Kindle Free for You from Me

Ho Ho Ho! Happy Holidays!



           

I've often been asked what books I've most enjoyed writing or that hold a special place in my heart. Well, here they are. Free on Amazon for the holiday weekend. Both are short (under 10K words) but have plenty of nuance, emotion, romance, and hot sex. I hope you enjoy them.

peace & passion & properity,

~ Alessia

Whole Lotta #FREE #erotica #ebooks

Not just for Black Friday, either! Did you give (or receive) an ebook reader this year? Load it up with free sexy stories. It's the gift that keeps on giving *wink wink nudge nudge*

I have lowered the prices on every ebook of fewer than 5,000 words to FREE at All Romance eBooks, OmniLit, Smashwords (along with its distribution channels: B&N, Kobo, Sony, Diesel, Apple, etc.), and Goodreads. Amazon, of course, doesn't allow publishers to set prices to free, although I have submitted a plea to have the titles offered at no cost.

The following titles are now FREErotica:

T-T-T-T-T-T-TOUCH ME…

This is a guest blog post I made for Lisabet Sarai's blog, Beyond Romance, in January. Since my goal for the summer is the organization & backup of my digital bounty (books, music, fonts, images, video), I thought it was worth re-posting here. Posterity 'n all, y'know.

Have a great summer, y'all.

peace & passion,

~ Alessia

+++

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.

~ Mahatma Gandhi

I hesitated with regard to writing yet another blog post about Publishing (with a capital P), publishing, epublishing, and self-publishing. You can’t spit without hitting one in the e-neighborhood these days, some with robust and often vitriolic discussions taking place in the comments. They’re all variations on the same theme: the antiquated business model struggles for survival in the face of changing market. (Yawn.) Adapt or perish. The End.

Yet it is the industry and those changes that currently occupy my attention as I strive to find my niche. (Niche being defined as that which enables me to indulge my creative impulses while simultaneously providing an income to feed my baser needs for food and shelter.) The resistance to change, especially within a system that was once profitable, is understandable. Corporations – like people – cling to what has been successful in the past. It’s safe and comfortable. Change is scary.

And, in the case of books, that level of safety is in the tangible. Tangible is comforting. It can be stroked, fondled, ogled. We can point to hoarded stuff and proclaim, “Behold, my bounty!” Not so easy to do with digital assets.

At one time in our not-so-distant past, the vast majority of business transactions involved an exchange of tangible goods: gold for land, livestock for slaves, cotton for woven cloth. Books.

We, both consumers and suppliers, do not quite know how to treat the intangible product, how to appreciate its value, how to stroke it. It's a relatively new concept in terms of civilization. It requires a level of trust and a shift in focus.

That started my wheels turning about money and the progression from a cash-only consumer base to one that is now predominantly credit/debit-based.

Money lenders have been around for a long time, so banking is nothing new. People were initially wary of storing assets in one physical location to protect them from theft.

Convenience won them over.

Yet, it took well over a millennium for the notion of the withdrawal of assets from a different physical location to catch on. Networks of financial institutions. Distributed assets. Distributed risks.

Convenience won them over.

With technological advances in communication, came the ability to rapidly confirm the availability of consumer assets and the introduction of the handwritten check. A modern IOU. It, too, was slow to gain acceptance. Yet it was still, in one sense, tangible.

Computers made cash transactions unnecessary. Even so, there was considerable consumer resistance to the use of credit cards. They were electronic. There was nothing to be fondled.

They were also easy… and fast. No delays while checks cleared. No waiting for payday.

Convenience won them over. 

 

With the financial structure in place, the emergence of digital products was the next step in our electronic evolution. First, music. Vinyl cedes to magnetic tape which, in turn, cedes to compact disc. Still tangible, but stored on electronic media. And portable!

Convenience won them over.

Digital storage made it possible for consumers to own and enjoy movies in the comfort and privacy of their homes. The porn industry exploded. The Internet made it all available at the click of a mouse.

Convenience won them over.

Digital photography enabled folks to take virtually unlimited pictures without the expense of both film and developing and… waiting. Instant electronic gratification.

One by one our forms of recorded art and entertainment transitioned to the electronic as convenience and pragmatism replaced the ingrained need for a tangible thing.

Books are no exception. In time, the tangible book will cede to its digital form. The industry will conserve resources, reduce (if not eliminate) printing expenses, and repurpose vast amounts of physical storage space. And yet books will be more accessible than ever before.

The difference is that, this time around, consumers are demanding the shift rather than having it driven by the industry. Perhaps it’s due to my vantage, but in the past, it seemed to be the industry saying to the reluctant consumer: "Try this! You'll like it. It's nifty neat-o better than sliced bread yadda yadda." With ebooks and their related gadgetry, it's the consumers saying to a reluctant industry: "Make this! We want it. Now!"

It can't happen soon enough for me. If my work touches hearts and souls and libidos, I've achieved my goal. Having it packaged in an efficient, effective, environmentally-conscious fashion is just icing on my e-cake.

Happy New Year, y'all!

peace & passion,

~ Alessia

Ahoy, authors! There be pirates in these waters!

The category of "Romantic Fiction" on the AstaTalk forum is a big one. Apparently, those who believe they shouldn't have to pay for ebooks have a huge appetite for the genre.

