Happy Read an E-Book Week!

In honor of the e-book's 40th birthday, March 6-12 is E-Book Week.  To celebrate, everyone is encouraged to read an e-book.  Since I received my Kindle for Christmas, I have been reading lots of e-books -- ten at last count, and I've got 15 more in my "To Read" collection.

Not sure what e-book to read?  Here are a couple of suggestions.

The Reckoning by Tanya Parker Mills.  Her Kindle edition is on sale now for only $.99. 

Journalist Theresa Fuller has epilepsy, but this hasn't slowed her search for stories of injustice to broadcast to the world. When she and her cameraman, Peter Cranston, are captured inside Iraq in August 2002, she is cut off from her medication. Seizures resume, and dreams and visions of her American childhood in Baghdad begin to trouble her. Tormented by the relentless Colonel Badr, she is forced to focus on her own father's death years before in a Baghdad prison. The strain of her own captivity is relieved only by her growing attraction to Tariq al-Awali, the Iraqi captain who took charge of her capture. The more she learns of him and his family, the clearer her haunting dreams become, and the more puzzling her past. Before the American bombs begin to fall, and all of Iraq is thrown into even darker chaos, Theresa must find a way to escape the cruelty of Colonel Badr, and save those she cares for most.

Tanya spent years in the middle east herself, and her knowledge of the region shines through.  Great pace, believable writing, characters you care about.  The mystery unfolds in a very satisfying manner.  The scenes of torture never cross over the line to being excessive, but it is relentless and unsettling.

The Demise of the Soccer Moms by Cathryn Grant.  Kindle version also on sale for $.99.

A seemingly quiet suburban neighborhood is upended when a provocative single mother saunters onto the school playground for the first time. Her Doc Marten boots, tight T-shirts, and in-your-face attitude stir up buried fears and sexual anxiety.

In the dark corners of her home, a woman battles crippling memories that threaten to destroy the family she wants so desperately to protect. A suspicious death forces her best friend to make a hard choice between marriage and friendship.

Paranoia, jealousy, and maternal instinct collide, leading to the demise of the soccer moms.

Suburban Noir - where the mundane is menacing.

Cathryn Grant gets under the skin of her characters like picking at a scab over the old wounds of high school.  Her characters have depth and believability, and they sometimes uncomfortably mirror your own insecurities.  Her imagery is haunting, and she foreshadows bluntly -- watching the climax unfold is like watching an impending car accident.  You see it coming, but are completely helpless to do anything to stop it. 

Also check out Cathryn's collection of short stories, Flash Fiction for the Cocktail Hour. 

More bargains:  K M Weiland of Wordplay fame is offering both of her books at 75% off here.   I've loved her writerly wisdom and advice for awhile, and although historical fiction is not my favorite genre, the deal was too good to pass up.  And Amanda Hocking is making waves with her Indie novel Switched, Kindle version only $.99.