To celebrate and honor our friend, indie author, L.C. Evans, and her contribution to the Indie eBook revolution, The IndieView is giving away a whole bunch of free books. Linda lost her fight with cancer earlier this month. We lost a friend and a compatriot.

We’d like you to buy her her books, read her books, and make her words live.

In Linda’s own words, from her indieview a year ago…

“I want my books to appeal to everyone, though I understand that men in general aren’t fond of reading chick lit or romantic comedy.”

If chick lit or romantic comedy is not your thing, authors who have been interviewed on The IndieView, will give you one of their books for every one of Linda’s books that you buy. For every receipt you send through, you will also get a lucky draw entry. The winners of the lucky draw will get a bundle of ALL the books – free.

The list of contributing authors and the books they’ve included is below.

All you have to do to claim your free book/s is visit The IndieView.

Indie Book reviewers have graciously lent their time by reviewing L.C.’s books; you can find links to those reviews here.

I love the Dear America series. It is such a great way for older children to learn about history in a way that doesn’t feel like learning. Dear America: Voyage on The Great Titanic continues in this vein, covering the tragic maiden (and final) voyage of the “unsinkable” Titanic.

The main character is a young girl. She is poor and has no family except a brother in America. When the opportunity comes to take a trip to join him, she jumps on it. Told from the girls point of view, the reader gets a great feeling for the awe inspiring splendor of the Titanic.

I highly recommend this book for children age 10 and up. Due to the tragic material covered, I wouldn’t feel comfortable with anyone younger reading this title.

A great book, a tragic story, a wonderful read.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I’ve read both of these stories separately and I think putting them together in one book is absolutely fabulous! They both have similar settings and the seclusion factor is definitely there in both.

I’ll start with Dismember. I read this book about a year ago and I STILL cannot get it out of my head. I can’t remember what book I read last week, but this one pops back into my head from time to time. I think that’s probably the biggest plus mark for this book. I’ve read probably 70 books since reading this one and it still haunts my nightmares. It will make you hold your breath, gross you out, creep you out and hold tight to your kids. Pyle has a way with words – living in his head must be a scary thing for sure! This is probably the best horror book I’ve read in years. It screws with your head, but the good ones do.

Then there’s Freeze, which is a little different. It doesn’t have the realism that Dismember had, but is an absolutely fabulous monster story. It’s short enough to get you in and out quickly but long enough to develop the characters and their lives. This one haunts my nightmares, but not as much.

Overall, I’d give the pairing of these two four stars. HIGHLY recommended for horror and suspense fans. Note: There are quite a few gory parts, but those are secondary to the tension.

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My previous review of Dismember:
I don’t think I scare easily. I do, however, get creeped out easily. My nightmares have nothing to do with Freddy Kruguer and everything to do with some guy breaking into my house and killing my husband and stealing my child or some lady snatching my kid from the grocery store. I’m not all that anxious about it, but that’s what wakes me up at 3am in a cold sweat. THOSE kind of nightmares.

… which would explain why, at 2am, I was sitting up in bed, reading this book, wide awake, listening to every groan of the house, every branch scratching the window, completely unable to breathe. One might wonder why I do this to myself, but the fact of the matter is that I love it! There’s something about what reading these kinds of books does to my head that is both disturbing and exhilarating. I’m sure some scientist will come up with a reason that I’m completely twisted, but well… who cares.

The author has a knack for this kind of writing. He kept me on the edge of my seat wondering what would happen. Sometimes, it was nothing and sometimes it was definitely something. There was some serious gore int his book *shudder* but it wasn’t all gore all the time, there were actual hardcore story lines with actual developed characters. It made me care about them, even care about the murderer at times. Really superbly done.

Now for the bad… I’m taking away only one star for it, but… he messed with my bow. What bow? The bow that ties up the end of my books with a pretty nice package, that’s the one. I hated the ending. I need to KNOW what happens. I need it spelled out for me. If there’s a book two, okay, but don’t leave me hanging on a stand alone book. I know, I know, it’s a split of how you should do it… sometimes it’s best left to the reader’s imagination. Blah blah blah. But, dude, Mr. Author… you left me hanging. Sigh.

This book is recommended for horror/suspense fans that like a good solid story line.

