Exclusive e-book short stories - are they necessary?

One thing I've noticed this year is that there seems to have been an influx in the release of e-book exclusive short stories ahead of a new book from authors. 

That's not to say that I'm against this as I have purchased most of them but it does seem to disadvantage readers who haven't got an e-reader yet (I would have been included in this category if I hadn't received a Kindle for my 40th birthday). 

Fortunately these e-books either tend to be free or are cheap so it's not going to cost you the earth to buy them.  But is this practice necessary for book promotion or is it simply a means to cash in further?

A selection of these short stories that have been released in the last couple of months or are due out soon are:

I'd be interested to hear from other readers as to whether they buy/read the exclusive e-books before reading the novels? 

Books Read: Fiona Walker - The Love Letter

Source - Received from publisher to review

When Allegra North parted from first love Francis after a decade together, she poured all her regret into a letter. He didn't reply. A year later, her job brings her back to the beautiful Devon coast where romance first blossomed and she hopes that they can start a new chapter.

As summer storms circle, the exes juggle rebellious parents, vengeful family members and a very reluctant celebrity author who holds the key to everybody's future . . .

Author Interview: Fiona Walker

As mentioned earlier it's Fiona Walker day on the blog so next up is the Q&A session that I arranged with her. 

How long did it take you to get your first book published?

I was incredibly lucky in that the first agent I sent French Relations to offered to represent me, and she subsequently sold it within days. Before that, I’d spent eighteen months writing and reworking it without knowing if it was ever going to get read, and I genuinely thought it would live in a bottom drawer for the rest of my life. 

Do you have a set daily writing routine?

I’m an addictive writer, so I do very long shifts and struggle to do anything routinely. When I’m writing a draft or editing to a deadline, I’m at my computer all day most days as well as late into the night, and I often work over weekends, although I have to juggle this around childcare these days – my poor girls, who are three and five, spent a lot of time dangling from my office chair demanding that I stop ‘doing boring stuff’ and look up the CBeebies website. I’m naturally a night owl so my tendency is to keep working to the early hours, but that’s not always easy to fit around the school run.

Giveaway winners for The Love Letter by Fiona Walker

Today is Fiona Walker day on the blog as I will be posting an author interview later as well as my review of The Love Letter.  But first post for the day is the results of the giveaway to win 1 of 5 copies of this book and all I can say is wow!

This giveaway proved to be extremely popular as there were a record number of entrants, 224 to be exact.  So I'd like to say a big thank you to everyone who shared the link and to everyone who took the time to enter, I'm just sorry that I could only select 5 winners.

Entries closed at midnight on Saturday so each entry was allocated a number and then I used Random.org to select the 5 winners who are:

Giveaway: Win 1 of 5 copies of The Love Letter by Fiona Walker

Fiona Walker's latest novel, The Love Letter, is being published today and to celebrate I have not 1, not 2, but 5 copies of the book to give away thanks to her publishers, Sphere.   

When Allegra North parted from first love Francis after a decade together, she poured all her regret into a letter. He didn't reply. A year later, her job brings her back to the beautiful Devon coast where romance first blossomed and she hopes that they can start a new chapter.

As summer storms circle, the exes juggle rebellious parents, vengeful family members and a very reluctant celebrity author who holds the key to everybody's future . . .