GREAT WAYS TO SAVE THIS GIFTING SEASON

With gasoline still hanging at $3.50+ and a few disappointing trips to stores only to find them closed or moved, more of my shopping trips will start and finish online.

For the family who lives out of state -- I can order online and have everything shipped directly to them, even giftwrapped if I choose. That's much better than fighting the crowd at the store, wrapping everything myself, then hauling it all to the Post Office and pay to send it.

My long distance giving evolved to 'direct ship' a few years ago when I added up the toll and discovered packing and shipping on my own cost more than the merchandise inside the box!

This year the gifting budget is smaller than ever so I'm searching for better choices and paring down the list. Click here for our Shopping Links page.

So far I've found a wonderful out-of-print quilting book for a crafting friend, ordered Cost Rica coffee for my favorite coffee lover, and I think a couple members of my family are going to love the popcorn towers I plan to order for them.

Itf's not ALL about books. But for myself, I'm setting aside a gift budget to cover another year of Audible.com for my Ipod.

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As always, this is a 'free' book club which owes its success to being a group effort. The cost of webhost is paid by the pennies earned when anyone purchases through the links to our advertisers. The content -- whether magazine articles, commentaries, or book reviews -- is provided by our members and guests.

Have something to share with the rest of us? Email: LLoni@LLPublish.com

HAVE YOU NOTICED THE EXPLOSION OF NEW TITLES
AND NEW AUTHORS COMING FROM THE INDI PUBLISHERS?

Just when it was almost impossible for a new voice to find a publisher, we've had an explosion of opportunity from independent publishers.

Oh, sure, the big money still goes to the tried and true -- those authors who have already proven themselves by prior sales. They still get the marketing department benefits and are more likely than ever to be 'best sellers'.

But if the only books available were the 'best sellers' promoted by the platinum list, we'd all miss a whole crop of new authors hungry to entertain us this winter.

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DIGITAL eBOOKS HAVE 'ARRIVED'
WITH THEIR OWN 'BEST SELLERS' LISTING!

The Best Sellers list in The New York Times now incudes listings for 'Print and eBooks' and 'eBooks' alone as well as the usual distinctions of Hardcover and Paperback. Digital reading has really arrived!

It is interesting to see which titles make it to the top in both print and digital, but even more interesting to see who pubishes them.

Numbers do speak loudly, and BIG anything has its own momentum factor. Big publishers can drive the list as they choose. They have the marketing budget to make it happen. They also have the clout to keep the ebook prices high enough not to hurt printed copy sales.

But what a boon for the reading public when the Indie publishing industry gets a little attention. We have a whole new list of titles and authors -- more options for our reading enjoyment -- and no forced price fixing to protect anything.

The pure ABILITY to produce and market an eBook for less has the advantage.

There is still cost -- for editing, cover art, marketing, computer services (eformatting and parking of the master copy with security and distribution access), plus earned royalties for the author.

But no trees are needed for paper, no printing and binding factories, no storage space before or after shipping, and no shelf space at the retail stores.

The difference is beginning to show. We all hated to see Borders closing, and most of us still drop in at our local book seller's shop for the wonderful camaraderie we find there. I would enjoy it even more if they offered WiFi eBook purchases.

Maybe that's coming next?

Romance Novels -- So Many Styles

by Cassie Walters:

I had a friend in high school who kept her romance-novel-du jour, usually with a beautiful damsel in the arms of a swashbuckler-type on the cover, in the front pocket of her purse at all times. When I asked her what she liked about them, she praised the consistency most of all --- that she knew in advance what was going to happen.

Since I wasn't a romance reader myself, preferring Detective Fiction or Cozy Mysteries (especially anything in 'The Cat Who ' series), her answer didn't do much to turn me into a Romance fan. I don't want to know too much before I read the next page.

Years later, 1980-something, someone gave me a Sandra Brown romance novel as a gift (Bittersweet Rain) , and I've been a big fan of anything from Sandra Brown ever since. I still don't consider myself a big Romance Novel reader -- I may never find an interest in what I thought was traditional for the genre -- those historical settings and dramatically posed couples with flowing hair and cantelope bosoms, don't do it for me.

But now I understand there's more, and some of them are great!

More romance lovers are ordering/downloading Sandra Brown (Texas Sage; series Book 3). Hey gang, how about sending in a review when you've finished it?

Janet Evanovich'sSizzling Sixteen, the Stephanie Plum novel released late June 2010, is still in demand. So is Smokin Seventeen release in June 2011. Anybody ready to guess what title she'll use for Eighteen?

-- Barnes and Nobel Links --
Those Little Pots of Gold
Never Disappoint
Our Readers OR Our Authors

If you've clicked through on any of the book titles for sale through our links to Barnes and Nobel, you've already found the wealth of information on the selected title page.

Whether you're buying, or just looking, that click through is like a magazine page of it's own. You'll find a full synopsis of the novel, a collection of book reviews by multiple sources, and much more.

You may even find a truly informative bio on the author's career. Several of those include an audio linked interview that have been a favorite with our Struggling Authors group.

And always you'll find links to both new and used copies of the book, as well as other formats in which that book may be available.

Look for the lists (which are links, of course) to other books by that author, and then more by others in the same genre.

When you have time, click through on any of the links for specific titles. You'll be glad you did.

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