A special thanks to John for taking the time to talk to us. Without further ado:

iReaderReview What are the top five questions that you wish interviewers would ask, but they never do?

John Rector It’s funny, but out of all the interviews I’ve done, I’m usually surprised by at least one question. I guess I’ve never been asked about the craft of writing, or the actual process of writing a novel. I used to love reading those kinds of interviews when I was trying to write my first book, but maybe readers aren’t as interested in that side of things as I am.

IRR Your work has garnered much praise for standing out in the crime and suspense genres. Has the influence of such out-of-the-genre authors as Bukowski helped you to develop rounder and more relatable characters?

JR It’s helped with my style more than anything. I never read a lot of crime fiction, so I didn’t have a set of preconceived ideas of what my stories should look like when I started. I just studied the writers who I admired, and when I sat down to write, the stories naturally gravitated in the direction they wanted to go.

IRR Another aspect of your work that stands out is the contrast between gritty intensity and emotional development. Why do you think that readers find this so entertaining?

JR I think emotional development is key. Readers will always have more of a connection with a story if they can relate to the characters on an emotional level. That’s the foundation of a good story. If a reader feels a connection to the characters, the intensity level is much higher than if you just walk them through a plot.

IRR When your writing career began, you independently published your novel “The Grove”. What was the response for the book like? Did it surprise you?

JR It surprised the hell out of me, and everyone around me.

At the time, my agent was shopping my second novel, The Cold Kiss, to editors in NY. The Grove had already been through that process, and while it came heartbreakingly close a few times, no one would take a chance on a new writer.

This was back when ebooks were less than 2% of the market, before Konrath, and no one had any idea of the potential. I thought if I could sell a few hundred copies on my own, it might prove to the NY publishers that there was an audience out there for my work. Then, if I was lucky, maybe they’d take a chance on me.

As it turned out, I sold several hundred copies over the first day or two, and it took off from there. Everyone was shocked, not just me.

IRR After the success of that novel, you made the switch to traditional publishing. What made you make that decision?

JR I never really made a switch.

When I released The Grove, Tor/Forge was already trying to put together a deal for my second book. The timing was nice. If I remember correctly, I self-published The Grove on a Friday night, and Monday morning my agent called and told me Tor/Forge had made an offer for The Cold Kiss. So technically, I was an indie author for a weekend.

Also, there was no indie publishing scene at the time, so there was never a thought of not taking the traditional deal when it was offered. The idea of selling millions of books as an indie, or even having a career self-publishing, never entered my mind. It was too far fetched.

After I signed the deal with Tor/Forge, I decided to leave The Grove up as an ebook, and that turned out to be the best decision I’ve made so far in my career because it caught the attention of Amazon Publishing. They called me about six months after The Grove went live and asked if they could republish it through AmazonEncore.

I almost said no.

I say that with a smile now, but at the time Amazon Publishing seemed risky. They’d only published a small handful of books, and I’d just signed a three-book deal with Simon and Schuster in the UK that included The Grove, and I was hoping to do the same in the US.

In the end, I took a step back and tried to look at my situation in a non-biased way. When I did, it was clear that the path I was on with the big 6 was littered with the decaying bodies of first time novelists who came before me, and I could easily see myself as yet another publishing casualty. So, I decided to take a chance and go with Amazon.

A year later, when my third novel, Already Gone, was ready to go, Tor/Forge had first rights. They made a good offer, but I turned it down to go with Amazon’s new Thomas and Mercer imprint, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision.

IRR A lot of authors say that it takes a certain type of person to publish traditionally and another type of person to publish independently. Do you think that this is true? What traits do you have that made traditional the best decision?

JR I don’t think that’s true at all. I think publishing is publishing. Whether you do it yourself or work with a publisher depends on your goals and what paths are available to you. If you want to control every step, and you love the hours spent marketing, talking to readers, and selling your work, going at it on your own is definitely the way to go. If you hate all that stuff and would rather focus on the writing, then having a team behind you makes things a lot easier.

What indie publishing represents to me is an option, not only for writers who are unable break into traditional publishing, but for traditionally published writer’s who’ve had enough or who didn’t get the attention they thought they deserved from the industry. It’s also opened doors for people who have no interest in publishing traditionally and who want to be in charge of their own careers. No matter where you stand, there’s no denying that it’s great to have a choice.

IRR You’ve called your new novel, “Already Gone” your “fastest selling novel so far.” Was there a difference in your marketing strategy that lent to this exciting development? Would you also call the book your best novel so far?

JR Already Gone was one of the Thomas and Mercer flagship novels, so it received a bigger push than The Grove, which was the first novel I published with Amazon Publishing. Also, it was a departure from my other books. The first two were smaller, Hitchcock-ian suspense novels, and Already Gone was more of a thriller. My marketing strategy consisted of doing whatever my publicist told me to do, which mostly consisted of showing up for interviews.

I can’t say if it’s my best book so far or not. It’s the first one to be nominated for a major award (2011 International Thriller Award), but it’s impossible for me to choose a favorite. I like each one for different reasons.

IRR Where do you think you would be now if you had decided to continue publishing independently? Would you ever self-publish again?

JR I’d probably still be working a day job, but who really knows? As one of the very early indie authors, I might’ve hit a lucky wave and sold a ton of books, but since I don’t self promote unless I’m absolutely forced to, I doubt indie publishing would’ve worked for me nearly as well as it has for some. I’m also a fairly slow writer, and it seems that in order to make self-publishing really work, you need to pump out a lot of material for readers to find.

If I had to guess, I think I probably would’ve sold ten or twenty thousand copies here and there as an indie, but nowhere near what I’ve sold through publishers. I certainly wouldn’t have had two books reach #1 one on the main Amazon list, or have a book hit the top 10 on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list. I also doubt the books would’ve all been picked up by Hollywood if I hadn’t gone with a publisher. But, you never know.

And yes, I’d definitely self publish again. I already have a collection of short stories out there now, and I wrote a novella recently that I’d planned on self-publishing, but Amazon expressed interest, so I decided to release it this summer as a Kindle Single through Thomas and Mercer.

All I know for sure is that with the way the industry is today, you don’t want to turn your back on any of the paths available to you if they can help you reach your goals. They all have their perks.

IRR As a once independent and now traditional author, you have a very unique perspective. Where do you foresee the publishing industry headed in the next five years?

JR Ah, the impossible question.

I think the big 6 will adapt to ebooks much more than they have so far. They’re already making money off them, but they’ll be forced to put more resources into them mainly because there will be fewer places to sell paper books after B&N goes under. I can see the indie stores that survive selling a combination of new and used books, but the primary delivery method for new work will be digital, and accepting that change is how the big 6 will survive.

Plus, there will always be legions of writers out there who see the big 6 as the mountaintop, and who have no interest in self-publishing, even if the opportunity to make more money presents itself. For that reason, there will always be a big publishing industry. Of course, no one really knows what things will look like in five years, but this is how it looks to me today.

IRR There is a lot of debate about the prices of eBooks these days. Where do you feel that the optimum price for a full-length well-written eBook novel lies? Why?

JR I think $5 is good, but you need to be flexible and experiment to see what works for you and your goals.

IRR I understand that you aren’t a huge fan of self-promotion. Do you feel that a lack of social networking and media disconnects you from your readers? How do you make up for that?

JR I’m not a fan of self-promotion at all. It’s actually one of my pet peeves. I never buy a book from an author on Facebook or Twitter telling me how great they are. If someone else without a stake in the book tells me it’s great, or if I stumble across a good review, that’s different, and I’m much more willing to take a chance. Because that’s how I feel, that’s how I approach my own promotion.

