Guest post by Karen Wojcik Berner ~ Author of " A Whisper to a Scream"

Five Things I Have Learned About E-books

By Karen Wojcik Berner

Thank you so much, Lisa, for inviting me to guest blog today. I am very excited to be here.

Curious about e-books, but not sure if you are ready to give up physical copies yet?

I completely understand how you feel.

When I first released A Whisper to a Scream (The Bibliophiles: Book One) as an e-book in February 2010, I didn’t even know anyone who owned a Kindle or a Nook.

Electronic sales were just starting to climb. The first indie superstar, Karen McQuestion, was receiving national attention. Since then, eleven authors have been named Kindle million-sellers, and the mind-blowing success of Amanda Hocking has made her an indie household name.

Over the past two years, I have discovered some interesting things about e-books I would like to share with you today.

E-books are here to stay. In the same way iTunes has changed the music industry, e-books have permanently altered publishing. E-book sales increased 116.5% from August 2010 to August 2011, according to the American Association of Publishers. Even though book sales were down across the board, e-book sales are steadily increasing.

E-books are cheaper. And they should be. It does not cost as much to upload a file as it does to print out an entire novel.

E-books do not require storage space. Is your significant other constantly nagging you about the stacks of books piled around your home? Does your book obsession resemble an episode of “Hoarders?” Not the case with e-books.They are all stored on one device, whether it be an e-reader, iPad or your smart phone. Problem solved.

E-books do not give you back trouble. No more lugging around multiple books on vacation. Just download what you want to bring, and you’re off.

E-books are fun! I don’t usually care much about gadgets, but e-books are starting to change all of that.You can download a book in barely two minutes. A simple click and BAM! It is on your device. How great is that?

Say you see a book mentioned on television or read about it online. A couple of clicks is all it takes to be reading it in as little as a few minutes, unless you get sidetracked, like I do, by the “customers also bought” section.

I also like that you can try out an e-book before you purchase it. Just hit “sample,” read a bit, and see if you like it or not.

Physical books will not become extinct any time soon. And, don’t get me wrong, after being on my computer for hours on end, sometimes I need a break from staring at a screen and pick up a regular book. Nowadays, I split my reading 50/50 between both formats.

How about you? Do you read e-books?

A Whisper to a Scream Book Description: Ovulation detectors. Hormone surges. Anxiety-ridden dreams. This is the world in which Annie Jacobs is thrust when she and her husband John receive a diagnosis of unexplained infertility. A 37-year old PR executive, Annie has wanted to be a mother since she first cuddled her Baby Tenderlove at age five. She is dreading another Christmas of relatives asking when they will be hearing the pitter patter of little feet, and Uncle Joe slapping John on the back, telling him to relax and take a cruise. Lots of people get pregnant on vacation, you know. 

Across town, stay-at-home mom of two, Sarah Anderson, attempts grocery shopping with a toddler intent on hurling items from the cart at passersby. She notices a box of rice heading straight for a gray-haired head. Leaping across the aisle, Sarah grabs it, saving the woman from certain doom, or at least a minor head injury. Little Alex screams at being thwarted. The unknowing octogenarian shakes her head and admonishes Sarah for not knowing how to keep her child quiet in public. 

"A Whisper to a Scream" is the story of two women on opposite ends of the child-bearing spectrum who come to realize the grass is not necessarily greener on the other side of the fence. A vivid portrayal of contemporary marriage and its problems, the novel speaks to a longing in all of us, a yearning that might start as a vague notion, but eventually grows into an unbearable, vociferous cry.