Small and Independent Press Books discussion

My author friend Andrew Seddon always generously gives me a copy of each anthology where one of his many excellent short stories appears, and I always treat these as review copies --although in truth, he'd share these with me out of kindness, whether I reviewed them or not! Since late last year, I've been sitting on two of these, and been trying as much as possible to prioritize them. Last night, I finally got a start on the shorter one, . It's published by the small press WolfSinger Publications, which has turned out quality anthologies before.

Over the weekend, I started two new reads. One is a paper book, . This is another short story anthology, and again a gift (which I choose to treat as a review copy) from my friend Andrew Seddon, who has a story included. The cover is a disturbing and depressing image, but it fits the collection's theme: these are stories particularly aimed at giving voice to the concerns of the marginalized and oppressed.

On my Kindle app, I'm reading a short e-story (though, at 64 pages, it's at the longer side of the "short' story range), by Guido Henkel. The author is a member of one of my other groups, and one of my Goodreads friends gave the story a very favorable review a few years ago. It's an introduction to the author's Jason Dark series, Jason being a protagonist in the "psychic detective" tradition. You can download it free for Kindle, as a teaser for the series.

I'm currently reading an only so-so vampire romance from an indie author that I picked up on freebie. Recent stellar indie reads include

Following up on the first one, I'm reading the second installment of our fellow group member Guido Henkel's Jason Dark short e-story series, .

Fantastic collection by Kyle Minor, "Praying Drink," Sarabande Books

Being a college library, the library where I work doesn't spend a lot of money on contemporary fiction; but we like to have some, to encourage students to get into reading for pleasure rather than only when they have to. In some of my groups, I've encouraged members who are authors to consider donating copies of their books to us. One who took me up on that invitation, earlier this year, is Tom Holzel, author of the action-SF novel .

Though it was published about a year ago, Tom's book still hasn't garnered any reviews on Goodreads except the author's (though it does have four ratings, counting his, averaging four stars, and a few positive reviews elsewhere). It's been on my to-read shelf for awhile; I've been waiting for it to be cataloged and processed for the shelf here, but I finally resolved not to make the author wait for that unpredictable event. So I borrowed it from the processing cart, and started reading it yesterday.

In electronic format, I've started reading a PDF review copy of my Goodreads friend Shane Joseph's soon-to-be-published story collection, . Since I've greatly enjoyed both of the books by Shane that I've read before, I have high expectations for this one.

Werner wrote: "Being a college library, the library where I work doesn't spend a lot of money on contemporary fiction; but we like to have some, to encourage students to get into reading for pleasure rather than ..."

I didn't know you'd accept copies - the hard part is getting a library to accept and shelve a book. I'd be happy to send your library a copy of Pride's Children - all I need is your address.

Alicia, that's wonderful; thank you so much! The library address is: Easley Library, Bluefield College, 3000 College Dr., Bluefield, VA 24605. You can mark it to my attention. (And since Pride's Children is already on my to-read shelf, I'll hope to get to it later this year --probably around the end of the year.)

I'm in charge of paper book selection, and I don't have any prejudice against small press/indie books! The only books we won't accept (because BC is a Christian college) are erotica/porn and those with pervasive foul language.

Werner wrote: "In electronic format, I've started reading a PDF review copy of my Goodreads friend Shane Joseph's soon-to-be-published story collection, [bookcover:Crossing Limbo: Deep Moments, Shallow Lives|3505..."

Writing the next book is like trying to improve your golf handicap. There is always chance as the wildcard that can send your ball into the rough

Shane wrote: "Writing the next book is like trying to improve your golf handicap. There is always chance as the wildcard that can send your ball into the rough."

True, Shane! But the first couple of stories haven't gone into the rough so far. :-)

Werner wrote: "Alicia, that's wonderful; thank you so much! The library address is: Easley Library, Bluefield College, 3000 College Dr., Bluefield, VA 24605. You can mark it to my attention. (And since Pride's Ch..."

Don't worry - my writing is PG13.

Will let you know when it's in the mail. Now where are those bubblewrap mailers I was saving?

Alicia wrote: "Will let you know when it's in the mail. Now where are those bubblewrap mailers I was saving?"

