# Mr. Penumbra's Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store



## robinsloan (Jun 11, 2009)

Hi there -- I'm new to KindleBoards, and happy to have found it.

Just wanted to mention my new short (6,000-word) story, Mr. Penumbra's Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store:



Two specific reasons I think it might be interesting to the KindleBoards community:

1. I think the Kindle is *perfect* for short fiction. That's worth celebrating, because short stories haven't really had a home for some time now. Magazines don't publish them anymore; they're buried at book stores; they're too long to read on the web. Maybe I'm being over-optimistic, but I'd love to see short stories make a Kindle-powered comeback.

2. This, in particular, is a short story about books, writing, and technology -- so if you're interested in the Kindle itself, and in what it suggests about our future, I think you'll find a lot of things to enjoy in this story.

2a. I should add, in case that sound a bit boring: It's also a story about finding a job, having a weird boss, and meeting someone you like. And, behind it all, there's a mystery.

If you do happen to check it out, I'd love your feedback. Thanks for considering.


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

Is it free?  I didn't see a price.  I'll go check again.....


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

I think Amazon is having hiccups. . . .there's another Kindle book that had a price yesterday and doesn't today.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

They must be having a hiccup.  I looked the book up a few minutes ago and it had a price.  

deb


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

I just finished reading "Mr. Penumbra's Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store" in one sitting. 

I LOVED IT! 

The subtitle - "a short story about recession, attraction, and data visualization" - may seem somewhat intimidating. Thankfully, though, "Mr. Penumbra" is a very accessible and enjoyable read.

More importantly, it's incredibly original - both in its ideas and prose.

Plus, like Robin said, there's definitely a lot here that speaks to us as Kindle users.

By the way, I was really impressed by the cover art (in the Kindle book itself) and the one drawing featured in the text. Basic stuff, yes, but very stylish and well-done. Pictures sometimes look awful on the Kindle in "big name" books, so it was nice to see such a polished presentation here.

I highly recommend giving this one a download. For 99 cents, you absolutely can't go wrong.

Thanks for letting us know about it, Robin. Hope to see more from you soon.


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## robinsloan (Jun 11, 2009)

CS: Thanks so much for reading, and for the thoughtful review!

You know, it's funny: the subtitle _totally_ speaks to a San Francisco tech audience (which is generally my point of reference), but I'm now realizing it doesn't really sell the story to people outside this weird Web 2.0 bubble. Like, "Oh good. A story about... data... visualization." So, I'm glad you took the time to clarify 

Thanks again.


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

downloaded the sample.  And I must say, I LOVE that title!


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

CS said:


> I highly recommend giving this one a download. For 99 cents, you absolutely can't go wrong.


Better yet, free prc version at Robin's website. http://robinsloan.com/

BTW I love short stories, downloaded it and am reading it now.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

Just finished it. 

Delightful story, I loved it as well.  

Write more, please.


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## CS (Nov 3, 2008)

Forster said:


> Better yet, free prc version at Robin's website. http://robinsloan.com/
> 
> BTW I love short stories, downloaded it and am reading it now.


I must say, I'm usually miffed at missing out on freebies - but in this case, I'll make an exception, because I feel like I truly got my money's worth and then some.


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## jpmorgan49 (Feb 10, 2009)

I just bought your book, looking forward to reading it.
jp


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

The sample had me hooked by the third page.  One-clicked and then read the whole thing.  Great story!  I loved it - will make my husband and son read it too!  Gotta write more!


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

I have to say that the title intrigued me...until I got to the data visualization part.  Then I was like, huh?  I did skip over it at that point thinking it was probably something I wouldn't understand.  But you're getting reviews on here from people whose opinion I trust.  I dl'd and will give it a try.  
Thank you,
deb


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

I bought your book and hope I can read it soon. It sounds good.


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

For those who are unsure, don't forget the book can be gotten for free at the author's website so you won't be out anything if you don't like it. 99 cents isn't bad, but free is better and it is a quick read.

http://robinsloan.com/


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## robinsloan (Jun 11, 2009)

Thanks for the feedback, everyone! I'm glad you're enjoying it.

Re: the free version and the Kindle store version

Here's a quick question for the group. This has stumped me: I actually wanted to make it free, but the Amazon digital text platform bottoms out at $0.99. And yet, there's obviously tons of stuff that's free to download in the Kindle store. Does that require a special relationship with Amazon? Is there any way I can make "Mr. Penumbra's Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store" free on Amazon?

Any clues?


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

Are you going to write us more stories, Robin?


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## Forster (Mar 9, 2009)

robinsloan said:


> Here's a quick question for the group. This has stumped me: I actually wanted to make it free, but the Amazon digital text platform bottoms out at $0.99. And yet, there's obviously tons of stuff that's free to download in the Kindle store. Does that require a special relationship with Amazon? Is there any way I can make "Mr. Penumbra's Twenty-Four-Hour Book Store" free on Amazon?
> 
> Any clues?


I'm sure some of the kindleboard's independent authors can/will chime in if I'm wrong, but my understanding is 99 cents is the lowest price that an independent author can price his/her work on Amazon. However if you raise the price to $1.00 (minimum price that Amazon will discount) Amazon will discount the price 20% so your story will list at 80 cents.


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## worktolive (Feb 3, 2009)

It's 2:30 in the morning and I can't sleep so I was scrolling through the board and found this thread. I don't usually read short stories because they are too, well, short, but yours sounded intriguing especially after the discussion about your subtitle. I was having trouble imagining how data visualization could be slipped into a fiction short story and still be entertaining, but you definitely pulled it off. Thanks for making the story available.


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## robinsloan (Jun 11, 2009)

Hey worktolive: Honestly, I think 2:30 in the morning, when you can't sleep, might be the absolute best time to read the story. I might have to specifically recommend that to people. Thanks for reading.


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

Robin,
My husband and son both enjoyed this!  When will you be writing more?


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Robin,
That was a nice, polite way to introduce yourself and your work.
I too have gone ahead and purchased your short work for future reading.
Please stick around KB and help us to grow the forum itself and the level of it's content.
We love our resident authors.

Just sayin......


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## melissaj323 (Dec 29, 2008)

Robin, I went ahead and downloaded a sample of your short story and LOVED it. Off to go purchase the book! Can't wait to read more!


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## rho (Feb 12, 2009)

Gosh I thought I posted here - I bought it too - looks like it will be a good one   thanks


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