Readers who use a Kindle or Kindle App may find this free download of interest.
On Saturday March 13th, Julia’s Room is free to download. This is Pacific Standard Time not GMT so UK readers might have to wait for America to wake up before the download is available.
Julia’s Room is a novella by Michael Murray.
Michael is my husband and from time to time I undertake promotions of his books. As indie publishers we rely on word of mouth, Amazon reviews and the occasional freebie to try and get attention on planet Kindle.
We started publishing with Kindle Direct Publishing in 2012 and back then it was comparatively easy to get noticed. A typical free day would see several hundred downloads. In 2015 when we published “A Single To Filey” it raced to the top of the British Detectives Best Sellers in no time.
But in those days, the mainstream publishers weren’t interested in ebooks. In fact the book review pages of the newspapers were stuffed with articles assuring the reading public that ebooks were a whim and would soon go the way of the Sinclair C5. (Check here if you’re not old enough to remember!) Well, Kindle ebooks confounded that theory and have become an integral part of many readers’ libraries. And today the mainstream publishers not only have all their titles available as ebooks but they’ve converted most of their back catalogues as well.
Here are some reasons to include ebooks in your options if you don’t read them already.
You can read a free sample of any book you’re interested in before you commit to paying for it or investing your time in it. The sample is a lot longer than the number of pages you would probably be able to read for free in a book shop. Although, of course, if you’ve still got access to a public library you can read the whole book for free. That’s assuming the library has the title you’re interested in on their shelves.
With an ebook you can make the font size bigger so you won’t need reading glasses any more.
An ereader is light and easy to carry around. It will hold hundreds of books and is fantastic when you go away visiting or on holiday as there are no restrictions on the amount of books you can take with you. (Although, you’ll be so busy socialising when Lockdown ends that you probably won’t have time for reading if you go on holiday. Meanwhile…..)
The battery on my Kindle lasts for ages especially with the wifi turned off and it re-charges quickly.
There’s an integral dictionary in the Kindle which is easy to use and very convenient.
One of the great things about ebooks is that new books are always available. Not only can you download them at all hours of day and night and on every day of the year but you don’t have to wait for a re-print of a runaway bestseller either.
One night we were watching a TV documentary about New York in 1951. Marlon Brando, Jackson Pollock, Thelonious Monk and Jack Kerouac featured prominently in the programme which ended at 10pm. We were talking about the programme for about half an hour before acknowledging that neither of us had read Kerouac’s apparent masterpiece On the Road. A couple of clicks later we were being mesmerised by the opening sentences and an Amazon One-Click after that and we were both in possession of the book. And were well on the way to putting right a great omission in our joint literary education.
If you don’t want to buy a Kindle you can get a free Kindle app for your iPad, phone, laptop or whichever device you have.
I’m supposed to be writing a promo for Julia’s Room by Michael Murray which is free to download on Saturday 13th March. Here’s a five star review from an Amazon reader:
Set in the hey day of Fleet Street, at a time when women could be even more sexist than men, this was compelling reading. Fantastic characters who, frankly, deserve to have their own stories told. Dominating all was the narrator’s obsession with the enigmatic, yet worldly Julia, who collects men’s hearts as other women collect shoes. However, when a romance becomes too serious, Julia poses an all important question. Infatuated men are advised “to think carefully before you respond. Our future together depends on your answer.” How can you not love this woman? Once again, effortless prose allows readers to enter the story, experience the heady atmosphere of a gossip hungry newspaper office, and stroll through London with the extremely likable – and lively – narrator. A flawless little gem that leaves you wanting more.
If you’d like to read Julia’s Room click this link and it will take you to the Amazon UK book page.
(If you’re reading this blog post on Sunday or later, check carefully that Julia’s Room is still free. Actually it’s only 99p anyway so it won’t break the bank!)
Thanks for reading my blog today. Hope your day is going well. If you’re stocking up your Kindle for the holiday season visit our website for details of some books you might have missed.
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