Saturday, October 23, 2010

Planet iPad Daily Free Book Alert, Saturday, October 23: Homeland: The Legend of Drizzt, Book I by bestselling Dark Fantasy author R.A. Salvatore, plus The Brightest Moon of the Century by Christopher Meeks (Today's Sponsor), and over 100 more fully updated and category-sorted free Kindle ebook listings

By Stephen Windwalker, Publisher


One recurring myth about free offerings in the Kindle Store is the "you get what you pay for" myth, supporting the claim that the only books that turn up free are those that could never get a following if people had to pay real money for them. In fact, authors and publishers are increasingly aware of the benefits of providing one free title by a prolific, highly regarded author as a way of introducing the world's greatest readers to that author's other work. That's what is going on with the very popular offering by R.A. Salvatore -- who has about 40 other titles available in the Kindle Store -- that leads Planet iPad's Free Book Alert listings today....

But first, a word from ... Today's Sponsor

by Christopher Meeks


(Ed. Note: Talk about serendipity. I received an email from an author just last night, in which she mentioned that she had written a "literary fiction" novel, and wondered how that would go over with the citizens of Planet iPad Nation. I told her that my own tastes are pretty ecumenical, and that the same was true for many readers here, and that the same readers who have sent romances and hard-boiled suspense novels soaring into the Kindle Store Movers and Shakers' list have done the same for great literary fiction like Tonya Plank's Swallow and even for literary erotica like Rena Walmsley's Girl on Fire. The truth is that Kindle and iPad owners are the greatest readers in the world, and that Kindle Nation and Planet iPad readers are the 
crème de la crème among all Kindle and iPad owners, and many of us, frankly, do not pay much attention to genre. I for one am able to be fully entertained by the work of Joe Konrath, Robert Parker, Stieg Larsson, and Suzanne Collins and then turn without missing a beat to enjoy Emma Donoghue, Richard Ford, Francine Prose, or Jonathan Franzen, and there are plenty of other ebook readers whose tastes run even wider. Fans of DeLillo, Joyce, Lawrence, Sue Miller, William H. Gass, Toni Morrison, and other authors from around the world? We're all here!   

The funny thing is that as I was responding to that author's email, I hadn't checked the calendar to see who today's sponsor would be, and it had been a couple of weeks since I had read The Brightest Moon of the Century, the enchanting literary novel that serves as today's sponsor. Here, among the greatest readers in the world, a great read is a great read and genre is secondary. And if you miss The Brightest Moon of the Century, you'll be missing a great read and an introduction to a master story teller. --S.W.)

Here's the set-up:

In a book that covers four decades like a John Irving novel, with humor reminiscent of Nick Hornby, Christopher Meeks’s The Brightest Moon of the Century follows Edward, a young Minnesotan. He needs a place in the universe, but he also wants an understanding of women. He stumbles into romance in high school, careens through dorm life in college, whirls into a tornado of love problems as a mini-mart owner in a trailer park in Alabama, and aims for a film career in Los Angeles.

"Charming and endlessly entertaining” 
-- The Midwest Book Review

“I have to say I’ve gone from being an admirer of his work to a full-blown fan bordering on groupie.” 
— Marc Schuster, Small Press Reviews
“Christopher Meeks chronicles one man’s path to middle-age and, in doing so, illustrates how choices and circumstances—even those that seem arbitrary at the time—have a way of irrevocably cementing a person’s future.” — Cherie Parker, Minneapolis Star Tribune
"Christopher Meeks has produced up to now two of the finest, most intelligent, entertaining, and socially sensitive collections of short stories (THE MIDDLE-AGED MAN AND THE SEA and MONTHS AND SEASONS). For those of us who have become Meeks devotees based on these short stories, the anticipation of a full-length novel has been both exciting and a bit dubious. It is an entirely different challenge to carry a character and a few ideas, well developed as they are in Meeks' hands, along a path that justifies a complete novel. But with THE BRIGHTEST MOON OF THE CENTURY Christopher Meeks has crossed that bridge so successfully that his stance in the echelon of new important American writers seems solidly secure." -- Amazon Top 10 Reviewer Grady Harp
Christopher Meeks was born in Minnesota, earned degrees from the University of Denver and USC, and has lived in Los Angeles since 1977. He's taught English at Santa Monica College, and creative writing at CalArts, UCLA Extension, Art Center College of Design, and USC. His fiction has appeared often in Rosebud magazine as well as other literary journals, and his books have won several Noble (not Nobel) Awards. His short works have been collected into two volumes, "The Middle-Aged Man and the Sea" and "Months and Seasons," the latter which appeared on the long list for the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award. He's had three plays produced, and "Who Lives?: A Play" is available in the Kindle Store. His focus is now on longer fiction, and his first novel is "The Brightest Moon of the Century."
Click here to download The Brightest Moon of the Century (or a free sample) to your Kindle, iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, BlackBerry, Android-compatible, PC or Mac and start reading within 60 seconds!
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Each day's list is sponsored by one paid title. We encourage you to support our sponsors and thank you for considering them. 

