YA Fresh

Who Doesn't Love a Free Book?

My mother read women’s magazines when I was a teen, which often included a condensed book in the back pages. I devoured those stories, with the idea of them being free seeming like an added bonus.

Now I understand there was nothing free about them. The authors sold the rights, and of course, my mother paid for her magazine subscriptions.

But all these years later, I am still a sucker for a free book. I confess I go to writers conferences with a half-empty suitcase, in joyful anticipation of my bounty. I scoop up books I can't wait to read--and some I wouldn’t normally have considered. Because hey, they’re free, and you never know what will grab you.


For instance, a book from a popular romantic suspense series sat on my luncheon chair at a writer's conference a few years back, and even though I hadn’t much cared for one of the author's earlier works, I slipped it into my bag. Well, fast forward, I read it and loved it, and at this point, I am a bonafide fan who has purchased and read the entire series. Ditto for one of my friends with a sci-fi giveaway she picked up. And I’m willing to bet that most writers have stories along these lines.

So...yea for the freebee, where everybody wins.

And I should let you know that I will be following in this time-honored tradition. In March, the first ten people who show up at my Top Ten Uses for an Unworn Prom Dress local book signing in a prom dress? They get the book free!