Looking for new authors

pwalker8 · 06-25-2017, 07:51 PM

Since late June through mid September is usually a dead period for major new books, this is the time when I normally re-read books, find back catalog books, and sample indie books. Looking at last year this time, I found H. Paul Honsinger, Taran Matharu, Shae Ford, Victory Kloss, J. A. Sutherland and Holly Black, plus I tried out several authors who just didn't click for me.

Hopefully, I'll be able to find a handful of similar authors this year. I do wish that there was some sort of engine that would give good suggestions based on authors you like. Amazon's use to be pretty good, then they seemed to move more in the direction of Amazon published books that they want to sell, rather than books I'm actually interested in.

poohbear_nc · 06-25-2017, 08:32 PM

Have you tried Literature Map: http://www.literature-map.com/

pwalker8 · 06-26-2017, 05:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poohbear_nc

Have you tried Literature Map: http://www.literature-map.com/

Interesting. I wonder where they get their data and how they make their associations.

DiapDealer · 06-26-2017, 09:43 AM

One thing to keep in mind about the Literature Map is that it's not intended to be used to find similar authors. After entering an author's name, it's purpose is to identify other authors that fans of the initial author will tend to like as well (the closer, the more likely). Sometimes that amounts to the same thing; sometimes not. But the distinction is important, I think. I often see people complaining that authors who are as dissimilar as two can be are being grouped close together in the Literature Map. But as I said ... grouping similar authors is not the point.

pwalker8 · 06-26-2017, 10:35 AM

Yes, the site is starting to ring a bell. I think I used it before. Yea, J.R.R. Tolkien and Anne Rice don't exactly have a lot in common, even it Anne Rice is the closest author when you put in J.R.R. Tolkien, nor does Ayn Rand who also shows up. On the other hand, when I type in other authors, there does seem to be a certain logic to it. The big thing is that it gives me author names that I can type into amazon and see if any of that author's books strike my fancy.

It didn't have Marc Alan Edelheit in the database. I discovered him back in March. I think that he was recommended by someone here. Of course, he only has 4 books out and was first published 2 years ago. Still a useful tool. Thanks for the recommendation.

ekbell · 06-26-2017, 10:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Interesting. I wonder where they get their data and how they make their associations.

Data can be fed into the search engine here http://www.gnooks.com

The gnooks site is a lot of fun to feed with different subsets of favored authors and see what the results are.

pwalker8 · 06-27-2017, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ekbell

Data can be fed into the search engine here http://www.gnooks.com

The gnooks site is a lot of fun to feed with different subsets of favored authors and see what the results are.

Interesting. I put in 3 of my favorite authors, all well known authors and three that I had never heard of. All three had ebooks available and all seemed to have good ratings (i.e. high average with lots of ratings), so I bought a book from each author. We will see how it turns out,

Thanks for the pointer.

Bookworm_Girl · 07-04-2017, 01:47 PM

You might like the website whatshouldireadnext.

ReadingManiac · 07-07-2017, 08:32 AM

Since I don't recognize any of the authors you listed, what genre interests you? I read a lot of indie authors and find some very good ones.

pwalker8 · 07-07-2017, 05:58 PM

Most of my fictional reading is SF/F, though I do read some adventure and mystery. All the authors that I listed are SF/F.

ReadingManiac · 07-14-2017, 10:01 AM

Well, some good SFF indies include Shanna Lauffey's time travel series and The Goblin Trilogy by Jaq D. Hawkins which is strong on world building. If you want a light Mystery with a touch of adventure with the circus A Spark of Justice by J.D. Hawkins (no relation to the other author I mentioned) is good fun, especially if you like big cats. Some other mostly Fantasy authors I can recommend would be Christopher Kellen, C.M. Gray and Lita Burke.

GlenBarrington · 07-14-2017, 11:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Since late June through mid September is usually a dead period for major new books, this is the time when I normally re-read books, find back catalog books, and sample indie books. Looking at last year this time, I found H. Paul Honsinger, Taran Matharu, Shae Ford, Victory Kloss, J. A. Sutherland and Holly Black, plus I tried out several authors who just didn't click for me.

Hopefully, I'll be able to find a handful of similar authors this year. I do wish that there was some sort of engine that would give good suggestions based on authors you like. Amazon's use to be pretty good, then they seemed to move more in the direction of Amazon published books that they want to sell, rather than books I'm actually interested in.

