A to Z Challenge - L is for Llama and Luck

In keeping with my theme, I'm going to write a little about the llama. The spelling of the name has always fascinated me. How many other words start with a double letter? That might be an interesting Internet search sometime.

The llama is a South American relative of the camel, though the llama does not have a hump. These sturdy creatures are domestic animals used by the peoples of the Andes Mountains. (Their wild relatives are guanacos and vicuñas). Native peoples have used llamas as pack animals for centuries.

Here in Texas some people have started raising llama's for shearing. Their wool can be used for fabric, rugs and rope, and some are raised as livestock.We have a few llamas down the road from us, but they seem to be more "pasture ornaments" than anything else. I have never seen anyone shear them, and since they are still there, it is obvious they have not been raised for meat.

Now for the "Luck" part of the blog. I have joined with 13 other mystery authors for a special Kindle Select promotion offering 13 books for free this weekend. These are back-list, or new, books from authors who have been published by the big 6 publishers in New York, as well as some respected smaller publishers of quality mysteries. Don't miss this Kindle exclusive opportunity to discover these 13 new authors and brighten your Friday the 13th.

1. Darker By Degree by Susan Branham and Keri Knutson - A missing girl. A mysterious break-in. A brutal murder. 

2.  Diary of Murder by Jean Henry Mead -  Dana Logan's wealthy sister, Georgi, dies and Georgi's husband claims it was suicide. Dana knows her sister would never take her own life and sets out to prove it was murder, with her friend, Sarah Cafferty. 

3. Ghost Island by Bonnie Hearn Hill - Is Aaron a dream, or is he something much more deadly? Livia Hinson has just begun a Seminar at Sea when a storm hits their boat. Now, she is stranded with the other students on an island off the coast of California. NOTE: For some reason this book is still listed at $2.99

4. Kiki Lowenstein and the Purple Passion: A Kiki Lowenstein Short Story by Joanna Campbell Slan - When a customer’s daughter is falsely accused, Kiki Lowenstein foils a nasty plan to ruin the girl’s reputation. 

5. One Small Victory by Maryann Miller - the story of one woman's courage. Suspense novel by Maryann Miller, based on a true story of a woman who infiltrated a drug ring and helped bring down a major distributor in her small Texas town. Don't discount what a mother can do to protect her children. 

6. Rock & Roll Homicide by RJ McDonnell - The 1st novel in the Rock & Roll Mystery Series finds PI Jason Duffy helping the widow of a slain rock star after she climbs to #1 in the police suspect charts. 

7. Sink or Swim by Stacy Juba - After starring on a hit game show set aboard a Tall Ship, personal trainer Cassidy Novak discovers that she has attracted a stalker. Can she trust Zach Gallagher, the gorgeous newspaper photographer assigned to follow her for a local series? 

8. Southeast Asian Quartet by William S. Shepard - Mystery, suspense and murder in Southeast Asia in the style of Somerset Maugham, these four tales evoke Singapore, Borneo, Malaya and Indochina. Draw up a chair at the Raffles Bar and join us.

9. Taken by Debra Lee -  Welcome to the fictitious little town of Watery, Pennsylvania where the district attorney’s personal secretary, Mary Murray never planned to become a single mom or a suspect in her infant’s disappearance. 

10. The Four Last Things by Timothy Hallinan - Hired to follow a young woman, private eye Simeon Grist becomes mired in murder and a million-dollar religious scam in The Four Last Things, the first in a series of highly-praised LA private-eye novels written in the 1990s by 2011 Edgar nominee Timothy Hallinan. 

11. When a Man Loves a Woman - Enhanced Multimedia Edition by Alina Adams - Can a man and woman ever truly be just friends? What about if one of them is married? What if one of them suddenly isn't anymore?  

12.  Willowtree by Mike Bove - Bruce DelRano, retired postman, golf and food nut, finds a body near the golf course. He believes the murder is connected to others and involves his Apache friend. Together, they stay a step ahead of the police in trying to solve the cases. 

13. Whispering by Gerrie Ferris Finger - Will Cleo Snow admit to making love with charming World War I fly-boy Graham Henry to clear him in the disappearance of an island woman who claims he plans to marry her? Will Graham compromise Cleo to clear himself? 

The other good luck promo has a lot of free books being offered for today only. These are in a variety of genres from mystery to romance to fantasy and many others. No matter what your reading tastes are, you can find a book or two or three to load into your e-book reading device. Not all of the books are limited to Kindle, so this is a great opportunity for Nook owners as well. Here is a link to the page where you can find all these books listed. There are over a hundred, so have fun.