Taste of Kiwi: Blog of Author Shelley Munro

E-books have lots of advantages. They don’t take up much space. They’re light and easily portable.

Feeling tired? No problem. Make that font bigger and easier to read.

Interrupted mid-chapter? The e-reader reopens to exactly where you stopped reading.

Notes? A dictionary? Yes, that’s covered too with the touch of a button.

An autograph from your favorite author? Autographing an e-book for a reader at a book signing? Um…

Earlier this year the answer would have been no, but now Kindlegraph has arrived on the scene.

With Kindlegraph you can request autographs from your favorite authors (provided they have registered their books at Kindlegraph) and an autograph will be sent to you in a PDF document. The developer is constantly working to improve his product, and says Kindlegraph’s motto is to make e-books a little more personal.

If you have a kindle reader do check out the registered authors and try out the service. Authors, it’s simple and painless to register and load up your books. Signing an autograph for a reader is also easy. I love that warm, tingly feeling of doing a signing for a reader.

Check out my Kindlegraph page here. I’m also part of the Not Your Usual Suspects Kindle group (romantic suspense and mystery authors)

You can also follow Kindlegraph at @Kindlegraph

Do you collect autographed books? Have you tried the Kindlegraph service?

Shelley’s Shoutout Corner

I’ve joined a Carina Press group blog comprising of romantic suspense and mystery authors. Not Your Usual Suspects is celebrating Christmas with recipes, jokes and Christmas traditions as well as giveaways for the entire month of December.

Jenny Schwartz has a new release. Wanted: One Scoundrel is available at Carina Press and most other online bookstores.

Win a copy of Reclaiming His Pregnant Widow by Tessa Radley. Details of how to enter are on my contest page.

Win a copy of Sex Idol at Goodreads.

Christmas is Coming is out at Ellora’s Cave on 9 December. Two days to go!

And finally Maria Zannini is hosting a Do It Yourself Christmas at her blog from 7 – 22 Dec. For entertainment, giveaways and more visit Maria today!

I’ve been a fan of ebooks for a long time, embracing them even before I sold to an epublisher. This is why I like reading ebooks:

1. It’s a “green” way of reading and saves trees.

2. They take up less room.

3. Hubby doesn’t know exactly how many books I have :)

4. The books don’t turn yellow and smell musty with age.

5. I don’t have to dust them.

6. If I want a book, I can purchase one 24 hours a day. Instant gratification!

7. They tend to be cheaper than print books. By the time freight and taxes are added to books in New Zealand, they’re very expensive.

8. I don’t have to wait months to get my hands on new releases. Books (print) take ages to hit the shelves down here. That instant gratification again!

9. I can adjust the font size to suit my needs at the time.

10. I never lose my place because my bookmark has dropped out.

11. My library is portable. I can tote my entire ebook collection with me without breaking my back.

12. I can read a book, no matter what the subject, at any time without worrying e.g. I can read erotic romance in a public place.

Are you an ebook fan? If you prefer print, tell me why. (Don’t fear – I’m truly curious!)

Although ereaders have been available for some time in America, it’s not easy to get our hands on one down here in New Zealand. We can’t purchase a Kindle in New Zealand (you can in Australia) and we can’t purchase a Sony reader even though we have Sony stores. (They don’t stock them)

It was a real surprise when I received a newsletter this week from Whitcoulls, our NZ bookstore chain, saying they were selling the Kobo eReader. They’re $295 each (about US$230) and take up to 1000 books. I tried one out when we went to the mall during the weekend and was actually quite impressed. Not that I’m going to purchase one – I’m hanging out for an iPad, which is due to hit here around July. (I test drove one in Waikiki and fell in love.) But I have to say congratulations to Whitcoulls for moving into the future!!

I’m still busy with edits, but I have two very special guests visiting me this week. Jane Beckenham will be here on 2 June and Kaye Manro is here on 4 June. I hope you’ll come and say hello.

What are you up to this week?

For those readers who enjoy a spicy hot read, Ellora’s Cave will have a new treat each day, starting on 14 April.

Monday: One or two free reads and sometimes reissued stories from older anthologies.
Tuesday: One new theme story, Quickie or a new Cavemen anthology.
Wednesday: Normal release day – four new ebooks available to purchase in various genres.
Thursday: Sale day! Ebooks and print books on sale for a week. Pick up some bargains.
Friday: Normal release day. Four new ebooks go on sale in various genres.

Reminder, the above schedule starts from 14 April so don’t forget to visit Ellora’s Cave every day to see the new arrivals.

My special guest today is Rose Marie Wolf. I’m also over at Rose Marie’s blog today, so I hope you have a chance to visit me over there too. Over to Rose Marie…

Thanks, Shelley, for having me on your blog today. I’m glad to be here.

I’ve been thinking lately about e-books. If anyone had asked me what they were, I would’ve stared at them blankly. E-book? What the heck is that?

It wasn’t until I had started writing serious and considering submitting a manuscript that I began to discover what they were. Books you can read on your computer. Cool! But, I never read one. They cost money to read them online and being out of work at the time, money was a precious commodity.

So, I worked on my books and continued to search for a publisher. Low and behold, Samhain Publishing accepted my first book, Sweet Moon Dreams. It would be out in e-book as well as print. The best of both worlds!

I was excited. I told everyone about it. E-book came first, then print later. When I told people I was published, they wanted to know where they could buy it. Online. It’s an e-book right now.

Their faces fell and so did mine. They weren’t interested in e-books. Many of them were like me. They had never heard of an e-book before. So they didn’t want to buy it. They were willing to wait months for a print version.

E-books couldn’t be that bad, right? I stressed over it for weeks. I thought e-books were a technological advancement of the publishing world. Wouldn’t people like that?

I soon found out that everyone is different. Some like e-books, some don’t and that’s fine. Many publishers these days tend to give contracts for e-book and print, so all the bases are covered. For me, e-books are a great thing. Once I discovered them, and found my own e-book reader, I fell in love with them. Now, I’m reading e-books as well as print, and I couldn’t be happier to be published with both.

Much Love Always,
Rose Marie Wolf
www.rosemariewolf.com
rosemariewolf.blogspot.com

Rose Marie Wolf is the author of The Moon Series, a series about two werewolves on the run from a group of hunters. Her latest release with Red Rose Publishing, Dark Moon Magick, is the fourth book and conclusion of the series. It is due out in print later this year. An upcoming paranormal romance, Changed, is due out from Red Rose Publishing in e-book also this year.

I’m at the Samhellion blog today posting about smiles.

I’m also at I Do Not Want to Wait, I Want The Book Now. I’m giving away a download of one of my Middlemarch Mates books to one commenter.

I’d love to see you at one or both blogs.