The First Light Chronicles Omnibus: Free At Smashwords

As an independent author I have a lot of freedom. I can often decide where my work appears, when it appears and how much it costs.

After Omnibus has lived in Mobipocket.com's top three science fiction books for a year I've decided that the First Light Chronicles Omnibus (not just Freeground, the first book), will be free from now on, but only on Smashwords and sites they distribute to such as Barnes and Noble.

Why Smashwords? It's simple. They have a growing presence in the North American market, an easy to use interface, and their conversion system provides for all eBook formats.

The difference between this and the Amazon / Mobipocket version is that it doesn't include menus. I suggest using bookmarks or word search, that's what I do when I run into a book without menus.

Smashwords will most likely add the ability to set up menus and I'll add them then.

The real point here is that every user with every type of reader can enjoy a copy of the entire Omnibus for free. Will other Spinward Fringe books become available for free at a later date? No. There's a great deal of free content out there right now and it's easy to find. Besides, I have to make a living somehow, right?

Here are some details on the First Light Chronicles Omnibus in case you're unfamiliar with it.

Synopsis:

In a dark region of explored space sits one bright beacon; Freeground Station. Serving as a supply and trading post it is home to a select number of human beings that will take an unlikely chance to make a difference in their end of the galaxy.

Jonas and his friends spent their spare time in tactical simulations and drew the attention of Freeground Fleet Command when they hacked into restricted combat scenarios for elite trainees and defeated all comers.

Instead of punishing Jonas and his friends they offered them an opportunity to undertake a dangerous and exciting mission. They were to go out into the Galaxy and acquire any advantages that would improve life for Freegrounders.

This series is about their first voyage together, the challenges they face, and the relationships they forge with each other and the beings they meet along the way. The First Light Chronicles Omnibus contains the entire First Light Chronicles Trilogy. Freeground, Limbo and Starfree Port.

---End Synopsis---

Smashwords is offering the First Light Chronicles Omnibus in these formats:
Online HTML reader
Online Java reader
Kindle / Mobipocket (mobi format)
Epub (Stanza, other)
PDF
LRF (Sony)
PDB (Palm)

Other free eBooks include the Dark Arts Short and Spinward Fringe Strange Horizons and Close Encounters.

RL

Work continues on the latest Spinward Fringe novel, it's been a blast so far.