'Merdeka' eBook now available for free borrowing

Image © Amazon

Amazon Prime customers in the UK and US can now borrow the 'Merdeka' eBook for free.  Available to read on Kindles, or by using Kindle Apps, this is the first time that the eBook has been in a lending scheme.  To borrow (or purchase) the eBook visit :

UK Customers: Merdeka in the Amazon UK Store
US Customers: Merdeka in the Amazon.com Store

Not sure?  Visit the Review Page on this blog


'Merdeka' eBook to be exclusive to Kindle

Image © Amazon

The eBook of 'Merdeka' is  going to be exclusive to Kindle for at least 3 months.  This will allow it to be included in the Kindle Owner’s Lending Library  (KDP Select).  How does it work? 

Kindle device owners with an Amazon Prime membership can borrow popular Kindle books at no extra cost, as frequently as one book per month and with no due dates.

Does this mean you can read it on other portable devices?  Yes, you will be able to read it on any device that can run a Kindle App (such as the iPad). For more information see 'How to get the Book'.

Why I am doing this?  Despite efforts to promote the eBook through other channels, the vast majority of sales remain with Amazon.  As a new author, visibility is key, and the Amazon listings give the best visibility.  Other authors have recommended taking this step.  I'll review it after 3 months.

The call of the East

The magic of the East has fascinated westerners for centuries, no doubt to the bafflement of some local people struggling to make their living in often arduous circumstances.  In Merdeka Martin Robson states:

 "You know that there are days and nights when I have to pinch myself to remind me that I am being paid to live in such a lovely place.  They say, you know, that that you don't choose the East, rather the East chooses you.  The climate, the smells, the people, the land......... something catches you and then you have it forever.'

In his evocative book The Soul of Malaya (first published in English in 1931) Henri Fauconnier writes:

'These Malays are interesting.  So is the jungle.  Trees, nothing but trees.  A monotonous country.  One enters it... and finds the enchanted forest.'

If you don't live there, there is only one way to find out how you feel about it..... get on a plane!