Whatever Holiday Shopping Guide 2013, Day Two: Non-Traditionally Published Books

Today is Day Two of the Whatever Shopping Guide 2013, and today the focus is on Non-Traditionally Published Books: Self-published works, electronically-exclusive books, books from micro presses, books released outside the usual environs of the publishing world, and so on. Hey, I put my first novel up on this very Web site more than a dozen years ago now and told people to send me a dollar if they liked it. Look where it got me. I hope you find some good stuff today.

Please note that the comment thread today is only for non-traditional authors and editors to post about their books; please do not leave other comments, as they will be snipped out to keep the thread from getting cluttered. Thanks!

Authors/editors: Here’s how to post in this thread. Please follow these directions!

1. Authors and editors of non-traditionally published books only. This includes comics and graphic novels, as well as non-fiction books and audiobooks. If your book has been traditionally published — available in bookstores on a returnable basis — post about your book in the thread that went up yesterday (if you are in doubt, assume you are non-traditionally published and post here). If you are a creator in another form or medium, your thread is coming tomorrow. Don’t post if you are not the author or editor, please.

2. Completed works only. Do not post about works in progress, even if you’re posting them publicly. Remember that this is supposed to be a gift guide, and that these are things meant to be given to other people. Likewise, don’t just promote yourself unless you have something to sell or provide, that others may give as a gift.

3. One post per author. In that post, you can list whatever books of yours you like, but allow me to suggest you focus on your most recent book. Note also that the majority of Whatever’s readership is in the US/Canada, so I suggest focusing on books available in North America.

4. Keep your description of your book brief (there will be a lot of posts, I’m guessing) and entertaining. Imagine the person is in front of you as you tell them about your book and is interested but easily distracted.

5. You may include a link to a bookseller if you like by using standard HTML link scripting. Be warned that if you include too many links (typically three or more) your post may get sent to the moderating queue. If this happens, don’t panic: I’ll be going in through the day to release moderated posts. Note that posts will occasionally go into the moderation queue semi-randomly; Don’t panic about that either.

6. As noted above, comment posts that are not from authors/editors promoting their books as specified above will be deleted, in order to keep the comment thread useful for people looking to find interesting books.

Now: Tell us about your book!

349 Comments on “Whatever Holiday Shopping Guide 2013, Day Two: Non-Traditionally Published Books”

  1. Again: This thread is for authors/editors of non-traditionally published books only. Any other comments, including questions or comments about the books in the thread, will be deleted (and unlike I usually do, there will be no trace it ever existed). This is to keep the thread clear for its sole purpose: Giving readers here a list of cool, traditionally-published books to consider for gifts this holiday season.

    Reminder also that there will also be threads for other works and recommendations:

    Yesterday: Traditionally published books (if you’re an author of a traditionally published work, you can still post here)
    Tomorrow: Other creative works (music, crafts, art, etc)
    Thursday: Fan recommendations
    Friday: Charities

    So there will almost certainly be a chance for you to promote yourself and/or the work of someone who makes cool gifts.

  2. Hi! You may remember me as the artist responsible for the kaiju in the Great Manjina Incident. If you enjoyed colossal sentient fallopian tubes hell-bent on instantaneous urban renovation, you may enjoy…

    Okay, my ongoing projects have nothing to do with that (and what does, really?). My webcomic, A GIRL AND HER FED, and my recent novel, DIGITAL DIVIDE, do explore privacy, politics, technology, civil liberties, the human experience, and how the lines between these blur like the dickens. The webcomic is free to read online (or in .pdf or dead tree forms), and if you like the voice and concepts, you can check out how I expand on these in the novel.

  3. “A Togahan Returns”, the second book in the sci-fi Togahan series, follows gunfighter Dante Nissomo as he leaves the criminal underworld behind to pursue more “noble” work as a mercenary. Although the early jobs prove fruitful, Dante has misgivings about some team members. When a contract with an invading force puts them all in a tough spot, Dante is forced to choose between foes in a fast moving arena.

    A Togahan Returns is available on Kindle, Nook, iTunes, and Kobo. Please check out http://petehollmer.com/books/ , and thank you for reading.

  4. These are not your typical fantasy creatures. When Eizenfeng’s leading wizards combine science with magic, the world changes dramatically. Technological advancements, coupled with racial and economic tensions propel the country toward war with a longtime ally. Three untrained and unlicensed wizards embark on a quest to save the girl’s father, rescue a giant, and prevent a war.

    Duck Blood Soup on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Duck-Blood-Soup-Caldarium-ebook/dp/B00AGOISEU/ (Buy the paperback, get the kindle version free)

    Other platforms: http://duckblood.com/purchase/

  5. Teen angst with a purpose? Check.
    Protagonist that draws supernatural tattoos? Check.
    Secret agency somewhere between the Matrix and SHIELD? Check.

    INKCHANGER follows the strange story of Zara Carter as she comes to grips with her sudden magical talents and tries to open the iron cage around her heart. The choice she’s forced to make between living a closed-off life and taking charge of her fate isn’t for the reader who’s weak of constitution, but oh,how beautiful it is.

    Part William Gibson, part Francesca Lia Block, sprinkled liberally with nerd culture references, and a mere $2.99 on Amazon. It’s hard to say no.

    http://www.amazon.com/Inkchanger-ebook/dp/B00BDU3BN4

  6. Tiberius has always thought of himself as a normal 10-year-old boy. Maybe he’s a little smarter than everyone else, but that’s still normal. He’s scared of shadows, but everyone’s scared of something, right? His mother’s completely paranoid and called the cops the one time, just one time, he went over to a friend’s house after school, but, still, he’s normal even if his mother is not. At least, that’s what he thinks until the day his mother finally decides to tell him about his father, and she tells him things that convince him that one of them is crazy, and he’s pretty sure it’s not him. That is until the Man with No Eyes shows up and his father falls out of the sky.

    Shadow Spinner by Andrew Leon
    http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Spinner-Andrew-Leon/dp/1482076683/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

  7. Catch-2012 is a darkly funny novella about the end of the world and humanity’s absurd, tragic and collectively psychotic inability to stop it. The book follows Jal Khalil, a NASA flight director once of “Mohawk Guy” fame, separated from his love by asteroids, monkey plague and solar flare, fighting within the clusterf*#k that remains of the government to save the world. Meanwhile, across the country, Isabel the Singing Iguana sets off with her bike and Poo the perpetually hungry dog on a quest to find the last Burning Man, unaware of just the kind if burning men she’ll find. From asteroids to zombies to peak oil, Catch-2012 has a wink for every fan of apocalyptic fiction, delivered over a fast romp through some colossal ironies, with heart to match our frighteningly funny end times.

    http://www.amazon.com/Catch-2012-Ernesto-A-Ospina-ebook/dp/B00DXY8H7S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386029696&sr=8-1&keywords=catch-2012+ernesto+a.+ospina

    Thanks for taking the time to read this, and thanks to John for the chance to post it! Links to my other books are available on my website: http://ernestoaospina.wordpress.com/

  8. One Hundred, Ten, and One is a collection of 111 SF and fantasy stories, which is a lot.

    Altogether, these 111 stories make up just under 4,000 words, which is very little.

    This brevity is because 100 of those stories are Twitter microfiction, written to fit into 140 characters. They have been selected from the first 140 stories posted to my MicroSFF Twitter microfiction account.

    10 of those stories are drabbles, comprising exactly 100 words. One of them was selected by the editors for posting in
    the FlashFlood of UK’s National Flash Fiction Day, June 22nd 2013.

    1 of those stories is a short story.

    100, 10, and 1 stories, in one little ebook, available from Amazon, Apple iTunes, B&N, Smashwords, and Diesel.

  9. I thought I’d let Stella and Roland tell you about the book, The Non-Conformist Club, since they are the narrators and everything. –Drew

    “Ok, so the Non-Conformist Club is about this fat, ugly, bitchy, goth chick…”
    “Stella…don’t talk about yourself like that.”
    “Shut up Roland, Drew told me to sell the fucking book, so that’s what I’m doing.”
    “Suit yourself….”
    “So it’s about this fat, ugly, bitchy, goth chick named Stella who is in love with Dave the leader of a group of smart kids called the Non-Conformist Club….”
    “I still can’t believe you call it that.”
    “I said shut up. You were begging to get in when I met you. You didn’t have any friends except the toilet bowl when your face was getting shoved in it.”
    “Fair enough.”
    “So Roland and I take turns telling this story, about how Dave takes Roland here under his wing and tries to make him less of a pussy while I’m trying to get Dave to fall in love with me.”
    “Heh, ya gonna tell ‘em how tough guy? Or are you going to make them read the book? It’s pretty embarrassing….”
    “If I gotta tell you one more time to shut up you bitch, I’m going to put you in your grave.”
    “Alright, so the book’s got everything, sex, violence, drugs, gambling, magic, cursing….”
    “Lots of fucking cursing.”
    “Indeed, lots of cursing. But I think most teenagers would like it, don’t you?”
    “Yeah, and people who remember being a teenager too. It’s a funny story, sad in a few places, but mostly funny. And realistic, at least these guys seem real to me.”
    “Well, that’s because they are you. At least one of them is.”
    “Always gotta be the smart one, huh? Anyway, check out the book, it’s only a few bucks and I think you’ll like it.”
    “Yeah, me too.”
    “Nobody cares what you think, Roland.”

    Check it out on Kindle:

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Non-Conformist-Club-Drew-Richardson-ebook/dp/B00FUAC9XQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386077233&sr=8-1&keywords=non+conformist+club

  10. If you need holiday gifts for girls (or you just want something different to read), DRAGONTAMER’S DAUGHTERS, my two-part YA fantasy novel, is not your same-old, same-old. No zombies, no vampires, no wizards.

    In an alternate Old West, Isabella and Alijandra live in exile with their parents in the high desert. Years before, the girls’ father caught, tamed, and trained dragons for their country, Ysparria, but now he is an outlaw. When the sisters find a dragon like no other, their lives will never be the same.

    Blogger Naomi Blackburn of A Book and A Review said, “This book would a fantastic introduction to the world of fantasy or dystopian literature for the young reader. I found the novel to be fast paced with likable characters that a pre-teen or early teen could identify with.” Sun Mountain Reviews said, “Kilgore has taken great pains to develop the main characters within the family and all of them are well-rounded with distinct personalities…. The author has created strong female role models.” Tome Tender blog said of DTD, “This is young fantasy at its best.”

    Discover a new direction in YA fantasy. Discover DRAGONTAMER’S DAUGHTERS.

    http://www.amazon.com/Dragontamers-Daughters-Part-1-Pearl/dp/1475200641

    http://www.amazon.com/Dragontamers-Daughters-Part-2-Stormcaller/dp/1475228007/ref=pd_sim_b_1

  11. Inspired by serialized fiction storytellers of a bygone era, like Charles Dickens and more recently John Scalzi’s The Human Division, the first episode of Desmond Shepherd’s The Permanent Man premiered November 12, 2013. Every Tuesday, a new episode will be released until the season finale on January 28, 2014.

    This science fiction adventure series mixes secret agents with scientists … and the Wild West with time travel … all while avoiding any of the Will Smith shenanigans you would expect.

    The Permanent Man #1: Pilot: Private Investigator Patrick Hold expects to find the unwanted for his clients. But when the unwanted arrives at his door in the form of a government agent, it is anything but expected. The agent claims Patrick is a wanted person called the Permanent Man—someone unable to experience death—and arrests him. Worried he’ll be imprisoned for life, Patrick attempts to escape … but he might escape to the unwanted.

    It’s never too late to get hooked on the series! It’s available at Amazon, iTunes, Barnes & Noble and other e-book retailers. For a complete episode guide and details on where you can pick up your copy, check out The Permanent Man Episode Guide at this link:

    http://www.the-time-capsule.com/p/the-permanent-man-episode-guide.html

  12. Hi John, hi all.

    Thanks for this opportunity, and congratulations on finishing your book!

    I just want to say that, if there are any spanish speaking readers out there that love science fiction, then I invite you to read my latest book, called “Anómala”. You can find it here:

    http://www.amazon.com/An%C3%B3mala-Spanish-Edition-Ronald-Delgado-ebook/dp/B00BF4R62A/

    It is a cyberpunk short stories collection, science fiction made in Venezuela.

    Hope you like my book.

    Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

    Ronald Delgado.

  13. Thank you, Mr. Scalzi!

    PNEUMADILUVIANS VOLUME 1 — (Digital FREE [until Thursday] / Print $8.99)

    This isn’t your mother’s end-of-the-world fiction. Thirty-five people have watched from the upper stories of their apartment tower as the world around them, and on the floors beneath them, have inexplicably died. Months pass and the sixth and seventh floors that once saved them begin to feel like a prison. An engineering student must find the answers to this strange disaster and repurpose what few supplies they have to escape before the food’s gone, their nerves fray, or those things prowling the dead floors beneath them make their way to the top of the tower.
    Insane survivors, six-story plummets, poisonous air, brilliant inventions, and things lurking in the shadows are just the hallmarks of a typical day for the pneumadiluvians.

    http://www.amazon.com/Pneumadiluvians-1-Titus-Welch-ebook/dp/B00F6VY9QY/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-2&qid=1386071228

  14. Tomorrow I am releasing my fourteenth novel, “Fifty Million Reasons”.

    Angela has typical lottery-player plans: help friends and family, give more to charity, and escape her rut. But when she wins big, she faces angry relatives, her own unexpected greed, and a lawsuit from the person who put her in that rut. Almost nobody treats her normally, and they’ve got fifty million reasons not to.

    She can buy anything she wants now, but can she buy the life she needs?

    An excerpt of the book is available at http://heatherwardell.com/book-fiftymillionreasons.shtml, and from there you can also see my other books including my free-to-download “Life, Love, and a Polar Bear Tattoo” (which has been downloaded over 375,000 times over the last five years!).

    Thank you for considering non-traditionally-published authors… many of us have chosen this path and love it!

  15. Thank you, John, for this opportunity. Here I’d like to tell your readers about my SF trilogy ‘The Sigil’, which is available from ReAnimus Press as an omnibus or as individual parts (‘Siege of Stars’, ‘Scourge of Stars’, ‘Rage of Stars’), either as print-on-demand books or in a variety of electronic formats either direct from the publisher (http://reanimus.com/store/?item=1260) or the usual online emporia.

    It’s been longlisted for a variety of awards and has drawn quite a lot of praise.

    ‘Exploding galaxies; million-year-old aliens with super powers; huge, ancient prehuman civilisations. The best sensawunda SF I’ve come across for years’. – Elizabeth Counihan

    ‘Thoughtful. Funny. Like nothing else before it. And pretty thoroughly mind-expanding. In fact everything you always hope a very good SF novel will be.’ – Michael Moorcock

    ‘Fast-moving, insanely inventive science fiction in the grand manner—seldom has the fate of the galaxy been handled on such a large scale. Gee draws on archeology, geology, physics, and biology to create a rich tapestry with surprises woven into every thread.’ – Nancy Kress

    ‘The Sigil is in the grand tradition of Stapledonian space opera, and provides not only an explanation for why this universe is the way it is, but gives us the many vivid wild adventures on the part of some (very appealing) conscious characters acting to make it that way. Awesome stuff, and a true pleasure to read page by page.’ – Kim Stanley Robinson

    ‘The Sigil will live in my memory long after I’ve forgotten what happens in many other novels.’ – Ian Watson

    ‘I really admire the reach of these books, and the many subtle and excellent nuances in the writing. It’s classic-SF award-worthy.’ – Brenda Cooper

    Here’s some blurb: The Universe is dying from within. No one knows how to save it, so the Elders give a young Drover a last ditch chance to stop the rot. If only she knew where to begin.

    Jack Corstorphine, archaeologist, has an intuition that the landscape of Europe had been civilized for millions of years … an intuition realized by the incisive intelligence of his protegée, Jadis Markham. Neither is prepared for the size and scale of the surprises they let loose on the world.

    Ruxhana Fengen Kraa, Admiral of the 17th Rigel Fleet, is about to be cashiered for a stupendous tactical mistake. But Special Ops has another job for him – something far, far stranger.

    The Brethren at a remote desert monastery are preparing for the Apparition of the Goddess, an event that occurs only once every 2,058,416 years. But will the Goddess arrive in time to save them from an apparition of an altogether more hostile kind?

    Mr Haraddzjin Khorare, trader in fine textiles from the Very Great and Ancient City of Axandragór, is on a routine business trip. But when his vessel is overtaken by pirates, his adventure takes an altogether more astonishing turn.

  16. Years from now, the most powerful corporations write blank checks to stabilize the American economy; this business alliance, known as the Corporate Committee, controls a centralized and nationalist United States which in turn uses its military and economic power to exert control over a European Union crippled by debt.

    In this new reality, strict secrecy laws lead to the rise of information dealers, elite criminals who sell data to the highest bidders. One such information dealer has discovered a world-shaking secret: a corporation has genetically engineered prototypes for disposable soldiers.

    This revelation begins an international struggle for survival when one prototype escapes into the world only to confront who and what she is. The corporation that engineered the prototypes rushes to recapture its property while the US government sees an opportunity to wrest control back from the Committee. European terrorists see a weapon to use against their US oppressors, and the world’s most notorious information dealer sees what could be the biggest score of his career.

    The Loyalty of Pawns, a political and technological thriller, is available from
    Amazon.com and on Kindle.

  17. Sorry for yesterday ‘s mishap and thanks for the opportunity to share my work!

    My latest science fiction book is just released : Blood of a Traitor .

    It’s got ships, guns, posthumans, and kickass armored exoskeletons!

    It’s the second in a series but can be read independently.

    Kay has no family, no name, just a gene line designation and a crappy future thanks to the Nassien Research Division. As the sole Terran genetic experiment in a Novan Marine outfit, her life is a never-ending conflict.

    You can read an excerpt and other details here.

  18. Thirteen years ago, I compiled a family cookbook, but couldn’t find any information online or in print to help me do it. I made some mistakes, learned a lot, and ended up writing a book to help other people avoid the mistakes I made. It’s newly updated to reflect current options in self-publishing.

    “Creating an Heirloom: Writing Your Family’s Cookbook” focuses on organization and preservation. Recipes are more than food, they’re traditions and culture, a link to our heritage and reflections of passing time. (Plus it just makes sense to have all those recipes you love in one place!) You can read more about it here: http://www.creatinganheirloom.com, and it’s available through Amazon in paperback and Kindle editions: http://amzn.com/B00H0MP0M4.

    Happy Holidays!

  19. Wondering what to get the mystery-loving, fantasy reader on your list? May I suggest MILES TO GO and PROMISES TO KEEP, Books 1 and 2 of SYLVAN INVESTIGATIONS ?

    Danny Hendrickson: Human mother, faun father, 100% Attitude. For the most part, he’s made his own way, first as a member of the NYPD and then – when they started looking too closely at non-humans in the force – as a private investigator, straddling the line between human and fatae (supernatural) in his job the way he does in his life

    He has a good life, he has good friends, he makes a difference… But he also has a dangerous life. And sometimes – when you’re in the middle of magic – good friends aren’t enough.

    “Gilman breaks your heart in the best way possible as she revisits the Cosa Nostradamus world with charming half-faun Danny taking the lead… Gilman’s deft touch delights in the Sylvan Investigation novellas.” – C.E. Murphy, bestselling author of SHAMAN RISES

    DRM-free epub and mobi format available from Book View Cafe:
    Miles to Go
    Promises to Keep

    Both titles are also available via Amazon and B&N

    (or try the limited trade omnibus edition from Plus One Press)

  20. New technology brings new choices — but who gets to choose? Courtroom drama meets science fiction in my latest novel, Division.

    Like the book our esteemed host just finished, Division takes place in the near future. Conjoined twins Gordon and Johnny have never let their condition keep them from living full and fulfilling lives. Gordon looks forward to many years of closeness and cooperation. Johnny, however, faces their future with increasing restlessness, even dread.

    When the boys are in their teens, the new technologies of accelerated human cloning and brain transplants are combined into a single medical procedure. Someone whose body has suffered such extensive damage as to make normal life impossible may — with court approval — be cloned and then given a brain transplant into the clone body. With Gordon’s unwitting assistance, Johnny realizes that this procedure provides the chance he had never dared to hope for — the chance to live in a “normal,” separate body.

    But Gordon considers their conjoined life a blessing, rather than a curse. He has no intention of accepting separation — not without a fight . . . .

    Division on Amazon (all countries) for Kindle: http://smarturl.it/Division

    If you prefer giving paperbacks, there’s Twin-Bred (also available for Kindle), which asks: can interspecies diplomacy begin in the womb? After seventy years on Tofarn, the human colonists still know almost nothing about the native Tofa. Misunderstandings breed conflict, and the conflicts are escalating. Scientist Mara Cadell’s radical proposal: that host mothers carry fraternal twins, one human and one Tofa, who might understand each other better. But both the human and Tofa establishments have their own agendas for the Twin-Bred project . . . .

    Twin-Bred in paperback on Amazon (where it’s currently discounted): http://smarturl.it/twin-bred-paperback

    Happy reading and giving!

  21. Paul Harrison always wanted to play Hamlet, but he never expected he’d live the role first.

    In the aftermath of a family tragedy on 21st century Earth, Paul discovers he’s the clone of Sean Lyon, his great-great-grandfather and a famous TwenCen musician. Suspecting his mother’s death was no accident, Paul comes up with a plan to trick the answers out of the great-uncle who had him cloned. But in order to make his plan work, Paul needs help from Sean himself–and Sean’s time is running out in the TwenCen universe next door. Although Paul’s family lives on the spaceship that travels between the universes, he’s never been allowed on TwenCen Earth. Now, with the help of his friends, his disguise-creating holoprojectors, and a quantum quirk, Paul must make his way to Sean while evading other time travelers who fear he’ll change the history of the TwenCen universe. If Paul is to achieve justice, he must not only risk his own life, but the wormhole connecting the universes. “To be or not to be” was a simple question in comparison….

    Twinned Universes is available in eBook, paper, and audio formats.

    http://www.amazon.com/Twinned-Universes-Catalyst-Chronicles-Ulbrich-ebook/dp/B00BO9GIHU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386078164&sr=8-1&keywords=twinned+universes

  22. Think Dracula meets Clueless, with chocolate and a side of man candy. And that’s what you’ll get with The Chocolate Is The Life, my debut novel available on Amazon.

    For Frankie MacSweeney, life had never been sweeter. Making the decision to move from London to the seaside city of Brighton and open a chocolate shop wasn’t easy, but with her best friend Louise by her side and fiancé James on track toward a bright future of his own Frankie finally felt like she had found something she could settle into.

    Of course, as with all good things, she should have known it wouldn’t last.

    When James disappears during an important business trip in the Swiss Alps and Louise starts acting stranger by the day after her big birthday bash, it’s down to Frankie to work out what’s happening while trying to get everything sorted in time for the shop’s grand opening. And as if that weren’t enough on her dessert plate, enter Henry Roberts: the gorgeous and mysterious stranger who might just hold the key to all of it.

    For the month of December, the novel will be priced at 99 cents on Amazon.com. You know, for gift-giving purposes.

    Thanks John for letting us post – my friend Stacy pointed me in your direction!

  23. Thanks for the opportunity to showcase our work, Scalzi. Much appreciated.

    My first self-published novel, TURBULENT REENTRY, won the 2010 San Diego Mensa Creative uRGe award for Best Unpublished Novel.

    Instead of college exams and dorm parties, twenty-two year old Wade Evans spent the last four years at Dayton Correctional on a rape charge. Her name was Elisabeth and her testimony clinched his conviction. Wade couldn’t honestly tell them it didn’t happen but would the jury have believed that it was her idea? Now he’s out and working at Scene Cleaners where he cleans up crime scenes after the police have gone home.

    In spite of the risk, Wade can’t keep himself from driving by Elisabeth’s palatial home, a definite violation of his Reentry Program. He loved her once but still can’t figure out why she lied on the stand to send him to prison. All he wants is one glance to see how the last four years have treated her – to see how her new lawyer husband is treating her. Then the unthinkable happens – the next murder scene he has to clean is at her house.

    It is available at Lulu and as an eBook from Amazon.

  24. Thanks, John!

    IT’S JUST A LITTLE CRUSH (Amazon/B&N $2.99)

    Mystery/Humor/Romance

    When bodies start piling up in the small town of Liberty, Lizzie Hart smells trouble and takes it upon herself to uncover the truth. Hindered only by her general ineptitude at sleuthing and a raging crush on the town’s most eligible bachelor, Blake Morgan, Lizzie spies, accuses, eavesdrops, and gossips her way through a parade of suspects.

    http://www.amazon.com/Little-Crush-Lizzie-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00B7T1DIG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363021782&sr=8-1&keywords=caroline+fardig

  25. Thank you for the opportunity, John.

    What if there were uncounted versions of you on parallel streams of reality? And what if one of them was trying to kill you?

    That’s the premise of my debut novel, Traveler. Just out from Mbedzi Publishing, and on sale TODAY ONLY, 99 cents for ebook, Kindle and Nook.

    Detective Trav Becker has lost everything—his partner, his girl friend, and is about to lose the job he loves. But when his partner seemingly returns from the dead, it’s because Trav has somehow shifted to a parallel dimension. With the help of his scientist friend Sam and an attractive but eccentric psychic, Trav discovers that this ability to “Travel” gives him the opportunity to avoid the mistakes that originally ruined his life.

    However, other versions of Trav have the same capacity. And one is systematically killing every other Trav Becker he can find. Fighting to keep the very fabric of time itself from unwinding, Trav must hunt the most dangerous quarry of all… himself.

    99 cents, TODAY ONLY, on Amazon and BN.com

    Just hit up the link from my website, http://denniswgreen.com/buy-traveler-1/

    But do it right now. In a parallel universe, there’s a version of you already reading it, and you don’t want to let that jerk have all the fun…

  26. I got two chapbooks recently self-published, one all high-flown and literary cubist, and one a fun romp through a mythos made for fun:

    ERRATA:

    Collecting for the first time, and revising for this edition, all four stories in the Errata sequence–“The City of Rotted Names,” “The Prince of End Times,” “The Whenever at the City’s Heart,” & “The Tower of Morning’s Bones”–this chapbook is a cubist collage of wordplay and worldblazing, a mosaic narrative of the battle for the city of the soul. Here, fans of Vellum & Ink can delve deeper into the mythos of The Book of All Hours, while new readers will find a stand-alone story, a wild ride into the world of a work described as “the Guernica of genre fiction.”

    I won’t hardsell this. The best way to get a sense of it is probably to use the Look Inside function at Amazon

    FABBLES: 1:

    Meet the Scruffians, workhouse tykes and street arabs scrobbled by the Waiftaker General, dragged to the Institute and put to the Stamp that writes your very soul into your skin, the waifs of Ripper Vicky’s Empire, Fixed forever as they are, never ageing, never starving, ever bouncing back to exactly how they were Fixed… the perfect child labour.

    Meet the scamps and scrags, scallywags and scofflaws escaped from their chimney sweep and mill owner masters, hiding out in their rookery cribs, surviving as thieves and beggars… and fighting back: Flashjack the hellion and Puckerscruff the urchin; Squirlet Nicely and Vermintrude Toerag; Yapper, the Scruffian who learned to speak Dog; Whelp, the dog Fixed as a Scruffian; and Rake Jake Scallion, not a Scruffian, but the bestest mate any scruff ever had.

    Meet Gobfabbler Halyard-Dunkling, Esquire, aka Gob, the fabbler of this here crib, with his fabbles of Christmas spirit, canine spifflication, and why, only the most important fabble of em all… the fabble of how the Scruffians took the Stamp!

    Just in time for Christmas, (leastways it should be if yer order sharpish,) a perfect wee stocking filler for friends and family. Buy one for yourself! Buy one for your mate! Buy one for your mate’s small child and get them to read the first story aloud in their best Mockney accent as you all sit round the Yuletide fire! They won’t be that scarred for life. And even if they are, it’ll be scarred in a good way. Like if David Cronenberg remade Oliver! on a script from Clive Barker… and kept the songs. Which would be awesome, right?

    Whe-e-e-e-ere is love? It’s in the sausages, mate. Them sausages is made with oodles of love!

    Amazon distribution hasn’t come through yet, so go here for links to order it from Lulu or direct from meself in a speshul edition, lined, signed and dated, and decorated by the Scruffian of your choice.

  27. Thank you, John! Am I allowed to list non-fiction? (If not, just remove me!)

    I’m selling a one-year subscription to MoxieTopics, short focused ebooks on parenting topics my readers ask about most. The topics are roadmaps and structures you use to think about an age or stage, so you can recognize patterns and figure out how to respond to your kids in ways that work for your family. http://askmoxie.org/moxietopics-subscription/

    The subscription includes all the currently available topics, plus a new one every month. Current topics include a Timeline of Regressions and Blips from Birth to Age 2, Sleep Regression Intensive, Keeping Kids on an Even Keel During Holidays, Creating Your Own Parent Method, Tension Increasers/Decreasers, Parenting With Another Person, and Problem Solving Procedure. Upcoming topics include helping your child make friends, setting goals with your kids, and teaching your kids about boundaries.

    You can buy for yourself or as a gift subscription, and the entire year is only $40. This is a fantastic deal compared to buying by the individual topic, and it is appropriate for parents at all stages of parenting, and all kinds of parents in all kinds of family configurations. It’s the perfect $40 Xmas, baby shower, new baby, adoption, or “hey, parents are people, too” gift.

    Thank you!

    Magda Pecsenye
    http://AskMoxie.org
    You are the best parent for your child

  28. A literary short story, only 99 cents.

    “Bobby Reith lived a normal boy’s life: billboards talked to him, shadows chased him down staircases, and Jesus really loves him. Despite his odd behavior, and being kept after Sunday School for a “special lecture,” the other boys in his class make friends with him. They invite him to a special initiation into their club — an initiation that turns into a terrifying encounter in the local cemetery.”

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Angel-Lies-Bruce-Diamond-ebook/dp/B00514KNHK

  29. In the world of DARK SHAMAN AWAKENING, the Kalevala’s mythic shamanism is real. Go beyond re-runs of Norse tales and Greek myths to a new mythic realm.

    You may know Finland for its wife-carrying races, air-guitar championships sand swamp soccer, not all three at once, but now the Finnish Kalevala epic has spawned a fantasy universe where descendants of the great sage Vainamoinen take on the Dark Shaman.

    I’d tell you to run with your spouse on your back to get a copy, but don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Kirkus Indie – A review service from Kirkus Reviews says, “Fennecus’ debut fantasy novel skillfully melds mystical shamanism and a splash of sci-fi to create a riveting YA novel.”

    N.H. Fennecus – adventure guide through explosive mythic journeys – http://DarkShaman.com

  30. My latest book is Hunter’s Chosen, the third and final part in my Hunter in the Dark trilogy. The book features Ben, a 16-year-old boy who is perfectly normal at night, but completely blind in daylight.

    When his twin sister is abducted by a mysterious group called the Veiled Ones, Ben is the only one who can save her.

    But as he comes closer to finding her, he learns that the Veiled Ones actions’ might not have been as selfish as he assumed, and that a far greater threat looms.

    Hunter’s Chosen can be found at Amazon, both as a paperback (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1291505652/) and as e-book (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E75JUP0/). The first part of the trilogy, Gift of the Destroyer, can be downloaded as a free ebook (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0063UB58W).

  31. If you like social issues along with family stories (Elizabeth Gaskell + Mary Jo Putney), please consider AN UNTITLED LADY:

    A young woman struggles to reconcile a tragic past and an uncertain future in a city on the brink of revolt. Set during the workers’ protests in Manchester 1819.
    Love, laughs, terror, joy.

    Releases Dec. 20. More here
    Thanks for reading

  32. HEY KIDS, COMICS!: TRUE-LIFE TALES FROM THE SPINNER RACK is a non-fiction anthology featuring the comic book “secret origins” of various comics pros, authors, TV and movie writers, journalists, bloggers, and other people from all walks of life.

    Featuring stories from such luminaries as Alan Brennert, Steve Englehart, J.M. DeMatteis, Prof. James Kakalios, and many more, plus vintage photos of kids and their beloved comics, HEY KIDS, COMICS! is a must-have for the comic book fan in your life. It was listed on AintItCoolNews.com’s 2013 Holiday Gift Guide!

    HEY KIDS, COMICS! has been a passion project of mine for over four years, and this year it finally became a reality. I’m a lifelong fan of the medium, and this book was my way of giving back to comics, which have been such a big part of my creative life. A big thanks to Mr. Scalzi for this chance to promote it in such a way.

    You can purchase the book on the HEY KIDS, COMICS! page on Amazon , where you can also peek inside, and check out all the five-star reviews!

    –Rob Kelly

  33. Greetings and many thanks to Mr. Scalzi for his generosity in providing us with this opportunity.

    My novel Armageddon Girl is on sale on Amazon’s Kindle store (http://www.amazon.com/Armageddon-Girl-New-Olympus-Saga-ebook/dp/B00GPZFWL6/). It is an alternate history/superhero tale set in a world where superhuman beings appeared during the early part of the 20th century and changed the course of history.

    Nerdy college student Christine Dark finds herself in a brave new world of cosmic heroes, weird science and dark conspiracies. Has her life as a sci-fi (ahem, SF&F) and gaming geek prepared her to deal with the fact she may hold the keys to the planet’s salvation or destruction? Will her self-confidence improve as a result, or will her quest end in pure epic fail? It’s Alice in Wonderland meets The Watchmen, Joss Whedon style.

    Armageddon Girl combines action, science-fiction and humor, wrapped in an homage to geek culture. The first seven chapters of the novel are available on my website (http://www.cjcarella.com/fiction/chapters_1-3). I hope you enjoy the samples enough to order a copy or two. The novel is currently available on Kindle and a print version will be released later this month.

  34. Fiction is fun, but nothing is more interesting than factismals: little bite-sized morsels of science served up with an opportunity to do real science yourself!

    For the past year, I’ve been blogging about science, covering topics from asteroids to zebras. Each post follows a simple formula. First, there’s a little “factismal” to tease you into reading further. Next, there’s an explanation of the science behind the factismal. And finally, there is a link to a citizen science opportunity; for those of you unfamiliar with the term, citizen science is real science that you can do that will help real researchers as they try to understand our world.

    If you didn’t have a chance to read every post when it first went up and are too busy to go back through the posts, then I have some good news for you: I’ve taken some of the posts and arranged them thematically in a series of ebooks. The first one is called Factismals For Space Cadets and includes posts on how astronomical objects get named, what Jupiter sounds like, and why we never got those atomic rockets we were promised. The second is titled Factismals For Health Nuts and covers topics such as the meaning of blood types, how cholera was stopped by a pump handle, and how diseases get their names. Each book includes thirty days of factismals and citizen science opportunities.

    My books are available on itunes:
    https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/factismals-for-space-cadets/id733172316?mt=11
    https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/factismals-for-health-nuts/id735399112?mt=11

    and on Kindle:
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FEG3K3O/ref=tsm_1_fb_lk
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FH96Z12

    and on Smashwords:
    http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/360814
    http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/362026

    Each book is just $1.49. So go buy them and then go have some fun doing science!

  35. “WAKE UP AND SMELL THE CREEPY is a wonderful collection. The stories are subtle, almost gentle, and powerful at the same time…and they hit you like a punch you didn’t see coming. Marianne Halbert has writing chops to spare.” – New York Times best-selling author Rick Hautala, author of GLIMPSES and INDIAN SUMMER.

    The 9 stories in my collection, “Wake Up and Smell the Creepy”, were all originally traditionally published in various magazines and anthologies. (Then I later put them together in this collection.) Some horror, some mystery, some just…weird. My biggest influences are the Twilight Zone and Stephen King. So if you like weird, atmospheric horror or know someone who does, this one’s for you.