I'll look forward to hearing that, Alicia! (And yes, a writer always needs to keep a few padded mailers on hand. :-) )

One of my Goodreads friends (and a member of our group), author Lance Charnes, recently donated his latest novel, , the opener for a projected series, to the Bluefield College library. It's a crime/mystery thriller, set in the world of high-priced art collecting (and sometimes of swindling and stealing), a milieu Lance has done a lot of research in. Since I really liked his debut novel, , I've just started on this new one. And I'm really hoping to read his , which is in one of my many TBR piles, early next year.

Werner wrote: "I'll look forward to hearing that, Alicia! (And yes, a writer always needs to keep a few padded mailers on hand. :-)..."

I'm waiting until Monday is safely over; so you'll be there when it gets there.

Sounds good, Alicia! I'll keep you posted.

When I started my latest e-book read, I expected it to take about six weeks (I usually don't read very quickly in that format). To my great surprise, when I actually got started on it, I finished it in six days! So, I've gone on to start the next PDF in the queue, a review copy of by medical doctor Ibrahim Masoodi. It's a memoir/travelog (the author was, I believe, born in Kashmir), presented along with life lessons and health tips. (This type of nonfiction isn't really my thing, but I agreed to review it anyway.)

Werner wrote: "One of my Goodreads friends (and a member of our group), author Lance Charnes, recently donated his latest novel, The Collection, the opener for a projected series, to the Bluefield College library..."

I hope you enjoy it!

I'm enjoying it so far, Lance!

The first two books of J. B. Lynn's Confessions of a Slightly Neurotic Hitwoman series were published by Avon books in 2012 (though the paper editions are now of print). However, the short e-story that followed these, in 2013 is apparently self-published, and this also appears to be true for all of the subsequent novels (there are 14 more so far, making 17 in all, the most recent one published earlier this month). That illustrates a growing trend: that of authors who've been published by mainstream presses deliberately choosing to self-publish later works, usually in the belief that the financial rewards of doing so are better and that they have more creative freedom without a publisher. (A drawback of this trend is that many who do this disdain the paper book market and self-publish only in electronic format. For instance, it appears that none of the works in this series after the first two were ever published in paper format. :-( )

I'm currently reading the e-story mentioned above, which is offered for free on regular Kindle. Usually I prefer to read a series in order, but here I thought it might be worthwhile to sample it for free.

As of yesterday, I started two new books, having finished the prior reads pretty much simultaneously. One is the regular book that I'm reading to myself; the other is the "car book" that Barb and I are reading together. And both fall into our groups area of interest.

The latter is , the seventh (and so far last) book in Suzanne Arruda's Jade del Cameron series, which we've been reading together pretty steadily since the first one. All the previous volumes in the series were published by Big Publishing, but for this one Arruda chose to self-publish through Create Space. The other is a review copy of another short story anthology from WolfSinger Publications, , yet another kind gift from my friend Andrew Seddon, who has a story included. This one focuses on the theme of imprisonment (mostly literal), examined from a science fiction perspective. It sounds as if it would be grim and dark --and so far, in the main, it is.

I've mentioned a couple of novels by Goodreads author (and one of my Goodreads friends, though she's currently not very active online) LeAnn Neal Reilly elsewhere on this thread. She's an independent author of great artistry and vision; and I'm currently reading her debut novel, . (This one was actually originally published as two novels because of it's length; but it workds better, IMO, being treated as a single novel with two distinct parts. They form a single story arc, and one is incomplete without the other.)

For some time, the e-book freebie (by independent author Bob Moates) has been sitting around on my Kindle app, ever since it got an enthusiastic review from a lady in one of my other groups. (When I can, I sometimes take advantage of the option of reading a book by an unfamiliar author for free electronically, to see if it's worth supporting with a purchase in paperback.) This one is fairly short (140 pages), premised on the teaming up of a living homicide detective with the ghost of another cop to solve cold cases, and intended to be humorous. I finally got started on it last night.

Normally, my wife and I both like to read series books in order. But we've just started reading the third installment of indie author Susan Page Davis' Ladies Shooting Club trilogy, , as our car book. Back in 2013, I'd bought a copy secondhand, and gave it to Barb for Christmas, with the intention of getting the first two books as well. However, the paperback editions turned out to be out of print, and there apparently aren't any plans to reprint it. (Sigh!) So I thought we'd see if it stands alone well enough to be worth a read.

After we'd started it, Barb was able to recall that she'd actually read it not long after she got it; she remembers both liking it and recommending it to me. But by now, her memory of the details is hazy enough that she's willing to read it again. (She rereads books oftener than I do.)