I also don’t think there needs to be a connection between a writer and their readers beyond the books themselves. Don’t get me wrong. I love hearing from the people who read my books, and I do my best to answer every email that comes my way. But as a reader, I have no desire to know anything personal about the writers whose books I love. For me, knowing who is behind the words takes away from the story. I’d rather not know they exist at all. The story is what interests me.

IRR Often, authors receive a lot of rejection before starting their careers in the traditional publishing industry. As a short story writer, I’m sure you’ve received your share of rejection slips. How do you persevere without getting discouraged?

JR When I first started writing fiction ten years ago or so, I was like everyone else in that I thought everything I wrote was much better than it really was. Around that time, I submitted to a small, indie print zine in New York, and the editor sent back a rejection that said something along the lines of, “There are not enough trees on the planet to make the paper required to document everything that is wrong with this story.”

This guy went on to explain why the story was garbage, and it was like a bomb going off in my head. For the first time, I got it. I understood. I saw exactly what I was doing wrong, and I saw how to fix it. He was absolutely right in his criticism, and it was the exact lesson I needed at that moment in time.

To this day, I look back on that rejection as the point where everything changed. I dropped my ego, I was honest with myself about where I was and where I wanted to be, and I got to work. For the next few years, I sent everything I wrote to that editor, and when I was lucky enough to get a rejection back with a few lines of advice tacked on, I thanked him, and I took it and I kept submitting. Even when my stories began getting picked up by lit journals and pro magazines, his little zine was still the first market on my list, and I kept sending them to him until he finally published one.

After those years spent trying to hone my craft, I felt I knew exactly what I wanted to do with my writing. I became unbelievably tough on my work, because I think you need to be in order to get it to where it’s good. Once I reached that place where I was writing stories I knew in my heart were good, rejection stopped being about what I was doing wrong, and more about finding the right market.

Writing is all about knowing what you want to do, being determined to do it, and having a thick skin along the way. No one likes bad reviews, but if a one star review paralyzes you and stops you from writing something new, it’s time to find a different gig. No matter who you are, how many books you sell, how much money you make, or how much you accomplish in this business, someone out there will always think you suck.

IRR You mentioned on your blog that a new novella may be out this summer and a new novel this fall. Can you tell us a bit about what we can expect?

JR I have a Kindle Single novella called Lost Things coming out on July 10th in conjunction with Thomas and Mercer. It’s the story of two friends who are attacked one night on their way home from a bar, and in the chaos, they kill one of their attackers. Because it’s such a vicious death, they decide it would be better to keep quiet and hope they don’t get caught. Things go bad from there in a fast-paced, twisted way.

The new novel should be out sometime in early 2013.

IRR Top three authors of all time. Go.

JR Stephen King
Charles Bukowski
Ira Levin

1. Touch of a Thief by Mia Marlowe. Price: $3.99. Genre: Historical Romance, Paranormal, Theft, Sensual. Rated 4.5 stars on 18 reviews. 305 pages. An adventurous story of a jewel thief.

Kindle Books – Thrillers & Mysteries

FOR SUSPENSE FANS (NOT A DEAL, BUT INTERESTING): All of Patricia Highsmith’s novels will be availabel for the Kindle June 4th. Pre-order them here (Source).

1. Cripple Creek (Turner) by James Sallis. Price: $1.99. Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Police Procedural, Southern. Rated 4 stars on 15 reviews. 210 pages.
2. Jewball by Neal Pollack. Price: $1.99. Genre: Historical Mystery, Debt, American, Early WWII. Rated 4.5 stars on 14 reviews. 258 pages. An intricate tale woven into history.
3. The Good Thief’s Guide to Amsterdam (Good Thief’s Guides) by Chris Ewan. Price: $2.99. Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Noir, Humor. Rated 4 stars on 14 reviews. 240 pages.
4. Salt River: A Novel (Turner) by James Sallis. Price: $1.99. Genre: Thriller, Crime, Philosophical, Southern. Rated 4 stars on 9 reviews. 160 pages.
5. The Million-Dollar Wound (Nathan Heller Novels) by Max Allan Collins. Price: $1.99. Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, True Crime, Detective. Rated 5 stars on 5 reviews. 443 pages.
6. The White League by Thomas Zigal. Price: $2.99. Genre: Mystery, Political, Thriller, Spy Stories & Tales of Intrigue. Rated 5 stars on 5 reviews. 477 pages.

Kindle Books – Religious

1. Our Holocaust by Amir Gutfreund. Price: $2.99. Genre: Historical, Jewish, WWII, Dark Humor. Rated 5 stars on 10 reviews. 420 pages. An honest perspective on the past.

Kindle Books – Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror

1. Curses! by J.A. Kazimer. Price: $3.99. Genre: Contemporary Fantasy, Humor, Romance, Bizarre. Rated 5 stars on 12 reviews. 321 pages. Laugh out loud.

Kindle Books – Historical Fiction

1. Soldiers of Salamis by Javier Cercas. Price: $1.99. Genre: Historical, Spanish Civil War, Political Prisoner, Memory & Myth. Rated 4 stars on 14 reviews. 226 pages. Intelligent.
2. In the Meantime by Robin Lippincott. Price: $2.99. Genre: Historical, Gay & Lesbian Fiction, Friendship, Coming of Age. Rated 4 stars on 11 reviews. 184 pages. Emotionally deep and touching.
3. Mrs. Tim of the Regiment: A Novel (Bloomsbury Group) by D.E Stevenson. Price: $1.99. Genre: Historical, British, 1930′s, Drama. Rated 4.5 stars on 9 reviews. 353 pages.
4. *The Solitude of Thomas Cave by Georgina Harding. Price: $1.99. Genre: Historical, 1616, Sea Adventure. Rated 4 stars on 8 reviews. 260 pages.

Kindle Books – Children and Young Adult

1. *Before, After, and Somebody In Between by Jeannine Garsee. Price: $1.99. Genre: Family Life, Bullies, Friendship, Youth Literature. Rated 5 stars on 16 reviews. 368 pages. Great for all ages, very truthful.
2. Sketchy Behavior by Erynn Mangum. Price: $2.99. Genre: Young Adult, Christian, Thriller. Rated 4.5 stars on 14 reviews. 225 pages. Fun and quirky.
3. Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein. Price: $1.99. Genre: Historical, Colonial, Young Adult, Roanoke. Rated 4 stars on 12 reviews. 336 pages.
4. Dead Girl in Love by Linda Joy Singleton. Price: $1.99. Genre: Horror, Romance, Fantasy, Young Adult. Rated 4.5 stars on 8 reviews. 288 pages.

Kindle Books – Various Genres (Fiction) including Adventure

1. The Year the Music Changed by Diane Thomas. Price: $1.99. Genre: Contemporary Fiction, Coming of Age, Humor, Emotional. Rated 4.5 stars on 15 reviews. 260 pages. Very sweet.
2. *The Living End by Stanley Elkin. Price: $2.99. Genre: Literary Fiction, Afterlife, Comic, Adventure. Rated 4.5 stars on 10 reviews. 148 pages. Clever.

Kindle Books – Non Fiction

1. *The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley by Leslie Berlin. Price: $2.99. Genre: Computer Hardware, Biography, Invention, American History. Rated 4.5 stars on 17 reviews. 442 pages. Intriguing developments from the 1990s.
2. All Things Must Fight to Live: Stories of War and Deliverance in Congo by Bryan Mealer. Price: $2.99. Genre: Africa, War, History, Congo. Rated 4.5 stars on 15 reviews. 321 pages. Beautiful and unique.
3. The Least Worst Place : Guantanamo’s First 100 Days by Karen Greenberg. Price: $1.99. Genre: Military, Prisoners of War, Cuba, Detainees. Rated 4.5 stars on 15 reviews. 288 pages. From a genuine and honest author.
4. How to Be a Sister: A Love Story with a Twist of Autism by Eileen Garvin. Price: $1.99. Genre: Family Relationships, Siblings, Autism, Memoir. Rated 5 stars on 14 reviews. 274 pages. An honest, emotional account.
5. The Ether Zone: U.S. Army Special Forces Detachment B-52, Project Delta by Morris Ray. Price: $2.99. Genre: Vietnam War, Military, Special Forces, Reconnaissance. Rated 4.5 stars on 14 reviews. 394 pages. Absolutely fascinating.
6. The Swing Era : The Development of Jazz, 1930-1945 (History of Jazz) by Gunther Schuller. Price: $3.79. Genre: Music History, 20th Century, Jazz. Rated 4 stars on 12 reviews. 944 pages. Elaborate.
7. *As Seen On TV by Lucy Grealy. Price: $2.99. Genre: Essays, Art, Humor, Observations. Rated 4.5 stars on 11 reviews. 194 pages. “For philosophers.”
8. Mitt Romney by Ronald B Scott. Price: $3.99. Genre: Political, Biography, Notable People, Mormon. Rated 4.5 stars on 11 reviews. 267 pages. Get to know the man.
9. Keeping the Promise: The Story of MIA Jerry Elliott, a Family Shattered by His Disappearance, and a Sister’s 40-Year Search for the Truth by Elliott Donna E.. Price: $2.99. Genre: Vietnam War, Military, Memoir, Women. Rated 4.5 stars on 10 reviews. 339 pages.
10. *George Washington’s Mount Vernon : At Home in Revolutionary America by Robert F. Dalzell & Lee Baldwin Dalzell. Price: $1.99. Genre: Architecture, History, America. Rated 4.5 stars on 10 reviews. 320 pages.
11. Drawn with the Sword : Reflections on the American Civil War by James M. McPherson. Price: $1.99. Genre: Civil War, Military, History, America. Rated 4.5 stars on 10 reviews. 273 pages.
12. Wings of Judgment : American Bombing in World War II by Ronald Schaffer. Price: $1.99. Genre: WWII, 20th Century, History, America. Rated 4 stars on 6 reviews. 287 pages.
13. Holy Wars: 3000 Years of Battles in the Holy Land by Gary L. Rashba. Price: $3.99. Genre: Middle East, War, Palestine & Israel, Religion. Rated 5 stars on 5 reviews. 288 pages.
14. Fanny Brice : The Original Funny Girl by Herbert G. Goldman. Price: $1.99. Genre: Entertainer, Biography, New York, Humor. Rated 5 stars on 5 reviews. 336 pages.
15. African American Lives by Henry Louis Gates. Price: $2.99. Genre: Africa, History, Biographies, Profiles. Rated 4.5 stars on 5 reviews. 1056 pages.

1. **To Win Her Heart by Karen Witemeyer. Price: $2.99. Genre: Historical Romance, Christian Living, Religious, Texas. Rated 4.5 stars on 101 reviews. 347 pages. A charming read with a lovely romance.
2. *The Measure of a Lady: A Novel by Deeanne Gist. Price: $2.99. Genre: Historical Romance, Religious, 1849, San Francisco. Rated 4 stars on 77 reviews. 272 pages. A perfect choice for lovers of Christian romance.
3. *Courting Miss Amsel by Kim Vogel Sawyer. Price: $2.99. Genre: Historical Romance, Religious, Christian Living, Western. Rated 4.5 stars on 67 reviews. 354 pages. A sweet story.
4. **The Doctor’s Lady by Jody Hedlund. Price: $2.99. Genre: Historical Romance, Religious, Marriage, Unexpected Love, Adventure. Rated 4.5 stars on 100 reviews. 387 pages. A long and touching journey.
5. [Was Free in 2011] Sixteen Brides by Stephanie Whitson. Price: $2.99. Genre: Historical Romance, Religious, 1872, Courtship. Rated 4 stars on 175 reviews. 354 pages. A very well-reviewed novel.
6. [Free in Jan 2012] The Lady of Bolton Hill by Elizabeth Camden. Price: $2.99. Genre: Historical Romance, Christian Living, 1879, Railroad. Rated 4 stars on 101 reviews. An inspirational and historical novel.
7. *Wings of a Dream by Anne Mateer. Price: $2.99. Genre: Historical Romance, Religious, Emotional, Timeless. Rated 4.5 stars on 61 reviews. 323 pages.
8. The Parting (Courtship of Nellie Fisher) by Beverly Lewis. Price: $2.99. Genre: Religious Romance, Amish, Lifestyle, Change. Rated 4 stars on 36 reviews. 356 pages.
9. Never Been Bit by Lydia Dare. Price: $1.99. Genre: Romance, Regency, Vampire, Paranormal, Sensual. Rated 4.5 stars on 13 reviews. 382 pages. A delightful and sensual paranormal romance.
10. The Amorous Education of Celia Seaton by Miranda Neville. Price: $1.99. Genre: Historical Romance, Kidnapping, Humor, Emotion. Rated 4 stars on 11 reviews. 389 pages.

Indie Pick!

1. Nanny and the Professor by Donna Fasano. Price: $3.28. Genre: Romance, Playful, Nanny, Parenting. Rated 4.5 stars on 4 reviews. 322 kb in size, or about 160 pages. A delightfully light romp.

Kindle Book Deals – Thrillers & Mysteries

1. When the Bough Breaks by Jonathan Kellerman. Price: $3.99. Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Murder, Psychological. Rated 4 stars on 55 reviews. 293 pages. Kellerman’s first novel.
2. Blood Test by Jonathan Kellerman. Price: $3.99. Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Psychological, Sex. Rated 4 stars on 39 reviews. 257 pages. A brutally honest piece.
3. Over the Edge by Jonathan Kellerman. Price: $3.99. Genre: Thriller, Suspense, Psychological, Murder, Teen. Rated 4 stars on 44 reviews. 452 pages. Another deal from Kellerman.
4. The Fate of Katherine Carr (Otto Penzler Books) by Thomas H. Cook. Price: $3.90. Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Missing People, Connecting Stories. Rated 4 stars on 13 reviews. 300 pages. Cook is an Edgar nominee and winner. This story is rich, literary and complex.

Kindle Book Deals – Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror

1. Black Hole Sun by David Macinnis Gill. Price: $0.99. Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopian, Cannibals. Rated 4 stars on 18 reviews. 356 pages. A truly great Sci-Fi novel.

Kindle Book Deals – Historical Fiction

1. [Free in 2011] While We’re Far Apart by Lynn Austin. Price: $2.99. Genre: Historical, Christian Living, New York, War. Rated 4.5 stars on 105 reviews. 416 pages.

Kindle Book Deals – For Children of All Ages

1. **The Knife of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking) by Patrick Ness. Price: $0.99. Genre: Young Adult, Action & Adventure, Growing Up, Fantasy. Rated 4 stars on 129 reviews. 496 pages. Fantastic reviews.
2. Sugar and Spice: An L.A. Candy Novel by Lauren Conrad. Price: $2.99. Genre: Young Adult, Social Situations, Friendship, Reality TV, Romance. Rated 4.5 stars on 42 reviews. 291 pages. A well-loved book in the series.

Kindle Book Deals – Various Genres (Fiction) including Adventure

1. **The Iliad of Homer by Homer, Translated by Richmond Lattimore. Price: $1.99. Genre: Ancient Greece, Poetry, History. Rated 4.5 stars on 84 reviews. 607 pages. A highly recommended translation.

