wives, and servants from a mysterious and deadly sickness. No, I didn’t mistype that… I said wives. He has a harem of wives.
You’re thinking… “Sarah, the hero isn’t allow to have wives. He’s not really married to them, right?”
Nope. He’s married. How so very naughty. No, this isn’t an erotic romance. There is no eight way orgy. This is a wonderful fantasy romance, and in many ways it makes me think of some of the fantasy/futuristic romances I read years ago. It’s unconventional with so many paranormals these days having the single mate thing going on (or I’ve been reading way too many werewolf books). And Rowan really makes it work. The book has this magical Arabian vibe to it.
In the desert realm of Kad, a deadly epidemic strikes the palace of Sultan Kuramos. Only a magical healer from an enemy land has the skill to save his royal household, but Kuramos never imagined the healer would be a woman.
Healer Varene finds her own surprises in Kad. She expects the sultan’s arrogance, but not his courage or his selfless care of the ill–or the possibility that the epidemic is the curse of a vengeful goddess.
Kuramos’s culture condemns Varene’s mystical talents. Her presence triggers an insurrection, yet as he and the healer toil for a cure, he loses his heart to her. She falls for him as well, but how can she relinquish her homeland and her principles–especially when he already has a harem and his family may be cursed?
Rowan has released a prequel to Kismet’s Kiss – The Source of Magic, and is planning more set in the same universe. And as soon as I can get around to it (me and my slow reading brain…) I’ll be getting The Source of Magic (even though what I really want to k now is what happens with the wives after the end of the book!).
Deals from Sourcebooks… (Free to 99 cents to 1.79 to 1.99)
After Shana Galen reminded me that her book was on sale… I searched for other Sourcebooks deals on Amazon (Click on the images to get the books)… if Barnes and Noble had them on sale as well… I added those links.
Free!
Get The Summons for free from Barnes and Noble
99 cents
Get Wild Highland Magic for 99 cents from Barnes and Noble
Get Wicked by Any Other Name from Barnes and Noble for 99 cents
$1.99 (or $1.79 – from Amazon.com)
(Kilts)
Get The Highlander’s Sword from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Awaken the Highlander Warrior from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get The Return of Black Douglas from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Heart of the Highland Wolf from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
(Cowboys)
Get Love Drunk Cowboy from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Cowboy Trouble from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Cowboy Fever from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Tyler from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get One Fine Cowboy from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
(Paranormal)
Get In Over Her Head from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get I Dream of Genies from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Legend of Michael: Sin and Satisfaction from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Fire Lord’s Lover from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get A Certain Wolfish Charm from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get It Happened One Bite from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Call of the Highland Moon from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Taste Me from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Strange Neighbors from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get What a Goddess Wants from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Demons Prefer Blondes from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Goblin King from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Kiss at Your Own Risk from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Wickedly Charming from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
(Historical)
Get Making of a Duchess from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get The Mistress’ House from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get A Duke to Die For (Rogues’ Dynasty Series #1) from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get The Heir from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Lessons in French from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Merely Magic from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
(Contemporary)
Get Romeo, Romeo from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get SEALed with a Kiss from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Cover Me from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Cheap Historicals (Mostly)
If you click on the images – they will take to you to Amazon.
Katie MacAllister’s Noble Series – 99 cents each!
Get Noble Intentions from Barnes and Noble for 99 cents
Get Noble Destiny from Barnes and Noble for 99 cents
Get The Trouble with Harry from Barnes and Noble for 99 cents
“Duke” books from Avon – $1.99 each!
Get Never Dare a Duke from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get The Duke’s Night of Sin from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Mad about the Duke from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Sins of a Wicked Duke from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get At The Duke’s Pleasure from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get The Lost Duke of Wyndham from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Duke of Sin from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Beauty and the Duke from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get A Duke of Her Own from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Get Sins of a Duke from Barnes and Noble for $1.99
Others for $1.99
These titles are not available from Barnes and Noble at these prices. 
Others for 99 cents
Get Love is in the Heir from Barnes and Noble for 99 cents!
Get Lady Dearing’s Masquerade from Barnes and Noble for 99 cents!
For $1.99
Reading on the Cheap
Of Noble Birth by Brenda Novak – FREE!
Novak’s first novel, a finalist for the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart Award, is a fast-moving Regency tale of intrigue and deception. Born with a deformed arm, Nathaniel Kent is immediately rejected by his noble father, the Duke of Greystone. Once grown, he takes his revenge for the denial of his fortune and title by turning pirate and raiding his father’s trading ships. When the duke abducts one of Nathaniel’s crew, the pirate retaliates by kidnapping a young woman he believes to be the duke’s daughter. But she is not his half-sister Ashe is Alexandra Cogsworth, a seamstress fleeing her own family woes. Aboard the pirate ship, Nathaniel stifles yearnings he believes to be incestuous, while Alexandra struggles to save her skin as well as her heart. Once her true identity is revealed, the two fight for their safety. Some readers may be troubled by Nathaniel’s deformity, and the book’s later chapters too strained and hectic to permit much romantic interplay don’t live up to the promise of its well-paced start. For most historical romance lovers, however, Novak’s energetic prose and appealing characters will more than compensate.
