Tasha's (aka Beren) Journal

Hypothetically speaking, if I was to organise a book day thingy for my latest novel "Advent" (vampires, vampire hunters etc) in the near future (probably a Sunday) would anyone be interested. There would be free stuff and money off vouchers for the book and signed eBook covers for anyone interested (a la this method) and general chat and stuff that I have yet to decide on (probably a give away of some kind).

I would run it on my blog over here: Tasha's Thinkings because that has the most ways of being able to comment and is the least cluttered with my usual ravings :). You can comment using your LJ account or OpenID or just plain putting in your name and gmail addie, so basically any way you want.

Yes/No/Maybe?

After some of the response I received to yesterday's post about buying and reading books from Amazon: On Dreamwidth | On LJ, I thought of another useful post for newbies to eBooks.

Hence

Amazon Is Not the Only Option even if you have a Kindle

Depending on what eBook reader you have chosen there are other eBook sites out there where you may purchase to your heart's desire. Most eReaders are not geared to one site only, for example, if a site says it has .mobi format, this means you can read it on a Kindle.

If you want to know what format your eReader can take then check out this Wikipedia post which has a lovely table at the bottom showing you what can read what. Comparison of e-book formats

If you're reading on PC, Mac or Smartphone you also have various software options. Some eBook stores offer their own readers, but there are also:

• Calibre - does just about every format and as long as the book is DRM free it can read it. Also has convert and organise options.
  
• Adobe Digital Editions - supports various formats and can do DRM books
  
• eReader.com - not actually quite sure about this one

In fact there are so many that check out this page for more info: E-book software from Mobileread

Once you have your device or software there is the question of where to buy your books.

Here are a list of all the major eBook stores Wittegen Press books are uploaded to (I'm talking about these because these are the ones I know about, it is not an exhaustive list):

• Amazon: UK | US | DE | FR | ES | IT
  
• Smashwords - books here come in just about every format available. They are DRM free.
  
• Barnes & Noble - Nook book fromat (and I believe only available in the US - please correct me if I am wrong)
  
• Kobo - ePub and have a Kobo reading ap for many devices if you want to download and use it.
  
• Diesel - ePub
  
• iTunes (Apple) - iBook (iBook FAQ at Apple)
  
• Goodreads - some people offer their books via Goodreads as well as using it as a review site. ePub again

Then there are other more specialist sites:

• All Romance - you get one guess what they specialise in and they offer various formats depending on what the publisher has uploaded. Each book entry will tell you what formats are available for that book. The only drawback I have seen is that you can only download one format of the book, so if you pick the wrong one you're stuffed.
  
• OmniLit - this is All Romance's sister site that does all genres.
  
• Ebook-Eros - Erotic books linked to Diesel.

Then some publishers have their own sites, big names and Indie.

• Mills & Boon UK they mention Apple, Kindle, Kobo, Samsung and Sony
  
• Total.E.Bound Publishing MS Lit, Adobe (ePub), Mobi
  
• Phaze.com (HTML, PDF, ePub, Mobi, Kindle)
  
• Liquid Silver Books (PDF, HTML, .Lit, .Mobi, Rocket)

And that's just half of the first page of Google when I search for Romance eBooks. Everyone is at it, from all genres, and all you have to do is check to see what formats the sites are offering.

What you have to watch out for with the big providers like Amazon and Apple is DRM. Some books purchased through their sites may only be read on their devices/applications. Other than that, the world is your oyster.

If you have any questions, feel free to ask, I'll do my best to answer them. I'm not an expert, but I'm happy to try and help.

Okay so I know I'm way behind and everyone probably already knows about this band, but I had to rec this song, it's brilliant and their other songs are cool too.

I like the normal version of this, but the acoustic is simply superb!

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQLGhPHzxjc&feature=relmfu

This is the non-acousic version as well. Odd vid, but cool :)

Direct link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv6dMFF_yts

Their website is here: http://www.ournameisfun.com/home/
They have lots of their other songs on there too.

I have a newish blog over on Blogspot: Tasha's Thinkings.

It's for my book stuff and my deeper thoughts without the random ravings of a deranged mind you sometimes get here :). The reason I'm posting about it it because I'm looking to network and I wondered if any of my flist have blogs and would like to friend and link up.

I've hooked up to NetworkBlogs and I have follow by email and the normal follow on Blogspot. It's all in the sidebar of the blog.

I'm also looking for recs on blogs to follow.

Thank you for any links :D

Happy Birthday to:
mirokuslady and sparemint for today,
noneeca, cherrycigars, kiakaha and stitchy for tomorrow,
the lovely klo_the_hobbit, the wonderful mandragora1/mandragora and matrix_hack for the 25th,
star_raiser , meaikoh, jellypencil and peachdancer82 for the 26th,
starr_falling for the 27th
separatrix, ihlanya, litian and sherdelune for the 28th and
xyverz, krichardson/krichardson and the adorable meeshy/meesh for the 29th

Many Happy Returns to you all.