Kindle Book Deals – Non Fiction

1. **This Life Is in Your Hands: One Dream, Sixty Acres, and a Family Undone by Melissa Coleman. Price: $1.99. Genre: Memoir, 1970s, Tragedy, Redemption, Fate, Forgiveness. Rated 4.5 stars on 65 reviews. 341 pages. A complicated and emotional perspective on the past.
2. The Book of Idle Pleasures by Dan Kieran and Tom Hodgkinson. Price: $2.34. Genre: Humor, Lifestyle, Consumerism, Past-times. Rated 5 stars on 2 reviews. 225 pages.

Free Kindle Books – Full List at Amazon

• The full list of new free kindle books at Amazon.

Free Kindle Books – Romance

1. Donovan’s Angel (The Donovans of the Delta) by Peggy Webb. Price: Free. Genre: Contemporary Romance. Rated 4.5 stars on 7 reviews. 683 kb in size, or about 340 pages.
2. *Tracking Shadows (Shadows of Justice) by Regan Black. Price: Free. Genre: Paranormal Romance. Rated 4.5 stars on 14 reviews. 304 pages.
3. What the Heart Wants (Soulmate Series: Book One) by Kelli McCracken. Price: Free. Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Future & Ghost. Rated 4 stars on 29 reviews. 558 kb in size, so around 275 pages.
4. *Almost Perfect (Perfect Trilogy) by Julie Ortolon. Price: $0. Genre: Contemporary Romance. Rated 4 stars on 67 reviews. 298 pages.
5. Rules of Engagement by Ann Bruce. Price: $0. Genre: Novella, Romantic Suspense. Rated 4.5 stars on 2 reviews. Kudos to the cover photographer – Didn’t know it was possible to make a woman in handcuffs and underwear look boring. Might be just 50 to 100 pages by the size of it.
6. A Hint of Rapture by Miriam Minger. Price: $0. Genre: Romance, Raptire, Highland Romance, Historical Romance. Rated 4 stars on 29 reviews. The girl on the cover’s alright. 543 kb so perhaps 180 to 220 pages.
7. *Before the Midnight Bells (Once Upon a Romance) by Jessica Woodard. Price: $0. Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Historical Romance. Rated 5 stars on 11 reviews. 178 pages. Always wonder about the part where the Prince is checking whether Cinderella’s shoe fits – what must her shoe size be, for her to be the only girl in the Kingdom who fits her shoe?

Free Kindle Books – Thrillers & Mysteries

1. **The Lonely Mile by Allan Leverone. Price: $0. Genre: Suspense Thriller. Rated 4.5 stars on 31 reviews. 310 pages. The Author is a three-time Derringer Award finalist for excellence in short mystery fiction and a 2011 Pushcart Prize nominee.
2. Simon Said (The Professor Simon Shaw Murder Mysteries) by Sarah Shaber. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Historical. Rated 4 stars on 16 reviews. 313 kb in size, or about 150 pages.
3. *Grave Situation by Alex MacLean. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Police Procedurals. Rated 4 stars on 23 reviews. 864 kb in size, or about 430 pages. Not sure why I like the cover but it’s likable.
4. *Subculture by Charles Anthony Vilina. Price: Free. Genre: Thriller, Suspense. Rated 5 stars on 13 reviews. 341 kb in size, so around 170 pages.
5. *Beneath a Buried House: A Detective Elliot Mystery (Detective Elliot Mysteries) by Bob Avey. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Hard-Boiled, Police Procedurals. Rated 4.5 stars on 12 reviews. 364 kb in size, so around 180 pages.
6. [Repeat, Good] Dead Angler (Loon Lake Fishing Mystery) by Victoria Houston. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Series. Rated 4 stars on 20 reviews. 460 kb in size, so about 230 pages.
7. Stroganov (A Darby Stansfield Thriller) by Ty Hutchinson. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Police Procedurals. Rated 5 stars on 5 reviews. 338 pages.
8. Key Lime Blues (A Wes Darling Mystery) by Mike Jastrzebski. Price: Free. Genre: Mystery, Action & Adventure. Rated 4 stars on 27 reviews. 318 pages.
9. *This is Life – a Jack Palms Novel (Jack Palms Crime) by Seth Harwood. Price: $0. Genre: Crime, Hard-Boiled Mystery. Rated 5 stars on 15 reviews. 427 kb so perhaps 150 pages.

Free Kindle Books – Religious

1. **Hope Beyond Hell The Righteous Purpose of God’s Judgment by D. Scott Reichard and Gerry Beauchemin. Price: Free. Genre: Christianity, Reference, Commentaries. Rated 4.5 stars on 56 reviews. 262 pages.
2. **Amish Prayers by Beverly Lewis. Price: $0. Genre: Amish, Religious. Rated 4.5 stars on 44 reviews. 139 pages.
3. *Closer: Devotions to Draw Couples Together by Jim Burns and Cathy Burns. Price: $0. Genre: Inspirational. Rated 4.5 stars on 27 reviews. 224 pages. There’s something very sweet and appropriate about a couple writing a book about devotions to draw couples together.

Free Kindle Books – Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror

1. ***Bio of a Space Tyrant Vol 1. Refugee by Piers Anthony. Price: $0. Genre: Science Fiction. 3-day promotion with the rest of the books in the series at just $1 each. This is what it’s come to – Piers Anthony for free and $1. Reminds me of The Kids Aren’t Alright by The Offspring. Just replace Kids with Authors.
   

   When we were young the future was so bright
   The old neighborhood was so alive
   And every kid on the whole damn street
   Was gonna make it big in every beat

2. **I Wish… (The Witches of Desire) by Wren Emerson. Price: Free. Genre: Fantasy, Magic, Love & Romance. Rated 4.5 stars on 26 reviews. 301 kb in size, so about 150 pages.
3. [Repeat, Very Good] Season Of The Harvest by Michael R. Hicks. Price: Free. Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure. Rated 4.5 stars on 107 reviews. 547 kb in size, or about 270 pages.
4. Dark Spells: Four Books by J. R. Rain & Scott Nicholson. Price: $0. Genre: Occult Horror, Fantasy. Rated 5 stars on 2 reviews.

Free Kindle Books – Historical Fiction

1. *Winston’s War: A Novel of Conspiracy by Michael Dobbs. Price: Free. Genre: Historical Fiction, WWII. Rated 4 stars on 12 reviews. 707 pages.

Free Kindle Books – Various Genres (Fiction) including Adventure

1. *An Act of Self-Defense by Erne Lewis. Price: Free. Genre: Political, Literary Fiction. Rated 5 stars on 34 reviews. 612 kb in size, so around 300 pages.
2. The Protector by Dawn Walker. Price: Free. Genre: Family. Rated 4.5 stars on 7 reviews. 482 kb in size, or about 240 pages.
3. Three Scoops is a Blast! by Alex Carrick. Price: Free. Genre: Short Stories. Rated 5 stars on 8 reviews. 201 pages.

