Solar Lullaby: Free until Jan. 24

Below, see how one Amazon reviewer described my short story, SOLAR LULLABY, which is now a stand-alone Kindle ebook. You can get a FREE  e-copy today through Tuesday on Amazon!

~~Red Alert~~

Kindle short story

Dr. Flare Haich works in an underground lab dubbed the Triple S for its unique design. It has been years since the Mayan Event destroyed a half billion people. She works on a project called the Empress which deals with electro magnetic pulse radiation. It is also worth mentioning that her parents were both dedicated researchers in this area, as well. In her father’s journal, he describes with great detail his findings concerning a sentient being….

“Red Alert” notifies the ones in the lab that a huge EMP is on its way! Sometimes it is extremely difficult to convince the higher-ups that an event will occur. Bureaucracy at its finest!

Love the ending of this one. Absolutely incredible. I also love a story that conveys so much meaning with few words.

Most highly recommended.--A Navy Vet, VT

SOLAR LULLABY is also available in print and audio via Amazon.

Authors: How to offer free ebooks

By T.W. Fendley

Today's topic of "how to offer free ebooks" is one that puzzled me when I first started marketing my debut novel last October, and I've since seen several other new authors struggling with it. I quickly determined that giveaways on Goodreads, blog tours and contests would be one of the best ways to increase my book's exposure to readers and book reviewers.

As an avid reader, I was already a fan of bookstore gift cards, but those didn't really help me promote MY book. Fortunately, most online book retailers offer a way to gift specific ebooks, but each retailer is slightly different. For that reason, it becomes important to have the "right" email address for the recipient and information on what ebook format they use. This is often where readers seem to get confused (at least, I guess that's why they don't claim the books they've won).

As an author, getting accounts with the major online booksellers is step one.

Okay, let's start with Amazon, the 500-pound gorilla in the room.

Amazon: Sending a Kindle ebook can be very easy. First, select the Kindle edition of the book you want to send from the online listing. In the green box on the right, click the gold "Give As A Gift" button. After you sign in to your Amazon account, you'll see the option to "Email the gift directly to my recipient" or "Email the gift to me."  You can send a personalized message if you choose to send it directly, and the recipient will be notified immediately that the book is available.

The tricky part of sending an ebook directly to the recipient (which gets it to their Kindle seamlessly) is getting their Amazon email address. This is the email address they use to order books from Amazon, and NOT the email address that ends in "kindle.com" for posting personal documents to their Kindle.   

Barnes & Noble: Pick the Nook book version. Under the orange "BUY NOW" button, you'll see a "Buy As Gift" option. Sign in, create a personalized message, and provide your recipient's email address. After you buy, B&N will instantly email them to let them know you sent a gift.

All Romance/Omnilit: This multiformat bookseller offers a variety of options for those with eReaders other than Kindle and Nook (but including those, too). You can gift a particular eBook by first purchasing for yourself. Then click on the little present icon next to the title in your library to send the gift to someone else. The giftee will receive a special notification via email with a custom message designed by you. If they already have an account with either All Romance or OmniLit, the title will display in their library. If they don't, they'll be invited to open an account and find their book waiting for them.

An overview of what file formats are used by the different eReaders is also available on Fictionwise.

For people who don't have dedicated eReaders, free downloads make eReaders available to smart phones, tablets and computers. Links to some of the popular free apps (including Kindle & Nook) are available on my author's website.
   

If you're an author, please share any tricks you've learned about gifting your ebooks, or any difficulties you've encountered. I know Smashwords and some of the other self-pub tools have coupons that make gifting easy, but I'd love to learn more about this process.

Thanks for reading The Writers' Lens. Your comments will enter you in this week's giveaway contest for Jo Hiestand's latest British mystery, TORCH SONG.

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This is T.W. Fendley. You can also find me at www.twfendley.com and on Twitter @twfendley

A Maya giveaway to celebrate new year!

It's a little-known fact, but a new year begins today on the Maya Haab calendar. That's the 365-day calendar they use to keep track of civil matters and agricultural cycles, not the widely publicized 5,125-year Long Count calendar that will end on Dec. 21, 2012.  

To celebrate the Maya New Year (and the end of the five unlucky days that bring the Haab year to a close), this week's giveaway is an ebook copy of my historical fantasy novel, ZERO TIME:

As Zero Time nears, only Keihla Benton can save two worlds from the powers of Darkness. But first she must unlock the secrets of Machu Picchu and her own past. 

Here's what some readers are saying about ZERO TIME:

Breathtaking scope, thrilling action! - A Writer (5 STAR Amazon review)

“I wasn’t supposed to like this book, because I’m not a fan of 2012-ism. But a friend told me about it in gushing terms, and before I knew what I was doing, I was 25% in on my Kindle and unable to stop reading…”

– Al-G (4 STAR Library Thing review)

“After all the hype (over-hype?) about the end of the Mayan calendar and the end of the world as we know it (pun intended), I thought the last thing I would want to read was a book about the end of the Mayan calendar and the end of the world as we know it. I was wrong.”

–Peter H. Green (The Green Grapevine)

“For those who like to stretch their imaginations—and who doesn’t?—this novel is a fascinating and compelling read. You’d better get it and read it before December 21, 2012. Who knows what the Sixth Long Passage may hold in store?”

To enter the contest, simply leave a comment or question on any of The Writers' Lens posts between April 2, and midnight April 7, 2012. Please include your email so we can reach you if you win. The more comments you leave, the greater YOUR chance of winning the contest. The winner will be chosen after midnight on Saturday and the announcement made on Sunday, April 8.

OTHER CONTESTS: Maximize your chances to win by also entering my Goodreads giveaway before April 13 for a signed print copy and these other ebook contests, offered as part of the ZERO TIME Virtual Book Tour Party:

• Terri Bruce Net (Terri Bruce) – March 29 until 8 p.m. Eastern Time on Wed., April 4!
  
• The Realms of a Fantastical Mind (E.M. LaBonte) — April 1-15!