The Value of Reading

Five years ago, I made the novelette WOOL available for free. Permanently. This is the short story that launched my career as a writer, and I wanted to make it available to as many readers as possible. When I discount my books, or make them free, I think about conversations I’ve had with authors about how we value our works. What I think is just as important as the value we place on our art is the value we place on its enjoyment.

Not everyone can afford to sate their reading habits. Library cards, used bookstores, and friends’ bookshelves are part of how we get by. There’s also Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited program, where most of my works can be found and read by KU subscribers. For everyone else, I try to keep my ebooks priced as low as possible. It’s not that I don’t value my craft; it’s that I value your readership.

This Cyber Monday, I’m blowing out my prices even further. Why? Because I can. The first novel I ever wrote, and still one of my favorites, is Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue. It’s free all week. Grab it now and save it for later. I lowered the price on the rest of the series to $2.99 for each book. These are rip-roaring sci-fi operas that millions of readers have enjoyed. You can get them all for the price you’d normally pay for a single novel.

The WOOL series is also on sale. Shift and Dust are an insane $1.99 today only. And so is the WOOL Graphic Novel. As is one of my personal favorites, the absolutely disgusting and poetic I, Zombie. The Sand Omnibus novel is also $1.99 for a day only. Beacon 23 is only $1.49! The Hurricane and Shell Collector have been knocked down to $2.99. As is fan-favorite (and my sister’s favorite) Half Way Home. You can pretty much get my entire body of work for the cost of a single hardback.

On Friday, I noticed a surge in sales as readers unboxed their new Kindles. But even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can read these ebooks on pretty much any device with the Kindle app. Or you can order the paperback or audiobook if you please. It’s all up to you. If you’ve already read them all, feel free to share the news with a friend, or go see what other deals you can find. Most of all, keep reading. It’s what I value the most.

Also: Some very cool news coming your way soon about a new project I’m cooking up. It’s been inspired by the unbelievable reaction people have had to my Wayfinding series. This is a collection of works that I haven’t promoted much; it’s been a passion project that has somehow found its audience on its own. The first part of the series is free all week, and I look forward to sharing more about the ideas you’ll find in these books. Stay tuned!


3 responses to “The Value of Reading”

  1. Thank you for the Cyber Monday free & discounted ebooks! I love the books of yours that i’ve read, and enjoy your emails. It’s like a birthday gift to me – 73 tomorrow (11/28).

  2. BobbieJoe Derhak Avatar

    I,Zombie is one of my fav books!! Its so fun to read. Any time zombies come up (espcially w my walking dead fan friends) I slip this book into the convo and even show them a few pages from my kindle. Love love love it!!

  3. oops, I accidentally bought Molly Fyde and the Parsona Rescue at £2.39, not sure how that happened. no matter! I’m probably more likely to read it now that I’ve paid for it

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