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The project to add X-Ray content to all Kindle editions has now finished with the successful completion of the material for the Armada Wars Books 1–3 Omnibus.
This was a hugely tedious undertaking as it involved copying entries across from the three individual novels contained within the omnibus, while being careful to avoid the inclusion of spoilers. There are 110 character entries, and 260 terms. Phew! As a result of this phase of the project, some new terms have been added into the X-Ray content for the three separate novels, and some definitions have been tidied up. As before, to refresh your Kindle edition with the new X-Ray content you need to delete the file from your device and download it again (which costs nothing). The new content will come with it. If you buy the book new as of the time this post appears then you need do nothing else: you already have the X-Ray content. Note: if you're an independent author and you want to ensure you nail your X-Ray content through KDP, then you might be interested in reading this article on the Patreon account.
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 The Great War of the Shaeld is due to end this summer with the release of Whom Gods Shall Fear, and to celebrate the coming of the apocalypse it's time for another discount spectacular! The last time there was a catch-up discount it was just for a long weekend. It was so popular that this time it will be a weeklong spectacular! That's right: for an entire week, the Kindle books will be deeply discounted. You know those friends you've recommended the series to? The ones who did nothing about it, despite your enthusiasm? Smack them around a bit with a share of this page 👊🏼 The discounts begin on 1st February 2018 and will last for a week.
That's right. Act quickly and you could get everything so far for £4.96. That's more or less half price at the current Kindle prices. And the kicker? Once you have the Kindle editions in your Amazon account, you will get serious discounts automatically on audiobook versions! Please note that in the case of From Shattered Stars, the discounted price of $1.99 USD will change to $2.99 USD on Amazon.com, from 4th Feb to the end of the promotional period. The early birds will get the best discount! Click the logo below to go shopping:  Prefer Paperbacks?For those of you who don't use Kindle, don't forget that the trade paperbacks are also available from Amazon. If you want signed copies you can buy them right here!
 As you might have heard, every Armada Wars novel available on the Kindle platform now has X-Ray content available. But what is it? And where?
Put simply, X-Ray content gives you a compact, dedicated database right alongside a Kindle book. It contains profiles for characters, significant terms, and definitions. It can add depth to the world of the book, provide you with a means of quickly refreshing your memory, and give you quick and simple explanations. The X-Ray system can show you all the terms or characters on a page, or for the whole book, ordered alphabetically or by relevance. It also generates "notability" scores for some content, and it picks out passages which might be of particular interest. All in all this is a feature that succeeds in combining functionality with entertainment, and when you're exploring an expansive and subtly detailed world like the Armadaverse it's an invaluable companion. It's available from the tool strip at the top of any Kindle's reading page, or in the book menu on mobile devices. All the X-Ray content in the Armada Wars novels comes straight from the source, and it is designed to be consistent and spoiler-free. Due to the character limit for X-Ray entries there are of course much more extensive articles on this site: the web site's entry on the Rodori, for example, is vastly more interesting than the abbreviated version found in X-Ray. But the idea is to give you a quick summary of what a Rodori is, right while you're reading. How to get the latest X-Ray content: Simply delete the Armada Wars novels from your Kindle reading device/s, and then download them again. That's literally all there is to it!
Because the product details text on the Amazon pages need updating to take the new release date into account for From Shattered Stars, minor corrections are being uploaded to the existing Kindle eBooks at the same time. The paperback editions will be updated with the new interior content, none of which is incredibly compelling.
List of the Dead / Books 1–3 Omnibus (Both rev. 1.08)
From Shattered Stars (Rev. 1.08)
The Kindle update policy has changed, and existing customers will not receive updates for such trivial changes. The new Kindle versions will be available to new customers tomorrow, with the paperbacks expected to be updated by the day after. Additionally, it has been discovered that links to Createspace stores now simply redirect to Amazon. Createspace links have therefore been removed from this site. If you don't use Amazon, you can buy signed paperbacks on the official store. If you're not a member already, Amazon UK is offering three months of Kindle Unlimited for free as part of Black Friday. This is three times as long as their normal 30-day trial, and gives you access to over a million books.
So if you've still to catch up with one, two, three, or even all of the Armada Wars books, now would be a good time to act! You must apply before the end of 1st December, and please take note of the small print (it's one of those deals where you'll be charged after the three months if you don't cancel). Amazon OneLink is now being rolled out across the site. This system means that you only have to click one button to go and find a particular Armada Wars book on your local Amazon store — Amazon works out for itself what geographical region you are in, and routes you accordingly.
The system is being implemented for Kindle edition links, paperback links, and some audiobook links. At the moment it's up and running for readers in the USA, the UK, and Canada. People from other regions can click the same link to use the Amazon.com site, or choose from the regional links which are still listed. One known issue is that OneLink doesn't always register your region on the first click, and sends you to Amazon.com regardless of where you are. Subsequent clicks seem to be handled correctly. Presumably this is a bug that Amazon is working on already. In addition to the previous update which enabled Apple Pay, SSL has now been turned on across the site. This means that all your browsing on the Armada Wars web site is secured by design, not just the shopping cart.
The home page has been streamlined to make it easier to focus on what matters to most visitors. The Chronology page has been moved from the Universe section to the Books section, which is a more fitting location for it. Just a reminder that a new Audiobook status page was added recently. It will keep you abreast of which novels are available on Audible and iTunes, and which one is coming next. Now that the audiobook edition of Steal from the Devil has launched across all applicable retailers, there are some more details available on price and functionality!
The audiobook can be acquired through these routes:
Retailers set their own prices for the audiobooks, which they base on listening length and market factors. The audiobook has been produced in line with the requirements for Whispersync for Voice and Immersion Reading, two features of the Kindle/Audible platforms. The former allows you to stop reading and start listening where you left off, or vice versa. The latter allows you to listen while the relevant text is actively highlighted, which is handy for language learners and non-native speakers. Learn more about Whispersync and Immersion Reading.  It's here! The audiobook of Steal from the Devil is now available. Narrated by James Highfield, and weighing in at almost 9 hours, this is an all new way to experience the opening of the Armada Wars story.
The audiobook is available from Amazon/Audible, and from the iTunes/iBooks stores. See the book page for global links, or search on your local Amazon store or Apple device. Those of you who keep a close eye on this news blog, the old site, and the social media channels will know that piracy — fake or otherwise — is a constant annoyance.
Two days ago an opening salvo was fired at 53 web sites and servers, all purporting to offer free copies of the Armada Wars eBooks. As of this morning, 42 of those offers are now either returning Error 404, or the pages have been permanently delisted by Google (which will go hand-in-hand with a big dip in search score for that site). |
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