Free Kindle Books – Non Fiction

1. **Hippie Boy: A Girl’s Story by Ingrid Ricks. Price: Free. Genre: Memoir. Rated 5 stars on 46 reviews. 491 kb in size, or around 245 pages.
2. **Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Film by Richard Schickel. Price: $0. Genre: Hitchcock, Biography. 346 kb so perhaps 150 pages. 
3. **One Million Arrows by Julie Ferwerda. Price: $0. Genre: Parenting, Families. Rated 5 stars on 42 reviews. 193 pages. 
4. *100 Time Savers: Cut 10 Minutes a Day from Your Schedule to Gain 60 Hours of Free Time Per Year by Robert Plank. Price: $0. Genre: Time Management. Rated 5 stars on 7 reviews. 135 pages.
5. First Year Teacher: Wit and Wisdom from Teachers Who’ve Been There by Randy Howe. Price: $0. Genre: Teacher Advice. Rated 5 stars on 2 reviews. 268 pages.
6. *31 Delicious and Nutritious Vegetarian Appetizer Recipes (The Ultimate Guide to Vegetarian Cooking) by Shelley Lynne. Price: $0. Genre: Appetizers, Cookbook. Rated 5 stars on 7 reviews.

Today’s Deal (Not Free, just Cheap)

1. Kindle Daily Deal. Well-Offed in Vermont by Amy Patricia Meade. A Cozy Mystery. $1.99.

Free Kindle Books – Full List at Amazon

1. The full list of new free kindle books at Amazon.

Free Kindle Books – Romance

1. A very strange day as the two mainstays, Romance and Religion, are missing in action.
2. Wild Horses by Misty Jean. Price: $0. Genre: Paranormal Romance, Ghosts, Her Father, A Dead Cowboy. Rated 5 stars on 3 reviews. 262 kb in size.

Free Kindle Books – Fantasy, Science Fiction & Horror

1. Raven (The Raven Saga) by Suzy Turner. Price: $0. Genre: Fantasy Novel for Children. Hard to believe it’s aimed at children given how depressing the cover is. Kids, is your life too bright and overflowing with sunshine? Here, read this and be morbid instead. Rated 4.5 stars on 28 reviews. 273 pages. The woman on the cover looks like she just saw the cover for the first time. 
2. Brainstorm (Daniel McMaster Series) by Gordon Kessler. Price: $0. Genre: Science Fiction Adventure. Rated 4.5 stars on 6 reviews. 312 pages. The cover is so bad I strongly recommend placing your left hand over the top left quadrant of the screen BEFORE you click this link. Then, no matter what happens, don’t move it away until you’ve left the page. When your body physically wants to run away from the screen – that’s what it’s like. You could make a scale – Great, Good, Bad, So Bad it’s Good, So Bad it’s Horrifying. Well, this book’s cover is at the extreme right of that scale.
3. Dawn of War (Blood War Trilogy) by Tim Marquitz. Price: $0. Genre: Epic Fantasy, Visceral. Rated 4.5 stars on 7 reviews. 278 pages. 

Free Kindle Books – Religious

1. The Parrot Talks in Chocolate (The Life and Times of a Hawaiian Tiki Bar #1) by Everett Peacock. Price: $0. Genre: Inspirational, Spiritual. Rated 4.5 stars on 28 reviews. 164 pages.

Free Kindle Books – Thrillers & Mysteries

1. The Last Witness by John Matthews. Price: $0. Genre: Thriller, Legal Thriller, The Largest Crime Family in Montreal, The One Man Caught in the Middle. Rated 5 stars on 1 review.
2. Nick Aldo Mysteries (Escaping the Rain) by Jeremy Drummond. Price: $0. Genre: Short Story. 25 pages. 
3. The Talent by B. Remi Boembeke. Price: $0. Genre: Action & Adventure, An Assassin with Assassins behind him. Rated 5 stars on 5 reviews. 227 pages. 
4. Petals of Canna by John L. Evans. Price: $0. Genre: Aviation Adventure, Story of Intrigue and Romance in the Amazon rainforest. Rated 5 stars on 3 reviews. The author’s write-up is well worth reading too. 330 kb in size.
5. CON TEST: Double Life by Rahiem Brooks. Price: $0. Genre: Thriller. Rated 4.5 stars on 15 reviews.
6. Left With the Dead (A “Gathering Dead” Novella) by Stephen Knight. Price: $0. Genre: Occult Horror, Military Thriller, The Dead. 83 pages. Rated 5 stars on 21 pages.

Free Kindle Books – Various Genres (Fiction)

1. The Grimm Curse (Once Upon a Time is Now) by Stephen Carpenter. Price: $0. Genre: Children’s Books, Mythology, Action & Adventure, A living descendant of the brothers Grimm. Rated 4 stars on 23 reviews. 83 pages.
2. The Protector by Dawn Walker. Price: $0. Genre: Drama, Love, A Woman and Her Niece, A Handsome Doctor. Rated 4.5 stars on 7 reviews. 397 kb in size.
3. Scorpio Rising (The Scorpio Series) by Monique Domovitch. Price: $0. Genre: Family Saga, Literary Fiction, An American Saga. Rated 4.5 stars on 14 reviews. 290 kb in size.
4. Cassidy Jones and the Secret Formula (Cassidy Jones Adventures, Book One) by Elise Stokes. Price: $0. Genre: Action & Adventure. 325 pages. Rated 5 stars on 53 reviews.
5. Blogging: It’s a “Woman” Thing by Cindy Adkins. Price: $0. Genre: Blogging Advice. Rated 5 stars on 14 reviews. 137 kb in size.
6. The Brit by Matt Cairone. Price: $0. Genre: An Existential Work of Literary Fiction (yes, apparently that’s supposed to impress us). Rated 5 stars on 21 reviews. 197 pages.
7. Dear Air 2000 by Terry Ravencroft. Price: $0. Genre: Humor, Letters to Airlines. Rated 5 stars on 3 reviews.
8. Beyond All Price by Carolyn Poling Schriber. Price: $0. Genre: Historical Fiction, Civil War. Rated 4.5 stars on 21 reviews. 358 pages.
9. Stumbling Forward (The Perpetual Campaign; Book 1) by Christopher Truscott. Price: $0. Genre: Political, Drama, A Congressional Race. Rated 4.5 stars on 8 reviews. 340 pages.
10. Alias Dragonfly by Jane Singer. Price: $0. Genre: Children’s Books, Spies, Intrigue. Rated 4 stars on 9 reviews. 178 pages. Bell Bridge.
11. Sophie and the Rising Sun by Augusta Trobaugh. Price: $0. Genre: Literary Fiction. Rated 4.5 stars on 7 reviews. 202 pages. Bell Bridge.

Free Kindle Books – Non Fiction

1. The Cheapskate’s Guide to Grocery Savings – How to Save a Bundle at Supermarkets by Daniel Mathews. Genre: Money Management, Budgeting. Rated 3 stars on 8 reviews. 23 pages.
2. Go to College without Going Broke by Grigory Lukin. Price: $0. Genre: College Money & Time Guide. Rated 5 stars on 6 reviews. 25 pages.
3. eBay 101: Selling on eBay for Part-time or Full-Time Income by Steve Weber. Price: $0. Genre: EBay, Small Business, Entrepreneurship. Rated 4 stars on 38 reviews. 272 pages.
4. [Gone!] Instant Confidence: 92 Tips On How to Build Confidence To Develop Self-Confidence and Self Esteem by Gary Vurnum. Price: $0. Genre: Instant Confidence – Just Add Water. 100 pages. Rated 4 stars on 4 reviews. This title is like a stand-up comic’s dream. Instant Confidence – Just follow these 92 steps. How to Build Confidence … So you can develop Self-Confidence.
5. Gone!
6. Broadmoor Revealed: Victorian Crime and the Lunatic Asylum by Mark Stevens. Price: $0. Genre: True, Murder & Mayhem. Rated 4.5 stars on 13 reviews. 118 pages.
7. Gone!
8. What’s Next … For You? by Patricia Gussin and Robert Gussin. Price: $0. Genre: Self-Help, Happiness. Rated 4 stars on 5 reviews. 146 pages.