    As you hover between wakefulness and wandering back to your dreams, a man struggles to prove he’s in control of his own destiny, while a psychiatric patient proclaims he is the new dawn of mankind. As you hit the snooze and pull the covers over your shoulder to elude a chill, a lawyer makes a desperate attempt to save a client accused of a thorny murder, while a man in mid-life crisis buys a key that opens a used car and the answers to an unsolved mystery. As you shuffle to the coffee pot, revenge already sits cold on the table, and the plot for a ghostly mass murder is brewing. So drink your coffee. Open your eyes. It’s time to wake up. And smell the creepy.

    “Marianne Halbert slips out of these pages and into a dark corner of your mind to scare the hell out of you.” – Gary Brandner, best-selling author of the “The Howling” trilogy.

    https://www.amazon.com/author/marianne.halbert

  36. ‘INTERVENTION: The Pandora Virus’ is a sci-fi techno thriller set in a climate change wracked, near future. A young environmentalist learns that his parents had been involved in illegal genetic experimentation. Investigating, he stumbles across something that could change humanity if he can’t stop it… except he’s not so sure he should. But someone is watching every move he makes, and they have no intention of allowing him to interfere.

    From the reviews (arms length, I promise!) “Michael Crichton-esque… hit the ground running and never stopped for breath”, “a future so plausible it’s downright scary”, “A rare find: topnotch self-published SF”, “a promising new talent has joined the SF field.”

    Read the reviews or buy the eBook or paperback at amazon.com/dp/B0081M5F90.

    Or buy it at Barnes and Noble or Smashwords . For more information and links, visit interventionbymunro.com.

    Thank you John. Happy holidays, everyone. ☺

  37. Hi, all! I’ve published two gift-worthy books for the Christmas season in the last month. Please check them out!

    “MODOGAMOUS” is a Christmas romance (also categorized as women’s fiction / New Adult / Chick Lit) and is already drawing 5-star reviews! Short description:

    “Kate Adams has a steady job, a home she loves in the big city, and good friends who always keep her laughing. Everything is going great—until the night Kate crosses the line with her best friend Mitch, and the boundaries between friendship and love begin to blur. Things get even more complicated when hunky JP enters the scene. Add to the mix a spunky little pug, and things start to get crazy! ”

    You can find the book on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/qesto7k
    and Smashwords: http://tinyurl.com/psvecy5

    Also Available: “Travels in the Holy Land” – an eSingle travelogue on my journey through Israel on the eve of the Millennium New Year (2000). This narrative takes the readers through the streets of Jerusalem and Bethlehem, then onward to Masada, Acre, Haifa, and other destinations! Only 99 cents…a great read for such a tiny price.

    You can find the book on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/lgb5nqe

  38. Like all great detectives, Alonso occasionally needs a pseudonym–this one to avoid the Inquisition and the pesky news journalist named Miguel Cervantes who has taken to following him wherever he goes. Only it’s Spain and the year is 1603. He chooses the name of don Quixote de la Mancha, and windmills aren’t the only thing he chases. Follow him as he pretends to be crazy while solving the mystery of his friend’s disappearance.
    On sale now for 99 cents at Amazon for kindle, http://tinyurl.com/k48xpnx ,

  39. I’ve just released the third novel in The Vampires of New England Series, *All The Shadows of the Rainbow.* (http://bylightunseenmedia.com/atsotr.htm)

    New-minted vampire and magic worker Diana Chilton meets someone from her past and forms a coven that works to catalyze social change during the 1950s and early 1960s. After a devastating reality check, Diana retreats to a commune of organic farmers, where she meets another vampire she’s been seeking for ten years. But she can’t escape the consequences of her work with the coven.

    No matter how many vampire books you’ve read, you’ve never read anything like these! I do intensive research on the time period for each book and put a lot of my personal experiences into them. They’re best described as “magical realism” because they don’t fit the expected protocols for any familiar genre. The first book in the series, *Mortal Touch*, has been praised by folklorist Michael Bell (*Food for the Dead*) and has sold nearly 5,000 copies and netted me close to $25K. The second book, *The Longer the Fall*, got pre-publication reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Library Journal.

    All of them are printed by Lightning Source and available through Ingram at standard wholesale discounts (and FULLY RETURNABLE), so you should be able to order them through any bookstore. Support your local indie bookstore! You can also order them from all online retailers. Order them directly from the publisher (which is my company) and I’ll autograph them.

    Ebook editions available as well, from all major ebook vendors or direct from the publisher (http://bylightunseenmedia.com). Buy directly from the publisher this week and each ebook in the series is only 99 cents!

    (Thanks, John, for letting us post here!)

  40. I have two books to mention. Both of my books were published by a small press in 2013, under the name M.R. Nelson.

    The first is a children’s bedtime book called The Zebra Said Shhh, about a tired zebra who wants to go to sleep but can’t because the other animals in the zoo are too damn noisy. It grew from a simple bedtime story I told my first daughter, who was also too damn noisy at bedtime. Over many, many, oh so many nights, it was refined into the story in the book. Tamia Sheldon created beautiful illustrations that brought my story to life, and the resulting book is available in electronic and paper forms from a variety of outlets. Unlike many children’s books, the electronic version is “native”- i.e., it is formatted to take advantage of the entire screen. This is one of the reasons I chose this particular publisher- I liked what they were doing with kids’ ebooks. The publisher’s website has the details: http://www.xistpublishing.com/wp/the-zebra-said-shhh/

    The second is quite different- it is a short ebook about productivity, called Taming the Work Week. It grew out of a series of blog posts I wrote about how (and why!) I keep my work hours to about 40 per week, even though I have what gets called a “high-powered” or “big” career in those annoying articles about how women can’t have it all. It is a quick read, and the reviews indicate that most people find some helpful ideas in it. Here is the publisher’s webpage for it: http://www.xistpublishing.com/wp/taming-the-work-week/

    The publisher is running a sale right now, so you can pick up an electronic copy of either book at Amazon for just $0.99.

  41. Suddenlyfit can set you on the path to a lifestyle of sustainable fitness faster than many people imagine is possible. Written by an ex-fat-man once desperate for a remedy to his own life threatening obesity, this book challenges accepted truisms about fitness and weight loss. It questions the assertions of esteemed authorities and makes clear the remarkable principles that enabled the author’s phenomenal real life transformation.

    Thoroughly researched, clear and concise, suddenlyfit presents an integrated framework of nutrition, training, hydration and recovery in the context of modern life. The principles detailed in suddenlyfit are real and they work. They work fast— in weeks not years.

    Suddenlyfit is available now in the Apple iTunes iBookstore for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch and the Amazon Kindle Store for Kindle, Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G and Kindle Fire. (The Kindle version is also compatible with Kindle reader apps for iOS, Android, Windows and Mac OS X)

    http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/suddenlyfit/id478372490?mt=11&uo=4

    http://www.amazon.com/Suddenlyfit-ebook/dp/B006NYK624/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324459203&sr=8-1

  42. Fat free! Cholesterol free! Gluten free! Sugar free! Low carb AND high in fibre! The “Promises Promises” collections are everything you want in a book, but kind of taste like paper.
    Whether you’re a fitness fanatic, or think exercising is something to see a priest about, there’s a healthy dose of hilarity in each “Promises Promises” comic!

    Shop Link

  43. Glamourhai (fantasy romance)

    He bartered his freedom to save his sister, and got more than he bargained for.

    When the fae lord, Oeloeff, takes his sister, Mattin seeks out Countess Jahlene n’Erida, a fae noble who is Oeloff’s enemy, and begs her to help free his sister. In return for her help, he offers the only thing he has–himself. Lady Jahlene accepts Mattin’s offer, and he finds himself an initiate of a strange world where pain is pleasure, cruelty is love, and nothing is as it seems.

    Mattin hates being a slave, almost as much as he hates and fears the fae. But as he learns more about Jahlene, he finds himself drawn to her, and her sadistic pleasures. As they race to prepare their trap for Oeloff, Mattin fights to reconcile his desires with his fears. Until he makes a mistake that costs him everything…

    On Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Glamourhai-Jess-Mahler-ebook/dp/B00H12XKN4/
    Author site: http://www.fantasyromanceserial.com

    Thanks John!

  44. Hi John, thanks for the opportunity.

    Follows is a link to ‘Interment’ by myself and Finnish artist Mikko Sovijarvi. We knew it had no traditional market and really did it for ourselves and the hope it might find an audience. It’s a mixture of (creepy) prose poetry, graphic novel and art. I’ve not come across anything quite like it (but I would say that,). What reviews we’ve had have been good (I don’t count the Amazon ones as it’s mostly people we know).

    Mikko’s art is like nothing else really. We plan on doing a paper copy one day but money. So for now it’s just on Amazon (as its companion piece, The Social Diary of a Ghoul but I don’t want to drown this in links). If you like outsider art and general oddness it might appeal.

    http://www.amazon.com/Interment-RJ-Barker-ebook/dp/B005LI46G0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386079548&sr=8-1&keywords=interment+rj+barker

  45. My latest published book, Work in Progress, is how Neal Hunter is dealing with that stage in life when he’s not a college kid anymore, but he doesn’t quite feel like an adult. He’s in a job he hates. His car just got wrecked. He can’t quite find a place where he fits with friends. And his girlfriend is cheating on him.

    It’s currently available on the Kindle for only $.99 and will be up on other formats soon. Go to http://www.keithbodayla.com/books for more information on this on a collection of short stories.

    Thanks to John for this opportunity to get the word out. And thank you to those who give my book a read.

  46. Thank you John, I have self-published 7 books to Kindle, the latest of which is the dystopian police procedural thriller “An Eye For An Eye For An Eye”. In a near future Europe that has collapsed economically, citizens have renounced their allegiance to the state which fails to provide them with any benefit, as they prey upon one another instead. One man possessed of a gift can unmask murderers, but he is struggling to keep up with the daily body count.. And that’s when a foe with an equally powerful gift targets him as his next prey…

    http://www.amazon.com/Eye-Marc-Nash-ebook/dp/B00FIP9TEU/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1386080161&sr=1-3&keywords=marc+nash

  47.  
    Thanks, John, for doing this again – and thanks everyone else for checking the comments! Here’s what I have to offer: an anthology of speculative fiction, which I edited, and 2 plays in e-book form (one fun for kids, the other dystopian for adults).
    HOT MESS: speculative fiction about climate change.
    Anthology. 6 short stories on the theme of climate change, ranging from realism to satire to fantasy. Top 20 Bestseller. Nominee, Best Anthology, 2013 eFestival of Words Award. Reviews
    at Goodreads and AmazonNotes from other readers. Buy the e-book today (Dec. 3rd) from Smashwords and take 50% off at! (COUPON CODE: VA69H). Print version available from CreateSpace and Amazon. Amazon print edition includes Kindle edition via Amazon Matchbook.
    STUCK UP A TREE
    Children’s play, ages 4-7. Runtime: 75 min. When a 2-headed traveler meets a baby bird at a fork in a road, it’s time for stories of friendship, adventure, love, loss and coming-of-age to inspire the bird to fly south for the winter. “Inventive and whimsical without being overwhelming and truly age-appropriate.” More reviews on Amazon.
    MOUSEWINGS: a post-apocayptic urban fairy tale
    Dystopian one-act play. Runtime: 50 min. Civilization has come to a gory, infectious end. Haunted by the ghost of her lover, a cancer researcher hides in her home — then it’s invaded by marauding hooligans. When it comes to survival, no one is what they seem. Reviews on Amazon.
    For more information on my work, you can check out my blog at http://www.rlbrody.com, or check out my Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RachelLynnBrody. Enjoy, thank you again, and happy holidays!
     

  48. Hi, I’m D. T. Neal, writer in Chicago, and my most recent book is SUCKAGE, a vampire novel told from the perspective of a vampire’s world-weary minion. Earning an “IndieReader-Approved” stamp, it earned a four-star review, and was called “a refreshing take on the classic vampire story that delivers more than just thrilling action.”

    http://www.amazon.com/Suckage-D-T-Neal/dp/1484074661/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386037399&sr=1-1&keywords=suckage

    I’ve also got a couple of novellas (RELICT and SUMMERVILLE), a Lovecraftian apocalypse novel (CHOSEN), and a werewolf novel (SAAMAANTHAA)—all of which are available in print and e-book formats on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, if you’re interested. My author page on Amazon is:

    http://www.amazon.com/D.-T.-Neal/e/B005O46HEA/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

    I’m currently revising a sequel to SAAMAANTHAA, and am planning on writing several fantasy and science fiction novels in 2014 and beyond, with a periodic toe-dip back into horror, as the mood strikes me.

    Drop by my blog at http://www.dtneal.com for updates on what I’m working on, as well as whatever else that I’m thinking about at the time. I also have an author page on Facebook, as well as pages for the various books mentioned above.

    Thanks to John Scalzi for the opportunity to post.

  49. What if zombies were real? What would you do? How would you prepare?

    The living dead are everywhere in American culture including runs. guns. and preparation classes. We have TV shows, comics, novels, and films all enthralled to the vision of a world post-zombie apocalypse.

    But what’s the line between fantasy and real life? Horror fiction and real danger? In today’s zombie culture, that line is blurrier than ever. In The Zombies Are Coming!, I explore how our fascination with zombies has bled into far-reaching corners of American culture, including apocalypse preppers, gun shows, and even the federal government.

    How do we know the zombies are coming? Because they’re already here.

    http://www.amazon.com/Zombies-Realities-Apocalypse-American-Culture-ebook/dp/B00D99Y7WQ

  50. I suspect that I mentioned my teen vampire series, Blood Calling, in this space last year. However! Last year, the series wasn’t complete, and now it is. Red Iris has issued the ebook versions already, with the dead tree versions to trundle along soon.

    In the meantime, here’s the complete series as listed on Amazon:

    http://smarturl.it/bloodcalling

    The first novel and a novella are free, if you’re a Kindle user who enjoys the try before you buy process.

    The pitch:

    Lucy Leary’s eighteen year old life is a wreck. Her parents divorced, she’s earned a DUI, and her grandfather has died. He left her a single possession: A vampire slaying kit with a note that says, “They’re real. Fight them.”

    Lucy finds answers in a place she never expected–the homeless shelter where she has to perform her community service. The Sundown Shelter is only open at night, and the man who runs it disappears during the day. But digging into the truth is dangerous. What Lucy learns will force her to abandon her life and confront an ancient vampire out to get her family.

  51. You obviously need more tiny dogs, cucumber sandwiches, adventure, and murder in your life. As long as the murder is happening to fictional characters, that is.

    Captain Marta Ramos is a notorious pirate and the annoying sort of person who just can’t let well enough alone. With her right-hand man Meriwether Ocatvian Simms (who would just really rather you called him ‘Simms’ for obvious reasons) she makes a hobby of causing security men tear our their hair and hunting down the sort of nasty blokes that give honest criminals a bad name.

    Which is to say I think you ought to read my steampunk adventure/mystery novellas from Musa Publishing. They’re all available at the Musa website. (Also available at Amazon, BN, and most other major places ebooks are sold. Just search for my name, I’m the only one who has it. Or go to my website, I’ve got the relevant links there.)

    The latest novella, “Do Shut Up, Mister Simms,” involves Simms and the Captain’s sort-of girlfriend Deliah being very snippy at each other, as well as robbery, sausages, and sewers, though mercifully not all at the same time.

  52. THE SILENCE is my debut, a dark crime thriller with a superhero candy coating.

    Eoin Brennan’s twin sister, Erin, a vibrant college athlete and pre-med student, has disappeared. The police have no answers. Uncertainty and grief are ripping Eoin’s family apart. Eoin knows he has to do something–but who can help if his parents and the police cannot?

    Eoin finds, to save his sister, he may also have to save everyone he knows. A mythical criminal, known only as The Cockroach, is plotting to bring the city to its knees. Now, Eoin must discover what really matters within to fight those gathering around him.

    Matt Allen’s debut thriller is a story for anyone who ever wanted to be a super hero in an ordinary world.

    Shelf Unbound Magazine named THE SILENCE a Notable Page-Turner of 2013!

    Here’s the Amazon link.
    All formats available at MattAllenBooks.com.

    Thanks for helping all writers, John. We appreciate it!

  53. I have two books out in my Young Explorers middle-grade paranormal adventure series.

    Young Explorers and the Inca Wraith

    Eleven-year-old CJ Kask and his Young Explorer friends accompany their parents on an adventure to Peru in 1917 when they are sent to discover why an archaeological expedition has stopped sending reports on their dig at an Inca temple. The Young Explorers discover that they must find the key to a mystery involving an Inca pyramid and the shadowy Wraith that is guarding it. Only then will they be able to not only save their parents but also prevent the Wraith from escaping its pyramid prison.

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00BS1SMJQ

    Young Explorers and the Phantom Express

    When eleven-year-old CJ Kask and his Young Explorer friends help their archaeologist parents find artifacts from a steam train that crashed off a bridge in the early 1880’s, they discover that the ghostly train continues to haunt the small town and crashes off the bridge again and again. Will they be able to solve the mystery and put the more than one hundred souls that inhabit the Phantom Express to rest?

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GLAVIBI

  54. TROLL, published last August, tells an age-old story. At what point did humanity learn to fear each other? To hate? Paleo-Anthropologist Ariel Connor thinks she knows. She just can’t prove it yet, but her newest find, high in a Norwegian Valley may give her the proof she needs. Those scary stories we’ve told our children to keep them from roaming too far outside the gleam of the porch light may have come from real incidents, many, many years ago. While Dr. Connor’s excavation continues, the story of what happened is slowly revealed. Two clans are converging on the remaining game lands. One will have to leave their homes, one will tell stories and sing songs of their own bravery. One people will disappear while another will bring their history into the modern world. One way of life will be lost, but does the better way endure? What have we learned from the ancients that would have been better forgotten?

    TROLL is available in print and KIndle at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Troll-Richard-Sutton/dp/1480271497

  55. “A man’s integrity is measured by the choices he makes. ”

    Myrgen the Grey knew better. His pursuit of a married woman was what got him almost executed by the king in the first place. Putting himself back in that situation would not only be foolish, it wouldn’t save Catriona from being corrupted at court. He had to stop her from ever setting foot in the palace.

    That meant leaving this ghostly ship and surviving this city of thieves.

    An Open Enemy by Tonya Adolfson is book 3 of the internationally acclaimed Souls of the Saintlands series, available at Amazon and through http://www.fjpublishing.com.

  56. If you like your fairy-tale royalty to be lesbian, your warriors to be female, and your dragons benevolent…

    “The Second Mango” was published by Prizm Books this past August and available in multiple electronic formats from the publisher’s website as well as Kindle and in print on Amazon. It’s classified as YA but adults seem to be enjoying it.

    It’s the story of a young woman who inherits her father’s throne at only twenty after he dies in an accident. She’s out of sorts and lonely for several reasons: she’s the only lesbian she knows so she’s having trouble finding True Love ™; she had a girlfriend once, but she ran off; she’s missing her dad; and she’s got food allergies that everyone just thinks she’s faking (because in a fantasy setting they don’t know the science behind why she gets sick.)

    Enter a five-foot-eleven warrior woman with a dragon to ride and a Yiddish accent. She’s straight, so the queen eventually stops hitting on her, but instead imprints on her as a big sister figure and hires her as a bodyguard. The two roam around looking for a partner for the queen, saving other women from curses, foiling evil plots, and bonding over their shared losses.

    By the end both have found happiness, the queen with a female love interest and the bodyguard…. well, you’ll have to see. Basically, the book contains both lesbian and hetero romance, as well as a lot of platonic female friendship. AND DRAGONS.

    http://shiraglassman.wordpress.com/About for more info, as well as lots of artwork commissions.

    Here is the Amazon link for print copies:
    http://www.amazon.com/The-Second-Mango-Shira-Glassman/dp/1610405269/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

    Or you can buy it from a brick and mortar store in my hometown:
    http://shop.wildirisbooks.com/product/second-mango-autographed-copy

  57. Hey everybody, and thanks a million for this opportunity, Mr Scalzi!

    Infernal Machines is a throwback to the early 80’s Golden Age of Horror, and is set in that period. It tells the story of Paulie and Stoner, two best friends about to enter high-school when they find themselves on the hit-list of the local gang of skinheads. They find solace in ‘Cardiff’s Curios’, magic shop that opened up just in time for Summer.

    As people around town start to disappear, Paulie and Stoner realize that Arthur Cardiff, the store’s enigmatic proprietor, might not be quite what he seems to be.

    Bestselling author Joe Lansdale has described Infernal Machines as “Horror with brains, and heart, and style…”

    It’s available now on Amazon

    http://www.amazon.com/Infernal-Machines-Vintage-Horror-Novel-ebook/dp/B00ARLD97S/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386080589&sr=8-2&keywords=infernal+machines

    Or you can check it out on B&N, Kobo, etc. simply by going to Immortal Ink Publishing’s launch page here …

    http://www.immortalinkpublishing.com/books.php?id=13

    Thanks John!!!

  58. Thanks for the chance to share, John.

    I’d like to share a recent project I worked on with three other writers and over twenty artists: IN SANITY, AZ.

    Welcome to Sanity, Arizona. It’s a small town where everyone knows everyone and the natives are happy to live and let live…unless you’re visiting. Forged in the fires of segregation, the descendants of an overrun insane asylum years before have carved out a place for themselves in the middle of the Mojave Desert. It’s a small place with a single road and only a few buildings to speak of, out in the middle of nowhere. The residents have developed their own systems of law, politics, ethics, religion, and morality. Left on their own, Sanity would thrive outside the view of our world, content to live their lives in their own way. Unfortunately for all involved strangers do occasionally find themselves in Sanity, AZ.

    You can grab a copy under $20 on Amazon, here: http://www.amazon.com/Sanity-AZ-James-Ninness/dp/1492376299

    *Every copy comes with a free audio download of the full-length original score to the book.

  59. Thanks for the promo opportunity.

    James Winchester is content with his predictable small town life. He lives alone, helps out at his family farm, and doesn’t miss an ice cream social. His life is so neat and ordered he could use one of his accounting spreadsheets to chart his upcoming years.
    Evelyn Prentiss’s world is in chaos. She’s returned to her home town twenty years after leaving and the transition isn’t as smooth as she’d anticipated. Her home needs renovated, her parents are once again too hands-on, and she only has the summer months to settle in before she starts her new teaching job.
    In an effort to be a good neighbor, James finds himself stopping by Evelyn’s house more and more to help with her endless to-do list. When a mystery from their past resurfaces and opens old wounds, the two find comfort in each other.

    If you’re in the mood for an untypical romance, check out my latest book, Return, available at all the major retailers. Here’s the Amazon link.
    http://www.amazon.com/Return-ebook/dp/B00EZY1WHM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1378587947&sr=8-1&keywords=return+by+lynn+rae

  60. My absurd urban fantasy magnum opus, Shotgun, is on sale for the next few days. Ever wanted to read about an epic fantasy journey around modern Detroit? Thrilled by the thought of an elf that summons pound cake? Interested in spit and glass based magic? This one’s for you, and it won’t put a hurtin’ on your wallet.

  61. Thanks, John!

    May I humbly recommend CHINA FIRE, my latest novel and the start of a new series featuring CIA agent Monaco Grace. Or as someone said, James Bond with ovaries. She’s a specialist in all things Asian. I’d laughingly point out that one of my Amazon reviews described the first chapter as “overly exciting.” Figure that one out. Anyway, here’s the Amazon link. It’s available as an eBook and in dead-tree stuff.http://www.amazon.com/China-Fire-Monaco-Grace-Thrillers-ebook/dp/B00EDQJA94/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386081080&sr=8-1&keywords=china+fire

  62. We found the first one-eyed man at dawn…

    So begins FEASTING WITH PANTHERS, when the warrior poet Catalan and his band stumble upon a handsome acolyte near death in a mountain pass. But when the acolyte reveals his mystical vision, the poet finds himself at the center of a War Game between two mysterious sorcerers. To unravel the mystery, Catalan and the agents of the War Game must seek the missing pieces of an enchanted chess set in a quest complicated by deceit and treachery, in which nothing is what it seems.

    I am Lyle Blake Smythers and I had a lot of fun weaving together citations throughout the text from a variety of sources – including Yeats, Milton, Joyce, Poe, Baudelaire, the King James Bible and many more – to provide a literary feast.

    “Feasting with Panthers, serve[s] up brain teasers for readers who enjoy challenging stories.” – Library Journal

    http://www.amazon.com/Feasting-Panthers-Lyle-Blake-Smythers/dp/0982991371

  63. My book is DEEP ECHOES, a YA Fantasy/Science Fiction book. The blurb is as follows:

    Heresy. A word to slander. A word to destroy lives.

    The root of the word heresy is choice; the wrong choice. And the world of Geos wholeheartedly believes that Maya has made the wrong choice when she decides not to take up her role as a Contegon – a religious warrior – and instead flee.

    Her flight causes trouble to her best friend Chain and Snow, a teenager who Maya uses as part of her escape. They have to deal with the fallout from Maya’s heresy but soon, with the balance of a centuries-long war tipping against Geos, they will have much more to contend with…

    For more information, go here: http://www.darkmess.com/books

  64. Kicking the Habit and Other Stories

    by Steven Saus

    WARNING! This collection contains the following: Zombies looking for love. Robots looking for redemption. Time traveling honeymooners. Slaveowners summoning demons. The last scion of an alien empire hiding in the Old West. Vampires that don’t sparkle. Fairies that don’t sing. Other unnatural colors and flavors. Side effects may include: emotion.

    Three of the stories in here have been adapted for audio by Pseudopod, the Drabblecast, and Tales of Old. You can check out the audio recordings and the book at:

    http://kicking.alliterationink.com/

    (Tiny note for clarification: While I’m also a small publisher, this book is my personal work, and is published under a separate imprint than the stuff I work with as a publisher. The editors and authors of other books I’ve published should be showing up later in this thread.)

  65. The Fernal Files by Alastair Chadwin

    A vampire novella.
    Julius de Fernal’s crimes and evil have echoed down since his life and death in late 18th century England. But few know the full story. That can only be revealed by studying the Fernal Files, held under supreme security by the Church of England. Dare you look?

    Available as an ebook from Amazon

  66. My indie book is available via Amazon ( and at some deep discounts too!). Journalistic essay collections on American pop culture may be pretty thick on the ground these days, but how many can you name that were equally inspired by Alfred Jarry and Samuel R. Delany?
    “Pop Culture Considered as an Uphill Bicycle Race” (from Nega Fulo Books), collects eyewitness reports on the most multicultural concerts, films, books, lifestyle trends, and new technologies that shaped the last 20 years of the 20th Century. And it boasts an introduction by cyberpunk guru Bruce Sterling.

  67. Alice Gailsone was Dyspell, the most dangerous and feared woman in the world. She was infamous for being the second in command of the Purge, the vilest terrorist organization on the planet. At least she was, until she abruptly retired for reasons unknown…

    Alice Gailsone is now a buyer and trader of rare gemstones with the help of her adopted niece, Allison. She lives a boring, low-key life and does her best to stay out of trouble.

    At least she did, until she was approached by Alan Tanner, powerful business tycoon by day and dangerous vigilante Blackthorne by night, with an offer she cannot refuse: Put together a team of former super villain- turned-heroes in exchange for access to the one thing on the planet that could save her mother’s life.

    Her first assignment is the Lotus, a deadly assassin for Japan’s premiere criminal empire, the Dead Talon. In her way is a powerful corporate giant, an army of trained soldiers, a cult of murderous Kitsune and an unknown force moving in the shadows. To survive, she’ll need to pull everything out of her bag of tricks: guns, magic, cunning and more. Even with a terrifying and destructive power resting just beneath her fingertips, it may not be enough.
    She is out of practice, out of her element, and running out of time…

    Big In Japan is the first in a series of Action/Adventure Urban Fantasy novels about the Gailsone family. Join Alice as she deals with mob bosses, mercenaries, magic-related problems, golems, Kitsune, grumpy fortune tellers and the occasional firefight. Follow along as secret plots and sinister forces worm their way out of the shadows to test not only Alice, but the other ‘heroes’ of the Gailsone universe. A larger plan is unfolding with terrifying implications for the world, and Alice, whether she likes it or not, is stuck smack dab in the middle.

    And there is bacon. Bacon is good.

    http://www.amazon.com/Gailsone-Big-Japan-Casey-Glanders-ebook/dp/B00GXTADYA/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386080907&sr=8-2&keywords=gailsone

    http://www.gailsone.com

  68. Once again, thanks for the assist, John.

    On Friday, Dec. 6, I’m self-publishing The Gravity of the Affair, a novella set in the worlds of the traditionally published The Daedalus Incident. The novella tells the story of a young Horatio Nelson, post-captain of HMS Badger, on assignment patrolling the seas of…Ganymede. When a routine mission goes horribly wrong, Nelson must face the consequences — with his destiny as England’s greatest naval hero in the balance.

    The Gravity of the Affair is available for pre-order on iTunes, Google Play and Kobo, and will be available (and finally listed) on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Audible come Friday. Click here for all the sales links you’ll need.

  69. The Darkeningstone – a YA Novel

    Jake never liked urban myths. But this is not an urban myth. And it did not happen to someone else, but to him. He’s set it down as best he can remember. Whether you believe it or not, is up to you.

    The Darkeningstone combines gritty, edgy modern-day action with an adventure across time. Discovered over 5,000 years ago, the Darkeningstone affects everyone who finds it.

    So remember this:
    Somewhere, sometime, The Darkeningstone is waiting for you.
    A fast-paced adventure across time, with short chapters crammed with cliff-hangers. There’s vengeance here and the threat of violence. There’s a plot you can get your teeth into and characters you can believe in.

    Jake was too smart to believe the rumours about Scaderstone Pit, but now he’s in more danger than he could ever have imagined.

    In 1939, as World War II looms, the lives of two men will be changed forever.

    Over 5,000 years ago, a hermit will keep the stone a secret. But someone is watching him – someone with murder in his heart.

    What will you see when you look into The Darkeningstone?

    If you dare.
    http://www.amazon.com/The-Darkeningstone-Trespass-Mikey-Campling-ebook/dp/B00EUFMYD2

  70. The Best of OBSOLETE! Magazine

    Highlights from the first six issues of OBSOLETE! Magazine, along with original, never before published material. Essays, fiction, poetry and artwork from the newsprint tabloid published in the tradition of the International Times, OZ, The East Village Other, The Berkely Barb, The Chicago Seed, The Whole Earth Catalog, PUNK! and the other great underground rags of days past….

    This anthology features an exclusive interview with Cory Doctorow, original fiction by the late, great Mick Farren, poetry by Todd Colby, artwork by Hyena Hell and much, much more!!

    The book is ON SALE now, at obsolete-press.com!

  71. “First Brood: Dreamhunter” the first in a series about a vampire hunter who can gather the souls of vampires in the astral plane and the vampire sent to hunt her down and stop her. This book is not a paranormal romance; it is more like a paranormal/fantasy thriller.

    http://www.amazon.com/First-Brood-Dreamhunter-Lenni/dp/1456443887/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386081591&sr=8-1&keywords=first+brood+Dreamhunter

    Also available for the Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/first-brood-lenni-a/1113647245?ean=2940014080576

    Thank you so much! :D

  72. Holiday Spice Anthology is being offered by Foreword Literary.

    Amazon

    There are several short stories with heat levels from sweet to smokin’ hot.

    Blurb for Antho:

    Heat up your winter with “Holiday Spice”. Featuring authors like Philippa Ballantine, Peggy Barnett, and Laura Kreitzer, this anthology features just as much writing talent as it does passion. Whether you like sweet contemporary romance or hot paranormal love, “Holiday Spice” has something for every reader. There’s even a parody story included at the end of the e-book. The winter season is a time for giving, so give yourself the indulgence of some hot holiday stories.

    “Holiday Spice” is a holiday romance anthology presented by Fast Foreword, an imprint of Foreword Literary. It is 88,000 words-long and is 325 pages in length.

    Blurb for my story, HOMECOMING:

    Tessa’s known Nathan for most of her life. She should. He’s her younger brother’s best friend. Which means she’s also his elder by two years as well. They’re both home for the Christmas holidays. And for the first time, they’re together.

    Tessa knows her brother isn’t going to react well. She doesn’t know how everyone else is going to react. What she does know is that she wants Nathan more than she’s ever wanted anything or anyone. This homecoming for the holidays could be the worst in the history of holidays, or it could be the best and the start of more yet to come.

  73. My e-novel “A Stringed Instrument” is up on Smashwords ($4.99, first 25% available as a free sample). It’s a modern-day romance story about two Australian women who fall into bed first and in love afterwards.

    You should buy it if you’re interested in the tensions of a closeted relationship and the contradictions of falling in love with somebody outside your orientation. Or if you want a story that combines affectionate erotica with plot and a little bit of humour. Or if you want my recipe for chicken soup.

    But the #1 reason you should buy it is that somebody told my very respectable aunt about it, and she bought it, and her first words to me were “So THAT’S what lesbians do in bed. I always wondered.” If enough of you buy it, that will help me live with the knowledge that somewhere out there my aunt is reading this and learning far too much about my personal life.

    https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/371453

    P.S. Having lunch with my aunt on December 29. No pressure.

  74. This is a nice thing to do, John. “Fandemonium” is a satiric prose novel set around a comic-con where a once famous comic book writer has a last chance to recapture the spotlight. As it follows him and several other con attendees over the course of a weekend, the book makes fun of comics publishing, fan frenzy, media consolidation, Hollywood, and English people (a few of whom were good sports and published it anyway).

    Ted Rall says he’s surprised “that a book about comic geeks and comics culture could be so well-written, so engaging, and so much damn fun.” “Fandemonium” is available in both print and e-book on Amazon, and as an e-book just about everywhere except Barnes & Noble. The Amazon link is here. Thanks, John!

  75. Thanks for this opportunity! I’d like to mention my novel Sword of Jashan, a fantasy that continues the story of Callo and Kirian from Book One, Color Mage — but is readable on its own as well. A good read for older teens and adults!

    The walls Callo has maintained all his life to guard against his dangerous power are failing. Uncontrolled, his magic threatens his sanity and the safety of all those around him – even Kirian, who could be forced away by Callo’s misuse of his power.

    Fighting with his own abilities, Callo still resolves to protect the young heir to the throne, Ander, from the intrigues of the King. Ander himself must decide whom to trust, as he becomes the target of an assassin.

    Sword of Jashan: http://www.amazon.com/Sword-Jashan-Color-Mage-Volume/dp/1940466059

    Color Mage: http://www.amazon.com/Color-Mage-Anne-Marie-Lutz/dp/0985081783/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386082110&sr=1-1&keywords=color+mage

  76. Thanks for the opportunity, John!

    My latest supernatural thriller, The Waiting, just came out late last month. If you’re a fan of creepy ghost stories and psychological twists, you’ll enjoy it.

    http://www.amazon.com/Waiting-Supernatural-Thriller-Joe-Hart-ebook/dp/B00GRJ2BAU/ref=la_B005YPWXX8_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386082274&sr=1-5

    Evan Tormer is haunted.

    His life has been shattered by events beyond his control and regret is his constant companion. His wife is gone, lost to an unbeatable cancer. His son has been mentally and physically handicapped by a tragic accident. He’s been fired for using company funds in a failed attempt to save his wife’s life.

    On a whim, Evan accepts an invitation to housesit on a picturesque island in northern Minnesota. At first it seems like the perfect second chance for he and his son to recover and rebuild their life together.

    But there is something very, very wrong with the house and all that occupies it. And worst of all, Evan doesn’t know if the house is haunted…

    …Or if it’s all in his mind.

  77. At Last, Atlantis is what Paul DiFilipo called ‘speculative nonfiction’ when he wrote the intro to my first book, Things That Never Were. It’s a collection of essays about the ‘what if’ game – what if the Cathars were part of a conspiracy trying to imprison God in math, what if Atlantis was the pearl the world formed around a shard of impossibility, what if England is where vampires come from, what if a Canadian businessman stopped Savitri Devi from destroying the world? What if the Knights Templar had gunpowder-powered armor made for them by The Wonder of the World?

