Doncha just love free stuff?  Lilith Saintcrow is offering a free serial novel featuring characters from the übertastic Dante Valentine series.  Here’s the deets from Saintcrow’s latest email… 

Psst! Wanna read a free serial novel?

Readers of the Dante Valentine series will remember their favorite Nichtvren duo, Selene and Nikolai. Plenty of you wrote in wanting to know more about them. Well, back when I was writing for AnotherChapter.com, I did write a book about the deadly duo, illustrated by the awesome Andrzej Karwacki.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, Orbit Books and I are offering the book for free in serial form. Chapters will be posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. And did I mention it’s free?

Selene

Life isn’t easy for a sexwitch. Even your own body betrays you. It’s bad enough that Selene is part slave to Nikolai, the Prime Power of Saint City, but she’s got her brother Danny and she’s got her job at the college. In the postwar wreckage of an uncertain world, it’s pretty much all she’s ever allowed herself to want.

Then Danny ends up murdered, and Selene finds herself a pawn in a dangerous game. Indentured to a bloodsucking Nichtvren and helpless, told to stop trying to uncover the identity of her brother’s killer, Selene has nowhere to turn. If she’s a good girl, Nikolai will leave her a little bit of freedom. He’ll take care of her, and she’ll be safe–if she obeys.

But Selene hasn’t survived this long by being obedient to her cursed powers, or to the men who buy her time. Her brother was all she had, and now she’s ready to borrow, beg, lie, steal or kill–whatever it takes to avenge him.

And if Nikolai gets in the way, Selene will use every tool in her arsenal to make him regret it…

Enjoy! Comments on the chapters are turned off for obvious reasons, but there’s always the Saint City Street Fair, which has a forum just for Selene.

Enjoy!

This just in…

Samhain Publishing is giving away ebooks for your Kindle, so head on over to Amazon.com for some FREE GOODNESS!

The title is Unbreakable from Sydney Somers. The free download period begins on Monday thru Sunday, 18 – 24 Aug 08. This title is the first in the Shadow Destroyers series from Somers.

Samhain is planning another Kindle giveaway in September. That title is The Dragon’s Demon from Marie Harte.

In fact it looks like they are planning quite a few reader giveaways.  So keep an eye out on Samhain!

DUCK FLASH

YAY! FREE (audio)BOOK!  Starting today, you can get Karen Marie Moning‘s Darkfever (Fever series, Book 1) in podcasts for FREE!  Read on for details… 

Here are some snippets from KMM’s latest newsletter:

• The paperback publication of BLOODFEVER is just around the corner on 8/26
• The hardcover release of FAEFEVER (16 Sep 08).
• The entire audiobook of DARKFEVER is being released as a serial podcast beginning August 4th, FREE!  That’s right–you can experience having MacKayla Lane’s first adventure delivered to you in chapter installments beginning August 4th, four chapters a week for 7 weeks … completely free.
• Want to know more? Click to the information and free subscription page: www.darkfeverpodcast.com
• Subscribers will receive a free exclusive excerpt chapter from FAEFEVER–available nowhere else for 1 week!–with the August 11th podcast episode.
• Like this idea? Visit KMM’s Message Board, or MySpace page and tell everyone your thoughts!

Now, FAEFEVER EXCERPT TIME!

“Such naked pain,” he whispered.

I turned my face into his palm and closed my eyes. His fingers threaded into my hair, cupped my head, and brushed the brand. It heated at his touch. His hand tightened at the base of my skull and squeezed, and he raised me slowly to my tiptoes. I opened my eyes and it was my turn to inhale sharply. Not human. Oh, no, not this man.

“Never show it to me again.” His face was cold, hard, his voice colder.

“Why? What will you do?”

“What it is in my nature to do. Get inside, Ms. Lane. It’s time for your lesson.”

Sandy M’s review of Meandros by Sasha White
Free Contemporary Short Story from Sasha White

Seventeen and a half pages. That’s all it took to tell a compelling, realistic, heart-warming, sexy, and sad story. It took even less pages to bring on the first tears.

This entire short story is told from Tammi’s point of view. The wonderful times she had with Tom, the strength he gave her when she needed him most, the love he showered her with every minute of their life together, the sexy and wicked side of him that turned her on no matter what. Even the part of him that would be disappointed in her if she let grief overwhelm her and take her zest for living from her.

The emotion in these few short pages goes from one extreme to the other. All-encompassing joy to gut-wrenching grief and desperation. Have some tissues at the ready when you read this story Ms. White is generously giving to us all. You will need them. Sooner than you think.

Grade: A

Summary:

When Tammi, a professional dancer, was injured in a car accident she thought her life was over. But then Tom, a handsome and sexy man entered her life, and refused to let her curl up and die physically, or emotionally. He taught her to find the passion of life again. He also taught her to live, and to love with her whole heart. But when tragedy strikes again, and she loses him, will she give up on happiness and passion again? Or will she realize that the only way to honor the love of her life is to celebrate what he taught her?