Friday, August 30, 2013

Mystery Picks of the Day - August 30, 2013

Today the HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle features our Mystery Novels Picks of the Day. These are some of the BEST DEALS from outstanding Mystery Authors for the Kindle at Amazon.

Follow this blog for outstanding Mysteries and great prices.




One Day In Budapest


Author: J.F.Penn

Price: $ 2.99


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An echo of nationalist violence not seen since the dark days of the Second World War. Budapest, Hungary. When a priest is murdered at the Basilica of St Stephen and the Holy Right relic is stolen, the ultra-nationalist Eröszak party calls for retribution and anti-Semitic violence erupts in the city. Dr Morgan Sierra, psychologist and ARKANE agent, finds herself trapped inside the synagogue with Zoltan Fischer, a Hungarian Jewish security advisor. As the terrorism escalates, Morgan and Zoltan must race against time to find the Holy Right and expose the conspiracy, before blood is spilled again on the streets of Budapest. One Day In Budapest is a chilling view of a possible future as Eastern Europe embraces right-wing nationalism. A conspiracy thriller for fans of Daniel Silva, where religion and politics intersect. If you love a fast-paced thriller, download a sample or buy One Day In Budapest now.


Author Genre: Action-Adventure Thriller

Website: J. F. Penn, Ancient Mystery, Modern Thrill
Author's Blog: The Creative Penn
Twitter: @thecreativepenn
E-Mail: joanna@TheCreativePenn.com
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LinkedIn: Check Out LinkedIn
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Author Description:
Joanna Penn is the author of the ARKANE thrillers, Pentecost and Prophecy. Read more at www.JFPenn.com
Joanna is also an entrepreneur and professional speaker. Her site for writers www.TheCreativePenn.com has been voted one of the Top 10 sites for writers 2 years running and offers articles, audio and video on writing, publishing and book marketing. Connect with Joanna on twitter @thecreativepenn



CLAN


Author: Harry Shannon

Price: $ 0.99


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They have been among us for thousands of years. One mysterious gene they carry lies dormant—until they change.

Joe Case is an ex-cop searching for the man who humiliated his sister. Kelly McCammon is a Hollywood executive running from the Russian mob.

Destiny leads them to tiny Salt Lick, Nevada…A town under siege.

"CLAN is a thriller with a genuine bite. Once Harry Shannon gets his claws in you he will not let go! Highly recommended."
—Jonathan Maberry, New York Times Bestselling author of Patient Zero and Dust & Decay

“A scary-as-hell journey through nightmare country."
—Douglas Clegg, author of Goat Dance and Purity

"(Shannon’s) Impeccable pacing and eye for the terrifying will leave the reader shaken and unsettled."
—Publisher’s Weekly

"What distinguishes CLAN is Shannon's gleefully fast pacing and kitchen-sink approach to terrorizing his hero and heroine. Sharp writing and a furious finale make for a solidly satisfying read."
---Cemetery Dance

"Harry Shannon is a writer who is not afraid to walk into the shadows and drag the things living there kicking and screaming into the light."
—Brian Keene, author of The Rising


Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Horror

Website: Harry Shannon
Twitter: @HarryShannon
E-Mail: ghoulishguy@aol.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Author Description:
Like most authors, I've kicked around a lot. I've been an actor, a singer, an Emmy-nominated songwriter, a recording artist in Europe, a music publisher, a VP of Carolco Pictures and worked as a free-lance Music Supervisor on films such as 'Basic Instinct' and 'Universal Soldier.' I'm currently a counselor in private practice. All of my MICK CALLAHAN mystery novels are available on Kindle, and a few will be coming back into print in 2013. Check out my thriller THE PRESSURE OF DARKNESS. I have published dozens of short stories and written a number of screenplays, including the Lionsgate horror movie and novel DEAD AND GONE. My dark thriller CLAN was recently released on Kindle. My comic thriller, a zombie opus entitled THE HUNGRY (co-written with Steven W. Booth) is out now, and so is the sequel, THE HUNGRY 2: THE WRATH OF GOD. There's also a pulp novella written for an exciting new Kindle/paperback series published by Amazon's own 47North. My entry is entitled THE DEAD MAN: KILL THEM ALL! For the curious, I've twice been nominated for the Stoker Award by the Horror Writer's Association. I've won the Tombstone and the Black Quill once each, and my short story FIFTY MINUTES, co-written with Joe Donnelly, was recently chosen for inclusion in the prestigious anthology Best American Mysteries of 2011. I'm on the list of Major Horror Authors of the Twenty-First Century in Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, 2nd Edition, from the American Library Association. You can find me on Facebook or Twitter.