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My previous review of Freeze:

I’m definitely a fan of this author’s work. He sent me this book shortly after it was released and I snatched it up to read right away hoping to find something to grab me while I was traveling. I won’t say that it kept me up at night. It’s a pretty typical monster story with a very atypical monster. Very smart on his part for sure. I definitely had little to no idea what I was in for!

The writing is what we’ve come to expect from Pyle, very well done and very clean. Descriptive, yet not so much so that I want to take a chainsaw to the book when I done. (what? you don’t do that?) I didn’t notice any glaring errors or anything like that.

And this is where it probably isn’t very fair to the author. It’s like comparing children, right? But my problem with the story is that I was expecting more. I STILL get a little bit of a chill at times when I think about his book, Dismember, which was phenomenal (Really, go buy it. Now!). So, perhaps knowing what he’s done in the past and knowing how amazing that book was has jaded me a little. I find it hard to not compare. I know. I know. But for me, I don’t actually care about the characters when it’s a story that absolutely cannot be true (and my ability to suspend belief can be pretty strong here). So, I found myself not really caring what happened to the people in the story. That’s a rough one for me.

However, I must remember that while the previous book was a “this could maybe possibly happen and OMG!” that this book is a monster book. Totally different sub-genre of horror, I realize. No one can deny that this is an excellent monster book, that’s for sure. The story line is well developed (if a little rushed at the end) and it was a great ride. His ability to bring the monster to life and to leave me rooting for the good guys made it highly worth reading. Ultimately, it’s a monster story and ultimately it’s a well done book so I’m still rating this one high.

This is recommended for those horror readers out there that like a good monster story. I’m looking forward to see what he puts out next… this dude is seriously twisted.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Let me lay it out for you. This is a five star book. Period. Heck, I think nearly all of Imogen Rose’s books are five stars in my eyes so far. It’s kind of crazy. Did the author make a deal with the devil or something to get this level of pure talent or what? Or maybe one of these demons from this book? Hmmm…

So. I’m conflicted, confounded, confused… I’m something… about this book. I really liked Faustine, the first “book” in the series. I’ll admit when I got this request for review (and then bought it because I loved it so much and wanted to share with others), I was really a little disappointed that she was putting out a prequel already. It seemed odd. I’m so used to those coming 2-3 books after a series is going.

My confliction (is that a word? No? I just made it up! YES!) comes from the fact that I think I liked Cordelia a whole heck of a lot more than Faustine (the character). I mean A LOT more. In fact, I’ll say that there were a few times when I thought Faustine was just downright annoying in this particular book. I think that was because Cordelia comes off as such an amazing strong and deep character that she completely overshadowed everyone else she came into contact with – the good news is that this covers up those few times that I was on the Faustine-hate-train.

So, book 2 (errr… 3… err.. whatever) will be out eventually. Who do I want to read more of? Faustine or Cordelia? It’s very confusing – you see my problem right? I SHOULD want to read more about Faustine, but right at this moment, two days after reading it, I could care less about that brat. Bring more Cordelia, baby!

Having said that, you absolutely do not have to have read Faustine to read this book. It will help because you’ll have some clues, but it’s not necessary. The writing is amazing, it flows off of the page easily. I read this on my Kindle and the formatting was absolutely gorgeous and the editing was amazing, impeccable even – so unheard of in the independent realm of publishing.

There’s a bit of a warning written into the description and it’s true, this is for the older set of YA, but ya know… I’d let my kids read it probably at the age of thirteen (I’m a very lenient parent, so maybe even earlier) – BUT it is a bit edgier. There’s some sex (barely worth mentioning, if I’m being honest) and some cursing. But ya know… these kids had to grow up eventually, right?

I’ll be honest, folks. I keep waiting for Imogen to write a bad book. I mean, it happens, right? I have yet to read an author that has written more than five or six books that I didn’t dislike one of them. She is one of the YA authors to watch and I’m glad to have gotten to know her work before she gets all famous and writes that really bad book

I wish I could say more… but really, just go buy it.

