キャミー・タング著「戌年」連載小説 プロのドッグトレーナーであるマリ・ムトウは、厄年を迎えている。 犬小屋と訓練所の改築をしながら、いつも不服そうにしている家族と同居することになった。母と姉に言わせれば、犬の毛とよだれかけにまみれる仕事は、家族にとって恥ずべきものだという。彼女は元カレを説得し、数ヶ月間犬を預かってもらうことにした。しかし、彼の兄は、数週間前に彼女が誤って車に追突した、怒り狂ったセキュリティ専門家であることが判明する。 アシュウィン・ケイトウは十分な問題を抱えている。叔母が玄関先に現れ、同居を希望している。彼は彼女にすべてを借りているので、断ることができません。母親が家を出て行った後、ネルおばさんはアシュウィンと弟を引き取り、愛のあるキリスト教の家庭で育てた。しかも、弟のダスティもアパートを追い出され、居場所を求めている。しかし、彼は犬を飼っている。そして、その犬の飼い主は誰だと思いますか? しかし、旧友でオアフ島のノースショアでデイスパを経営する私立探偵のエディサ・ゲレロから依頼を受ける。マリの施設で奇妙な破壊行為があり、3年前に失踪したエディサの妹の財布を発見する。エディサはマリが危険な目に遭っているのではと心配する。警備の専門家であるアシュウィンがすでにマリを知っていることを知ったエディサは、忙しい若い女性を密かに監視することを彼に依頼する。 アシュウィンは、活発でのんびりとしたドッグトレーナーに不本意ながら惹かれていく。彼女は、幸せそうな母親を思い出させる。その母親の裏切りによって、彼は人と距離を置くようになったのだ。マリは、アシュウィンの冷たい外見を見抜き、彼が家族に忠実な男であることを認める。彼は、彼女のキャリア選択を批判するだけの母親や姉とは違う。 マリのバラバラな家庭とアシュウィンのバラバラな家庭の中で、過去を隠そうとする人たちから、彼らの周りに危険が迫ってくるようになる。彼らは、影で動く秘密に光を当てることができるのか? 過去に発表されたパートへのリンクはこちら。 *** 第8章 - 恐ろしくも真っ白な不動産書類 『みんな仲良くできないのかな?』 マリは無用に力を込めて箱に本を投げ入れた。最近、なぜ彼女は人生の中で全員と言い争いをしているのだろう?もしかすると、これは本当に悪いアイデア
Captain's Log, Stardate 02.01.2012
So here’s a weird phenomenon. There are a bunch of free thriller books available today on Kindle but I’m not a huge fan of secular thriller because many of them tend to get a little more gristly than I like. I looked at the book blurbs, but they were mostly serial killer type of thrillers, which do tend to get bloody.
So I am actually not downloading free ebooks! I can’t believe it!
But it also got me to thinking. These days there are so many free ebooks that people can start to pick and choose which free ebooks to download.
Isn’t that a strange thing? Before, I’d be snatching up almost any free ebook available because, well, it’s free.
Now, I’m like, “Thrillers, eh. I read them but not my favorite genre. I’ll pass.”
I probably should have had this mentality for some of the other free ebooks I downloaded in the past, because I wouldn’t have so many ebooks that I probably won’t ever read.
Then again, they don’t take up space in my house because the ebook files are stored on my Amazon digital bookshelf or my Barnes and Noble Nook shelf, not on my computer. So I suppose it doesn’t matter if I download books I’ll never read since I don’t have to store the files.
I wonder, does this glut of free ebooks defeat the marketing purpose of a free ebook? I’m sure it works sometimes--a reader will pick up a free ebook from an author he/she hasn’t read before, and suddenly the reader is a new fan of the author.
But with so many free ebooks these days, does it make it less likely that reader will get around to reading the author’s book since there are so many other free (and paid) ebooks the reader has gotten?
So would I utilize free ebooks as a marketing tool? I’m not sure. Maybe. I might offer a novella for free if it was the first of a series. Or I might offer a full-length ebook for a really cheap price, like $0.50. The reason is because I’m wondering if the people who would pay those few cents for my ebook would be more likely to read it than those who got it for free.
What do you think?
Update: I also started this discussion on Goodreads if you want to participate there!
So here’s a weird phenomenon. There are a bunch of free thriller books available today on Kindle but I’m not a huge fan of secular thriller because many of them tend to get a little more gristly than I like. I looked at the book blurbs, but they were mostly serial killer type of thrillers, which do tend to get bloody.
So I am actually not downloading free ebooks! I can’t believe it!
But it also got me to thinking. These days there are so many free ebooks that people can start to pick and choose which free ebooks to download.
Isn’t that a strange thing? Before, I’d be snatching up almost any free ebook available because, well, it’s free.
Now, I’m like, “Thrillers, eh. I read them but not my favorite genre. I’ll pass.”
I probably should have had this mentality for some of the other free ebooks I downloaded in the past, because I wouldn’t have so many ebooks that I probably won’t ever read.
Then again, they don’t take up space in my house because the ebook files are stored on my Amazon digital bookshelf or my Barnes and Noble Nook shelf, not on my computer. So I suppose it doesn’t matter if I download books I’ll never read since I don’t have to store the files.
I wonder, does this glut of free ebooks defeat the marketing purpose of a free ebook? I’m sure it works sometimes--a reader will pick up a free ebook from an author he/she hasn’t read before, and suddenly the reader is a new fan of the author.
But with so many free ebooks these days, does it make it less likely that reader will get around to reading the author’s book since there are so many other free (and paid) ebooks the reader has gotten?
So would I utilize free ebooks as a marketing tool? I’m not sure. Maybe. I might offer a novella for free if it was the first of a series. Or I might offer a full-length ebook for a really cheap price, like $0.50. The reason is because I’m wondering if the people who would pay those few cents for my ebook would be more likely to read it than those who got it for free.
What do you think?
Update: I also started this discussion on Goodreads if you want to participate there!
Comments
Laura, I've done that too! I got Lacy Williams' free ebook and liked it so much that I went looking for her other books.
The other thing about digital books is that I forget about them. A print book is in view and I remember to read it. But I have to work harder at remembering to read an ebook. I'm thinking I'm going to stick with print, although I'm glad my readers are into digital because that's where most of my sales are. Something for everybody, I think. The marketplace needs both.
http://growingforchrist.wordpress.com
Kathy, thanks for chiming in! It's good to know that your free ebooks are driving up your sales! I agree that I tend to forget about my ebooks, too, since they're not on my shelves, but then again I have so many books that several are in boxes and they're out of sight already! Doh!
Sarah, that's a good point! The majority of free Christian ebooks I've seen are from major publishers, not self-published. However, I'm starting to see more self-published Christian fiction lately. I haven't read many of them, however, since I'm not familiar with the authors.
I am more hesitant to download books that are obviously self-published. Cheesy covers and really cheap "original" prices are clues I look for. That's not to say there aren't good self-published books out there. But I don't have time to wade through the unknown hunting for them. Know what I mean?
Cecelia, I KNOW! I have so many print books still waiting to be read that often I feel guilty for downloading free books even though I know they're free!!!