In For A Penny

The Cleopatra Jones Mystery Series



Author: Maggie Toussaint

Price: Free


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Amateur sleuth Cleopatra Jones of rural Hogan’s Glen, Maryland faces an unwanted hazard when she skulls her golf ball across the number six green and it lands in the inseam of a very dead banker. Though the victim is a longtime friend of Cleo’s, his ongoing dispute with Cleo’s best friend and golfing partner, Jonette, is public knowledge. When the police key in on Jonette as the prime suspect, Cleo sets out to find the real killer.

Amidst the fun of wacky meals, dueling daughters, Mama’s heart problem, lovesick Saint Bernards, a sexy golf pro, a repentant ex-husband and a host of murder suspects, Cleo does what she does best. With her trusty spreadsheets and logical accountant’s brain, she organizes the information and ferrets out a crazed killer.

Set against the lush splendor of mid-Atlantic springtime, this fun-packed mystery with a dash of romance will keep you turning the pages to see what happens next.

"an amusing addition to the cozy ranks"
Kirkus

"reading a Cleopatra Jones mystery is a nice way to spend the afternoon"
Romantic Times


Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Romance

Website: Maggie Toussaint - Romance Danger Mystery
Twitter: @MaggieToussaint
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Author Description:
Award-winning southern author Maggie Toussaint is published in romance and mystery genres. She's a member of Mystery Writers of America, Sisters in Crime, and Romance Writers of America. Visit her at www.maggietoussaint.com and http://mudpiesandmagnolias.blogspot.com/

Maggie uses real life inspiration to flavor her books. Her rich scenery and colorful characters have received much notice, but at heart, she tells a darn good story.


The Bride Collector


Author: Ted Dekker

Price: $ 1.99


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FBI Special agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A Denver serial killer has killed four beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each crime scene, and he's picking up his pace. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellness and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals whose are extraordinarily gifted.

It's there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person's life when she touches the dead body.

In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise's help. In an effort to win her trust, he befriends this strange young woman and begins to see in her qualities that most 'sane people' sorely lack. Gradually, he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls...or inside.

As the Bride Collector picks up the pace-and volume-of his gruesome crucifixions, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector's next target.


Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Science Fiction & Fantasy

Website: Ted Dekker - The Offical Author Site
Twitter: @TedDekker
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Author Description:
"Ted Dekker is a true master of thrillers."
- Nelson DeMille, NY Times bestselling author

"BoneMan's Daughters is a tour-de-force of suspense that demands to be read in one sitting."
-James Rollins, NY Times bestselling author

"Ted Dekker is a master of suspense."
-Library Journal

"Priest's Graveyard is a thrill-a-minute ride, with heart-pounding action and a twist that you'll never see coming."
- Tess Gerritsen, NY Times bestselling author of Ice Cold

"Priest's Graveyard is an amazing novel, utterly compelling, intensely readable, well written, and completely original.
-Douglas Preston, co-creator of the famed Pendergast series

"Here's the best part about The Priest's Graveyard: It's smart enough to realize that, for many, the scariest thing in life isn't a monster or something that bumps in the night. It's love. Love is terrifying. And powerful. And unstoppable. And if you don't already know that, you're about to see why. Priest's Graveyard will haunt you--long after you want it to. -
Brad Meltzer, #1 NY Times best selling author of The Book of Fate and The Inner Circle


Departed

A Leopold Blake Mystery / Thriller



Author: Nick Stephenson

Price: $ 2.99


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Playtime's over...

Expert criminology consultant Leopold Blake is having yet another bad week. While tracking a psychopathic serial killer through the streets of London, the reclusive investigator realizes with chilling certainty that history is about to repeat itself - with devastating consequences. Where Scotland Yard and MI5 have failed, Leopold must find a way to hunt down and apprehend a ruthless maniac before he strikes again.

And the clock is ticking.

Now Blake and his team must face their greatest challenge yet: an unseen force, intent on wreaking havoc throughout the city, is hunting on its home turf - and Leopold is about to realize that the good guy doesn't always win.

Departed is another exhilarating installment in the Leopold Blake series of thrillers, which can be read and enjoyed in any order.


Author Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Mystery

Website: Nick Stephenson - The Author of Mysteries an Thrillers
Twitter: @Nick_Stephenson
E-Mail: nick_stephenson@hotmail.co.uk
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Author Description:
Nick Stephenson was born and raised in Cambridgeshire, England. He is a fiction author and novelist, writing in the mysteries and thrillers genre. His approach to writing is to hit hard, hit fast, and leave as few spelling errors as possible. He writes mysteries, thrillers, and suspense novels, as well as the occasional witty postcard, all of which are designed to get your pulse pounding. Don't let his headshot fool you - he's actually full colour, on most days.