    You can find it at http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DHMFE2C

  78. My latest book is called Operation: Montauk. It’s a adventure/sci-fi pulp about a World War II soldier sent back in time to kill Hitler, but finds himself 65 million years in the past instead. There, he finds an entire community of time travelers from different eras, all trying to survive against the dinosaurs while they search for answers and a way to get home. Then, the Nazis show up.

    It’s been well reviewed and is published by the micro-press “Silence in the Library.”

    It’s available through just about any digital portal you can think of (here’s Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Operation-Montauk-Bryan-Young/dp/0615644511/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386082367&sr=8-1&keywords=operation+montauk) and I sell signed copies through my website (http://www.bryanyoungfiction.com) and the Redditgifts Marketplace: http://redditgifts.com/marketplace/merchant/bryan-young/

  79. Hey there, Whatever readers. I’m Anna and I write YA LGBT fantasy. The two first volumes of my Japanese fantasy trilogy are presently available from the epub Musa Publishing.

    “Demon hunter Akakiba keeps many secrets from his human companion. The fact he’s a werefox isn’t the worst one.

    In feudal Japan, magic is dying. As a demon hunter, Akakiba finds this problematic. The evil he’s been trained to destroy is disappearing and, along with it, the shape-shifting abilities of the clan he left behind. With his only companion, a determined young human named Yuki, Akakiba traverses the country slaying demons and performing odd jobs.

    But when an army of demon possessed humans masses to exterminate his clan, Akakiba must put aside old feuds and protect his family–all while hiding an important secret from Yuki. Will they find a way to defeat the demon possessed before it’s too late? With magic dwindling, will it matter either way?”

    Amazon.com link:
    http://www.amazon.com/Anna-Frost/e/B00A73UCY4/

    (You can also find my books on B&N, Smashwords, and such.)

  80. Thanks for the promo space Mr. Scalzi!
    “One Death at a Time”, the first novel in my Twelve Stakes series, is now up at Amazon:

    The Twelve Stakes series is a new genre of sci-fi/fantasy – supernatural addiction-fiction. It’s a mix of modern fantasy, noir mystery, and my experiences with addiction and recovery. In the pages of the Twelve Stakes books, addicts aren’t monstrous, they’re actually monsters.

    What would it look like if being addicted didn’t mean you were ill but that you were supernatural? What if addicts weren’t cursed with a defective brain but instead with a superhuman gene? What if supernatural creatures came together to help each other just like addicts and alcoholics do?

    An ex-LAPD detective turned vampire conquers his need for blood and redeems his crooked past. A Fae exiled from his clan learns to tap his powers without the help of his magically enhanced drugs. A witch on the run from her own dangerous magic contends with the true scope of her abilities. And a loner werewolf surviving on the streets learns to live with a pack in order to survive his enemies.

    The creatures of my series are not only struggling against ancient evils and terrible magic, but also against their own inner demons. Will they triumph and save humanity from an unstoppable enemy?

    Read “One Death at a Time” and start following the thrilling saga of Twelve Stakes today!

    http://www.amazon.com/One-Death-Time-Twelve-Stakes-ebook/dp/B00GTWXQD6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386082423&sr=1-1&keywords=one+death+at+a+time

  81. The Rook: An assassin hired by vengeful elven rebels to kill the calculating Duke of Shalridan, Julian walks into a trap and barely escapes with his life. Healed by a beautiful captive in the dungeons, he’s enthralled and vows to free her from the duke’s clutches.

    The Hawk: A Knight of the Hawk duty-bound to cleanse elven magic from Adalonia, Kestar has a secret—and heretical—ability to sense the use of magic from afar. He knows something suspicious is happening in the duke’s keep, but he has no idea how deep the conspiracy goes.

    The Dove: A half-elven healer with no control over her magic, Faanshi is the goddess’s to command. She’s always been a pawn of the powerful, but after healing two mysterious and very different men, she faces a choice that may decide the fate of the whole kingdom…

    Valor of the Healer, by Angela Highland, is Book 1 of the Rebels of Adalonia high fantasy trilogy. It’s available from Carina Press wherever ebooks are sold. Come visit Valor’s official page for details:

    http://www.angelahighland.com/books/rebels-of-adalonia/valor-of-the-healer/

    Many thanks to John and happy holidays to all!

  82. THE GREATSHIP by Robert Reed

    Various Great Ship stories and novellas have been assembled for the first time, and to one degree or another, rewritten. Nothing is severely rewritten, but twenty years of experience and the demands of storytelling dictated changes in every title, if only to cut needless explanations about the setting and familiar characters. There is also some rich bridge material between each adventure. And the careful/anal reader might detect clues about the author’s future intentions for the saga.

    THE GREATSHIP is not a typo, by the way. There are typos in this work, but pressing those two words together is not one of them.

    The volume is available through Amazon, Nook, and most other e-book formats, and it can also be acquired as a POD.

    All the best,

    Robert Reed

  83. Hi and thanks John!

    The Less Than Epic Adventures of TJ and Amal is the story of two dudes who drive from Berkeley to Providence, smoke too much weed, sleep in seedy motels, get kicked out of a Goodwill, piss into the sunset, start a fight in a Waffle House, and fall in love.

    It’s a down-to-earth, understated gay love story with a lot of humor and heart. There is some adult content, so I’d recommend it for mature readers.

    The comic can be read on the web at tjandamal.com and Volumes 1 and 2 can be purchased at tjandamal.bigcartel.com.

    “Funny and poignant… Weaver’s writing sparkles as TJ and Amal argue, deal, slowly reveal themselves, and get into travel-related misadventures.” – The Library Journal

    “Superb art and fantastic fresh dialogue.” – Gay Times

  84. Princess Alethea Kontis here, with a little short story collection that NO ONE KNOWS ABOUT. Including several NEVER BEFORE PUBLISHED stories and poems. This is your chance to make a teen/SFFgeek very happy!

    Wild & Wishful, Dark & Dreaming: The Worlds of Alethea Kontis

    From astronauts in deep space to the ghosts of the Civil War, New York Times bestselling author Alethea Kontis creates worlds of wonder and delight, of weirdness and despair, of whimsy and darkness. In these pages are twenty stories and poems that will transport you to the magical dangerous worlds you’ve always known should exist, but have never quite been able to find. http://wwdd.alliterationink.com

  85. BULLY! by Felix Haynes

    Panama, 1923. The United States, which has
    ridden the crest of victories in the Spanish-American War and World War I to
    become a new world power, has conquered tropical diseases and the jungle to
    fulfill the 500-year dream of constructing a canal across the Isthmus of
    Panama. But in its opportunistic
    rise to world prominence, it has alienated friends and offended other
    countries.

    Smarting over some of the ways America has used is new clout, Colombia and Japan commence
    secret negotiations to punish the United States for what they see as its callous
    treatment of them. As they
    implement their plans for revenge, U. S. Army Major Dwight Eisenhower faces a
    dark personal challenge and becomes executive officer to Fox Conner, commander
    of the U. S. 20th Infantry Brigade in Panama.

    Meanwhile, Theodore Roosevelt returns to Panama to hunt one of the wildest places in the
    world, the impenetrable Darien jungle, and to see his greatest achievement, the
    Panama Canal, completed. Plans are
    quickly changed however, and Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Conner, and many other
    Americans find their lives turned upside down when they are called upon to
    defend one of America’s greatest triumphs, the Panama Canal.

    You can find out more about “Bully!”on my website: http://www.felixhaynes.com or by visiting my book on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Bully-Felix-Haynes-ebook/dp/B00CYKIII0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386080899&sr=8-1&keywords=felix+haynes

  86. Comet Jack

    The window in the attic of Jack’s spooky new house isn’t a window at all. Yesterday a tennis ball bounced near it and vanished. Today, terrorized by bullies and stalked by his little sister, Jack escapes to the attic, and then he falls into the window.

    He opens his eyes to thousands of stars. Below him turns an alien planet. He’s happy to be alive, but relief turns to panic as he plummets toward the surface in a scorching fireball.

    On the new planet, the locals won’t stop calling him Comet, a famed galactic protector. Jack knows he’s no superhero, but as he discovers new abilities, he realizes he might be the only one who can stop the belligerent aliens from tearing their homeworld apart.

    He’d rather just mind his own business, but if Jack does nothing an entire planet could be destroyed. And on Earth, if he does nothing, his new school friends face daily humiliation and torment. Across the galaxy and around the corner at school, Jack has no choice but to stick his neck out for people he just met. Every time he tries to help, though, he just makes things worse…

    2.99 Kindle or 11.99 Trade Paperback: Comet Jack on Amazon

    2.99 Nook: Comet Jack for Nook

    (More info at http://www.cometjack.com.)

    Thank you, John Scalzi!

  87. Thanks, John, for this forum – much appreciated!

    GABRIEL’S REDEMPTION
    Book 1 of the Evan Gabriel Trilogy

    North American Federation Navy Commander Evan Gabriel was dishonorably discharged after a disastrous mission on a far off world called Eden. He’s spent the last five years hiding from his past, from those responsible for the failed mission, from those responsible for running him out of the Navy, and from those originally responsible for making him into who he was – a highly-trained, physically and mentally augmented Special Forces soldier.

    Two mysterious visitors appear unannounced at the door of a Gabriel’s seedy hotel room in the slums of Jamaica. His past has finally caught up with him.

    From the decaying Caribbean to politically-charged South America, from the back alleys of Mars to a tiny colony on a planet six hundred light years from Earth, Gabriel’s Redemption is a near-future military science fiction story of a personal journey seen from the perspective of a soldier who has lost everything — one who desperately needs to redeem himself not only in his government’s eyes, but also his own.

    Interstellar action and political intrigue mix with one-on-one battles on the surface of a frozen planet in Book One of the science fiction-adventure trilogy.

    http://www.amazon.com/Gabriels-Redemption-Evan-Gabriel-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B004LZ5686

  88. Invito Rex
    In a fantastic world not too far ahead of us, Victorian sensibilities have brought back the monarchy, with a caste system that is lethally enforced. Dizzy is a con man, a commoner who makes his living impersonating the nobility. But one wrong turn leaves him trapped in the most dangerous place of all, the palace of the king. Invito Rex is the futuristic steampunk sequel to “The Hidden Institute”.

  89. You are a cat. You don’t know your name, or where you are, or how you got there. You are sitting on a pile of clothes that smell familiar, and the room around you is quiet and dark. What do you do next?

    A Stray in the Woods is the story of cat, a mysteriously empty house, and a dark foreboding forest. During its original run as a webcomic on Tumblr, this comic was a collaboration between me, Alison Wilgus, and its readers. After each update, I took suggestions as to what Cat should do; when I sat down to draw, I would read through all of the “commands” that had been submitted and select one as the basis for the next page.

    My readers guided Cat and a small band of animal adventurers from September of 2012 through May of 2013, and now the entire story can now be read as a stylish paperback book or a fancy DRM-free PDF!

  90. Science Fiction:

    Cat’s Cradle Time Yarns is the latest multi-author short story anthology in the Time Yarns Universe. Why should you buy it? Because cats! This anthology is a departure for the Time Yarns shared world as the cat theme was chosen specifically to attract women authors, who were under-represented in the previous anthologies touted as hard sf by scientists. It worked, and there are lots of fresh new voices to read in this book. On the Time Yarns official site, see all the anthologies, novels, videos, and fanac.

    Time Yarns official site: https://sites.google.com/site/timeyarns/

    Nonfiction for Authors:

    Nonfiction book How to Turn Your Fan Fiction Into a Novel is a must have for authors trying the latest new path to success. It details a complete system for world-building, winnowing canon characters into archetypes to build them back up as original characters, and everything else you need to know to make your fanfic story publishable. The author, Erin Lale, is not only the originator and curator of the Time Yarns Universe, a published author since 1985 and the former owner of independent bookstore The Science Fiction Store, she is also the Acquisitions Editor at Eternal Press and Damnation Books and has helped authors develop their books that originated as fan fiction into published original fiction.

    How to Turn Your Fan Fiction Into a Novel: http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Your-Fiction-Into-Novel-ebook/dp/B0088LDJSS/ref=la_B004GLACQQ_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386082512&sr=1-4

  91. My book, “Fair Catch,” is a YA romance about two football players who fall in love.
    The thing I loved about writing it is this: It’s not a story where their being gay is the Problem of the Week. It’s not a book about coming out. It’s a book about their relationship and the challenges that come with it. A book where the protagonists happen to be guys, with families, problems, hobbies, friends, etc.

    The publisher is Prizm Books, the YA imprint of Torquere Press. It’s available as a conventional paperback, for Kindle, and for several other ebook formats.

    deldarcy.dreamwidth.org, my blog, has “buy this book” links for all the formats.

    Hope you enjoy!

    Del Darcy

  92. COLORS OF DECEPTION has demons stalking Christian college girl Holly Idaho. At first, the pranks seem harmless enough. But when she finds a something in her house, and when her friends abandon her, Holly discovers that evil doesn’t always look like Evil. That demon is starting to look terribly yummy. Holly has a choice: a heaven she fears, or a hell she never imagined possible.

    If you enjoy the TV show Supernatural, you’ll enjoy this read. If you’d like to be a Twilight fan but can’t bring yourself to go there, this one’s for you. ; )

    COLORS OF DECEPTION is the first in the Demons of Saltmarch Trilogy.
    http://www.amazon.com/Colors-Deception-Demons-Saltmarch-ebook/dp/B004VB8QSW

    RETHANA’S SURRENDER kicks off the epic fantasy series Legends of the Light-Walkers. Rethana’s family has been in hiding from the ruling clerics for 10 years. Now, the clerics are back, and they’ve taken Rethana and her dying sister prisoner. As Rethana plots escape, she finds herself drawn to her new master, who promises to teach her all his secrets. But even the powerful cleric has enemies, and they want Rethana for their own mysterious purposes. Can she resist the guy, save her sister, learn the magic, and pick the right side in the battle to come?

    http://www.amazon.com/Rethanas-Surrender-Legends-Light-Walkers-ebook/dp/B008EGEPF8/

    Thanks, John

  93. Thanks John, here’s mine:
    Bad Jokes.
    Really Bad Jokes
    One liners, knock-knock jokes, looooooooong shaggy dog jokes.
    Jokes that will make you want to throw your kindle across the room in disgust.
    Illustrated with over 70 photographs!
    Of which, at least three are somewhat funny!
    It’s only a buck, so far Kindle only – but you have been warned!

  94. I have four books that make great gifts.

    The first two are a two-volume fantasy series: The Foundation of Drak-Anor (“Wings of Twilight” & “Iron Fist of the Oroqs”). They tell the story of a group of “monsters” who struggle to establish a home in a world who consideres them fodder for slayers and crusaders. I take the tropes of adventurers killing monsters and taking their stuff and turn it on its head, and ask who really are the monsters? The ugly, horrible-looking creatures who want to live in peace with their families, or the ones who invade their homes and kill them in the name of righteousness.

    The next are the first two volumes in my on-going YA sci-fi series, “Zack Jackson & The Cult of Athos” and “Zack Jackson & The Cytherean Academy.” It is a hard sci-fi series suitable for ages 10+ taking place in the 42rd century where humans are petitioning to join a long-established Galactic Confederation. Zack Jackson is a young boy from Wyoming venturing out into the galaxy with the Junior Rangers (think Boy/Girl Scouts with troops made up of alien species) and seeing with his own eyes what a wondrous and dangerous place the galaxy can be.

    All of my novels can be purchased on Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/Hans-Cummings/e/B005VEBILK). If you purchased the paperbacks, you receive the Kindle version for free. If you don’t have a Kindle, you can also get electronic versions from DriveThru Fiction (http://www.drivethrufiction.com/browse.php?manufacturers_id=5178).

  95. LUST!

    BETRAYAL!

    MURDER!

    PANCAKES!

    It’s crazy out there. No, really crazy. Crazier than we can imagine. And, we have pretty vivid imaginations when it comes to the crazy. When this affects your relationship with your life mate, your offspring, your other family members, your auto mechanic or your AI-enhanced toaster oven, it can be hard to know what to do. When relationships get so confusing that the federal tax code starts to make sense, who can you turn to for advice?

    The Alternate Reality News Service’s two advice columns, of course: Ask Amritsar and Ask The Tech Answer Guy. Award pining columnist Amritsar Al-Falloudjianapour is not a trained therapist, but she does know a lot of stuff about love and romance and technology and stuff. The Tech Answer Guy, two-time runner-up for the Nobel Prize for Used Tissue Paper Art, answers questions about technology and anything other than love and romance. It’s a thing with him. Don’t ask. The first collection of their columns, The Alternate Reality News Service’s Guide to Love, Sex and Robots, is available in ebook from Smashwords (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/328673) and paperback from Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Alternate-Reality-Services-Robots-Volume/dp/0987699660).

    Like any advice column, our writers welcome your questions. If you are inspired to write something, send your questions to questions@lespagesauxfolles.ca. Your questions don’t have to be elaborate; a sentence or two is fine. They just have to inspire Amritsar or The Tech Answer Guy. You could be featured in a future column and book, with your name displayed for posterity. And, the blame.

    The Alternate Reality News Service: If you don’t like this reality, try another one!

  96. Hi there.

    Moondust Memories brings together eleven of my personal favourites from my published science fiction stories. These tales explore a wide gamut of themes: from an alternative outcome to the Cold War to the reminiscences of an aging ex-astronaut; from flesh-crawling virtual reality simulations to monetised SETI dreaming. But without exception, their main focus is on ordinary people whose lives are changed by extraordinary events. If someone you know enjoys intelligent, literate, thought-provoking science-fiction, then this collection should make a perfect present for them.

    http://www.amazon.com/Moondust-Memories-Vaughan-Stanger-ebook/dp/B00GMQYJXA/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1386083441&sr=1-1&keywords=Vaughan+Stanger

    Thanks for providing the opportunity, John.

  97. The others came for Heinrich Aguirre when he was a child. Born in one of the Germanies with a light inside his mind, Aguirre is raised to take his place as one of the Magian, the rare few who can part the veil between the many versions of Earth. Vowing to protect these endless worlds and all who live in them, Magian do not hesitate. But during his first battle, while still less than a man, Aguirre does, only to see the magus who raised him die instead.

    For his sin, the others banish Aguirre to the solitary path.

    Seventeen years later, Magian are being slaughtered, and with a kind of power no magus has ever seen before. Suspicion quickly falls on Aguirre, who realizes that his only hope is to find the truth himself. So Aguirre turns his back on those who have already turned their backs on him, and with the Magian in pursuit, he races to save his own kind before they kill him first.

    “Let No False Angels,” at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AGNP5AQ

  98. Thanks for giving us this opportunity, John.

    THE DEIFORM FELLOWSHIP ONE: THE ATHEIST is a contemporary fantasy mystery.

    Jillian Campbell doesn’t believe in God. When local pastor Jim Preston claims to be an agent of God called a Deiform, and declares that Jillian is one too, she dismisses him as a kook. Two days later, Preston is dead, and Jillian stands accused of his murder.

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008YNCFH6

    Also available at Smashwords and kobo, and in print at most online bookstores.

    For the lesbians on your gift list, check out my RYMELLAN books. The Rymellan Series follows two lesbians who live in a strict society that selects mates for its citizens.

  99. I’m Mike Luoma – self-publishing author of science fiction novels and comics. If you or someone you know like good old-fashioned science fiction adventure (not an oxymoron, I assure you), I invite you to check out my ALIBI JONES, available in paperback or as an ebook.

    Here it is @ Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Alibi-Jones-Mike-Luoma/dp/0557122155/

    In his first book, Alibi Jones is a mediator for the Solar Alliance searching for a kidnapped friend with the help of the mysterious alien Dakhur, Kit, and the man known as Piccolo. Alibi doesn’t know following the trail of alien kidnappers will lead to a shocking discovery – Dangers thought long-dead are still very much ALIVE!

    Alibi Jones is also featured in a comic book bearing his name, in the 2nd novel in the series ALIBI JONES AND THE SUNRISE OF HUR & the short story collection ALIBI JONES AND THE TIME WAR OF THE DEVRIZIUM. You can also listen to the audiobooks for free at http://podiobooks.com/contributor/mike-luoma/

    More info & links to everything at http://glowinthedarkradio.com

  100. Transhuman Mambo is a collection of short stories about the myriad forms humankind can take in the far future. It tosses together themes from space opera, cyberpunk and biopunk to create highly entertaining worlds where aliens seek out human death experts, androids consider ditching delicate humanity, giant parasites are a child’s best friend, and humans hack their own cells to become something else. It’s only $2.99!

  101. Thanks so much for this opportunity, John!

    My novel, Killer Celebrity Island, asks: What would you do for $300 billion?

    A group of celebrities — including an actress out of rehab, a hot-tempered football star, a reality show spitfire, and a punk rocker with a bloody past — are taken to a tropical island and given an opportunity to play a game of survival to win this unthinkable amount of money.

    The catch? There can only be one winner and everyone else must die.

    Whoever survives the greed of the others will walk away with the grand prize. It’s a last-one-standing, winner-take-all, knock-down, drag-out survival-of-the-fittest celebrity.

    Are you game?

    http://www.amazon.com/Killer-Celebrity-Island-Stephanie-Sparks/dp/1477530258

  102. My name is Joe Donahue. I recently self published a novel entitled “The Final Requiem.” It is currently only available in digital format through Amazon.com, but there should be a paperback version sometime in the near future.

    Below is the book description as it reads on the Amazon posting.

    Michael is a normal guy that has been thrust into an overwhelming situation. An eternal war is being waged between Angels and Demons. The Angels have assigned Michael the task of going on a treacherous journey to close the gates Demons use to travel between Hell and Earth. Somehow, even though Angels have been visiting him in his dreams since childhood to tell him something was coming, Michael finds himself unprepared, and in the middle of it all.

    One way or another, everything will change.

    You can see the actual Amazon posting at this address.
    http://www.amazon.com/The-Final-Requiem-ebook/dp/B00FSBWOP0/ref=la_B00FTSJBDK_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1381547963&sr=1-1

    I have also made a post on my blog as an introduction to the novel. It contains the book description and the entire first chapter. You can read that post at the following address.
    https://joebrewing.wordpress.com/2013/10/11/introduction-to-the-final-requiem/

  103. Feeling lucky? Too little time to warrant diving into a whole book?

    Then check out these short stories by the writers of SFFWorld.com in Lucky or Unlucky? 13 Tales of Fate (featuring dark fantasy author Mark Lawrence). Priced at only $0.99, it is a steal and all first-year proceeds go to charity!

    Available at:
    Amazon UK
    Amazon US
    Barnes and Noble
    Smashwords

    While grabbing that set, check out The End – Visions of Apocalypse, a set of 12 stories about the end of the this world featuring Hugh Howey and Michael J. Sullivan. It’s currently free! (If you do end up paying, it is only $0.99 and guess what? Proceeds go to charity, too.)

    Availabe at:
    Amazon UK
    Amazon US
    Barnes and Noble
    Smashwords

    Many thanks to Mr. Scalzi for providing the soapbox. :)

  104. Happy Holidays!
    Has all the hustle and bustle got you running in circles, with no time to read an epic tome? Or giving an ereader as a gift and want to put some fun reading matter on it to get started? Then you may want to check out my book of short stories:

    Six of One: A Collection of Short Fantasy by M.A. Kropp is a set of short fantasy stories. Meet wizards, imps, gangster angels, and frogs in this group of varied tales of magic and mischief. Escape from the everyday into worlds of the fantastic with Six of One: A Collection of Short Fantasy. The collection includes:

    A Girl, An Elf, and a Shoe- An elf causes a mix-up the day before the big race
    With Pen In Hand- A wizardly writer creates his own audience
    Impish- An apprentice sorcerer lets the imp out of the bag- or box
    Where Angels Tread- What if Heaven and Hell are more like The Sopranos than Seraphim? A noir style story in two parts, where a vital piece of Heavenly equipment goes missing.
    Siren Song- A young accountant has an encounter with a mermaid and her companion and must think quickly to save his father
    Peepers- A young man visiting from the city finds the nighttime song of some tiny frogs irresistible

    Six of One: A Collection of Short Fantasy is available at Amazon, Apple, Sony, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, and other ebook retailers.

  105. A cat fantasy fiction short story gift set — KALI’S WILL: A Cat Fantasy Short Story and LAST WISH: A Cat Fantasy Short Story, by Ann Catanzaro (aka Catherine Holm).
    .
    This set of two chapbooks, with phenomenal covers, crisp design, and compelling stories, is a great gift for the cat lover(s) in your life. Set in northern Minnesota, modern-day magical cats must overcome challenges to repair magic and to help an old man achieve his last wish. Read excerpts and descriptions of the books here. Order the gift set (with a $1.00 discount) HERE. Celebrate the cats and the cat lovers in your life!

  106. Thanks, John, for this great opportunity! My second novel “Dark Skies” makes a refreshing twist for adult fantasy/sci-fi and adventure readers. Our main character, West, must make his journey through the new world, a place near ruin, to essentially “save us all”. There’s nothing light or silly about this book – it takes the possibilities of technology and shows us the power of individuals…

    Both this book and my first, “Pale Grey”, were all about the “What if …” scenario. I wanted to create a story that would literally (no pun!) take you out of yourself and transport you to a new level of experience. I’ve worked to build characters that are personal and personable, funny and feeling.

    A good review probably says it best: “Another fantastic work of art by Barry… I was completely transfixed the minute I started. As a reader you will be transported to a land of imagination – escapist reading at its best”.

    I hope you love it, I loved creating it! Find it at: http://www.amazon.com/Dark-Skies-Barry-P-Connors/dp/147929800X or just search my name or book names. Thanks again!

  107. What do you do when you find yourself with a houseful of teenaged daughters? If you want to keep your sanity, you make rules.
    “Mama Mary’s Rules for Daughters: Advice and Guidance for Becoming a Responsible Adult” collects these rules and presents capsule explanations about why these are Rules and why they should be followed. It’s a humourous resource for teens, young adults, their parents, and anyone who needs a little help learning how to be a resposible adult.
    Find it in paperback at https://www.createspace.com/4074921

  108. What Fates Impose – edited by Nayad Monroe

    Life is uncertain, and the chance to get a peek into the future is tempting… but is it a good idea to look?

    This anthology of twenty-one dark fantasy tales of divination includes new stories by authors such as Cat Rambo, Ken Scholes, Lucy A. Snyder, Tim Waggoner, Maurice Broaddus, Eric James Stone, Ferrett Steinmetz, and many more, with an introduction by Alasdair Stuart. BONUS FUN: This book contains a choose-your-own-adventure-style story by the editor of Shimmer, Beth Wodzinski!

    http://alliterationink.com/store.html#antho
    (Clicking this link will reveal other excellent anthologies from Alliteration Ink. I also have a short story in Sidekicks!)

  109. Looking for hard, but fun, near-future sci-fi written for everyone. Then look no further than the book with the lemur on the cover:

    Teague Werres lives in an age of technological wonders he can’t have. His family’s church rejects space settlement, the Virtual Internet—even Vanilla, a longevity drug that gives humans several extra centuries to explore the real and digital worlds now open to them. Teague’s only link to modern life is a childhood toy: a robotic ring-tailed lemur with hardwired charisma and a few nonstandard upgrades.

    Meanwhile on Mars, Rob Heneghan cares more about high scores and online escapades than school or his extended future. He’s content just to have fun, just to get by, until a painful loss forces him to examine his priorities.

    When Teague finds the courage to break free—and Rob decides to get a life—a promising partnership is born. They can’t believe their luck when doors begin to open, and they’re soon rubbing shoulders with the solar system’s most powerful people. But when Teague’s lemur stumbles onto evidence that they’re being manipulated—by a conspiracy that poses a danger to all of humanity, no less—Teague and Rob each find that exposing the truth may cost more than he’s willing to sacrifice.

    Legitimacy–Book One of the Vanilla Cycle

    E-book and Paperback available at Amazon. E-book at other fine e-tailers.

  110. Missing Fifty Shades of Grey or Bared to You? Go and grab Bed of Thorns by Monique L. Miller from Amazon or Smashwords for $2.99.

    http://www.amazon.com/Bed-Thorns-Novel-Monique-Miller-ebook/dp/B00E9IXSHG

    https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/342789

    Bed of Thorns is not following the plot or pulling characters from either novel, but its base inspiration came from the main characters, Anastasia Steele and Christian Grey.

    Bed of Thorns is a novel about lust, friendship, and the deep dark secrets of one family in the south that happen to be over a prominent (albeit fictional) university. Once the lives collide of one girl, Alicia Goode, with two Thorn men, drama ensues that could blow up in all of their faces. But that doesn’t stop them from allowing lust to lead their way.

    My other words include the novellas Milk and Honey (contemporary drama), Decadence (erotica), Karma (urban drama/fantasy), and Thanksgiving with the Ex (contemporary drama); then there are my other full length novels which include Sweet Surrender (contemporary drama) and Bound by Blood (young adult paranormal romance).

    All of my other work are short stories that are available for free on Smashwords which you’ll be able to find by navigating here: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/AuthorMoniqueMiller

    Thanks for this opportunity John! :-)

  111. “The sea is big. The sea is cruel. She takes more than she gives. That’s how it’s always been.”

    The world has changed. Coastal cities lie abandoned as the encroaching sea rises, drowning and reshaping the land. Violent plagues, impervious to antibiotics, sweep across the planet, erasing entire communities in a single outbreak. The last refugees take to the sea, fleeing from the chaos in increasingly decrepit ships.

    To the people of the Fleet, this is ancient history. There is no room for nostalgia when every day is a fight for survival.

    Fleet is my first attempt at maritime science fiction. I’ve also discussed some of the science behind fleet at my blog – Southern Fried Science.

  112. Hi everyone! My name is Paul Leone and I recently began to publish a series of urban fantasy books, Vatican Vampire Hunters. Two of them are available now with the third coming next year. I hope you give them a look, and thank you very much for offering the opportunity to share our works, Mr. Scalzi!

    MYSTERIOUS ALBION: Lucy Manning just wanted an ordinary life. But surviving a vicious vampire attack has put the young American in the middle of a holy war between a secret society of vampire hunters loyal to the Catholic Church—and an ancient and powerful vampire queen who has awakened from a long slumber with dreams of blood and conquest in her demonic mind.

    Lucy may not want to do battle with a ruthless, eternal evil, but evil has other ideas….

    http://www.amazon.com/Mysterious-Vatican-Vampire-Hunters-ebook/dp/B00BRIENTS

    THE BOOK OF THOTH: Since the dawn of time, war has raged between man and the undead. From the valleys of the antediluvian world to the skyscrapers of the 21st century, the battlegrounds change but the crusade goes on. And Manhattan socialite Nicole Van Wyck has just joined the battle.

    Nicole’s life of fancy parties, expensive restaurants and easy luxury is over. As an elder vampire’s search for the most powerful grimoire in the world — the Book of Thoth — nears the end, only Nicole and her fellow vampire hunters stand between the undead and the ruin of the greatest city on Earth.

    http://www.amazon.com/Thoth-Vatican-Vampire-Hunters-ebook/dp/B00G725FVO

  113. Thanks, John!

    The Lives of Perfect Creatures, by Keith Edwards

    While eating lunch in the park one afternoon, a young librarian named Sophie Andalou finds an umbrella accidentally left behind by a mysterious Man With The Mustache. But this is no ordinary umbrella–it’s a lightning rod for danger! Sophie quickly finds herself on the run from Chinese spies, mixed up with a secret society of mustached men, and pursued by a Pink Elephant, all because of a message that just might come from outer space. Aiding Sophie in her quest to find the Man With The Mustache and return his umbrella is her best friend and fellow librarian, Astrid Claudette; her ex-boyfriend, an inventor and plumber named Sam Flanges; and the ghost of Yuri Gagarin. How the umbrella fits into all of this is hard to say in a way that makes obvious sense, but Sophie is sure it does, somehow…

    This novella is available in print and for the kindle and if you buy it in print, you get the kindle edition for free!
    (It’s also available on Kobo).

  114. Will keeps all the lights on in his house. Every closet, lamp, bedroom, and stove light stays on, regardless of the time of day. Bad things happen in the darkness. She hides in the shadows.

    But as the stress of writer’s block sets in, and the paranoia that his wife is cheating on him eats at his thoughts, Will finally turns to the darkness for help.

    With its raw honesty, fast form, and chilling depictions of a man mentally decaying, Too Dark To See is a mind-bending and unflinching look at the madness inside of us all.

    $2.99

    http://www.amazon.com/Too-Dark-See-Jay-Chastain-ebook/dp/B00GAFCJR6/ref=la_B008P6IXB4_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386085869&sr=1-1

  115. If contemporary fantasy set in St. Petersburg Russia sounds appealing, check out Midnight in St. Petersburg.

    Rose Daziani is a sensitive—a powerful psychic who can read the hearts of those around her and see things no one else can. It’s a neat party trick, but doesn’t exactly pay the rent. That is, until a mysterious phone call summons her halfway around the world to the exotic city of St. Petersburg, Russia, and offers her a job using those psychic gifts she’s kept secret all her life.

    But it turns out there’s a reason Rose is worth so much to her employers. Her team—a vampire, a fae-blooded hunter, and a priest Templar—can’t stop fighting with each other, mired in centuries-old grudges. The supernatural community of St. Petersburg is on the brink of war, and Rose herself has drawn the attention of a killer who will stop at nothing to get the vengeance he seeks. Rose will have to dig deep to find the truths that lie beneath the surface if she wants to succeed…or survive.

  116. My name is Philip A. Lee, and my first independently published work is an ebook collection of short stories called Madness & Monsters, which was first published back on Halloween. This book features seven horror stories that focus more on creepiness than shock factor, and one of my reviewers said the stories are “in the tradition of Poe.”

    The collection is available in several ebook formats from various retailers (and a print edition is on the way, for those who prefer physical volumes). Details on the collection—and a list of retailers that offer it—can be found at my website: http://philipleewriting.com/news and reviews can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Madness-Monsters-Philip-A-Lee-ebook/product-reviews/B00GDFLOHE/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1

    Thanks for checking this out.

  117. Like urban fantasy set in the UK? Like police procedurals? Like a blend of both, starring a grumpy middle-aged female DCI pursuing unlicensed shapeshifters across Yorkshire? Check out my new novella UNDER THE SKIN, the first story in the Ritual Crime Unit series. Available as an ebook – currently just $3.85 on Amazon US or £2.39 on Amazon UK – or as a limited edition signed paperback from Forbidden Planet in the UK.

  118. He’s the Weird Teacher explores the wonder and challenge of teaching from the perspective of me, Doug Robertson, elementary school educator, self-proclaimed rock star, and student-proclaimed weird teacher. Learn what to do when a bird flies into your room, what whisper-shouting is, why tetherball is the best playground game ever, and how best to disrupt the straight line of a kindergarten class. Mixed with schoolhouse stories are thoughts on keeping the classroom positive, handling parents and administrators, bullying, and taking responsibility for student learning.

    He’s the Weird Teacher takes on the education system from a sideways perspective, showing just how joyful teaching and learning can and should be.

    Please check it out on amazon- http://www.amazon.com/Hes-the-Weird-Teacher-ebook/dp/B00EP354C2/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=8-1&qid=1378762900
    And you can find me on twitter @TheWeirdTeacher

    Thanks to John for having this thread.

  119. My name is Bobby Brimmer and I’ve published two books in my series G.H.O.S.T. Teams. It’s like Men In Black, only they police the supernatural world instead of aliens, and the team has more of a Stargate feel.

    The book centers around Bruce, an incredibly flirtatious ninja. He’s rarely serious and works hard to keep the team laughing. He drives a sentient black sports car named Vlad, a trapped dragon spirit. Vlad serves mostly as a wisecracking sidekick and is always happy to give Bruce a hard time. The rest of the team is made up of a Lore specialist, a witch, a tracker, a tech expert, and a mind reader.

