Writer puts book on the Kindle and gets a book deal!

I came across an article which I found quite amazing and an inspiration to all aspiring writers out there... don't give up!

A struggling writer landed a book deal with a major publisher after putting her novel online for 96p a copy and promoting it by using social networking.

Louise Voss, 42, shot to the top of the Kindle charts after publishing the book in digital form herself after being rejected by literary agents.

It attracted the attention of publishers HarperFiction, which offered her a six-figure, four-book deal.

Read the full article here!

Recommended Authors?

There is nothing better than discovering an author that you have never heard of but once you read one of their books, that's it, you want to find out what else they have written and download it... you have got the bug.. Reading is so addictive and one of the most enjoyable things, is discovering new books, new authors and have a look around the kindle store and you will grab the bug like me!

Some of the recent gems that I have discovered lately and are worth a read are:

Marisa Mackle
Emma Donoghue
A.K. Alexander

The Book Zone : Recommendation!

Another feature we are going to start on The Book Zone is a Recommendation for you all to check out! To start us off, we highly recommend the book "How to Leave Twitter: My Time as Queen of the Universe and Why This Must Stop" by Grace Dent

Three years ago columnist and author Grace Dent joined new social network site Twitter, mainly as a place to dump her surplus jokes, rant about garbage TV and post exclusive j-pegs of her hot new toenail-varnish. But as every ‘re-tweet’ and ‘Follow Friday’ saw her audience figures soar by tens of thousands, Dent found herself centre-stage in an all-consuming highly addictive social network revolution. One where the gags, gossip, scandal and backstabbing literally never stop.Here Dent takes a hilarious, acerbic look at what’s really going on in Twitterworld; who's actually tweeting, who’s really reading your tweets and what’s behind the 140 character lies they tell. She looks at the highs and grotty lows of twitter addiction, the shameless social climbers, the friends you'll make and the ones you can't get bloody rid of, the barefaced bragging, the shameful celeb-stalking, and the truth about ‘twanking’, twitter cliques, angry ‘twitchfork mobs’ and dealing with trolls.

Now if that description doesn't have you downloading from Amazon, nothing will.. Grace has a wit that few can manage and even less can actually get away with! She has a huge following and if you download this book, you will certainly see why..

Grace doesn't hold back and in this book, she will tell you all that you need to know about Twitter and shows you the highs, the lows and all the fun bits in between!!

Check Grace out on Twitter: Grace Dent

Buy the book right now!

Amazon launches rental e-textbooks!

I have just read that Amazon are advising students, that they can dump their heavy books and not have to lug around heavy books anymore because they have launched a much better service and better for your back too!

Tens of thousands of electronic textbooks have been added to the online retailer's catalogue for the 2011 school year. Students are able to rent the textbooks for any period of time ranging from 30 days to 360 days. 

"Students tell us that they enjoy the low prices we offer on new and used print textbooks. Now we're excited to offer students an option to rent Kindle textbooks and only pay for the time they need - with savings up to 80% off the print list price on a 30-day rental," said  Dave Limp, vice president, Amazon Kindle.

The digital textbooks will be available on Amazon’s Kindle reading apps, meaning that students don’t necessarily need to own a Kindle eReader to rent, read and make annotations on the eTextbooks. The Kindle textbooks can be accessed via an iPad, iPhone, BlackBerry, Windows Phone, PC, Mac or an Android-based device with one of Amazon’s free Kindle Reading Apps.

So what are you waiting for!

REVIEW: Mommy May I - A.K. Alexander

This was another book that I saw that interested me on the kindle, up to now, I had been buying chick lit/romantic books but this looked an interesting thriller and one genre that I would like to read a little bit
more of.

The description of this was: Helena Shea is putting her life back together. Once a highly paid supermodel and now the owner and CEO of her own modeling agency, a recent bitter scandal that nearly destroyed Helena and the daughter she gave up for adoption years ago seems to be settling down. With a chance to have a relationship with her daughter, Frankie, and the development of a center for wayward young mothers that Helena is funding, it looks as if life is turning around for mother and daughter. However...

A killer raised amidst evil and seeking revenge is targeting Helena. Leaving a trail of blood in his wake, this sadist plans his return into Helena's life. When the madman abducts Frankie, Helena fears she might never see her daughter again. Seeking help from the journalist who almost destroyed her, an FBI agent with suspicions toward her, as well as her ex-lover who is also Frankie’s father, Helena must find the strength to fight past addictions and see her daughter back home again—alive.
Prepare to lock your doors. This eerie thriller will have you up late into the night looking over your shoulder. It is as equally compelling as it is disturbing.

 This was on the whole, a good read, it did take me a little time to get into but once I was there, I was captivated at what was going to happen next. The story was told in a very believable fashion and you could empathise with the characters.

The only negatives I had with this book were that I felt it was not proofread very well, there were spelling mistakes and when you got to the end of the chapter, you had to press next several times, in order to get to the next chapter but the book is cheap and well worth a buy.

This is the cover:

It is available for 86p in the Amazon UK store and $3.51 in the Amazon US store. 

How do you find good books to read on the Kindle?

How do you find the books that are worth reading? How do you find the books that will have you gripped to every page? How do you find the books that you can't stop talking about when you  have finished?