I'm very fond of Christopher Nuttall, Glynn Stewart, Don McQuinn's "Moondark Saga", John Walker, Timothy Zahn, Peter Morwood's "Tales of Prince Ivan", Paul E. Cooley, and Bobby Adair. With the exception of Nuttall, most are available via Kindle unlimited, and for purchase.

KU is great for Indie authors, and self publishing established authors, if that's your thing.

astrangerhere · 07-14-2017, 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pwalker8

Most of my fictional reading is SF/F, though I do read some adventure and mystery. All the authors that I listed are SF/F.

You could try:

Ann Leckie's Radch Trilogy
Cixin Liu's Death's End Trilogy

BenG · 07-15-2017, 06:47 PM

Here is Locus Magazine's 2016 Recommended Reading List from the February issue. They do one every year.
If you buy the issue, there are Year in Review essays from several of the contributors.

http://www.locusmag.com/News/2017/01...-reading-list/

Darqref · 07-16-2017, 12:49 AM

Since you're specifically looking for new stuff including independents, here's a couple I like:

Elliot Kay has two series, one SF starts with "Poor Man's Fight". The other is fantasy sorta NSFW starting with "Good Intentions" (he describes it as "smutty"). I think I've purchased everything he's published, and talked to him at NorWesCon a couple of times.

Pam Uphoff writes a long running series of cross dimensional almost fantasy SF she calls The Wine of the Gods. The first one is "Outcasts and Gods", but I think I'd start with either "The Black Goats" or one of her newer sort of spinoffs at "Directorate School" to see if you like them. She has a smattering of other works, and got her start by reading the slush pile at Baen. Think I've bought almost everything she's published, running into over 30 books.

Lindsay Buroker has several different series, most are fantasy. I've read all of two different series, and didn't really like a third. I liked "Encrypted" and "Balanced on the Blade's Edge". Also starting a new SF series which I found as one of nine books in "Star Heroes: 9 Novels of Space Exporation, Aliens, and Adventure" which was cheap at amazon last year.

Nathan Lowell writes SF in the Solar Clipper series starting at "Quarter Share". No real combat, some crime, but still tension, so its different. I've bought all his SF. There's some fantasy that hasn't grabbed me yet.

And one sorta maybe: Mark Wayne McGinnis has a series that started out as comic SF, but got mostly beyond me - haven't finished the later books in the series. First one is "Scrapyard Ship"

06-25-2017, 07:51 PM	#1
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	Looking for new authors Since late June through mid September is usually a dead period for major new books, this is the time when I normally re-read books, find back catalog books, and sample indie books. Looking at last year this time, I found H. Paul Honsinger, Taran Matharu, Shae Ford, Victory Kloss, J. A. Sutherland and Holly Black, plus I tried out several authors who just didn't click for me. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a handful of similar authors this year. I do wish that there was some sort of engine that would give good suggestions based on authors you like. Amazon's use to be pretty good, then they seemed to move more in the direction of Amazon published books that they want to sell, rather than books I'm actually interested in.

06-26-2017, 09:43 AM	#4
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 27,547 Karma: 193191846 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	One thing to keep in mind about the Literature Map is that it's not intended to be used to find similar authors. After entering an author's name, it's purpose is to identify other authors that fans of the initial author will tend to like as well (the closer, the more likely). Sometimes that amounts to the same thing; sometimes not. But the distinction is important, I think. I often see people complaining that authors who are as dissimilar as two can be are being grouped close together in the Literature Map. But as I said ... grouping similar authors is not the point. Last edited by DiapDealer; 06-26-2017 at 11:11 AM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Short Fiction Authors, Various: Stories by Foreign Authors: Polish, Greek, Belgian. v1, 20 Feb 2008	nrapallo	IMP Books (offline)	0	02-22-2008 12:45 AM
Short Fiction Authors, Various: Stories By Foreign Authors: German Vol 2. v1, 20 Feb 2008	nrapallo	IMP Books	0	02-22-2008 12:39 AM
Short Fiction Authors, Various: Stories by Foreign Authors: Polish, Greek, Belgian. v1, 20 Feb 2008	Madam Broshkina	Kindle Books (offline)	0	02-20-2008 08:41 PM
Short Fiction Authors, Various: Stories by Foreign Authors: Polish, Greek, Belgian. v1, 20 Feb 2008	Madam Broshkina	BBeB/LRF Books (offline)	0	02-20-2008 08:40 PM
Short Fiction Authors, Various: Stories By Foreign Authors: German Vol 2. v1, 20 Feb 2008	Madam Broshkina	BBeB/LRF Books	0	02-20-2008 08:15 PM