The author's books are a mixture of mystery, action, and humour. If you're looking for a good place to start, take a look at his Leopold Blake series of thrillers, available now. You can grab copies in either ebook or paperback. To get an email whenever the author releases a new title, simply click the link to the right ->
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Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
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HBS has verified prices when this article was posted. Please verify the price before buying and its availability at your location for that price.

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Mystery Picks of the Day - August 28, 2013

Today the HBS Mystery Reader’s Circle features our Mystery Novels Picks of the Day. These are some of the BEST DEALS from outstanding Mystery Authors for the Kindle at Amazon.

Follow this blog for outstanding Mysteries and great prices.




Femme Fatale

VIGILANTE Series



Author: Claude Bouchard

Price: $ 4.99


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Less than two years earlier, Leslie Robb, an accountant in her late twenties working for the Imperial National Bank, had seen her life-partner and co-worker, Gina, shot to death during a bank heist subsequently foiled in part by Chris Barry, millionaire and clandestine operative of the government's 'Discreet Activities'.

Taken as a hostage along with Chris by the remaining robbers onto a helicopter secretly piloted by two 'DA' operatives, including 'DA' head, Jonathan Addley, Leslie had played an integral role in helping bring the offenders down. As a result, thanks to her sang froid, sense of moral justice and martial arts affinities, Leslie left the world of finance to fight crime as a member of the 'DA' team.

Now, Leslie has a new partner in life, Dominique Petit, a Canadian/French dual citizen who suggests Leslie visit Paris with her while she is in the City of Lights on business. Less than twenty-four hours after Leslie arrives, Dominique and her sister, Corinne, disappear, turning Leslie's vacation into her own business trip of justice and revenge…


Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers

Website: Claude Bouchard Books - Crime Thrillers and other Stuff...
Twitter: @ceebee308
E-Mail: claude@claudebouchardbooks.com
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Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Pinterest: Check Out Pinterest
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Author Description:

I was born in Montreal, Canada, where I still reside with my spouse, Joanne. I completed my studies in human resources, accounting and management at McGill University and worked in various management capacities in the fields of HR and finance for a handful of firms for what seemed like decades, because it was. I should also mention I love pizza, but who doesn't and, in my opinion, nothing rocks more than cooking on the grill.

My first stab at writing was in 1995, the result being my first novel, Vigilante. This was subsequently followed by The Consultant (1996) and Mind Games (1997), all of the same series. Professional obligations and other creative interests led me away from writing for a number of years but I found myself busy at the keyboard in 2009 with The Homeless Killer after having finally published my first three novels. I then followed up with 6 Hours 42 Minutes in 2011, also part of the Vigilante series born from Vigilante. In July 2011, I released ASYLUM, my first stand-alone novel and Discreet Activities, my sixth Vigilante crime thriller was published in January 2012. In October 2012, I penned and released Something’s Cooking, a faux-erotica parody and cookbook under the pseudonyms Réal E. Hotte and Dasha Sugah. My eighth novel and seventh installment of the Vigilante series, Femme Fatale, has just been released. I think I'm really starting to like this writing thing.

Besides writing, editing and promoting my work, I also spend some artistic energy with my five guitars, oil paints and watercolours. Other passions include cooking (big time with fine wine to go with it, of course), reading, traveling and working out just enough to stay fit. It should also be noted that following several years of practice, I now excel at being cat furniture for Krystalle and Midnight, or so they tell me.


Killing Instinct

Michael Sykora Novel



Author: Darcia Helle

Price: $ 2.99


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Sandman built his dubious reputation by turning the dreams and nightmares of others into harsh reality. Now he’s pursuing his own twisted dream; the beautiful Maria Milan. But she doesn’t want to become a player in Sandman’s sordid fantasy.

Michael Sykora is a hit man who kills for justice. Sean Riley is a hit man born to kill. Together, they’re out to take down Sandman and his organization. Whether mercy is given depends on who catches him first.


Author Genre: Mystery & Thrillers, Literature & Fiction

Website: Quiet Fury Books
Author's Blog: A Word Please
Twitter: @DarciaHelle
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Author Description:
Darcia Helle lives in a fictional world with a husband who is sometimes real. Their house is ruled by spoiled dogs and cats and the occasional dust bunny.