    So if you enjoy a book series that uses plenty of comedy to keep the story moving, might I suggest G.H.O.S.T. Teams book 1 or 2. http://GhostTeams.com

    Thanks for checking it out.
    John, thank you for the opportunity to share my work. I really appreciate it.

  120. November was, among other things, the month I published Curveball Year One: Death of a Hero ($13.50 Trade Paperback, $4.99 ePub or Kindle), the collection of the first twelve issues of my Curveball serial:

    America’s greast hero is murdered. His best friend, sidekick, and former villain wants to know why. As his investigation unfolds, heroes, villains, ando ther unlikely allies will join him to answer the question everyone wants answered: “who killed Liberty?”

    It’s the wrong question. The question they need to answer is:

    What is Project Recall?

    The trade paperback includes black-and-white versions of the covers for each issue. If you buy the trade on Amazon you can also buy the kindle book for only 99 cents.

    Link below leads to a page that lists everywhere the title is available, both in eBook and Paperback formats:

    https://www.eviscerati.org/store/Curveball-Year-One

  121. Hello and thanks to Mr. Scalzi for this opportunity.

    I am posting for my father who wrote and self-published a wonderful children’s book a few years back.

    A native of New Jersey he create one of my favorite childhood characters:

    Ernie the Easter Hippopotamus.

    The story of a African hippo that finds himself possessed of different mindset from his fellow hippos and very unique skill. When he concentrates he can produce wonderfully colored eggs and thus leaves to find someplace he belongs, like the swamps of New Jersey where his skills get mistaken on a passing rabbit thus creating the myth of the easter rabbit. But I know the truth.

    My father even made a video some years back on public television.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfrUr5tX8_A

    He has limited copies but if interested you can pick up some copies on amazon.
    You can check out the book here:
    http://www.amazon.com/Ernie-Easter-Hippopotamus-Adventure-Anytime/dp/0882650408

  122. I’m a small press author of 12 novels and over 80 short stories. I also run a small press. So, instead of descriptions of everything from cyberpunk kink to lesbian steampunk to post-apocalyptic biker gangs, let me just throw this out:

    The Literary Underworld is a small press author consortium. We have joined together to make better profits from conventions and a website. We have everything from children’s and YA books to award-winning horror and fantasy.

    (of course, if you want gay Christmas werewolves and other urban fantasy set in Memphis, my personal site is http://www.brooksandsparrow.com Add /inangelskitchen.pdf to the URL and download a free cookbook)

  123. Bigfoot… with a broadsword.

    “Bigfoot – Sword of the Earthman” is an epic six-issue comic book mini-series involving the world famous sasquatch and his quest to defeat the ruthless dictator of a barbarian planet. Equal parts Conan and Flash Gordon, the otherworldly hominid saga is written by Josh S. Henaman with art by Andy Taylor. Bigfoot – Sword of the Earthman is not the story of how Bigfoot became a myth on Earth. This is the story of how he became a legend of the stars.

    Issues 1 – 4 are available now at http://brewhousecomics.storenvy.com/

    You can also find previews of the first four issues at http://www.bigfootcomic.com

    The perfect gift for that Bigfoot loving Conan the Barbarian/Flash Gordon fan!

    p.s. Thank you, John for this awesome opportunity to spread the word!

  124. After an argument with her mother, Lizzie McCoy runs away to join the circus – but she soon finds that instead of moving from town to town, this circus moves from world to world. This young adult novel, ‘Spider Circus’, follows Lizzie’s adventures as she makes friends and enemies, sees dragons, selkies, and predatory horses, and finds that the Ringmaster, Jack, is running more than just a show.

    Described as ‘Howl’s Moving Castle’ meets ‘Cirque du Freak’, ‘Spider Circus’ will grab the attention of fantasy fans of all ages. The book is available from Smashwords and Amazon for the bargain price of $0.99!

  125. Hi, I’m Tom, host of Sword and Laser and writer of the novel Lot Beta.

    It’s about a stellar system run by a mining Corporation. The system was taken over, some say stolen, from the Pioneers. Everyone’s an employee of the Corp. and you’re born into your pay grade. So, as it happens, there’s this young man who gets thrust into a position of power by an accident of birth. He finds out that the Corporation is hiding something. So he decides the people deserve better and leads an unthinkable rebellion.

    Can one boy create a new way to live?

    Sound Arthurian? Fine. But in space. With space battles.And extremely clever psychology instead of magic.

    Anyway, if it sounds of interest that and my other books are at http://tommerrittbooks.com/ or on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Tom-Merritt/e/B00EYUJ8F0/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

    In Scalzi Veritas,

    Tom

  126. Thank you very much for this forum!

    My math books have been my main focus lately and they are appropriate for mature high school students, adult students and especially teachers of math (of any level). My most popular book has been “Overcoming Math Anxiety and How to Be Successful in Mathematics”, but my most recent title is “Arithmetic and Number Sense: The ‘Basics’ of Math We Are Never Taught”.

    In it, I discuss everything from why we add when we do long multiplication to how division really works, why the order of operations is that particular order (it’s not because it’s an acronym or because people got together and decided that is the order we are going to follow) and even explore modulo arithmetic and some other special topics.

    I always focus on understanding instead of memorization, and if you’ve ever been curious how mathematics actually works, my books are the ones for you. They are available in all Kindle stores.
    Here is the USA market link: Arithmetic & Number Sense

    and here is the Canada market link: Arithmetic & Number Sense (Canada)

    Please feel free to contact me or let me know what you think. I welcome math questions also, although I may not be able to respond as fully as you need and have my own students to think of. My contact details are available through the blog link under the icon.

  127. Finn and Charlie Are Hitched is a slice-of-life webcomic about a gay couple and their friends. Over the years we’ve covered topics such as sausage smuggling, teenage romance, and indie rock beards, as well as more serious topics like depression, having a special needs child, and identity crises—but always with a sense of humor. (The strip has been called “consistently funny”, and in 2011 received an Ignatz nomination for Outstanding Online Comic.)

    The comic has been collected in three volumes. The latest is called How Would I Know If You’re Dreaming? and you can buy all of them at hitchedcomic.com/store

    Use the coupon code WHATEVER for 10% off through the end of the year.

  128. Are vampires your thing? Werewolves? Dark magic, mythology, and a world only dreamed of? Heroines out of their element, brooding heroes, and allies who toe the line; blood and bones and an internal struggle; business and politics, scheming and plotting – PURITY has all this and more.

    Caitlyn is a bright, headstrong girl with a twisted past she unconsciously smothers into lost memories. When she is only eleven, she is kidnapped by her father’s business rival in hopes of giving up much-needed information. Refusing to talk – and knowing nothing of use – she is placed in the Silver Room, a desperate man’s sinister torture chamber, where she meets the monsters who inhabit her nightmares.

    A lifetime later, on an innocent summer vacation to her paternal relatives in Romania’s notorious province Transylvania, these memories return in a flood when she meets strangers with an aversion to sunlight and bloodstained smiles.

    As prisoner to a condemned prince, Caitlyn becomes privy to an underground world where myth and nightmare are all too real, and where at every turn, a new threat emerges.

    With dogs waging war and men bent on bloodshed, Caitlyn must team up with the unlikeliest of people to save what is theirs, while standing on the precipice of destruction.

    PURITY is only $4.99 on Amazon.

    And thank you for the opportunity to encourage non-traditionally published authors :)

  129. Thanks again to our host for this opportunity. My self-published novel The Mars Run is available in e- and paper-book formats from various vendors here. From the blurb:

    Warning – explicit sex and language!

    In 2071, Janet Pilgrim, a recent high school graduate, suddenly finds herself unable to afford college, thanks to her father’s financial mismanagement. Faced with the fear of dying of embarrassment if she goes to a junior college, she looks for a way out. After considering joining the Army, she stumbles on the solution to her problems – becoming an astronaut on a commercial space ship.

    But by 2071, “astronaut” is only slightly more glamorous then “truck driver” is today. But the money is good, and one run to Mars – the “armpit of the Solar System” will fund several years of college. Even better, she won’t have to face her friends. Unfortunately, being an astronaut can be dangerous, as she discovers when a friend dies in a training accident, the first of many dangers.

  130. THE VILLAIN’S SIDEKICK by Stephen T. Brophy

    When professional henchman Duke “HandCannon” LaRue runs afoul of the city’s protector, Nightguard, and his spritely sidekick Twiliter during a routine smash and grab job, everything he thinks he knows about villainy, heroism, and making a fast buck is about to get turned on his steel-plated head. The job goes south in a hurry, and his supervillainous employer, Dr. Eye, is none-too-thrilled about it. But those complications are nothing compared to an unexpected custody visit from his six-year-old daughter, the kind of kid who thinks her deadbeat dad hung the moon, not tried to blow it up.

    What are the critics saying about “The Villain’s Sidekick”?

    “It’s like Stan Lee and Walker Percy had a lovechild.”
    Joel Hodgson,
    Mystery Science Theater 3000/Cinematic Titanic

    “With a lot of genuine emotion, and characters that you can’t help getting invested in…Villain’s Sidekick owes a huge debt to Donald Westlake or Elmore Leonard.”
    Charlie Jane Anders,
    io9.com

    “This is one of the very best books I’ve read this year, and I give it my highest recommendation.”
    Jonathon Brazee,
    Science-fiction-reviews.net

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Villains-Sidekick-ebook/dp/B00EYM8I7C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381906252&sr=8-1&keywords=the+villain%27s+sidekick

    http://www.lulu.com/shop/stephen-t-brophy/the-villains-sidekick/paperback/product-21193027.html

  131. The Storms That Fated Us by JP Summers

    As Tia Deltoro’s 23rd birthday approaches, she looks forward to meeting up with her old high school friends and hitting the ski slopes. What was supposed to be a relaxing weekend getaway ̶ staying in a beautiful cottage overlooking the mountains ̶ turns out to be a hellish nightmare when Tia unmistakably recognizes the person delivering their firewood.

    It has been five years since Tia graduated from New Holston High, yet she remains emotionally shackled to her past, or more specifically ex-best friend Carson Rodriguez, the man glaring hatefully at her.

    Unfortunately for these two former friends, Mother Nature decides to show them an intervention they’ll never forget! The drastic shift in weather conditions causes Carson to return and wait out the horrific weather conditions in the confinements of the cottage with Tia. With the strong winds from this blizzard of mass destruction leveling their only means of shelter one window and roof tile at a time, only one question remains ̶ will Tia and Carson be able to put aside their anger towards each other long enough to survive another storm?

    Find this New Adult book on Amazon or Barnes & Noble
    http://www.amazon.com/The-Storms-That-Fated-Us/dp/1484070631/ref=sr_1_1_bnp_1_pap?ie=UTF8&qid=1386086885&sr=8-1&keywords=the+storms+that+fated+us

    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-storms-that-fated-us-jp-summers/1117170887?ean=2940148412922

  132. “Strange! Electrifying! Sexy! Eldritch? Explore the new and exciting world of Lovecraft-based erotica in Whispers in Darkness, a new collection from Circlet Press. This cyclopean collection features eight new stories, each filled to the brim with insanity-inducing, orgasm-producing goodness.

    Have you always wondered what one of those Cthulhu-cult orgies would look like from the inside? Do you crave intellectual tentacle porn? Have you always felt that the only thing Lovecraft was missing was a really, really good lay now and again? If so, this book was made for you. Don’t deny your curiosity! Just beware: what one has seen (and been aroused by) cannot be unseen…” (2011)

    http://www.amazon.com/Whispers-Darkness-Lovecraftian-Peter-Tupper-ebook/dp/B005Z8WOHY/

  133. 13th Age is a d20-rolling fantasy roleplaying game designed by Rob Heinsoo and Jonathan Tweet, lead designers of the 4th and 3rd editions of D&D. 13th Age is a game of adventure in a world full of monsters and magic, combining the best parts of d20 fantasy games with groundbreaking new indie-game inspired rules to make each character unique, connect them to the world, and focus on what’s cool about having adventures in a world full of monsters and magic.

    (Also, owlbears rip your arms off and feed them to their young. That’s a thing.)

    You can order 13th Age from Pelgrane Press or your friendly local game shop.

  134. I should also post another of my father’s works:

    Prayers to a Dead God

    A book of his collected poems written during his years at the Library of Congress.

    While my earlier review covered the longer poems in years past the simpler poems that I keep mind now:

    “Let it be written, let it be said, there be no heaven without fresh bread.” -Glenn Logan

    If poetry is your thing, You can pick a copy here:

    http://www.amazon.com/Prayers-Dead-God-century-American/dp/0882650165/

  135. The Inevitable, by Daniel Hope.
    Tuck is on his last legs, literally. He is the last functioning bot in the galaxy, a broken machine that used to look like a man. Now he wanders between planets, searching for spare parts that can keep him running for a few more years. But he’s out of parts, and he’s nearly out of time.

    The truth is, Tuck is afraid to die.

    He was originally programmed to value human life, even if they don’t value his, but he can’t ignore his own need to survive, at any cost. That’s why Tuck is haunted by memories of the sixteen people he has killed over the last 150 years.

    After a particularly dangerous run-in with a collector, Tuck meets a mysterious man dressed in white who offers a solution. In exchange for some help in a less-than-legal business venture, he’ll give Tuck what he really wants: immortality. It’s a bad idea, and Tuck knows it, but he can’t ignore it.

    Even if it means killing again.

    Amazon Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Inevitable-Daniel-Hope-ebook/dp/B00DRIYW24/
    Smashwords (all other formats): https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/332687

  136. I co-authored a book for young readers called Thompson Twins Call the Cops with a non-profit organization called Achievement U. It’s the second in a line of Thompson Twins books called the “Everyday Role Model Series.” I helped to edit the first one, too. One character in each book is a real person who relates their success story. These people are chosen for their ability to relate to low-income kids.

    I don’t see a cent for the work, but I didn’t write it for money. The book tries to tackle difficult low-income issues in a way that children growing up in those communities can relate to, while providing a sense of adventure and fun.

    The jacket copy:

    “Twins Carlos and Letty Thompson live in a tough neighborhood on the eastside of Oakland, California. Somebody stole their mother’s car. The twins and their friends think they know who did it. Will they call the police or take the law into their own hands?”

    Easy to find at amazon.

  137. Looking for Sword & Sorcery this season? Then look no further than my novel Amadar, available on Kindle right now.

    Gwion’s a thief from the big city who thinks he knows it all.

    Aetricia’s a young warrior on her rite of passage, a stranger in a strange land.

    Everything falls apart when Gwion is hired to steal a staff that no one knows is sentient. Caught up in a hidden war that’s being going on for centuries, Gwion and his new associate Aetricia find themselves at odds with a wizard who can manipulate the very nature of magic.

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CVIO4CE/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_ask_T-4aF.020DERH

  138. Dead To Rites by Nick Carcano

    Preston Cobb has a wagon-load of guns, a black-market deal with the Mexican government, and a little problem with the dead rising from the grave and snacking on the living. Now, the Devil and his horde have surrounded the Mexican convent Cobb’s holed up in. The Devil’s got his eye on a holy relic inside and if Cobb wants to make it out uneaten, he’s going to have to help the Sisters of Mercy send the Devil and his minions back to Hell.

    http://www.amazon.com/Dead-Rites-Nick-Carcano-ebook/dp/B008ZUHV72

  139. “Sometimes playing to lose is the only way to survive the game of Houses”

    House of Sand and Secrets is Cat Hellisen’s follow up to her fantasy debut When the Sea is Rising Red. Trapped in a hasty marriage to lower-caste Jannik and trying to make the best of their exile, Felicita is immersed in the machinations of the powerful ruling families. MallenIve is worlds apart from Felicita’s native Pelimburg, and her family name and standing will not help her here. Haunted by her past and those who died because of her, she attempts to regain her status as the scion of a once-great House, while confronting her true feelings for her distant husband.

    If MallenIve’s leaders have their way, Jannik will soon have no more rights than an animal, and a union that once seemed to offer a solution to Felicita’s problems is now a dangerous liability. Felicita’s feelings are conflicted and it is all too easy to fall into the prejudiced mindset of the higher castes…until faceless corpses begin turning up on the rubbish tips, and Felicita might be the only hope Jannik and his people have.

    Currently available for ebook only on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or direct from the publisher (a partnership between Brianna Privett and Cat Hellisen) at:

    http://foldedwherry.com

  140. R.E.M. is a 176 page Hardcover Original Graphic Novel in striking black and white about Michael Letto, a brilliant but paranoid neuroscientist. Since his first and only love died, he’s lived behind a series of locks, consumed with solving the mystery of sleep. Based on the principles of yoga, Michael invents a chair that enables one to attain a full night’s sleep in a matter of minutes. When his theories catch the attention of the military and a religious order that wants to use his research to attain enlightenment, a dangerous cat and mouse begins as Michael’s world deteriorates.

    http://www.remchair.com/store.html

  141. The Trickster’s Totem (Book Two) by H.B. Bolton
    For Middle Grade readers and higher
    Fans of: Percy Jackson Series

    Life has returned to normal for fourteen-year-old Evan and his older sister, Claire. That is until Dunkle, a clever but stinky little imp, pays an unexpected visit to their school. He has come to take the siblings back to Sagaas, the mythical realm of the gods. Once again, a Relic from the ancient Mysticus Orb has fallen into the wrong hands. Only Evan and Claire, with their unique mystical abilities, can help find it.

    Through the power of the Trickster’s Totem, a coyote trickster has escaped. His laughter echoes throughout the realm, as he spreads mischief and mayhem. He burns an entire crop of popcorn, carves his grinning image into sacred artifacts, and things really get interesting when he shape-shifts into Evan’s friends.
    Claire and Evan must capture the Trickster, retrieve the Totem, and be careful not to become sidetracked by robotic Steampunk animals, “sweet” pixie-like Pains, and a problematic mermaid … all while dodging Mothman-like aces. Most surprising, Evan discovers the true reason dragons exist in the Native American Spirit World.

    Silver medal ~ 2013 Global Ebook Awards
    Finalist ~ Kindle Book Review Best Indie Author Award 2013

    http://www.amazon.com/Tricksters-Totem-Relics-Mysticus-ebook/dp/B00C7FQHGW/
    http://www.hbbolton.com

    Thanks for giving indie authors a place to show their work.

  142. Medical and Spiritual uses of Stones, Colors, Aromas and Herbs. An intriguing eBook that teaches you how to combine and harness their healing powers.

    Includes: Astrology – Western and Chinese, creating your own unique Stone Tarot set,
    balancing your chakras with Natural Synergy, Selected cultural uses of Stones, Colors, Aromas and Herbs, natural methods for healing your pets, choosing wedding flowers that reflect your personality and Imaginative ideas to incorporate Natural Synergy into your life!

  143. I just took the plunge into self-publishing this year (scary!). I write a series driven by strong women entitled “The Shape Shifter Chronicles.” If you enjoy ancient mythologies and feminism, I’m your girl.

    My most recent book is entitled “From the Ashes” and it’s a story about the toll revenge can take on an individual. There are quite a few nods to “Hamlet” in the story, including a ghost who haunts the main character, Blitz.

    The official synopsis: “An urban legend has begun to spread among shape shifters. It tells of a mysterious woman who stalks the night, hunting her victims. Clothed all in black, some even claim that her eyes glow. The protectors are about to discover the truth behind the stories. A list of names connected to the sinister Grenich Corporation and a massacre at a nightclub puts them on a collision course with the merciless woman, who comes to be known as Blitz. Hers is a tale of revenge and death, of blood and violence. She holds the answer to the mystery of the glowing-eyes. Will the protectors survive their inevitable encounter with the wrathful woman?”

    “From the Ashes” is available now on Amazon and Smashwords. It can be found under my Amazon author profile, along with my other books: http://tinyurl.com/puhmpch

    I hope a few of you check out my work. Thank you for taking the time to read my comment. I appreciate it very much.

    Happy holidays!

  144. Looking for that perfect gift for a woman who loves comics? Why not give a gorgeous, full-color graphic novel full of magic, swords, and hot guys? :-)

    Rune: A Tale of Wizards and Kings targets an adult audience but is PG so you don’t have to be embarrassed if there are kids in the house who might pick it up. And you can read the complete story online (or download the FREE PDF version) to decide if it’s appropriate for your gift recipient!

    Available for purchase on Indy Planet.

  145. (Thank you for the soap box!)

    All my works are electronically published at all the major (and some minor) publishers that I know of, and I know that Smashwords and Amazon both have gift-giving abilities. As Kobo, outside the US, recently stopped selling indie authors, I may not yet be available again there. (But I did adjust my Amazon-UK pricing so it ought to be more in line for dollars-to-pounds intent.) Click on my name, and it should take you to the blogsite where I have everything listed, including all or most of the links to the various platforms.

    Science Fiction:
    Queen of Roses, a full novel described as a “cozy” by one reviewer, is the story of an accountant whose indenture is bought by a cruise ship company. Thrust into a job where she must tend to the entire ship’s passengers, she also has to deal with stowaways, a drunkard captain, and a nosy author who’s concealing its real reason for being there. What’s a poor AI to do when none of her programming prepared her for this?

    What Really Matters is a 15K-word (and 99c) novella about aliens. It starts with the adventure of apprenticeship upon the clanship, and segues into a more harrowing adventure when the apprentices find themselves on an alien planet with their Adult Supervision unconscious, and the threat of kidnapping pirates seems all too plausible.

    Fantasy-Romance:

    • The Herb-Witch and Herb-Wife duology: The Lord Alchemist must be immune to poisons and mind-altering elixirs, but there hasn’t been an equally immune woman for at least three generations. So when he finds one, he’s willing to overlook pretty much any flaw, even if she’s half-“barbarian” and in a prison cell for reasons she can’t entirely deny. The woman herself, an herb-witch, is alarmed by his sudden unexplained interest and has her own secrets. As a further complication, the Lord Alchemist’s feckless brother has taken an immediate dislike to his elder sib’s intended bride…

  146. Thanks for the opportunity, John!

    A bit down the comment chain today, but in case anyone reads this far, and likes the idea of YA SFF with LGBT and PoC characters, my two books as follows:

    Harper

    The rebirth of the harpies begins with one young man . . .

    Harper Reed’s post-high-school plans are up in the air. His promising football career has been cut short by an injury, the girlfriend he thought he might marry has dumped him after he confided to her that he also likes guys, and now, on his 18th birthday, he’s started growing feathers.

    According to the mouthy poltergeist who appears in his room, Harper’s becoming a “mythic,” one of thousands of creatures thought imaginary by most humans. Oh, and he’s also the subject of an ancient legend and might well bring on the doom of humanity. Finding a new career path has suddenly become a much lower priority.

    With the help of his ghostly guide and some new friends, including a charming mythology student, a con-artist faun, and a dragon princess, the young harpy must adapt to the changes in his body and identity while trying to figure out the dangerous curse that has given him wings.

    “[D]elivers what it promises . . . heaps and heaps of fun.” – The Book Lantern

    Thunderstone

    Young Mirya Thunderstone, like all Dwarf women, has lived her entire life inside her people’s mountain home. Frustrated by her confinement, she longs to take up her family’s legendary axe, and follow in the footsteps of her late, war-hero brother. But when an accident strands her outside the mountain, she finds there’s more to being a hero than wielding a weapon.

    Joined by a playful otterkin couple, a deadly Elf warrior, a laid-back Native hunter and an outcast orc, Mirya must use both her axe and her wits to find the truth behind the war that claimed her brother’s life.

    Quarterfinalist for the 2013 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

  147. Who’s older? Duncan MacLeod or Edward Cullen?
    How many players are in the air during a quidditch match?
    Who’s the teenage computer whiz on “seaQuest DSV”?
    What colors of Pernese dragon are male?
    What cocktail did the Doctor probably accidentally invent in France?

    These trivia questions (and their answers!) and hundreds more available in The Flaming Geeks Book of Geeky Trivia.

    Great for holiday parties, game nights, meetups, and, of course, conventions. As a bonus, you and your friends get to debate just how many names and in what order you should be listing them when you get to the ubiquitous “name everyone who has ever played the Doctor” question.

    Currently available exclusively as an Amazon ebook.

    (And thank you, fellow geek, John Scalzi, for hosting this week-long giftravaganza!)

  148. US: http://www.amazon.com/Bad-Mojo-Blues-Scott-McCoskey-ebook/dp/B00H0LAH50

    The story is called Bad Mojo Blues, it’s an Urban Fantasy with a crime fiction slant set in the American Southwest.

    Marcus Roath believes he’s done with his family. Disowned for practicing magic, he settled in Vegas where unsuspecting tourists witness real magic nightly. He’s built a life there, becoming a member of the local Mage community. It’s almost as good as having a family again.

    When his sister calls with bad news, he’s on that plane home faster than you can say reconciliation.

    Arriving in New Mexico, he runs afoul of some old friends who aren’t so friendly. There’s the high school buddy who now deals drugs to humans, the cousin who’s dealing blood to vampires, not to mention the skinwalker determined to settle an old score. They’re all out to further their own means with Marcus as an ace in the hole.

    Can he manage to stay alive long enough to solve the family crisis?

  149. My goal in life is to help smart people be happy. My award-winning non-fiction does that directly. My techno-fiction tells stories of such smart folks struggling to solve problems. Start with The Aremac Project, which Tony Hillerman described as “A thrilling glimpse into the near future. Don’t miss it!”

    Peter Heck, reviewing in Asimov’s Science Fiction says “(Weinberg) has plenty of ideas, and a way of making them convincing.”

    The Aremac Project makes a great read for smart people of all sorts, and is an especially appropriate gift for that bright teenager on your shopping list.

    For paperback or e-book, find this and other exciting techno-fiction at

    http://www.geraldmweinberg.com/Site/Aremac_Project.html

  150. ‘Wonder Guy’ is published digitally by Lyrical Press.

    The story is a urban fantasy-romance light.
    Greg Roberts has been in love with the girl next door since they were both twelve, but Gloria Torkinson is engaged to marry someone else. Greg can only respect her choice in the matter – until his fairy godmother pops in with a different idea. As a mysterious, masked superhero Greg can appear to Gloria in a whole new light and win her love. But super-heroing is trickier than Greg knew, creating its own problems and uncovering inimical forces in his world that he never suspected. He’ll have to discover the true hero in himself before he can set things to right and win at love.

    Other urban-fantasy-romances also available: ‘Spirited’ a novel telling the story of an artist and her djinni, digitally published by Champagne Book Group, and my novellas of superhero romance, ‘Sweet Mercy’ and ‘Safe Haven’ – and two independently published collections of short stories featuring the Fairy Godmothers’ Union. Find more info and buy links on my website here: http://www.dreamspell.net/LKS/stories.html

  151. Wow, what an amazing opportunity! Thank you so much!

    My self-published debut novel is a contemporary romance, titled To Love Twice. During an intense and terrifying experience, Kate meets Brad Walker, the man of her dreams. After a blissful ten years, Brad suddenly becomes cold and distant. A few months after giving birth to their daughter, Kate leaves and files for divorce. When he dies a few days later and his secrets are revealed, Kate is devastated.

    Five years later, Kate has made a successful new life for herself and her daughter, despite the fact that she clings to his memory and grieves for her husband. While in London on a business trip, she meets London’s most eligible bachelor, Edward Kent. She is enchanted with his manners and dazzled by his attention. He’s everything she could wish for, and everything she’s afraid of. Edward finds her refreshing and lovely and quickly realizes that he’s finally found the one he wants to spend the rest of his life with.

    Can Kate set Brad’s memory and her fears aside long enough to find happiness with Edward and finally see that she is able To Love Twice?

    My novel is available on Amazon, Nook & in print-on-demand paperback from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

    Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/To-Love-Twice-ebook/dp/B00BWYEHH0/?tag=amaflink-20

    B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/to-love-twice-heather-mccoubrey/1116093917?ean=9781492175995

    Happy Holidays & Happy Reading! xoxo

    -Heather McCoubrey

  152. Hi everyone! I have 3 Kindle ebooks for sale:

    Briley Witch Chronicles:

    Book 1 – The Spirit Of A Witch. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CYA1OOK

    Ever wondered what it would be like to truly understand a cat, every last meow, every narrowed glance, every jab of a paw?

    When Briley Forester, a shy recluse and gifted games programmer, is torn from the world and dumped into the village of Maepole, she finds out the hard way. Trapped within a backward world without technology, she discovers that being a witch is hard, and that her grouchy talking cat Smokey knows more about men than she does!

    Tricked into working as a delivery girl and aided by an ancient grimoire, only by overcoming her crippling self-doubt and learning the powers of witchcraft can she hope to return home.

    But her way home is fraught with heartache and danger, love and despair. The powerful Whitehead family, haters of witches, will stop at nothing to be rid of her.

    And lurking within the forest, the dark spirit lies in wait, ready to strike…

    Book 2 – Storm Grey. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00H1AQ0BA

    Briley and Smokey are back!

    Beware of the grey…

    A storm is coming, threatening to bring death and destruction to the village of Maepole. Ghroda the forest spirit knows it, and young witch Briley has witnessed its terrifying effects during a vision.

    Fraught with worry and unable to convince the villagers, only her talking cat Smokey and the new man in her life Jorin believes her.
    But for whatever reason, Ghroda is not concerned about the storm, gives Briley a stark warning:

    Beware of the grey… it comes for you…

    At first Briley is confused and bewildered.
    Until a group of strange warriors from the far north arrive at the village, all heavily armed, all dressed in grey…

    Stone Of Argentos:

    Book 1 – Bond Of Terror. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EKRMVSI

    War is coming to the world of Esgar, and nobody knows why. Dark monsters roam the forests in ever increasing numbers, and only the Defenders of the Realms have any hope of stopping them. But the Defenders are busy searching for Outworlders, auburn-haired girls pulled across from other worlds…

    Enter the Outworlder Tracy Lupin, an eighteen year old girl sought by a blood-red daemon, trapped by a mysterious bracelet known as the Stone Of Argentos. Aided by the young swordsman Aldeban and the secretive woman Carrine, Tracy discovers that her safety is nothing but an illusion.

    And yet a mystery still calls to her: what are the strange metallic statues that stare at her? What lies beneath their deep glass eyes? What is the connection between her bracelet and them? And why does the image of a robed figure continue to invade her dreams?

    But while the Defenders continue the hunt for her, the powers of good and evil both plot and scheme to control her, force her towards a prophecised point in time, one that will redefine not only her own future, but the fate of Esgar forever…

    Thanks… and Happy Holidays to you all!

  153. This year I edited my first anthology, called Sidekicks!, published through a small press called Alliteration Ink. The stories are about diverse sidekicks from all sorts of backgrounds and in all sorts of genres, everything from high fantasy to science fiction to horror. There are gay sidekicks, sidekicks of color, good guys and bad guys. And the 20 authors involved make an unusually high royalty rate for their work for the life of the book, so every purchase of the anthology puts money directly in their authors’ pockets. So far we have 4.5 stars on Amazon and a number of 4 and 5 star reviews on independent review sites. The anthology is available in paper and every digital format.

    Please check us out for all your holiday gift-giving needs: http://sidekicks.alliterationink.com/

    Thank you, Mr. Scalzi, for giving us this forum!

  154. Thanks John for this. My two novels are:

    The Spiral Tattoo

    Law comes in two sizes: six inches and eight feet.

    Elanore, the eight-foot tall troll, and Gurt, the six-inch tall (don’t you dare call me a fairy) Eleinu, both guardsmen in the city of Delvenport, tackle their most baffling case yet. When they find a dead waitress, naked except for an intricate tattoo in a spiral across her body, they’re launched into an adventure in the seedier side of Delvenport, filled with rogue mages, prostitution, and narcotics.

    But can they solve the case before madness and riots take over the city?

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Spiral-Tattoo-Michael-Parry-ebook/dp/B0058DUKOU/ref=pd_sim_kstore_1

    And

    The Oaks Grove

    Philosophy can be murder…

    When Elanore the troll and Gurt the Eleniu are invited to The Oaks Grove by Lord Cance to discuss philosophy, they expected stuffy lords, but not murder. Discussions turn deadly as one lord is found lifeless and another severely injured in the library. Can Elanore and Gurt find the murderer before he strikes again?

    http://www.amazon.com/Oaks-Grove-Elanore-Gurt-ebook/dp/B00B1QCP4G/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1358395793&sr=1-1

  155. THE MONSTER HAVEN series is quirky, snark-free urban fantasy set to take you on an emotional Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride. Here’s the back cover copy for book one, MONSTER IN MY CLOSET:

    I stopped believing in monsters long ago. But I knew I wasn’t imagining things when I found one in my kitchen baking muffins. I’d seen him before: lurking in my closet, scaring the crap out of my five-year-old self. Turns out that was a misunderstanding, and now Maurice needs a place to stay. How could I say no?

    After all, I’ve always been a magnet for the emotionally needy, and not just in my work as a wedding planner. Being able to sense the feelings of others can be a major pain. Don’t get me wrong, I like helping people–and non-people. But this ability has turned me into a gourmet feast for an incubus, a demon that feeds off emotional energy. Now, brides are dropping dead all over town, and my home has become a safe house for the supernatural. I must learn to focus my powers and defeat the demon before he snacks on another innocent woman and comes looking for the main course…

    Don’t miss the rest of the series, POOKA IN MY PANTRY, FAIRIES IN MY FIREPLACE, and now available for pre-order, GOLEM IN MY GLOVEBOX.

    http://www.amazon.com/Monster-My-Closet-Haven-Story-ebook/dp/B00814M3A2/ref=la_B0061QQ33U_sp-atf_title_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386089391&sr=1-1

    Thanks for the opportunity, John!

  156. Eversong is a mind-bending science fiction novella.

    Eversong is a near future high seas adventure.

    Eversong is the tragic history of the conquest of the New World.

    Eversong is whalesong.

    Eversong is full of ideas and characters that will stay with you long after you finish this short novel.

    Reader Reviews:

    “I haven’t stopped thinking about the ideas and characters since I finished reading it.” – Marcelle Dube

    “Eversong is a complicated, thought provoking novella that entangles concerns of morality, religion, culture, and environmental science all in one short read.” – Misty Rios

    Get your DRM-free ebook at Amazon or Smashword:

    http://www.amazon.com/Eversong-Geoffrey-W-Cole-ebook/dp/B00A8A6UNI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386089366&sr=8-2&keywords=eversong

    https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/251822

  157. Blueshifting (Upper Rubber Boot Books, 2011)
    A chapbook of poetry inspired by science and other fun things.
    Here’s a sample:

    Devolution

    We watched wilderness raze the buildings, a city block
    gone like a moment of dust, our civilization losing
    itself before us. Who were we to stand in the way of progress,
    the trees wanted to know. Our protests are useless
    against this regime. Remember those days
    when we used to lie on a plastic-strewn hillside
    and look for patterns in the smog? When we first kissed
    beneath the incandescent lights on a diesel-scented evening?
    The concrete and steel we held sacred are sinking
    into the mud of memory, everything collapsing
    under the weight of its own flowers.

    Available in a multitude of electronic formats (along with additional samples and reviews) at:
    http://www.upperrubberboot.com/blueshifting/

  158. Deep in an ancient forest, a trembling young woman enters the clearing where a ramshackle hut crouches on birds’ legs.

    Far below the earth, a caravan of kobold merchants passes through a stone archway carved with the faces of leering ghouls.

    High atop a northern mountain, a dwarf grips his battle-axe and gazes over the rim of the world toward whatever fate the gods have in store for him.

    This is Midgard, and its gates are now open.

    The Midgard Campaign Setting brings to life a dark world of deep magic, with seven regions flavored by the folklore of Central and Eastern Europe plus a heady dose of weird fantasy. Lead designers Wolfgang Baur, Jeff Grubb, and Brandon Hodge led the Open Design community in a two-year project to build a sprawling setting supported by adventures and sourcebooks compatible with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, Dungeons & Dragons, AGE System, and more.

