Thursday, December 29, 2011

Free Kindle Books for Thursday 12/29/2011

SETUP ON FRONT STREET (Key West Nocturnes series)Good morning. Many of the books that we have been posting have recently been free for a very limited time (often less than 24 hours) and after that only free for Amazon Prime Members. This has been the result of a new policy for authors on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). Listed below are some of the best and newest titles that are free as of 12/29/2011. We do maintain a list of The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books which is updated daily and not available on Amazon.
See the Top 80 – 100 free, handpicked titles that is updated daily on The Best of Amazon’s Daily Free Books. This list is not available on Amazon. See our great list of titles that you missed and are not longer free. Missed Free Books from Sept – Dec 2011 and Missed Free Books from July – August 2011.

Do you ever play games on your Kindle? Visit the Best Free and Paid Games for the Kindle. Check out our Resource Guide for the Amazon Fire.

If you download and read a free book, please give the author something in return. Give the gift of a book rating on Amazon.

Author Interview: James Bruno – Tribe

Tribe
Our author interview today is with James Bruno author of Tribe. James Bruno is a former insider and censored by the U.S. government. Tribe resonates with authenticity rarely seen in the political thriller genre. Before we get to his interview, here is a brief description of his book: The White House makes a secret peace with the Taliban which enables complete U.S. troop withdrawal. Secured with a huge Central Asian oil deal, it virtually guarantees the re-election of a President, and the backers will garner enormous wealth. CIA officer Harry Brennan’s moral conscience compels him to get in the way of this plot. In doing so, he faces political enemies at home more dangerous than the terrorists who have kidnapped his daughter. But the resulting tension between his career and commitment to the truth compels Harry to balk and unilaterally take on the powerful men and women behind the pay-for-play scheme. Harry finds himself running for his life from jihadists in Afghanistan and Predator drones in Yemen, a target of his own CIA…

Interview with James Bruno

Q: Thanks for agreeing to this interview. Tribe, your third bestselling political thriller, explores the ongoing saga of Afghanistan and the ruthlessness that arises out of marrying politics and business, but is it a good spy story or a bit of geopolitical debate that gets one’s juices going?

A: It’s both. One reviewer said, “If it were a movie, it would most likely be found in the drama/thriller category, rather than the action section. There’s action all right, but it is not straight through with a high body count as with some in the thriller genre. It’s more of a political intrigue novel, and one that reveals some of the underhanded, backroom, sleazy, and too often, politics and dealings that go on in our government and government organizations.” As for espionage, let me just say that, during the government security review I am required to submit to, the CIA and FBI compelled redactions and changes. They felt I’d gotten too close to the bone in my descriptions of spy tradecraft.

Q: Harry Brennan, your protagonist, is somewhat of a thorn in the CIA’s side. In reality, would someone like Harry really be tolerated – or do you think it is his friendship with his astute and savvy colleague,Vince, that is the only reason he hasn’t been assigned to a dead-end job in Human Resources?

A: Bureaucracies are notorious for not tolerating the free agent or independent-minded actor. It’s hard to say if a guy like Harry, who is far from being a Hollywood-style swashbuckling rebel, would be tolerated by the CIA higher-ups. Usually, when a case officer fundamentally disagrees with policies and management, s/he opts for retirement or resignation as promotion prospects dry up. One interesting real life case is that of an ex-CIA officer who goes by the pseudonym, “Ishmael Jones.” A deep cover officer tasked with collecting intel on weapons of mass destruction, he quit the CIA in order to work toward reforming it. Unlike me, a diplomat, Jones failed to clear his book with his agency and is now engaged in a lawsuit with it.

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Free Kindle Books for Wednesday 12/28/2011

Good morning. Many of the books that we have been posting have recently been free for a very limited time (often less than 24 hours) and after that only free for Amazon Prime Members. This has been the result of a new policy for authors on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). Listed below are some of the best and newest titles that are free as of 12/28/2011. We do maintain a list of The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books which is updated daily and not available on Amazon.
See the Top 80 – 100 free, handpicked titles that is updated daily on The Best of Amazon’s Daily Free Books. This list is not available on Amazon. See our great list of titles that you missed and are not longer free. Missed Free Books from Sept – Dec 2011 and Missed Free Books from July – August 2011.