Suspense, random blood spatter and mismatched socks consume Darcia's days. She writes because the characters trespassing through her mind leave her no alternative. Only then are the voices free to haunt someone else's mind.

Join Darcia in her fictional world: http://www.QuietFuryBooks.com The characters await you.


A DANGEROUS HARBOR

Pilgrim's Progress



Author: RP Dahlke

Price: FREE


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"This is an engaging, well-written mystery with characters that took up residence in my imagination; moving in with all their baggage and quirks. I found them incredibly difficult to dislodge even several days after I had finished reading the book. I loved the setting; the beauty of the waters and the lovely hillsides existing alongside the abject poverty and ugliness of the slummy, sleazy habitats of those less fortunate. The day to day uncertainly of life is realistically portrayed in an area where powerful drug cartels operate from shadowy positions in almost all levels of government..." LauriJ's Reviews for Night Owl Reviews Reviewer Top Pick

"Take a San Francisco police officer who is on leave for shooting a man who threatened her sister, send her on a sailing trip into Mexican waters where she finds the body of a murdered teenage girl, and you've got the mix for an intriguing mystery. Add an irresistible Mexican-Italian man who happens to be the lead investigator on the case and the romance begins to sizzle. I loved the vivid descriptions of this coastal Mexican town, and the methodic way in which officer Katy Hunter helps with the investigation. A satisfying ending in which all the threads come together into a neatly plotted book." - Connie Shelton, author of the best-selling Charlie Parker mysteries and the new Samantha Sweet mysteries

Here's the set-up:
Bleary-eyed and sleep deprived after a long overnighter into Mexico, solo sailor and SFPD police detective, Katrina Hunter, thinks the mermaid twenty yards behind her thirty-two foot Westsail is nothing more than a sailor's hallucination But everything she knows about floaters convinces her to turn her boat around for another look.

Now, alone and isolated in the Mexican port's police station for six hours she's convinced that reporting a floater to authorities was a mistake. Even the arrival of a handsome, if somewhat dour, Mexican/Italian investigator does nothing to dispel her growing anxiety that she's about to be charged with the murder.

Chief Inspector, Raul Vignaroli, is as surprised by the attractive solo-sailor as he is to find that she's a respected member of the San Francisco police force, and after some well-placed phone calls he's sure that he's found the perfect partner to help him solve a murder, if not the cure for his broken heart. Released, she's free to go. But leaving the police station hits a snag when two policemen march in, dragging a listless prisoner between them. But before Katy can dodge them for the exit, the prisoner raises his head and a startling pair of aquamarine eyes meet hers.

He straightens his back, wincing at the angle of his cuffed wrists. "What the... Whisper?"

Suddenly, the sound of the ceiling fan is terribly loud. Blood pounds in her ears, her mouth goes dry, her palms are damp and her feet are nailed to the floor. In a knee jerk reaction, she hisses, "Don't call me that!"


Author Genre: Mystery, Romance, Humor

Website: R.P. Dahlke
Author's Blog: R.P. Dahlke - Infrequent Blog
All Mystery E-newsletter
Twitter: @rpdahlke
E-Mail: rp@rpdahlke.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
LinkedIn: Check Out LinkedIn
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Author Description:

R.P. (Rebecca) Dahlke was raised on her father’s 80 acres of Almonds & crop dusting ranch south of Modesto, California. She’s been writing since 1994, first with a writing group in the East Bay Area and then when she and her husband went sailing, via the Guppies of Sisters in Crime, National.

When they settled in Southern Arizona, Rebecca started a chapter of Sisters in Crime and A Dead Red Cadillac was published by Treble Heart Publishing.

She was doing the rewrite on her second Lalla Baines Novel, A Dead Red Heart when her son, John Shanahan, died in a tragic crop dusting accident in California. Writing about anything, much less crop-dusting became too painful and she stopped writing until 2010.

I sort of fell into the job of running a crop-dusting business when my dad decided he'd rather go on a cruise than take another season of lazy pilots, missing flaggers, testy farmers and horrific hours. After two years at the helm, I handed him back the keys and fled to a city without any of the above. And no, I was never a crop-duster.


Kitty Kitty Bang Bang

The Pampered Pets Mystery Series



Author: Sparkle Abbey

Price: $ 1.99


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Caro Lamont—pet therapist—and her cousin Melinda Langston—owner of The Bow Wow Boutique—pamper the kitties and pooches of Laguna Beach’s elites. Unfortunately, their human clients keep turning up dead.

“We were at an art exhibition at The Montage,” I told the detective, “and Kitty asked me to take her cats home because something had come up. Something urgent. It seemed strange, but then the whole evening was strange with dogs and cats. Ones that paint, I mean. And Kitty would never leave her cats, but she did, so it must have been really urgent . . .”

