What the Heck is Smashwords???

I knew Jarrett Rush and I would get along when I read the comment he left on my blog when I dissected those bad reviews of Nothing to Lose by Lee Child.  Remember?  I had come across about 300 nasty grams for Lee on the Barnes and Noble website and decided that my goal should be to try and resell the book to past readers.  Would you believe it worked?  Here is Jarrett's comments:

I love Lee Child and Jack Reacher, but this is one I couldn't get through. I just felt like he was wandering the desert between the towns too much. I need my Reacher interacting with people and he didn't do enough of that here. Sounds like I may have bailed a chapter or two too early. (And didn't he pretty much save Officer Vaughn from her life of misery by giving her some much needed lovin' and a better understanding of how to deal with her husband. )

You've got me thinking I need to go back and try to pick up where I left off.

Don't ya just love happy endings?  I'm so glad my quirky little book blog and the part where I highlighted the "much needed lovin' could convince Jarrett to give this book another try.  After reading his comment, the first thing I tried to do was find Jarrett on Twitter. He wasn't there. But he showed up a couple days later and signed up to follow me.  Then he started tweeting about his free book Consider Us Even that you can find on Smashwords. Smashwords? What the heck is Smashwords?

Well, I'm glad you asked.  Smashwords.com is an online collection of books that are published in various electronic formats so that they can be read on computers, cell phones or other electronic devices such as the Kindle or the Sony Reader. It's also a place where writers can go to publish their own work.  While there might be some controversy over self publishing and going the traditional route to get a book deal, I personally, don't care how the work is published just as long as I can gain access to it.  And making sure my coworkers and blog readers have access to great reads is just as important. 

Getting a Smashwords account is easy.  You'll head over to http://www.smashwords.com/ and set up an account. Having an account is free and you'll be surprised at  how many free books and stories are available through this website.  Using your e-mail account, you'll set up a password. That's it. You're done.  The only thing you'll need to do now is set up your library. This is great for individuals that don't have access to an e-reader. You can open these books in HTML or JavaScript, both being programs that most of us our familiar with. 

Since setting up the account is easy and free, I'm hoping you'll take time out of your schedule to set up an account for yourself. I have several books on my reading list this year that can only be accessed with a Smashwords account. I would hate for you to miss out on some great reads, so...get it done! Don't worry coworkers-I'll be by your desks periodically throughout the day to help you set up an account just like I did when I forced you all to follow my blog. (I'm soooooo EVIL) Of course, using the account and reading the books you find will be done on your personal time.

Jarrett Rush will be stopping by the blog this week to discuss his reasons for writing.  He's a pretty creative guy. His short story Consider Us Even takes place in a futuristic city called New Eden. It's a quick pace story that sets up what will be a series of longer stories with many characters evolving over time.  I've read Consider Us Even and loved it because it's like a Sci-Fi meets Crime Fiction all in one. The story itself starts with a punch and ends with an even bigger punch at the end. Upon completion it takes you into a 30 page excerpt of Jarrett's novel Chasing Filthy Lucre that will be available soon on Smashwords. I can't wait for you to meet Jarrett and I can't wait for you to become acquainted with Smashwords.  Reading with all of you is going to be so much fun!