Today’s Deal (Not Free, just Cheap)

1. Kindle Daily Deal. Today it’s Deadly Currents by Beth Groundwater. That confused me a lot – Deadly Groundwater … No Deadly Waters … No Deadly Currents. It’s an action-packed outdoor adventure cozy mystery with some family angles thrown in. Wow - talk about having a multiple personality disorder.

In no aspect is this more true than for eBooks. Finding quality should not be this difficult, nor does it have to be. The reliable resources that our technological world has afforded us are invaluable. Compiling a list of these resources and using them in optimal order will help you to find books and eBooks that suit your personal taste. The following is a list that I have composed in order to do just that.

STEP ONE: Consulting Algorithms

Some available algorithms make book recommendations based on previous book choices. They do this by searching a database of books that have been gathered by author, genre, style, and so forth.

This is the first place that you should look for a new read that suits you. The process is simple: you enter the title of a book that you enjoy and then the website will provide you with several suggestions.

Because they are so specific and personal, sometimes I find that these algorithms will lead in circles, recommending the same books and authors as you search. If you find this happening, it is time to move onto step two.

Examples:

What Should I Read Next - This basic website recommends and makes available hundreds of books based on your search.
Your Next Read - This stylish website shows 8 recommendations at a time for each book while allowing you to peruse further suggestions.

STEP TWO: Discuss with Friends or within Online Communities

I find this method provides extremely unique recommendations because human opinion can be so much more abstract than computer algorithms. If you ask someone who truly knows and understands you to suggest a book, they will probably offer something unexpected, but tailored to your specific tastes.

Online communities provide a similar service. Real people with a deep interest in literature make recommendations and if you are descriptive enough when you post, they will be able to offer excellent advice.

If you are interested in reading or writing, an active membership within these communities can be very beneficial. Not only will you help to inform other readers, but they will work to keep you informed as well.

Examples:

Good Reads - A social network oriented around reading and recommendations.
Library Thing - A community focused website on which writers and readers converge and communicate.
Nothing Binding - An independent literature focused community with unique recommendations.
Shelfari – A social media oriented website full of recommendations based on other choices.
Kindle Community – Amazon’s eBook and Kindle discussion forum.
Amazon’s Popular Highlights – A place to find the most popular passages within eBooks on the Kindle.

STEP THREE: Peruse Recommended Purchases

Like algorithms, recommended purchases from stores make personal suggestions based on book choices. The purchases of other users who bought the book you view will influence the recommendations.

This method is ideal for paid books because oftentimes free book recommendations are other unrelated free books. With paid books, however, the suggestions are usually both relevant and of similar quality to the original book viewed. I find this to be the best method for finding a large volume of books that I will love in a short period of time because every book viewed leads to more suggestions.

Examples:

Amazon - The store has consistently relevant recommendations for each book.
Barnes and Noble – Similar to Amazon, but for Nook purchases.
Kobo Books - Similar to the above, but for Kobo purchases.

STEP FOUR: Check Best or Best-Selling Book Lists by Genre or Era

After exhausting the first three methods, you should begin conducting broader searches. Searching by genre or time period is the most specific of these methods. If you enjoy a certain genre of books, then reading lists that relate will lead to fantastic finds. If you aren’t sure what genre you prefer to read, consider how your favourite television show or movie would be classified.

If searching by genre fails you, try looking at best-sellers lists from past decades. Some modern entertainment finds its inspiration on these lists. For example, people who love Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris would enjoy books from the 1920′s. Those who prefer experimental entertainment may find perfection among the 1960′s best-sellers.

Examples:

By Genre - A list of best-selling books organized by genre.
Hugo and Nebula Award Winners – A list of winners of Science Fiction awards.
Edgar Award Winners – A list of the winners of a Mystery writing award.
RITA Award Winners – A list of the winners of a Romance writing award.
By Year – A list of the best-selling novels for each decade of the twentieth century.

STEP FIVE: Browse the Catalogues of Independent Publishers

Independent publishers tend to publish books under the same style umbrella. If you find an indie book that you love, check out some other books released by the same publisher.

If you don’t often read indie books, this search will be more difficult, but still quite helpful. Researching various publishers can help you to compile a list that relates to your taste. Remember, this is a resource that you will use frequently, so it is worth taking some time to research.

Examples:

Apex Book Company – A Sci-Fi oriented independent publishing company.
OR Books – A publisher that focuses mainly on cultural and political work.
Online Originals - An online only publisher with an extensive catalogue.
Open Road – A digital format publishing company.
Rosetta Books – A hugely popular eBook publisher.
Bell Bridge Books – A southern fiction focused small press publisher.
Baen – A Sci-Fi publisher with a large free eBook catalogue.
Samhain – An erotic novel publisher.
Ellora’s Cave – An erotic and romance novel publisher.

STEP SIX: Seek Help from Twitter

Twitter has become the ultimate resource for input from others. If you have enough followers, simply asking for a suggestion could result in a plethora of choices. Book clubs and authors’ posts often include recommendations as well. Following your favourite authors and certain book clubs will provide some relevant suggestions.

Examples:

Neil Gaiman – Author of Coraline and American Gods.
Chuck Palahniuk – Author of Fight Club and Choke.
Tom Dolby – Author of Secret Society and The Trouble Boy.
NYT Twitter – The New York Times and its employees’ various Twitter accounts.
Friday Reads – Provides weekly recommendations and other reading related tweets.
The Book Club – Make recommendations and discuss literature and literary news.

STEP SEVEN: Read Reviews in Newspapers, Magazines, and Blogs

Each publication will offer a different perspective. For example, newspapers and magazines may use higher language than blogs, while blogs may be more honest with opinions because they are their own publisher. In any case, there are always great book recommendations.

The best way to find out if a reviewer has similar taste to you is to seek a positive review of a book that you love or a negative review of a book that you hate. These writers will provide the most relevant reviews for your library.

Again, this method is slightly more broad than those that come before it. It is always a good idea to refer back to earlier methods before moving forward with the process.

Examples:

A Work in Progress – Reviews an array of books, including biographies and mysteries.
Books I Done Read – A cleverly written blog that reviews multiple genres.
The New York Times – The go-to newspaper for literary news and information.

STEP EIGHT: Visit Libraries and Independent Bookstores

This method, like step two, provides the unique perspective of an individual. It is far down on this list because seeking eBooks is best done online. Still, librarians and the employees of independent bookstores are usually quite knowledgable and can provide the best recommendations if you are descriptive enough about your taste.

Rare and unique books may be suggested at these locations because of their penchant for housing quality. You may sometimes be disappointed to find that these books are not yet available in eBook format. In those cases, consider buying the hard copy or searching for available eBooks by the same author.

Examples:

Libraries – A list of libraries in the USA.
Bookstores – A list of independent bookstores by state.
More Bookstores – A search engine for local independent stores.

STEP NINE: Peruse General Best Books and Best-Sellers Lists

If you haven’t found anything satisfactory to read at this point of the process, it is probably time for you to open your mind to even broader searches. Best books and best-sellers lists are always made up of high quality or hugely popular books. Perusing these lists can help you to find new favourite genres, authors, and so on.

Examples:

100 Best Novels – Modern Library’s list of the top one hundred novels.
The Greatest Books – Several lists featuring the greatest books by multiple categories.
New York Times Best-Sellers – The current list of best-selling books.
Kindle Store Best-Sellers – The current list of best-selling eBooks on Amazon.
Kobo Top 50 - The daily list of best-selling eBooks on Kobo.
Barnes and Noble Best-Sellers – The up-to-date list of best-sellers on Barnes and Noble.
Top 100 Nook Books – The current best-selling eBooks for the Nook.