Detective Judd Malone looked past me. “Are those the cats?”

I nodded.

“What kind are they? They’re huge.”

“They’re Bengal cats. Bengals are a hybrid. A cross between a domestic cat and an Asian Leopard Cat. It’s a relatively new breed. Most have . . .”

Malone’s face said TMI. Fair enough, more info than he’d been looking for. “I imagine you know I’m here about Ms. Bardot?” Malone was suddenly all business.

“Yes.” I held my breath and hoped for good news.

“Caro.” He paused. “She didn’t make it.”

“She—” I felt my throat close, and I swallowed hard trying to get control of my emotions. “Too many injuries?” I finally asked. Whatever her emergency had been, it had seemed to upset her. She’d been shaken, and Kitty was never shaken. I remembered her voice as she’d asked me to take care of Tobey and Minou and get them home. The cats. What would happen to the cats now? “Was she driving too fast?”

“Not exactly.” Malone’s voice was serious and grim. “We won’t know until we have a lot more information from the crime lab. It’s too soon to tell, but it may have been a case of road rage. Kitty Bardot was shot.”

Sparkle Abbey is the pseudonym of two mystery authors (Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter). They are friends and neighbors as well as co-writers of the Pampered Pets Mystery Series. The Pen name was created by combining the names of their rescue pets – Sparkle (Mary Lee’s cat) and Abbey (Anita’s dog). They reside in central Iowa, but if they could write anywhere, you would find them on the beach with their laptops and depending on the time of day, with either an iced tea or a margarita.


Author Genre: Mystery, Crime, Humor And Comedy

Website: Sparkle Abbey - pampered pet mysteries
Author's Blog: Sparkle Abbey
Twitter: @sparkleabbey
E-Mail: SparkleAbbey@gmail.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook
Pinterest: Check Out Pinterest

Author Description:
Our author picture is a shot of us with the real Sparkle and the real Abbey. Don't you love the stare down? Our real names are Mary Lee Woods and Anita Carter. We write the Pampered Pets mystery series together. We're also friends and neighbors so you'll often find us writing at ML's dining room table or at our local Starbucks.

We chose to use Sparkle Abbey as our pen name on this series because we liked the idea of combining the names of our two rescue pets - Sparkle (ML's cat) and Abbey (Anita's dog).

We live in the Midwest, but if we could write anywhere, you would find us on the beach with our laptops and depending on the time of day either an iced tea or a margarita.

We have had so much fun writing this series and we hope you enjoy Caro and Mel's adventures!


Crime Wave

A Maggie, P.I. Mystery



Author: Rose Pressey

Price: $ 0.99


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Maggie Thomas doesn’t know the first thing about being a private eye. She quickly discovers that running her uncle’s faltering Miami Beach P.I. agency is nothing like watching detective show reruns. Even the private eye app on her iPhone can’t help.

But Maggie’s first case is surprisingly easy… or so she thinks until she stumbles on a dead body. With whizzing bullets, car chases, and spandex clad bodybuilders, Maggie wonders if she’s in over her head. Jake Jackson, the dangerously charming cop, thinks Maggie needs to stick to snapping pictures of cheating husbands and leave the detective work to the professionals.

The danger escalates when another homicide victim washes up on the shore and now someone wants to stop Maggie from solving the murders. With the help of her knitting needle wielding, orthopedic shoe wearing assistant Dorothy Raye, Maggie must solve the case before she’s the next victim of this crime wave.


Author Genre: Romance, Mystery & Thrillers

Website: Rose Pressey - Bestselling Author
Twitter: @rosepressey
E-Mail: rose@rosepressey.com
Goodreads: Check Out Goodreads
Facebook: Check Out Facebook

Author Description:
Rose Pressey is an Amazon Top 100 bestselling author. She enjoys writing quirky and fun novels with a paranormal twist. The paranormal has always captured her interest. The thought of finding answers to the unexplained fascinates her.

When she's not writing about werewolves, vampires and every other supernatural creature, she loves eating cupcakes with sprinkles, reading, spending time with family, and listening to oldies from the fifties.

Rose lives in the beautiful commonwealth of Kentucky with her husband, son and three sassy Chihuahuas.
Sponsored by: HBSystems Publications
Publisher of ebooks, writing industry blogger and the sponsor of the following blogs:
eBook Author’s Corner and HBS Author's Spotlight

HBS has verified prices when this article was posted. Please verify the price before buying and its availability at your location for that price.