I hadn’t planned on posting anything else today, but after dealing with a minor technical issue with one of my self-pubbed books this afternoon I decided to not take anything for granted and post something about giving e-books away as Christmas gifts. I’m not promoting now, I’m talking about e-books in general. Let’s face it, there are still a lot of people who don’t fully understand e-books and I get that. I really do, because I’m dealing with these tech issues almost on a daily basis now.

The one thing I’d like to state is don’t be shy about contacting an author with technical questions. They don’t mind explaining things.

Now for Barnes & Noble. I can’t find the e-mail from B&N that I received earlier this week about this promotion. I thought I’d saved it, but I think AOL ate it up. So here’s a link to a free book Promo that B&N is doing this season in their physical bookstores.

We know that Barnes & Noble has the technology to process ebook transactions in its stores, and with a new holiday promotion the company announced Thursday, we’re seeing more ways that technology can work. Between December 20 and 24, customers who go to a Barnes & Noble physical store and buy an ebook from a list of 20 qualifying ebooks — including The Hobbit, Life of Pi and the entire Hunger Games trilogy – can “instant-gift” another ebook on that list for free.

I know that at this point, I would prefer an e-book as a gift more than a print book. I don’t need to hold that tangible item in my hand anymore. I’m past that and the digital version is more important to me.

I also wanted to add this, and it’s not part of the B&N promotion. But it could be a great gift idea for someone. I can’t promote my own e-books as gift ideas in too many places. My books are usually for the discreet reader, due to the adult content, and I know that. But I don’t have any problem mentioning a book I’m in titled, “Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey.” The “Fifty Shades” novel has sold millions of copies. And the non-fiction book, “Fifty Writers on Fifty Shades of Grey” might be an interesting gift for someone you know who has read the novel.

Basically, the “Fifty Writers” book is a non-fiction collection of essays that talks about the novel, and goes into detail about why people either loved it or hated it. And I’m well aware of how many people didn’t like the novel. I even get into that in my own essay in the book.

I actually bought a print version of the FS non-fic book for my sister-in-law to read. I’m also thinking of holding a contest after Christmas to give one of my copies away to a reader. I’ll post more about that in the future. I haven’t had a contest in a long time, and those I’ve had have always been with e-books.