Recommendations of Self Published Authors/Books

[darryl]

Some years ago I started a thread entitled “Sorting the Wheat from the Chaff - Selecting "New Market" EBooks”. The theme was essentially how to avoid really bad books and select good ones amongst the tsunami of Indie/Self-Published Books. More recently ApK started the very popular thread “The Wheat from the Chaff: Filling the role of The Gatekeeper”, which puts a slightly different emphasis on the matter. To quote from ApK:

“So much of the stuff on KDP is illegible, incoherent garbage, which, if the ideas of the content it self are worth sharing at all, should have been ghost written by someone else. Someone who can write.”

This is such a subjective area that I don’t think it’s possible to find a right approach for everyone. Personally I find little difficulty avoiding the “garbage”, and based on my experience wonder if the volume of it is not greatly exaggerated. Though logically, of course, one would expect there to be a significant volume of such materials in the absence of a gatekeeper. Personally I have found the experience to be enriching. I tend to read very few books published by the Big Publishers these days, not because I am boycotting them, but because most books to me are fungible, particularly now there are so many alternatives. I don’t believe in paying $14 or $15 or more for a book when I can read an equally enjoyable one for $4 or $5 or less. The few must reads I can wait until the price comes down or borrow. But this is my personal experience. I can understand that based on their own personal experience there are some who stick purely or mostly to tradpub books.

One thing that did come out of ApK’s thread is that recommendations and reviews from trusted sources including some fellow members of this forum are valued by many. Accordingly, if you read a great book by an Indie/Self-Published author please post here and share it with others. Likewise, if you have or discover an Indie/Self-Published author you enjoy and buy their books regularly, please share that to. If this thread is to have any value please don’t promote yourself or your friends books here.

Also, remember that tastes are very different. You may well abhor some books and authors I enjoy, and vice versa. Try to find posts by people with similar tastes to your own.

I will start the process off by sharing the names of 3 Indie/Self Published authors I read regularly and enjoy their books. For ease of reference and searching I will post each separately with their name as the header.

[darryl]

Christopher is a prolific writer who is now pursuing his profession full-time. I’m sure he is doing very well at it. He writes good entertaining Science Fiction, most of which I have read. He also writes fantasy, which is a genre I read only occasionally, though there are some fantasy books I have really enjoyed. Until recently I had not read any of Christopher’s fantasy books, of which there are many. However, for some strange reason, I recently bought his book, “The Zero Blessing”, the first in a planned series. I say for some strange reason because the synopsis of the plot would normally have ruled out a purchase. However, I found I really enjoyed the book and intend to read the rest of the series as it comes out. I will also be trying some of his other fantasy.

[darryl]

I came across Owen Baillie through his Zombie series, Invasion of the Dead. I can’t say I was expecting much when I began the first book, but I was very pleasantly surprised. The latest in the series, Breakdown, has just been released, and I have just started reading it. It is the 4th book of a proposed much longer series. He has also written a Science Fiction novel and a Kindle World’s novel, neither of which I have yet read.

[darryl]

Angela Marsons is a writer of Crime Fiction. Her Detective Kim Stone series is now up to Book 5 with Book 6 to be released later this month. My next read will probably be Book 5, Blood Lines. The main character, Detective Kim Stone, is a complex and enigmatic character who carries the scars of a terrible childhood. Her character is well drawn and continues to develop as the series progresses and we understand her better as more of her past is revealed. I visited the Author's website for the first time today and learnt a couple of most interesting details. Apparently, she accumulated 25 years of rejections from traditional publishers before signing with a small online publisher, Bookouture. In February 2015 the first book, Silent Scream, was released. Within 2 days it had hit number 1 on Amazon where it stayed for a month. In mid-March of that year she took a risk and quit her job when demands for overtime would have prevented her from writing. As of about September 2016 sales of the Kim Stone series had reached more than 1.7 million dollars, and, to quote the author:

“It is mind blowing that a voice that existed only in my head for so many years now speaks 19 languages.”

[Cinisajoy]

Hugh Howey, (science fiction) Russell Blake,(thriller) Gennita Low, (romantic suspense) JA Konrath, (police procedural) Blake Crouch and Jack Kilborn (horror)Joe Nobody (Prepper fiction and non fiction), Ryk Brown. (thriller)
Boyd Craven. (The science fiction writer.) His father does non-fiction.
Those are my favorites.
Others include Amanda M Lee, Jude Hardin, Iain Rob Wright, and pretty much anyone that writes in Russell's and Joe's Kindle Worlds. Especially the earlier books in the worlds since the guys asked the first ones to write in their worlds.
Oh and I probably shouldn't recommend this one, but our own Don is good.
Dave Robinson (also a member here) is good.

Please note nearly everyone I recommended is also a best seller because their writing is excellent. Very high quality.
Though I think half I mentioned are hybrids.

[darryl]

Thanks Cinisajoy. I share your opinion on many, and I will give some of the others a try. If you do read a new book or author you really enjoy I for one would appreciate the recommendation. I also have many more, of course, and will post from time to time.

Though I understand their point of view it does sadden me that there are a number of people who are sticking to traditional publishing completely or almost exclusively. My hope is that even one of them may read and enjoy some of the books and authors that come up in this thread. Of course, I may only succeed in showing them that I and others like "rubbish".

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by darryl

Thanks Cinisajoy. I share your opinion on many, and I will give some of the others a try. If you do read a new book or author you really enjoy I for one would appreciate the recommendation. I also have many more, of course, and will post from time to time.

Though I understand their point of view it does sadden me that there are a number of people who are sticking to traditional publishing completely or almost exclusively. My hope is that even one of them may read and enjoy some of the books and authors that come up in this thread. Of course, I may only succeed in showing them that I and others like "rubbish".

Oh I will.
You can be sure of that.
I'm not sure you would like Gennita. She writes romantic suspense.

[Dazrin]

I agree with many of the authors Cinisajoy listed. Here are a few more that I also read, some of these started out trad-pub: Barry Eisler (John Rain books - thrillers), Jodi Taylor (although I believe she has turned trad-pub now, Science Fiction/Time Travel/Romance), Rosemary Kirstein (Science Fiction).

[Catlady]

May I suggest that if you want to encourage us traditional-publisher-only readers to venture into a brave new world, it would be helpful to indicate genre for the authors you recommend.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Catlady

May I suggest that if you want to encourage us traditional-publisher-only readers to venture into a brave new world, it would be helpful to indicate genre for the authors you recommend.

Edited for you.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Edited for you.

Thanks! Helps me weed out the science fiction!

[DiapDealer]

Like many self-published success stories, Linda Nagata has since had her books picked up and/or republished by traditional publishers (though I think she retains the rights for her UK ebooks--published under her own Mythic Island Press), but her The Red: First Light was the first self-published novel to be nominated for a Nebula (best novel). It turned out to be the first book in trilogy (The Red) described as a "near future military thriller."

I thoroughly enjoyed the fast-paced, technology-driven glimpse into the future of warfare--from both a technology and a philosophical/moral standpoint.

[darryl]

Originally Posted by Catlady

May I suggest that if you want to encourage us traditional-publisher-only readers to venture into a brave new world, it would be helpful to indicate genre for the authors you recommend.

I've changed the headings of my posts on authors to include genre. There are some excellent recommendations so far, depending on your tastes. Hopefully we will have some more contributions soon.

[darryl]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Like many self-published success stories, Linda Nagata has since had her books picked up and/or republished by traditional publishers (though I think she retains the rights for her UK ebooks--published under her own Mythic Island Press), but her The Red: First Light was the first self-published novel to be nominated for a Nebula (best novel). It turned out to be the first book in trilogy (The Red) described as a "near future military thriller."

I thoroughly enjoyed the fast-paced, technology-driven glimpse into the future of warfare--from both a technology and a philosophical/moral standpoint.

Thanks for the recommendation. I hadn't come across her before but based on your description will definitely try First Light.

[hildea]

Courtney Milan, romance (both historical and contemporary)
http://www.courtneymilan.com/

She was traditionally published at first, but went for self publishing for several reasons, including being free to write what she wanted. (She mentioned that she had to fight with the sales department to be allowed to write a book where the hero was a virgin.)