Authors, Publishers, iPad Accessory Manufacturers:
Interested in learning more about sponsorship? Just click on this link for more information.


The 25 Newest Free Book Titles in the Kindle Store 

The Holy Bible English Standard Version (ESV)
By: Crossway Bibles
Added: 10/21/2010 2:01:19pm
The Promise: Make Your Life Rich by Discovering Your Best Self
By: Victor Davich
Added: 10/20/2010 2:01:04pm
Beyond Eden
By: Catherine Coulter
Added: 10/20/2010 4:01:01am
Spy Killer
By: L. Ron Hubbard
Added: 10/19/2010 4:01:12am
Preacher Creature Strikes on Sunday
By: Mike Thaler
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
Chosen Ones
By: Alister E. McGrath
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
Naomi and Her Daughters: A Novel
By: Walter Wangerin Jr.
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
I Quit!: Stop Pretending Everything Is Fine and Change Your Life
By: Geri Scazzero
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
The Land Between: Finding God in Difficult Transitions
By: Jeff Manion
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
The Malacca Conspiracy
By: Don Brown
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
Never Blame the Umpire
By: Gene Fehler
Added: 10/18/2010 2:01:05pm
The Choice (Lancaster County Secrets, Book 1)
By: Suzanne Woods Fisher
Added: 10/18/2010 4:01:07am
Mozart's Sister
By: Nancy Moser
Added: 10/18/2010 4:01:07am
How to Not Make Bad Decisions
By: Sydney Finkelstein
Added: 10/18/2010 4:01:07am
Stumbling On Wins in Football
By: David J. Berri
Added: 10/18/2010 4:01:07am
Chinatown Beat
By: Henry Chang
Added: 10/16/2010 2:01:04pm
Every Word (A Free Game for Kindle)
By: Amazon Digital Services
Added: 10/15/2010 2:01:09pm
Shuffled Row (A Free Game for Kindle)
By: Amazon Digital Services
Added: 10/15/2010 2:01:09pm
Emotions: Freedom from Anger, Jealousy & Fear
By: Osho
Added: 10/15/2010 4:01:12am
An Unwanted Hunger
By: Ciana Stone
Added: 10/15/2010 4:01:12am
The Lord Is My Shepherd: The Psalm 23 Mysteries
By: Debbie Viguie
Added: 10/13/2010 2:01:17pm
Quiet As They Come (Free Story for Kindle)
By: Angie Chau
Added: 10/13/2010 4:01:25am
Frankie Pickle and the Mathematical Menace
By: Eric Wight
Added: 10/12/2010 4:01:08am
Lucky for Good
By: Susan Patron
Added: 10/12/2010 4:01:08am
Relentless (Dominion Trilogy #1)
By: Robin Parrish
Added: 10/11/2010 8:17:57am
The Power of a Whisper: Hearing God, Having the Guts to Respond
By: Bill Hybels
Added: 10/11/2010 8:17:57am
Tahn: A Novel
By: L. A. Kelly
Added: 10/11/2010 8:17:57am
Sin's Daughter
By: Eve Silver
Added: 10/09/2010 4:01:20am
CEB New Testament
By: Common English Bible
Added: 10/08/2010 4:01:14am
Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery
By: James R. Benn
Added: 10/08/2010 4:01:14am
The Holy Bible: HCSB Digital Text Edition
By: B&H Publishing Group
Added: 10/07/2010 4:01:07am
Publish on Amazon Kindle with the Digital Text Platform
By: Amazon.com
Added: 10/05/2010 4:01:23am
Mr. Darcy's Diary
By: Amanda Grange
Added: 10/05/2010 4:01:23am
FORTUNE IS A WOMAN [Keeping Mr. Right] (Optimized & Ad-Free)
By: Francine Saint Marie
Added: 10/05/2010 4:01:23am
Sandman Slim with Bonus Content
By: Richard Kadrey
Added: 10/05/2010 4:01:23am
Thoughts on The Promise and Darkness On The Edge Of Town
By: Bruce Springsteen
Added: 10/03/2010 2:01:31pm

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