Mushroom eBooks Blog

Read an interview with Suzanne Francis, author of Heart of Hythea and Ketha’s Daughter, the first two books of the “Song of the Arkafina” series, over at The Long and the Short of It.

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I am pleased to announce that Mushroom has signed up with WOWIO to offer some of our titles for free. The books are advertising supported, which involves two or three ads placed at the beginning and end of the book — there are no adverts placed to interrupt the reading experience at all. Mushroom receives a small remuneration from Wowio for each download, which we split with the author. Unfortunately, Wowio is only available in North America at the moment, but is hoping to make the service available internationally in the future. The books are available in PDF format, which can be read on desktops and laptops with Adobe Reader or other PDF viewers, and on some portable devices, such as the Sony Reader and Palm, using appropriate software.

We currently have titles by Roger Taylor, Moyra Caldecott and Dennis Radha-Rose available, and they provide an opportunity to sample these authors with something more substantial than the usual two or three chapters.

About WOWIO

What is WOWIO?

WOWIO is our passion. A passion for books. A passion for reading. A passion for removing barriers and expanding access to the written word. Ultimately, it’s passion for FREE BOOKS + FREE MINDS.

Our Goals

Our business goal is to build a unique and viable company that creates valued relationships between readers, sponsors, and publishers.
Our community goal is to dramatically expand access to written works by eliminating the economic, geographic, and logistical barriers while also ensuring fair compensation for publishers.

A Win-Win-Win Community

Authors and artists work hard to create their books and should receive fair compensation. WOWIO introduces sponsors as the primary source of compensation. Readers get books for free. Sponsors get opportunities to establish valued relationships with readers. Authors, artists, and their publishers get fair compensation. It’s a win-win-win for the WOWIO community — where each group willingly gives a little to get something in return.

Respect for Readers

As book fanatics, we revere the sanctity of books and the purity of the reading experience. Therefore, our inclusion of sponsors in the WOWIO community does not mean ads are indiscriminately placed in books. Instead, WOWIO appoints a sole sponsor who willingly covers the cost of the book in exchange for an opportunity to establish a meaningful connection with an appreciative reader. It’s about sponsors earning a reader’s respect by honoring their reading experience.

Respect for Sponsors

Traditional advertising shouts its message whether anyone wants to hear it and whether or not it is relevant. By contrast, WOWIO sponsorships are targeted by readers’ own pre-selected preferences — delivering messages that are more relevant. With WOWIO, it’s about sponsorships being a tool for awareness, rather than intrusion. It’s about readers having a say in the messages they see. And it’s about a mutual respect between sponsors and readers that results in unprecedented brand loyalty.

Respect for Publishers

Authors, artists, and their publishers are at risk in today’s digital world. Their passion and hard work is often trivialized by those seeking free access above fair compensation. WOWIO works to undermine this piracy by creating a sustainable micro-economy where books are free and their creators still get compensated. It’s simply about readers respecting the work of authors and artists by supporting the sponsors who pay them.

About WOWIO

WOWIO is today the only source where readers can legally download high-quality copyrighted ebooks from leading publishers for free. Readers have access to a wide range of offerings, including works of classic literature, college textbooks, comic books, and popular fiction and non-fiction titles.
WOWIO opened on the World Wide Web in August 2006. It is a privately owned company with headquarters in Houston, Texas.

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I am pleased to announce that we have signed three books from Daniel Wyatt, author of “The Falcon File” series.

The first is The Mary Jane Mission, which was originally published by Random House, and we are hoping to publish this next Monday (fingers crossed). The Last Flight of the Arrow will be published on August 4, and The Cotton Run will appear on November 10.

I will post more information as soon as I have it.

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Due to circumstances beyond my control (I love that phrase — it says everything without saying anything) we have had to adjust the publication dates a little for the remaining Dray Prescot books. I am sorry for any disappointment this will cause. Scorpio Drums will still be published on 7 April, but the rest have had to be moved back about a month. Titles by other Mushroom eBooks authors are not affected.

The new dates are:

• Scorpio Triumph (DP43) - 19 May 2008
• Intrigue of Antares (DP44) - 2 June 2008
• Gangs of Antares (DP45) - 16 June 2008
• Demons of Antares (DP46) - 30 June 2008
• Scourge of Antares (DP47) - 14 July 2008
• Challenge of Antares (DP48) - 28 July 2008
• Wrath of Antares (DP49) - 18 August 2008
• Shadows Over Kregen (DP50) - 8 September 2008
• Murder on Kregen (DP51) - 29 September 2008
• Turmoil on Kregen (DP52) - 20 October 2008

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For those of you eagerly awaiting the second volume of the “Song of the Arkafina” series by Suzanne Francis, Ketha’s Daughter, I can confirm that the publication date will be 21st April 2008. Book three will be published in August, and the final volume in December, all being well.

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I have been asked a number of times if the entire 52-book saga of Dray Prescot by Alan Burt Akers will be available as a single download after they are all published…

It will.

Pricing has not been confirmed yet, but it will probably only be slightly cheaper to buy the complete set of ebooks than to buy them individually. I can confirm that the available formats will include PDF, Mobipocket, Microsoft Reader (.LIT), and Rocket/eBookwise (.RB). I can’t confirm other formats at this time.

I am working on a couple of free extras to include in the bundle, and a CD version may be published.

The likely publication date is November 2008.

Happy New Year!

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Moyra Caldecott will be signing books at The Speaking Tree Bookshop (146 Walcot Street, Bath, UK. Telephone 01225 461606) on Wednesday 7 November 2007, from 4pm to 6pm. Moyra will be delighted to see you there.

Moyra reached her 80th birthday in June this year. To celebrate her achievement of writing over thirty books, Bladud Books has republished most of her back catalogue of works. This includes two new works: her autobiography, Multi-Dimensional Life, and a collection of poems and thoughts, The Breathless Pause. The entire range will be available in The Speaking Tree on Wednesday 7 November, and Moyra herself will be available to sign her books and meet her fans between 4pm and 6pm.

Moyra is a well known and colourful character in Bath and The Speaking Tree is pleased to also be displaying her art and stained glass work as part of their local artist series.

If you can’t make it to the event but would still like a signed copy, please contact The Speaking Tree direct.

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Great News! Most of our titles are now available in Sony Reader format from the Sony CONNECT bookstore.

The ebooks can be read either on the portable Sony Reader, or on a PC or laptop using the free CONNECT™ Reader software.

The Sony Reader is an innovative device for reading ebooks on the go. It has received excellent reviews from the industry and has been well received by users. At the moment there are some very good offers available, but it is currently only available in the USA; hopefully that situation will change soon.

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We are currently adding paperback information to all the book detail pages where a paperback or hardback edition is available from one of the Mushroom Publishing imprints. Most of them are published under the Bladud Books imprint, and you can see all the titles together there. Links are provided to buy the books either from Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk, and we plan to offer other options in the future. The integration should be completed by the end of this week.
You can see examples here and here.

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We are very pleased to have concluded an agreement with Moyra Caldecott to publish two new books and to republish two books that have been out of print for a while.

The new books are:

The Breathless Pause - thoughts and poems

Multi-dimensional Life - A writer on the process of writing

Adventures by Leaf Light and Other Stories

The new editions are:

The Green Lady and the King of Shadows

Mythical Journeys, Legendary Quests - The Spiritual Search

All of these titles will become available through April and May, and I will post more details as they are published.

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