Do you ever play games on your Kindle? Visit the Best Free and Paid Games for the Kindle. Check out our Resource Guide for the Amazon Fire.

If you download and read a free book, please give the author something in return. Give the gift of a book rating on Amazon.

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Author Interview: Michelle Scott – Straight to Hell

Straight to Hell (The Lilith Straight Series)
Our interview today is with author Michelle Scott (see all her books) as she discusses her book Straight to Hell. One reviewer describes Straight to Hell as “a bit of chic-lit, a bit paranormal, and a whole lot of heart”. Before we get to the interview, here is a brief description of her book: The moment Lilith Straight dies, the Devil appears to claim her soul and cash in on a longtime family curse. Now, Lilith has no choice but to work for him. The job is bad, the boss is worse, and she can’t imagine how she’ll explain her new reincarnation to her eight-year-old daughter. But then an arrogant, yet oh so yummy, incubus shows up…and hell heats up just a little more.

Interview with Michelle Scott:

1. How do characters change or evolve throughout the course of the story? What events trigger such changes?

The heroine, Lilith Straight, is a single mom who’s struggling to care for her eight-year-old daughter and her wayward eleven-year-old niece. At the start of the story, Lilith is hit by a car and sent to hell where she discovers that her great-great-great-great-great grandmother made a deal with the Devil in order to escape being hanged as a witch. As a result, Lilith must now serve the Devil as a temptress (which, in most cases, means getting a human to do something that the Devil wants him or her to do). Life as a single mom is hard enough without having this added to the mix! Throughout the story, Lilith struggles with the problem of teaching her girls to do what’s right while she herself keeps doing wrong. What she comes to realize is that her family comes first. Always. And she’ll do everything in her power to keep them safe.

2. In what ways do the events in the books reveal evidence of your world view?

Free Kindle Books for Tuesday 12/27/2011

The Jakarta Pandemic
Wow, today we have some free books with a high number of reviews and a high rating. Many of the books that we have been posting have recently been free for a very limited time (often less than 24 hours) and after that only free for Amazon Prime Members. This has been the result of a new policy for authors on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). Listed below are some of the best and newest titles that are free as of 12/27/2011. See our entire list of The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books which is updated daily and not available on Amazon.
See the Top 80 – 100 free, handpicked titles that is updated daily on The Best of Amazon’s Daily Free Books. This list is not available on Amazon. See our great list of titles that you missed and are not longer free. Missed Free Books from Sept – Dec 2011 and

Monday, December 26, 2011

The Kindle Book Review ~ Reviewer’s Choice Day #2

The Caldarian ConflictAnthony Wessel, from our staff at Digital Book Today, is also a reviewer for our neighbors The Kindle Book Review. His group will be highlighting one reviewer’s favorite book for the rest of 2011. They were asked to vote for their favorite kindle book. They review a lot of books, but only promote those that meet the quality standards of 4 stars or higher.

Today’s Reviewer’s Choice is The Caldarian Conflict by Mike Kalmbach. This review was written by our own Tammy Gaines

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant! , October 5, 2011

What a FANTASTIC read! Monk Mendell is asked by Father Ramsey to counsel a prisoner waiting to be hanged. The prisoner, an ex-pirate who uses information he has gained to lead active pirates to vulnerable targets, has not spoken to any of the clergy sent before Mendell. It is a common belief in this society that everyone should be given a chance to repent and/or reconcile their lives before death and as a monk whose chosen god out of several deities is Lord Justice, he is not happy with this new directive. After all, justice has been done and the punishment for all pirates is death.

Although not indifferent to the prisoner, Mendell does not encourage him to repent but listens to him instead. Giving the prisoner a choice of what he wants to speak about in his last hours causes the pirate to open up.

What Mendell witnesses and hears causes him to question whether the pirate deserves death as his sentence and whether the military is using unethical practices in order to solve the crime problem.
What follows is a mixture of adventure, fantasy and mystery.

