The latest in charm technology

THE WORLD’S LUCKIEST E-BOOK goes on sale this week.

Bless My Kindle will load users’ precious e-readers with 101 of the most blessed symbols around, ensuring they are never lost, stolen or dropped in the bath (well, fingers crossed).

Experts have been working around the clock to deliver the very latest in cutting-edge charm technology. And thanks to its in-depth ‘Albatross to Yin-Yang’ encyclopedia of good luck, you will also learn why the four-leaf clover is so special, where touching wood comes from, and why beards were once thought to be blessed.

Available exclusively for the Amazon Kindle (and the many devices that offer Kindle apps) this remarkable e-book aims to bring you all the charms you need to keep your e-reader – and that treasured book collection – safe from harm.

All at a fraction of the cost of tiresome insurance.

So polish up the horseshoe, make a wish on that ladybird, and crack open the fortune cookie for this fascinating new e-book. And be lucky!

Terrifying true story Assassin goes on sale

THE TRUE STORY of one of the most dangerous hit-men who ever lived is on sale now.

Assassin is the shocking account of writer Christopher Robbins as his life becomes entwined with that of the deadly Carlos Evertsz. Forced into a volatile friendship after accidentally insulting the killer, he later winds up on his notorious ‘hit list’.

It is the complete dossier of an agent licensed to murder and who doesn’t hesitate to list his record of shocking atrocities, brought to us by the journalist who knew him best.

Explaining himself as “a liquidator just doing his job”, Evertsz ricochets between the high life in London, Madrid and the island paradise of the Dominican Republic – and some of the world’s most horrific jails.

Told by the masterful Robbins, author of bestselling Vietnam War title The Ravens, we also meet Dr Manuel Sosa, a demonic intelligence chief with a taste of orgies, torture, blackmail, voodoo and murder.

A staggering story that is hard to believe were it not so carefully documented, Assassin is available now for Kindle, Kobo, iPad and iPhone, and from thousands of e-retailers worldwide.

Sex, videotape and lots and lots of lies

New York Times bestseller Melissa Jo Peltier turns her attention to the brilliant, back-stabbing world of prime-time television in a wickedly funny new novel.

Peltier has worked in entertainment for more than 20 years, making the darkly funny Reality Boulevard a true insider’s view of Hollywood and some of America’s biggest shows.

In it, we see Oscar-winning producer Marty Maltzman and his staff out of a job – and out on the streets – when long-running docu-series Lights and Sirens is unexpectedly axed. But the Hollywood the team now faces is full of Kardashians and Real Housewives, and they need to survive in a world where it’s very hard to tell what’s true and what isn’t – both on and off screen.

Oscar and Emmy winning documentarian and veteran reality producer (Big Brother, Rescue 911) Arnold Shapiro called the novel “the best satirical look behind the scenes of reality television ever written”, adding: “It contains more truth than you would believe.”

Todd Milliner, producer of Grimm and Hot in Cleveland, said: “During her 20-plus years in the business, Melissa Jo Peltier had a front-row seat, watching it all unfold. In this novel, she puts her dry wit and storytelling ability to good use, pulling back the curtain to reveal what really goes on.”

Peltier is a double Emmy Award-winning writer and producer behind international hits such as TV’s Dog Whisperer, recent multi-festival indie feature White Irish Drinkers, and co-author of seven non-fiction books including five NYT bestsellers. In 1992, her multi-network simulcast Scared Silent hosted by Oprah Winfrey was hailed as television’s most watched documentary ever, and earned Ms. Peltier the coveted Humanitas Prize.

 

‘Funniest book ever written’ goes digital, and it’s front-page news

The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County became a global bestseller in the Seventies, hilariously skewering a self-obsessed age of  psycho-babble, meditation, zen jogging, pet psychiatry – and bucket-loads of organic granola.

Now, to mark 35 years since it was first published, the novel is going on sale in e-book form for the first time, with new artwork, bonus features, interviews and reviews from the time, plus a new preface by author Cyra McFadden.

Described by Newsweek as “one of the most delicious acts of cultural sabotage since Mark Twain” and author Lisa Alther as “the funniest book ever written”, it mercilessly satirises the inhabitants of Marin County, California in counter-culture-gripped 1976.

There are also bonus features, reviews and an interview with Cyra McFadden from the time, plus a look back at how the inhabitants of the San Francisco community reacted as their area – and habits – became the focus of world attention.

Published by Apostrophe Books, The Serial: A Year in the Life of Marin County is available to readers of Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Nook, Kobo and other e-readers priced US $5.99 / UK £3.75 (RRP).

The satire documents Kate and Harvey Holroyd’s attempts to leave their ‘straight’ lives behind and join their fashionable neighbours in the fine art of staying ‘hip and loose’. In 52 week-by-week instalments, we see them try scream therapy, consciousness-raising sessions and a disastrous foray into having an open marriage.

Author Cyra McFadden said: “I’m delighted that The Serial is coming out as an e-book but don’t expect Marin to be as happy that it’s back.  Am I going to be scraping dried egg off the front of my house again, I wonder?”

Apostrophe Books founder and bestselling writer Martyn Forrester said: “I was thrilled when Cyra McFadden agreed to let us republish The Serial. It’s an iconic book, one of my all-time favourites. Tom Cervenak creating a new piece of artwork just for this edition was the icing on the cake.”

Read the Pacific Sun’s front-page feature about the re-release of this iconic book.

Teen vampire sensation goes on sale

VAMPIRE thriller Blood Prophecy: The Fated Three has gone on sale, with legions of e-reader owners sinking their teeth into the supernatural novel.

The three-part e-book sees 17-year-old Selene Giovanni’s dull and lonely world change dramatically when a new student starts at her school. It turns out there is a lot more to the mysterious Gregori than meets the eye, and together they are plunged into a world of danger, excitement and vampires, as a centuries-old prophecy begins to come true.

Blood Prophecy: The Fated Three is the work of young British author TL Spencer. Her teen-focused novel saw off stiff competition from seven other titles to win the third round of our Fiction Fast-Track new writing competition.

Spencer, who began writing after being diagnosed with epilepsy aged 11, said: “As a first-time writer, it’s absolutely amazing to be published. Because I was ill when I began writing this novel, the achievement for me is even greater. A novel about magic and love, I hope it will entertain and enthral everyone who reads it.”

The book, which is also sold in an enhanced edition with video, is available now to readers of Amazon Kindle, Apple iBooks, Nook, Kobo and many other devices, priced US $5.99 / GB £3.75 / EU €4.65 (RRP).

For more details about the e-book, visit www.apostrophebooks.com/bloodprophecy.