Category: Books (Page 1 of 3)

Top Ebooks for your mobile device


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As smartphones gradually replace many other necessities in our daily lives – such as the GPS, pocket organizer, address book and more, phones are also replacing entertainment. From watching movies, to enjoying music to reading books – it can all be done via phone, and many of the books are absolutely free. No one that owns a smartphone will ever again be stuck waiting at the airport or auto repair shop without something good to read.

To take advantage of these new eBook offerings, simply choose an eBook reader from your smartphone, such as the T-Mobile 4G phones, and download it. This allows you to download and read eBooks. Some are paid and some are completely free, and here are the top downloads out of the offerings that are entirely no-charge.

Light Through the Cracks

The fictional tale by Rebecca Raymer chronicles the story of a young woman named Lucy who runs away from an abusive home and winds up living in her car, pregnant with her drug dealer’s child. Full of surprises, this story brings heartbreak and sorrow, joy and laughter and many other emotions.

Broken

This Sci-Fi fantasy by Racheal Daigle is the fourth book in the Fated Saga. Full of suspense, this novel is about bonds that ought never to be broken.

101 Ways to Make Love to Yourself

A self-improvement book by Shevy Cardoza, it tells how to begin loving yourself and treating yourself right after coming through serious issues of self-doubt, depression and deep feelings of worthlessness. For anyone recovering from low self-esteem, eating disorders and other emotional problems, this books helps lead the way to true, fulfilling joy.

Colonel’s Book of Jokes and Trivia

This humorous book by Alok Kumor is a great way to pass the time, the perfect solution for a quick pick-me-up, and the jokes and interesting trivial facts are certain to make it into everyday conversations and speaking engagements you might have.

Dimension Shifter

This fiction novel by T.M. Neilson takes place in a world where the dimensions are in total uproar and magic has been outlawed. As an illegal magic user, Kyrin is forced to travel from dimension to dimension to avoid the law – which is determined to kill her for her illegal activities. Water is scarce in this world, making things even tougher.

Shifting

A fictional story by Rachel Daigle, this book is about the shifting of the world of magic. Everything is changing, and not for the better, yet it is three years before the doorway back home opens up.

Other Titles

No matter what genre of books you’re into, there are definitely titles out there waiting for you to enjoy. EReader apps make it satisfying to “flip” pages in a natural motion, and many allow you to expand the text on the screen for larger print, or reduce the size to get more text on the page at the same time. Read the features of the eReader you’re considering for download to see what features it offers and how other users rate the app.
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Review of “A Roman Peace in Briton: Blood on the Stone” by Dana Burgess

When I finished my first novel, “A Roman Peace in Briton: Blood on the Stone”, I must admit that I was quite pleased with myself. Little did I know that writing the novel was the easy part.  I quickly learned that marketing and selling the novel is where an author makes their hay, so to speak.  A huge part of marketing in today’s publishing world, is convincing the more credible book reviewers to take a gander at one’s work.  As one published author recently shared with me, “A book review is worth a thousand ads.”

To that end, about a month ago I sent out a stack of my books to willing reviewers. Of course, I didn’t expect immediate results as I know how busy reviewers can be, many juggling careers, writing their own novels, and writing reviews.  Yours truly has his own stack of books that I intend on whittling down and churning out reviews on.  Be that as it may, here is one of the first reviews to emerge of “A Roman Peace in Briton: Blood on the Stone”, by Dana Burgess of Let’s Book it.

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“The Devil Colony” book review

Written by New York Times best selling author, James Rollins, The Devil Colony continues the legacy of Painter Crowe and his crack team of military veterans, patriotic scientists and intellectuals, all of which comprise The Sigma Force: a secretive, black-op organization who match brains and brawn with the enemies of freedom.   Admittedly, I was a tad skeptical when publicist and media guy, Mike Farley, queried whether I was interested in reviewing the novel.   Why was that?  Because in my estimation, it’s generally difficult for an author to maintain quality momentum when writing a series, particularly a series that stretches beyond three or four books, regardless of how invested a reader becomes in the characters in the initial installment.  You know of what I speak. Just ask fans of Anne Rice.

What started with a tantalizingly fresh rendition of vampire lore in Interview with a Vampire eventually morphed into tedious swathes of forced prose and stale, stretched literary concepts by the time her fifth installment in the Vampire Chronicles came to press.  Reading Rice’s fifth installment, Memnoch the Devil, was much like watching Michael Jordan play basketball.  I’m talking about the Michael Jordan who played for the Washington Wizards, not the legendary hall of famer who led the Bulls to multiple NBA rings.  Jordan had lost a step or two by the time he laced up his sneakers for the Wizards in 2001 and as much as the NBA and its fans adored him, it became tiresome to watch him clang jumpers, complain to the refs and blame the slick floors for his lack of lift-off when taking it to the hole in the fourth quarter. (Sounds eerily reminiscent of Lebron James post-Cleveland departure to the Heat, doesn’t it?)

But as for my initial reticence regarding James Rollins’ newest installment in the Sigma Force series, I humbly stand corrected.  The Devil Colony is a soaring, from the foul line slam dunk.  Chock full of action and sweeping across continents and history, Rollins guides the reader back to America’s infancy and into the present, cleverly splicing legend, fact and myth into a breathtaking conspiratorial tale of what might have happened and what could be.

