Free ebook--Loyalty Binds Me

I want to express my sincere thanks to everyone who decided to download, read, and review Loyalty Binds Me, my second book about Richard III in the 21st-century. I am also very pleased to report that the reviews I've received as a result of this experiment have been quite favorable. Even though there's no guarantee that everyone who picks up Loyalty Binds Me will have a similar reaction, I'm quite excited by this great start.

Although no longer free, the ebook is available at the regular price ($2.99) at Amazon, Barnes & Nobel, iTunes, and Smashwords. For those who prefer to hold a real book, the paperback is available at booksellers such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, The Book Depository, and Better World Books.

Recommended by Midwest Book Reviews.

Rant: Soliciting for Donations

For the past few years, I have been making all of my donations online through the various organizations’ websites where possible. My idea for doing this was to reduce the amount of paper mail that I had to recycle. I also thought it would make the money the organizations would have spent on these mailings available to support the reason for their existence.

Now, in addition to nearly daily emails, which I don’t mind deleting, I still get paper mail—some as often as bi-monthly. I could understand a yearly mailing thanking me for my support, but this barrage of mail is acting more to deter than encourage me to continue giving. I’m slowly being buried under a mountain of return address labels, cheap pens, note cards, newsletters, and calendars meant to get me to give through the mail. I expect that these so-called goodies are a significant expense that could otherwise be used to greater benefit.

Why can’t these organizations ask those who donate online if they wish to receive solicitations or any of these items in the mail when the donation is made? That for me is what I’d call a win-win.