Cheryl Rainfield's Blog, page 93

New Amazon Fire (Tablet) and Kindles are available to order!

Amazon's new Kindles and Fire (tablet) are now available for sale. They look good and they have amazing prices.

Amazon's Kindle Fire (Full Color 7″ Multi-touch Tablet with Wi-Fi) is a pre-order at $199.00, for US only at this time. It is a pre-order; it ships Nov 15th.

On Kindle Fire, you can read comics, picture books, magazines, etc in color, as well as watch more than 18 million movies and TV shows, listen to songs, and browse the net faster than most browsers. You can read documents on it, including Word and PDF. You can email using their web app that gets web email (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, AOL, etc) and import your messages and contacts from other email programs. You can buy apps and games. There's also free cloud storage of anything you buy; if you delete something off your Kindle Fire, you can get it back any time. Apparently the touchscreen has vibrant color (16 million colors in high resolution), and the screen is a touch screen, easy to use. It has 8 gig internal memory (plus the free cloud storage), and 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of playback.

I definitely want an Aamzon Fire! Sadly, it's available only in the US at the moment. I can't wait til they make it available in Canada!

Next, Amazon has 3 new Kindles (one of which I'm definitely going to buy to replace my Kindle 3).

The Kindle Touch, Wi-Fi, 6″ E Ink Display – includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers for $99! (Less than the Kindles before these new ones). It is a pre-order, shipping Nov 21. This new Kindle has a more advanced e-ink display (reads like paper with no glare or eye strain) and is multi-touch. It's also 8% lighter, 11% smaller, and holds 3,000 books. It has a 2-month battery life.

New features:

X-Ray. Explore the "bones of a book". With a single tap, see all the passages across a book that mention ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places or topics of interest, as well as more detailed descriptions from Wikipedia and Shelfari.

EasyReach. Tap to turn pages – no need to swipe, so you can hold Kindle in either hand.

It also has free cloud backup, and you can borrow books from your library if you live in the US.

There's also apparently a 3G version, with free 3G for life in 100 countries. I didn't see the link yet, but I'm sure it will be coming.

And then there's the new Kindle, Wi-Fi, 6″ E Ink Display – includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers available for purchase now–in the US AND in other countries–for $79.00. $79.00!! That is less than what the cheapest Kindle was by a lot. It has built-in Wi-Fi, but no 3G and no touch. It is 30% lighter (less than 6 ounces), has an 18% smaller body, and the same 6″ screen size.

So there you have it–the new Amazon Kindle products! I know which ones I want. Do any interest you?

Baby Names Inspired by Children's Books

I love this


Alanna from Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce,

Anna from From Anna by Jean Little,

Anne from Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery,

Bella from Twilight by Stephanie Meyer,

Daine from Wild Magic by Tamora Pierce,

Eona from Eona by Alison Goodman,

Emily from Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery,

Katniss from the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins,

Kit from Down a Dark Hall by Lois Duncan,

Melinda from Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson,

Rachel from Pigs Might Fly by Emily Rodda,

Jon from the Forgotten Door by Alexander Key,

Sam from the Magic Grandfather by Jay Williams,

Wilbur from Ghosts Who Went to School by Judith Spearing…

Who else would you add?

More children's & YA ebooks on sale

As always, check the prices before you buy; prices can change.

The Next Thing I Knew (Heavenly) by John Corwin is $0.99

This Girl Isn't Shy, She's Spectacular by Nina Beck is on sale for $1.28 (92% off)

The Last Chance Texaco by Brent Hartringer is $2.99

Ask Amy Green: Boy Trouble by Sarah Webb is on sale for $3.64

The Cinderella Swap by Linda Palmer is $4.99

A number of Lurlene McDaniel books are priced at $4.99:

When Happily Ever After Ends

Telling Christina Goodbye

Mother, Help Me Live (One Last Wish)

Sixteen and Dying (One Last Wish)

and many more.

Uprise Books Project will get banned & censored books into hands of teens in poverty. But they need help.

The Uprise Books Project is going to get banned and censored books into the hands of underprivileged teens, free of charge. They hope to increase literacy, inspire teens and get them reading and thinking, and end the cycle of poverty (through literacy). I love the idea! But they need our help. I've made a donation. Will you? Even $5 will help. I think they have a worthy cause. And this is the perfect time to support them–during Banned Book Week! And beyond.

Teen Reader fan trailer for Scars

Teen reader Leanette created a fan trailer for Scars, for a project in her Reading For Pleasure class in high school. What a thrill to see a reader create a beautiful trailer that captures the emotion and the story of the book through text, music, and photos! (beaming)

Humorous take on Banned Book Week (videos)

I love these humorous video takes on banned books.

This one by Girls In the Stacks is so funny! I really enjoyed it.

And this video with puppets misunderstanding the meaning of Banned Book Week is fun! (smiling)

Thanks to the wonderful Paul W. Hankins for the links to these great videos.

Know a great video about books or banned/challenged books? Let me know, and if it works for me, too, I'll share it.

And don't forget to enter my contest to win 1 of 3 signed copies of Scars (1st edition, hardcover) for Banned Book Week.

Book Giveaway for Banned Books Week Hop! Win 1 of 3 signed copies of SCARS

I am happy to be part of the Banned Books Week Hop! My own book SCARS was challenged–so I'll be giving away three copies of Scars this week. I will sign and personalize the book for you if you live in the US, Canada, or UK, and I'll include some swag (bookmarks, etc.)