    Midgard is ley line magic and warped alchemical experiments; the Western Waste’s giant, shambling horrors and magic-blasted landscapes; diabolical gnomes and the schemes of immortal Baba Yaga; wild, wind-riding elves and swashbuckling minotaur corsairs; the Mharoti Empire’s lethal assassins and exotic splendors; and the dragon-haunted crags of the icy Northlands.

    You can order the Midgard Campaign Setting in print + PDF at Kobold Press.

  159. Major John Elliott, U.S. Army, is shanghaied by an advanced alien race in order to teach them the long lost art of war. The only problem is that he isn’t from Special Forces and his alien troops aren’t cut out to be warriors; they faint at the mere thought of battle. But his survival is now intertwined with theirs, and against all odds, he must teach his peace-loving aliens how to defend themselves or else perish with them.

    The Toad King is a fast paced, fun filled, blend of Space Opera and Military Science Fiction.

    Available in electrons from Amazon and all other major providers of ebooks or in paperback from Amazon.com

    http://www.thetoadking.com

    Thanks John!

  160. My new contemporary fantasy novel, Waking Dreams: The Torment of Colin Pierce is available in Kindle and paperback format on Amazon.

    Sometimes Colin Pierce’s dreams come true–unfortunately they aren’t always happy dreams.

    Several years after a horrible nightmare claimed his wife and youngest daughter, he finds himself pulled into the mysterious world of dreams again. This time the Wall of Sleep–the line separating the Dreamside from the waking world–is under attack by a malevolent entity known only as the Torment. If this monster succeeds in breaking down the Wall, what will keep all our nightmares from invading our lives?

    It’s up to Colin, accompanied by his surviving daughter and their strange and mysterious neighbor, to go to the Dreamside to rescue the Wall and save both worlds.

    And maybe, just maybe, along the way he can save himself…

    For more information visit the Facebook page or find it on Good Reads

    JD Kaplan

  161. DROP DEAD GORGEOUS
    – a memoir –

    “This is not a pretty book. It is a book that contains all the mess and grunge of a real life. My life – with an eating disorder. This is a look from the inside. Written while I am still recovering, this book is an attempt to give all those who have never had to live within the war zone of an eating disorder a real look at the battleground. So welcome, then. Welcome to the inside of my own head. Welcome to my land of thin thoughts and fat fears. Welcome to my attempt to become drop dead gorgeous. Let’s hope we make it out alive.”

    http://www.amazon.com/Drop-Dead-Gorgeous-Miceala-Shocklee/dp/1300583037/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386092839&sr=8-1&keywords=miceala+shocklee

  162. IDENTIFYING INFORMATION: Peter Hunt Welch is a 20-year-old single Caucasian male who was residing in Bar Harbor, Maine this summer. He is a University of Maine at Orono student with no prior psychiatric history, who was admitted to the Acadia Hospital on an involuntary basis due to an acute level of confusion and disorganization, both behaviorally and cognitively. He was evaluated at MDI and was transferred from that facility due to psychosis, impulse thoughts, delusions, and disorientation. He was felt to be a risk to himself and others due to his high level of disorganization and disorientation and impulsivity. He did not know where he was. He believed that he had murdered his friend by sucking out his soul. The patient was also reporting, upon admission, that he could see, smell, hear and touch God. She as an acid smoky smell. Patient is an unreliable historian. He initially denied any alcohol or drug use, but later on admitted to having had LSD on several occasions. He also acknowledged the use of heroin, crack, cocaine, mushrooms, ecstasy, speed, etc. Just prior to his admission to Acadia Hospital, he had been displaying markedly abnormal behavior with confusion, illogical statements, and appearing disoriented, and as if walking in a daze.

    The absolutely true and excessively documented story of a three-month break with reality.

    And Then I Thought I Was a Fish on Kindle

    The video that made it possible through Kickstarter

  163. The Case of the Werewolf Puppy

    Urban Fantasy
    I’ve said it before. It’s tough being a gay warlock in Washington D.C. And hanging out with my vampire buddy hasn’t made it any easier. A tentacled demon killing people near the Washington Monument followed by a naked werewolf puppy on my doorstep? Really? This isn’t something the local pound can take care of, so once again it was on me to figure it out.

    Sure, the vampire helped me out a bit, but hey, you all know who the real hero of this story is, right?

    Available on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DIHNS4W
    And Smashwords https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/382321
    Also on B&N, but I don’t want to leave too many links :)

    Thanks, John for the opportunity!

  164. “Vaz” is the story of Vaz Gettnor, a scientifically brilliant but socially inept father, struggling to be allowed to do the research he loves, to be treated fairly by the company he works for and to send his kids to college.
    Despite some phenomenal accomplishments, he isn’t getting much respect.
    But then… some people decide to take advantage of him. They make the mistake of assuming that his social ineptness somehow means that he won’t be able to protect himself or his family.
    That was a serious mistake!

    “Vaz”
    http://www.amazon.com/Vaz-Laurence-Dahners-ebook/dp/B00BKSC1I0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386093335&sr=8-1&keywords=vaz+dahners

    —————————————–

    The Ell Donsaii series are SciFi novels whose young heroine Ell Donsaii is an intrepid athletic phenom who reminds one of David Weber’s Honor Harrington. Like Stieg Larsson’s Lisbeth Salander (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) Ell is also a mathematical genius who, instead of counting sheep, works on her own theory of quantum mechanics to help her drift off to sleep. At once shy and concerned about her social skills, yet well loved by those around her, in the first book she finds herself at the center of a terrorist plot at the Olympics. The terrorists never contemplated trying to hold a hostage with the unbelievable quickness and athleticism of Ell Donsaii!
    A tradition of young, strong, brilliant, female heroines like Honor, Lisbeth, and Katniss Everdeen is continued…

    The first books in the series is “Quicker”
    http://www.amazon.com/Quicker-Donsaii-story-Laurence-Dahners-ebook/dp/B005ORQO7W/ref=pd_sim_kstore_16

  165. I self-published my first novel November 4th and it’s been a blast so far. It’s a political satire that details the rise of the main character Potus who wins the presidential election because people see his name and think they are voting for the incumbent (POTUS is President of the United States). Detailing the first 180 days of his presidency, this novel contains a minimum of 1 laugh per page and would make a great comedy gift for humourous readers of any political persuasion.

    Available in paperback and/or Kindle. If you purchase the paperback, the kindle version is free for a limited time. The Kindle version is also free for borrowing under the Amazon Kindle Select (requires Prime membership). Shipping is free with Prime, as well.

    Potus Goes to Washington, Kindle Version $2.99

    Potus Goes to Washington, Paperback $8.15 (list)

  166. I contributed to a couple of short story anthologies this year. Your preference will depend on your mood…

    If you’re looking to be unsettled, there’s Blood Rites, ed. Marc Ciccarone (Blood Bound Books). “Twenty-three authors. One exclusive anthology. Blood Bound Books celebrates its third year of publishing with Blood Rites, a gathering of dark talents that have shared our dreams-and shaped our nightmares. We individually summoned each author to contribute his or her voice to this choir of the damned. Now, we invite you to join the ritual… Authors include: Brian Lumley, Joe McKinney, Nathan Crowder, Lisa Morton, Daniel O’Connor, Jeff Strand, John McNee, K. Trap Jones, Maria Alexander, Ed Kurtz, Desmond Warzel, Mark C. Scioneaux, Brad C. Hodson, Gregory L. Norris, Monique Bos, Aric Sundquist, Christopher Hawkins, Chad McKee, Adrian Ludens, Bryan Oftedahl, Angela Bodine, Matt Moore, Douglas J. Lane.”

    And if you’re looking to be amused, there’s Unidentified Funny Objects 2, ed. Alex Shvartsman (UFO Publishing). “UFO2 is the second annual collection of humorous science fiction and fantasy short stories. Inside you’ll find: – A golem on an interstellar cruise ship – Dragon-taunting for fun and profit – Time travel gone really wrong – Cubicle farm wizardry – Alien behemoths in Central Park.”

    Better yet, get both.

  167. Dreamcast Worlds takes a unique approach – in this book design historian Zoya Street tells the story from right inside the games themselves.

    Travelling through the maps and screens of three Dreamcast games, follow the network of players, developers and events that contributed to the Dreamcast phenomenon. This is a spatial history of videogames, focusing on a time when 3D, open-world virtual play spaces first became possible.

    This project began life as a Master’s thesis at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. One crowdfunding campaign and a year of hard work later, this unique book has become a must-read for anybody with an opinion on video games.

    dreamcastworlds.com

  168. Thank you, this is great!

    “Spellbound in His Arms” is an Award-winning, Romantic Mystery & Suspense #1 Bestseller.

    The heirs of a Greek tycoon are dying under mysterious circumstances… Can the stunning reporter find the killer… and resist her passion for the seductive detective? A suspenseful and simmering novel set in the beautiful Greek island of Corfu.

    It is available at:

    Amazon
    http://viewbook.at/SpellboundInHisArms

    and

    Barnes & Noble
    http://bit.ly/188VrGa

  169. Thank you, Mr. Scalzi!

    For the adult on your list who likes a little spice, please consider Ms. Rowan’s Secretaries, a book from the Lilith Club. The Lilith Club is an exclusive Boston retreat for women who enjoy a very particular sort of pleasure. It is a world of soft-voiced cries in the dark, eager young secretaries face-down over desks, and the strictest forms of ecstasy. For adult readers only, please.

  170. Thanks John!

    I’ve got a new nonfiction book aimed at writers trying to create, grow, or maintain an online presence. It includes information on website basics, social media, online tools available to writers, reader communities (both where to find them and how to act on them), etc.

    Creating an Online Presence is currently Kindle only, but the Smashwords version is going up this week. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GRCPIAM/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B00GRCPIAM&linkCode=as2&tag=carawr-20

  171. Thanks so much for helping out those of us who published independently!

    KEEPING SCORE is the perfect book for every parent who spends his or her weekend on the sidelines cheering on their children. Whether the sport is baseball, football, basketball, lacrosse or soccer, parents all feel the same way when their child excels or … doesn’t quite excel.

    When her 9-year-old son wanted to play summer travel baseball, Shannon had no idea the toughest competition was off the field….

    When her son Sam asks to try out for a travel baseball team, divorced mom Shannon Stevens thinks it’ll be a fun and active way to spend the summer. Boy, is she wrong! From the very first practice, Shannon and Sam get sucked into a mad world of rigged try-outs, professional coaches, and personal hitting instructors. But it’s the crazy, competitive parents who really make Shannon’s life miserable. Their sons are all the second coming of Babe Ruth, and Sam isn’t fit to fetch their foul balls. Even worse, Shannon’s best friend Jennifer catches the baseball fever. She schemes behind the scenes to get her son Matthew on the town’s best baseball team, the Saints. As for Sam? Sorry, there’s no room for him! Sam winds up on the worst team in town, and every week they find new and humiliating ways to lose to the Saints.

    And the action off the field is just as hot. Shannon finds herself falling for the Saints’ coach, Kevin. But how can she date a man who didn’t think her son was good enough for his team … especially when the whole baseball world is gossiping about them? Even Shannon’s ex-husband David gets pulled into the mess when a randy baseball mom goes after him. As Sam works to make friends, win games and become a better baseball player, Shannon struggles not to become one of those crazy baseball parents herself. In this world, it’s not about whether you win, lose, or how you play the game… it’s all about KEEPING SCORE.

    Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00E6GHQYM

    B&N:
    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/keeping-score-jami-deise/1116264551?ean=9781491201817&isbn=2940045164511

    Thanks again!

  172. If you have any fantasy fans on your list who work in academe, they might enjoy my Royal Academy at Osyth series about a modern university of magic. Two novels and four reissued novellas are currently for sale as ebooks (from $0.99 up), and by the end of the week I hope to have a print-on-demand compilation of all four novellas for your non-e-reading friends. The third novel is due to be released next year.

    Royal Academy faculty call up demons in the sub-basement, talk to animals, trap incubi in rabbits, transplant dryads, and perform exorcisms, all in between their regular committee and teaching duties. If Harry Potter went to graduate school he would have been supervised by one of these harried academics.

    The people who like my books the best are usually academic employees and graduate students who like seeing their own lives accurately reflected in satirical fantasy that captures what we all love and hate about university life. Plus, of course, dragons.

    Descriptions, sample excerpts, and links to purchase can all be found at my website, http://www.raosyth.com.

    Thanks for the opportunity to promote my work!

  173. Thank you, John. This shopping list and this opportunity is always appreciated!

    Available again after fifteen years–the dark fantasy Night Calls. You can find it at multiple distributors. http://bit.ly/NightCalls
    *********
    “When you have the Gift, your life is not your own.”

    I was born to a family that harnessed the winds and could read futures in fire and water. Yet my mother kept her secrets.

    Then the werewolf came, sharing his madness.

    Now it’s my turn to keep secrets….

    Descended from powerful magic-users, but ignorant of her heritage, young Alfreda Sorensson learns magic and wisdom from her extended family in an alternate early 1800s Michigan Territory.
    *********
    “The strong characters, the matter-of-fact tone, and the strong sense of place make this something special.”
    — Locus Magazine

    “With a clear, distinctive voice, Katharine Kimbriel invents and re-invents magic on America’s frontier.”
    — Jane Yolen, the award-winning author of Briar Rose

    “I have not been so enthralled with a novel since Wrede’s Thirteenth Child. It takes talent to build a world so rich and lush that the reader cannot imagine it ever being differently, but that is exactly what Ms. Kimbriel has done.”
    —So Many books, So Little Time

    “There are very few books I reread on a regular basis. Night Calls is one. When I read Night Calls I thought, first, that Robin McKinley’s The Blue Sword had at last found a proper shelf-mate…. ”
    —Laura Anne Gilman, Nebula Award Nominee for Flesh and Fire: Book One of the Vineart War

    “I am so glad that Katharine Eliska Kimbriel’s Night Calls is getting out into the world again. If anything, I believe this story’s time has come—it’s the dark fantasy with an underlying glint of the numinous that I think so many readers are looking for and not finding.”
    —Sherwood Smith, author of Crown Duel

  174. Thank you!

    My first novel literally went up today (the great timing is, unfortunately, not due to my entirely fictional time travel device) so I only have the Smashwords link so far. Kindle on Amazon will be up soon as well as other sites (I will try to pop back in and edit this comment if possible).

    Time for Tea:

    The year is 2173, and with celebrations of the 400th anniversary of the American Revolution getting underway, business is booming at time travel consulting firm Constantine and Associates. Still, the last thing Olivia Lake expects on her first day of work is to be thrust into preparation for a time jump, in partnership with the dashing and apology-prone George Merrill. Their destination: London, 1773, to retrieve a pound of Bohea leaf destined for the Boston Tea Party. Before long, Olivia is immersed in danger, string quartets and love triangles amongst tea smugglers in the South of England, trying to stay afloat and do her job despite George’s unpredictability and the secrets shadowing their quest. Are those secrets linked to Olivia’s clandestine search for a missing Constantine and Associates employee: her husband, Bernard Quan?

    Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/384267

  175. Greek gods, old books, chess, coffee, romance, monsters, three-dimensional mazes…they’re all in THE IMMORTAL GAME by Joannah Miley.

    When struggling pre-med student Ruby West beats the unconquerable Ash at chess he becomes fixated on her. Which is great if you like smoldering blue eyes, sculpted features, and afternoons of unexpected adventure. But not so great when she discovers he is a Greek god and his father, Zeus, has forbidden the gods from interacting with humans.

    Ruby soon realizes her love for Ash threatens the fragile stability that has kept the gods from meddling in the mortal world.

    Before long the two find themselves on a quest to rescue a goddess, save the Earth from unending winter, and secure the right to be together forever.

    THE IMMORTAL GAME is a Young Adult/New Adult novel appropriate for ages 13 and up.

    Find it on Amazon (Kindle and paperback) : http://www.amazon.com/The-Immortal-Game-Book-Volume/dp/0986055522/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386095345&sr=8-2&keywords=the+immortal+game

    Barnes & Noble (Nook and paperback): http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-immortal-game-joannah-miley/1117349106?ean=9780986055522

    “This book was so great! There was a perfect balance between action, suspense, and romance.” -Natalie D. (Amazon)

    “I absolutly LOVEDDDD IT!!!!!! It was Amazing!” -Annonymous (Barnes & Noble)

    “This book is better that good, it’s pretty awesome.” -T.L.S. (Good Reads)

  176. If you know someone who likes horror fiction, then you may want to consider giving them my horror novella Six Dead Spots.

    Here’s what it’s about:

    Frank makes a startling discovery in the shower. He finds six strange circles of skin gone completely numb—three neatly spaced down the center of his chest and abdomen, and three more down his spine. His doctor takes sadistic pleasure in carving out bits of Frank’s flesh and a perverse childlike glee flipping through hundreds of pictures of his interior. But when the tests come back, he’s unable to make a diagnosis and refers Frank to a psychiatrist. Under guided hypnosis, Frank uncovers clues in a repressed dream, but his sessions on the couch are soon cut short when he loses his job and his health insurance. Now Frank is forced to solve the mystery of his six dead spots on his own. Armed with nicotine patches, pornography, sleeping pills, and a stack of books on lucid dreaming, Frank delves into a world of nightmares to do battle with the monsters lurking inside his head.

    Kindle Edition:
    http://amzn.com/B00GUNPJQG
    http://www.amazon.ca/dp/B00GUNPJQG

    EPUB:
    https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/380787

  177. Thank you for this great opportunity!

    I’d like to present my two books, selfpublished through Amazon and CreateSpace:

    Sequoia

    Hi, I’m Max. Hardworking, book-loving person who feels special about trees. My favorite one lives in the botanical gardens, a fairly young sequoia. To me, they are the most majestic beings in the world. However, I approach them with caution now, after what happened to me. I still can’t explain it very well. Imagine putting your hand on the tree, feeling the rough bark, thinking loving thoughts to it, and then suddenly plunging into darkness. That’s what happened to me. I ended up in a whole forest of sequoias, and soon found out I wasn’t in the good old US of A anymore. Fortunately, I made some friends, and discovered a possible way of getting home … and change the world with it. But like I said, I’m careful about sequoias, these days.

    Pu’ukani’s Song

    Pu’ukani is a singer and magic weaver.
    He also happens to be a whale. Follow Pu’ukani on his journey with the love of his life and her daughters, to their summer calving grounds. Encounters with humans and killer whales change his entire life, and the life of the clan led by his beloved. Through drama, loss and daring exploration, Pu’ukani finds himself at a cultural crossroads and in a position that breaks all rules. Will he be able to fulfill his duty to his truelove?
    Listen to his Song.

    Have fun!

    PS: This is my website: Hannah Steenbock

  178. Told exclusively in online content – instant messages, social media posts, e-mails, fanfiction, and more – 4 to 16 Characters by Kelly Hourihan examines the role that online friends, fandom, and fantasy play in helping one teenage girl to survive unbearable realities. When fifteen-year-old Jane Shilling’s mother died and her father turned to drinking, Jane had to find a way to escape. So she devised a number of online personas, each with a distinct personality, life history, and set of friends. Together with her involvement in the online fan circle for her favorite TV show, Look to Tomorrow, Jane thought she’d found the perfect way to cope forever. But as she draws closer to her online friends, she struggles to find a way to maintain real friendships with people who don’t even know her real name. Soon Jane is forced to begin to sift through her issues… but that involves taking a hard look at what her life’s like when the computer is shut off, and that’s a reality she’s been fighting for years.

    http://www.amazon.com/4-16-Characters-Kelly-Hourihan/dp/0989741109
    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/4-to-16-characters-kelly-hourihan/1117336118

  179. Thank you for this opportunity John!

    THE PHOENIX EMBRYO is the first novel of an epic, dark fantasy saga. Acanthus Breese will journey through several lifetimes as he searches for his missing goddess. He must also come to terms with his unique heritage, and his future responsibilities before his predecessor’s flame burns its last. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GWQXQ5M

    In short, described as Lord of the Flies on Mr. Spock’s planet Vulcan. For Mature Readers. Coming of Age. Sword & Sorcery. GLBT fiction.

  180. The Arena. Where predators seek their prey, where pleasure and pain await, and where love hides amidst the rumors, the secrets and the lies.

    Tales from the Arena is a two book erotic romance series available in ebook and paperback.

    Book one: Opening Gambit:
    http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Arena-Opening-Elizabeth-Schechter-ebook/dp/B00GKSV866
    https://www.createspace.com/4519035

    Book two: Playing for Keeps
    http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Arena-Playing-Elizabeth-Schechter-ebook/dp/B00GLFBGKG
    https://www.createspace.com/4522240

  181. Described as a cross between the X-Files and Call of Cthulhu, the inaugural title in Indi Martin’s Gina Harwood Series will please fans of police procedurals, mysteries, horror, and paranormal investigation. In Behind the Veil, we are introduced to Gina Harwood, and her partner, Morgan Snyder – two homicide detectives who stumble upon a bigger and more frightening crime than they anticipated. Just as they begin to grasp the outlines of the case, they are forced to make the biggest decision of their lives in order to save the crumbling remains of a family touched by horror.

    http://www.amazon.com/Behind-Veil-Harwood-Series-Volume/dp/1492137677/ref=tmm_pap_title_0

    Book One available now, Book Two: Descending will be released in February 2014.

    Thank you for the opportunity to share my novel!

  182. John, Thanks for this awesome opportunity (and idea)!

    in 1993, I had outrageous good luck when my short “The First Light of Evening” — about a middle-aged man (my current age) weighing what he’d never written, accomplished or perhaps lived — chosen for a Nelson Algren Award. Many good things followed (great agent, promised blurbs, etc.), but no novel deal. And then real life — babies! tripling rents! moderate dyslexia! — slowed my writing for… 20 years.

    When Dave Blum at Amazon re-published the story as a Kindle Single in 2012, he resurrected my writing life. It’s sold over 12,000 copies, went into Audible, and even German. And the same is happening with my later Single, “The Man Who Owns Little,” around the same themes that seem to catch us all — the frustrations of trying to get readers.

    http://www.amazon.com/First-Light-Evening-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B009DPGOOY

    http://www.amazon.com/Man-Owns-Little-Kindle-Single-ebook/dp/B00C9R7H0S

    BoingBoing.com’s review: “The First Light of Evening explores the life of Jim, who would rather not have it explored. Marriage over and retired, Jim has spent the last few years reading all the books he said he would, and then his daughter sets him up on a date. An elegantly written Kindle Single, Pothier makes every word count without creating the rushed or crammed feeling the format can often take. I’ll be looking for additional works by this author! — Jason Weisberger,

    I’ve got a novel being considered by some good agents, but if the top choices don’t go for it, I plan to pay a good editor and then self-publish next year. Sounds like I’d be in good company.

    Thanks all. Write well! — Mark

  183. I’ve republished “A Sword Called Rhonda” as a standalone short story. It’s also available in two anthologies: a print anthology from BenBella (This Is My Funniest 2) and an e-book anthology from Baen (Turn the Other Chick, previously also available in hardcover and paperback).

    The title’s pretty descriptive, but let’s just say that I always wondered why, given our present-day reality, there were no fantasy swords that “helped” like articles in Vogue or Cosmo. Or why there were no flying carpets that required particular songs to be sung. Or tarot card readers named Elvis.

    Links and further information here: http://deirdre.net/writing/publications/

    Thanks for letting me share!

  184. What a great idea! :)

    My latest book is called “False Cape: A Wash Woods Legacy” and is available for Amazon Kindle, paperback soon.

    Genre: historical fiction

    “The sailors saw the land coming toward them and knew they must be getting close to their destination. It had to be Cape Henry.

    Alas, they were wrong. They had strayed too far south and had reached the Graveyard of the Atlantic.

    Throughout the 19th century, countless ships ran aground in this weather-beaten area of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Many perished in the dangerous storms that often pelted this area.

    But some survived and made it to shore.

    Here in this isolated corner of the world, four generations of people lived and died by the sea in a little village called Wash Woods. This long-forgotten place comes to life through the tales of Mary Margaret “Mamie” Marsh, a descendant of those shipwrecked survivors, as she details what it was like to grow up in a seaside town at the turn of the 20th century.”

    Amazon link: http://bit.ly/falsecape

  185. Do you like comics about the secret lives of monster people? You might like Skin Deep!

    Skin Deep: Orientations is about a girl from Missouri who finds out she’s a sphinx, and then she has to deal with that information, as well as the information that all of her friends aren’t human and also demons and dragons are trying to get her for reasons unknown.

    Skin Deep: Exchanges is about a hidden city in Liverpool, England full of mythical creatures as it follows a day in their lives.There’s a going away party for an eccentric gryphon, a sorcerer and his apprentice trying to do work while being heckled by a jackalope and his obnoxious friends, and a kid who’s best friend turned out to be a white stag and now he’s slowly turning into something, but he doesn’t know what exactly.

    These two big, beautiful, self-published books, are available at my store here: http://korybing.storenvy.com

    You can also read Skin Deep online for free at http://skindeepcomic.com, if you’d like to “try before you buy.”

  186. Thanks for this!

    REMOVED, Book ONE of the Nogiku Series, is a Japan-inspired science fiction romance. It’s SHOGUN meets DUNE on a post-apocalyptic earth. Sanaa, a bright, young, half-Japanese woman, finds out her life is far from ordinary when she’s pulled from her job to spy on the main Japanese clans of her city. She’s plunged into a world of secrets and lies, she falls in love, she learns to sword fight, and she’s confronted with the biggest secret of all, her family legacy.

    Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/Removed-Nogiku-S-J-Pajonas-ebook/dp/B00F4IE978/
    But it’s also available on BN, Kobo, and iBookstore.

    And what luck! The second book in the series, RELEASED, is out in two weeks (Dec 17, 2013)! Both books are doing well on Goodreads if you’d like to check out reviews first.

    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18366156-removed
    https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18674866-released

    Arigato gozaimasu!

  187. Do you like zombies? Do you like survival stories? Are you okay that the author did her own editing and missed about a billion mistakes she swore weren’t there before?

    It’s been called the “Best Zombie Apocalypse Book Ever” by a person who read it.
    The End of the Line Series. We got most of the human race dead of the flu. We got zombies, collapsing houses, wild dogs, indifferent cats, food poisoning, pretty boats, characters from all works of life, and more guns than anyone really should have.

    Book 1 End of the Line http://www.amazon.com/End-Line-Lara-Frater-ebook/dp/B009UL84PI/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386099970&sr=1-3

    Book 2 Stuck in the Middle, which was the #1 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror > Gay & Lesbian for two weeks http://www.amazon.com/Stuck-Middle-Line-Lara-Frater-ebook/dp/B00G10K8T6/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386100193&sr=1-1

    And to segue into something completely different, Fat Chicks Rule. http://www.amazon.com/Fat-Chicks-Rule-Survive-Thin-Centric/dp/0975251716/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386100263&sr=1-2

  188. WILD CARD is my debut novel, published in digital format by the good folks at Entangled Edge (an imprint of Entangled Publishing). Though it’s only been out for a week, WILD CARD is already enjoying rave reviews from the likes of Delilah S. Dawson, Karina Cooper and Allison Pang.

    WILD CARD is the ginger lovechild of ANANSI BOYS and Tron: Legacy. In this urban fantasy, Catherine Sharp–an IT guru living in Vegas–is on the roster of souls owned by Eris, the Greek goddess of Discord. Soon, Cat finds out that her soul is a bargaining chip in a poker game among the most notorious of Trickster deities. If Catherine wants her soul back, she has to match wits against the likes of Loki, Puck and Coyote. Along for the ride is Marius, an insatiable satyr with his own debts to Discord. If they play their cards right, they might both win their freedom…assuming they don’t kill one another first.

    WILD CARD is available on any digital platform through Barnes & Noble, Amazon, Kobo and the iBookstore. Click here http://www.jamiewyman.com/buy-me/books/ and you’ll can pick your platform. You can also add it to your Goodreads shelf and find out what people are saying about WILD CARD. The first chapter is available to read free at http://www.entangledpublishing.com/wild-card/

    Thanks, John, for letting me pimp WILD CARD on your space. Very happy to share my first novel with everyone.

    Cheers and Nerdmaste!

  189. I have released my second novel a few months ago, a near future, first contact novel called Skye Entity. A brief synopsis:

    Skye has been kidnapped!

    After first contacting Earth for assistance, Skye lands with much fanfare at Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California in 2025. He needs to repair his vessel before he runs out of energy in a few short weeks.

    The United Nations, governments, and people of Earth are happy to comply. For most, Skye represents a hope beyond the political upheaval and economic tensions of their time—a representation that Skye, a kind, peaceful entity, takes pains to portray. To others, however, Skye’s arrival presents an opportunity for military, political, and economic superiority. Skye’s kidnapping threatens the delicate political balance on Earth as well as a potential intergalactic rift with the first beings to ever publicly visit Earth. With two worlds watching, Skye’s friends and protectors need to recover Skye before its too late.

    You can download or read the first seven chapters for free.
    You can buy Skye Entity on Amazon in print or eBook format (and the eBook on your eReader store of choice)

    Thanks!

  190. I’ve just released the second in my steampunkish-fantasy Gryphon Clerks series: Hope and the Clever Man (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0070OQZ2G/).

    An act of powerful magic in a moment of rage almost destroys Hope’s magical career before it starts, leaving her even more determined to prove her worth.

    Her chance comes when she’s assigned to work for the eccentric inventor known as the Clever Man. The magical technology they create together could change the course of a war and help an oppressed people plan their revolution, but wealthy and powerful interests will fight to put it down any way they can.

    You don’t need to read the first book (Realmgolds) first, but if you want to, it’s currently half price to celebrate the launch of Book 2. The link for that one is http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BVR3JFY/

    These books have been professionally edited.

  191. Aiden has always done his best to live under the radar. When he rescued a beautiful girl from certain death, he didn’t realize it would be the beginning of an epic quest to rid the continent of evil overlord James Etherinscot and his vile Separator government. Part fantasy, part science fiction, Flames of Rebellion follows Aiden and his newfound friend Flame as they become part of a classic story of adventure, survival, and romance.

    Available now on Amazon Kindle, Flames of Rebellion is a debut publication, a novellette with fast-paced storytelling highly suitable for those who enjoy young adult fiction. Also great for parents and kids to read together!

    List Price $2.99
    http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00FRSWMWY/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1386098985&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

    Need a last-minute Christmas read? Flames of Rebellion will be FREE from December 23-December 25, 2013!

  192. HEAVEN and THE DEAD CITY: (64 page black & white fantasy graphic novel written and hand-painted by Raine Szramski)

    There is nothing alive anymore in the Dead City – or is there? Two cities: one dead… …the other, vibrant and alive. But for Palus, the supposedly enlightened city of Zivvon was dead in a different way. Their intolerance of earth magick in favor of the intangible church-sanctioned magic of heaven weighed heavily on him. After all, Palus had been born a witch. Two cities: one beautiful and flourishing… …the other, not quite as dead as it would seem. Yaira knows this as well as anyone. It wasn’t safe to linger within the walls of Tac. Her mother had made that mistake and paid the price for it. Her father had warned her – Get in, get what we need and get out! But Yaira had inherited her mother’s curiosity. And now something in the Dead City was growing curious of her.

    Available on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/HEAVEN-And-DEAD-CITY-Volume/dp/B008PV6JGU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386101192&sr=8-1&keywords=heaven+and+the+dead+city

  193. There’s a guy prophesied to liberate the world from an oppressive king and his ruthless Overlords.

    Simon’s not that guy. But he wants to save the world anyway.

    ***

    My novel, House of Blades, has sold roughly 35,000 copies since I published it on Amazon this past June. This book and its sequel, The Crimson Vault, are available now on Kindle (and free Kindle reading apps on any device):

    http://www.amazon.com/House-Blades-Travelers-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B00D52X58Y/

    The final book in The Traveler’s Gate Trilogy, City of Light, is set to be released early in 2014.

    Got questions? Head on over to http://www.WillWight.com and ask me! There will be cake.

  194. This feels a bit awkward, but here’s the description of my self-pubbed paranormal romance. Thanks so much for this opportunity!

    Makenna Wilkensen has had many names and many identities since being cast to earth and remade into a vampire. Her latest assumed identity is that of an Independent bookstore owner. It’s under this guise that she meets author Gabe Anderson. Intrigued by his resistance to her supernatural allure, Makenna offers to host a book signing at her store to keep him conveniently close. Determined to have more to talk about than table placement, she decides to read his novel. This simple decision changes everything, though, because his fictional characters are all too familiar. The names may have changed, but there’s no mistaking the true identity of the key players in the novel, just as there is no denying the fact that his fiction comes all too close to the hidden truth of Heaven’s fallen angels.

    The book can be found here: Fallen Angel

  195. Wow, lots of terrific stuff here! Delighted to be able to add mine as well:

    Diagnosis: Asperger’s Syndrome. Symptoms often only apparent when under stress.
    Witnessing a murder qualifies as stress.

    Russ Dante—math teacher, older brother, hobby artist—has a passion for sunsets and finds comfort in his ritual of capturing the striking colors in his sketchbook with oil pastels. That changes one August evening on a secluded park hilltop when—instead of the sunset he came to sketch—he sees a murder. Before the smoky-blue of twilight falls, Russ is running for his life.

    Asperger Sunset is a mystery novel set in Madison, WI and is available in paperback or Kindle from Amazon.com (through Create Space Publishing – self-published). http://www.amazon.com/Asperger-Sunset-Carol-Shay-Hornung/dp/1482735776/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386102508&sr=1-1&keywords=asperger+sunset

  196. Thank you for the opportunity!

    My latest novel is The Lost Book of Anggird, epic fantasy with a romantic twist.

    Stuffy Professor Roric Rossony’s world is rocked by his sexy new assistant Perarre Tabrano. It’s rocked even more when he digs too deeply into lost and forbidden books and magical disaster strikes. Overnight, Roric is transformed from respected scholar to the most-wanted criminal in the Vorunne Dominion. On the run from the law, he and Perarre embark on a journey to discover the roots of an 800-year-old conspiracy, a journey that will change the way magic works, and their own lives, forever.

    Available at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G87CWUK
    and at Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/372010

    Also available: my romantic fantasy novels Urdaisunia and Chosen of Azara, and my short story collection, A Cure for Nel and Other Stories.

  197. I’m promoting my children’s book “Hobo Finds a Home” about how my cat Hobo came to live with me. Originally it was self-published, then picked up by a small publishers, and now that the publisher is out of business, it is back in the original format. It’s available online or from my website http://www.wellsborobookstore.com., and a shout out to John for doing this…

  198. I just published my first short story online through a small press – it’s a paranormal horror romance in a fantasy setting, Moonlight Becomes Him:

    Markus always admired his mentor, Nicodemus. Over his two years as an apprentice physician, Markus’ admiration has grown into something deeper, but he has never been brave enough to admit it. One summer evening, a ragged man comes to the clinic claiming he is cursed. During the treatment, chaos breaks loose as the patient attacks them. Fear of losing the man he loves makes Markus doubt his ability, but there’s no time for hesitation if he wants to save the badly-injured Nicodemus.

    http://www.amazon.com/Moonlight-Becomes-Him-Alex-Younger-ebook/dp/B00GHMIS9U/

  199. Hank and Gracie Save the Day
    Written by yarn shop owner Stacy Klaus and illustrated by her teenaged niece Molly Wade, this book tells a short story about two West Highland terriers (Hank and Gracie), and includes four simple knit or crochet patterns and four coloring book pages so you can keep having fun after the story has been read.

    Currently available in digital format, with print shipping by mid-December. Can be purchased online from the publisher (https://www.cooperativepress.com/products-page/books/hank-and-gracie-save-the-day/) or at The Knitting Nest in Austin, Texas (http://theknittingnestaustin.com).

  200. I just released the second book in my Empty Cradle trilogy, entitled Shiloh in the Circle. Technically it’s a post-apocalyptic urban fantasy; the Hollywood-types would say it’s The Road Warrior with the occasional shapeshifter popping up. In this book, there’s also a post-apocalyptic circus, sarcasm, clowns with a secret language, gorillas, a flash flood, a battle on a running carnival ride and political intrigue. Check EC: SitC out at https://www.createspace.com/4505320.

