I had the opportunity to beta-read STRINGS last year—a beautifully written/futuristic re-imagining of Pinocchio—and highly recommend adding it to your to-read list!

"A wonderful retelling of the Pinocchio story…I simply couldn’t put this book down."  Rysa Walker, bestselling author of TIMEBOUND

• eBook • Paperback • Audiobook

Sometimes the strings that tie us down are the same strings that set us free. Sixteen-year-old Pia has always lived in a mysterious facility where mechanical strings control her existence. She plays apprentice to her father, Gio, in performing nanotech designs for the Company, and she soon suspects there are diabolical human forces behind the manufactured reality of her world. Though her childhood memories and the origins of the strings remain strangely elusive, she begins to find solace with the introduction of two unlikely friends: daring, irrational Sofia, and calm, tender Marco. As the truths of the past and present unravel together, Pia must find a way to free herself from her strings and escape the facility before facing the wrath of the unstable head of security, Mr. Davis. But to gain her freedom, she must navigate the dangers posed by Davis and by her suspicious new friends to find the real identity of the puppeteer. If Pia can succeed in revealing the secrets of the Company, she may very well find the independence she so desperately seeks. But in her controlled world nothing is as it seems, and the closer she gets to the truth, the graver the consequences.

I was one of the lucky few to beta-read Brew. (Ha—rhyming!) It's an Oz-esque story that's delightfully creepy, driven by compelling characters, and has a running gag that will totally slay you. Pre-order it here.

Salem’s Revenge strikes without warning or mercy, ravaging the powerless human race under the forces of united gangs of witches, wizards, and warlocks. During the slaughter, Rhett Carter's foster parents and sister are killed, and his best friend and girlfriend are abducted by a gang of witches calling themselves the Necromancers, who deal in the dark magic of raising the dead. Rhett’s sword-wielding neighbor with a mysterious past saves Rhett from becoming another casualty of the massacre and teaches him the skills he needs to survive in this new world.

Rhett is broken, his normal high school life of book blogging and football playing shoved in a witch-apocalyptic blender. The only thing he has left is his burning desire for revenge. Armed with his new witch hunting skills and a loyal, magic powered dog named Hex, he sets out into the unknown with one mission: hunt and destroy those who took away everyone he ever loved.

But Rhett isn’t just a witch hunter; he has secrets of his own that he has yet to discover, secrets that his enemies will stop at nothing to keep him from.

And discovering the truth about himself is the human race’s only hope.

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David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very young. David grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually he moved to Sydney, Australia where he met his wife. They now live together in their dream location, Hawaii. A reader all his life, he began writing novels for the children's and YA markets in 2010, and started writing full time in June 2012. Now he travels the world writing with his wife, Adele. David's a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, and prefers writing at the swimming pool to writing at a table.

Hello, friends! I just wanted to let you know that Creation, my literary fiction novella inspired by Ayn Rand's Anthem and Kazuo Ichiguro's Never Let Me Go, is available for free over the next 24 hours. (For those of you who've read Creation: know that the irony of this has not escaped me.) I've also dropped the price of the paperback from $9.95 to $5.95 because I've given up on trying to make royalties from this book; I just want people to read it. It's short, well-reviewed (so far), and I'm damn proud of it. I hope you'll like it too.

So please—download a copy and consider even sharing this link on Facebook or Twitter. I'd love to get my name out there, and there's no better way to do that then with a zero-risk, 100% free read. Happy Mother's Day (and happy reading)!


"The story was interesting, but even more so was the commentary in the novel, the silent and thoughtful punch to today’s society, especially online, where ideas are stolen in the hundreds, where talented artists get their art copied and misused every single day. A short, fast-paced read that made me think for a long time about the true meaning of creativity." —Majanka, 5/5 stars

"Wow! This is a short book, a novella, but it's 100 pages or so are breathtakingly beautiful. The writing was REALLY strong, the right combination of simplicity and artistry..." David Estes, 5/5 stars

"The writing is smooth and mysterious, perfectly pitched. I've never realized how much I was craving good writing style until now. The world building within those few pages was incredible, as well as the idea in itself being wonderful. There were many references to modern-day technology that grounded the book and really connected itself to reality, giving the book a sort of immediacy." — Jeanne, 4/5 stars

"Creation is a short book and is alluring from the beginning until the end. I find it very rare to find a story as unique as this one. The author did an amazing job with the plot and the characters. I find this review a little hard to give without giving away the plot of the book; I do not want to spoil it for anyone. All I can really say is I love it and I recommend it for everyone! Such an intriguing book!" —Brittany, 5/5 stars

ETA 5/11:

WOW! 727 downloads within 24 hours. You guys are awesome.

Happy Book Birthday to Fire Country by David Estes! (I gave it five stars on Amazon and Goodreads.) He and his street team are celebrating by giving away FREE ebook copies until March 1st, 2014.)

Today, Fire Country by David Estes turns one year old. In the first year since Fire Country was born, so much has happened. David signed with an agent, sold more than 10,000 books, wrote five more books and published a further three). He knew he just had to celebrate and he'd love for you to be a part of it! David owes so much of his support to the blogger community, and he wants everyone to have the chance to be a part of the Fire Country Birthday Bash.

Everyone goes home a winner, simply follow the prompts below and swipe your eCopy of Fire Country from Smashwords. Read and leave a review on Amazon if you enjoyed it. Feel free to share the code with your friends, family, neighbors and literary inclined pets.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/ 280371

Coupon Code: WH62C

Expiration: March 1, 2014

What's a party without prizes? Yes, David is not only giving everyone a chance to download their own copy of Fire Country, book one in the Country Saga for free, but he's also giving you stuff too. You could win an Amazon giftcard open internationally, U.S residents can win a signed copy of the David Estes book of your choice, or a handful of David Estes eBooks of your choice. Awesome.

 
  Visit David via his Blog • Facebook • Twitter and via Goodreads

Pay Perry the Prickler a visit on Twitter and Goodreads

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