Because the book I just started reading today is unpublished so far, I can't link to it in the Goodreads database (and won't be able to rate or review it, at least not right away. My friend Andrew Seddon has given me the opportunity to beta read Farhope, a prequel to his excellent science fiction novel Wreaths of Empire, which got five stars from me when it was published in 2015.

I'm also currently reading the e-book version of the novel by Greg Wagner, who's a Goodreads friend and also in another of my Goodreads groups. He offered it to group members as a free review copy; I don't usually read book previews, but in this case I was intrigued enough to do so, and when I'd finished with that, I took him up on his offer.

The short e-story that I just finished, , is by an independent author, Rachel Chanticleer. It's a prequel to her urban fantasy series, Crescent City Arcana.

My Goodreads friend Andrew M. Seddon is a distinguished writer of ghost stories that stand very much in the classic tradition. He's collected 11 of these in , newly published by Far Wanderings, and kindly gave me a copy. Although I've beta read them in their original form (and he graciously mentioned me in the acknowledgments), and contributed an endorsement for the back cover, I'm now reading the book to savor them as a whole in their final form.

Also, while on a recent road trip, Barb and I embarked on a new "car book:" by Heather Day Gilbert, the first book in her self-published A Murder in the Mountains series, set in contemporary West Virginia (the author's native state) and featuring amateur sleuth Tess Spencer. (Woudhaven Press is her own imprint.) Heather is a Goodreads friend, but the book isn't a review copy; I purchased it for Barb this year as a Mother's Day gift.) Having finished, earlier this year, with reading one great mystery series together (Suzanne Arruda's Jade del Cameron books), we're hoping this will fill the gap. :-)

Goodreads author Justin W. M. Roberts, whose debut novel is the recently-published action-adventure thriller , is a fellow member of another of my Goodreads groups. He offered me a free review copy earlier this year; I've been anxious to get started on it, and was finally able to do so today. Obviously, I'm not far into it yet; but I'm liking it so far!

Not right now, but I convinced my grandma to buy me four as Christmas gifts- Steel Victory, Steel Magic, Steel Blood, and Balance of Fragile Things.

I've started on the next book up in my current queue of review copies, What Darkness Remains, a collection of tales of the macabre, uncanny and supernatural by my friend Andrew M. Seddon. This may not seem like the most season-friendly reading; but actually, I understand that in England, it's quite traditional to read or tell ghost stories (which some of these are) around the Christmas season. :-)

As I work through the review copies in my current queue, the one presently up is the opener for a projected series about a 21-year-old female target-shooting champion who becomes a rookie sheriff's deputy, Ro's Handle (published by World Castle Publishing, which also publishes my novel, though that's just a coincidence!) by Goodreads author Dave Lager, who's a member of another of my Goodreads groups. It's particularly interesting to me, because it's set in the part of Iowa where I grew up.

Finally, I've reached the last paper book in my current queue of review copies, which I've just started on this morning. It's a self-published nonfiction title, Who's Got Dibs on Your Kids? by Betty Pfeiffer, whom I "met" electronically in another of my Goodreads groups.

I've gotten around at last, starting this weekend, to reading the stand-alone action thriller (yes, at the age of 65, I'm finally starting to use that term in something besides a derogatory sense! :-) ) South by a member of our group, my Goodreads friend Lance Charnes, which has sat around in one of my mountainous TBR piles for far too long. (It's a book I purchased, not a review copy.) Both the novels by this author that I previously read earned five stars from me, so I've really been looking forward to this one and have high expectations for it!

Other than the third volume of Louis L'Amour's collected Western stories (which I've already been reading in intermittently since last year), for various reasons, since finishing my most recent paper-format book, I've been slow to permanently start on another one. That's been partly due to the fact that I've been pretty sick with (I think) the flu since Tuesday, and I'm not well yet. Often, I haven't felt like reading, and my ability to focus mentally on any prose that's very demanding has been limited. (That's why I started one book and then put it aside for a later time.)

However, since so far today I've been free of fever (crosses fingers and knocks on wood!), I've now started on a nonfiction read about paranormal phenomena, Shane Leslie's Ghost Book. My copy is actually of the 2017 reprint edition, published by the small press Tumblar House, but it's not a review copy. Instead, it was a thoughtful gift from my friend and fellow writer of supernatural fiction (though he writes better, and more prolifically, than I do!), Andrew Seddon, who knows we share an interest in the real-life investigation of the supernatural.