I recommend this for her fans, of course, but also for those of us that enjoy some good Young Adult fiction. This is well done YA. I’m considering making my book club read one of her books, actually.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2011: 62

At the time of this writing, I’ve had a day and a half to play with the new Kindle Fire so I thought I’d take some time to leave my impressions… the good and the bad.

The set up was pretty easy, upon arrival and opening they were already attached to our Amazon accounts so there wasn’t any registering to be done. My content was already showing as available, we just had to download the apps, books, etc that we wanted to have available.

At first glance, I was really surprised by how thick and meaty the Fire is. After playing with e-ink kindles for so long, it felt heavy, but sturdy enough that I didn’t worry about dropping it and shattering it into a million pieces. We turned on the switch and up it lit – super pretty display. It’s crisp and clear and we have nothing but good to say.

The software is pretty self explanatory. It didn’t take me long to figure out where to tap, move, hold, etc. This is not complicated. Amazon really went all out on the KISS factor (keep it simple, silly). I like that. It means that I can give it to my kid and they can’t screw it up too much like they do with my cell phone. It also means that, beyond the favorites area, it’s not really customizable. You kind of get what you get.

The screen is super responsive. I have yet to have a problem getting it to open or move anything I wanted. It scrolls pretty smoothly, with a few stutters if you really push it too much.

Reading books is basically out for me on this device. I’m keeping my e-ink kindles, the backlit just kills my eyes and ruins the reading experience for me. Having said that, I’ve heard that others don’t have this issue, so it might be a non issue for some. I just really am in love with e-ink for long form reading.

Watching movies and shows using Amazon, Netflix and Hulu is really great. Turn it sideways and it’s actually perfect for viewing on the go. The video is super smooth. I tried it with and without headphones and it was absolutely fine.

Listening to music is easy and the cloud service is fantastic. I can see me taking this device on a plane, listening to some tunes while reading a magazine or something. BUT you really need headphones. The speakers aren’t bad, not overly tinny, but they also aren’t fabulous. I must admit that I was actually pleasantly surprised. This is not some expensive device and the speakers are better than I expected.

The really bad for me is that there’s no Google apps, there’s no native app or anything for Gmail or Google Calendar. Because so many rely heavily on Google, I think this is probably a big negative for the Fire. It’s kind of annoying because the thing is built on top of Android. So, either you work around it (the built in email is okay with Gmail, but I need the powerful features) or you figure out a way to hack or side load it. Not having the calendar on there at all right now is just REALLY annoying. Nevermind Google Docs (which my company uses a lot!) and Google Reader (which I was REALLY looking forward to – using my Fire to catch up on my feeds). I hope Amazon rethinks this.

Speaking of apps, right now there is a limited selection available for the fire. Amazon is vetting each app separately to be included in the Amazon Appstore. Hopefully they’ll get on the ball and get some more in there. Business and productivity apps are really limited.

Hardware wise, the power button is a little awkward. I have hit it a couple of times. I just turn it upside down so I don’t hit it when I’m resting it on my leg or whatever. I do wish it had bluetooth. I would have been willing to pay a little extra. I have a wireless stereo headset that I’ve come to adore, no wires to worry about, and I would really like to be able to use it with this device.

I keep hearing people compare this to an iPad. I don’t think that’s exactly fair. This is a nice toy. It’s mainly for personal use, if I’m being honest. Then again, I think the iPad is just a fancy iPhone and I’m not a fan, so there you go. I do believe that as we see more apps coming into the Amazon Appstore, we’ll see more business applications. Painfully absent are things like Dropbox that many of us mobile folks have become to rely on.

Bottom line? It’s a small form tablet. It’s $200. It’s a great toy and I have enjoyed laying in bed and tweeting and playing around on it. I’m not sure it’s quite there yet for business users but I’m hopeful that that piece will come – perhaps along with a larger 10″ screen version. I don’t regret the purchase at all, it’s a great tablet at a great price.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

In “Atticus for the Undead” John Abramowitz has created a world that sings of the past, of the present, and of an alternate future. The story takes place in Austin, Texas amid racial tensions, political wrangling, a murder trial, and an organization’s bid to use all of these situations to push their own agenda.