---

Just in case you missed my previous post ... my new book. :)

Forbidden Soul (Soul Reader #2) by Tasha D-Drake Released 23rd January 2012 Novella ~22.5Kwds

Just had to change all my ftp user passwords on Dreamhost. It's all in the name of security and Dreamhost are very good about stuff like that, but it was a pain.

Problem is I have 19 ftp users :) - it's okay for people with two or three!

Sorry I'm a day late again ... was sidetracked yesterday and didn't post anything anywhere.

Happy Birthday to:

em_rose483, black_and_bloom and epona34 for yesterday,
lady_razzle and libel for today,
slytherinboyz, empire3k, nanathecat and elesteria for tomorrow,
slice14414 for the 19th,
medieval1066, closet_bound, cock_and_logic, fides and irish_dragon
for the 20th,
roxyroller121, son_of_darkness, swtjemz and eclipse_n2_lust for the 21st and
bassician, girlfrom711, crazyrodent and misskittye for the 22nd

Many Happy Returns to you all.

As ever, if I am missing you for some reason, please LMK. It's not deliberate and I would be very happy to add you to my spreadsheet.

I've redone the cover of Advent to appeal a little more to the YA vampire readers.

Meet Nate, my lead character. He's a lot prettier than Dahlia who was on the cover before ;).



( Click for the larger version )

Happy Birthday to:

youko_silvara, liathcosan and rae_1985 for the 9th,
shinko for the 10th,
pomkeygeekange for the 11th,
winter_noir and pixidthelurker for the 12th,
filodea, slashaddict13 and snottygrrl for the 13th,
snailfin, yorkybar, gajastar, lynntownsend, ilyena_sylph and kymethra for the 14th
closetidentity, jadeleopard and edge_is_strong for the 15h and
emilyexorsist, black_and_bloom and epona34 for the 16th

Many Happy Returns to you all.
I've added in those birthdays I can see on DW - if you had the same user name I assumed you were the same person, if not I added in the new names.

Here are all the fics I did for fandom_stocking. All the fics that were in more than one comment are no on AO3 as well and I've linked to LJ and AO3.

For aetas_lupus
Title: Sometimes All It Takes is a Push
Author: Beren
Fandom: American Idol
Pairing: Adam/Kris
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, the real people in it are used without their permission and I definitely don't own them or have any copyright to any part of any of them. I do not believe any of this happened, is likely to happen or should happen it is simply a story created around known facts about those involved.
Link to fic: Sometimes All It Takes is a Push (on AO3)

For alyse
Title: End or Beginning
Fandom: Blade Trinity
Pairing: Abby/Hannibal
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations from Blade Trinity the movie. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
On AO3 | LJ pt1 / LJ pt 2

For heeroluva
Title: Christmas Night
Fandom: Blade Trinity
Pairing: Drake/Hannibal
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations from Blade Trinity the movie. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
On AO3 | LJ pt1 / LJ pt 2

For katemonkey
Title: Sometimes You Just Have to Deal
Author: Beren
Fandom: The Avengers
Pairing: Tony/Steve/Pepper
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Marvel et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
On LJ

For kitsuneyujji
Title: The Beginning
Author: Beren
Fandom: X-men First Class
Pairing: Erik/Charles
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer:This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Marvel et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Link to fic: The Beginning (on Ao3)

For leyenn
Title: Christmas is for the Insane
Author: Beren
Fandom: B5
Pairing: Susan/Talia
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations from the B5 show. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
On AO3 | LJ pt 1 / LJ pt2

For mieka_writes
Title: Blood Magic
Author: Beren
Fandom: Cinema Bizarre RPS
Pairing: Strify/Yu/Kiro
Rating: R
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, the real people in it are used without their permission and I definitely don't own them or have any copyright to any part of any of them. I do not believe any of this happened, is likely to happen or should happen it is simply a story created around known facts about those involved.
Link to fic: Blood Magic (on Ao3)

For moonlettuce
Title: Between Worlds
Author: Beren
Fandom: X-men First Class
Pairing: Charles/Erik
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Marvel et al. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
On AO3 | LJ pt1 / LJ pt2

For temaris
Title: Turning a Corner
Author: Beren
Fandom: Highlander
Pairing: Methos/Richie
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations from Highlander the TV show. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Link to fic: Turning a Corner (on AO3)

For thwax
Title: Not Her
Author: Beren
Fandom: Fright Night (1985)
Pairing: Charley/Jerry Dandrige
Rating: PG13
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations from Fright Night the 1985 movie. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
link to fic: Not Her (on AO3)

For viridescence
Title: Werewolf Welcome
Author: Beren
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairing: Harry/Draco
Rating: NC17
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Link to fic: Werewolf Welcome on AO3

For zellieh
Title: Scotch
Author: Beren
Fandom: Lewis
Pairing: Lewis/Hathaway
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations from Lewis the TV show. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
On LJ