Today I Loaded My Kindle With…

A book on a local attraction, the Garden of the Gods. These red rock formations are along the same road that will take you to Pike’s Peak and is well worth the detour. I also grabbed a book on backpacking for newbies and more city guides, including one for a city I recently visited, Goteborg, Sweden. Nice place. Great food! And speaking of food, I picked up two recipe books that make a nice pair, one for Cajun cooking and the other for deep south desserts. Nom! Fiction is a grab bag of dark fantasy, historical fiction and a collection of short horror. I also want to shout out a fellow WordPress blogger, Catherine, Caffeinated, and her new book on self publishing, offered free today.

Fiction

Murder of Crows by Athena
Fable Montgomery is the Muse of Story. Fourteen years ago she gave up her home, her memories, and the man she loved, to prevent a new Dark Age. Yet when her beloved aunt is murdered, the fate of two worlds rests on Fable’s ability to recover the memories she worked so hard to destroy. Fable returns to the land of myth and magic, a place called Aria. A world that has been waiting fourteen long years for her to fulfill the promises she’s forgotten she made. In a surge of power she writes the Prophecy of Crows, a 240 page manuscript of the future arc. But before she can read it, all but thirteen of the pages are stolen by a murder of crows. With only thirteen pages to guide her through the story, Fable must rediscover her power of inspiration, because the last page of prophecy foretells her death. And if the Muse of Story dies…all stories die with her.

Sumerford’s Autumn by Barbara Gaskell Denvil
Utterly disinterested in politics, war, or power and with no expectations of inheriting more than his father’s casual contempt, since his three elder brothers take precedence, Ludovic, the Earl of Sumerford’s youngest son, settles to a life of smuggling to embellish his non-existent fortune. It is the very end of the 15th century, and Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor dynasty, sits on England’s throne, but how long he will remain there is unsure for there are other claimants to the crown. One names himself Richard Plantagenet, though the king dubs him Perkin Warbeck, and it is Ludovic’s brother Gerald who is risking his life to prove this is no pretender but the rightful king. Against the background of the brothers’ diverse and complex passions and the menacing and intensifying political situation, the family hides and protects its mysteries. And Ludovic, although looking for something quite different, finds romance in the unlikeliest place.

I Held My Breath as Long as I Could by Kristopher Kelly
A detective’s search for his missing partner ends in a terrifying discovery; A man is harassed by monsters in his radiator, who threaten dire consequences if he doesn’t convince his roommate to move out; Two college kids go on a road-trip, which turns into an odyssey through their nightmares; A man takes self-improvement advice from a creature living in a jug of milk; An auction is held for a painting that may be a window into Hell itself. These tales and more are all contained in this collection of 23 unforgettable stories that push the boundaries of what horror and literature can

Why Aren’t You Sweet Like Me? by Carrie Nyman (Free until the evening of June 1)
A young couple, Camille “Honey” Shaughnessy and Don Shepard fall in love on the eve of World War II. As America enters the war, and Don is pressured into the service by his father, the two newlyweds struggle to maintain contact. Don becomes a hero, saving the lives of his comrades, but will he make it home alive? “Why Aren’t You Sweet Like Me?” is a novel based on the actual love letters exchanged between the author’s grandparents.

Recipe Books

Cajun Cuisine and More Volume 1: Great Recipes, Inspiring Stories and Cajun Humor by Paul Raphael
Whether it’s the French Quarter or the swamps and bayous of his native state, the author employs them as the stage for his humorous, romantic or reflective narratives, entertaining the reader while lending sensuous depth to the Cajun dishes he describes. Even the photos seem edible, the recipes coming alive in their colorful depictions. An epic adventure, this volume 1 of the coming series, Cajun Cuisine and More, serves as sumptuous hors d’oeuvres for the feast which follows. Value it as a treasure-trove of time-tested Cajun recipes, or adore it for its bumbling, lovable, all-too-human characters; either, or both, make this a must-have for family and friends, a gift to be remembered by its frequent use.

Deep South Desserts by Kathryn Midgett
If you like desserts, then this collection of mouth-watering easy to follow family recipes will be right up your alley. Simple, delicious and proven crowd pleasers.

Nonfiction

The Best of Catherine, Caffeinated: Caffeine-Infused Self-Publishing Advice by Catherine Ryan Howard
Coffee addict and bestselling self-published author CATHERINE RYAN HOWARD has been blogging about her adventures in self-publishing (or self-printing, as she likes to call it) on her popular blog, Catherine, Caffeinated, since November 2009. Now all of her caffeine-infused advice, information, tips and tricks —all 120,000 words of it—have been compiled in this e-book title. Learn everything Catherine did in the order she learned it, or use the category listings to navigate the posts by specific topic. The ideal companion to any self-publishing/printing adventure, THE BEST OF CATHERINE,CAFFEINATED is best enjoyed with the highly caffeinated beverage of your choice.

Travel

Garden of the Gods by Richard Gehling
There is a valley near the base of Pikes Peak known since the mid-19th century as the Garden of the Gods. It is a garden not of flowers, but of rock – of kissing camels and stone toadstools and mammoth sandstone monuments tilted upward toward the Colorado sky. If these great rocks could but speak, what stories they might tell. Stories of Indians who camped there in ages past…of mountain men who paused there before entering the high country…of gold seekers who carved their names into the soft sandstone walls…of early settlers who claimed the land as their own…of later promoters who tried to make money off the natural beauty…of conservationists who sought to preserve this garden as a place forever free to the public.

The New Backpacker’s Guidebook by Craig McMahon
With common sense advice, helpful checklists and informative stories, The New Backpacker’s Guidebook is a great resource for students and adults traveling internationally for the first time, whether your backpacking trip is for a few weeks, months or even longer than that. This is not your typical “guidebook” because it focuses on helping you adapt to different environments and challenges that you will encounter on the road. It also provides you with basic assurance and guidance for dealing with certain situations, but leaves enough breathing room for you to adjust to the backpacking lifestyle at a relaxed pace.

Top Sights Travel Guide: Gothenburg

Top Sights Travel Guide: Rome

Top Sights Travel Guide: Belfast

Top Sights Travel Guide: Düsseldorf

Descriptions provided by Amazon

I found these books via Amazon’s Kindle eBooks store. Resources for free Kindle and other format eBooks are listed in my sidebar.

These freebies are limited time offers, so there is no guarantee any of these books will still be free when you click on the links. Grab them sooner rather than later.