BookFace: Short stories compiled by Andrew Lang (courtesy of Feedbooks)

The Blue Fairy Book ***The Yellow Fairy Book

The Violet Fairy Book *** The Arabian Nights

Freebies to grab...

THIS IS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR FREE DOWNLOAD for Australia, Canada, and US regions. Unfortunately, it is NOT FREE but with a discounted price of $2 each for Asia & the Pacific, including MiddleEast and Africa.

Please note that due to copyright restrictions, the registration status of Amazon Kindle and its current location (while travelling/in transit) are the basis for free downloads. For instance, if you are travelling from elsewhere to United Kingdom (UK) with your Kindle, you cannot purchase thru Amazon.co.uk but you can use the Amazon.com, otherwise you change your Amazon account previous location to current address or transfer your Kindle registration/account to Amazon.co.uk.

However, even if you did not change your Kindle registration status, and your Kindle (being detected thru wireless connection) is outside these regions, you can not avail the free download from Amazon.com. In other words, both the account registration and the location of the Kindle should be the same region to avail these freebies, but sometimes freebies are available both in UK and US regions from Amazon.com and can be downloaded without any fuss, ONLY if your Kindle is registered in the US.

UPDATES: (27/01/11) Ive noticed that some of these books are already free in UK region since yesterday, even using Amazon.co.uk.

Newsbits: Ebook Freebies

CHECK OUT AGAIN FOR NEW EBOOKS for free downloads. Aside from the classic ebooks such as: A Christmas Carol, Les Miserables, The Phantom of Opera, there are also ebooks that are offered free at a limited time from both Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk within the UK region only.

REMINDER: As of posting, these ebooks are available from both US and UK Amazon sites free for downloads. You need to open an account with Amazon before you could purchase as "free" price. Since my Kindle is registered in the US and with an account in Amazon.com, I could still download them free of charge, even though I'm travelling in the UK; unfortunately, not available in the US region.

Click here to find out more free and discounted ebooks

RJ Silver: The author behind the princess and the penis

THIS IS AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH RJ SILVER, the author of the two popular ebook short stories available for free download from the various ebook sharing websites such as Manybooks and Smashwords.

For the record (as of posting): After posted four weeks ago, The Princess and the Penis (P&P) has hit #1 in short humor over and number #2 in humor overall ranking at Smashwords. In addition, P&P has been number #1 over at Feedbooks in weekly downloads for its first two weeks there; and currently the # 3 at Manybooks. Finally, it has downloaded over 2,500 times in the past two weeks, and average of 1,500 reads per week.

And because of that, I personally contacted RJ for a quick interview, just to know more about the writer behind P&P success. So, please welcome RJ Silver - he is currently enjoying the Thai's Singha beer!

1. When did you first realize you wanted to be a writer? I was 19. I’d been out of school for four years (I left when I was 15), and had just completed a major portion of my self-education at night and on-weekends. Part of that education included teaching myself how to program computers, which left me two passions: that and literature. Ultimately, I loved literature more, so decided to make that my main goal while using computers to support me. As it turned out, people were willing to pay me a lot in the computer business and, so far, very little as a writer. But I refuse to “love the one I’m with”, as the song says, and continue working on my writing.

2. How long does it take you to write a book? It depends. My first draft of stories like The Princess & the Penis or The Ballerina, the Gymnast, and the Yoga Master typically take me about a month. Then there are the rewrites, which can be quite time-consuming and quite a bit more unpredictable. The thing with humor stories like these two is that you can’t misplace or misuse a single word or it spoils the effect, so polishing can take a couple of months part-time (best to leave it for a while in between reads).


3. What is your work schedule like when you're writing? Every day I get up early (I’m answering these questions at 4:00 a.m.) and spend my first three or four hours on writing (i.e. my best energy of the day). Then I roll over to 8 hours of computer work (sigh), and try to work in a few hours of story marketing (or, should I say, learning about marketing). If you add those up, it comes to about 14 hours a day, 7 days a week, which is a lot, but I’m not alone. I suspect every dedicated part-time writer probably does the same.

4. What would you say is your interesting writing quirk? Probably that I often spend hours pacing rapidly back and forth, laughing to myself as I consider the many possibilities for humorous lines and situations in my stories. I think most people, if they saw me doing that, would conclude I was a ranting madman.

5. How do books get published? Wow, big subject. I’d say most get published via the path I’d taken with my thriller novels, i.e. find a good agent and let him/her take care of the rest. But it’s not a healthy industry – at least it wasn’t. The marketing execs are/were in control, not book lovers, which puts too much pressure on writers to write to a marketing slot/template and effectively suppresses one’s creativity. That’s why I’ve switched to humor and self-publishing. I now write for solely for joy to give joy, and am content to let the publishing chips fall where they may.

6. Where do you get your information or ideas for your books? Well, I have to admit it’s the humor element that spurs most of my ideas. I simply think up strange but comic situations (like the phallic lump in the princess’s bed), and then start to explore what people might do in those situations. But it’s the moral element that determines whether a story gets published. If in my quest for humor, I end up creating anything that’s negative in any way (crass, offensive, or potentially hurtful in the slightest), I put the story aside even if I have months of work into it. That’s why The Princess & the Penis and The Ballerina, the Gymnast, and the Yoga Master have strong moral centers in addition to their humor. I actually have one story that’s funnier than either of those, but I won’t release it because it has the potential to be slightly offensive, which I don’t condone (i.e. it’s not consistent with writing for joy to give joy).

7. When did you write your first book and how old were you? I wrote my first book when I was 19, basically following my realization that I loved literature more than anything else. Up until then, I was just an avid reader.