Fifteen years prior to our story, an unexplained event unleashes a change upon the world. Creatures once only found in myth and folklore are once again unleashed, this time for real. How would you react if your neighbor suddenly gained magical powers? What if the kindly old lady down the street transformed once a month into a man-eating werewolf? These and other creatures, including vampires and zombies, are now a part of everyday life. These once normal citizens have joined a new racial class: The Arcane (or for the racially biased, the “Supernatural”).

Enter stage right: Hunter Gamble. Hunter is a new type of lawyer with old fashion sensibilities. Following on his father’s footsteps, Hunter became a lawyer. But where his father formed a huge law firm, Hunter followed his heart after reading “To Kill a Mockingbird”. His entire focus is the rights of the Arcane. He is only human though, and his small law office does what it can.

Enter stage left: Sam Pollard. Sam is a young man whose only mistake was to die. Raised from the dead by his mage father, Sam becomes the focus for a legal battle that will affect the standing of the Arcane for many years to come.

Bring up the lights: An ominous figure hangs in the background. Adrian Vorr, leader of the Austin chapter of the Salvation Alliance, wants nothing more than to see Hunter out of the way. The Salvation Alliance will go to any length to make this happen.

The author describes the book as “Legal Fiction”. I do not doubt that in many ways “Atticus for the Undead” falls in this category. However, I can think of several others that it would fit in as well. In truth, this is a cross-genre story that will appeal to many readers. There is drama, humor, action, magic, and of course “Legal Fiction” as well.

Mr. Abramowitz has crafted a great story with very believable characters. Though the story is set in a slightly future time with mages, vampires, zombies and other Arcane, the situation is something you could see in any setting where racial tensions are high. This story serves as a reminder, a reminder that even when all are created equal, someone will always try to use fear to remove that equality and use the tension in their favor.

Every character is well developed. You can feel the tension as Hunter pushes through a crowd of angry Salvation Alliance members. The hatred and menace of Vorr against the Arcane is palpable in every scene he is in. Sam is a likable guy, a good son, and pitiable as a zombie. You will want everything to work out. You will cringe with each plot twist. You will smile as things go the characters way, and mourn when they don’t.

“Atticus for the Undead” is in many ways and echo of “To Kill a Mockingbird”, updated for our times and made more attainable to the masses. However, there are many differences and is actually in many ways a more believable (sans Arcane) story. This is especially true of the ending, which I felt came way too soon. I wanted more from, and for, each of the main characters of the story. However, looking back, I can understand Mr. Abramowitz’s decisions. Rainbows do not lead to pots of gold, clouds do not have silver linings, and each and every one of use, Arcane and Natural, are all too human.

As Harper Lee’s Scout told us in “To Kill a Mockingbird”: “I think there’s just one kind of folks. Folks.” I think this important moral rings through every page of “Atticus to the Undead.”

I am rating this book with 4 stars, but a very highly regarded 4 stars. While not the best book I have ever read, “Atticus for the Undead” was one of the most engaging. Whether you are a fan of legal, sci-fi, fantasy, or supernatural fiction I think there is something here for everyone.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2011: 56

I first got a kindle in March of 2009 when the 2nd generation came out. I’ve since purchased more kindles than I want to admit – for myself, my family, my extended family and friends. It’s a go-to gift for me as well as prize when I have a giveaway to do. There are currently 7 kindles in this 4 person household (each person has their own plus we have 2 new Fires and I’m moving my stuff from my keyboard to this new Touch) – plus I play librarian to several family members. To say that I’m a bit of a kindle freak would be an understatement. When someone I know says they are going to buy a kindle, they usually are asking me for my opinion on which one, etc. So, that’s where I’m coming from with this review.

The new Touch and Basic put me in a really tough spot. I use text-to-speech from time to time so having the audio is a must (the Basic version doesn’t do audio), so the Touch is a must right? Well… I’m not in love with the touch screen, so I should get the keyboard right? Well, I like the smaller size. Sigh. I need Amazon to design a kindle JUST for me – basically, a Basic edition with audio. BUT since good old Jeff doesn’t live his life to please me, I guess I’ll just make do…

Anyway, my recommendation is almost always to save the $30 or whatever and get the ones with ads. Hey, at least the screen savers are different and I’ve seen some really neat deals (let’s face it, coupons are kind of trendy now anyway and I hear that Amazon Local will be available on the kindles with ads soon, if not already). The ads are NOT in the books, it’s only on the screensaver and a little ribbon at the bottom of the home screen. But what do I recommend to friends and family now? It comes down to the audio for me.

