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The ones of you demanded a new video and I have acquiesced, with a Book Haul–because, why not?
Also featured–my lingering cough, and more “um”s than I care to admit (even if Valerie Fridland’s defense of the use of it in Like, Literally, Dude was convincing), and me likely butchering the pronunciation of some author names. Sounds like fun, right?
I was feeling bad about it being this far into October before I had a chance to put together my Third Quarter Check-in until I realized that I skipped the 2nd Quarter. I’m really not on top of things this year. This is a recurring theme for this post.
I’d hoped to keep charging ahead with Grandpappy’s Corner and Literary Locals, and while those haven’t completely died off, I haven’t done that much with them. I think the next couple of months should bear fruit along those lines, though. We’ll see.
How’s the perennial, “Cut down on my Goodreads Want-to-Read list and the unread books that I own” goal going? Well, I bought very few books in February, so that helped, but overall…?
| Audio | E-book | Physical | Goodreads Want-to-Read |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of 2023 |
6 | 46 | 68 | 153 |
| End of 1st Quarter | 4 | 50 | 64 | 154 |
| End of 2nd Quarter | 3 | 54 | 79 | 162 |
| End of 3rd Quarter | 5 | 58 | 75 | 166 |
Goodreads Challenge
Keep sighing, Downey
12 Books
I haven’t made any dent this at all yet (I still haven’t written posts on 2 of the books that I read last year!!) It’s really getting under my skin. Which is exactly what I said in April. Still true. Still under my skin.
The 2024 Booktempter’s TBR Challenge
I’m on-target for this one (as much as I can be), and have even accomplished a Stretch Goal.
January – Lucky Dip: Randomly choose a book by someone you’ve never read before: Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Stretch Goal – In the same spirit I give you permission to read the last book to enter your TBR pile. Actually read something you’ve got yourself to recently read: Hacked by Duncan MacMaster
February – Lovers Meeting: No not romantasy focused – this challenge is somewhere in TBR is a delayed treat. Read an author you’ve loved and held back from reading because the time was not right. Its time for you two to get re-acquainted. Enjoy yourself! Return of the Griffin by JCM Berne
March – Spring :You know that first book of a series you bought and have now realised is now finished? You have my permission to read this at last. And you know what? Bannerless by Carrie Vaughn
April – Diamond Anniversary: Diamond is the birthstone of April so your challenge is to read something over 60 years old: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
May – The Fourth…May the force be with you and I permit you to read a SF themed tale: Grave Cold by Shannon Knight
June – The Longest Days: You may choose the longest book in your TBR pile the days are long so go for it: The Running Grave by Robert Galbraith
July – The Ides have it In an ongoing tribute to Julius pick a tale of intrigue and scheming: The Last King of California by Jordan Harper
August – Travel Broadens the Mind: Choose a Book that is from an author from a different country to yourself: The Nameless Restaurant by Tao Wong. I’ve read all from other places that aren’t from this year, so…Canada (which doesn’t seem to count, but does)
September – Back To School: Choose a Book about a character learning something – be it in school, a new power or something about themselves: Project Hail Mary by Andy Wier
Backlist Bingo 2024
I really need to get moving.
In sum…a lot of stuff to read. A lot more to write. Probably impossible numbers, but fun to try (mostly). Overall, however, when it comes to my goals and challenges, Mike Ehrmantraut speaks for me.
(Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay)
I love it when I’m feeling a little overwhelmed with things and someone stops by without prompting to say “hey, you want a Guest Post?” The answer, by the way, is almost always yes. That’s exactly what happened last week when Shannon Knight asked if I was interested in this. It helps when the person is someone like Shannon so I know the post will be a good one.
Death Mythology IN SPACE!
Insiders is a big space opera adventure with plants, but I couldn’t resist pulling death mythology into it. I’ve got excuses! I’d completed all this research for Grave Cold, which I wrote prior to Insiders, including developing some completely unrelated story lines and then discarding them. I’d especially dug deep into the oracles, or sybils, of Greece, so I had this story thread I wanted to build on. Meanwhile, my agent was pitching Wish Givers to editors, and the editors kept asking for more, particularly more religion and more politics. Repeatedly, I rewrote Wish Givers to align with different editors’ visions (adding another POV character, redoing everything as YA, etc.). As I started Insiders, I was full of confidence. I had two books in my agent’s hands, so I could try some new things, and if editors wanted more, more, more, I could write that!