Free Kindle Books for Monday 12/26/2011

No Good Deed: Book One of the Mark Taylor Series (A Psychological Thriller)
Good morning. Many of the books that we have been posting have recently been free for a very limited time (often less than 24 hours) and after that only free for Amazon Prime Members. This has been the result of a new policy for authors on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). Listed below are some of the best and newest titles that are free as of 12/26/2011. We do maintain a list of The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Bookswhich is updated daily and not available on Amazon.
See the Top 80 – 100 free, handpicked titles that is updated daily on The Best of Amazon’s Daily Free Books. This list is not available on Amazon. See our great list of titles that you missed and are not longer free. Missed Free Books from Sept – Dec 2011 and Missed Free Books from July – August 2011.

Do you ever play games on your Kindle? Visit the Best Free and Paid Games for the Kindle. Check out our Resource Guide for the Amazon Fire.

If you download and read a free book, please give the author something in return. Give the gift of a book rating on Amazon.

Enjoy Your Kindle With These 4 Great Books

From our neighbors at The Kindle Book Review.

Merry Christmas Kindle Lovers! We hope you are enjoying your new Kindle or Kindle Fire or any other device that loads books from the Kindle Store.

Nephilim Genesis of EvilIf you’re new, welcome. Here’s what we do. We scour Amazon’s book list and review some of the best indie and small press authors out there. We only highlight books with 20 reviews or more with an average star rating of 4 or better. So don’t expect to see Janet Evanovich’s 2.6-star Explosive Eighteen here. Not good enough.

What you will find are books that are getting great reviews. The authors we post are lesser known, but they’re hungry for success. Here are a few that you might enjoy. This list is mostly supernatural thrillers, but as always, we try to post a variety of genres from romance to humor to horror. We highlight any genre that meets our stringent requirements. Please support these authors, load up your Kindle, and have a great Holiday.

Nephelim: Genesis of Evil by Renee Pawlish has 32 reviews and is holding a solid 4.8 stars! I’m reading this one at the moment and loving it. Expect a 5-star review from me. Nephelim is a supernatural thriller where a dark power described in Genesis revisits a small mountain town. A journalist who witnessed an evil presence searches for answers and finds the town succumbing to supernatural forces. In his search, an evil prophesy may be fulfilled by the Nephilim. Nehelim: Genesis of Evil is free at the moment, and normally 99¢, so this is a great read for the money either way.

Drummer Boy, the second book in The Sheriff Littlfield Series by Scott Nicholson is another great read with 37 reviews and a 4.7-star rating. Scott is one of my favorite supernatural/suspense authors. He converted me with his occult thriller, The Red Church and I’ve been a fan ever since. Currently, book two of his FEAR Series is on my to-read list, but you should start with Drummer Boy. A master at bringing the supernatural to the Appalachia, this intesnse story about a young boy who protects a small town from evil is a real winner. Get Drummer Boy now and feel the power of Nicholson’s pen.

Hearts in Darkness by Laura Kaye is a steamy romance with a whopping 77 reviews, and is carrying a very tasty 4.7-star rating. Makenna James thinks her day can’t get any worse, until she finds herself stuck in a pitch-black elevator with a complete stranger. Distracted by a phone call and juggling too much stuff, the pin-striped accountant caught only a glimpse of a dragon tattoo on his hand before the lights went out… The rest is history. Hearts in Darkness will surely please and romance reader.

Montana Dawn by Caroline Fyffe is another romance earning a top score of 26 reviews with a 4.4-star average. MONTANA DAWN is book one in The McCutcheon Family Series, 2010 Maggie Finalist, 2010 Gayle Wilson Finalist, and a RWA Golden Heart Finalist. If you’re looking for a historical romance dated in the late 1800s, you’ll want to read Montana Dawn.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

Free Kindle Books for Saturday 12/24/2011

Twisted Vengeance
Good morning. Many of the books that we have been posting have recently been free for a very limited time (often less than 24 hours) and after that only free for Amazon Prime Members. This has been the result of a new policy for authors on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). Listed below are some of the best and newest titles that are free as of 12/24/2011. We do maintain a list of The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books which is updated daily and not available on Amazon.
See the Top 80 – 100 free, handpicked titles that is updated daily on The Best of Amazon’s Daily Free Books. This list is not available on Amazon. See our great list of titles that you missed and are not longer free. Missed Free Books from Sept – Dec 2011 and Missed Free Books from July – August 2011.

Do you ever play games on your Kindle? Visit the Best Free and Paid Games for the Kindle. Check out our Resource Guide for the Amazon Fire.

If you download and read a free book, please give the author something in return. Give the gift of a book rating on Amazon.

Friday, December 23, 2011

The Kindle Book Review Best Books of 2011

Drummer Boy: A Supernatural Thriller (Sheriff Littlefield Series)From our neighbors at The Kindle Book Review. As 2011 is quickly coming to a close, I wanted to introduce our newer followers a few of the best books we’ve posted since our inception. Many of these books are award winners, bestsellers, and are exceeding the reviews, ranking and acolades of many mainstream authors. These are ALL indie/small press authors who are achieving great success and reviews. They are all worth your time and their works are excellent.

Some of these titles were barely selling and have now become bestsellers. For example, Hunter by Robert Bidinotto has gone on to Amazon’s TOP 10 since we featured him here.
The following list of books were highlighted by The Kindle Book Review in 2011
Please show these authors your support by purchasing their books and writing reviews.

[Free] Books for Friday 12/23/2011

ReunionGood morning. Many of the books that we have been posting have recently been free for a very limited time (often less than 24 hours) and after that only free for Amazon Prime Members. This has been the result of a new policy for authors on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). Listed below are some of the best and newest titles that are free as of 12/21/2011. We do maintain a list of The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books which is updated daily and not available on Amazon.
See the Top 80 – 100 free, handpicked titles that is updated daily on The Best of Amazon’s Daily Free Books. This list is not available on Amazon. See our great list of titles that you missed and are not longer free. Missed Free Books from Sept – Dec 2011 and Missed Free Books from July – August 2011.

Do you ever play games on your Kindle? Visit the Best Free and Paid Games for the Kindle. Check out our Resource Guide for the Amazon Fire.

If you download and read a free book, please give the author something in return. Give the gift of a book rating on Amazon.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

[Author Interview] Keith Raffel – Drop by Drop

Drop By Drop: A ThrillerOur interview today is with thriller writer Keith Raffel and he discusses his book Drop By Drop. As counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee, Keith Raffel held a top secret clearance to watch over CIA activities. As a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, he founded UpShot Corporation, an Internet software company, and sold it to Siebel Systems. Befoe we get to his interview, here is a description of Drop By Drop: Stanford professor Sam Rockman suffers the crushing loss of his wife in a bombing at San Francisco Airport. Casting about to find meaning in the ruins of his life, he accepts an offer to come to Washington, D.C. to work for the Senate Intelligence Committee. He finds mighty weird stuff happening in the nation’s capital. Secret documents are showing up on his doorstep. Russians are trying to poison him. A renegade CIA asset is making Florida uninhabitable by strewing nuclear materials up and down Interstate 95. Then comes a groundswell to change the Constitution to enable the current president to stay in office for a third term to handle the crises.

Interview with Keith Raffel:

I’m going to confess a deep, dark secret right up front—I went to law school. In my own defense, though, I must mention that a summer working for a big Wall Street firm cured me of any desire to enter private practice. Being young and idealistic, I went down to Washington, D.C., after graduation and managed to wrangle an interview with the staff director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. It went well, but I then needed to pass muster with the chairman, Senator Daniel K. Inouye, Democrat of Hawaii. I knew he’d lost an arm as a hero in World War II, and while sitting in his anteroom, I panicked. How would I shake hands with him if it was his right arm that was missing? It turned out that his right sleeve was indeed the empty one. I stuck out my left hand and shook his. That seemed to work out fine. (I later learned he preferred to grasp your right hand while twisting his left one.)
Senator Inouye opened up the interview by saying, “By the time you get to me you probably will get the job unless you’ve done something bad in the last few weeks. Have you?” I smiled and said, “Well, I’ve taken the bar exam.” He barked, “Did you pass?” No joking with him. The results were months away, but I still replied, “Yes, sir.” I got the position.

