One of the ladies in my neighborhood has recently started selling Avon, and dropped off a couple of catalogs for me to look through. I haven’t used Avon products in years, but while we were talking my neighbor must have noticed how chapped my face and hands are, because she gave me some samples of skin cream.
The stuff I always use hasn’t been working very well this winter, so I tried them out. Both were so great I promptly put in an order for full-size versions, plus a couple of things I found while browsing through the catalog to see what else was in the product line.
Would I have ordered the products if I hadn’t tried them first? Probably not. For one thing, I’m cheap, and I don’t like spending money on something that may or may not work for me. The pictures in the catalog are pretty, but I can’t rub them on my dry skin to see what they’ll do.
I also liked the samples of the cologne from the Mark catalog (Avon’s line of products for youngsters) my neighbor gave me for my daughter to test. My girl is a young teen, and while I don’t mind her wearing a little makeup or cologne, I don’t want her walking around looking like a hooker or smelling like an opium den. Having access to the samples allowed her to see if she liked them and me a little parental preview (and we also ordered a bottle of one of the sample colognes we both liked.)
I’ve been an advocate of giving free books and stories to readers for a long time, and it really works the same way the Avon lady’s free samples do. If a reader gets a free read and loves it, they’re going to buy more by that author. If they don’t, there’s no sale, but no resentment, either. Now that we’re all tightening up our budgets and trying not to overspend, the opportunity to try out something for free before we buy is more important than ever.
Giving people something to read for free is one of the greatest pleasures I have as a professional writer. To me every book is someone’s gift to the world, so each time I have a giveaway, it’s like holding my own holiday and playing Publishing Santa.
Today I have a book tote filled with six books to give away; one unsigned novel from every member of Genreality plus a signed copy of my latest release:
A Long, Hard Ride by Alison Kent
Heretic: The Templar Chronicles by Joe Nassise
The Stolen by Jason Pinter
Kitty and the Dead Man’s Hand by Carrie Vaughn
Stay the Night by Lynn Viehl
Primal Male by Sasha White
If you’d like the chance to win this bag of Genreality free samples, in comments to this post name the last free story or novel that you enjoyed (or if you can’t think of one, just toss your name in the hat) by midnight EST on Saturday, February 28, 2009. I’ll draw one name at random from everyone who participates, and send the winner the bag, the books, and a surprise. Btw, this giveaway is open to everyone on the planet, so our friends overseas, please join in.
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Well, as it’s open to the planet…
I don’t recall ever receiving free books, unless you count the children’s books given out to my daughter when she first entered big (primary) school as part of a U.K. government iniative to try to get children reading more. I enjoyed them, never-the-less. But there aren’t that many opportunities to get free books around these parts. Even LibraryThing’s EarlyReaders offerings have never come through for me.
Recently I picked up a few excerpted mini-books on Second Life (I’m a second life newbie, and want to join in with the writing community there), but found much to my chagrin that I can’t read those books (attached to my head) properly.
I’m a new writer, wanting to write thriller or fantasy fiction, and also to up my own reading quantity for both pleasure and research. So I would appreciate any freebie books if lucky enough to be drawn for these. Thanks for the great blog – I read you on RSS, and for the opportunity to participate in this giveaway.
Michelle
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Yesterday I received an email from Tor inviting me to read the short story: The Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon by Ken Scholes (it’s available to all at tor.com). I get these emails every so often and, like you, I have a tendency to wish to sample before I buy so I decided to read it. And I loved it. I immediately went in search of Scholes’ book Lamentation, which is set in the same world. This comes hot on the heels for me on another email from Tor to read Firstborn by Brandon Sanderson (also available on the website.) I’d heard a lot about Mr. Sanderson since he took up the reins of the Wheel of Time series after the passing of Robert Jordan but I was concerned about the job he’d do because I had never read any of his work. Ladies, I fear no longer. Wheel of Time is in good hands.
Closer to the genre, http://www.harlequincelebrates.com/ is now offering several of their titles as downloads, including some they’ve labeled Suspense & Paranormal. I gathered these up yesterday but have not yet had an opportunity to read any of them.
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The last free book I received was a PDF of Spirit Gate, by Kate Elliott, as part of a promotion from… Tor, I think it was. Come to think of it, I haven’t finished reading it yet. I really should do that.
Throw my name in for the giveaway, please.
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Hmm last free book that I got was at Christmas, when this author I follow gave away a couple ebooks she had written at her website. She does this ALL the time.. kinda hard to keep up sometimes.
(Ravelin, btw, was super fun)
She’s also a big fan of these book giveaway things and keeps pushing other authors she likes onto her readers..
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Last Free read was on Sasha’s site – ABDUCTION, of course loved it!!!
I love to sample author’s, because like you I’m cheap and hate wasting money. I’ve gotten in the habit of reading the first 5-10 pages while standing in the book store to make sure it grabs me.
This is so cool – cause a few of the authors here I’m not familiar with.
Thanks Lynn.
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We hoard books like chipmunks, our unread pile takes up two 6′ bookshelves. Which makes the electronic versions of books nice, very small physical footprint, so the last free fiction book that I read was a romance (I can’t remember the author or title and the phone it too far away to look up) that I read on my phone while waiting in the hospital waiting room. It was perfect to pass the time.
Thanks to all for this blog!