Insiders begins on Kerberos Station, where a highly contagious, world-killing virus is actively spreading. (Another note, I wrote this prior to SARS-CoV-2. I considered not publishing Insiders at all simply because the plot contained a virus, even though the symptoms do not align with COVID-19.) Kerberos is the Greek three-headed dog who guards the Underworld, keeping the dead inside and the living out. I liked the idea of referencing Kerberos for many reasons. On one level, Insiders deals thematically with the notion of being inside, and on Kerberos Station, we start with an insular group of pipe crawlers, who live within the pipes of the station. Leaving these pipes is difficult on many levels for young Sachi, and linking her life-and-death choice with evading Hades’ Underworld guardian appealed to me.
Imperatrix Persephone, an antagonist in the story, leads the intergalactic, powerful Elysium Empire. I chose Greek Persephone, in part, due to an entire back story that I may yet write into a novel related to the ancient Greek oracles. More simply and directly, Persephone is a death goddess who I thought most readers would recognize. The Elysium Empire links with the Eleusinian Mysteries, secret rites connected with the cult of Persephone and her mother, Demeter. The mysteries are fascinating in part because of the strict secrecy held regarding what they involved. To this day, we do not know what the mysteries shared. Nevertheless, scholars believe that the mysteries revealed what happens after death. I realize references to the Eleusinian Mysteries would likely only be noticed by readers with an interest in history, myth, or both. Personally, I quite enjoy making connections between the distant past and the far future. Again, Insiders is a space opera with, for example, a carefully crafted scene allowing for the realistic fiery explosion of a spaceship in space. (Yes! Fire in the void!) Readers do not need to understand and sift through various mythological references to enjoy the story. Pew, pew, pew!
In Insiders, Imperatrix Persephone enjoys special powers due to the Eleusinian Mysteries, which involve a certain “beetle” entering her body and living symbiotically with her. The imperatrix conducts others into the mysteries by bestowing beetles upon them. These beetles crawl in through the nasal cavity. Then their hosts’ human bodies become capable of surviving extreme environments that cause death in other creatures. In other words, the Mysteries and the beetles offer a sort of immortality to those who obtain them. I thought it was fun to suggest an alien connection between the Eleusinian Mysteries of the ancient past that would allow them to continue into the far distant future.
On account of humans inducted into the Eleusinian Mysteries being able to survive deadly environments, the Elysium Empire presides over a series of death worlds. I casually termed them as death worlds due to their environments being antithetical to life. Each world is named after an Underworld from Earth culture with a designated ruler entitled with the name of the coordinating death god. Therefore, we meet Sammael ruling over the planet Sheol and Izanami reigning in Yomi. Izanami’s ship is the Jeweled Spear, in reference to the Japanese creation myth in which Izanami uses the spear to create land. In Insiders, the Elysium Empire is full of mythological I-spy moments for readers who enjoy myth. Links connecting the past with the future ground stories in a world we recognize. These connections also help reveal how our cultural understanding of the world partially shapes how we see the universe and beyond.
At its heart, Insiders is a book about coming together. Humanity faces obstacles of all kinds. Many are of our own creation. Some we could have never predicted. As individuals, it’s easy to focus on our very personal difficulties. The human mind isn’t capable of stepping back and encompassing all the injuries or injustices of the entire planet. However, we don’t need to do that. We do, however, need to step away from an us-and-them dichotomy that divides everyone into insiders and outsiders. With grit and creativity, we can acknowledge that we’re all in this together and aim our hearts and minds towards solutions.
Find a copy of Insiders.
Shannon Knight is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror author living in the Pacific Northwest. Mythology ties into most of her stories. Sign up for her newsletter at https://www.shannonknight.net/. Her page about Insiders is here.
That good-lookin’ cover image is the work of Isabeau Backhaus, incidentally. Go check out her portfolio, you’ll be glad you did.
If you’ve been on Bookish Social Medial at all in the 6+ months, I’m willing to bet you’ve seen the name Adrian Gibson or at least the cover of Mushroom Blues. You may also know him from the podcast he hosts with M.J. Kuhn, SFF Addicts. Last week, Adrian was gracious enough to struggle with StreamYard (and it was in a mood) in order that we could sit down and talk about Jeff VanderMeer–an author that I’ve been intimidated to pick up and try, but who has been instrumental in Gibson’s career. I walked away excited to try VanderMeer, and I had a good time in general. I hope you watch this and walk away thinking the same.