[Free] Books for Thursday 12/22/2011

ReunionGood morning. Many of the books that we have been posting have recently been free for a very limited time (often less than 24 hours) and after that only free for Amazon Prime Members. This has been the result of a new policy for authors on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). Listed below are some of the best and newest titles that are free as of 12/21/2011. We do maintain a list of The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books which is updated daily and not available on Amazon.
See the Top 80 – 100 free, handpicked titles that we update everyday on The Best of Amazon’s Daily Free Books. This list is not available on Amazon. See our great list of titles that you missed and are not longer free. Missed Free Books from Sept – Dec 2011 and Missed Free Books from July – August 2011.

Do you ever play games on your Kindle? Visit the Best Free and Paid Games for the Kindle. Check out our Resource Guide for the Amazon Fire.

If you download and read a free book, please give the author something in return. Give the gift of a book rating on Amazon.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Weekly Featured Great Reads

Where the Wind BlowsDigital Book Today has posted our 6 Weekly Featured “Great Reads” on the right and right hand side of our site. This is a free listing we provide as a service to authors. These 6 wonderful books are highly reviewed titles with a bargain price. Take the time to check out the “Great Reads”, to visit the author’s website, or follow them on Twitter.
  • Doodling, Jonathan Gould, humor, 4.4 stars, 39 reviews, $0.99.
  • Tides of Love, Tracy Sumner, romance, 4.9 stars, 17 reviews, $3.99.
  • Dirty Work, Michael Lamendola, mystery, 4.9 stars, 14 reviews, $2.99.
  • Someone To Believe In, Kathryn Shay, fiction, 4.4 stars, 11 reviews, $0.99.
  • Jingle Hells, Misty Evans, paranormal romance, 5.0 stars, 10 reviews, $0.99
  • Where The Wind Blows, Caroline Fyffe, romance, 4.6 stars, 25 reviews, $0.99
Thank you for taking the time to check out these “Great Reads”.

See the Top 80 – 100 free, handpicked titles that we update everyday on The Best of Amazon’s Daily Free Books. This list is not available on Amazon.

See our great list of titles that you missed and are not longer free. Missed Free Books from Sept – Dec 2011 and Missed Free Books from July – August 2011.

[Free] Books for Wednesday 12/21/2011

ReunionGood morning. Many of the books that we have been posting have recently been free for a very limited time (often less than 24 hours) and after that only free for Amazon Prime Members. This has been the result of a new policy for authors on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). Listed below are some of the best and newest titles that are free as of 12/21/2011.

We do maintain a list of The Top 100 Best Free Kindle Books which is updated daily and not available on Amazon.
See the Top 80 – 100 free, handpicked titles that we update everyday on The Best of Amazon’s Daily Free Books. This list is not available on Amazon. See our great list of titles that you missed and are not longer free. Missed Free Books from Sept – Dec 2011 and Missed Free Books from July – August 2011.

Do you ever play games on your Kindle? Visit the Best Free and Paid Games for the Kindle. Check out our Resource Guide for the Amazon Fire.

If you download and read a free book, please give the author something in return. Give the gift of a book rating on Amazon.

The Reading Grand Slam

Widow's TaleFrom our friends at The Kindle Book Review. Here’s a special treat for you. The Kindle Book Review has found four amazing books for you to read. These titles have a total of 160 reviews and average of 4.5 stars. Check them out today!

The Dying of the Light by Jason Kristopher: End $2.99. 62 reviews with a 4.4 star average! This is a Zombie must read. If you’re into zombies, add this one to your tbr list. Over half of the reviews are 5 stars! One reviewer called The Dying of the Light, “The Best Zombie Novel of the Year.”

Diary of the Displaced by Glynn James. $0.99. 43 reviews with a 4.5 stars average! The Diary of the Displaced is currently in the Top 100 in Horror and is a dark fantasy/horror book that Katie Turner, one of our reviews, said is “Spooky, addictive and inspiring.”

Chop, Chop by L.N. Cronk. $0.99. 27 reviews with a 4.9 star average! Chop Chop is one of those novels that make you take a double take because of the title. But when you look closer, you have to be impressed by the reviews. Chop Chop is the winner of an Honorable Mention at the 2008 Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference.