Free from Amazon.com
Not Available on Nook
To Love a Thief by Julie Anne Long – 99 cents! 
Lily Masters has a gift for picking pockets and telling stories—skills that come in handy for surviving London’s slums. She’s proud of providing for herself and her lively young sister, Alice, and she’s never been caught. Well, there’s always a first time. Gideon Cole is a brilliant barrister with an unfortunate weakness for clients who can’t pay. His latest charitable misstep: buying the freedom of a daring, beautiful thief. To repay the debt, Lily agrees to his proposition: pose as the object of his desire and help him snare a wealthy bride. All he has to do is transform the impudent Lily into a diamond of the first water. But the education of Lily could cost Gideon his carefully planned future. While she plays cards with his invalid uncle and Alice charms the servants, the honorable Gideon is harboring less than honorable thoughts. For sweet, stubborn, and sensual Lily has a way of slipping past a gentleman’s defenses—especially when she’s stealing his heart!
Special Bonus Feature: includes the first chapter of WHAT I DID FOR A DUKE, the upcoming title from Julie Anne Long’s acclaimed Pennyroyal Green series! (Avon/Harper Collins, March 2011).
99 cents at Amazon.com
99 cents at Barnes and Noble
Dish of the Day by Susan Sizemore (short story) – FREE!
War is forbidden among galactic civilizations but contests of skill are still life and death matters. Teams compete for power, planets, resources. Humans may not be the fastest, strongest or smartest among the species in the universe – but we sure can cook.
Bound by Sin by Cynthia Eden – FREE – from smashwords 
Human Paige Sloan once loved werewolf Drake Wyler more than life, but when she was bitten by a vampire, the life she’d known ended. When Paige learns that Drake is being targeted for death, she will do anything in order to make sure that he keeps living. Maybe she’ll even have the chance to sin–one more time–with the werewolf who’d marked her as his mate.
Smashwords if it shows up on amazon and bn as free.. I will let you know.
A couple of free reads to look at…
At this posting… they are free either at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble…
Wild Angel by Miriam Minger 
Readers from coast to coast have fallen in love with her strong, forceful heroes and fiery heroines. Now award-winner Miriam Minger sweeps you into a world of epic adventure and bold passion…
Ronan was a legend among men…and the last thing he needed was a troublesome woman. Yet this fierce Irish warrior took a deathbed oath to protect a chieftain’s rebellious daughter.
Triona was a hellion of a woman…who would let no man rule her. Raised in the ways of a warrior, she defied Ronan’s every command. So he planned to marry her off, to be rid of the wild lass forever. But in the heat of battle–enflamed by her passionate spirit–Ronan decided he wanted this beautiful, impossible woman for himself!
Free @ Amazon.com
.99 @ Barnes and Noble
The Witness by Dee Henderson 
Police Chief Luke Granger’s witness to a murder, Amy Griffin, has been on the run for years. Her family thinks she was murdered eight years ago, but Amy chose to accept a life in the shadows in order to protect her sisters’ lives. Now unveiled secrets about their father have thrust the sisters into the public spotlight. The man who wants Amy dead now sees her sisters as the way to locate her. Luke and two of his homicide detectives are determined to stand in the way. They are each falling in love with a different sister, and it’s become a personal mission to keep them safe. But chances are that at least one of them will fail, and facing the future will take a faith deeper than any of them currently knows.
Free @ Amazon.com
Free @ Barnes and Noble
Ryan’s Return by Barbara Freethy 
A HEART IS CALLED HOME…
Famous photojournalist Ryan Hunter has come back to a family torn apart by mistrust and resentment — to the father who disowned him, to the brother who betrayed him, to the little boy who shares his features. Ryan, the charismatic “bad boy” son, has returned — stirring up past conflicts like a whirlwind…and throwing Kara Delaney’s fragile, passionate heart into turmoil.
…AND LOVE IS WAITING.
Kara has struggled back from a disastrous marriage to build a new life for herself and her little girl — a peaceful existence now jeopardized by vicious, small town politics, by her daughter’s fanciful ghost stories…and by Ryan’s return. Now nature’s impending fury threatens to expose long-buried secrets. And Kara must join with the enigmatic, misunderstood Ryan — to discover the truth that will save their families…. and to explore a dangerous, irresistible love as mighty and enduring as the onrushing river.