Monday, December 08, 2014

Free Books for Gift Giving


At this point in my professional life, at my advanced age, most of what I do professionally is teach workshops and write—mostly write. I don't write for money. All my writing income is given to charity: animal rescue, research on animal health, and civil liberty education (over $500,000, so far).

I write to pass along what I've learned, just as others have passed along their learnings to me. My goal is to reach as many readers as possible. Consequently, I'm always trying to think of ways to reach new readersm, and for this holiday season, I've thought of a way you can help me reach that goal.

Here's the deal. When you buy one of my ebooks, you can easily copy that book and give it to your friends and colleagues. If my primary interest was the money, I wouldn't be happy to know you're copying the ebook. But, although I do want money to go to my charities, I'm pleased that that a free copy has gone to someone who might otherwise not even know it exists.

So, this year, when you buy one of my books, I encourage you to copy it and give it to someone who might otherwise not know it, or could not afford it.

Yes, I know you could do this without my encouragement, but I also know that some readers don't feel right about taking something for free. And, generally, that's not entirely honest, so I'm not encouraging you to do this for other authors without their permission. But for my books, you have my permission, so go ahead and copy with a clear conscience.

(If you want to "pay" me, drop me a little email note saying how many free copies you distributed. That will satisfy my curiosity, and might encourage me to make this offer every year.)


BARGAIN BUNDLES

To make this offer even more attractive, remember that I'm offering a list of bargain book bundles from Leanpub.com. Take a look at the books in each bundle by clicking one of these links:
Experiential Learning (3 volumes @$45)


Fable Bundle (2 volumes @$7.99)


Residue Class Mystery Series (3 volumes@$11.99)


Quantum Stringer Series (3 volumes@$14,99)


The Testers Library (8 volumes@$49.99)


Secrets of Consulting  (2 volumes@$14.99 )


Quality Software  (11 volumes@$49.99)


General Systems Thinker Bundle (5 volumes@$29.99 or less)


Requirements  (2 volumes@$14.99)


Using these bundles with the copying offer, you'll be able to fulfill an enormous gift list with minimal expense.

Thursday, December 04, 2014

Gifts for Any Time, but Especially Now


Now that we're finished with that Black Friday and CyberMonday hysteria, it's time for my annual Christmas poem:

Twas the week before Christmas,
And all through the house,
Every creature was fretting
And starting to grouse.

Then from UPS
Came a gift flowerpot
From a friendly old colleague
Whose gift I'd forgot.  

But then I remembered:
Don't feel like a schnook
In just a few minutes
I can send a great book

No wrapping, no breakage,
No address to scrawl,
No trade-ins, no trouble,
'Cause one size fits all.

So boot up your browser,
And don't be a schnook.
In a fistful of keystrokes
You can send a fine book.

Naturally, I recommend one of my novels for a fun read and fitting gift—perfect for smart adults and bright teenagers.

For just $6.99 each (or less when buying more than one), you can go to http://www.thewomenofpower.org to read about each story and what reviewers said. Then you can send your friends engaging, exciting stories, each one that also carries one or more science/technology themes. 

These novels are my attempts to put the science back in science fiction and the techno back in techno-thrillers.

The Residue Class Mysteries Themes
The Freshman Murders: Computers, Culture, Genealogy
Where There's a Will There's a Murder: Mathematics, Anthropology
The Death Lottery: Randomness, Programming, Espionage

The Quantum Stringers Series Themes
Quantum String Quartet: Physics, Social Psychology
Quantum String Sextet:: Team Building, Communication
Quantum String Band:: Space Travel, Psychology

The Women of Power Series Themes
Mistress of Molecules: Chemistry, Politics
The Hands of God: Parallel Computing, Neurophysiology, Prosthetics
Earth’s Endless Effort: Unconventional Computers, Alien Contact

The Aremac Project Series Themes
The Aremac: Software Development, Testing, Security
Aremac Power: Risks and Rewards of Invention

And, of course, Computers in every story!

And if you've already gifted everyone on your list, I invite you to try one of my novels for yourself. As always, if it doesn't fit for you, I’ll gladly return your money.

Have a wonderful Holiday every day,
Jerry

p.s. You can also gift your techie friends with some of my non-fiction ebooks: See Leanpub.com