Widow’s Tale by Maureen Miller. $0.99. 28 reviews with a 4.2 star average! Looking for a romantic suspense? Good. Widow’s Tale is exactly what you’re looking for. At 99¢, the price is right…but it was also nominated by the Romance Writers of America for a Golden Heart award in the romantic suspense category.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

[Free] Books for Tuesday 12/20/2011

Finding Clarity: A Mom, A Dwarf and a Posh Private School in the People's Republic of BerkeleyGood morning. Many of the books that we have been posting have recently been free for a very limited time. Often less than 24 hours and after that only for Amazon Prime Members. This has been the result of a new policy for authors on KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing). Listed below are some of the best and newest titles that are free as of 12/19/2011. We do maintain a list of The 100 Best Free Kindle Books which is updated daily and not available on Amazon.
See the Top 80 – 100 free, handpicked titles that we update everyday on The Best of Amazon’s Daily Free Books. This list is not available on Amazon. See our great list of titles that you missed and are not longer free. Missed Free Books from Sept – Dec 2011 and Missed Free Books from July – August 2011.
Do you ever play games on your Kindle? Visit the Best Free and Paid Games for the Kindle. Check out our Resource Guide for the Amazon Fire.
If you download and read a free book, please give the author something in return. Give the gift of a book rating on Amazon.

Monday, December 19, 2011

[Author Interview] Gerald Hansen – Hand In The Till

Hand In The TillWe have a fabulous interview that we think our readers will enjoy. Gerald Hansen’s 2007 debut novel, An Embarrassment of Riches, was a critical success that garnered rave reviews (even comedian Colin Quinn called it “a masterpiece”), but it wasn’t until early this year that Hansen finally found commercial success as well. Soaring sales coincided with the release of his second, perhaps even more hilarious novel, Hand In The Till (“Comic Irish writing at its best,” Colin Quinn again). Gerald took a break from working on Fleeing the Jurisdiction, the third in the series of feuding dysfunctional Irish families, to have a chat with us and show us some photos of the city, Derry, Northern Ireland, where the books are set.

Interview with Gerald Hansen:

Why, as a New Yorker, are you writing novels about LondonDerry, NI?
Gerald: (laughs) Oh, my life! My mom’s from Derry and my dad’s American. He was in the military, so we lived all over the world…Iceland, Thailand, Germany, London. And I spent some years of my childhood in Derry, and later went to Dublin City University (in the south). So where am I from really? Where is my family and hometown? I was born in Philadelphia, but left when I was maybe two months old. I don’t even know what it looks like. Although I have vague memories of visiting my grandmother on my father’s side, the only relatives I was in constant contact with during my formative years were my mother’s family—we visited Derry in the summer no matter where we were living. So Derry is the place I know best, and you must write about what you know. Actually, as an ‘outsider,’ I think it’s easier to write about the city.

Derry was an important city in the Troubles of the 70s and 80s (when the Catholic majority were struggling for civil rights from the British). Is it really as violent and dirty today as you portray it?

Gerald: Actually, Derry is a fantastic, gorgeous city that I love and miss. In fact, it was just named the UK City of Culture for 2013. But I know what you’re saying. The Derry Tourist Board won’t thank me for how I depict it, and for that reason I’m a bit afraid to step foot in it myself. For the books, I used a bit of artistic license to spice the setting up a bit. Most of my memories from when I lived in Derry are from a terrible, desperate time that has changed a lot since of the Peace Process of the mid-90s. When I used to visit every weekend while at DCU, I could see it was changing, and now it’s more beautiful and safer today. If you don’t believe me, take a look at the photos. But how exciting is a book set in a beautiful, safe city? I let my memories guide me, and took into account that every city has bad areas, including Derry (and it is true that the City of Culture offices there were bombed in October, so there’s a bit of the past still about). But I felt so bad about how I depicted a real place, the Bogside, in the first book that I changed the name to the Moorside for the second book. The Floods are desperate people, and I do think where you live has a lot to do with how you are shaped as a person, especially if you feel there is no escape from your surroundings. So the Derry in my books must be a desperate place as well.

There is a clear affection in the way you write about your flawed main characters. Are they based on a real family? Your own family?

