Spring into a new e-book!

WRITING FICTION: An informal panel, Saturday, April 6, beginning at noon at the Reading Public Library, featuring Christopher Hinz, Mary Beth Matteo, and Gale Martin  (more below...) View this email in your browser

So, you have an e-reader?

A few great places to grab e-book bargains True confessions. I never thought I would enjoy reading a book on an e-reader. After I published my first novel in print and e-book, I relented, wanting to see what e-readers experienced since I sold more e-books than print copies. So I downloaded the Kindle and Nook apps on my laptop computer,  and then I downloaded myself. (Read all about it here). The free apps for MAC and PC are okay--they're free, after all. However, reading an e-book on an iPad is a surprisingly enjoyable experience. After receiving an iPad as a gift, I began looking in earnest for places to find free and bargain books. The Apple/Amazon juggernaut makes it incredibly easy and painless  to buy books, that is, until the credit card statement arrives. Read all about this PhD in The Boston Globe's "Bibliophiles" section, who admitted drunk dialing Agatha Christie after too many nightcaps. So, what's a prolific reader to do? Find websites where you can download free and bargain e-books. Lots of authors, myself included, offer selected Free Kindle download days on Amazon. There are some wonderful websites that catalog Kindle Freebies and/or deals and update them several times a day. Some of my favorite sites are Digital Book Today (who ran awonderful interview of yours truly), Pixel of Ink (where GRACE UNEXPECTED was named a hot deal recently), and Cents-ible e-Reads (which featured DON JUAN IN HANKEY, PA, including a cool audio clip.) On Sunday, March 24, GRACE UNEXPECTED will be featured onBookBub, a site featuring free and bargain bestsellers for e-readers, where you can pick up my newest novel for only 99 cents. One of the most handy things about BookBub is that you can have a daily email send to your preferred inbox featuring the deals of the day. If you're on Facebook, you can LIKE all those sites I mentioned and daily deals will appear in your Facebook feed. While I still enjoy my print books, I no longer consider it criminal to read a book on an e-reader. The only real crime against books is not to read them at all.

"WRITING FICTION” | Reading, PA An informal panel discussion When: Saturday, April 6 at noon Where: Reading Public Library, Fifth and Franklin Streets From women’s fiction to science fiction, from crafting short stories to creating novels, three southeastern Pennsylvania authors--Christopher Hinz, Mary Beth Matteo, and Gale Martin--discuss the writing process, paths to publication, their passion for the writing life and much more. About my fellow panelists:  CHRISTOPHER HINZ writes science fiction novels, comic books and screenplays. His debut effort, Liege-Killer, published by St. Martin’s Press, won the Compton Crook Award for best first novel. He has published five novels, scripted comics for publishers DC and Marvel, and sold and optioned screenplays. MARY BETH MATTEO specializes in short fiction and has been published widely in literary circles, including theAntietam Review, South Carolina Review, Nebraska Reviewand other literary journals. She was a finalist in the Catholic National Association of Presses for Literary Fiction.

Don Juan in Hankey, PA, waiting to be read at the Pope's summer home, Castel Gandolfo. Some light fiction for the Pope Emeritus? I blogged about my Scottish nana's famous shortbread, heirloom recipe included. 2013 Author Events Saturday, 4/6 - Panelist of Fiction Writers, Reading Public Library, 12 pm, Reading, PA Friday, 4/26 - Guest Speaker, AAUW Book and Author Luncheon, Willingboro, New Jersey  Saturday, 7/13 -  BookFestPA, State College, 10 am to 5 pm Thursday, 10/24 - Author Event, Alvernia University Literary Festival, Reading, Pennsylvania See my other author appearances here. Look for my upcoming interview onSavvy Writers & e-Books Online on Saturday, March 23, 2013.

Lovely new review for GRACE UNEXPECTED: "Gale does such an amazing job at crafting realistic characters but adding a fun little flair to each of them. I loved the time that Grace spent in the Shaker village and I found the idea quite interesting and unique ." --Chick Lit Plus My Next Big Thing . . .  is a cozy mystery about the murder of a leading Tom Jones impersonator called WHO KILLED TOM JONES? Read more about this work-in-progress on my website. Interestingly, after I ran a mini-excerpt on my blog, I was contacted by the president of the real Tom Jones' biggest fan website, a writer named Ellen Sterling. She put me in touch with a real-life Tom Jones impersonator (or tribute artist as they like to be called) Steve McCoy, who now has a cameo in the novel. I continue to enjoy reviewing opera for the UK-based arts website, Bachtrack.com, the world's best way to find live classical music.  You can find all my opera reviews for Bachtrack here. Facebook Twitter Website Email