You are about to start playing with a new Baen CD-ROM. Welcome! It includes not only the first book in a new series, Invasion: Book One of the Secret World Chronicles, but many titles by Mercedes Lackey, in several formats—all of it beautifully unencrypted and unencumbered. But wait, there’s more! Also on this disk are various other interesting tidbits including two episodes from the award-nominated podcast series SECRET WORLD CHRONICLE and artwork from the series. More than twenty-three novels for free—and with no stupid codes to work around. Think of that.

What’s the catch? This disk and its contents may be copied and shared, but NOT sold. All commercial rights are reserved. That’s it.

Why are we being so generous? Simple: we think the more people who read Ms. Lackey’s works the more people will buy them. Say, one set of hardcovers for yourself, a set of paperbacks to lend out, possibly even the next eBook when it comes out. And if you like Invasion, we’re pretty sure you’ll like other Baen books, too.

The reason for the plethora of formats is to try to please the people who want to read the novels on their iPads or other text-specialized palm-sized devices. There are also Rich Text Format versions of all the novels, which can be read by several applications--including Wordpad, MS Word and most word processors. (For .rtf, in Microsoft Word: use the Open command, then log onto your “Invasion” CD-ROM, specify .rtf format, load the file: [FileOpen, log onto “Invasion” disk, click on Rich Text Format extension on drop-down menu] double-click on the file you want.]

All this is simple as pi for any computer geek, but if you become confused, you can email us at info@baen.com, or try visiting www.Baen.com (just click on Baen.com on the opening screen of the CD) for the precise info you need. (Note that for the disk to work properly you need to have your computer logged on to the Internet, because several of the options assume that you are currently connected, and indeed will try to log you on if you are not.) Log on to the Bar (Click "Baen's Bar" assuming you have successfully loaded this CD ROM—otherwise, follow the directions from the main Baen.com webpage) and go to the topic "CD-ROM." Leave a query, and some Barfly will probably be delighted to help you.

The CD-ROM is strictly standard in its use of file structures and so forth, and when you insert it into your PC it will autorun—that is, run automatically. If you are on a Mac just select the CD in Finder and open the index.htm file.

You will be faced with a screen full of options. The most important one is the list of Mercedes Lackey's titles to the left. You are given the option of "downloading" the titles in several formats. For those of you who have Microsoft Word installed, the RTF format is best. (This is a debatable point, but hey, that’s what the Bar is for.) All others who do not want to use eBook readers or some such are advised to stick to the Internet browser format (html). The browser option is pretty bulletproof, and will allow you to read the manuscript on-screen with minimal fuss in the font color, style and size you prefer.

On the other hand, if you want to play with the disk and files, the structure is standard. Take any file manager that can handle CD-ROMs, including Microsoft Windows Explorer, and you can examine the CD's contents to your heart's delight. Any sound samples on Baen disks are all MP3, and the pictures are all JPG extensions, which will open automatically in any web browser you're using on your computer, whether PC or MAC.

Remember, there is nothing mysterious about the disk; if you are having trouble, your neighborhood guru can probably help you out, but she'll be dreadfully condescending about it. All content files remain functional after they have been moved to your hard drive. Enjoy.

PS When you grow tired of this disk come visit www.baen.com and click on eBooks, where there are hundreds more eBooks from your favorite Baen authors. The first three chapters of all our books are available for free tasting, and the entire contents of some books are available for free at the Baen Free Library. Dive on in!

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