As I said, StreamYard wasn’t happy, so the video freezes a couple of times on both of us, but the audio is fine.
Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Website ~ Newsletter ~ Amazon ~ Goodreads
Are you a Reader of Things and want to chat with me about an author/series/something other than promoting your own work (which we will do, just not primarily)? I’d love to keep trying this, but I’m not ready to start pestering people about it. So please let me know.
(or, I give You a Glimpse Into My Overthinking About Books)
Do I have a point to this? No. But I also don’t have a post ready for today, and didn’t have time to finish one. So, I’m going to ramble a bit.
I took a couple of days off work this week, which I knew was going to mess with my audiobook listening–but whatever. So of the two audiobooks I had checked out from the Library on Friday, I picked the one that was shorter and due a bit sooner. I didn’t have a lot of time for either one, honestly–but I figured I could finish one of them off. That was my first mistake.
I typically don’t check out multiple audiobooks at once so I don’t run into a problem like this, but when multiple books come off the hold list at the same time, you don’t have much choice.
I got a good amount of listening in on Monday, and a few minutes on Tuesday. But I still had 3 hours and 20 minutes or so to go. But the app said it’d be due Thursday, so I figured I’d be okay–especially since I spent the last hour of listening time at 2.3 speed (I never do that) to help me make it. But when I was getting into my car today, it read “Due in 1 hour.” Technically Thursday, but…not what I wanted it to say.
Now, I hate to admit this, but especially since most of the libraries in the area eliminated late fines, if this was a hardcopy book, I’d just return it a day late and not even think about it (and even if there were fines, I’d pay the few cents just to wrap it up). That makes me a bad patron, I know, but I’d do it. But you don’t get that option when it comes to digital books.
Where I last listened was a decent stopping place, and I couldn’t be sure I’d get to another one in the next hour, so I returned the book and got myself back on the list. I have approximately 9 weeks to wait for the copy to be made available again. I should still remember enough to pick it back up…but do I want to? The book is just good enough to keep listening–and not one iota more. There’s still enough time for the author to land the ending and make me re-evaluate things, but at the moment, it’s a 2 1/2-3 Star read. And yes, I’m curious about how the plot wraps up…but am I curious enough to return to it? Should I just chalk this one up to a DNF by Circumstance?
And even as I ask these questions, I know I will finish it up. But I’m not sure I want to–it’s basically compulsion vs. desire at this point.
Or, I guess, prepare to empty them. That’s kind of up to you.
This weekend brings several opportunities for some great buys: I strongly suggest you sample them all.
First, this one is safe for your accounts: Ian Robinson’s Shots Fired (Nash & Moretti Book 3…but it’s totally fine to read as a stand-alone) is free for the weekend. Amazon US: https://amazon.com/dp/B0977F98JD Amazon UK: https://amazon.co.uk/dp/B0977F98JD
Fahrenheit Press has their Summer Sale going on. You can get 20% off everything by using promo-code AUG2024 at the checkout. You can easily find some great books (several of which I’ve talked about here), and some great merch (I get about 1/2 of my T-Shirts from them). You’d be foolish to not browse and/or spend money there.
Epic Sale of Beloved SFF Books from August 23-27. There are soooo many good things there (and good-looking things, too). (Hat-tip to Daniel Meyer for telling me about this)
The August version of Narratess Indie Sale is this weekend, too. There’s some overlap between these two, but they aren’t identical.
Today is National Book Lovers Day (yes, around here, that’s just another way of saying it’s a day that ends in “ay,” except it’s a National thing). I’m not sure that “Lover” is the best way to describe me—buying, reading, and surrounding myself with books is just who I am. “One does not love breathing,” as Miss Jean Louise Finch, said.
Or in the words of Patrick Rothfuss, “I always read. You know how sharks have to keep swimming or they die? I’m like that. If I stop reading, I die.”
Scout and Rothfuss are likely overstating things—or maybe not, but they can give that impression. So maybe it’s safer to call ourselves book lovers, eh?
Anyway, as I said the other day, I’ve been meaning to post something about National Book Lover’s Day for years now, but I’ve never really known what to say. But it occured to me (as I was saying that) that I could put together a handy-dandy list of books that show love to books either about talking about books or those who write, read, sell, or loan them.
This isn’t necessarily a complete list, in fact, I’m sure it’s not. I did a quick survey of the 5200 plus posts I have here) to compile this list in the last two days. But it’s a pretty thorough one—I’ll get this in better shape by next year.