STEP TEN: Browse Free Book Catalogues
This, the final step, requires reverting to search methods similar to the old. If you have gotten here, using the search functions available is probably useless because you have already accessed most eBooks relating to your interests.

I recommend free catalogues because you can download without consequences or cost if you dislike your choice. Thousands of books are available, so remember to be patient and keep an open mind.

Examples:

Project Gutenberg – The figurehead for free books with a massive catalogue to peruse.
Many Books - Similar to Gutenburg and has multiple search options.
Public Domain Books – Many free, public domain books from Amazon.
See this article for many more.

After using each method, your library should be chock-full of books and eBooks tailored to your preferences. You should also have a great list of resources which can be checked frequently as new books are released. Feel free to modify this method to suit your personal needs and to repeat it as often as you like. Remember, you are only trying to satisfy yourself with these choices. Search for what you love and you’ll have the perfect library.

1. You can go to this Kindle Fire Cover Sale page at MyHabit.
2. The cover works for both Kindle Fire and Kindle Keyboard. Not sure about the sleeve.
3. There’s free shipping within the US.
4. Kindle Fire Cover from Graphic Image is on sale for $55 (Original Price: $105). It’s leather, has 4 straps at the edges to hold the Kindle firmly, has a strap on the outside for security, and has a pocket on the left side if you want to keep something else. It works with both Kindle Fire and Kindle Keyboard.
5. Colors are: Black Calfskin, Blue Goatskin, Cognac Saffiano, Cranberry Calfskin, Hunter Saffiano, Mustard Calfskin, Navy Pebble, and Platino Gold Goatskin. I like the red and also the white (which Graphic Image likes to call ‘platino gold’).
6. Kindle Sleeve from Graphic Image is on sale for $44 (Original Price: $95). It has a button closure so you can slide in your Kindle and then snap it shut.
7. Colors are: Black Calfskin, Cognac Saffiano, Dark Blue Saffiano, Hunter Saffiano, Platino Gold Goatskin.

The sleeves look decent (blue and white). The covers look really good (white, red, and a few of the others). $45 to $55 is not a bad price for a leather cover. Not sure where Graphic Image stands on the quality and value for money scale. Also, don’t think there are any MyHabit coupon codes at the moment. They used to have HOLIDAY and MEMBER15 but those are gone. Perhaps they have something for new members if you aren’t already a member.

Race to $100 – Part 2

The Kindle predictions here were: 

1. Kindle WiFi will hit $100 by March 2011, and $75 by July 2011. Somewhat Accurate. We did see the $100 price fairly early, and got Kindle 4 for $79 in the second part of the year. 
2. Nook 2 will further lower prices by coming in at $150. Got this mostly right. Nook Touch came in at $139.
3. Kindle 3 will hit $125 by July and might even go lower. Not sure how to evaluate this since there are models with Ads to consider. Let’s skip this one.
4. eReader Market Fragmentation will continue with 5 eReader segments ($75 to $100, $125 to $150, Tablets at $200 to $250, color Kindles at $300, DX at $300). Partially correct. There are no Color Kindles – the other segments do exist.

While most of the predictions here were correct or close, none of them are impressive. Anyone could have guessed these.

New Kindles and new eReaders in 2011

The Kindle predictions here were:

1. Amazon will release a Kindle Tablet. Everyone saw this coming. 
2. Amazon will release a color eInk based Kindle 4. Totally wrong on this one.
3. B&N will release a Nook 2 and a Nook Color 2. Easy prediction to make. 
4. Sony will push the technology bar – and will fail to make headway. Wrong on the first and Right on the second. 
5. Smaller eReader companies will announce lots of eReaders and not release them. Wrong – nearly all small eReader companies folded up or left (at least in the US).

A mixed bag here. Got the Color Kindle prediction completely wrong.

Kindle, eReader sales will grow to tens of millions of eReaders

1. Kindle to 10 million in annual sales, Nook to 3 million in annual sales. Perhaps correct (we don’t know figures). Perhaps actual sales are 50% to 70% of the prediction (especially with Kindle Fire and Nook Color and Nook Tablet seducing away casual readers). 
2. Nook Color to 10 million annual sales, Kindle Tablet to 2 million in annual sales. This is more like: 5 million sales for Nook Color and Nook Tablet, 5 million sales for Kindle Tablet. Again, the lack of hard numbers makes it difficult to evaluate this prediction. I did severely underestimate how well Kindle Fire would do.

Probably right on Kindle and Nook. Wrong on Nook Color and Kindle Tablet.

Color eReaders, Reading Tablets, and Tablets

Nearly all of these are wrong:

1. Color eReaders will arrive and will fail. Actually, they merely failed to arrive.
2. Color Kindle will arrive. As Borat would say – NOT.
3. Reading Tablets will become very popular. Right on this one.
4. Tablets will be stealing away casual readers – just not very many. Wrong on this one – lots of casual readers are choosing Tablets.

Reading Tablets became hugely important in 2011. Let’s call them high-value tablets from this point on.

Extra Predictions for 2011

1. eReader sales will spur eBook sales to 21.5% market share. Will have to wait to see the tallies for Q4 of 2011. Suspect I got this one right.
2. One of the Big 6 Publishers will go bankrupt. Not.
3. One of the eReader App Stores will explode in popularity and importance. With Kindle App Store at around 100 to 200 apps and Nook App Store (only for Tablets) at around 1,900 apps – neither has really exploded in popularity.
4. At least a few indie authors will spurn book deals. This has happened. Please Note: A lot more indie authors have signed book deals than have spurned them (at least that’s what my data tells me).
5. Authors will become a bigger market than Readers, and companies will rise up to serve them. Hasn’t really happened. A few intelligent people are putting this into place though. We do have a handful of companies building up distribution networks and at least two of them will end up becoming very big.

Apart from the big miss of assuming that one of the Big 6 Publishers would go bankrupt in 2011, the rest went well for the most part.

Thoughts on Kindle Predictions for 2011

1. Pretty sad to see no color Kindle.
2. Big surprise that Kindle Fire is probably going to sell 5 million Kindles. Good to see two high-value Tablets become so strong (Nook Tablet and Kindle Fire).
3. B&N is delivering.
4. Kobo is suddenly a player. It wasn’t really on the scene last year – at least not much. This year it’s in the ‘best eReader’ conversation.
5. Sony has slipped even more. In trying to compete on price it’s mostly lost its ‘best eReader when store and infrastructure are not considered’ status.
6. The race to zero in books is brutal. That might end up impacting everything else in eReader Land and Kindle Land.
7. I’d give myself a B grade. But most of the predictions were very safe. Even the Color Kindle prediction was a safe one, if not for Amazon delaying things when it had the chance to take a huge lead in the eReader market.

I really don’t know what to predict for 2012. Perhaps things like a smaller iPad that takes on Kindle Fire, a color Kindle, the rise of Kobo, the profitability of B&N, and the decline of authors’ livelihoods. Perhaps will write something later.