Other than audio, the biggest difference is, obviously, the touchscreen. I originally thought the screen was going to be divided into thirds – it is NOT – thank goodness because left-handed reading would have been awkward at best if that were the case. The way it’s divided up is that tapping the screen moves the page forward except for the left edge (which turns back a page) and the upper edge (which brings up the menu). It’s pretty easy to use. You can also swipe your finger to turn the page if you wish.

When you first pick it up and start tapping (or banging while cursing) on the screen, it’s a bit confusing. It took me a good 10 minutes to figure out why I couldn’t get the thing to do what I wanted (it apparently doesn’t read my mind). Once I got the whole tap, swipe, long press, menu thing down, I was in business. It also helped when I realized that the comb/vent thing on the face of the kindle was actually a button that, when pushed, took me to the home screen (this is probably why I should I have paid attention to those start up screens – eh, who needs instructions, right?).

Really, that’s the only difference between the keyboard, basic and touchscreen versions. There’s the new x-ray thing, of course, but for most of us that just want to read, it doesn’t much matter. I do think the screen refresh is better on the basic and touchscreen, it doesn’t do a full clear-screen “thing” except for every six pages are so, so it’s a little faster than my keyboard. On the Touch, the screen is slightly recessed, I assume so it’s harder for us to turn the page on accident.

The contacts are now on the back of the kindle, where presumably the lighted case will draw power (I wouldn’t know because the delivery date, at the time of this writing, keeps getting pushed back for both my touch and my daughter’s basic edition – not that I’m impatient or anything).

The really big difference for me and the reason I’m going through the long process of moving my books from my keyboard to the touch is the way it looks. It’s smaller, sleeker and it just looks better. It’s like the kindle is growing up and turning into quite a young lady.

I’m sure once I get more used to the touchscreen, it will be fine. I’ve already mastered peck-typing on it. I have not, however, mastered highlighting and sharing. It’s much easier to use a cursor to get to where you want to go instead of your finger – especially if you use a smaller font. Again, something I’ll probably get used to as time goes on, but for now it’s on my “annoying” list.

I’d recommend this as an upgrade from a K1 or K2. If you are happy with your keyboard version and don’t care about the look or the size, then you can probably skip this upgrade. Otherwise, it’s a very worthy “what’s next” step.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Let me first say that I met the author of this book about a year ago and see her about once per month at various networking groups. I actually paid for the paperback book and then again the digital copy so I could have a copy available on my kindle as well. I always feel like I’m a little harder on reviews with people that I know personally and professionally because I probably hold them to a higher standard. Having said that, this is THE book to purchase if you are looking good, quality referrals.

Oh, it doesn’t tell you how to get business, but it teaches you to network effectively. When I get rich, I’m buying this book by the pallet and passing them out at networking groups to all those people that you talk to who are just plain doing it wrong (and that could be you because invariably these people don’t know that they are doing it wrong – it’s completely obvious to the rest of us though!).

The layout is fantastic. I think it may very well be one of the most put-together self-published books I’ve read in a while. It’s not so thick with text that you lose the ability to focus, has lots of bullet points to break it up and really hone down on the things you need to be paying attention, and has a pattern so you know what to expect. My favorite part of this pattern was the “why do this work?” section. Ya know, I’ve read a lot of self-help and business books over the years and that’s one thing that a lot of them are missing. The “So what?” factor. Why are we doing this? Who cares? Alas, someone tell us! I realize that sounds ridiculous, but it really helps to tie the point together.

The information that Patti gives us is what she’s culled together, learned, and researched on over the past twenty years or so. This book isn’t coming from some 25-five-year old who just got out of college. It’s written by a professional woman, with professional polish, about how to make yourself, organically, a networker. I don’t really think it can be “taught” per se, if I’m being honest. I think it’s something you do learn, though – and it’s something that you can hone in for yourself. The author does a fabulous job of nudging your brain where it needs to go when you are in business networking situations – and, maybe more importantly, even when you are NOT.

