Amazon has launched another Kindle book sale called “The Big Deal.” According to the online retailer, there are 900 ebooks priced between $.99 and $3.99.

Amazon made a similar price-cutting move back in June. That promotion was called Sunshine Deals and it  shook up the Kindle bestseller list. Almost one-third of the books in Amazon’s top 100 during that period were part of the Sunshine promotion. About 80 percent of them – 24 books – were not Kindle bestsellers before prices were slashed.  

The only problem with the sale is that it’s too easy to spend way more than you intend to. With such talented authors at very reasonable prices, it’s hard not to!

Here’s a look at some of the deals in romance:

$2.99

$.99

$2.99

$.99

$1.99

Click here for more on The Big Deal.

The Nook Simple Touch, black and white with touch screen

More evidence that Barnes & Noble’s Nook is nipping at the heels of industry leader Kindle by Amazon.

Consumer Reports  says the new version of the Nook e-reader, the Simple Touch, has outscored Kindle in its ratings for the first time.

According to Consumer Reports, both e-readers have black-and-white screens, but the Simple Touch also has touch-screen navigation and weighs less than the Kindle.

Amazon’s Kindle

You can also borrow ebooks from the public library with the Simple Touch. Kindle is expected to add the library feature sometime later this year.

Consumer Reports also says an e-book reader is still the best way to go – rather than a tablet like the iPad – if reading books is your main use for the device.

The lighter weight makes holding it for long periods of time more comfortable and the screen is easier to read than the text on tablets’ LCD screens, especially in bright sunlight.

At the recent Romance Writers of America (RWA) convention in New York, author Deeanne Gist gave a hands-on, clothes-on workshop on how to dress – and undress – your heroine.

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal, it took Gist an hour to put on everything that a lady would have worn in the 1860s. The pieces of clothing included stockings, garters, bloomers, chemise, corset, crinoline or hoop skirt, petticoats, a shirtwaist or blouse, skirt, vest and bolero jacket.

The Journal reports that 25 percent of all books sold are historical romances, according to book-industry analyst Bowker.

But getting accurate details on a lady’s under-things takes a lot of work.

“When you’re doing something where they’re undressing in a love scene situation—these are the practical things that you never find in a research book,” bestselling novelist Laura Lee Guhrke tells the Journal. “You want to be accurate.”

Check out the video above for a close-up look at a Victorian lady’s unmentionables.