1. It’s pretty remarkable that ’1 million Kindle devices are being sold every week’. 
2. Kindle Fire is diluting the Kindle brand. In these senses: Forums are now taken over by Kindle Fire owners, People have begun to associate Kindle with ‘Tablet’ (as opposed to eReader), the concept of ‘eInk Kindle as the best reading experience’ is slowly being eroded, the visibility of eInk Kindles is diminishing. iPad wasn’t the Kindle Killer but Kindle Fire might be.
3. Kindle Fire is surviving despite being the anti-iPad. Is it polished so much it shines and glitters? No. Does it have 100,000 apps for it? Not even close. Does it convey status? Not exactly. Does it meet some unknown bar of ‘feels right and scrolls magically’? Probably not since no one knows what the bar is. While every company was trying to win by cloning the iPad, Amazon has taken the route B&N did and won by anti-cloning the iPad.
4. Kindle Fire has shown the power of the Amazon and Kindle brands. Any other company which released a Beta Stage Tablet (which, quite frankly, is what Kindle Fire is), would have been skewered over an open flame with an extra dose of not-iPad barbecue sauce. Kindle Fire owners are almost universally willing to wait for software upgrades.
5. Amazon has really messed up on the eInk Kindle front. If there are serious doubts whether Kindle 4 and Kindle Touch are even as good as Kindle 3 (they aren’t, if you’re wondering) – then there’s a problem. If Nook Touch and Kobo Touch cannot be ignored in any ‘Best Touch eReader’ conversation, and are even being picked as the winner in some conversations - then Kindle Touch isn’t good enough.
6. It’s an unknown whether Amazon will focus as much (or even much) on Kindles. A part of me still thinks Amazon approached books because there was no other company seriously making a device for readers. That eInk Kindle was just a dry run and the ultimate aim was to make a mini-Amazon store. Kindle Fire is much closer to that. Amazon is focused on gaining Amazon.com customers and getting them to make Amazon.com purchases. Kindle Fire becomes much more important when you view things in that context. 
7. Books are almost destroyed in terms of value. There are 300+ indie authors each day making their books free. There are hundreds of books on sale for $1 and $2 every month. The price pressure is incredible. Instead of being the preserve of gatekeeper Publishers, books are turning into the preserve of Supermarkets that use books as loss leaders.
8. Bestseller Lists and Kindle Daily Deal are turning into the ONLY channels (B&N also has equivalents). These 2 sources are becoming the only sources that hold any power. There’s not really any other way that you can reach a large number of Kindle owners.
9. Publishers still don’t get it. However, they are beginning to get it. Can’t really expound much on this without it taking over the post. In Summary: Publishers are now beginning to do what they should have ideally done 10 to 20 years ago to safeguard against what Amazon has done (reduced books to loss leaders). It’s amazing that they did not understand this even after Kindle was released. It’s almost as if they’re in a time-warp and realize things 3 to 5 years too late.
10. Readers now need Publishers. We’ve gone through the Golden Period and now we’re in the muck. Who’s going to pick out the quality books? Not Amazon. It benefits from users coming to Amazon, getting frustrated with the slushpile, and buying something else instead. Think about what Amazon has done – it’s randomized free book offers and turned the Kindle Store into slot machines. You don’t know whether you’ll get rewarded or not. You do know that you’ll go to Amazon.com.
11. Amazon’s 10 year plan might have NOTHING to do with books. All along the belief everyone was laboring under was – What is Amazon going to do with all this power? Is it going to take over Publishing? Perhaps the question should have been – What is Amazon going to do with this gigantic pile of loss leaders? Is it going to reduce books to complimentary glasses of lemonade that get customers in and get them to pay for a 4-course dinner?

Strangely enough, all this writing has brought on a few more thoughts:

1. In a perfect market for books, there would be very little money left for 99% of Authors. The average author want to be read much more than the average reader wants to read.
2. Amazon cares far more about bringing users into the Amazon eco-system than what happens to the future of paid books. Nothing wrong with that. Unless you’re an Author or Publisher who needs for there to be a future for paid books.
3. Some readers want prices to go down from $10 to $1. Yet they still want Stephen King and Pat Conroy level books. This is the second biggest threat to the future of books.
4. The biggest threat to the future of books is that the market is going to be controlled by a few stores/platforms. These few stores/platforms will have so much power they can do anything they wish.
5. There’s not really a way back to a sustainable system. Amazon pays authors 35 cents for a $1 book, or it pays a few cents for the download costs of a free book. It then gets $X via other purchases by the customer who came in for the free/cheap book. Why would Amazon ever go back from this system? Ask any store whether it’d be willing to pay 2 cents per customer visit.
6. All the eReaders and Tablets create an opportunity for a new platform to rise that goes direct from readers to authors. We need someone crazy like Craig Newmark or Jimmy Wales to say: Let’s just get authors 90% or 100% of what readers pay. What Louis C. K. is doing – except with a platform that lets any author do it.
7. Books are in danger of going the way of content on the Internet. A large platform/search engine does Divide & Conquer and just uses content/books as free material to run ads against or as a lure to attract users.
8. Author should be asking themselves why they are getting only 35% from books that are below $3. Why isn’t Amazon factoring in the money it makes from other things users buy? The 70% cut should be across all book prices. It’s a bit of a joke that an indie author strengthening Kindle sales and the Kindle Store and Amazon.com by selling his book for $1 gets only 35%.

This year has shown me a few things (which might be wrong assumptions or might be right ones) -

1. Amazon understands what it is doing.
2. Hardly anyone else understands what Amazon is doing. Perhaps no one at all.
3. The same thing that Amazon has used to kill Publishers can be used to remove Amazon from the equation.
4. Readers’ loyalties only lie with themselves. And to an extent with Authors. Amazon’s move to lock-in Kindle Store purchases now seems necessary and hardly evil.
5. B&N will survive. If Amazon tries to buy it, there will be FTC and Justice Department interventions. Amazon should have bought it when it had the chance.
6. Kobo is far, far more dangerous than anyone realizes. We’re talking about a company that is surviving amongst monsters. It’s evolving very, very fast. Kobo 1 was so bad it almost seemed a practical joke. Kobo Touch cannot be ignored. Kobo might be beating Amazon handily in eInk readers by mid 2012 (if it keeps improving at this rate).
7. Authors are royally done for. The iron-handed but somewhat benevolent dictators/gatekeepers are being replaced by an unthinking, uncaring platform.
8. The Book Revolution is almost certainly going to turn into the Book Apocalypse. Unless something or some company stops it in 2012 and 2013. We have just a few years to stop the ongoing destruction.

2011 has seen such rapid developments, especially in terms of the devaluation of books, that it’s very tough to figure out where we’ll be headed next. Unfortunately, 95% of the possibilities are dark and disquieting.

• Disclaimer #1: Although cases are discounted from $90 to $42, and there’s a 20% off coupon to get to $34, they are still $34. Not exactly cheap.
• Disclaimer #2: As an Amazon Associate site, this blog makes commissions from purchases made at Amazon and Amazon owned companies like MyHabit.

Anyways, there’s a MyHabit Kindle Keyboard Case sale on Envelope Cases from Graphic Image. They look good and they’re leather.

1. Price: $42. Down from $90. With 20% off coupon it’ll be $34. Coupon Code: HOLIDAYS. MyHabit Coupon Code ends December 15th. They do have 10% to 20% off coupons pretty regularly so don’t buy anything unless you see the coupon.
2. Type of Case: Envelope Case. Secure Snap Closure
3. Material: Leather.
4. Colors: Berry Calfskin, Black Calfskin, Blue Goatskin, Bright Orange, Cognac Saffiano, Cranberry Calfskin, Dark Blue Saffiano, Fern Green, Mustad Calfskin, Platino Gold Calfskin, Sterling, Tennis Ball (which is almost exactly the color of a tennis ball and wildly incongruent amongst shades like Cognac Saffiano and Platino Gold Calfskin).
5. My Thoughts: If not for the international shipping and import fees I’d buy this. Still might. $34 after discount is a bit expensive. Leather case is nice and it looks pretty.
6. Warning: This site is addictive. Avoid if you are on a strict budget.

MyHabit had one more sale on Kindle Cases in the past. Will let you know if there are any other Kindle accessory sales at MyHabit.