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I’ve received a few books from contests – some I’ve really enjoyed and others not so much. I think the free writing that draws me to buy books these days comes from reading the author’s blog. If I hadn’t found yours, Lynn, I don’t think I ever would’ve picked up the Darkyn books (which led me to start buying the StarDoc series). Now I have a whole list of new-to-me writers to read, including some of the GenReality crew. =o)
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Wow. This is going to be hard because I’ve read so many freebies that I’ve loved, I’m not sure I can pick just one. Let’s see. There’s pretty much anything I’ve had a change to read on your Scribd account. From there, I’d have to say Lunar Marshall is probably on my favorite list.
From the free e-book challenge you had a couple years ago, I think I’d have to say Joely Sue Burkhardt’s The Horse Master. If the title sticks for that long, there’s a reason.
However, there have also been great podcasts freebies that I’ve enjoyed. Playing for Keeps by Mur Lafferty & Nocturnal by Scott Sigler are two that come immediately to mind.
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Well that’s easy – Incarnatio! I love all your free books. And I agree with you about the sampling. Right now I’m sticking mostly to authors I know I love and maybe a few that are recommended, like Larissa Ione. But the suggestions have to be from people I trust and you are one of them.
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Ann Somerville’s “Tom and Sean” and her other story about how they met. And yes, it makes me MUCH more likely to buy other stories from her, because I loved her writing, her characters, and her depiction of BDSM so much in these two short stories.
And then there’s Matthew Haldeman-Time’s free stories on his website. Yummy.
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20 Wishes, by Debbie M. I got it for review, and she is one of those ‘feel good’ authors I read. The kind where you end up feeling all warm and fuzzy when you’re done with the book.
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Wow I’ve received some really great free books it’s hard to choose just one. I guess I will just choose the last one received. The Wine Seekers by Linda Bilodeau.
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Let’s see the last freebie…that would be one of yours – Incarnatio!
Thanks for doing this Lynn – so cool – there are a few authors here that I haven’t read yet.
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I feel awful, I can’t remember the name of the author or story. But it was this fabulous, sexy reinterpretation of the Cinderella story. Cinderella is a witch, mostly good, a little bad. Prince has a spell on him that everyone loves him and sees him as perfect. They fall in love.
If anyone knows the author, please let me know and I’ll give her props. And please enter me in the contest.
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I really enjoyed Lilith Saintcrow’s serial novel, Selene. I had it on a convenient news feed and felt a bit sad when it ended!
I went to the Romantic Times con last year, and took advantage of the freebie room. I discovered several new authors and a whole publisher I didn’t know about. I’ve since picked up books from that publisher and most of the authors.
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I was reading some of your stuff on Scribd awhile back, which got me into the Darkyn series. I think I need to go back and read some more.
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Street Magic was the last one. It was an amazing little piece.
Jana
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While not the “last”, the most recent is “Kiss of Fury” by Deborah Cooke, which is waiting for me to finish reading the book I’m currently on.
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Incarnatio by Lynn Viehl was the last ebook I read and it was very good. Have to admit that Illumination is my favorite ebook.
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I’ve been very fortunate lately – lots of free books to read and review. One that I really enjoyed is a debut novel – The Girl She Used to Be, by David Cristofano. It’ll be out in March, I believe. =) More free books are always nice to have…
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The last free read I enjoyed was The Nympos of Rocky Flats by Mario Acevedo on the Eros website. And it did excatly as you descibed in your post above and made me want to read his other books. You have a great selection listed above. I am going to have to look into them when I get the chance.
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It’s difficult to choose only one… especially when I’m so tired I can`t even remember titles. But I think the last one I got is The Patriot Witch, and I haven’t read it yet.
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Wow — what a great bag of books! Thanks for the generous contest.
I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a free story or book, unless you count the ones I borrow from the library.
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The last free book I received is also the one I’ve enjoyed the most in the past couple of years. It’s called PRIVATE ARRANGEMENTS by Sherry Thomas. Highly recommended.
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hey-
Last free book I read was an ARC of The Immortal Prince, by Jennifer Fallon. Really fun stuff.
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The last free story I enjoyed was The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. He recorded the book while on tour and posted the clips on his web site. My son and I watched it together. It rocked! Loved it so much, we’re going out to buy the hardcover and do it again in print.
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The last six free ebooks I read are from harlequincelebrates.com. The actual last one was Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry.
I pick them up whenever I get the chance. I’ve read all of JA Konrath’s free novels and short story collection also. I’m following up on comments here to read some good ones.
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The last free sample I read was yours, Incarnatio. I should mention that Kelley Armstrong’s free stories (now published as Men of the Otherworld) persuaded me to buy into a new series when I was really on the fence about shelling out for the books. I think free stories are excellent ways to hook a reader on a series or offer something extra in between releases.
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The last free book I read was Instant Attraction by Jill Shalvis that I won from Smart Bitches. It was incredible. I love getting free books, especially of authors I’ve never read before. Then I don’t have to try and find them in the library and all that.
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Incarnatio by you and About a Dragon by by G.A. Aiken.
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Romance Divas does a “Free Read” promo – I found some fantastic reads there this year!
http://romancedivas.com/ebook2009.html
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A Free book I recieved was WISHES by Jude Deveraux. A friend I went to school with gave me that book after she was done with it and I have read nearly everything Jude Deveraux has written.
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Incarnito was the last one and as I discover this wonderful writer and her free books from online, I snag them like candy and have enjoyed each one. I pester my friends to try and enjoy, too.
Harlequin gave a free ebook away this past month and it’s queued up to be read.
Thanks for broadening my reading.