More than a hundred SF ebooks are free, today and tomorrow! Through the efforts of a lot of indie authors, spearheaded by Carolynn Gockel, a blast promotion of free books has gone live today. Two days only! If you like free books, you should check it out. I’m in there with Neptune Crossing, which you already know is free—though if not, now’s a good time to grab it. “Ninety-nine books of SF on the wall, ninety-nine books of SF; take one down and pass it around…”
I’ve got a promotion scheduled for next week, but in preparation, I’ve set a few prices down ahead of time. So why wait? Panglor, the first book in the Star Rigger Universe, is FREE for a limited time in your favorite ebook store. And a couple of other Star Rigger books* are marked down for the ride, as well.
Why make a book free? Clearly, in hopes that people will give it a try, decide they like it, and buy some more of my books that aren’t free. That’s no secret. But does it work? Well, every sale is different, and some work better than others. But my experience has been that more often than not, I come out ahead, even when I’m spending some hundreds of dollars to run an ad at Bookbub. And even if I don’t earn a profit in dollars, I’m finding new readers for the books, and that’s a gain all by itself. So go ahead—prove me right!
The good folks at eBookDaily.com have picked up on the deal and created their own promotional page, so here’s their link for the Kindle edition:
It’s high time I ran a sale. The audiobook of Eternity’s End is on special at Chirpbooks for a limited time, for just $1.99. That’s crazy cheap for a 22-hour audiobook read by a Grammy-winning narrator. It’s one of my favorites. (Warning, one reviewer didn’t like it because there’s some mild swearing in it.) While you’re there, you can pick up some of the Chaos books on sale, as well. They even put together a special bundle.
What with inflation, and I don’t mean cosmological inflation, $.99 really is next to nothing. Well, that’s the price right now for the ebook of The Infinity Link, complete with the new cover art and spiffed-up interior layout. Limited time only! Pretty much anywhere you like to buy ebooks.
Here’s how the ad writers at Bookbub distilled it: “Humanity is on the verge of first contact with visitors from the stars, and one woman holds the key. Is her telepathic link with the intergalactic visitors a beacon of hope, or will it spell doom for the entire human race?”
And Publishers Weekly: “A long, ambitious work, painted on a canvas as big as the solar system. The concept itself is even larger—the eventual linkup of various intelligent life forms of our galaxy, including humans, whales and several alien races. Carver carefully sets up his story and develops it in a meticulous fashion…it works very well.”
Etsy is running a special, starting now, for two days only: $10 off any order $40 and over. Use the code YES10. This applies to any Etsy order. That means it applies to any of my autographed print books on Etsy, and Etsy is eating the $10! Haven’t you been thinking, The holidays will be here before you know it, and what better gift than autographed science fiction? You know you have. Here are a few possibilities, any of them personalized upon request:
Complete set of autographed Star Rigger Books
Complete set of The Chaos Chronicles (to date)
Set of first-edition Tor hardcovers of the first four Chaos novels
Signed hardcovers of The Reefs of Time and Crucible of Time
À la carte selection of titles such as Eternity’s End, The Infinity Link (first edition), the Starstream novels, and Battlestar Galactica. I even have a grab-bag treasury of original mass-market paperback editions.
The possibilities are endless! Help me empty my basement shelves!
One catch: the sale is available only to customers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. Free shipping in the U.S. Extra outside the U.S.
Because the whole Black Friday thing really bugs me. This is more of a “Have you listened yet and would you like to listen for really cheap?” Yes, another Chirpbooks sale has started (Cheep! Cheep!), and as a result you can get the audiobook of The Reefs of Time for some ridiculously low price, so low I don’t even want to remember what it is. The timing of it was completely up to the Chirpbooks people—just my luck of the draw that it’s right at Thanksgiving time. (In fact, the promotional email is going out on Thanksgiving Day, but the price has already been dropped.)
Most of the other Chaos books are discounted, too, because why not. These are all really good narrations. If you’re not into audiobooks yet, maybe it’s time to give them a try, what?
Or give them to somebody you love. Note, I did not say “gift” them to somebody you love. Because that would bug me even more than calling it a Black Friday sale.
*Footnote. I just checked the link and saw the display page for the book, and right there’s a nice quote that Greg Bear gave me for the book. Damn. That, I think, was the last time we communicated. Why did he have to go so young?
Free for just a few days, that is, with a little help from Bookbub to give away more copies. This, of course, is a transparent effort get people to read a book they might otherwise have overlooked, and maybe go on to read the sequel, Down the Stream of Stars. These are two of my favorite books, and I am working feverishly to prepare new treebook editions to accompany the ebooks.
From a Changeling Star was, I believe, one of the first SF books—maybe the only one—to deal with nanotechnology, cosmic string, and sentient stars, all in one go. Plus, it’s an amnesia story and a love story. In addition, it’s where we first meet the robot Jeaves, who later shows up in the Chaos Chronicles. And it’s the origin story of the starstream, which figures very importantly in The Reefs of Time. Writing it nearly bent my brain, or maybe did bend my brain. It demands more from the reader than probably any other book of mine, but I feel it’s worth the effort.
Here’s a bit of blurb:
“Beneath the roiling surface of Betelgeuse, scientists anxiously await the one man essential to the success of Starmuse, the greatest engineering project in human history. But on Kantano’s World that man, Willard Ruskin, battles invisible agents for control of his life, his physical form, and even his memories. Drawn into a conflict from which not even death will free him, Ruskin must find a way to reach Betelgeuse before his enemies sabotage Starmuse—and humanity’s future among the stars. A harrowing journey from inside the human cell . . . to the mind of a dying star.”
“Running from the micro to the macro and back again, redefining sentience, space-time, and perhaps humanity along the way, From a Changeling Star is a fast-paced puzzler, rich in invention, and Jeffrey A. Carver’s most ambitious book to date.” —Roger Zelazny
“As audacious and imaginative as the best of John Varley, with characters as memorable as those of Sturgeon or Zelazny, and with one of the most powerful endings in science fiction, this book will both hold and reward your attention.” —Spider Robinson, author of The Stardance Trilogy
“Has what only the best science fiction can offer: an almost mystical sense of the wonder and strangeness of this universe and the creatures who inhabit it. If you’re not crying at the end, you’re a robot.” —Richard Bowker, author of Dover Beach
So why are you still here? Grab it now! For free! And look for the print edition—soon!—not quite so free—very smart and handsome, and a great gift for yourself or someone you love.
Maybe, if you knew it was the ebook of Eternity’s End, on a Bookbub special, for just 99 copper coins, or if you prefer, 99 bottles of beer on the wall. Those beers won’t last long, so I’d get yours while you can.
If you’re reading my blog, chances are you already know this, but in case not:
“Ghost ship Impris, lost during the War of a Thousand Suns, is the stuff of legend. Her very name conjures the perils of interstellar travel. But no mere legend, she is real—glimpsed on occasion in the hyperdimensional Flux, and then gone. Her passengers and crew live on in a strange limbo, their fate hopelessly caught up in quantum defects in space-time, interstellar piracy, and galactic coverup…” [more]
Nominated for a Nebula, and other claims of wonderfulness. Actually, the cover by Stephen Youll is pretty amazing, I think.
If you are the sort to favor print books or audiobooks, we’ve got those, too. In fact, you can even get autographed copies via my Star Rigger Bookstore—your choice of the first-edition Tor hardcover or the newer, even snazzier (in my opinion) Starstream trade paperback! Here’s the full wraparound cover:
(Oops, I just realized I don’t have the Tor hardcover listed yet. But I’ve got ’em. Email me if you’re interested.)
Crash, tinkle! Aaah, make that 98 bottles of beer on the wall. Stop throwing those dog toys, please!
Audiobooks are kind of pricey, especially when they’re narrated by top narrators. So why is Eternity’s End just $1.99 at Chirpbooks, through April? Is someone off hir rocker? Screw loose? Idiot? Probably all three. Whatever the case, you can buy Eternity’s End, finalist for the Nebula Award, read by a Grammy-winning narrator, for just 2 bucks. Two frickin’ dollars. At Chirpbooks only. What are you waiting for? (If you like it, please post a review! Seriously, it makes a difference!)
Oh, The Reefs of Time and Crucible of Time are both more than half off for the same period, just to keep it company. See the Eternity’s End page for details.
Everyone loves autographed books! Especially sets of books. I know just where to start: The Star Rigger Bookstore…
…where you can buy complete, autographed sets of the entire Chaos Chronicles (to date) in evocative Starstream Publications trade paperback editions… or the first four books in first-edition Tor hardcovers. Or signed hardcover sets of The Reefs of Time and Crucible of Time. Or autographed copies of Eternity’s End, in the shiny new trade paperback, or the first-edition Tor hardcover. And much, much more. All (most?) at amazing, mark-down prices. (Truly amazing—that they are marked down, I mean.)
Don’t see what you want? Shoot me an email. There’s a good chance I’ve got it and just haven’t listed it yet.
In case you’re wondering, StarRiggerBooks is me, using Etsy as a platform. So you’ll get the same personal service, satisfaction almost guaranteed, by using the Etsy order form. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t know how to give impersonal service. I am my only underpaid employee. And I defy you to find a marketing algorithm anywhere in this store. Go ahead and look! Seriously. Look.
To all you USians traveling for Thanksgiving, travel safely and enjoy your holiday, I hope with family and treasured friends.
Because the whole Black Friday thing really bugs me. This is more of a “Have you listened yet and would you like to listen for really cheap?” Yes, another 
Everyone loves autographed books! Especially sets of books. I know just where to start: