Great Stories for Free & Dirt Cheap

Good morning, Blog Buddies. Kimber An here.

We always encourage you all to buy your favorite authors' books new, because that's how they make money. If they don't make money the publishers won't publish their books and you won't have any new stories to read. But, let's face reality here. If you have to choose between milk for your children or buying your favorite author's book new, whatcha gonna do? These are hard economic times we're living in. Stories have always been essential to emotional well-being during such times. This is how Bugs Bunny became some a huge star in World War II.

So, please, do buy your favorite authors' books new, if you can. If you can't, I, for one, won't fault you. It's more important that you just keep reading.

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After the financial issue, there's also the question of choice when it comes to buying books. If you happen to love a certain genre/subgenre which is stuck in Trend Hell right now, you're not going to have much choice in the New Releases. You might be able to find one or two Paranormal Romance novels without blood-sucking dead guys, for example, but it won't be easy. In that case, pop over to any of the blogs or websites which specialize in sorting through the Endless Parade of Sameness and make a list before proceeding with any of the other options. http://theromancereader.com/

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FREE

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Trade books with your friends!

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InterLibrary Loan. Many people know you can have books sent to you from other libraries within your state or county, but a lot of people don't know you can have a book sent to you from anywhere in the nation. I live in Alaska and I once got a book from Colorado, I think it was, sent all the up here to me for FREE. Find your local library's website. I'll use Anchorage because I don't live there anymore. http://lexicon.ci.anchorage.ak.us/ Notice that the web address isn't the same as the actual name. This can make it difficult to find your library's website, but persevere! Go to the library's website and search for the words, InterLibrary Loan, or something similar. You'll notice it's near the bottom of the Anchorage site under the heading, 'Special Services.' You can have a book sent from any participating library in the United States send to you for FREE. I think it took a week or two for my book to arrive.

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Internet.

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There are free short stories and full novels all over the Internet. Project Gutenburg is a huge database of free electronic novels. You can obtain some of the greatest stories ever written from their site. My husband downloaded WAR OF THE WORLDS by H. G. Wells there. http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page Here's one just for Romance novels- http://www.talewins.com/Browzer/novels.htm

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Published Authors.

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Many published authors give away free books in promotional contests, so check on their websites and blogs regularly for such offers. Susan Grant recently offered one of her best novels, CONTACT, in a contest, autographed and everything. http://susangrant.blogspot.com/ Also, many of them offer free stories as a way to get you hooked on their regular books. You'll find a collection of Linnea Sinclair's stories at the bottom of this page- http://linneasinclair.com/bar.htm And some published authors also have serial novels http://www.brokentype.com/frostbite/ {FROSTBITE by David Wellington is a Horror novel, which we don't review here.} and novels to download for free http://www.spacejock.com.au/Hal1Download.html sometimes temporarily and sometimes indefinitely.

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Unpublished or Self-Published Authors

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There are many authors out there whose novels have not been published in the traditional sense. Some people assume it's because the novels are crap. Not true. A lot of the time, it's simply because the novels appeal to a small audience, which means they couldn't make enough money to make it worth while to a regular publisher. So, if you're looking for variety, these stories are the way to go! Do bear in mind that most unpublished and self-published authors cannot afford professional editing, so be a little more forgiving. Here's an author whose site also lists other free on-line novels- http://www.free-online-novels.com/ Here's my own serial novel- http://thestarcaptainsdaughter.wordpress.com/

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Dirt Cheap

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Great books can be found at yard sales and thrift stores, like those operated by charities. Salvation Army, Value Village, and Bishop's Attic are the names of some of Alaska's thrift shops. Now, here's a trick. If you can't find what you're looking for there, sometimes you can find books in *New Condition.* Buy them and take them to your local Used Bookstore which excepts trades. They'll get new stock and you'll get the books you really want at an even greater discount.

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Used Bookstores can be so wonderful. Title Wave Bookstore in Anchorage, Alaska is so beloved by my family we consider it a vacation destination. http://www.wavebooks.com/catalog/index.php It now sells both used and new books and will ship books free anywhere within Alaska. I predict Used Bookstores will profit hugely during this difficult economic time. Barnes & Nobel had better pay attention!

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Self-published novels through Lulu.com http://www.lulu.com/en/buy/?cid=en_tab_buy vary widely in price, but many can be found for free or very cheap (under, say, $3.)

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Likewise, ePublishers' prices vary widely too. Some are more reasonable than others. http://www.ebookcrossroads.com/epublishers.html If you don't have an eBook reading device, like the Kindle from http://www.amazon.com/ you should be able to read ePublished books on your computer.

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Speaking of Amazon.com, you can get a lot of books for Dirt Cheap there too, including self-published. Also, eBay is awesome. http://books.shop.ebay.com/Books__W0QQ_sacatZ267?_trksid=p3907.m21 The best way to save money when ordering print copies on-line is to buy paperbacks. Shipping & Handling charges can be aweful, especially if you live near the Arctic Circle like me! I know Amazon.com has Super Saver shipping too. Explore your options.

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That's all I can think of for now. If any of you have other suggestions or want to recommend Free or Dirt Cheap stories on-line, please do so in the Comments. Thank you!