    The first book in the series, The Untimely Death of Corey Sanderson, is not necessary reading to enjoy the second, but studies show that reading one can lead to a craving for the other. This is where Ivy, Swan and Kroni’s adventures begin, mixing a dissatisfied farmboy with a reluctant scavenger and a curious collection of travelers to undertake a dangerous delivery from the Great Lakes to the mysterious Strip City. https://www.createspace.com/3651549

  201. Tweetable: Kalara hires an incompetent devil to kill a snooty necromancer.

    Longer: Kalara’s an evoker, hurling fire and ice. In sympathy with her abilities is her testy temper, which gets her into more trouble than she’s willing to admit. She meets a man named Whitcomb, and on finding he is a mage as well, lets him know they have that in common. He casts a spell meant to hurl her into the Hudson. Incensed, Kalara calls up Evander, a devil who’s bad at being bad, to get her revenge. Nefarious methods are the obvious way to get what she wants.

    What can evil do for you today?

    ***

    The Complete Guide to Being Evil is a quirky urban fantasy. It is available on Smashwords and Amazon.
    https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/363105
    http://www.amazon.com/reader/1494308355/ref=rdr_sb_li_hist_1&state=01111

  202. I made a photography book called Optimus V. It is a collection of photographs from my old cell phone, my first Android, I called it my “Favorite Thing Ever!”. I self published this, with the help of CreateSpace, I think of this as my level 1 book, photographs, layout and everything, I did it all myself. I am proud of it, and honored to be able to link to it here!

    Here is the createspace link with a %41 off promo code.
    https://www.createspace.com/4426743

    And here is a link to Amazon, where they charge whatever they feel like.
    http://amzn.to/1bOnmwP

    I hope to write a novel one day, but I have published my art and it is AWESOME!!!

    Thanks Scalzi!

  203. I grew up at Mount Saint Joseph’s Orphan Asylum, which evolved into a delinquent girl’s home in the early 1970’s. I was cooped up there until I was a legal adult. I have had an interesting, convoluted life which has taken me around the block, and then some. I’ve collected oodles of sordid stories and experiences.

    As the years staggered by, I found myself writing small rants and various articles for offbeat publications, nothing remotely sexually oriented at all. Then BOOM! it hit me like a stiff d!ck in the face, I had found my true passion; giving relationship and sex advice. I, being blunt and outspoken, listened to all my friends constantly ask for my help in matters of the heart and bedroom. When they did not listen to my boisterous advice, they always wished they had… thus the idea for a column and ultimately, this book.

    The hard: https://www.createspace.com/4153025

    And the soft: http://www.amazon.com/Mz-Conducts-House-Sin-Boylan-ebook/dp/B00F853E2I/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1386103055&sr=1-1

  204. Thanks for the opportunity!

    Blue Ice by Mark N. Cahill – released in May, 2013

    A techno-thriller set in the pre-9/11 world. A pair of US Treasury Agents stumble onto a plot to smuggle lasers to the Russian Federation. The ensuing web of intrigue leads them into the dangerous world of the diamond cartel. This is a tale woven of rich fabric that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end!

  205. Ever make a mistake and not want to admit it? That’s what happens when an FBI agent arrests the wrong man and gets promoted for it. When the one he was actually after contacts the agent and the agent won’t listen, it gets bad. When the innocent man dies in custody, it gets worse, and his brother, a master terrorist, plots a crippling string of attacks against Washington DC. Terrorism, murder, and revenge flow through this attack on the nation’s capitol.

  206. Drawing the Dead

    Life and death are not that far apart…

    What happens when we die? Viki Dobos knows. Her job is to help people talk to their dearly departed. She draws the deceased, and they come to life on the page… briefly. When a rich Russian man hires her and whisks her away to Hawaii, everything changes. The rich man wants her to do the forbidden, and a handsome man she meets on the beach needs her more than he knows. Viki will have to confront her past, face her fears, and risk everything to help them.

    From the author of A Ghost’s Memoir series (Shuffled Off and To Be A Fool) comes an unforgettable story of life, death, and the strange places in between.

    http://robertjmccarter.com/books/drawingthedead/

  207. THE PRISONER AND THE ASSASSIN

    In the future, America is divided. It’s been two decades since Washington D.C. was destroyed and the West Coast devastated by EMPs and The Federal Council rules the country. Only the Free Territories, carved out in the bloody aftermath of two revolts against the Council defy them.

    When a shocking assassination threatens the uneasy peace, the Prime Minister of the Free Territories, Chelsea Andrews is faced with a choice: fight to save the peace or take a chance to make America free once more. As both sides race to prevent a war, a shadowy enemy from her past waits for his chance at revenge and the secret he holds could be the most powerful one of all:

    Who is Prisoner 112?

    The answer to that question may decide the fate of America, once and for all…

    Now on Kindle for only $2.99 with Paperback and Nook editions coming soon!

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Prisoner-Assassin-Tom-Nixon-ebook/dp/B00GXDKCP6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386104740&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Prisoner+and+The+Assassin

  208. Hey everyone! I’ve got a fun treat for all the fairy tale and folklore lovers out there. Not to mention it has some consistent LGBT themes, including a Lesbian main protagonist. If you liked Jim C. Hines’ Stepsister’s Scheme and books in that series you just might like this one.

    It’s called The Real Folktale Blues and is the first book in a series. It follows Gnidori, who is more famously known as Little Red Riding Hood. But she isn’t quite so little anymore. She’s an adult and a bounty hunter now.

    You’ll meet all sorts of other fairy tale characters like Prince Charming, Cinderella, and Bluebeard. It’s meant more for adults but some YA lovers have also picked it up.

    Check it out: The Real Folktale Blues

  209. So your reality-disinclined relative poopoos your argument about evolution at the Christmas table, and you can’t think of a rejoinder. What’s a geek to do?

    Buy “2^7 Nerd Disses: A Significant Quantity of Disrespect” by Zach Weiner (of Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal) and me, Phil Plait (illustrated by Jess Fink). It will supply you with 128 dorkalicious insults in a broad sweep of categories (physics, astronomy, history, literature, and more). It’s only a buck for the PDF at Gumroad, and it’s on Smashwords and Amazon as well for multiple formats.

  210. Thanks for this opportunity, John!

    – – –

    She died in New York. She woke in Rustwood.

    After being pushed in front of the subway C-Line, Kimberly Archer finds herself in an impossible town with a husband she’s never seen before and a life she can’t remember. The rain never stops, the phones don’t work and the doctors think she’s delusional.

    Kimberly only wants to get back to her fiance in New York. But for that, she needs the help of Fitch, a madman who believes something dark lives at the heart of Rustwood. He’ll help her, so long as she joins him on his mission to burn the town to the ground.

    RUST is a serial small-town horror story in the style of Cronenberg, Lynch and King. The SEASON ONE OMNIBUS collects episodes one through five in a single discount edition. http://www.amazon.com/Rust-Season-One-Christopher-Ruz-ebook/dp/B00E9WJ71S/

  211. Thank you! Our “Unholy Nights: A Twisted Christmas Anthology” is RANKING high on Amazon for the Holidays! Top 10 and 100 in almost all categories yay! Only 99 cents for now…

    For folks who like their Christmas a little twisted, seven tales of charms and magic, curses and intrigue…

    Featuring novellas from popular authors Linda Barlow, Andra Brynn, Carly Carson, Alana Albertson, Kara Ashley Dey, Nicole Blanchard and Cherie Chulick.

    A Kiss is Just a Kiss by Linda Barlow
    Thinking only of love and passion, college student Holly Mathers steals an enchanted kiss beneath bewitched mistletoe, but she finds that all magic comes with a price.

    In the Bleak Midwinter by Andra Brynn
    For Ayla MacFarlane, coming home for the holidays is a prison sentence. The old gods of the solstice still listen and can answer her prayers, but old gods require old sacrifices, and power is sometimes fed in the bloodiest of ways.

    And more…

    http://amzn.to/1hs4Osl

    Thank you for this opportunity, John!

  212. SONG AND SIGNAL

    For teen and adult sci-fi fans, this is the grand space adventure you’ve been waiting for: M. E. Patterson‘s brand-spanking new, dystopic near-future universe complete with aliens, robots, spaceships, lab-grown hitmen, nanotech weapons, and tentacle monsters from beyond!

    Seventeen year-old genius Zakari Sharp has never stood on the surface of a planet, never seen a sun-streaked sky. He lives on a corporate-owned mining facility at the edge of the solar system, with a mute alien for a guardian and brainwashed, muscle-bound ex-convicts for company. The day his father vanished was so long ago that Zak thought he would never hear from him again.

    Zak was wrong.

    Now, chased off-station by a cabal of mythical assassins, Zak and his best friend Liz embark on a harrowing journey across the galaxy, to find his father’s hiding place and learn the universe-shaking discovery that hides with him. But their enemies will stop at nothing to steal the secret themselves.

    And even better, it just happens that the kindle version is on a holiday sale for only 1 dollar this week at amzn.to/sskaa!

  213. Son Of Danse Macabre: Is a personal history of the last thirty years of horror fiction. Using King’s Danse Macabre as a structural “dance partner” SODM explores the last thirty of years of horror movies, comics, fiction, videogames, breakfast cereals, and other assorted goodness.

    It’s available on The Kindle: http://www.amazon.com/Son-Danse-Macabre-Bryce-Wilson-ebook/dp/B009K6Q4UU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386109755&sr=8-1&keywords=Son+Of+Danse+Macabre

    And The Nook: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/son-of-danse-macabre-bryce-wilson/1113088647?ean=2940015525540

  214. “Killdeer”: Elspeth only meant to search her starship’s computer for some new music. Instead she found a mysterious race of people called the Aelur, who needed her help…

    Soft sci-fi with a strong female lead and emphasis on the meaning of family, humanity, and doing what’s right, “Killdeer” is readable by ages 8-108. Available in print and e-book from Amazon.

    http://www.amazon.com/Killdeer-Anne-B-Walsh-ebook/dp/B00GZAEYO2

    Also by this author: “In the Bleak Midwinter”, holiday-themed fantasy and sci-fi for 2013.

    http://www.amazon.com/In-Bleak-Midwinter-Anne-Walsh-ebook/dp/B00GZAO9O2

  215. I used to make up stories for my kids at bedtime. They thought I should make them into a book, so I wrote Castle Falcon.

    Katie and her brother Zach have spent their whole lives in the vast and ancient stone fortress called Castle Falcon, somewhere in present day America.

    When they finally crack the secret of the mysterious Castle doors their enigmatic father had sealed against their curiosity, they aren’t ready for what they find: living hearts in jars, people turned to stone, and a cage containing something terrible and invisible.

    And that’s before they discover a buried gateway to a dark and demon- filled hell, and the monstrous creature that guards it…

    Along with the Castle, the book has secret caves, a few wizards (mostly retired), an evil demon in disguise, a spaceship, wormholes, talismans, a dragon, a sea monster, a giant spider, a talking lizard, an alien princess from a lost kingdom, a number of small faeries, a healthy dollop of Cthulhu mythos, a touch of gourmet cooking, a really big gun, lethal teddy bears, a fart joke, and one (1) gratuitous mooning of an authority figure. There is no specific mention of a kitchen sink, but there is a utility sink that has an important role.

    The Castle Falcon webpage, with links to places to buy the book.

  216. Not sure anyone will see this in the onslaught of suggestions, but thank you for doing this!
    —–

    Do you know someone who likes horror stories? I self published a collection of horror stories that include things like origami elder gods, hookers with phantom limbs, machines that can take away all your worries and fears and dump them into someone else, and an atypical zombie story about guy just wanting to be the coolest person at a zombie pub crawl.

    It’s called Bedtime Stories for the Insomniac (the joke in the title is that these stories don’t actually help you sleep but will keep you awake, side note to any other self published authors: never get too cute with your title and never suggest that the book might put someone to sleep like I did).

    It can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/Bedtime-Stories-Insomniac-Matthew-Yaeger-ebook/dp/B00B0S46LA

    If $3 is just too much to spend this season but you really want to read it, shoot an email to myeager at insidepulse dot com and I might hook you up anyway because it’s the season of giving after all.

  217. So, it’s a science-fiction series set in a possible future full of social, political and personal problems familiar to anyone living today…blah, blah, blah. Let’s hit the high points:
    Adventure and peril? Yes.
    Fights and conflict? Yup.
    Explosions? Oh, yeah.
    Secret alliances, hidden conspiracies, lurking villains and unlikely heroes? Check, check, check, aaaaaaand check.
    Two novel length stories full of strong characters, witty dialogue and all the goodness any reader could desire. All for the low-low introductory price of only 99 cents each.
    Currently available through Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, and Amazon.
    Easy links:
    https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dawnrigger
    http://www.amazon.com/K.M.-Herkes/e/B00GRLYEL2/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1386108293&sr=1-1

  218. COLOR ME BAD by Olivia Waite.

    An erotic historical romance about a gentleman painter and a lady thief.

    Short and sweet, just like this post.

    You can check out an excerpt and find purchase links atoliviawaite.com.

    With thanks to our fearless mallet-wielding leader.

  219. “The Sentinel is a fast-paced, thrilling book that is impossible to put down! You will be pulled in from the very first page and taken on a roller-coaster ride of friendship, loyalty, courage, epic battle scenes that would actually be cinema worthy, and easily the MOST BEAUTIFUL love story I’ve read in a long time!”

    When Eve is rescued from a horrific coach crash by her teachers, she is shocked to discover they possess super strength and speed. But what happens next is even more harrowing.

    In the aftermath of the crash she discovers that everyone in her life from neighbours, doctors, dentists, teachers, shop keepers and even her family and friends are actually super strength Guardians sent to protect her. They all have one thing in common, a single minded ferocity that she must be kept alive at all costs.

    However, she is surrounded by secrets and lies. Those in the know deny all knowledge of what happened that fateful night. Everyone else carries on as normal, seemingly unaware of the new strange world that she has stumbled against.

    With the help of Seth, her best friend, Eve discovers the prophecies surrounding her true identity and the super strength she too holds. With her Guardians pledged to protect her, her closest friends ready to die for her, her own hopes and dreams are put on hold whilst she battles to control the amazing powers she has been bestowed with.

    But those that seek to destroy her move ever closer. Will the Guardians be enough to protect her when so many are prepared to stop at nothing to see her dead? And will she be strong enough to fulfil her destiny when the time comes?

    A fast paced fantasy adventure for young adults. With high speed car chases, airborne fights, amazing stunts and super powered beings, this is a story of loyalty, friendship and love

    Praise for The Sentinel
    “It’s a book you HAVE to read, because it’s incredible. An outstanding book that has left me bereft its finished. I wished I’d savoured it for longer. This book was one of those that once you started it was impossible to come away from. It was fast paced, exciting, full of suspense and action that had me gasping in shock at twists I never imagined could happen. It’s a story of courage and adventure. And no matter how dark it gets, there’s always love and hope.”

    “It’s really hard to find the words to describe how amazing this book is. This is definitely the best debut I’ve read this year! I just love this book, I want you all to read this book, in fact you all need to read this book!”

    http://amzn.to/IKSOUk Kindle

    http://amzn.to/1g4bFrq paperback

  220. What if people and places are connected in ways we’re not aware of? Could those connections change the future? Could time be a Möbius strip? What if someone,
    in exactly the right – or wrong – place at exactly the right – or wrong – time, could be transported into a past that wasn’t at all what he expected, only to have to create his own future?

    The Time in Yellowstone series, a trilogy of novels plus a short story, is a set of historical/time travel adventures. “Homesick,” the short story (both paper and e versions), contains the first chapters of all three novels.

    This is what the first book, Repeating History, is about:
    In 1959, 20-year-old college dropout Chuck McManis strolls the geyser boardwalks in Yellowstone National Park when an earthquake plunges him eighty years back in time, into the middle of an Indian war. Into his personal past, too – his great-grandfather, his boyhood idol, but not a hero after all. Hapless Chuck needs instructions for sheer survival. He will not abandon Eliza Byrne, the woman who teaches him. But nothing matters if they never make it back to civilization. No matter when it could be.

    They’re all available in paper or digital editions, through many vendors including Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iTunes, and Kobo, as well as your local bookstore. The links are at my website: http://mmjustus.com/fictionTimeinYellowstone.html.

  221. Ratfish is a classic tale of sex, violence, and mutated animal parts in a blender.

    Dr. Dunwiddy’s not a mad scientist, but he is an angry one. His daughter is a cripple, her wannabe boyfriend is a stalker, and he has been forced to conduct his genetic experiments in a cinder block lab on a backwater Caribbean island because of stringent laws on stem cell research in the United States.

    Chico’s just like any other local Caribbean Community College student, stalking the legless girl of his dreams from the cover of the jungle as she maneuvers her wheel-chair down the dirt road toward the homestead where her geneticist dad experiments with various animals with the power of regeneration.

    Marinda has dreams like any other college girl. She dreams her father wasn’t so over-protective. She dreams she had a normal social life. She dreams her dad wouldn’t track blood into their pristine, clean home when he comes back from working in the lab. She dreams of having sex in the tub with a hunky college guy who treats her with respect. And she dreams she could walk again.

    Tony is the big man on campus, even if he is a big fish in a very small, brackish pond with plenty of scum. He does whatever he pleases, whoever he pleases. He loves sex, violence, himself, and anything he can’t have. If only his henchman and lackeys weren’t so stupid, he would rule this island.

    The Ratfish didn’t ask to be here. But now that they are, they intend to spawn and mutate and kill and eat and spawn and multiply and chow down on the local population until they are the only local population. Then, they’ll either turn on each other or conquer the world.

    Sounds like a bitchin’ weekend.

    http://amzn.com/B00FCGIPDQ

  222. If you know someone who likes reading A) short fiction B) romantic fiction, may I suggest my collected novellas? L.A. Stories: Volume I and L.A. Stories: Volume II, available in print from Amazon.com; author Alexandra Caluen.

    The novellas are also available individually for Kindle e-readers & apps.

    These novellas are written in a modified teleplay format. Each is approximately the length of a conventional screenplay. Adult themes, situations, and language. While sexy, these are not erotica. Cheers and happy holidays!

  223. Wow! Thank you, John, for the great opportunity! My debut contemporary romance novel came out on November 6th on Amazon. It has stayed at #1 in genre in Canada as well as #1 in the UK under Western Romance as well – so I’m off to a great start!

    Here is a little about the book, Break in Two:

    Romantic. Witty. Sexy as hell. A story as satisfying as the perfect man – long and thick with all the right moves at just the right pace…

    Thirty-one year old Claire Hatley is running from Seattle having just discovered that her live-in boyfriend has traded her in for a twenty-two year old hostess. Devastated and alone Claire must make a fresh start. She answers an ad for a chef at a guest ranch just outside Colorado Springs and finds herself face to face with Cole Mitchell, quite possibly the sexiest man to ever ride a horse. Common sense tells them to stay away from each other, but their attraction is not to be denied. He gives her a glimpse of what love should be, but just as she starts to trust him, the past comes back to tear them apart.

    Join Claire and Cole as they embark on the stormy love affair of a lifetime.

    (Oh…and for those of you with husbands/boyfriends, please tell them “you’re welcome” from MJ.)

    Click here for more information or to purchase!

    http://www.amazon.com/Break-In-Two-MJ-Summers-ebook/dp/B00GHM379G/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

    Happy Holidays Everyone!

  224. Adventures! Relics! The occasional zombie or demon-possessed beast or depressed Norse god!

    I mostly write adventure novels featuring Oliver Lucas, a disgraced academic who is searching for a relic that jumpstarted humanity’s ascent to civilization. Along the way he picks up odd jobs. You know, the sort where you have to track down Odin’s Eye or Moses’s Staff.

    Also write short stories set in a fantasy universe where nightmares cross into the real world and slaughter people. And there’s a 300+ page scifi novel featuring a homicidal space ship and a suicidal cyborg. As you can tell, I am a very happy person :-)

    You can find all my books on Amazon, both as Kindle eBooks (free with Prime!) and in many cases as print on demand paperbacks.

    http://www.amazon.com/Andrew-Linke/e/B009YN1WGA

    Thanks!

  225. Ordo Lux lucis, the Holy order of Knights of the Roman Catholic Church, created to fight evil and protect the mortal world. Its youngest member, Ser Nicholas Carrol, wielder of the sword fidelitas, is assigned to his home state of Missouri, one of the largest centers of paranormal activity in the continental U.S.

    Follow the adventures of Ser Nicholas Carrol in his first novel, Silver Eclipse. Available in both paperback and ebook formats on Amazon.com

    http://www.amazon.com/Silver-Eclipse-Ordo-Lux-lucis-ebook/dp/B00GYD4ZVW/

  226. Before I start, Mr. Scalzi, I’d like to thank you for providing this opportunity to independent and small-press writers like me. With that said, I submit for your approval my debut, Without Bloodshed, a near-future science fantasy thriller filled with deceit, subterfuge, action, comedy, and romance..

    The murder of a rock violinist on a wintry London night. A coup d’état by a gun-runner and his army of bikers in Boston. A favor between friends granted in Tokyo. With these parallel events, the first Starbreaker novel begins. Will Morgan Stormrider succeed in his mission to depose Alexander Liebenthal without killing him? Or will the Phoenix Society sacrifice him and his friends to save itself?

    Without Bloodshed is available worldwide on Amazon.

  227. Thank you for an opportunity to get the word out! I’m an editor for the quite-new (this week we launch Issue 5), mostly digital magazine Sparkler Monthly, which serializes fiction in prose, comics, and audio with a female audience in mind. Our finished volumes (just got onto Amazon!) are:

    Action, science fiction, sarcastic teenage leads, and a bit of mystery combine in the illustrated novel Tokyo Demons Volume 1 by Lianne Sentar and rem, originally serialized for free online (Volume 2 now being serialized for free in Sparkler).
    http://amzn.com/B00GY4V8SO

    Off*Beat Volumes 1 and 2 is an original English language graphic novel series by Jen Lee Quick (the final volume is also being serialized in Sparkler) with fantastic characters including a smart-aleck teenage hero who somehow avoids being annoying.

    “I just have to know.”
    Christopher “Tory” Blake is a little too smart for his own good. His flights of fancy can whisk him away to odd places, but none so odd as those involving his mysterious new neighbor, Colin Stephens. Quiet and unassuming, it’s obvious that Colin is up to something–but what? And when it turns out that Tory’s instincts may actually be on to something, he discovers he’s got just as much to figure out about himself as he does about his new “friend.” Is Colin just a curiosity or something more…?
    Volume 1 – http://amzn.com/099194660X
    Volume 2 – http://amzn.com/0991946618

    Happy December everyone!

  228. In a future not so distant from our present, when a servant class of robots and machines are manufactured for the sole purpose of serving humanity, what happens when one machine subverts its programming to gain the love of a human?

    This is “How It Ends”, my novel that I am serializing for Kindle on Amazon. It is the story of Anita, a young graduate student whose path intersects with Gammons, a valet-model robot. At a time when the ability to feel emotions are being introduced into robotic programming, Gammons falls in love with Anita and would do anything to make her love him back. It is this obsession with Anita that endangers everyone around them both: Brian, the smarmy college professor whom Anita is dating; Sidney, a professorial colleague of Brian’s who reluctantly takes Anita on as a research assistant; Kilgore, a robotic doctor who provides the human characters fascinating insights as to how the “mind” of a robot really works; and Eric, a cut-throat executive in the nation’s largest robotics firm who is not above getting his hands dirty to get what he wants. To immerse yourself in the lives of these characters is to be swept into the increasing speed of the story until, at last, the characters’ lives collide in a global apocalypse and we find out “How It Ends”.

    Parts One and Two of “How It Ends” have already been published. You can find them here:

    Part One: http://www.amazon.com/How-Ends-Part-1-Evaluation-ebook/dp/B00FD8P2E8/ref=la_B007Q1XL02_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386115942&sr=1-1

    Part Two: http://www.amazon.com/How-Ends-Part-2-Plan-ebook/dp/B00GJ30OOO/ref=la_B007Q1XL02_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386115959&sr=1-2

    Part Three will be published in January 2014 and the final installment, Part Four, will arrive in March of 2014.

    You can find me on WordPress at http://scottlyerly.wordpress.com, where I blog about writing, running, Excel, and whatever odd things strike my fancy.

    Thanks.

  229. Ah, late to the party. If you’ve read this far, here’s what I’ve got (and if you’ve read this far, I have a coupon for you):

    “The Machine God”:
    Folklore Professor Oladel Adewole has left his homeland for the University of Eisenstadt. One thing makes his new life bearable: the mysterious island floating a mile above the city, his all-consuming interest for years.

    When a brilliant engineer makes it to the island in her new invention, the government sends Adewole up with its first survey team. The expedition finds civilization, and Adewole finds a powerful, forbidden fusion of magic and metal: the Machine God.

    The government wants it. So does a sociopath bent on ruling Eisenstadt. But when Adewole discovers who the mechanical creature is–and what it can do–he risks his heart and his life to protect the Machine God from the world, and the world from the Machine God.

    ***

    “An Intimate History of the Greater Kingdom”:
    A series once described as George R.R. Martin meets Anthony Trollope at Anaïs Nin’s house.

    For a thousand years, the trapped immortal Teacher has carefully plotted escape. The plan now depends on one naïve young man: Temmin Antremont, Heir to the Greater Kingdom of Tremont and Litta. Much has been foreseen, much is preordained, but Temmin is the variable in the plans of both Teacher and the gods. His actions, and his alone, will decide who goes free, who remains captive, and whether the Tremontine Empire stands or falls.

    While not erotica, it contains adult situations not suitable for under age eighteen.

    Book one: “Lovers and Beloveds”
    Prince Temmin Antremont has been shielded since birth from his father’s politically and sexually charged court, and raised more commoner than nobleman. Now eighteen, he must leave home for the Capital…where he walks straight into a power struggle between the King and the twin gods of love and sex.

    The gods call Temmin to serve for two years, a call Temmin’s father wants him to ignore. If the Heir joins the Lovers’ Temple, some believe it fulfills a prophecy promising great fortune to the people; others, including the King, fear it heralds the downfall of the nobility.

    With the help of the King’s immortal advisor Teacher, Temmin must decide whether to follow the King and begin training for his future as ruler, or follow his heart into the Temple. But how far will his father go to stop him–and what is Teacher’s real agenda?

    Book two: “Son in Sorrow:
    Estranged from his family, Prince Temmin Antremont struggles within the Lovers’ Temple to choose obedience above his forbidden love of Allis Obby, the human host of a goddess. All the while, enemies inside and outside the kingdom are plotting against the Antremonts, and the gods prove once again they are no one’s friends.

    Aaaand if you’ve read this far, gods bless you. Have a coupon! 50% off if you buy ebooks from me direct: Use code

    SCALZI-13

    at

    http://www.meilinmiranda.com/

    Samples are available for you to read before you commit. The ebooks come in three formats (PDF, mobi, epub) in the one purchase, all DRM-free.

    Thanks, Mr. S.

  230. Yikes, I’m also very very late to the party! Thank you Mr. Scalzi!

    My novel is titled “The New York Magician” – it is available for Kindle and on Apple Itunes Bookstore, as well as on Kobo.

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D4BAFK2

    It’s a blend of Urban Fantasy (Magic! Mythical creatures!) and Noir (New York City! Big handguns! You all meet in a bar!)

    And here’s the blurb:


    Michel Wibert knows New York City better than most. He knows about the magic that crackles above the rooftops and beneath the streets. He knows about the creatures and beings – considered mythical to most and gods to some – playing their long and complicated game across the city. Until recently, he’s kept to the sidelines – watching their moves, keeping their secrets, trading an occasional favor. But now things have shifted and it’s not clear whether he’s player or pawn. If he wants to survive, he’ll need to decide which is his true role.

    A sample chapter is available. Second book in progress, to be published (estimated) in January!

    Thanks all.

  231. When you’re the one death forgot…

    In a future that could be ours, Lizzie, a suicidal teen-age girl, barely navigates her own life. Then everything falls apart. In an apocalyptic land nearly deserted by disease, she lacks reasons to live until a shocking turn of events reveals a phone number. Her call pulls her dangerously cross-country to meet a stranger she thought was dead.

    ALL IS SILENCE the Debut edgy YA novel by author Robert L. Slater – AUTOGRAPHED by the author. http://desertedlands.com/pre-order-all-is-silence-now/

  232. I tried this earlier, and the parts of my post with useful information got chopped off. The book is called In My Brother’s Name, and is on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/My-Brothers-Name-Wayland-Smith/dp/0615684998/ref=la_B008LQS9NK_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385189823&sr=1-2

    I also have a story in an anthology about superhumans and the complicatons their powers have caused, This Mutant Life: Bad Company, here: http://www.amazon.com/This-Mutant-Life-Neo-Pulp-Anthology/dp/0987530828/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1385189528&sr=1-1&keywords=this+mutant+life+bad+company

    Thank you Mr. Scalzi for this opportunity.

  233. The gods have returned. All of them — Zeus, Odin, Ra, Quetzalcoatl, et cetera — and all expect once again to be worshipped and obeyed by the descendants of their former adherents. But how does 21st century society cope with these competing pantheons, and how do these gods deal with a world that’s changed in ways even thry don’t fully understand? This is the world of ReDeus, a shared universe fantasy created by SF/F veterans Bob Greenberger, Aaron Rosenberg, and Paul Kupperberg. The first ReDeus short story anthology, Divine Tales was published last year, with the second and third, Beyond Borders and Native Lands, released this year. If you know someone on your holiday gift list who loves ancient mythology and/or urban fantasy, try picking up one or all of these. Thanks!

  234. Who doesn’t love hard science fiction mysteries? In the tradition of Asimov’s Caves of Steel Trilogy, Bujold’s Vorkosigan saga, and Niven’s Gil the Arm and Dreampark stories comes Jannah Station.

    When everyone is immortal, there is no such thing as death by natural causes.

    Jannah Station is a comic series set on a resort habitat, a floating paradise where some of the Solar System’s wealthiest families (and their servants and bots) live. In “A Soft Murder”, the interplanetary financier who serves the biggest clients on the hab dies of a heart attack. Local detective Faisal Werner is ordered to prove that it was a murder before Jannah Station explodes into chaos.

    The first issue can be found for free at our website.

  235. THE CHARTERS DUOLOGY is an omnibus edition with two full novels — over 160,000 words of alternate history goodness! Use the links below for 50% off the ebook editions!

    THE CHARTERS DUOLOGY includes…

    BRAVE MEN RUN
    April 18, 1985 – A startling revelation shocks a world already wound tight by the desperate tensions of the Cold War: super-humans exist… and they demand autonomy.

    Until that day, high school sophomore Nate Charters thought he was just an outsider and self-proclaimed freak. His unusual appearance, hair-trigger reflexes, and overactive metabolism could have made him something special, but his differences and low self-esteem marked him as a target for the jocks and popular kids long ago.

    Now, just as his unique nature catches the eye of a self-assured older girl and the sinister attention of the enigmatic Dr. Brenhurst, Nate must solve the mystery of his origins and find his place in the world. Is he part of a remarkable, powerful new minority… or just a misfit among misfits?

    He’d better find his answers quickly. A shadowy organization knows more about him than he could ever imagine. And they’re closing in…

    PILGRIMAGE
    A year later, as the first anniversary of the Donner Declaration heightens the tensions between humanity and the Sovereigns, the fathers and sons from BRAVE MEN RUN must re-define who they are and who they will be as, all around, the machinations of allies and enemies reach the boiling point.

    Nate Charters struggles with a troubling revelation about his girlfriend and his increasingly tenuous control over his temper and his powers… while his father Andrew hopes to suppress his own bestial nature so he can help his distant son.

    Sovereign Byron Teslowski, sequestered with his people, trains to join the Sovereign defense force, but the influence of a fiery new friend forces him to question William Donner’s motives… and Marc Teslowski, desperate to bring his family back together and restore his pride, falls in with the charismatic leader of an anti-Sovereign militant group.

    As Sovereigns from all over the world converge on the Donner Institute for Sovereign Studies for sanctuary and safety, Nate, Andrew, Byron, and Marc find their paths lead there as well. Will the forces aligned against the Sovereigns tear fathers and sons violently apart on Declaration Day?

    Purchased separately, both novels will set you back $11.98.

    The Charters Duology is normally $7.49… BUT!

    As a special for John and his reader community, you can get THE CHARTERS DUOLOGY for just $3.75. Just use the the links below (the coupon code is included in the link!)

    MOBI (good for Kindle): http://bit.ly/cd-mobi-scalzi
    EPUB (good for everything else): http://bit.ly/cd-epub-scalzi

    The discount is limited to 1000 copies of each format. Honestly, if 1000 of you took advantage of this, I’d have a REALLY NICE holiday season. No pressure.

    Enjoy!

  236. Now you can put Whisper Washington on your travel itinerary! Check out the urban fantasy series by Bonnie Elizabeth that starts with Whisper Bound:

    Things aren’t always what they seem in Whisper Washington. Private Investigator, Meg Barringer and her partner Kyle are used to investigating unusual cases. However, a case involving a victim buried alive is more unusual than what they normally take on. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the police will be investigating.

    As they work the investigation, Meg’s best friend is murdered and she herself is nearly buried alive as well. Will she discover who and what is behind the deaths before it’s too late?

    Whisper Bound is the first in a series of short contemporary fantasy novels set in the fictional town of Whisper Washington.

    http://www.amazon.com/Whisper-Bound-A-Novel-ebook/dp/B00C6NHQBK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386119860&sr=8-1&keywords=Whisper+Bound

    And thank you Mr. Scalzi!

  237. In Water Rites, (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GU2CSMU) a powerful developer gets so angry at the city of Boulder that he decides to take revenge of truly biblical proportions and make a fortune doing it. Noah Comfort, a disgraced hydrologist, Jay-Beth Miller, an intrepid reporter, and some odd but trusted friends, follow obscure clues to try to thwart his evil but lucrative plan.

    In Evil Fighting Beagle, (http://www.amazon.com/Evil-Fighting-Beagle-Marc-Sobel-ebook/dp/B00D0SW16A) Phil, a mild mannered beagle, suddenly starts talking, foils a bank robbery, and reveals he is here to save Earth from the 1%. What starts as simply putting a leash on crime turns out to be a subtle plan, to help humanity join Galactic Civilization. Phil and his guardians assist local law enforcement to thwart a plot against Occupy Boulder. Taking the offensive, they build NE Net, a revolutionary social organizing technology. Phil helps a self-organized group of Occupy activists, reformed Wall Streeters, and the Quant Pack battle high-functioning sociopathic Banksters and their minions, using their own weapons and weaknesses against them.

    Both take place in the same (optimistic) conceptual universe. Water Rites is a political/comedic/thriller Evil Fighting Beagle is science fiction.

    Both are priced around the local cost of a medium cappuccino.

    Thank you @Scalzi for the opportunity.

  238. In the Age of Empires, even the colonies aren’t immune to political intrigue. The Devil’s Concubine, QuiTai, might help a disgraced ex-spy redeem his reputation, but first she has to survive a battle for control of Levapur’s criminal underworld.

    Levapur is quickly becoming a police state. QuiTai has to figure out who is behind it and stop them before her people rebel and the bloodbath begins. The Devil Incarnate.

    http://goo.gl/wXuUH0

    QuiTai will return in Tempt the Devil

    Thank you for this chance to mention my work!

  239. Detectives Alton Bartleby and James Wainwright’s latest case will take them to the boundaries of Edwardian psychiatry and beyond. There’s been a murder in the Bedford Mental Hospital, and the patients have taken over to ensure that justice is done.

    Will the conflicts caused by Bartleby’s recent wedding rend their partnership apart, or can the detectives keep their focus long enough to solve the case, before Scotland Yard’s impatience leads to the hanging of a scapegoat?

    Dreams of the Damned is the ninth novella in the Galvanic Century series of steampunk mystery thrillers.

    You can pick up Dreams of the Damned from Amazon dot com or Barnes & Noble. It is available as a paperback or ebook.

  240. Now available on Kindle, Ghosts of ARCADIA (http://www.amazon.com/Ghosts-ARCADIA-Ramsey-Isler-ebook/dp/B00FWMJ9LC/)

    The greatest video game system the world has ever seen has been hacked.

    ARCADIA was the first platform to offer a complete simulated reality experience using direct brain scans to trick the gamer’s senses and, more importantly, to read their minds to know what they wanted to do next. It was hailed as a breakthrough; the most innovative invention since the television. It sold out in record time. Then the hackers started stealing.

    Miguel Naciamento, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and hedonist, has taken on the story of ARCADIA. Determined to find the hackers, Miguel becomes entrenched in a mystery that involves an androgynous hacker, a veteran government specialist on cyber-warfare, and even the creator of ARCADIA. As Miguel’s investigation leads him to the true source of the hacks that brought ARCADIA to the brink of destruction, he makes a discovery that proves that ARCADIA has become more advanced than anyone could have imagined, but he’ll have to fight and face his own fears to ensure that ARCADIA survives to fulfill its true potential.

    Thanks for reading!

  241. All’s fair in love and war.

    But when love turns into open warfare on the airship Dawnhawk, Lina Stone and the rest of its sky pirate crew are forced to take action to save themselves.

    Leaving captains Fengel and Natasha to work out their differences on a deserted isle, they embark on a heist that promises outrageous fortune. Yet without the wily determination of their captains, Lina and the others find themselves in more trouble than they could have imagined.

    Meanwhile, it turns out that the deserted island is anything but deserted, forcing the two outcast pirates to contend with rival military factions, ancient pre-human technologies, and worst of all: each other.

    On Discord Isle is the second novel in the Dawnhawk Trilogy, a tale of curses, sky pirates, and marital discord. It is currently available on Amazon at the finely crafted link below:

    http://www.amazon.com/Discord-Isle-Dawnhawk-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00DNLWV1E

    (Much thanks to Mr. Scalzi!)

  242. Thanks for the opportunity to share my books with the readers!

    I have published 4 out of 8 books In the “Immortal Rapture Series”. All 4 novels have appeared on Amazon’s top 100 list three times.

    Arielle Immortal Awakening, Arielle Immortal Seduction, Arielle Immortal Passion
    Arielle Immortal Quickening

    #Amazon #Nook

    A mortal soul…
    From the time college co-ed Arielle Lloyd had been young, she had been able to hear the thoughts and feel the pain of certain others, and those she comes to think of as her special group. One friend’s dabbling with spells and magic showed her the power of love that can endure beyond the grave. But another friend’s terrifying encounter with a warlock left Arielle wary of those who claim otherworldly powers. On holiday in the south of France, a chance encounter could change her mind. Or could cost her life.
    An Immortal man…
    Sebastian Gaulle is the wealthy, handsome owner of an international company. He is also an Immortal. For five centuries he has sought the one soul who can fulfill his dreams of everlasting love. Then he meets Arielle, whose heart calls out to him like no other.
    A timeless love…
    Sebastian has made his choice clear. But jealous Immortals from his past threaten retaliation. They have vowed to destroy any woman who becomes involved with him. In spite of the powerful protection amulet Sebastian gives Arielle, death stalks their newfound love. Their love may be eternal, but they may be running out of time.

    http://ViewBook.at/B00A9MKKNQ
    http://viewBook.at/B00BAGC4V6
    http://myBook.to/ImmortalPassion
    http://viewBook.at/ImmortalQuickening

    Thank you very much!!!!

  243. Black Jade Dragon

    This is the first of a series.

    In the South China Sea is an island protected by nine dragons. Angie Tanaka has made one of them really, really angry.

    Angie is running from the Hong Kong police and pays the captain of a fishing boat to take her … anywhere but here. Her only possessions are her grandfather’s sword and a fistful of stolen diamonds. When she lands on Shaolong Island she thinks she’s made good her escape with her ill-gotten gains. She thinks she’s safe. She’s heard about Shaolong’s dragons but she thinks they are a myth. She doesn’t know they can take human form. She doesn’t know that on Shaolong anyone you talk to might be a dragon.

    When Angie sees a mystical pearl the size of her head she finds it irresistible. True to her nature, she must steal it. And true to her usual bad luck, in the middle of the heist a kindly old woman is murdered. Angie is not a killer, but the murder was done with her sword, she was there, and she was stealing something. All eyes turn to Angie, especially those of the dead woman’s husband who looked like such a nice old man … until he turned into the Silver Dragon.

    Now Angie is running for her life and the only thing standing between Angie and a monster that could eat a Toyota Tundra in two bites is Daiyu, the Black Jade Dragon.

    For more info about this and my other books go to http://www.coganbooks.net

  244. (Eve’s Return is a New Adult, Urban Fantasy, and my debut novel. There are free chapters available on Amazon here: http://amzn.to/1ghKJSu. I encourage you give it a bit of a read to discover if you get along!)

    After having her heart broken, Jordan Andrews drops out of university to travel the world and ‘find herself’. Without a penny to her name, she returns home, only to discover a terrible tragedy has occurred in her absence.

    Determined to find her elusive twin brother, she does her best to ignore the terrifying hallucinations that begin to plague her.

    It quickly becomes clear that Jordan’s hallucinations are very real. She is attacked by a hoard of demonic creatures, but is rescued by a woman who claims to be a warrior angel. Through her, Jordan discovers that she has a power that is too strange to believe, and a seductive past that proves to be too irresistible to ignore.

    Now, Jordan must not only find her brother, but also obtain an ancient artifact. It is her only clue in discovering more about who she is, and the role she is destined to play.

  245. Meet Conor McBride – an Irishman who’s even more interesting than the trouble he gets into.

    A talented Irish musician reluctantly reinvents himself, disappearing into an undercover identity to find and rescue the brother who betrayed him – but the rules of the game keep changing, and the people he trusted to help him may be the enemies he should fear the most.

    Deceptive Cadence. The journey of The Virtuosic Spy begins here:
    http://www.amazon.com/Deceptive-Cadence-Virtuosic-Suspense-Adventure-ebook/dp/B00CF0440K/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386123794&sr=1-1&keywords=Deceptive+Cadence

  246. Prison bars. Stained church glass. Deadlines precursing rejection. These are Submission Windows: vantage points for peeking in on—or out from—surgeons, killers, priests, perverts, inmates, athletes, musicians, and more than a few celebrities past their prime. Most clinging to frayed ropes of their own making, desperate for redemption, love, or merely an enduring pulse. For others, it’s their ambition on display, destined for humility.

    These voyeuristic and vicarious vignettes include 26 short stories bridged by several dozen poems exclusive to this collection, and a story notes appendix. No theme, no genre … just some troubled characters inviting you to watch. http://gordonhighland.com/submissionwindows

    $2.99 Kindle, $8.99 paperback, or enter to win a freebie via Goodreads. Also check out my two novels, Flashover and Major Inversions.

  247. There is a legend in the world that tells of a weapon sought after by only the most wicked of souls. Passed down through the years since before the coming of the gods, it grants its master the power to conquer and rule.

    The Rune Breaker.

    After decades of dormancy, it just found a new master in Taylin, an escaped slave, who stumbled upon its resting place and found it bound to her will. But as it happens, the Rune Breaker is really a person: the shapeshifting master and dark mage, Ru Brakar, who has been cursed to serve whoever finds him since prehistory.

    Taylin refuses to keep a slave, but an accidental order to Ru lands them both flung far into the future, where they must rely on one another and their new allies to brave a world alien to both of them and the attentions of a foe who stalks them in hopes of gaining access to a power beyond the gods.

    Collects the first book of the web serial novel, Rune Breaker by Landon Porter with cover art by Clay Kronk

    Available now at Amazon and other major ebook distributors. Buy the paperback on Amazon and get the ebook for free. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0088Q10FW

    (Thank you so much for the opportunity, Mr. Scalzi!)

  248. Glory in the Thunder

    Surely you have heard it said: a god will die young, or they will die mad. A novel set in a gaslamp fantasy re-imagining of the Silk Road, with gods, monsters, and teenage relationship drama. Many characters are gay, bi, etc. First book in a series, with years invested in world development. Kindle or PDF, $4, print book, $12.50. http://gloryinthethunder.com/sample

  249. In the Service of the King (A Crimson Hawks Adventure) is a swash and buckle story about the Crimson Hawks, a mercenary company commanded by James Markson. When the Hawks are offered a contract that’s too good to be true, Markson knows disaster will follow. It’s a short novel (50,000 words) and a fun read with heroics and battles where quick talking and a rope can prove mightier than the sword.

    The Krueger Chronicles includes two short novels, Souls of the Everwood (Kindle link – http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Souls%20of%20the%20Everwood) and its sequel, Balefire and Brimstone. In the first book, the reader meets Krueger, a man who lost his eye fighting to defend the Fey, and who nearly lost his soul as a Chosen for Damnation, ordered by the Church to face unspeakable evils. Armed with black powder pistols and joined by a female pit-fighter, he faces necromancers, their undead minions and Dark Fey while he hopes to win back the only woman he’s ever loved.

    Thanks for taking the time to go through these comments and please come visit me at http://www.harryheckel.com. Thanks to John Scalzi for the opportunity! Happy Holidays!

  250. Thanks John. I remember your first!

    I’d like to introduce your readers to a quirky and fun PI, a fast and easy read: The Triumph Detective by Hazen Wardle: Resche Plimpton who just might interrupt his regular search for Elvis – yes that Elvis – to help you with your case. In the first book, Resche (pronounced Resh) goes in search of an abducted dog – abducted by aliens, that is, although, as you can imagine, there is far more to the story than that. Join Resche as he discovers the truth behind the truth! http://www.BYCTPublishing.com for Hazen’s page of Resche-filled fun.

    And thanks for the chance to shine in your light!

  251. My first novel, DARK HEART, is a fantasy epic with philosophical and humanist themes.

    The world of Caliel was created by the elder gods, but that was the first and last time they would ever cooperate. They were greedy, jealous and violent spirits, each one harboring an overpowering desire to cast down his rivals and become the only true god. Their wars ravaged the world, nearly extinguishing all life, and would have been the end of everything – except that three mortals rose to power, challenged them, and overthrew them. And when they’d achieved their final victory, those three found that they’d become gods themselves. They parceled out what was left of Caliel among themselves and settled in for the long work of rebuilding a shattered world… but the same rivalries that consumed their predecessors began to smolder in their own hearts.

    Ages pass, and the world is balanced in an uneasy truce. In the badlands of the east, in the domain of the demon-god Vraxor, a girl named Myrren has begun to see inconsistencies in the beliefs she’s been taught all her life. Accompanied by her demonic guardian and a brash young nobleman, she sets out on a pilgrimage to escape the hardships of her world and find out for herself what the truth is.

    However, what begins as a simple journey soon spins out of control, as she’s swept up in events vaster and more perilous than her darkest dreams: a life-and-death struggle for power in the highest circles of her homeland, the rise of a prophesied hero destined to destroy Vraxor’s civilization, the rediscovery of a holy symbol called the Dark Heart that’s been lost for centuries, and the ominous discovery that the enigmatic and deadly priests of Vraxor are pursuing her for reasons unknown.

    As she flees for her life across the length of Caliel, Myrren will find friendship in unexpected quarters and new allies she never would have imagined. But she’ll need all the help she can get if she’s to escape her new enemies alive.

  252. Thank you, John, for giving us newbies a chance. We appreciate it.

    My SciFi novel, Refuge, is available on Kindle here… http://amzn.to/18ByS2b
    A globe spanning, apocalyptic invasion from the stars, spiced with the startling re-emergence of abilities once handled by burning witches, and blended with deadly conflict between survivors as one among them is progressively devoured by his own inner demons.
    Widower Jason Wolfe is a cop in Adobe Creek, a small town in the forested hills north of San Francisco, and who is considering turning in his badge for the sake of Emma, his young daughter. But then his dilemma expands a hundred-fold when invaders from the stars decimate Earth’s civilizations in a raging holocaust. Besides destroying a large majority of humanity, why did the invaders come? Is it for colonization—or something else? Will they eventually leave—or stay forever? Whether they go or stay, how can Jason even survive, let alone protect his daughter in the chaos that engulfs them? And what are the strange, new abilities beginning to emerge among the survivors?

    My horror novel, And Crawling Things Lurk, is also available on Kindle here… http://amzn.to/1bHkyFD
    In a small, northern California town, an abomination that shouldn’t exist outside of nightmares has long flourished unnoticed by limiting its sustenance to what is provided from out of the area. But fate disrupts that system of provision, and it falls upon the local populace to sate horrific needs.
    The town drunk witnesses the beginning of these depredations in which the first human victim is his own alley-prowling girlfriend. But how can he convince anyone that what he saw wasn’t just another phantom from a bottle? After all, how could such evil come from so innocuous a figure as he describes? The only one to believe his story is a young girl who befriends him against warnings from her local cop and her parents. The returning shade of his dead lover prods him to believe that the thing will keep coming back for more of his loved ones. But can he overcome alcohol and war-wound-caused mental limitations enough to construct a weapon in time to kill the monster.

  253. Jake Conrad is a two-bit detective in the city by the bay. For twenty dollars a day – plus expenses – he’ll take your case. When his assistant Clio vanishes one foggy San Francisco morning, Jake finds himself on his hardest case yet. A mysterious redhead wants Clio found, but some people want to make sure she stays lost forever. Everyone’s got a motive, and everyone’s playing their own game. If Jake can’t figure it out, his hero’s journey may be over before it begins in this noir mythical mystery.

    In the spirit of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett, A Servant of the Muses is my first novella. Less than a buck (if by only a penny) at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Servant-Muses-Conrad-Mythological-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B006WB55K6/) and Smashwords (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/121410).

    The sequel, A Pearl for Her Eyes, features the return of Jake Conrad as he tries to put his life to rights with an ordinary case – proving to a millionaire that his young wife is straying. But the mythical world now knows about Jake. When a dragon wants Jake simply to find his missing pearl, how can he refuse the job? Of course, nothing involving dragons is simple. Available at Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/Pearl-Eyes-Conrad-Mythological-Mysteries-ebook/dp/B00CS7THCA/) and Smashwords (https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/316230).

    And, of course, thanks to our host, Mr. Scalzi.

  254. Thanks, Mr. Scalzi.

    Told from the point-of-view of his dwarf servant, learn the tale of how Prince Charming becomes a Prince of the Undead after he encounters the first vampire–Varnae–and his struggle to deal with this new “life”. A quiet Horror/Fantasy story (none of the blood & guts you might expect from a vampire story) with several fairy tale guest stars–in very un-traditional roles.

    A 16000+ word story available for the Kindle (http://www.amazon.com/Forever-Charming-Edward-Brock-ebook/dp/B007VSRCBY) & the Nook–for only .99.

  255. Any science fiction wargamers out there?

    I co-wrote a set of miniatures rules for starship combat called 5150: Star Navy, published by Two Hour Wargames.

    Note that this is a rulebook only–you have to supply your own miniature spaceships. The game designed for use with any line of minis, and while it does come with its own background, SN is easily adaptable to other settings. The rules can handle large battles of a couple dozen ships per side, and usually you can finish a game in under two hours (hence the company’s name).

    Best thing about 5150: Star Navy, there’s a campaign system that’s great for solo or cooperative play (instead of head-to-head, although you can always play against an opponent).

    The rulebook is available electronically as a PDF file, or you can order the print version and still get the PDF. Click here to order 5150: Star Navy, and check out some of the other Two Hour Wargames offerings while you’re at it.

  256. Thank you, Mr. Scalzi, for the opportunity!

    Stutter Boy

    When a traumatic experience in grade school opens the eyes of Aaron Thomas to his life as someone who stutters, he finds himself on two life-changing journeys. Stutter Boy takes readers inside the mind of someone who stutters and shows that we are at our best when we share with others our personal testimonies of trials and triumphs, as one person’s impediment can be another person’s gift.

    Available for purchase at Amazon.com and BN.com as paperback or ebook (iBooks as well):
    http://www.amazon.com/Stutter-Boy-Eric-J-Garner/dp/0989905209
    http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/stutter-boy-eric-j-garner/1115381082

  257. The Annabel Warrant Files
    A story about a girl detective who searches for her missing brother in a city overflowing with strange events and unsolved mysteries.

    Hecatomb: Love, Fire and Flight
    In another world, Richard W. Hatchkins sets out to save his beloved. The only problem: his plan relies on a flying machine built from a set of 500-year-old blueprints.

    Beens and Vanishments
    A story about a missing train and a tea-drinking club called “the Saucers” who attempt to uncover the truth about the vanishment. Warning: May contain fairies.

    Westcrest – Season 1
    Fast-paced action-adventure story about a group of extraordinary characters who live on an invisible island in the middle of a lake. Contains magic paintings, voodoo dolls, trolls, mad scientists, flying motorbikes and more!

    Westcrest – Season 2
    The stakes are raised as the team from Westcrest are faced with an alien invasion and a plague of zombies. Meanwhile, Jeremy comes to grips with having one of the strangest super-powers of all…

    Thanks so much!

  258. Hey, thanks for showcasing us indies!

    My offering is a bit of a different spin on immortal romance. It’s a novella called Bryn Morrow:

    Celeste had been dreaming of Bryn since she was eight: the flash of light across the sky, Bryn running, the explosion that nothing human should have survived, and then Bryn climbing out of the smoking crater and looking right at her. He was beautiful: six feet tall with muscles like coiled steel and dark blue eyes. His hair was black and his body was chiseled out of marble, like a Greek God.

    For years she had thought he was nothing but a dream. But slowly the dream changed, and it seemed that he was trying to reach her. His arm stretched out as if to touch her.

    And then she saw him, burning under the light of dawn. His skin was flame as their eyes met. Celeste’s heart sped up and she gasped. Bryn had found her.

    Currently available at Amazon in eBook format. There will be a paperback version available next year:
    http://www.amazon.com/Bryn-Morrow-Mike-Cooley-ebook/dp/B00F4BGRYS

  259. “So you’ve raised your loved ones from the dead, but had no idea how difficult it would be to care for them.

    No problem! Silver Springs is a warm, peaceful facility equipped to handle all your zombie needs. Their friendly staff will ensure they have a safe environment with daily exercise and raw meat.

    Rest easy knowing they’re in good hands… as they rot.”

    Rot is one of a handful of books I have out right now. (*in my best carnival barker* I’ve got werewolves, and zombies, self published and small press published, and maybe, for the romantic at heart, I got a little romance or two cooking.) Rot is a non-traditional zombie novella where the zombies still have souls and the humans might as well not.

    Details, free samples, free stories and buy links all available at my webhub: http://michelelee.net/books/rot/

  260. Blind View Drive by Jerry Gufferd

    Chance may live in the same world as the rest of us, but he doesn’t follow the same rules. In fact, he doesn’t really follow any rules, other than his own—and those aren’t too well constructed.

    A twenty-something druggie slacker with a blatant disregard for every boundary society has arbitrarily set upon the human experience, Chance leads an existentially driven life filled with a vengeance against anyone and everything that’s ever stood in the way of his happiness or conflicted with his skewed sense of purpose.

    When he sets out on a personal mission to bring justice to the wrongdoings of his grandfather, Chance’s chaos-filled life becomes even more chaotic as he ruthlessly executes karmic vendettas against everyone he comes in contact with, including his family, his cronies, and his women.

    A thoroughly entertaining, delicious romp full of sex, sharp wit, and scandal, Blind View Drive delivers a subversive spin on life that’s absolutely addictive. It will hook you with its delightfully disturbing storyline and force you to take a closer look at your own life and the fallacies of the world we live in.

    Jerry Gufferd is a trippy young bloke with a bachelor’s degree in finance and a penchant for drugs, danger, and dark humor. He has had more than forty different jobs over the past fifteen years and has served time in a wide variety of jails and inpatient psychiatric facilities. Most of this novel is based on extremely exaggerated events from his life.

    Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/Blind-View-Drive-Jerry-Gufferd/dp/061591411X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386136365&sr=8-1&keywords=blind+view+drive

    Nook Link: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/blind-view-drive-jerry-gufferd/1117396617?ean=2940148961567

  261. I have a lot of short stories up on my site for free, right here: http://www.joelcouture.com/?page_id=3. It’s typically fantasy stuff, some quite dark, but I do have a few odd horror stories here.

    For someone seeing my reading for the first time, I’d have to suggest “Until Death.” In it, Orcs do not have any marriage or wedding rites, with few of them believing that permanent bonds of love exist in nature. So, to prove their union is blessed, Lysa and Elgr have to find a sign – soon finding a castle buried deep within the snow.

    Something still lives in those dead halls – something that died cursing the idea of love. But it still walks. Still breathes. Still hates anything that would remind it of what it gave up when it gave in to soft curves and temptation so long ago.

    If you’re not interested in that, there’s still forty+ more stories there for you to pick through. It’s all free, too! You’ve got nothing to lose!

  262. Thank you John :) My Debut urban fantasy novel PATH UNCHOSEN is available now.

    When eighteen-year-old Judy Hudson discovers she’s a necromancer and sees first-hand the pain her powers can cause the dead, she just wants to deny who she is. The zombie plague is long over. She wants to find a more normal life, but that’s a challenge when a beautiful otherworldly man, who claims to be her guardian, saves her life.

    Judy tries to set right the harm she inflicted on a spirit she raised, but new zombies attack—zombies raised from among the long-time dead. Someone else just like her is out there, and he’s not trying to set anything right. To save her own life, and protect the innocent inhabitants of the nearby town who’ve become her friends, Judy has to figure out who’s raising the dead and why. She must also learn to control the darkness inside her—a seductive darkness that promises her power beyond her wildest dreams.

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F1X36SE

  263. My new kitchen-sink collection, Strange Mammals, was recently published by Infinity Plus Books; the paperback is available on Amazon and Amazon UK, and the ebook can be found DRM-free at Smashwords and on the stores for Nook, Kobo, iTunes, Kindle, and Kindle UK.

    “Jason Erik Lundberg’s stories, launched from the real world on a trajectory to the surreal, fuse the idle daydream with the desperate heart. You should read them.” —John Kessel, multi-award winning author of The Baum Plan for Financial Independence and Other Stories and Corrupting Dr. Nice

    “A real treat for anyone who loves stylish, strange contemporary fantasy.” —Keith Brooke, author of alt.human and publisher of Infinity Plus Books

    Strange superheroes and the magic of the quotidian; stories of piercing darkness and quirky, surreal humour; writing from the heart and soul; phantasmagorical journeys into what it means to be human.

    Strange Mammals collects together stylish and elegant short fiction that knows no boundaries. Stories that are by turns fantastical, realist and strange, but which always move and surprise.

    A breathtaking collection from an author whose writing “explores the randomness of magical occurrences” (Green Man Review) and “teems with imagination, location, originality, and fine writing” (Jeffrey Ford).

  264. DRAGONFRIEND is a middle-grade fantasy/adventure novel.

    If you think it was all good deeds and fancy ideals back in the days of Camelot, think again. Most people don’t know this, but for a time things went seriously bad; Arthur was imprisoned, Merlin had vanished, and a vile demon had taken over the throne.

    Young Leonard would have been shocked to learn any of this but right now all that concerned him was where his next meal was coming from. As page to Sir Ronald, a poor but kind knight, events at the castle took a back seat to a rumbling stomach. Oh sure, he held a secret dream that one day Sir Ronald would take a seat at the Round Table, but seriously, that was about as likely as Maid Glennys seeing him as anyone other than the dirty page of a low-ranking nobleman. Not gonna happen.

    Everything changes when Leonard meets Mantooth, a seriously depressed dragon who’s looking for a knight to end his misery with a swing of a broadsword. Wait a minute. If the dragon will allow Sir Ronald to slay him, his misery would be over, Sir Ronald would surely get a Round Table invite for such a brave deed, and Leonard might even climb a notch or two in the eyes of Glennys! Everybody wins, right? Wrong.

    Leonard’s plan backfires horribly when, on the day of the battle, Sir Ronald is arrested for “bravery without a license” and dragged off to Camelot’s dungeons. Now Leonard must do whatever it takes to free his master even if that means going on a perilous quest, befriending a dragon horde, or taking a bath!

    Dragonfriend is available on Amazon (http://www.amazon.com/kindle/dp/B00642JZYA) and elsewhere.

    (Thanks John!)

  265. ** Desecration – by J.F.Penn **
    Dark crime with an edge of horror

    Death isn’t always the end.

    LONDON. When the body of a young heiress is found within the Royal College of Surgeons, Detective Sergeant Jamie Brooke is assigned to the case. An antique ivory figurine found beside the body is the only lead and she enlists Blake Daniel, a reluctant clairvoyant, to help her discover the message it holds.

    When personal tragedy strikes, Jamie finds her own life entwining with the morbid fascinations of the anatomists, and she must race against time to stop them claiming another victim.

    As Jamie and Blake delve into a macabre world of grave robbery, body modification, and the genetic engineering of monsters, they must fight to keep their sanity, and their lives.

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GKR1PII/

    ***

    “One of the most original mystery/thrillers that I’ve read in a long while. Its topic of life and death, soul and body is harrowing and poignant, shocking and profound.”
    David Morrell, New York Times bestselling author of Murder as a Fine Art and author of over 40 novels

    “A riveting exploration of the dark side of the human heart” 
New York Times Bestselling Author CJ Lyons

    “In a book which takes the reader on a journey to hell and back, J.F. Penn demonstrates her huge talent for conveying the depths of human depravity.” 
Amazon #1 Bestseller, Rachel Abbott

  266. Hi! And thank you, John, for this opportunity.

    “Thoroughly Modern Monsters” edited by J.L. Aldis is a collection of fifteen urban fantasy stories.

    What if…?
    What if the creatures of our childhood nightmares aren’t safely extinct?
    What if they’re living right next door?
    What if they pass among us every single day?
    Loving us.
    Watching us.
    Devouring us.
    From comedy to horror, satire to drama, eleven authors from the US and Europe have given us fifteen striking views on the monsters in our midst.
    So, turn on all the lights and lock the doors. Check under the bed and settle in. Get to know some Thoroughly Modern Monsters.
    If you dare.

    Reviews:

    “I was immediately blown away by the sheer variety of subject and style from these short, yet substantial, stories. Some of them are truly creepy and others are laugh aloud funny, but all are well-written and compelling.” – Angie on amazon.co.uk

    “A great antidote to books about watered down, sparkly, non-monstrous monsters, this collection is unsettling and startling and laugh-out-loud funny.
    What’s not to like about the vampire on the hunt for a date — no goths or blood-play fetishists, please — or the shark expert who runs into something far more unnerving than a great white or the scruffy incubus waiting for his next assignment. Near a fiery pit and a motivational poster declaring ‘that there was no I in team.'” – CC on amazon.com

    Available in paperback or for kindle:

    http://www.amazon.com/Thoroughly-Modern-Monsters-J-L-Aldis-ebook/dp/B00FJGLPMM/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Thoroughly-Modern-Monsters-J-Aldis/dp/194069910X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386150827&sr=8-1&keywords=thoroughly+modern+monsters

  267. This is the tale of Eduardo Sinnombre, who gets hired by a shady organization to juggle the books of Eco Station One, an ecological research setup located deep in the middle of a tropical rainforest. From day one, Eduardo realizes he’ll be the designated scapegoat that will get the blame if something ever goes wrong. He also is being stalked by the unattractive, scrawny female secretary of the guy who has hired him… and seems to have the hots for him (the lady secretary, not the guy, ahem!)

    In Eco Station One, Eduardo meets Mendoza, his soon-to-be nemesis, Harry the genetically enhanced Gorilla, a crazed scientist who believes he’s Moses, the tropical answer to the Three Stooges and a whole bunch of angry Ikawiri Pygmies who are constantly threatening to shoot poor Eduardo with darts coated with an aphrodisiac poison.

    Can Eduardo cope with all this? Find out by reading this bizarrely funny novel!

    http://www.amazon.com/Eco-Station-One-ebook/dp/B0048EK054/ref=pd_rhf_dp_p_t_4_K5YA

  268. “Miro the Dragon” is a children’s book about friendship and courage for children aged approx. 3 to 10. It contains four stories about the tiny dragon Miro, who is afraid of everything. In the course of the book, he finds friends who help him overcome his fears and learn important “dragon” things like flying, breathing fire, hunting, and swimming.
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0074JANOS

    “The Lost Diadem” is a mystery story set in a fantasy world. Govin, a new trainee with the City Guard, and Tayla, a pickpocket living in the streets, meet under unfortunate circumstances. Instead of taking the easy way out, they do what is right and help each other, catching a cunning thief and solving the mystery of the stolen diadem while realising that even two young people from such different backgrounds can become best friends.
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B008RCL2TQ

    Thanks for letting us showcase our books here :)

  269. THE OLD ROYAL by J.R. McLemore

    Anthony Jessup is a daydreamer who works at a dead-end help desk job. His greatest fantasy is to become a famous novelist like his idol, Roger Kurrey. However, Anthony’s stories receive more rejections than accolades from editors.

    When Anthony receives an old Royal typewriter as a birthday gift, he soon learns that the typewriter is more than meets the eye. Armed with the ability to alter the past, Anthony realizes that he can fulfill his dreams. But, to do so comes at a cost.

    If you could change the past, would you? If so, at what cost?

    http://www.amazon.com/Old-Royal-J-R-McLemore-ebook/dp/B008AWBFG8

  270. Unnatural winter, inexplicable war, a priestess who’s good with a bow and a warrior who likes books. “Priestess of the Moon” is part one of a fantasy series set in a world loosely inspired by Roman Empire, so it also features cranky gods and horses. Oh, and there’s a lion, too. Available on Amazon or directly from the publisher as an e-book.

    Oh, and thanks for the opportunity. :)

  271. Fictionvale is a bi-monthly digital short story magazine for all genres of popular fiction. Our goal is to provide great stories across many popular genres. Short, quick reads you can finish while waiting in the doctor’s office, or while hanging out at your kid’s soccer practice, or while passing time in your underground bunker after the zombie apocalypse (okay, that one might be harder without electricity).

    Episode 1 includes stories by Richmond Weems, Kristin Dearborn, Natalie Duvall, Eric Esser, Branden Linley, Renee Carter Hall, Margaret Ethridge, Chris Daruns, C.R. Langille, A. Merc Rustad, and Colin Heintze

    Pick up our debut episode here! http://fictionvale.com/fictionvale-store/

  272. The Island Hopper (443 pages; Authorhouse.com) is about a serial killer in the Caribbean.

    At first the murders appear random. There’s one victim per island, each killed in a different way. But as the killer evolves and gets more creative, the authorities face a pure hunter who’s like nothing the world has ever known.

    This is a loose sequal to The Last Patriot (also Authorhouse.com).

    Thanks you all and Happy Holidays! Mike Hilliard

    http://bookstore.authorhouse.com/Products/SKU-000679870/The-Island-Hopper.aspx

  273. Great discussion, thanks! This entry is for those of you buying a Kindle for a slightly older relative who has never had one before. You KNOW you’ll have to download the first book for them, because they’ll never do it themselves and there’s a real chance your lovely gift will end up being a coaster otherwise. But what to download?

    What you need is a cozy whodunit, clean as a whistle, perfect for the armchair detective, novella length (making it easy-read AND affordable) and the first in a series so they’ll be motivated to go looking for the next. One reader, converted. Oddly enough most of my readers are in their forties, even thirties, but the books work all the way up to ninety plus, have a look, you’ll see why. You’ll thank me. http://viewbook.at/B00AVQDKXC

    Of course if they’ve ever done any website dating for senior singles, you’ll want to download the newest one in the series instead, because that’s all about our heroine diving into the deep end of the dating pool, the end where the predators lurk, and it’s proving the best seller so far: Seems we’ve all done some website dating.

    5 star review on Amazon.com from Scottiedog on http://mybook.to/FiveSix
    “I enjoyed both the earlier books, they’re fun to read and neatly solved. I like the characters and the retirement village setting, and there’s always a twist I miss, even though by this book I was watching closely for clues because they’re so obvious in retrospect! This book is slightly different in that Edge is put squarely and deliberately in the firing line and even though she’s a main character and I know she won’t be killed off (right?) I was reading faster and faster as the end approached. I think it’s the best so far- fun and exciting” .

  274. Ever wonder what happens when modestly hard science fiction intersects with a future dystopia in the superhero genre? You end up with superpunk, the genre of my first published novel “the Blue Pimpernel.”

    Renee Rhee is a teenager in the middle of the 21st century; under the Party, the United States had gone backwards and become authoritarian. Like all good authoritarian governments, it’s corrupt as hell. After Renee loses the life that she knows not once but twice to Party corruption and internecine conflicts between the major criminal organizations, she and her friends – Ofelia and Cyan – decide they’ve had enough. Using a bunker full of technological secrets built by the former owner of Ofelia’s house, they begin to begin to wage a three girl war on the local crime syndicates, but quickly discover that those with power aren’t likely to roll over without fighting back, and that in fighting back, the Party is just as likely to create everyone’s worst nightmare…

    Check it out here: http://www.lulu.com/shop/joshua-kilburn/the-blue-pimpernel/paperback/product-20051241.html

    This book is the first book in a planned series of novels. For more information about the sequel, and about this novel, click my username and wander on over to my blog.

    Thanks a lot for the opportunity, John! :)

  275. This is incredibly generous.

    Songs from the Other Side of the Wall
    http://www.amazon.com/Songs-Other-Side-Wall-Holloway-ebook/dp/B003LN1UBG
    After her mother walks out and returns to England when she’s just a week old, Szandi grows up on the vineyard in Hungary that has been in her family for 300 years. Now 18, Szandi is part of Budapest’s cosmopolitan art scene, sharing a flat and a bohemian lifestyle with her lover and fellow sculptress, Yang. She has finally found her place in the world. When she discovers that her father has only weeks to live, Szandi must choose once and for all: between the past and the present; between East and West; between her family and her lover.

    “captures the rhythms and nuances of how we live now in a way that has rarely been done better” LA Books Examiner

    “Holloway’s accomplishment is in rendering a world in exquisite detail and still conveying the universal via the personal.” Emprise Review

    “a lovely book written in that rare thing: beautiful, lyrical prose.” Jane Smith, The Self-Publishing Review

    “Songs From the Other Side of the Wall is a *very* good book” Erica Friedman, Yurikon publishing

    “In threads that shimmer like the novel’s central image of petrol-colored silk, what could have been weaves itself into every situation.” Pank

    “You write extremely well – with a wonderful turn of phrase and descriptive abilities which make for an atmospheric read.”

    Melissa Weatherill, Simon and Schuster

    “Your voice is very fresh and original…Sandrine is an engaging, intriguing narrator…Your writing is extremely good, very lyrical but always with the aim of moving the story on.”

    Random House

    “An artful style, with some very striking moments…The parallelism of a person and a country coming of age; the past’s haunting of the present in both; the hopes and fears of different generations: all these are rich veins that you exploit well, and provide a fascinating core to the book”

    Harper Collins

  276. SPRINGTIME PLEASURES by Sandra Schwab

    A lighthearted Regency romp featuring wild boars and highwaymen, a very unsuitable heroine, and a hero who thinks he is beyond redemption.

    CAUGHT BETWEEN DUTY…

    George Augustus Griffin, Viscount Chanderley has to marry – fast: His father has ordered him to find a suitable wife this very season. Alas, the only woman Griff has eyes for is the very unsuitable Miss Carlotta Stanton, who is not only unbecomingly tall, but also wears the ugliest spectacles in all of England. Still, Griff is utterly bewitched by her intense green eyes. Yet however much he feels drawn to her joie de vivre, duty and honour demand that he stay far away from Miss Stanton.

    …AND DESIRE

    Dubbed “the Giantess” because of her unfortunate height, Charlie Stanton finds the London Season far less glamorous than she had thought it would be – not the least because she is consigned a place among the wallflowers. But then she becomes acquainted with the very dashing Lord Chanderley, whose life is overshadowed by a terrible tragedy in his past. Ever ready to help others, Charlie is determined to rid him of his Sad Melancholia – even if it means taking on wild boars and highwaymen. However, the biggest challenge might be the elusive viscount himself and his belief that he is beyond all redemption.

    PRAISE FOR SPRINGTIME PLEASURES

    A “small jewel of a story”
    ~ LoveLetter Magazin

    “Springtime Pleasures is a light-hearted, captivating and well-researched book with unexpected depths. Schwab’s characters are lovable, distinctly-cut personalities, the setting, Regency London, positively springs to life on the page, and the elegant yet tongue-in-cheek style is equally amusing and a joy to read.”
    ~ Customer review on AmazonDE

    Now available in print and digital!
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FVCFDO0/

    Thanks so much for this opportunity, John!

  277. John: Thanks so much for giving us this platform!

    The Books:
    ‘NetWalkers (Omnibus or parts one and two), WildCards, NeXus and ColdFusion

    The Quotes:
    >”What happens when you mix matter and anti-matter? Hell…try it. See what happens. What can you lose?” —-J. W. Smith: Harmonies of the ’Net
    >>”NexusSpace is infinitely small, infinitely large, everywhere and nowhere…
    What’s so f*@&ing hard to understand?” —-J. W. Smith: Harmonies of the ’Net
    >>>“In the name of efficiency and score cards, we dwell on the facts and ignore the philosophy, we stuff young minds and starve young souls.” —Jonathan Wesley Smith: frequently

    The Recommendations:
    >“… reads like Cherryh near her own top form…No padding or wheelspinning here, just the genuine article.—Faren Miller: Locus Magazine
    >>“’NetWalkers: A star-spanning game of wits in which the prize is the soul of the universe.” —Hugo Award Winning author (and editor of the series) C.J. Cherryh
    >>>“[’NetWalkers is] everything science fiction should be: a slam-bang adventure that leaves you thinking, a character story with a social conscience and stylish writing paired with brilliant plotting…” Robert J. Sawyer: multiple award winning author of FlashForward
    >>>>“Reading any book by Jane Fancher is like sitting down to a cup of really good hot cocoa—rich with just the right touch of darkness to make it interesting…”Patricia Briggs: #1 NY Times Best Selling Author of the Mercy Tompson Series

    The Sources:
    >’NetWalkers: A massive multi-book Science Fiction series available now in mobi at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_0_12?url=search-alias%3Ddigital-text&field-keywords=jane+fancher&sprefix=jane+fancher%2Caps%2C354
    >>Available in ePub at B&N/Nook by the end of the week.
    >>>Available DIRECT FROM THE AUTHOR! YIPPPEEEE! in both formats plus PDF at: http://www.closed-circle.net/netwalkers-universe/#NW Note: We also offer large sample downloads so you can get a taste before you buy!

    Bonus Round: And for you gift givers: It is also possible, from Closed Circle, to get the files personalized. Please contact us at authors(a)closed-circle.net for details.

    The Final Pitch: More than a future history about an era when a universe-spanning computer controls the fate of humanity, it’s a deeply human story about the people who control the fate of the computer. Give a sample a try. As Wesley says: What have you got to lose? ;)

    Happy Winter Solstice to EVERYONE!

  278. *THE SECRET LAKE* – A time travel mystery adventure for children age 8-11

    ~ Karen Inglis, London, UK ~

    “A boat whispered Stella repeatedly. How on earth could it have got there? And why was Harry soaked to the skin?”

    http://www.amazon.com/The-Secret-Lake-childrens-adventure/dp/0956932304/

    When Stella and her younger brother, Tom, move to their new London home, they become mystified by the disappearances of Harry, their elderly neighbor’s small dog. Where does he go? And why does he keep reappearing wet-through?

    Their quest to solve the riddle over the summer holidays leads to a boat buried under a grassy mound – and a tunnel that takes them to a secret lake. Who is the boy rowing towards them who looks so terrified? And whose are those children’s voices carried on the wind from beyond the woods?

    Stella and Tom soon discover that they have traveled back in time to their home and its gardens almost 100 years earlier. Here they make both friends and enemies, and uncover startling connections between the past and present.

    Available in print and on Kindle and is part of Amazon’s MatchBook program (if you buy it in print you get the Kindle version for 99 cents!)

    The story was inspired by and is set in the communal gardens of London’s Notting Hill. Do read the reviews on Amazon UK as well as Amazon.com. I hope you enjoy! :)

  279. Cool thread. Thanks for the opportunity to post.

    My Bigtime paranormal romance books feature sexy superheroes, evil ubervillains, and smart, sassy gals looking for love. The first book in the Bigtime series is KARMA GIRL. Here’s the description:

    Investigative reporter Carmen Cole gets the surprise of her life on her wedding day when she discovers that her fiancé and best friend are sleeping together—and that the two of them are her town’s resident superhero and ubervillain. Shocked and hurt, Carmen reveals their secret identities and then decides to devote her life to unmasking every superhero and ubervillain who crosses her path.

    A series of successful unmaskings lands Carmen a job at The Exposé, one of the biggest newspapers in Bigtime, New York, a city that’s full of superheroes and ubervillains. Carmen is in her element—until she gets kidnapped by the Terrible Triad, Bigtime’s most dangerous ubervillain team.

    The Triad orders Carmen to uncover the secret identity of Striker, the leader of the Fearless Five, Bigtime’s most popular superhero team—or else they’ll drop her in a vat of radioactive goo. With that threat hanging over her, Carmen sets out to unmask Striker, but what she doesn’t count on is falling for the sexy superhero. But with the Terrible Triad lurking around, this is one story that just might be the death of her….

    For excerpts and more, visit http://www.jenniferestep.com/series/bigtime-series/.

    Happy reading, everyone!

  280. Hi!
    I’m the editor of a new Young Adult Speculative Fiction magazine called Inaccurate Realities.

    Each issue contains 5 short stories as well as some author interviews and book reviews.

    Our first issue – “Fear” is available now at inaccuraterealities.com/issues and our second issue “Time Travel” is available for pre-order.

    We’re also available on Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/Inaccurate-Realities-1-Fear/dp/1492915459/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386181220&sr=8-1&keywords=inaccurate+realities or wherever ebooks are sold.

    Inaccurate Realities would make a great gift for Young Adult fans, aspiring writers or reluctant readers who may prefer short stories over full lenth novels.

    Happy reading!

  281. Thank you, Readers and Mr. Scalzi!
    My great-great grandfather and I were best of friends, although we never met.
    Fire and shipwreck orphan us – 140 years apart. We escape to imagination to survive our fate. There, midst flights of whimsy we find one another. Companionship quells our loneliness. We create fables and tales, shields against a harsh existence. We must battle animals and humans of prey.
    Together, he, the future abolitionist-publisher James Thaddeus ‘Blackjack’ Fiction, and I vault from glory-laden adventures to tragedy and then to triumph.
    I am Raji Singh and this is my story.

    Tales of the Fiction House, for adults but suitable for younger adults, follows in the grand tradition of Aesop, Grimm, and Hoffman. Whether you’re spending 1,001 nights in Baghdad, itching to hitch a ride on the Canterbury trail, or wringing your sweaty Hans Anderson on a hot summer day, you’ll enjoy a cool respite with these all new legends and myths.
    You’ll encounter a land-sea creature with as many tattooed tales on his shell as his shipmate an ancient mariner- the Poseidon of whale-talers- can ever spout-out. You’ll sail along on the Beagle and be privy to Charles Darwin’s Victorian secret romance with Harriet Beecher via carrier pigeon air-mail. You’ll claw your way through jungle dangers with the help of a kind ‘Tiger-man’. Vicious ‘gator-men’ will lore you to their swamp. The stories’ wise ladies, a gentle butterfly named Calico, and a hardened ‘Captain Polly’, will fly you to exotic worlds no human’s ever seen.
    A thousand and one Tales inhabit the Fiction House.
    You’ll want to visit them again and again.
    Tales of the Fiction House, by Raji Singh
    My novel is available at Amazon, (Kindle and Trade Paperback) and Barnes and Noble.)
    http://www.amazon.com/Tales-Fiction-House-Raji-Singh/dp/0615814670
    Blog: http://talesofthefictionhouse.com/

  282. “Fall on Me”, by Adriana Blake

    “Fall on Me” is an autobiographical webcomic strip that chronicles funny stories of married life. It’s currently available in 3 book volumes with 100 comic strips in each book.

    You can purchase the paperbacks or PDF versions via Lulu.com (available in English and in Spanish): http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/fallonme

    You can also read the comic online at http://www.littleteacup.net/fallonme (en español: http://www.littleteacup.net/cuentaconmigo)

    Thank you! I hope you enjoy!

  283. Cupcakes, Trinkets, and Other Deadly Magic, Dowser #1 – an urban fantasy by Meghan Ciana Doidge.

    Web page: http://wp.me/PP9tA-tE
    Universal Amazon: http://mybook.to/Cupcakes_Amazon

    Synopsis: If you’d asked me a week ago, I would have told you that the best cupcakes were dark chocolate with chocolate cream cheese icing, that dancing in a crowd of magic wielders — the Adept — was better than sex, and that my life was peaceful and uneventful. Just the way I liked it. That’s what twenty-three years in the magical backwater of Vancouver will get you — a completely skewed sense of reality. Because when the dead werewolves started showing up, it all unraveled … except for the cupcake part. That’s a universal truth.

    The sequel, Trinkets, Treasures, and Other Bloody Magic, is due out December 27. 2013.

    Thanks for the opportunity to post here, John!

  284. Ships of My Fathers, book 1 of the Father Chessman Saga

    Michael was orphaned at seventeen, light-years from home. His inheritance: a starship, distant relatives he never knew existed, and inescapable questions that challenge everything he thought was true.

    Michael’s quest for answers takes him halfway across the Confederacy, from the gleaming corridors of the wealthy super-freighters to the dark holds of Father Chessman’s pirate ships.

    The truth is waiting for him, but he’ll have to survive to find it.

    http://www.amazon.com/Ships-Fathers-Father-Chessman-Saga-ebook/dp/B00CKZXVVS/

  285. Watching Charlotte Brontë Die – a quirky mix of surreal and supernatural short stories, with inspirations ranging from Sark in the Channel Islands to York Minster Library, UK.

    ‘Her Fearful Symmetry meets The Turn of the Screw’

    http://www.amazon.com/Watching-Charlotte-Brontë-Die-surreal-ebook/dp/B00AZYXASU

    Ship of Haunts: the other Titanic story

    A time-crossing ghost story about Titanic and child migration that takes the reader from 1912 to 2112 and includes a journey beneath the sea.

    http://www.amazon.com/Ship-Haunts-other-Titanic-story-ebook/dp/B007SPGR98

    Also available in print.

  286. Westward to Strange

    YA mystery about a girl and an evil mermaid. And some romance and horror and magic and stuff.

    http://www.amazon.com/Westward-Strange-Ray-Litt/dp/0615879241/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1386190138&sr=8-1&keywords=ray+litt

    It will be on shelves next month (I wasn’t sure which thread, so I chose today’s–hope that’s ok!) in Barnes and Noble. Currently only available on amazon.

    If snarky blogs are your thing: http://www.yadragonchaser.com

    happy reading, folks.

  287. Thank you for this forum!

    My book is THE COBALT PROTOCOL released last month by Musa Publishing. It is a female/female superhero romance, and the first in what I hope to be a robust series. I’m already getting some great reviews. :)

    First, the link:
    http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=9&products_id=675&zenid=3001d340957e2d1e1e148ffd3ca93676

    Here’s the cover copy:
    *****
    A shattered superhero must find the courage to face a terrible enemy, dark secrets, and love.

    Cobalt’s life is changed when she’s struck down by her arch-enemy. Her life revolves around her superhero identity. As Quinn Summers, she’s just another rich socialite. As Cobalt, she saves lives. Now that her future is in doubt, she must face what it means to be a hero.

    Alex Renteria always admired Cobalt from afar. Being hired to help care for Quinn Summers after a crippling fight is part nightmare, part dream come true. While guiding Quinn through recovery, Alex stands to lose far more than her heart.

    Quinn and Alex must find common ground and courage to face Cobalt’s greatest enemy and darkest secrets. If they survive, they just might find the greater treasure: love.

    * * * * *
    You can get an excerpt at the link above.

    My website is http://terrirowan.com – It’s not as updated as I like because I have a five-week-old baby, but I do plan to get into the swing of things soon here. Including work on a sequel! :)

  288. Thank you so much for showcasing us indies.

    I am one fifth of the Triskele Books indie author collective – five women authors from around the globe who have each independently published their own books. Between us, we have two crime trilogies (by JJ Marsh and Gillian Hamer), historical novels (by Liza Perrat and JD Smith) and contemporary fiction by Catriona Troth – all books with a strong sense of time and place.

    For three days from December 6-8, ALL Triskele ebooks will be at 99c on all platforms.
    This link will give you more details about each of our books, and also give you multi-region links to where they can be purchased. (The books are also available as paperbacks, if you prefer print.)

    We’d like to think that there is something here for everyone. So please do come and browse our wares.

    http://catrionatroth.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/triskeles-black-friday-and-saturday-and.html

  289. Pippi the squirrel isn’t brave and has no interest in earning the title of “The Bravest Squirrel Ever.” Scared of thunder, lightning and being “flopped” by the humans, Pippi only wants to return to Mama’s warm, cozy nest. Instead, she stumbles on a better nest. There’s only one problem. It’s in dangerous, forbidden human territory. The attic nest is too perfect for Pippi to resist, and she moves in. The humans soon discover her. Instead of driving her out, they seal off her only exit, trapping her inside. To escape and to survive, Pippi must face her fears and depend on herself for the first time in her life. In doing so, she learns just how brave a little squirrel can be.

    The Bravest Squirrel Ever
    by Sara Shafer
    (Perfect for children and children at heart!)
    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OZ6X66/

  290. Thanks for this! Loved The Old Man’s War, BTW.

    My Ebook is Kojiki from Musa Publishing
    Genre: Fantasy

    Description: In his debut fantasy, Kojiki, Keith Yatsuhashi brings a wildly original fusion of Japanese myth, culture, and history to a heart-pounding epic of warring gods and gigantic beasts! When eighteen-year-old Keiko Yamada’s father dies unexpectedly, he leaves behind a one way ticket to Japan, an unintelligible death poem about powerful Japanese spirits and their beast-like Guardians, and the cryptic words: “Go to Japan in my place. Find the Gate. My camera will show you the way.” Alone and afraid, Keiko travels to Tokyo, determined to fulfill her father’s dying wish. There, beneath glittering neon signs, her father’s death poem comes to life. Ancient spirits spring from the shadows. Chaos envelops the city, and as Keiko flees its burning streets, her guide, the beautiful Yui Akiko, makes a stunning confession–that she, Yui, is one of a handful of spirits left behind to defend the world against the most powerful among them: a once noble spirit now insane. Keiko must decide if she will honor her father’s heritage and take her rightful place among the gods.

    Publisher’s site: http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=569

    See more info on Goodreads including buy links: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16172609-kojiki

    Also available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, iBookstore, Kobo, and wherever you buy Ebooks.

    Follow me on Twitter @keithyatsuhashi

  291. The Prairie Companions by David Rory O’Neill.
    In the early years of a century, a new world calls to the adventurous.
    For seventeen-year-old Pat—bright, highly ambitious, and insatiably driven—and her gentle, loyal boarding school companion Clara, the strictures of Victorian English society seem far too rigid and stifling. Chasing a destiny at once exhilarating and terrifying, they set out across a vast ocean, following a dream to northwest Canada where they will build a home together in the wilderness. But the wind-swept Canadian prairie is a harsh and merciless landscape for the unsuspecting and unprepared, and two extraordinary, convention defying young women must embrace the wisdom and tribal rituals of a proud indigenous people if they hope to last the killing winter. Still, through hardship and loss, famine and war, Clara and Pat will persevere in their dedicated pursuit of the freedoms denied them in the “civilized” world, finding strength in friendship, hope, commitment, and in the love they will need to survive the relentless cruelties of fate and nature.
    http://amzn.to/Mjoz2N

    A wonderful gesture John. Thank you. Warm Regards: David.

  292. Born a girl during the Civil War, Jack has been passing as a boy in the slums of Five Points, Manhattan, since running away from an orphans’ home at age eight. He makes his living at petty thievery, surviving pocket watch-to-pocket watch until he discovers a talent for gambling.

    Lucy is a bright girl trapped in a dreary life with her widowed mother. When she meets Jack on the street, her days are happier than they have ever been. But her heart is broken when mother takes her far from New York, perhaps never to see Jack again. Her new home in a rowdy Arizona mining town is as dismal as ever, but she finds a glimmer of hope in dreams of a career on stage.

    Now, to find their way to the life they promised each other, Jack and Lucy will have to dodge dangers and take risks they never dreamed of as childhood sweethearts.

    You can get _Jack_ from Musa Publishing, a small, e-only press: http://musapublishing.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=648 But you can also get it everywhere else e-books are sold.

  293. My comic Samhain Night is a dark Celtic faerietale set in modern times!

    Set in Western Ireland and drawn from Celtic legend, Samhain Night has magic, monsters, faerie folk, horror and romance, with just a touch of comedy. It’s an ongoing comic series that will leave you wanting more and makes a great present for anyone who longs for a world of hidden magic!

    Buy issues 1-4 of Samhain Night here: http://indyplanet.com/store/index.php?manufacturers_id=9808

  294. “Lost Among The Marigolds” is a vivid, frank account of a queer man’s mid-life journey through India.

    In this engaging memoir, a homeless American artist flees New York to backpack across India. Armed with a wry sense of humor and boundless curiosity, he crisscrosses a dazzling, fragile, complicated country. Alternately joyous and wistful, “Lost Among The Marigolds” describes an unforgettable journey, an amazing landscape, and the wondrous complexities of the human condition. Travel with the author through the thrilling chaos of Mumbai and the burning ghats of Varanasi, from the monkey-ridden temples of Jaipur to the colorful slums of Kolkata.

    Corey Michael Smithson is a multi-media artist currently living in Brooklyn. His work explores various dimensions of queerness, identity, gender, eroticism, self-expression, biology, history, beauty, shock, fear, and love. He has dedicated his life to the service of art.

    “Lost Among The Marigolds” is available as an e-book from several online retailers:

    Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/211320
    iTunes Store: https://itunes.apple.com/book/id552991571?mt=11
    Barnes & Noble: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lost-among-the-marigolds-corey-michael-smithson/1112572275

    Thanks for the opportunity to share my book!

  295. ‘Wellington. The wind city. New Zealand’s home of art and culture, but darker forces, forgotten forces, are starting to reappear. Aotearoa’s displaced iwi atua – the patupaiarehe, taniwha, and ponaturi of legend – have decided to make Wellington their home, and while some have come looking for love, others have arrived in search of blood.

    A war is coming, and few can stand in their way. Saint (lovably fearless, temporarily destitute, currently unable to find a shirt) may be our only hope. Tony, suddenly unemployed and potentially a taniwha herself, has little choice but to accept the role her bloodline dictates. And Hinewai, who fell with the rain? If she can’t find her one true love, there’s a good chance that none will live to see the morning.

    Wellington will never be the same again.’

    Basically if you like urban fantasy and have a hankering for something with fresh new mythology and/or New Zealandness, not to mention plenty of queer characters, The Wind City is ideal for you! It is published by New Zealand’s only speculative fiction publisher, the small but plucky Steam Press.

    “[Summer Wigmore’s] descriptions of mythological characters and aspects to Wellington are lyrical, fluid and utterly beautiful. There were times when I had to stop and reread a sentence or paragraph because I loved it so much…” – On The Nightstand

    Buy it, read more about it or download a free sample here: http://www.steampress.co.nz/wind.html

  296. Sue Millard from Cumbria, Northern England, produces electronic books as well as paperbacks.

    “Dragon Bait”‘s got humour and horses that fly.

    Princess Andra volunteers to act as bait for the dragon ravaging her father’s lands, on condition that she is released from an arrangement to marry a foreign prince. Unfortunately the Knight Rescuer who turns up is not the trusty old retainer she expects, but an unknown conservationist who wants the dragon, not the lady. After that very little goes according to plan.

    Sue writes about what she enjoys – horses, carriage-driving, romance, English history (and dragons) – with honesty and wit.

    http://www.jackdawebooks.co.uk/

  297. My first full-length urban fantasy novel was just released. Thank you for the opportunity to share it.

    All pertinent information can be found here: http://kitcampbellbooks.com/?mbt_book=shards

    Eva Martinez isn’t sure why she’s pursuing a master’s degree in religious studies, except that something about the material resonates in the depths of her soul. But when her dreams start to be invaded by lost gardens, forbidden fruit, and a strangely familiar mystery man, even she has to wonder if she’s taking her schoolwork too seriously.

    Then Eva starts to notice the strangeness seeping into everyday life. The man from her dreams is real and Eva feels a curious connection with him. Her classmate, someone she’s known for years, starts to act increasingly volatile. And it seems like everyone, including her bosses, is keeping secrets…secrets that have something to do with her. Eva’s determined to find out what’s going on, how it involves her, and why she’s transforming into someone buried deep in her memories.

    The deeper in that Eva gets, the more she feels like she should understand what’s happening around her. The secrets conceal real dangers, and if she can’t untangle them and find the truth in time, she–and all those she’s come to care for–will face defeat at the hands of an ancient enemy, one who recognized Eva long before she learned to recognize herself.

  298. Kindle indie bestseller HOUSE OF SILENCE – An English country house mystery set at Christmas.

    Orphaned by drink, drugs and rock n’ roll, Gwen Rowland is invited to spend Christmas at her boyfriend Alfie’s family home, Creake Hall – a ramshackle Tudor manor in Norfolk. Soon after she arrives, Gwen senses something isn’t quite right. Alfie acts strangely toward his family and is reluctant to talk about the past. His mother, a celebrated children’s author, keeps to her room, living in a twilight world, unable to distinguish between past and present, fact and fiction.

    When Gwen discovers fragments of forgotten family letters sewn into an old patchwork quilt, she starts to piece together the jigsaw of the past and realises there’s more to the family history than she’s been told. It seems there are things people don’t want her to know.

    And one of those people is Alfie…

    ~~~

    HOUSE OF SILENCE is available from Amazon in paperback ($10.99) & as an ebook ($2.99) http://goo.gl/rBJHLO

  299. Spying, smuggling, seedy office seducers and sudden death – “Up In Smoke” is the thriller that’s got it all, lifting the lid off the secretive tobacco industry. Read the first 40 pages free at http://aaabbott.co.uk/free-stuff. Once you’re hooked – feed your addiction by buying the paperback or Kindle version….better still, get it as a Christmas present for the loved ones in your life, then you get to share it with them.

    I’m AA Abbott, an English writer, and this is my first thriller set in a corporate environment. I promise you it won’t be the last!

  300. Assumed killed by her uncle in the service of a power-hungry Lord and left to find her own way, Seren struggles to be the honorable person her father had raised her to be.

    A teenaged Seren joins her father’s old friends in their quest to stop the Mad Lord. Now she has to choose whether to chase revenge or work for the greater good.

    A comic book series for fans of The Hunger Games, Game of Thrones, and the Lord of the Rings. PG-13 with mild language, a level of physical injury to be expected from Medieval warfare, and no adult content. Great for teens and grownups who remember just how frustrating being a teen was (and we didn’t have to deal with the nonsense of a high-fantasy world!).

    Issues 0-3 available digitally on Comixology (http://www.comixology.com/Of-Stars-and-Swords/comics-series/10616) and Gumroad (https://gumroad.com/seriousturtlestudio) for $0.99-$1.99. #4 should pop up on Gumroad in the next few weeks, but probably won’t be on Comixology for a few months. You can always try before you buy at http://www.ofstarsandswords.com

  301. Fans of Daniel Suarez’s Daemon or Ramez Naam’s Nexus may enjoy Avogadro Corp, A.I. Apocalypse, and The Last Firewall.

    These novels about the technological singularity are set in 2015, 2025, and 2035, respectively, and examine the emergence of artificial intelligence, how AI and humanity will interact, and how we might ensure AI behaves ethically. A.I. Apocalypse was nominated for the Prometheus Award, and the series was recommended by folks such as Harper Reed (former CTO for Obama for America), Brad Feld (cofounder TechStar, Foundry Group), and Ben Huh (CEO Cheezburger).

    Available in Kindle, paperback, and audiobook from Amazon, as well as Kobo.

  302. Shadows of Marrakech: a philosophical mystery story for Mighty Strong Girls (and Boys) who are excited and not afraid to venture into the darker side of tran-Saharan Africa. Chemchi, a Berber girl named after a warrior queen, enters into a bargain with a brutal slave master. In return for his help, she must track down the son he needs to save him. He awakens her power to see the unseen: a living carpet of shadows, a portal to an uncanny parallel world. Chemchi finds the son. But she also finds out the truth about her mother. And Cracked Marrakech has a mind of its own…

    Shadows of Marrakech

  303. Playing the game of public sex is hard enough when you got the family loan shark bothering you for a piece of your action, but when your symbiont wants a piece as well, it can make you question your own sanity.

    My commercial debut (Oct 2012) entitled “Line 21” is a paranormal/erotic fantasy that has a little bit of everything: sex, family relationships, mystery and moral/ethical quandaries. It’s published through Solstice and the e-book/print is available at Amazon;(http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/B009ZJ76B8/ref=sib_dp_kd#reader-link)

    while a personalized print version is available at my book blog (http://booksbygbmjrofct.blogspot.com)

  304. Heya!

    Like steampunk? Like superheroes? Like magic? What about walking tanks and demons and airships? Then you might like THE STEAM PUNK. It’s a YA fantasy/steampunk adventure about a young man trying to free his homeland from a racist, oppressive government. You can get it for less than $3 on Amazon for Kindle! So rad!

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0091HXU8C

    I’m not done yet! Want something more modern? You got it! How does an Indiana Jones-esque adventure with a dash of Harry Potter sound? If it sounds alright to you, then you should check out THE SPECTRE SOCIETY (not that isn’t a type, I spelled “specter” the British way!). All the pulp of the great 30s and 40s adventure mags in the modern age, as a teenage boy joins up with an unlikely group of friends (a half-fairy, a dragon, and the last descendent of Gilgamesh) to find a lost treasure, before a rather unpleasant group of dark mages get to it first. Also rad!

    http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AVECRQ0

    I’ve got another book for sale, but don’t want to risk getting auto-moderated out of this great post. Merry Christmas everybody! And Happy Holidays if that isn’t your bag!

    I’m out!

    *backflips out of blog*

  305. Thanks, John!

    I’d like to mention the first three books of my fantasy series, The Hounds of Annwn. A foxhunter from Virginia crosses over into a fae otherworld of the Virginia Piedmont, and finds himself recruited to lead the Wild Hunt when its huntsman is murdered.

    The focus is on the strong, moral man in the modern world who suddenly finds a suitable role and life in a different context. Over the course of the three novels (and several short stories), we see him develop into a sort of paladin, all unselfconsciously, as he fits into his new life and expands his scope. The fourth book in the series will be out in a couple of months. Print & ebooks, audiobooks in process.

    To Carry the Horn (1) – 4.6 stars – http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009NYHYBW/
    The Ways of Winter (2) – 5 stars – http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AV07MI2/
    King of the May (3) – 5 stars – http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DGG69T6/

  306. POWERLESS is a dark superhero ebook about guilt and secrets:

    “My name is Martin Molloy. I haven’t used my powers in almost two decades. I’ve been a night security guard for four years and not had a panic attack for nearly ten months.
    Then my old teammate and best friend Vincent is murdered by another power. My carefully constructed solitude crumbles around me as the Police, the Powered Crime Agency and the rest of the team search for answers.
    All I want is to find out who killed him without having to dredge up too much pain from the past, but when the super-powered killer comes after me, all I am left with are nightmares.”

    http://www.amazon.co.uk/Powerless-ebook/dp/B00B0JOR7M/

    Oh and thanks John for allowing us all to leave our links here :)

  307. Hi, I’m Chang and HARVESTMAN is my new novel.

    “A simple mission, they said,” Leonardo muttered.
    “We shouldn’t have crashed,“ said Baz.
    “Crashed? We should not be alive.“

    His military career wrecked and disgraced after the Newhope disaster, Capt. Leonardo Valencia has one last run on the miserable freighter Resurgam before he can retire, grab his pension and drink the days away.

    But then Resurgam crashes into an icy planetoid after a routine archeological mission. Valencia awakens to find all but three of the crew dead from strange circumstances on a planet that shouldn’t be where it is.

    Mysteries pile up as the crew discovers one passenger, a reclusive archeologist, survived only to flee into the planet’s snowy wastes with illegal alien artifacts. Captain and crew find themselves facing many questions and short on time. Is this archeologist in fact the Harvestman, mastermind behind the Newhope disaster and leader of the Martian separatists group the Free Mars Republic? What’s going on in the strange tunnel he fled to at the planet’s southern reaches? Capt. Valencia and his crew are stranded with only days to figure out how to thwart the plans of this madman.

    But if they fail, the Free Mars Republic will destroy all life on Earth and replace it with something horrific, fulfilling an ancient vendetta.


    Get HARVESTMAN here in Kindle format!

    Get HARVESTMAN here in e-book format!

    Get HARVESTMAN here in paperback!

  308. Hi all, I write the Bree MacGowan Mystery series, set in bucolic Vermont. Can’t call them cozy because of the sex and violence – even though there isn’t much, but they are fun, and hopefully funny. Think Miss Marple meets Miss Congeniality. The first book MOONLIGHTING IN VERMONT won a Daphne award which isn’t too shabby, but the best is the most recent CRAZY LITTLE THING CALLED DEAD. You can find them on any of the e-retailers, for e-readers, at audible.com and also in Paperback online. Here is a link You’ll have to look for the others because I don’t want to gum up the works here.

    http://www.amazon.com/Kate-George/e/B002KQHSYI/ref=la_B002KQHSYI_rf_p_n_feature_browse-b_1?rh=n%3A283155%2Cp_82%3AB002KQHSYI%2Cp_n_feature_browse-bin%3A618073011&bbn=283155&ie=UTF8&qid=1386256651&rnid=618072011

  309. Do you like blogs? Do you like new bloggers? Do you already know and like Joseph M. Kockelmans? I started a blog on WordPress at the end of 2011, and in 2013 used CreateSpace.com to publish the best from my first full year of entries, Greetings, Readers: A Year in the Life of a New Blogger. I wrote about a number of topics from silly to serious, including posts on bingo, technology, video games, my cat Keekee, a R.I.P. to Dick Clark, the crash of Air Florida flight 90, and Coach Joe Paterno. It is available at Amazon.com and by the end of the December will be available on Kindle, too. The link is: http://www.amazon.com/Greetings-Readers-Joseph-M-Kockelmans/dp/1479176230/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1386267215&sr=8-3&keywords=joseph+m.+kockelmans

    If you are interesting in fishing and boating on a lake, or personal memoirs, the first book I published through CreateSpace.com was about a fishing camp up in Maine where I have gone every year for one or two weeks (with a couple of exceptions) since I was five years old. I tell stories about my family, friends, wildlife, and fishing up at Bear Spring Camps. Picking Up Where We Left Off: My Bear Spring Camps Stories is available at Amazon.com and on Kindle. The link is: http://www.amazon.com/Picking-Up-Where-Left-Off/dp/1463562039/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1386269661&sr=8-2&keywords=joseph+m.+kockelmans

    Thank you.

  310. The first installment of Now & Forever.

    It’s a week before her freshman year when Lauren Conners is thinking, for what feels like the billionth time, of breaking up with her boyfriend of the past couple of years. In a seeming answer to her fervent prayers for guidance she looks up into the hypnotic eyes of the quiet little Washington town’s exotic, dark, and alluring new addition.

    The two fall immediately for one another when their eyes meet. But Lauren can’t be sure – is this love at first sight? An answer from God to her prayer for guidance? Or is this simply lust as she wrestles with newborn passions and desires for the beautiful creature that has entered her life?

    The relationship is fraught with other issues on top of the poor young ballerina’s internal and spiritual uncertainty: the two attend the best school in the area, a private school, Immaculate Conception, a Catholic school Lauren has attended since she was in sixth grade and where she has a reputation as a pious, studious, bright, Good Girl. So … what’s the problem here? Oh, her newfound love (or is it lust?) is a girl.

    Available in iBooks, Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Smashwords, DriveThru Fiction, and in print
    For purchase links click here

  311. Stolen Time

    A young genius is kidnapped by a mad scientist bent on ruling the universe by conquering its past. Can Serena stall him long enough for the Daggers to rescue her? Will she push Janoke Greenbriar too far and outlive her usefulness? Are the rumours that Greenbriar can alter minds true? Find out in this, the first novel set in the wide universe of Universal Nexus!

    Available in eBook and Print

  312. Loving all the entries on here!!!

    ‘Peachey Letters – Love Letters to Life’ started out as a Blog Challenge I set myself – to write a ‘love letter to life’ every day for the Valentine month of December. One month later I had amassed a following from 26 countries around the world!

    Now in book form, I write to the people, phenomena and happenings that shaped my life and my heart: some sad, some funny, some silly, and some crazy, but I find the love in everything – in all the highs and lows of life and some how, in telling my stories, so many people tell me that I tell THEIR stories too :-).

    Available in paperback and Kindle on Amazon, and also on my website: http://peacheydays.co.uk/peacheyshop/prod_2213867-01-The-Book-Peachey-Letters-Love-Letters-to-Life.html

  313. First, a longish short story:

    “Once A Hero, Always A Hero”

    It started out a visit to buy brandy for their bar, but now it’s an adventure.

    Robin Thase and Viktor Blue, retired soldiers and former heroes turned bar owners and family men, land right in the middle of a situation that leaves them fighting for their lives and the lives of thousands of innocent souls once more.

    Can two men with cheap blasters taken from beaten thugs, some knives, and decades of fighting experience defeat a Dichidian and his goons by themselves?

    And a novella from the same universe:

    The Crown of Eldrete, Kavaliro Cousins Book #1:

    The Kavaliros have been legendary warriors and guardian faeshir — warrior priests — for centuries. Three generations ago, one branch of the family went into hiding after the legendary Kalem Kavaliro sacrificed himself. His descendant — a member of that famous band of freedom fighters, Darrien’s Daggers, and the young guardian faeshir that is the only descendant of his sister met while both were fighting to free Marohn from Neo-Imperialists. Quickly, they discovered that the Neos weren’t working alone. No worries though, Darrien has a plan to retake the temple at least.

    Then they discover the temple is missing several of its most important treasures.

    Trying to recover them, especially the Crown of Eldrete — the symbol of Marohni unity, the distant cousins must deal with shady traders, martial artists, giant insects, and more, all the while one dealing with guilt from failing to protect her temple and fear for her fiancée on a fallen world and the other struggling to not disappoint her father by giving in to her impulsive and reckless nature

    Links to where both can be purchased here: http://universal-nexus.com/shannon-haddock/

  314. Reblogged this on Indie Fic and commented:
    A little holiday shopping help.

    Authors and publishers? Might want to post your stuff in the comments.

    Readers? Some great stuff listed in there. Check it out.

  315. So I’m a few days late, but this only came out today:

    The Christmas Machine: Sometimes Santa needs things done that are, well, more naughty than nice. Enter Jack Frost, Santa’s right hand man and occasional assassin. But something terrible has happened right under Jack’s nose, and even he’s not sure if he’s cold enough to do what now needs to be done.

    And it’s only 99 cents for the Kindle!

    http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Machine-Derek-J-Goodman-ebook/dp/B00H4DKXB2/ref=sr_1_15?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1386303382&sr=1-15&keywords=the+christmas+machine