My reading continues to be slowed down by my miserable case of flu, which keeps coming back every time I think I've shaken it. :-) But I have managed, over the weekend, to start reading the e-book edition of our fellow group member Joni Dee's debut espionage thriller, And The Wolf Shall Dwell. This is a review copy; I didn't really know what to expect from it, but I was very pleasantly surprised! I'm thoroughly captivated already, though only a few chapters in.

I'm reading The Eldritch Heart. It was published by a small publisher called Curiosity Quills. I got it for free as a review copy, which is cool.

Werner wrote: "Other than the third volume of Louis L'Amour's collected Western stories (which I've already been reading in intermittently since last year), for various reasons, since finishing my most recent pap..."

I'm waiting for an ARC of Rodney Strong's new book "Murder in Paint". Rodney is the author of
I strongly recommend, it will take you out of your comfort zone.
https://www.bookgobbler.com/2017/09/2...

I'm readingBalance of Fragile Things. It was published by Ashland Creek Press, a small publisher focused on environmental fiction.

In all the years that Sadie Forsythe and I have been Goodreads friends, she's never pressured me to read her fantasy novel, The Weeping Empress. However, I've been interested in it on my own, and bought a copy a few years ago. As usual with books that find their way into my mountainous physical TBR piles, this one sat there for longer than I'd have wished; but I finally started my long-awaited read of it today!

I've begun reading my review copy of Tabla Rosa, the debut novel by self-publishing author D. E. Heil. (My guess is that the title is a take-off on the Latin phrase tabula rasa, meaning "blank slate;" but I don't know what the significance is here.) This one will probably prove to be a fairly quick read.

I just finished reading the book My Temporary Life by Martin Crosbie and will be writing a review soon. I’m almost finished reading the ARC copy of the book Black Car Business an anthology of short stories written by 10 indie thriller authors available now as pre-order. I recommend both.

I'm currently reading Vegas Heist by Van Allen Plexico from White Rocket Books. This is an indie book that is a great fun, read. I am almost finished with it. Here's the link: www.amazon.com/VEGAS-HEIST-Van-Allen-... if you'd like to check out this 60's caper book.

Bobby

If you like adventure, I would suggest reading Derrick Ferguson's Dillon novels. An indie writer, Derrick tells some fantastic stories.
www.amazon.com/Derrick-Ferguson/e/B00...

Bobby

Paul Bishop's Lie Catcher's was probably the best novel I read in 2015 when it premiered from Pro Se Productions. A great crime thriller from author, and former LAPD Detective/Interrogator, Paul Bishop.
www.amazon.com/Lie-Catchers-Paul-Bish...

Bobby

Bobby, thanks for sharing! In the case of books/series that you've read in the past and enjoyed, like Ferguson's and Bishop's, you might want to consider creating a thread discussing and promoting them in one of our subject folders, such as Action adventure (https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group... ) or Mystery/crime fiction (https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group... ).

Werner wrote: "Bobby, thanks for sharing! In the case of books/series that you've read in the past and enjoyed, like Ferguson's and Bishop's, you might want to consider creating a thread discussing and promoting ..."

Thanks.

No problem, Bobby!

Although I've been slow to get around to it, I've finally started on Pride's Children: Purgatory, the first book of a projected trilogy by my Goodreads friend, Alicia Butcher Ehrhardt. (It isn't a free review book as such, but she did graciously donate a copy to the Bluefield College library, where I work.) This is a foray into contemporary general fiction, a genre I've tended to neglect for several decades; I'm working on redressing that balance, because I genuinely do like general fiction when it's well done!

When Barb and I take road trips in the summer to visit her family in the Harrisonburg, Virginia area, we usually make huge progress on our "car books," compared to what we do in the rest of the year. The trip earlier this week was no exception, allowing us to finish a book I've been reading to her for two months. So, we promptly started on another one! We're now continuing our exploration of my Goodreads friend Heather Day Gilbert's A Murder in the Mountains mystery series, with Trial by Twelve.

It's been a while since I posted anything here; but earlier this week, I finished reading a short e-story by an independent author, Allen M. Werner. It's a historical fiction tale, Tirza And Her Knight.