Fantasy Aficionados discussion

Here's a tall order.

I'd like to read urban fantasy from an independent author that is:

Character driven - doesn't have a convoluted plot

Makes its own myth - It's okay to have vampires and werewolves, but it better be unique, at least the perspective.

Doesn't have tons of violence - Some violence is okay, but it shouldn't be a crutch to provide conflict.

Not a massive series or huge books - A good writer should be able to get in and out in a reasonable length of time.

Not author wish fulfillment - I don't want all the characters to be sexy and rich. They should have flaws that are not just character quirks. I want people I can relate to, that share some of my own problems.

This is too much to ask, right?

Honestly--Frank Tuttle's Markhat series. I'm not the author's sister, just a reviewer that can't believe more people haven't read him, because I think he would appeal to many. He seems to meet all of your requirements as well.

The first few installments are a short story and novella (The Mister Trophy) but the last three or four are full length novels. Protagonist is an ex-soldier making his living 'finding' people. A little snarky, but a good guy who tries to do right, even if he is a little cynical. In other words, not an anti-hero. But not amazingly talented--his skills are more in persistence and using his resources.

Humorous, light fun, although there's usually a supernatural angle that provides some tension/eerie atmosphere.

James wrote: "Here's a tall order.

I'd like to read urban fantasy from an independent author that is:

Character driven - doesn't have a convoluted plot

Makes its own myth - It's okay to have vampires and were..."

Sounds like you are describing Charles de Lint. Have you read him?
His novels are always very character driven and his characters are great.
He is very creative drawing on various mythologies, in particular Celtic and Native American, to create his own unique one. I think a few of his short stories may have werewolves and vampires, but other wise he creates his own beings.
His works are not excessively violent with the exception of 3: from a whisper to a Scream, I'll be watching you and Angel of Darkness which were so different from his usual style that he originally published them under a different name.
He wrote a series of books called the Newford series which is not a true series because each book is a stand-alone taking place in the same universe, often some of the characters in that were in one novel will make cameo appearances in the other novels.
De Lint rarely writes about the rich and sexy. His characters are often fringe types, musicians and artists or the homeless.
I suggest starting either with the first in the a series which is collection of short stories Dreams Underfoot or going straight into one of his novels. My favourite is Someplace to Be Flying. His YA are IMO good, but not as good as his adult novels. His newer books take place in the Southwest are also excellent like The Mystery of Grace or The Painted Boy

I am also not related to De Lint in anyway. Just a fan!

I tried reading de Lint many years ago, and I forget what turned me off. Now that I'm older, I should go back and give him a try.

I am mostly on the look-out for indie authors these days. I want to help other people like myself who are making a go of it outside the mainstream.

Megan Lindholm's Wizard of pidgeons fits all your criteria.

Well, except the 'indie' part.

What exactly it meant by Indie anyway? Is it like films, just meaning not mainstream and not a big production company?

Yes. I would mean either self-published authors, or a book that's put out by a publisher that is not a part of the huge conglomerates. Which in the US would mean - Random House, Scholastic, Wiley, Houghton Mifflin, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, or one of their many imprints.

Hmm. You could have a look at HOW LIKE A GOD, one of my Tor novels. It is a fantasy, but of the kind where the hero drives a Plymouth Voyager with two child seats strapped in the middle seat.

James wrote: "Yes. I would mean either self-published authors, or a book that's put out by a publisher that is not a part of the huge conglomerates. Which in the US would mean - Random House, Scholastic, Wiley, ..."

In that case I would still consider De Lint more indie. Although he is well respected in certain circles, you don't find his books in mainstream book stores.