The chapter “Focus on Quality” was a real eye-opener for me. I think I sometimes forget to do this and I’ll be making a few changes in how I handle things myself in the near future.

Honestly, I cannot think of any business owner that would not benefit from reading this book, so I’ll recommend it for those folks – even if you think you know it all… you probably don’t.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Book count for 2011: 51

I bought the K2 when it came out and then the K3 (now known as the Kindle Keyboard). I was excited to see there was a new device. I knew the difference would be small. I’ve also ordered a Fire and a Touch. So, that’s where I’m coming from with this review. I bought the Basic Kindle with ads just so I could check it out and see if I wanted to upgrade my Kindle Keyboard. The answer is… I don’t know. So, I’ll talk a little about the differences in this review.

The page refresh and time to turn on/off is much improved. It appears to only do a full “anti-ghosting” (for lack of a better term) refresh every 6 or 7 screens. This is allowing it to put up a new e-ink screen faster. Kinda nifty. This is, by far, my favorite improvement over the previous versions.

The on/off button is slightly different. There’s no slide. You push it in. It’s a little annoying at first, but I can see that at least it won’t get snagged on things in my purse like it does now. Of course, it will probably still get bumped around and turn on. So, this is kind of a draw for me. I must have bigger thumbs than the average person

There’s also no hinge. From looking at the photos of the covers coming for the Kindle Touch it looks like it sits in a frame of sorts now, so I’m guessing the contacts on the back is how it will charge from the device if you buy a lighted cover. The cover is a sore spot for me. I like to read in bed. I need a light and I really like having my kindle in a cover. I really want to use this one to see if I like it over my keyboard version, but this will be a tough one. I’ll suck it up and get over it, a cover should be out soon-ish, right?

As I mentioned, I bought the ad-supported version. The ads aren’t obtrusive, they show up as screen savers and also as a little block at the bottom of the menu. They are NOT in the books at all.

I don’t have a library card/overdrive so I wasn’t able to test that out. It does have less internal space than the Kindle Keyboard, but that’s only a consideration if you’re using a lot of books. This kindle also doesn’t have speakers or a headset jack (remember, very basic, entry level!) so it doesn’t have the need for audio files. I think the space is fine unless you must have more than 1400 books on it for some reason. Obviously, no text-to-speech on this one either.

The virtual keyboard is much easier to use than I anticipated, it’s pretty zippy and I was able to type up a note easily and quickly, maybe slightly slower than I can on my keyboard version. The highlighting is slightly different with two other steps put in there from what I’m used to. Most people might not notice this, but I do make notes, so I noticed it right away.

The look is basically the same, same screen resolution. It is a lighter black color around the screen like a shimmery silvery black almost.

Bottom line for me? I’m not sure yet what I will do with this kindle. I LOVE the faster page turns. LOVE. But the lack of a lighted cover right now (not taking off stars for that as I’m assuming that will be remedied pretty quickly). For now, I’ll play with both and decide. Then decide again when my Touch gets here in November.

I’ll update the review when I do decide, but my gut reaction is that, page turns aside, I’ll end up sticking with my keyboard version for a little while longer.

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Update: I found the covers. I couldn’t find them before, but someone pointed them out. So yay! I’ll pre-order one for it (wish they were available now, but at least I’ll have a lighted cover!). However, after mulling it over, I think I’m going to pass this one to my daughter. ONLY because I’ve ordered a Touch though and I don’t see the point and setting up this one with all my books and collections, etc just to have to do it again in six weeks. Otherwise, I might make the switch. I think I’ll stick with the ads on the Touch as well. I don’t mind them and it’s a change up from the same old screen savers.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Cows Can’t Jump is a sweet and endearing book that I truly believe will become a classic of early childhood literature. The book is simply written with colorful illustrations that are guaranteed to keep a child’s attention. While there isn’t a story, there is a moral: we are all different and it is those differences that make us special.

This book reminds me of the simple, colorful books in my grandmother’s house when I was a young child. 1/2 a sentence per page, illustrations that perfectly match the text, and a simple meaning that has a more profound effect.

Cows Can’t Jump is a new title in a classical style of early childhood literature. This book should be a part of every parents library for their preschooler to enjoy.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars