Bookworms...feed your addiction!

 

There's a special giveaway...TODAY ONLY!

Multiple genres, multiple platforms!

Available at this link

For those of you who like LGBTQ+ stories, here is a graphic that highlights the stories available at this link

Enjoy!

In case you need something to read...

Image from Pixabay

 

 

 

Happy New Year, everyone!

 

There are quite a few book giveaways available for a limited time...

 

Winter Wonderland Story Giveaway (Gay romances)

 

The Danger Files

 

 Free books giveaway, all genres

 

Military romance

HEA romances

 

Steamy Romance freebies

Make sure you check the ones that are on Amazon for the price, as some of them may have reverted from the freebie status. 

And...if you're looking for a contest...I get credit if you enter using this link for Romantic Suspense books:

https://www.booksweeps.com?rpid=51&rpr=33598

Enjoy!

 

LGBT Romance Giveaway (FREE ADULT titles) GPB

LGBTQ ROMANCE GIVEAWAY

Hot free LGBTQ romance from top authors! 

Explore new stories, discover new favorites, try new authors.

ADULT titles

40+ Top LGBTQ Romance Authors in new Prolific Works Giveaway

If you love gay romance, you’ve come to the right place! 

What kind of stories? All the good stuff! Contemporary, Historical, Paranormal, Sizzling, Sweet, Comedy, Kink, Shifter, MPREG, Suspense, Action/Adventure and more—it’s all in the “LGBT Romance—From Some of the Registered GRL Retreat 2019 Authors” Prolific Works giveaway FREE during September and October. Over 50 scrumptious short stories, novellas, books, and previews/excerpts, from some of the bestselling authors in the genre.

Authors who are part of the Prolific Works giveaway include: Amy Aislin, Arshad Ahsanuddin, May Archer, Kasia Bacon, Beth Bolden, Morgan Brice, Sam Burns, J. Scott Coatsworth, K. Evan Coles, Luna David, Hank Edwards, Jen FitzGerald, Michelle Frost, Kaje Harper, Lorelei M. Hart, Susi Hawke, Andi James, Jacki James, D.J. Jamison, Elle Keaton, K-lee Klein, Trina Lane, Josh Lanyon, Lucy Lennox, Sharita Lira, Patricia Logan, Maz Maddox, B.L. Maxwell, Erin McLellan, Lynn Michaels, K.M. Neuhold, Jackie North, Jodi Payne, Pandora Pine, Liv Rancourt, Drea Roman, E.J. Russell, Taylor Ryan, Piper Scott, Kayleigh Sky, Spencer Spears, Felice Stevens, Victoria Sue, Allison Temple, Brigham Vaughn, Silvia Violet, Lila Wilde, Alice Winters, Ashe Winters, S.C. Wynne, S.J. York.

These stories are written by some of the Featured and Registered authors attending the Gay Romantic Lit. (GRL) Retreat, the must-attend event for people who create and celebrate LGBTQ romance. 

The giveaway runs from September 1 to October 31. And it’s all FREE!

CHECK OUT THE GIVEAWAY HERE

“Prolific Works has a big romance audience, so this is a great giveaway for readers who won’t be at the GRL Retreat to find new favorites and new authors,” says MM romance author Morgan Brice, who coordinated the Prolific Works giveaway. “We also wanted people who are coming to GRL to have the chance to enjoy stories by favorite authors and maybe discover new authors prior to the retreat, so they could have fun meeting the authors and talking about the books at the event.”

 

While all of the authors with stories in the giveaway will be attending the GRL Retreat 2019 as Featured or Registered Authors, there are additional authors who were unable to participate. For a full list of GRL 2019 authors, please check www.gayromlit.com The author list above was compiled on 8/27. Unforeseen events may cause changes. See the Prolific Works giveaway for the final list of giveaway authors. 

Follow the tour and check out the other blog posts and reviews here

 

Hosted by Gay Book Promotions

 

13 free books from Dana Marton and friends!

What a holiday treat for romance readers!  Dana Marton and 11 bestselling romance author friends have joined together for a fantastic promotion.  Each of the 13 authors have offered a book for FREE.  No catch, no gimmicks.  Simply visit the prizesforreaders.com website and click on the buy links for each book.

But wait!  There's more!  Readers can vote on the best cover or best blurb, and they'll be entered into a $100 gift card raffle.  Contest ends 1/1/15.

http://www.prizesforreaders.com/

 

 

 

 

The authors are trying something new and neato, and they would love the help of bloggers - they're using Thunderclap to help get the word out about these free books. Thunderclap is a way to harness social media for maximum effect.  Readers can support these authors and the promotion by clicking on the Thunderclap link below and Thunderclap will post for them on the social media of their choice on 12/24 at 12pm.  This will be the ONLY time Thunderclap will post for them - it's a one-time deal.  Think flash mob for posters and tweeters!

Here is the Thunderclap link: http://thndr.it/1xl1Nm6

Musings About Free Books (guest post by P.M. Terrell)

(note from ELF...I read this on P.M. Terrell's blog and thought it was something that more of us need to be made aware of...and she very graciously agreed to share)

 

Free eBooks: Are You Getting More Than You Bargained For?

 by P.M Terrell

Yesterday I was discussing a great book I'd read with a friend of mine, highly encouraging her to read it. It had been on the New York Times bestseller list in 1996, but let's face it: some books are great regardless of their initial release dates.

 

My friend turned to her mobile device, entered only a few keystrokes and the book instantly appeared on her screen.

 

"How did you do that so quickly?" I asked.

 

She explained that she entered "pdf" followed by the book title in a Google search engine (though any search engine would do). Up popped a website where the book had been converted to a PDF file, and with one click, she was able to read it for free in its entirety.

 

As you can imagine, I saw every color of the rainbow with this revelation. Authors, publishers and book stores (online or brick-and-mortar) do not get paid when a book is given away for free. And any book released over the last fifty years should be assumed to be copyrighted, unless the copyright holder has allowed it to lapse.

 

Later, I got out my iPad and began searching for my own book titles, followed by "pdf" in the search box. Sure enough, there were my earliest works - works that are still copyrighted, I hold the copyright, and yet there they were free for the taking.

 

Before I began writing full-time, I worked in the computer field. My specialties were computer crimes and computer intelligence. So I began investigating.

 

It didn't take long before I discovered that 100% of the websites offering my books for free were located in Russia, the Eastern Bloc (particularly the Ukraine), China and other countries that do not abide by U.S. laws. But that was not all that I found.

 

I discovered each of the files I investigated contained malicious software code - viruses, worms, trojans and bots.

 

The viruses could wreak havoc with any computer downloading the file. It can easily destroy information, overwrite legitimate files with malicious files, and propagate itself continuously, eventually making the computer unusable.

 

The worms were similar to the viruses, but they latched onto other legitimate software, extracting information from the software - information you don't want to share, such as user names and passwords and personal data.

 

The PDF files themselves are trojans. Trojans get their name from the method the Greeks used to infiltrate Troy's defenses - by delivering a trojan horse that contained warriors inside. The file looks legitimate - it appears to be an exact copy of a book, page by page - but it contains malicious software that, while the reader is reading away, it is busy extracting files, looking for passwords and personal data, and uploading the information to host computers halfway around the world.

 

In other words, it is stealing your identity, bit by bit.

 

A fourth malicious software I detected were bots. Bots got their name from robots, morphed into webbots, and finally simply called bots. They perform functions that humans normally would, but at lightning speed. For example, it could be labor intensive for a person to try and infiltrate another's computer and copy each of their email addresses out of their address books. But with a program to do it for them, while the reader is reading away, the bot is working in the background to extract each of the website addresses, which in turn serves as a server to send spam around the world. It can take mere seconds to accomplish.

 

Some of the files contained all four types of malicious software.

 

Are there really legitimate websites that allow a person to download a book for free, or are they all frauds?

 

There are legitimate websites. Before using a website, and most particularly before clicking on a link or downloading a file, check to see where the website is registered. It's a dead giveaway that the site is not legitimate if it's offering free books by U.S. authors out of the Ukraine or Russia. In one instance, I even found my books offered for free out of Australia - but the website was linked to others in China.

 

Second, look at the date the book was originally released. There are some books that are considered classics that were never copyrighted and are now in the public domain. In the United States, any work published prior to 1923 is considered in the public domain. If the author and/or publisher is located outside the United States, you must refer to that country's copyright law.

 

If the work was published between 1923 and 1963, the copyright had to be renewed every 28 years (U.S. law). A book that has had continued protection would list each of the copyright dates in the front matter. Each book had to contain the proper copyright notice and the copyright holder had to formally register it.

 

From 1964 through 1989, copyrighted books were deemed protected into the infinite future - meaning once it was copyrighted, it would always be considered copyrighted. The copyright holder had to complete formal copyright paperwork and the copyright notice had to be included in each book.

 

However, after March 1, 1989, copyright laws changed in the United States. Once the author puts pen to paper (or types the document), it is considered copyrighted. It does not need a formal copyright notice nor does it require formal copyright paperwork, though both are recommended to prevent the assumption that it is in the public domain. Works published after this date are copyrighted and protected throughout the life of the copyright holder (deemed to be the author unless otherwise noted) plus 70 years.

 

What does all this mean to you?

 

It means if you are downloading a free PDF copy of a book from an unknown source through the Internet, chances are the website is violating copyright laws - unless the book is considered in the public domain - meaning it was never copyrighted, is an old book whose copyright has expired, and was certainly released prior to 1964.

 

The only exception to this is if the copyright holder signed an agreement with the website to offer the work for free, which some authors do through legitimate sites - amazon, for example, often offers free eBooks because the copyright owner elected to allow readers to download it at no charge.

 

It also means if you're looking to get something for nothing, you might have just downloaded more than you bargained for.

 

                                       

Her latest, The Tempest Murders, is a 2013 USA Best Book Award Finalist and a 2014 International Book Award Nominee.

Blurb:
Irish Detective Ryan O’Clery has experienced dreams throughout his life of a time centuries past and a country halfway around the world. When he stumbles upon a journal kept by an uncle in 1839 Ireland, he realizes his dreams are actually the other man’s memories. And as he works a serial murder case, he comes to the realization that the murders had played out nearly two hundred years earlier with four similar young women, the same unique method of murder and the same killer’s description. Now he must rescue the woman he loves before history repeats itself and the killer reaches her first.

Buy links to The Tempest Murders:

Amazon
iBooks

Nook

Smashwords

Author Links:

About p.m.terrell

p.m.terrell is the award-winning, internationally acclaimed author of more than 20 books. Prior to becoming a full-time writer in 2002, she founded two computer companies. Her specialties are computer crime and computer intelligence, and her clients included the CIA, Secret Service and Department of Defense. Her knowledge of computers often threads its way through her suspense/thrillers. She is also the founder of Book ‘Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair, an annual event in Lumberton, North Carolina.


 
Website

Blog

Book ‘Em North Carolina 

Twitter: @pmterrell

Facebook

Amazon Author page

 

Contests, freebies and giveaways and bargains! (updated 10/13/13)

Night Owl has the Halloween Scavenger Hunt

Evernight Publishing is celebrating its 3rd birthday!

Romance Books 4 Us has the October Spooktacular contest

Coffee Time Romance has multiple contests


Book giveaways and other fun stuff!
Please browse back through my blog over the past couple weeks as I have several lovely authors offering giveaways in both print and e-format as well as a gift card!  Hopefully you will find a new author to love and a title that intrigues you!

Don't forget to stop by Reviews by Crystal to see even more wonderful giveaways and great reviews and spotlights

and....

a delicious and inspiring (for me to eat, if not to make, lol) recipe presented by the envy-inspiring Rae on Lisa Renee Jones' blog at this link.

ADULTS ONLY after this point:

Sabrina York's delicious third installment in her Tryst Island series, Smoking Holt is only $.99 (click on cover for link)

                                  


Lisabet Sarai's erotic m/m short story Body Electric is also free for the weekend (click on cover for link)







Lynne Connolly has a boxed set that looks perfect for the Halloween season, Hosts to Ghosts.  Looks like a great bargain for only $.99!

                                                             




Shattered Souls by the prolific Delilah Devlin was a great paranormal story (I still am wary of looking in mirrors, lol) and it is available for only $.99 as well!


         



and wow, one of my favorite erotica authors has a book on the freebie list as well...Joey Hill's Natural Law:2 (Nature of Desire)
(be advised that the cover is different from the print version but who cares, it FREE!)

                                    

Free or bargain reads for your Kindle and musings about reviewing

Aha, got your attention, did I?  For all of you fortunate readers who received or already own a Kindle (and for those of you who don't, don't despair, I have the Kindle app on my computer and iPad...and they work perfectly well--having the time to read all of these wonderful titles, well, that's an issue I delight in having to wrestle with)...there are a couple of places that keep me informed of offers.

Naughty Reads on the Cheap (be forewarned, quite a few are adult titles, hence the sobriquet naughty lol!) is at this link.

Free Par-Tay sends out a newsletter (and offers intermittent opportunities for Amazon gift certificates).  Look for them at this link.

Paperback Swap also has a couple of forums where members post the bargains they have found.  If you are a member, you can arrange to have e-mail notification when a new posting is listed.  Link1.  Link 2.

One thing that I have noticed about most authors is that many of them have 'street teams' that allow fans to help support them by getting the word out when new titles are being published or the author is holding appearances or having contests.  I have the privilege of being on several of these teams and one of the most thrilling benefits is the opportunity to read and give an honest review about some of their works.  Those of you who have favorite authors should know that they actively seek honest reviews posted on multiple sites such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads, LibraryThing and the individual publishers' sites.  Those using Amazon have 'like' buttons for the individual titles as well as the author's page and 'tag' buttons at the bottom for marking the type of book it is.  I was naive and didn't realize that these are significant but evidently they can alter an author's position and visibility so make sure you vote when you have a particular book you really like!

I originally was reluctant to write reviews because I wondered who would be interested in my opinion about the books I read but I had gone through so many that I was losing track of the storylines and which titles I had already read so I started keeping track on Goodreads.  I eventually applied to a few sites which were looking for reviewers and had the fortune to be accepted by Night Owl Reviews and it has been the best opportunity to indulge my addiction!  I was startled to discover recently that I have written more than 500 reviews for the site and it has been extremely thrilling to see quotes from some of my reviews in the books when they are released.  Sadly, I don't get to see my name specifically and there are quite a few reviewers at Night Owl so I occasionally have to check to make sure that it is indeed a book I have read and reviewed before I do my happy dance, lol.  Anyway, the moral of the story is, if you have a love of reading, an opinion, and an ability to write a clear review objectively (remember that these authors are lovely people and have put a lot of time and effort into producing these stories)...consider applying to a review site.  Given the explosion of self-published titles and e-books, most review sites are overwhelmed by the numbers of titles being offered and quite a few titles are waiting for reviewers because, thank goodness, there are still plenty of great stories still being written.  So, my advice for the new year is...try something new and it might take your life down an entirely different path than you expected!