Colleen Collins is an award-winning author who has written several dozen novels for Harlequin and Dorchester, as well as three indie nonfiction books on private investigations and one indie mystery, The Zen Man, which tops today’s Buffet.
Her books have placed first in the Colorado Gold, Romancing the Rockies, and Top of the Peak contests, and placed in the finals for the Holt Medallion, Coeur de Bois Readers Choice, Award of Excellence, More than Magic, and Romance Writers of America RITA contests.
After graduating from the University of California Santa Barbara, Colleen worked as a film production assistant, improv comic, telecommunications manager at the RAND Corporation, technical writer/editor, speech writer, and private investigator. All these experiences play into her writing.
When not sleuthing, Colleen’s hanging with her two Rottweilers (named Jack Nicholson and Aretha Franklin), her three cats, and plotting or writing her next book.
As usual, each book listed here has gone FREE within the past 24 hours, except for the Bargain books in the yellow section below. Warning: Kindle book promotions can end without notice, so before downloading click the link “See Kindle price at Amazon” to verify that the book is still free. (Prices and availability may differ outside USA.)
The Zen Man
Mystery > Private Investigators
Author: Colleen Collins
Just as washed-up criminal defense attorney, life-long Deadhead (nickname “The Zen Man”), and current PI Rick Levine decides to get relicensed as a lawyer, he’s charged with killing one and ends up in the slammer with a half-mil bail.
Released on bond, Rick and his girlfriend Laura have 30 days to find the real killer. In the course of their investigations, they dig for dirt among Denver’s shady legal backrooms to its tony corporate centers. Dodging bullets, a kidnapping, trumped-up charges and the FBI’s unwanted intervention, Rick and Laura continue tracking key suspects who have motive…eventually learning that true redemption begins at home.
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Arisen, Book One – Fortress Britain
Genre Fiction > War > Horror
Author: Glynn James, Michael Stephen Fuchs
When the Zombie Apocalypse came, one country had shut down its borders in response to a major terrorist attack. Now Fortress Britain is the last bastion of the living – with 50 million beleaguered survivors facing down a world of 7 billion animated corpses.
And when civilization fell, one international team of supremely elite special operators was being assembled for a nearly impossible mission, deployed out of the SAS barracks at Hereford. Supremely trained and armed, always the most skilled, resolved, and unstoppable amongst us, now the commandos of Alpha team are humanity’s last best hope for survival. Searching through the detritus of fallen Europe, scavenging pharmaceutical labs for clues to a vaccine that might bring humanity back from the brink, now they are tasked with one last desperate operation.
They must cross the Atlantic aboard the world’s only remaining supercarrier, insert by air into the very middle of a dead continent, and then fight their way on foot through a city of 3 million ravening dead guys. But these Zulus will not be like any zombies they have ever fought before…
Progeny
Genre Fiction > Coming of Age
Author: Patrick C. Greene
Owen Sterling is a reclusive author living in a secluded house deep in the woods. When he welcomes his son Chuck for a summer visit, the eleven-year-old suspects something is not right at his father’s home. His worries mount when he witnesses a confrontation between his father and some local hunters.
Zane Carver is the local gun-shop owner who confronts the author over Owen’s refusal to let anyone on his land for hunting or camping. He defies the recluse, taking a hunting party onto Owen’s property.
Soon, Zane and his buddies discover the writer’s secret . . . a deadly secret; a creature whose infinite rage they have unwittingly ignited . . . that is now hunting them.
Email Persuasion: Captivate and Engage Your Audience
Business & Investing > E-commerce
Author: Ian Brodie
Business fads come and go, but Email Marketing has consistently outperformed all other marketing strategies. In Email Persuasion, marketing expert Ian Brodie reveals the techniques that are working right now to allow professionals and small businesses to connect with potential clients, build trust-based relationships and generate more sales through email.
Inside the book you’ll discover:
- The Customer Insight Mapping technique for building deep understanding of what your clients need and what will motivate them to buy from you.
- 6 surefire subject line models that will get your emails opened and read.
- The “optin formula” for getting the right people to subscribe to your emails (and how to accelerate the growth of your subscriber list).
- How to engage AND persuade with your emails so that you build a loyal ‘fan base’ ready to buy from you.
- The advanced techniques for turning email subscribers into paying clients (and why accepted wisdom on selling in emails is almost all wrong).
White Lion’s Lady (Warrior Trilogy)
Historical Romance > Medieval
Author: Lara Adrian
She was promised to another, but her heart belonged to him alone . . .
Abducted on the way to her wedding, heiress Isabel de Lamere is unaware that the scoundrel planning to use her for his own gain is the cherished champion of her childhood: Griffin, the White Lion. Yet even as she discovers his treachery, Isabel cannot deny that Griffin lingers in her dreams, awakening the passion in her steadfast heart.
Then a twist of fate puts a price on both their heads, embroiling them in a life-and-death chase that will force Griffin to choose between his own freedom and his fierce desire for the woman who would redeem his noble spirit. But to reclaim his lost honor, the White Lion could lose Isabel forever. . . .
Skidboot ‘The Smartest Dog In The World’
Family Relationships > Animal Care & Pets > Dogs
Author: Cathy Luchetti
‘Skidboot’ is the gripping true story of a Texas cattle dog who captures the minds and hearts of the world as he evolves from an unleashed dervish to the most highly responsive, intuitive dog on the rodeo and media circuit. From Oprah to Letterman to Leno, Skidboot parades his startling skills to fans worldwide.
From his birth in a barn to riding herd over thousands of admiring fans, Skidboot learns from his cowboy owner, David Hartwig, how to encourage the sick, shock rodeo fans, surprise TV audiences and turn the financial tide. The story of Skidboot is an all-American telling—from underdog to top dog. A true canine Einstein, a new Lassie—written by acclaimed author Cathy Luchetti, this is a story for our times!
Let’s Talk Fried Turkey (how to fry a turkey in 8 easy steps)
Cookbooks, Food & Wine > Outdoor Cooking
Author: Sarah Hall
Whether it’s for Thanksgiving, Christmas, a wide-open tailgate party or any kind of celebration, it’s become tradition to cook (fry) a good turkey at any given feast. But getting that turkey from the store to the table can be a real hassle if you don’t know what you are doing. That’s why frying your turkey should be step one on your checklist.
Frying a turkey cuts your time completely in half compared to other cooking methods.
How would you like to fry a turkey in no more than 45 minutes? This guide will show you how.
Patriot Dawn: The Resistance Rises
Science Fiction > Military
Author: Max Velocity
The United States has descended into Civil War. The storm was rising for some time, a Resistance in the hearts of American Patriots to the strangulation of liberty by creeping authoritarianism.
The scene was set. It just took a little push. A terrorist attack on the United States leads to war with Iran, followed by collapse, as the economy goes over the cliff. The final blow is a widespread opportunistic Chinese cyber attack, taking down the North American Power Grid.
From the ashes, the Regime emerges. Liberty is dead. What remains of the United States of America is polarized. The Resistance Rises.
Jack Berenger is a former Army Ranger Captain, living in northern Virginia with his family. Following the collapse, they fall foul of Regime violence and evacuate to the farm of an old Army friend. Jack is recruited into the resistance, to train the fledgling forces in the Shenandoah Valley.
The fight begins. Live hard, Die Free. Resist.
The Warble
Children’s eBooks > Science Fiction, Fantasy & Scary Stories
Author: Victoria Simcox
Dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals, and an evil queen – all these and more can be found in The Warble, an enchanting tale of adventure and friendship.
Twelve-year-old Kristina Kingsly feels like the most unpopular girl in her school. The kids all tease her, and she never seems to fit in. But when Kristina receives an unusual Christmas gift, she suddenly finds herself transported to the land of Bernovem, home of dwarfs, gnomes, fairies, talking animals, and the evil Queen Sentiz.
In Bernovem, Kristina not only fits in, she’s honored as “the chosen one” the only one who can release the land from Queen Sentiz’s control. But it’s not as simple as it seems. To save Bernovem, she must place the gift she was given, the famous “Warble” in its final resting place. And she must travel through the deep forest, climb a treacherous mountain, and risk capture by the queen’s “zelbocks” before she reaches her destination.
Dalek I Loved You: Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special Edition
Humor & Entertainment
Author: Nick Griffiths
A Special Edition ebook to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who, featuring a host of new images, interviews and updated text…
Nick Griffiths watched his first Doctor Who aged four and a bit. He would have hidden behind the sofa but it was back against the wall and his parents didn’t let him move furniture so he hid behind a cushion instead. He’s since been told by his mum and dad that they didn’t have a sofa only armchairs. So this book should really be called Behind the Armchair, but that didn’t sound right. And so began a life long obsession.
When Doctor Who started getting rubbish (after Tom Baker basically) he nearly escaped into the world of music and girls until he discovered someone selling tapes of old episodes in the small ads and that was that again. Only in the last few years has an anti-social obsession become something he can earn a living from as a journalist and happily this coincided with Doctor Who getting good again. Plus he has a son now so he can claim he’s watching it for him. Oh and his son’s called Dylan not Gallifrey or Davros.
Tall Man in Ray-Bans (A John Tall Wolf Novel)
Crime Fiction > Murder
Author: Joseph Flynn
Out for a day’s adventure exploring the dry bed of Lake Travis in Austin, Texas, two young boys stumble upon a skeleton. It might be all that remains of a fugitive named Randy Bear Heart. Wanted for robbing three banks and killing three cops, Bear Heart was never brought to justice.
The FBI is called on to determine how the outlaw avoided arrest for twenty-five years and who put him in the lake wearing chains. The BIA — Bureau of Indian Affairs — gets the very same job. Special Agent John Tall Wolf is put on the case because one of the dead cops was a Native American who worked at the Mercy Ridge Reservation.
The FBI wants John to “coordinate all your efforts” through SAC Gilbert Melvin. John is having none of that, saying, “I’ll conduct my investigation as I see fit.” He doesn’t even get along with his own boss, Marlene Flower Moon, head of the BIA’s Office of Justice Services.
The Stonecutter: A Novel
Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Author: Camilla Läckberg
Regular Price $9.99, Today $1.99
Continues the story of local detective Patrik Hedström and his girlfriend, Erica Falck, the beloved crime-solving duo whose first child has just been born. But while they celebrate this new life, a suspicious drowning claims a little girl they knew well. As the murder’s implications widen, Patrik’s investigation threatens to tear apart the rural fishing village of Fjällbacka, where a secret lurks that spans generations.
A deeply satisfying third installment in her internationally bestselling series, The Stonecutter will establish Läckberg for the U.S. audience once and for all. As USA TODAY says, “If you haven’t yet read the equally entrancing Ice Princess and The Preacher, what are you waiting for?”
The Heroes (The First Law)
Fantasy > Sword & Sorcery
Author: Joe Abercrombie
Regular Price $9.99, Today $1.99
They say Black Dow’s killed more men than winter, and clawed his way to the throne of the North up a hill of skulls. The King of the Union, ever a jealous neighbor, is not about to stand smiling by while he claws his way any higher. The orders have been given and the armies are toiling through the northern mud. Thousands of men are converging on a forgotten ring of stones, on a worthless hill, in an unimportant valley, and they’ve brought a lot of sharpened metal with them.
The Amulet of Samarkand (Bartimaeus Volume 1)
Children’s eBooks > Science Fiction, Fantasy & Scary Stories
Author: Jonathan Stroud
Regular Price $9.99, Today $0.99
Nathaniel is a magician’s apprentice, taking his first lessons in the arts of magic. But when a devious hot-shot wizard named Simon Lovelace ruthlessly humiliates Nathaniel in front of his elders, Nathaniel decides to kick up his education a few notches and show Lovelace who’s boss. With revenge on his mind, he summons the powerful djinni, Bartimaeus. But summoning Bartimaeus and controlling him are two different things entirely, and when Nathaniel sends the djinni out to steal Lovelace’s greatest treasure, the Amulet of Samarkand, he finds himself caught up in a whirlwind of magical espionage, murder, and rebellion.
Writing the Breakout Novel
Writing, Research & Publishing Guides
Author: Donald Maass
Regular Price $16.99, Today $3.99
Take your fiction to the next level!
Maybe you’re a first-time novelist looking for practical guidance. Maybe you’ve already been published, but your latest effort is stuck in mid-list limbo. Whatever the case may be, author and literary agent Donald Maass can show you how to take your prose to the next level and write a breakout novel – one that rises out of obscurity and hits the best-seller lists.
Maass details the elements that all breakout novels share – regardless of genre – then shows you writing techniques that can make your own books stand out and succeed in a crowded marketplace.
You’ll learn to:
- establish a powerful and sweeping sense of time and place
- weave subplots into the main action for a complex, engrossing story
- create larger-than-life characters that step right off the page
- explore universal themes that will interest a broad audience of readers
- sustain a high degree of narrative tension from start to finish
- develop an inspired premise that sets your novel apart from the competition
Daughters for a Time
Women’s Fiction > Mothers & Children
Author: Jennifer Handford
Regular Price $9.99, Today $1.99
When Helen Francis was a child, her mother died and her father walked out, leaving her to be raised by her older sister. Now thirty-five, married, and trying to start a family of her own, Helen has moved on but never really healed from her traumatic childhood. She has always believed that a new baby would help fill the loss of what was taken from her at such a young age.
After four years of trying to become pregnant, however, she is resigned to the fact that she will never be able to bear children. Halfheartedly accepting adoption as an alternative, Helen gradually embraces and grows excited over the prospect. And when her new baby is finally in her arms, true happiness washes over her. But her unimaginable bliss is dashed when she learns that Claire, the sister who raised and loved her throughout her childhood and adult life, has been diagnosed with cancer.
For Helen, the pain of her childhood returns and the old wounds of abandonment are once again torn open. Balancing the joy of her new daughter with the painful experience of watching her sister, the physical embodiment of unconditional love in her life, slowly die, Helen must reconcile her inner feelings and heal her broken spirit.
… See the rest of today’s Editor’s Picks here on page 2