I’ve always considered bridges to be magical places. In fantasy, they’re often portals between lands, gateways to other worlds. (My husband even proposed to me on a bridge.)
When I was a teen, I frequently walked across the Nicolette Avenue bridge in Minneapolis. There was no rail, just a large expanse of sidewalk right next to the street. It always felt daring to me—to be so exposed to all the cars. Anyone could see you. I frequently sang or danced across the bridge—showing off as only a teenager could.
As I’ve gotten older, I’ve expanded my concept of bridges beyond the physical expanse of concrete and metal, or even wood and rope, to include ideas that link major memes, or even that in between two piece of music.
As well are stories that link characters between larger arcs.
In many ways, my love of bridges was the inspiration of the middlings bundle. I wanted stories set in between things. I also wanted stories of a “middling” length—too long for short stories, but too short for a novel.
Since the advent of this new age of publishing, those middling length stories don’t have to be shunted to the side and never written because there wasn’t a market for them, or even if written, placed in a trunk and forgotten. They can be published, now. Seen and enjoyed for what they are, instead of having to be horribly carved up to fit into a smaller box, or bloated out to fill a novel.
As a writer, I write all over the map: fantasy, science fiction, mystery, horror, literary, whatever. As a reader, I’m not faithful to a particular genre either. I read it all. (I just finished reading a non-fiction book about the record industry, followed by a hard-boiled detective mystery, and am now in the middle of a high, epic fantasy novel.)
So it was important to me that this bundle represent more than one genre as well. In it, you’ll find romance, science fiction, fantasy, and superhero stories. YA as well as adult.
Hopefully, something for everyone.
One last thing—Bundle Rabbit lets you donate to charity when you buy a bundle. Our charity, The Washington State Talking Book and Braille Library, provides access to books for those people unable to read standard print material. This award-winning organization also loans magazines, music scores, and foreign language titles. It’s a lifeline to many, particularly to those who are shut-ins, the material mailed to them for free.
So come and take a bite out of the middle. If you enjoy the taste, there are trails leading in both directions for you to follow.
The initial titles in the middlings bundle (minimum of $5 to purchase) are:
• How to Babysit a Changeling by Anthea Sharp
• Forever Falls by Michael Warren Lucas
• As Needed by Michael A. Stackpole
• Heaven Painted as a Cop Car by Dean Wesley Smith
• Siren by Blaze Ward
11 For 12: If you pay the bonus price of $12, you’ll get the initial five titles, plus the following (11 in total):
• Fly Me to the Moon by Mindy Klasky
• Walking Gods by Leah Cutter
• The Possession of Paavo Deshin by Kristine Kathryn Rusch
• Waiting to Fly by Sherry D. Ramsey
• Old Man by Daniel Keys Moran
• a coupon for a FREE EBOOK from Kobo Books
The bundle is available for a limited time only, through http://www.bundlerabbit.com/the-middlings-sampler. It allows easy reading on computers, smartphones, and tablets as well as Kindle and other ereaders via file transfer, email, and other methods. You get multiple DRM-free formats (.epub and .mobi) for all books!
Why Bundle Rabbit? Get quality reads: Our curators have chosen works from excellent authors to bundle together in one convenient package.
• Pay what you want (minimum $5): You decide how much these fantastic stories are worth to you. If you can only spare a little, that’s fine! You’ll still get access to a batch of exceptional titles.
• Support authors who support DRM-free books: Bundle Rabbit is a platform for authors to get exposure for their works, both for the titles featured in the bundle and for the rest of their catalog. Supporting authors who let you read their books on any device you want—restriction free—will show everyone there’s nothing wrong with ditching DRM.
• Give to worthy causes: Bundle buyers have a chance to donate a portion of their proceeds to charity.
• Receive extra books: If you beat our the bonus price, you’ll get the bonus books!
Bundle Rabbit was created as a DIY platform for independent authors to effectively promote their books and expand their fan base, as well as enable curators to follow their own vision and create uniquely themed books. Before starting Bundle Rabbit, creator Chuck Heintzelman developed software for over three decades, for small shops as well as Fortune 500 companies.
For more information, visit the Bundle Rabbit website at BundleRabbit.com, tweet us at @BundleRabbit, or like us on Facebook–https://www.facebook.com/BundleRabbit/