Free at Last, Free at Last. At Least Some Are.

Catchy title, huh?  Almost as catchy as The Bone Polisher, which is Timothy Hallinan’s classic Simeon Grist novel that is available this weekend on Amazon for FREE!  Actually Saturday (today), Sunday, and Monday.

I honestly can’t believe any book by Tim would ever be offered for free. I mean, why? Who on earth wouldn’t know to read his stuff?  Let’s be real here, Tim’s an Edgar and Macavity nominee who can’t seem to write anything that doesn’t sparkle.  And it’s not as if this one’s the runt of any litter.  It’s the capstone of his LA private detective series, one that has Grist chasing through 1995 gay West Hollywood after the most dangerous adversary of his career, a man who kills his victims not once, but twice: once physically and once in spirit.  And in classic Hallinan fashion, there’s a giant plot twist surprise to come.   

Don’t ask, just download it and decide for yourself.  After all, it’s free!!

Which brings me back to the question, why offer a book for free?

Practically everywhere you look these days on author Internet groups there’s a discussion raging over “setting the right price for your e-book.”  And of course there are tales of phenomenal success achieved by some who offered their books for free, only to reap small fortunes once they were restored to “full price” from the rush of folks who missed out on the opportunity to get in on the freebie deal but still decided to buy the books.

To normal folks (non-writers) that marketing practice may seem counterintuitive, but if it works, who are we to question?  Besides, it certainly gives the author the opportunity of reaching more readers, and hopefully selling other books to those who liked what they saw of the author’s work. 

I know that whenever I go to NYC’s legendary Strand Bookstore I always scour the dollar table for a “deal.”   It’s just our nature I suspect.  And when my publisher, Poisoned Pen Press, last weekend reduced to $0.99 the e-book price for the first book in some of its authors’ series (including my Murder in Mykonos, which is also available for $0.99 on Amazon—how could I not sneak that in here), I actually took the opportunity to buy the works of some colleagues I had not read.

So, I guess that’s the answer, the proof of the pudding is in the reading.

All I know for sure is what I said at the top of this piece: take advantage of this offer on Tim’s book, The Bone Polisher.  Besides, if you don’t like it I personally promise to refund your purchase price.

And just so you don’t think this is all about hawking books, here is a public service announcement: Daylight Savings Time starts tomorrow in the United States at 2AM, so set your clocks ahead one hour  (Spring forward, Fall back). 

  

Jeff—Saturday