I also created a video on banned books–on not letting other people dictate what we read, and on some of my favorite banned books. I've always read banned books, and strongly believed it's important for people to choose what they read, but now that Scars has been challenged, I care about that even more. I hope you'll watch, and if you like it, maybe you'll share it.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment below. That will get you one entry, and you can also get added entries. Contest is open to US, Canada, UK, and anywhere that the Book Depository will ship.

You get:

one entry for leaving a comment on this post

one entry for tweeting or posting about this contest

one entry for watching my banned book video (please be honest; I want the video to reach people)

three entries for tweeting or posting about my banned book video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8HWyL...

Good luck!

Click here to enter more giveaways in the Banned Books Week Hop

webinar on LGBTQ YA novels

YA author Nora Olsen (The End: Five Queer Kids Save The World) will be doing a webinar called The Kids Are Alright: Lesbian and Bi Young Adult Novels on Saturday, October 1. A lot of readers don't know that there are many YA novels with lesbian and bisexual main characters. Nora Olsen will take you through the history of lesbians in YA, from the "tragic" plots of the 1970′s to the diverse stories of today. Learn what are some of the iconic lesbian/bi YA classics and some of the best contemporary titles. Discover what these books mean to teenagers who are coming out. And find out what it takes to write a YA novel yourself. Nora will tell you about the market for YA, which is one of the few sectors in publishing that is currently growing, and give information on both LGBT-specific and mainstream publishers.

Interested? You can register.

children's and YA ebooks on sale

Will Allen and the Great Monster Detective by Jason Edwards is on sale for $0.05. That's practically free. (middle grade)


Description:

Will Allen may be one of the smallest boys at Ashford Middle School, but he is also one of the smartest. But cleverness alone isn't enough to help him when monsters infest his room!


Together with his friend Jeannine Fitsimmons, Will searches fruitlessly for help, until a strange business card appears, instructing them how to summon Bigelow Hawkins, the Great Monster Detective. With Bigelow's help, along with the use of his very special monster-fighting instruments, the RevealeR and the MonsterScope, Will must learn how to conquer his monsters and reveal the secret of the dreaded HIDDEN BEAST before it's too late…

Drive-By (Harper Trophy Books) by Lynne Ewing is $3.99

Description:

"Jimmy always told me there were only two kinds of gangbangers: Those who were dead and those who were going to die. Joining a gang doesn't make sense to Jimmy…"

Jimmy is dead now—gunned down in front of his little sister, Mina, and his brother, Tito. And Tito is left wondering: Was Jimmy in a gang after all? Ice Breaker Joe and Lamar think so. They say Jimmy was skimming their drug money. And if the missing cash isn't returned, Tito may have to pay—with his life.

Some people go to the crossroads, but Tito's crossroads laid themselves down in front of him. His brother Jimmy sprawls on the sidewalk at his feet. Shot in a drive by. Now a gang claims that Jimmy was their Ace Man. They say Tito must take his place and resolve some unfinished business. They give him a gun. "You need protection. It's not safe on the street." What path will be choose at the crossroads? He knows one leads to safety and one to death . . . but which is which?

The Secret Life of Ms. Finkleman by Ben Winters is $4.99

Description:

Ms. Finkleman is just our boring old music teacher. Or is she?


It all starts with a Special Project in Mr. Melville's Social Studies class: Solve a mystery in your own life. For seventh grader Bethesda Fielding, one mystery is too tempting to ignore: Ms. Finkleman.


Bethesda is convinced that her mousy Music Fundamentals teacher is hiding a secret life, and she's determined to find out what it is. But no one is prepared for what she learns. Ms. Finkleman used tobe . . . a rock star? Soon the whole school goes rock crazy, and a giant concert is in the works with none other than timid Ms. Finkleman at the helm!


But the case isn't quite closed, and the questions continue to swirl forBethesda. Could there be even more to the secret life of Ms. Finkleman than she already revealed? With the help of her rock-obsessed classmate Tenny Boyer, Bethesda won't stop until she solves the real mystery of Ms. Finkleman once and for all!

Becoming (Daughters of Saraqael Book One) by Raine Thomas is $2.99.

Description:

Every three years, Amber Hopkins explodes. Okay, not a blown-to-smithereens explosion, but whatever it is always hurts like hell and leaves her life a shambles. She's already worked her way through five foster placements, and she's doing whatever she can to avoid getting blasted into a sixth.

As her eighteenth birthday approaches and she feels the strange and powerful energy building, disaster looms. When the inevitable explosion occurs, her life gets its biggest shakeup yet. She'll not only learn how her fellow foster and best friend, Gabriel, really feels about her, but she'll discover that she isn't really without family.

To top it all off, she'll finally find out why she's having the power surges: she isn't entirely human.

Amber must Become, transitioning to another plane of existence and risking the loss of the most important relationship she's ever had. Her choice will impact the future of an entire race of beings, and will pit her against an enemy that will prey upon her doubt to try and take her very life.

Kind of makes the explosions now seem like a cakewalk.

Know a (traditionally published) children's or teen ebook on sale for less than $5, and want me to list it? Let me know.

Pam Bachorz likes HUNTED!

The fabulous YA author Pam Bachorz (Candor,Drought ) likes HUNTED, too! She said:

"In this suspenseful parable of prejudice and oppression, Rainfield creates unique, appealing characters we root for until the satisfying end."

–Pam Bachorz, author of Candor, 2011 YALSA Popular Paperback

How cool is that? (beaming and beaming)