06-25-2017, 08:32 PM	#2
poohbear_nc Now what? Posts: 58,805 Karma: 135181808 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Durham, NC Device: Every Kindle Ever Made & To Be Made!	Have you tried Literature Map: http://www.literature-map.com/

06-26-2017, 10:35 AM	#5
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	Yes, the site is starting to ring a bell. I think I used it before. Yea, J.R.R. Tolkien and Anne Rice don't exactly have a lot in common, even it Anne Rice is the closest author when you put in J.R.R. Tolkien, nor does Ayn Rand who also shows up. On the other hand, when I type in other authors, there does seem to be a certain logic to it. The big thing is that it gives me author names that I can type into amazon and see if any of that author's books strike my fancy. It didn't have Marc Alan Edelheit in the database. I discovered him back in March. I think that he was recommended by someone here. Of course, he only has 4 books out and was first published 2 years ago. Still a useful tool. Thanks for the recommendation.

07-04-2017, 01:47 PM	#8
Bookworm_Girl E-reader Enthusiast Posts: 4,871 Karma: 36507503 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Southwest, USA Device: Kindle Oasis 3; Kobo Aura One; iPad Mini 5	You might like the website whatshouldireadnext.

07-07-2017, 08:32 AM	#9
ReadingManiac Genre Jumper Posts: 1,070 Karma: 11070900 Join Date: Dec 2015 Device: Kindle paperwhite	Since I don't recognize any of the authors you listed, what genre interests you? I read a lot of indie authors and find some very good ones.

07-07-2017, 05:58 PM	#10
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	Most of my fictional reading is SF/F, though I do read some adventure and mystery. All the authors that I listed are SF/F.

07-14-2017, 10:01 AM	#11
ReadingManiac Genre Jumper Posts: 1,070 Karma: 11070900 Join Date: Dec 2015 Device: Kindle paperwhite	Well, some good SFF indies include Shanna Lauffey's time travel series and The Goblin Trilogy by Jaq D. Hawkins which is strong on world building. If you want a light Mystery with a touch of adventure with the circus A Spark of Justice by J.D. Hawkins (no relation to the other author I mentioned) is good fun, especially if you like big cats. Some other mostly Fantasy authors I can recommend would be Christopher Kellen, C.M. Gray and Lita Burke.

07-15-2017, 06:47 PM	#14
BenG Home Guard Posts: 4,729 Karma: 86721650 Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Alpha Ralpha Boulevard Device: Kindle Oasis 3G, iPhone 6	Here is Locus Magazine's 2016 Recommended Reading List from the February issue. They do one every year. If you buy the issue, there are Year in Review essays from several of the contributors. http://www.locusmag.com/News/2017/01...-reading-list/

07-16-2017, 12:49 AM	#15
Darqref space cadet Posts: 330 Karma: 2963633 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Seattle area Device: Rocket PRO, gen3, Pocketbook360	Since you're specifically looking for new stuff including independents, here's a couple I like: Elliot Kay has two series, one SF starts with "Poor Man's Fight". The other is fantasy sorta NSFW starting with "Good Intentions" (he describes it as "smutty"). I think I've purchased everything he's published, and talked to him at NorWesCon a couple of times. Pam Uphoff writes a long running series of cross dimensional almost fantasy SF she calls The Wine of the Gods. The first one is "Outcasts and Gods", but I think I'd start with either "The Black Goats" or one of her newer sort of spinoffs at "Directorate School" to see if you like them. She has a smattering of other works, and got her start by reading the slush pile at Baen. Think I've bought almost everything she's published, running into over 30 books. Lindsay Buroker has several different series, most are fantasy. I've read all of two different series, and didn't really like a third. I liked "Encrypted" and "Balanced on the Blade's Edge". Also starting a new SF series which I found as one of nine books in "Star Heroes: 9 Novels of Space Exporation, Aliens, and Adventure" which was cheap at amazon last year. Nathan Lowell writes SF in the Solar Clipper series starting at "Quarter Share". No real combat, some crime, but still tension, so its different. I've bought all his SF. There's some fantasy that hasn't grabbed me yet. And one sorta maybe: Mark Wayne McGinnis has a series that started out as comic SF, but got mostly beyond me - haven't finished the later books in the series. First one is "Scrapyard Ship"

Advert

Advert