Gerald: Characters for most writers, I’m guessing, are based on real people. If they weren’t, they’d be a bit two dimensional. It’s true that my parents won the Irish lotto and the family reacted horribly. It’s also true that I decided to write An Embarrassment of Riches about it. But when I got three quarters of the way through the first draft, I realized that it wasn’t working as ficition. The plot didn’t have the correct narrative flow and the characters were too bland. It’s not that their real-life counterparts are boring, more that I was worried about what they might say about how they were depicted. So the first draft was political correctness gone mad and would’ve been a great cure for insomnia. So I let my imagination run riot (just like I did with the depiction of Derry). I told my mom she wasn’t going to be happy with the depiction of Ursula Barnett (as readers know, she’s got a temper), but not to worry because Ursula wasn’t ‘her.’ And as for the ‘counterparts’ of the Flood family, I really did go a bit crazy, turning them into drug dealers and nymphomaniacs and thugs. They’re probably furious, but at the end of the day these are all fictional characters! And most of what they do in the books is fictional as well. I’m surprised at how many people have told me Victoria Skivvins in Hand In The Till is one of their favorite characters, and she’s a little b#tch, so I think readers do find characters more interesting the more horrible they are. I don’t know how readers can tell I have affection for these characters—it must come out somehow in the writing—but it’s true. I love them all. Even Victoria Skivvins.

Fionnuala Flood’s Titanic satchel is a beloved ‘character’ in the second book, Hand In The Till. Are there any plans afoot to celebrate the Titanic Centennial in 2012?

Gerald: After Hand In The Till came out, I realized that 2012 will be the centennial of the Titanic sinking, and that there were special Titanic memorial cruises planned. I don’t think I myself would like to go on one. I think they just travel the North Atlantic, and that doesn’t sound very interesting. But I thought…what a wonderful place for Ursula and Fionnuala to meet next! And, coinciding with that, I’ve been fortunate enough to have traveled this year—a lot! Two of the places I went were Casablanca and Puerto Rico (just when Hurricane Irene hit). Both places were fantastic for inspiration. Everywhere I looked, I saw things through the eyes of all my characters, and I kept scribbling down notes. So the cruise in my book is some strange, quickly cobbled-together budget Titanic cruise that visits those places. And if I may, I’d like to thank Larry, Alfredo, Lydia and Haddou for giving me the opportunity to help shape the locations of the book. So, Fleeing the Jurisdiction will be out April 2012, just in time for the centennial. And you might be surprised to discover just who is fleeing the jurisdiction…

Do you have anything you’d like to say to prospective writers?

Gerald: Everyone has an interesting story to tell. I can’t count the amount of people who have told me they have a great story to tell, and I’m sure they do. With the way the publishing world is today, with ebooks and fanstastic sites like Digital Book Today, it’s never been easier. It’s like something that was always kept away from ‘the public at large,’ that is, getting published, has suddenly been placed in our own hands. Do it!
And to your readers?

Gerald: When An Embarrassment of Riches came out, not many people read it. This year has been amazing for me. My life has changed, and it’s all down to, once again, brilliant sites like Digital Book Today, which gave readers who are strangers to me the opportunity to take a chance on an unknown writer. I will always be grateful. Thank you all so much. Without your willingness to give my books a try, I’d still be giving readings at places to two bored friends and a homeless man who came in to use the bathroom. I hope you enjoy what I’ve written as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Website: www.geraldhansenbooks.com

Derry1: The iconic Free Derry wall, a reminder of the city’s violent past
Derry2: A view down Shipquay Street, quite difficult to maneuver in high heels.
Derry3: The Guildhall, old world charm in the middle of the city center.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Give the Gift of Books

Always Her Cowboy (Search For Love)At Digital Book Today we love to highlight books that other readers have enjoyed. Listed below are 10 great choices.
See the Top 80 – 100 free, handpicked titles that we update everyday on The Best of Amazon’s Daily Free Books. This list is not available on Amazon. See our great list of titles that you missed and are not longer free. Missed Free Books from Sept – Dec 2011 and Missed Free Books from July – August 2011.

Do you ever play games on your Kindle? Visit the Best Free and Paid Games for the Kindle. Check out our Resource Guide for the Amazon Fire. If you download and read a free book, please give the author something in return. Give the gift of a book rating on Amazon.