Okay, as promised, I am celebrating MS Awareness Week by offering a FREE download of “Once in Every Generation” through Amazon’s Kindle program. The offer will last five days.

   Here are the links to the USA and UK Amazon sites, but I know it’s available in whatever country Amazon books are sold. http://amzn.to/d0MUEz (USA) - http://amzn.to/V8PX9S (UK).

   I’m not computer-savvy enough to know how it works, but I’m told you don’t even need a Kindle to download it. Do it for you, or mention it to a friend. Hey, it’s FREE!

    The caveat is that it is not about MS. It’s about relationships and learning how to face challenges (it just happens that a main character gets diagnosed with PPMS, so the reader learns about the disease). It can apply to any physical or mental challenges one may face.

   Enjoy! And, please remember that I love to get feedback. Read on!

Oh, what a ride....

And so, it is complete. No, not my second novel, but the Amazon 5-day giveaway. I had reservations about joining the Kindle Direct Program Select, because it required exclusivity to my book (only regarding e-book status). I found that to be a pompous request from a colossus of a company. But, after hearing from other authors that they successfully had their novels downloaded in the hundreds, and to celebrate its 2-year anniversary of publication, I decided to give it a try.

Five days later, I can report that I am tickled pink that I made that decision. There were 14,860 downloads! Of course, I’d be tickled bright red if those downloads were with a royalty. Nonetheless I am thrilled that my novel is now in the hands of 14,860 readers, who may have otherwise not have read it. Yes, it was FREE and people love getting things for FREE. I do too. Will 14,860 people read it on their Kindle? I doubt that. But, just suppose 500 of those people actually get around to reading it – then that means 500 more people will have learned about multiple sclerosis. (Though the novel is NOT about MS, one of the main characters receives a diagnosis of MS and the reader learns about the tribulations we MSers may go through daily.)

With the giveaway over, the novel is available to download once again for $4.99. In addition, it is in the Amazon Lending Library and available to their Prime Members for 90 days, exclusively. People have already begun to “borrow” the book, and they are still buying the paperback. With a giant push, I have added to the platform that I started building October 2010 when the novel first was published (in publish-speak a “platform” is an audience).

Now exclusively in the hands of Amazon, I feel a great sense of relief, in that I can really concentrate on my second novel. Yes, I still have to promote, but not on a daily basis. This affords me the luxury of working on this second novel.

My next novel is so different than my first, that I may have to warn some people before it goes into publication. I really stepped “outside the box” of my comfort zone with this one. It is partly historical fiction/partly contemporary. There is murder/suspense/mystery, and it is loosely based on a real person who survived the Holocaust. I promise: no vampires or zombies.

I can only hope that the platform I built will continue to follow my writings. And, I sincerely want to thank all of you who downloaded the novel and made it an Amazon Bestseller. Oh, what a ride it has been!

CORRECTION: The ebook version of "Once in Every Generation" is NOW downloadable for FREE on Amazon for 5 days beginning today. You do not need a Kindle to download it. You can download it to your PC or other e-devices (Kindle for PC is free - and I have no doubt that Apple devices have their own version). This is in CELEBRATION of its two year anniversary of publication! After the free 5-day period, it will be available exclusively to Amazon Prime Members and their Lending Library for 90 days. Maybe by then I will be ready to launch my second novel. Here's the link: http://amzn.to/d0MUEz.

Amazon's Lending Library

Okay, I have succumbed to something I swore I would never do. I joined the Amazon Kindle Select Program. Although my book is on Amazon as a paperback and as an ebook, and I felt it was pompous of Amazon to expect exclusivity. That meant shutting down Smashwords and Barnes & Noble.com and any other avenues that distribute "Once in Every Generation" electronically. But, in the past few months I have been hearing from other authors that there have been major downloads of their books through this program. While readers have been buying my book steadily since it's publication, and I have on occasion offered it discounted, I have wearied of promoting it. Ugh, the business end of the book business. So, when I hear that authors can get their books into the hands of 400-1000-plus readers, who might then suggest it to others, I decided to give it a try. This affords me two important "shot-in-the-arms." 1) I don't particularly care if a reader gets it for free (without royalties coming to me), because it means a reader is reading it. My message is getting out there. And that has been my greatest wish for my novel. 2) This gives me uninterrupted time to concentrate on my second novel which has been moving along quickly. Perhaps, those readers of my first novel will then want to buy my second novel as well. In the industry this is called "building a platform." Though I must warn all my readers that this second novel is vastly different than my first: Suspense/mystery/thriller/historical fiction - it has it all. So, there is a 5-day window of FREE downloads through the KDP Select programs and the link is below. After that it gets put into the lending library for 90 days. I'm giving it a try. At least, I will have 90 days to work exclusively on my new novel. ONCE IN EVERY GENERATION - For 5 days only for Amazon Prime Members: $0.00 (borrow for free from your Kindle). http://amzn.to/d0MUEz. Please share this with your friends.