I am truly amazed. I consider myself a book lover, and your attitude towards us, the avid readers, is simply unbelievable and fantastic. Have a nice day, all of you, beautiful people at the CFP.

I would love to have my book distributed free of charge in exchange for charitable donations. Great idea! After all, I believe that the beauty of books is to make a difference in the world, one word at a time. And I think your program would achieve that.

I shall watch with great interest your endeavors and business model. These are exciting times for writers with talent and independent spirits. Thanks to blogging, podcasts, print-on-demand, the old, traditional modes of publishing are under siege and more and more sharp, literate readers are looking further afield for books and narratives. My site has had tens of thousands of hits, folks all over the world downloading and reading (or listening to) my work and thus ventures like yours are of special interest to me.

All the good fortune in the world to you.

KUDOS This is such a great idea to have a free novel that has only one catch... That you actually do something for charity! Now there's a radical concept these days. Books in ink and print will never be replaced by the new fangled Kindles and such..... How wonderful it is to touch, smell and be the first to break a binding on your new book---and to see the color and texture and ...well it is a whole world of sensory perceptions in your fingertips..... Thank you for sharing this concept and I am thrilled to have a chance to read The Next Queen of Heaven and laugh and enjoy a whole new side to Gregory Maguire.
May this open a whole new world of reading to someone who might not have been able to afford a new book.....

I love the fact that you don't want comments on Canadian pharmaceuticals, and endorse that. This is not to say I endorse Big Pharma or Big Farms, but merely to add that getting to the point is sometimes a virtue. I'll try now: The Washington Post's recent article will I suspect result in a deluge of emails asking for free books. I'm a drop in that "great sea of joy".

The whole notion that literacy is a gift, that reading is a gift and that giving to charity is a rewarding act fits the understanding that June Callwood, famous Canadian social activist and writer, describes in her essay about soup kitchens. In it, she describes what elsewhere is called the "selfish altruist", the person who develops skills and a sense of self-worth by good acts. The story she tells of a member of the furs and jewel set stepping over the bums on the street on the way to her luncheon with others of her friends, then deciding that a street sweeper is not the solution, that a place for them as well as a place for battered women would be a good idea came home to me with strength when I remembered that this may well be the story of my great aunt who, if I remember rightly, did know Callwood. All of this to suggest that unlike those people who join in serving at the soup kitchen or the Toys for Tots in order to be in the photo op, often coincidentally just before an election, good people may get benefits from their acts of kindness, and by doing so become better people capable to doing more good. (Note: Here "good" is a noun, so don't twit me on my grammar, thanks). Thanks to your free press for making this opportunity available. Thanks to those who read this posting here, or read about the Concord Free Press in the Washington Post or in cross-posted and forwarded messages (And Gentle Readers, this is a hint) and are moved to acts of kindness. Thanks also that we live in nations where literacy is high so that we can hope for betterment for yet more people.

What a lovely approach to connecting people, ideas, and causes. I would encourage you to make an even bigger impact by making your books available in epub format

I am so greatful for this book. When I went into the bookstore I litterally had no money. I wanted a new book so dearly. I love books so I figured "what the heck maybe I will see a book to buy on a day when I am not down on my luck." I saw your book and I wondered how much it would be. I asked the clerk about it. I thought that I would have to give them money to the store. I figured that their must be a catch in order to get it from them. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read the back! The book really was free. I wanted to give money so much and, felt so inspired. When I got lucky one day I sacrificed money by buying cat suplies to a family in need. I had put an add in the news paper saying "free pet food, no catch." Thank you for helping. Love, Cassandra

I just heard about the Concord Free Press this morning on NPR. What a brilliant idea: a business model that encourages everyone involved (authors, publishers and readers alike) to commit random acts of kindness! And I love the term "subversive altruism!"