Beginning with the book inside jacket teaser, “Could the founding of the United States be based on a fundamental lie”, Rollins’ sixth installment in the series explodes from the pages with intrigue: strange artifacts, gold plates inscribed with semi-Semitic script and hundreds of prehistoric mummified bodies of Caucasian origin are discovered out west in a secluded mountain cave system sparking controversy as the U.S. government and the Native American Heritage Commission race to lay claim to the remains and more importantly, the artifacts.   However, the U.S. government and the Native Americans are not the only ones vying for the strange artifacts.   A secret society known as the Guild, with its enormous wealth, resources and protective cloak of anonymity, has also entered the fray, its objective to steal the strange artifacts and harness the artifacts’ power and mystique for their own purposes, and the Guild is not easily subdued.   Manipulating America’s course since the time of the thirteen colonies, the Guild’s shadowy influence permeates every U.S. institution, showing itself to be more than a match for Painter Crowe’s vaunted Sigma Force.

That’s all the detail you readers will pull out of this reviewer. If you want more, you’ll have to read it for yourself.  If you like your novels served action heavy, with a dash of true science and spiced with archaeology and history with a garnish of plausible fiction, then by all means read The Devil Colony.

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A Roman Peace in Briton: Blood on the Stone

Previously on Joe Unleashed, the world bore witness to how I felt about the state of the publishing industry and in particular, the fear and loathing in which I held it. I’m certain I’m not the first novelist or writer to harbor such sentiments. As a matter of fact, witnessing the proliferation of e-reader devices and vanity presses, I’m quite sure of it.  But alas, nevermore shall I dwell on such thoughts.  The die is cast and the proverbial Rubicon crossed. With very little peril, I may add.  Very anti-climatic and not nearly as dramatic or performed with the same flourish as the late, great Julius Caesar when he originally coined the phrase.

Nonetheless, here is a peek at my debut novel,

Over two thousand years ago, in a vanished world in which gallant death and honor still holds sway, Gaius Julius Caesar is blitzing through Briton’s fierce, blue-painted warlords, exacting a heavy price in exchange for peace. News from Rome and word of rebellion in war-ravaged Gaul cut short Caesar’s invasion of Briton, leaving him little choice but to return to the mainland. Leaving for Gaul, Caesar entrusts a depleted legion to Cussius Caesar, and senior centurion, Marcus Rulus. With orders to further explore Briton and return to Gaul with the tribute, Marcus and Cussius find themselves in a remarkable quest to carve a future out of the land. A Roman Peace in Briton follows the lives of those left behind whose fates become bound to the people of the fabled, fog-bound lands of ancient Briton. Filled with dramatic scenes and abounding in fictional and historical personalities, A Roman Peace in Briton hooks with passionate storytelling and engulfs the reader in events of historical legend.

Still not enough? Then how about a brief excerpt randomly selected from deep within the book itself. Here it goes:

The knoll itself was a decent observation point from which to survey the countryside, including the surrounding hills. The hill slanted down gently and opened up into a small valley through which the stream they had crossed earlier meandered. The wheat in the fields had already been threshed and was now winnowing. In other fields, farmers had stripped the pastureland of its bounty, and all that remained was a thick carpet of waist-high grasses that swayed uneasily in the westerly wind.

“Enemy!” screamed an alert troop. Marcus pivoted in the direction of the pointing legionary. A short distance away, a figure emerged from the fading green of the forest. Behind the figure, mild hills sloped upward to verdant woods, deep with oak and ash. Marcus smiled grimly, for he knew the forest awaited the opportunity to spew forth its content of warriors.

The solitary figure stared upward toward the waiting Romans. Marcus could just barely make out the warrior’s features. He appeared to be very tall, with rippling muscles under clear white skin striped with woad. His hair glowed blond but not unnaturally so, and was thick and shaggy like a horse’s mane. He had a cloak fastened at the shoulder with a brooch that reflected brightly in the sun. He rode perpendicular to the forest edge, brandishing his sword and bellowing loudly, banging shield and sword together, his voice reverberating roughly within the natural acoustics of the small valley.

“He seems quite belligerent and full of himself now, doesn’t he?” said Marcus, eyebrow raised in calculation. “I can’t make out what he’s yelling. Is he directing that noise toward us?” he facetiously asked Leko, a playful smile on his lips.

Leko shrugged at the spectacle. “He’s putting forth his bona fides. He is Gymm of the Coritani, son of the King, and he’s boasting of the enemies he’s bested in combat,” he said for Marcus’ benefit. “He’s also challenging you to come out and fight him man to man, in single combat to the death.” He turned to Marcus, eager to see whether or not he would accept the challenge.

Marcus gritted his teeth and a predatory grin spread across his lips. Every fiber of his being tensed as the challenge branched its taunting tentacles deep within his spirit and a primeval surge hotly coursed his veins. Though just as enthusiastic to meet the challenge issued by the boisterous enemy warrior, he maintained the stony discipline emblematic of his rank.

“Nonsense,” he said to the skeptical Leko. “We fight together.” He noticed Leko’s expression of questioning disappointment. “I have greater responsibilities than charging out at a silly challenge issued by a half-naked barbarian. We will accept his challenge to fight, however,” he said. “Tell him so, but first offer him the opportunity to surrender. Promise him he will be treated fairly.”

Leko took a deep breath, filling his lungs as full as possible before yelling in the direction of the raging warrior. “My commander accepts your offer of battle, but he would rather not see brave warriors die needlessly. In an offer of friendship, he asks that you consider surrendering. No harm will befall you, and your warriors will be treated with honor. This my master has promised.” As Leko finished, he stole a glance at Marcus to see if anything further should be added.

The strutting warrior leapt off his horse, again clanging his sword and shield together loudly. Jeering, he pulled down his leather trousers, grabbed his privities and gesticulated crudely in the direction of the bemused Roman ranks. Marcus shrugged. He needed no interpreter to get the gist of that response.

That’s enough for now. Just enough to whet your appetite.  If you want more, just skip over to Amazon and order a print version, or download the book on whatever e-reader platform you happen to be going with these days.

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