Failed but Still Trying to Give to You, Readers #barrioblues

Yesterday, I spent a good chunk of time trying to improve my Kindle books on Smashwords before the release of "Zona 5". (That is happening at my Virtual Release Party tomorrow. Join us!). The Meat Grinder as authors affectionately call the Smashwords compiler has been wrecking havoc on my free books or novelettes written for newsletters subscribers. Yesterday, I tried "nuking" the formatting, even lost two plus hours of my life trying to compile the *.mobi file for Kindles on Scrivener and nope. 

This morning, I woke up with an idea:  Why not post the Kindle file on my author site?  Duh.  So I am going to test that out.  Or, I am just going to upload all but the Kindle file on Smashwords because a *.pdf file can also be read on the phone. Newsletter subscribers, I will still send the newsletter and *.pdf of my freebies, unless the file is too large. The next freebie coming out tomorrow may be too large. We shall see.  But for now, let's take the mobi file for a test drive! Download La Lechuza for Kindle:

la_lechuza_-_dr._maria_j._estrada.mobi
File Size:	148 kb
File Type:	mobi

Download File

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I also wanted to offer my latest book review of The Mysterious Benedict Society. I gave it four stars:

In general, I loved the four characters, even Constance Contraire. Author Trenton Lee Steward did a great job of creating a world of intrigue where gifted kids can be heroes.  I was rooting for the protagonists the whole time, Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance. I was equally appreciative of Mr. Curtain, the villain in the story, as well as the side characters. I was fascinated by the relationship that Reynie had with his tutor Miss Perumal.  The puzzles were also great fun to read about, and sometimes, solve, and I am sure that development if ideas took a lot of work to weave into the story.  The only reason I am giving this book four stars is because of the tying of loose ends that were either too convenient or unbelievable.  The Sticky story line resolution, happy as it was, was too rushed, and there were no indicators that it would conclude as it did.  As a mother of small children, I also found the big reveal about Constance to be too unbelievable, even with the suspension of belief that comes with this kind of work.  Despite all of this criticism, I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series and will review it.
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Well, that is all I have time for this morning, as I am going to test the file I just uploaded! 

Today, think outside the box or smash the box! #barrioblues