8. What do you like to do when you're not writing? Mostly travel and learn about different cultures. For example, I lived in China two years ago and currently live in Thailand.

9. What does your family think of your writing? My blood relatives have been extremely supportive, but it’s been hard on my romantic relationships. I do very well in the computer business when I’m working, but every time I save up money, I take off on another wild adventure to learn and write, and most women eventually grow tired of such shenanigans. They see my earning potential in computers and think more highly of that (i.e. as a potential mate) than they do of my low-paying writing exploits, which eventually leads to conflict and me heading for the exit sign. I don’t at all blame them for that stance, but what can I say? One has to follow one’s heart.

10. What was one of the most surprising things you learned in creating your books? How much hard work it requires. There’s an internal debate over literally every word in my stories, and that’s on top of detailed planning re: plots, characters, etc. Being a computer programmer, I’m pretty a little more methodical than most writers that way, some of whom I know are so creative they can just sit down and let it flow. I can’t. I have to squeeze it out of me.

11. How many books have you written? Which is your favorite? Ten thriller novels, the first eight of which you can throw away as me learning my craft. Number nine helped me acquire a top agent and opened a lot of doors for me at the world’s biggest publishers, but they were too afraid to publish because of its controversial content. Number ten was me writing to their template/spec, which sickened me so much, it turned me into a humor author. Four delightful children’s books (co-authored), that I hope will soon see the light of day again in this new environment (though under a different name, as I can’t sanction any connection between adult humor books with sexual elements and children’s books). And five humor short stories, only two of which meet the humor/morality bar I’ve set for myself (the two that are out now). Finally, I’m currently working on three more humor pieces, the first of which should be out the end of this month.

12. Do you have any suggestions to help me become a better writer? If so, what are they?Only one: write from the heart. That’ll not only make you a better writer, it’ll make you happier, too.

13. Do you hear from your readers much? What kinds of things do they say? I’m starting to. Keep in mind, the RJ Silver humor stories have only been out for less than a month, but, amazingly, I’m already up to 1500 page views a week on my website (www.rjsilver.com) and rising, so I’m now getting emails/comments daily. Mostly, they’re just supportive. My favorite, by far, is when people tell me that one of the stories gave them a humorous, one-hour escape from something stressful or depressing, as that fulfills my core mandate of writing for joy to give joy.

14. Do you like to create books for adults? Yes, though, the truth is, I generally try to connect to the child in them.

15. What do you think makes a good story? In my case, humor, heart, humanity. I believe people want first and foremost to be entertained, but also generally prefer if what’s entertaining them also has substance.

16. As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up? Mostly, until 19, I sought freedom and adventure, not a specific career goal. As mentioned, that didn’t occur until I was 19.

17. In particular, I want to know what it is your motivation in writing the two short stories: The Princess and the Penis, and the Ballerina, the Gymnast, and the Yoga Master? How long it take to finish these stories in the final form? Well, P& P, when you stop to think about it, is first a very funny situation (and not just the presence of the phallic lump, but also the reactions/personalities involved), but it’s also about Amalia following her heart, but with respect to her rejecting something everyone is encouraging her to do but which she ultimately feels is bad (i.e. marrying Prince Rupert), and embracing something everyone feels is bad but she senses is good (i.e. the penis). With BGYM, the message is about putting aside the superficial (Vincent’s fantasy-driven relationships), in favor of something real (true love with his pudgy, chocoholic poet), with the humor coming mostly from the hilarious implosions of those earlier fantasies.


NOTE: RJ, THANK YOU VERY MUCH for this rare opportunity for having you in my blogsite. Good luck and we are looking forward to your next story!

Stuck on you: short stories from Jeffrey Archer

TO START WITH THE FIRST DAY OF 2011, I purchased the latest kindle edition of Jeffrey Archer's Stuck On you - a collection of short stories from Amazon.com. Just click the photo at the left to find out more.

Honestly, I love Archer's style of writing like his novels: Kane and Abel, Sons of Fortune, and the Prodigal Daughter; to his short stories collections: A Quiver Full of Arrows, Cat O'Nine Tales, and Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less.

Surprisingly, this kindle edition is not expensive compare to his previous books. Im not sure if this is only an introductory price and maybe later on it will be increased. At the moment, the price from Amazon.com is $1.56 while in Amazon.co.uk (British site) is 0.99 sterling pound (99 pence).

I have also noticed that every day Amazon. com offers free ebook copies in a limited period of time (few hours, or days) and some of them are very good read, and most of the time, Im not lucky to catch these freebies. I tried to browse thousands of books listed under freebies top selection and majority of them are the classical ones and very easy to download thru my laptop.

Just beware that there are existing sites (personal blogs or commercial sites) advertising freebies or providing links to Amazon website for free ebooks download BUT THE TRUTH is that these ebooks ARE NOT FREE AT ALL. It seems that the database is outdated of ebooks that were previously posted as free during the past months. I dont know but I feel that these sites are not providing accurate information, eve though that it was cleared in the postings that it is not guaranteed for free download at the time of browsing. Do not be misguided by these advertising tricks and verify it first or click each ebook individually to confirm its current price.

In my case, I make sure with my best ability that the ones I shared here in my blog is valid and I personally confirmed that the book is downloadable at the time of posting, REGARDLESS OF YOUR LOCATION (Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk) will provide an alert message if this is restricted to other regions, outside US). If there are changes, then I have to do necessary updates for that particular post.

ANYWAY, IF YOU ARE a fan of Jeffrey Archer, his latest short stories is a best grab to start your 2011 - the Year of the Rabbit, and please expect my book review very soon!

UPDATES: For UK Kindle users, Amazon.co.uk is offering some good ebooks for less than one sterling pound. Check it out HERE. Again, this is as of January 01, 2011.