It makes me wonder what makes these people tick. Where does a person acquire that sense of entitlement? Do they shoplift in meat space, too? Are they self-proclaimed Christians? Are they so dirt poor that they can't afford to buy what they steal?  Do they have hard drives full of all manner of electronically pirated media -- music, movies, books? What are their demographics? I'm quite curious.

It is no surprise that those who post in search of "free" ebooks typically do so under nicknames and have their profiles set to private. They know they're doing wrong. KNOW it. Hence, they hide. And they sneak. And they steal.

They steal from me and those like me: authors, publishers, editors, and cover artists. And they'll keep doing it until someone does something to stop them. The "authorities" aren't much help at this juncture, so that someone is US.

So, when you become aware that your work is being pirated, post a link to where the book can be LEGALLY obtained. I recommend:

Thank you for your interest in my work. I would appreciate it if you would not steal it on this or similar sites. Not only is it wrong, it also deprives me of the income that I use to pay my bills. We -- author and reader -- have a symbiotic relationship. I'm doing my part. If you don't do yours, I may not be able to continue to write books for your entertainment. This book can be legally obtained via the following link:

INSERT BUY LINK HERE

In appreciation, if you send me your receipt, I will be happy to (insert incentive here).

Please post links to your activism in the comments. Perhaps we can make a difference.

peace and passion,

~ Alessia

The ePublishing Restaurant

I've read (or, rather, attempted to slog through) some pretty lousy books published by big, New York houses. You know, the type you want to fling across the room? The type you'd throw away if you hadn't plunked down cash to buy them?

I've seen some hideously lame and/or puerile movies released by major studios where the only thing keeping me from stomping out of the theater was the fact that I paid money for the seat.

Name your entertainment industry, and I can give a comparable experience. In no instance, however, have I painted the entire publishing house or movie studio with the awfulness of one of its author's/actor's performances or editor's/director's skills. Have you? Are you even AWARE who published that book you hated? Who released that movie you hated? Who directed it?

Why, then, do consumers tend to do so with ebooks? An epublisher farts, and suddenly the entire house is judged by one book, its stable of authors blog-tarred and Twitter-feathered. WTF?

The latest debacle is a fine example. I've never read a book from Siren-BookStrand, but I'd bet money they're not all examples of poor judgment or lax editing. Hell, even if no editing was done at all, some books will be better than others simply because some authors submit cleaner work.

Instead, online communities treat epublishers like most people treat restaurants. Bad meal? Don't go back. It's all the chef's fault, after all, and nothing on the menu can be trusted.

Right?

peace & passion,

~ Alessia

Two-Thirds

It's not a happy story, but it is a free one. Free is good. Check out my Valentine giveaway at Phaze Books. There's a new story from a Phaze author every day between February 1st and Cupid's holiday. Snag them all HERE. Enjoy!

My story is also posted at Literotica as past of the Valentine's Day Contest, so if you're so inclined, pop on over there and leave me a comment.

Mirror Geography

New print and ebook release from Phaze Books...

Sapphistocated: Four Tales of Mirror Geography

Four rising stars of women's erotica come together in this sometimes funny, sometimes heartwarming, and totally engaging collection of stories about women who love women.

"Double Decker" by Alessia Brio: Tess is determined to win the big Karaoke contest at the Double Decker bar, and the heart of the woman organizing it. Will her evening end on a high note?

"I Know What I Want" by Jolie du Pre: Allie is an up and coming model who catches the eye of a wealthy, dominating woman. While the attentions and money from "special" modeling sessions are great, Allie wants more...but how much is enough?

"Better With Age" by Beth Wylde: After nearly twenty years, Olivia runs into her first love, Aleesha. While time seems to fade as they reunite, Olivia isn't sure passion could possibly have survived. It takes a surprising discovery at home to convince her to find out for certain if she's gotten better with age.

"Drawn" by Yeva Wiest: Manga artist Sydney loves 'em thin and leaves 'em shortly afterward, so why is she obsessing over the big, beautiful daughter of her publisher? As her Yuri artwork torments her and friends advise her, Sydney struggles with these new feelings and learns that where love and passion are concerned, she doesn't have to draw the line at any particular size.

Free eBook

In celebration of the season, I'm offering my two Amazon Shorts, The Seven & The Seven Revisited, for a limited time as a free ebook download. Enjoy!

Goooooooo, E!

With Big Exception, Trade Sales Slowed in September
-- Publishers Weekly, 11/5/2008 7:57:00 AM

Reports from various publishers and booksellers that sales slowed considerably in September are borne out by the just-released AAP monthly sales estimates. According to the 17 publishers that report adult hardcover results, sales fell nearly 30% in the month, while sales in the trade paperback and mass market segments were both off by more than 8%. The children’s hardcover segment provided some good news, with sales jumping almost 42% led by shipments of Brisingr, If You Give a Cat a Cupcake and Disney High School Musical 3 Junior Novel; all three had first printings of over 1 million. Children’s paperback sales were down 19.1%. The strong performance of e-books continued in September, with the 13 publishers that report sales totaling revenue of $5.1 million, a 77.8% increase over last September.

Mobi-fied!

Yay! Phaze eBooks are now available via MobiPocket, which means they'll soon (again) be available for purchase/download from Amazon.