To me, there is nothing better than having a great book, a book that has you gripped from start to finish and that you never want the book to end.. So far, since I have got back into reading,  I have only read one book like that but once you find that book, it is like finding a pot of gold!

Normally when I am on the Amazon kindle store, I use the following method, in order to find really good books:

1. Visit Amazon UK Kindle Store
2. Go to Kindle Bestsellers
3. View the Paid and Free lists
4. Alternatively, I browse by stars: 4 stars and up, 3 stars and up, 2 stars and up and 1 star and up
5. I read the reviews and if I feel it is worth it, pay for it, download and enjoy my new book!

Hope these tips help you!

Are you interested in buying a kindle?

If you are thinking of buying a kindle and are not too sure if it is worth doing it or that you will risk being disappointed, fear not, it will be the best gadget that you will ever buy! It is the best thing that I have ever bought. For me, it was worth every single cent..

I look forward to downloading new books/newspapers and you can just always download free books if you so choose, if you want to get back into reading, give the kindle a shot. It is superb and a joy to own!

Just wish I had more money to download more books!!

Here is a good article on the kindle: Kindle Guardian Review

Amazon Kindle v Regular Books

I have often had it discussed that reading books on the kindle is not the same as reading a regular book that you can buy from a bookshop or an online retailer, or that ebooks are going to shut down bookshops, publishers etc.

In my opinion, bookshops need to wake up and realise that they are charging too much for books. A few weeks ago, I was trying to find a Fathers day present for my Dad and I went into a city centre retailer in Dublin to buy a book, I had a good look around the shop but all the books were expensive and in the end, I just had to accept that I had to pay more and in the end, I bought a book which was not a hardback and it cost me €19.99 and I came out of that shop thinking there is no wonder that the book retailers are in difficulty. Nearly 20 Euro for a book, that to me is just plain madness!

I want to be able to buy books for my Kindle on Amazon and I don't want to illegally download them and I have no issue whatsoever in paying for them but I can't believe that shops are still charging ridiculous amounts for these books!

I have bought several books on Amazon for my kindle and the most I have ever paid is £2.99 and even when you convert that to Sterling (the currency in which I buy my books), it is a bargain. I refuse to pay 20 Euro and the likes for a book anymore, nothing in my opinion is worth that.

Until the bookshops wake up and see how much they are ripping us all off, nothing will change and shops will continue to go out of business. There is no reason to charge as much as they are and if you want people to use your shop, you have to give them a valid reason to do so!

Review: The Case of the Missing Boyfriend by Nick Alexander

It is now time for yet another book review.. next up is a book I read called "The Case of the Missing Boyfriend" which was written by Nick Alexander.

This book is about a character called CC and tales of her life, her career, her friends, her family and brings you on a quest about finding a boyfriend. It is an enjoyable story with some fantastic gay characters who you will also fall in love with. By the end of the book, you will be convinced, they are also your friends and that you will wish you could spend some time with the illusive CC yourself.

Nick Alexander conveys the stories of London, fashion and friendship perfectly. It is an enjoyable read and well worth a purchase!

One of the very small negatives I found with this book was that to me, it was slightly rushed towards the end but overall, it was a really good read and one book that I looked forward to reading and I read Nick is working on a sequel, so what are you waiting for....

Check out Nick's website here:
http://www.nick-alexander.com/

Getting back into reading after a long time away...

Growing up, I was a very keen book reader, I loved to read and I was very fast at learning, I was a member of a mobile library. It was a library that was in a truck/van and it went from area to area once or twice a week. It was a lovely feeling getting a new book and reading it right through.

In recent years, I have neglected reading, the thought of having to carry a heavy book in my bag to and from work, put me off reading, combined with the expensive price of the book. I am ashamed to say that I stopped reading.

For the last few months, I made the decision, I wanted to get back into reading. I bought myself an Amazon Kindle (wifi version) and have got right back into reading and am loving every single second. I am now on my fourth book and look forward to picking up the kindle and reading away! It is a fantastic gadget and one of the best (if not the best) that I have ever had!

Buying books on the Kindle is so easy and so straightforward and I get my book in seconds, it is like being a child in a sweetshop! I find it so easy to put my kindle in my bag and have the option to have thousands of books stored on the one gadget, it is perfect for leisure reading, reading in bed, on the sofa, anywhere you like and it is a pleasure reading again!

Room by Emma Donoghue

What is this book about I hear you ask?

This book is an incredible tale about a young 5 year old boy called Jack, who has lived all of his life in one room with his mother. It is a tale told through the eyes and mind of Jack, what he thinks, what he feels and it is compelling right from the very first line.

It was completely different to anything that I have ever read before, at times it was hard going, at times it was funny, at times you just didn't know what was going to happen next. It is the best book I think I have ever read and the best book of 2011 for me.

This was a book that I never wanted to end. Every paragraph I read, the more I loved it, the more I wanted to meet little Jack and the language that was used was perfect and made you actually believe his character and of course his Mum.

It was fantastically written and all I am hoping for, is a sequel! If you haven't read it yet, you can pick it up at Amazon: Amazon US link and Amazon.co.uk link

If you want to have a look around what "Room" is all about, have a wander around Room for yourself!