(Probably…Maybe…We’ll see.)
(Links will take you to my post featuring the book.)
Image by Hermann Traub from Pixabay
I sat down a few days ago to talk with John Simons about the second year of his new Con, RinthCon, and the little twist to it that makes it an experience like no other you’ll find on the Convention Circuit today.
I posted a little something about RinthCon 2323 last year before the event, but didn’t follow up like I should’ve. I expect better of me this year.
https://irresponsiblereader.com/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=37891#edit_timestamp
Are you a Reader of Things and want to chat with me about an author/series/something other than promoting your own work (which we will do, just not primarily)? I’d love to keep trying this, but I’m not ready to start pestering people about it. So please let me know.
(updated 7/26/24)
From the first moment that people did the strange thing of asking me to talk about their books on my blog, I’ve been impressed by the quality of a lot of what’s been published by authors going out on their own, taking all the risks, shouldering all the responsibility and doing all the work to get their words, their dreams, their blood, sweat, and tears. This should be celebrated—it’s definitely appreciated, as we’re trying to show this week.
In addition to the Q&As and Guest Posts I have this week, I’m also continuing my habit of highlighting the self-published works that I’ve blogged about over the last few years—just a sentence or two. Hopefully, this’ll be enough to make you click on the link to the full post. Beyond that, it’d be great if I inspired you to add a few of these to your TBR. Also, be sure you check out the other posts over at the SPAAW Hub.
Last, but certainly not least for this week, my apparent specialty: Crime Fiction–vigilantes, police, private eyes, people who have no business at all near a crime…you name it, I love this stuff. This tl;dr list also proves that I was right to break these lists down by genre.
Kind Hearts and Martinets by Pete Adams—a near-to-retirement D. I. with a rag-tag team investigates terror threats, murders, and bike thefts.
Cause and Effect: Vice Plagues the City (my post about it)
Irony in the Soul (my post about it)
Cats, Cannolis and a Curious Kidnapping by Cheryl Denise Bannerman—a mystery writer finds herself the target of a kidnapper and has to employ everything her characters have done to save her own life. Which sounds more dire than this cute novel actually ever achieves. (my post about it)
The City That Barks and Roars by J. T. Bird—Anthropomorphic animals in a 1950s-esque civilization, a pair of detectives hunting for a missing colleague. (my post about it)
Death Stalks Kettle Street by John Bowen—a man with pretty severe OCD is sure that people in his neighborhood are being killed, but the authorities don’t see it–and his turn is coming. (my post about it)
DI Hannah Robbins by Rebecca Bradley—DI Hannah Robbins novels follow Robbins and her team as they solve murders–she’s got a great team and the novels have some of the best hooks around.
The Twisted Web (my post about it)
Kill for Me (my post about it)
Dead Blind by Rebecca Bradley—A Detective adjusting to prosopagnosia (“face blindness”) tries to keep the condition under wraps while leading his team investigating an international organ smuggling ring. Great hook, strong execution. (my post about it)
The Butcher by Nathan Burrows—a darkly comic tale about brothers struggling to keep their farm and butcher shop alive, until they develop a new sausage recipe. (my post about it)
The Shoulders of Giants by Jim Cliff—A rookie P.I. (inspired more by fiction than reality), is on the hunt for a missing college student. (my post about it)
Bad Memory by Jim Cliff—this novella finds Jake Abraham looking into an old closed case and forces it open. (my post about it)
Sharp Investigations by E.N. Crane—a comic series with a heavy-accent on mystery (or is it the other way around?), featuring a former Army MP and her K9 partner who set up a PI firm in a small Ohio town
Barking for Business (my post about it)
Chasing Empty Caskets (my post about it)
Don’t Get Involved by F J Curlew—a slow burn of a novel about some street kids in Kyiv who find a large amount of drugs and a Scottish teacher in town to help their schools. (my post about it)
Criminal Collective by Russell Day—a collection of short stories and a novella from one of my favorite crime writers. (my post about it)
Jeremy Barnes by Robert Germaux—tired of teaching, Jeremy Barnes becomes a P.I. These books have a very Spenser-vibe to them and are great comfort food.
Hard Court (my post about it)
In the Eye (my post about it)
Small Bytes (my post about it)
Daniel Hays Mysteries by Robert Germaux—Daniel Hays heads the Special Assignment Squad —- a Major Crimes squad set up to help smaller cities in the county around Pittsburgh–hunts down serial killers in these entertaining thrillers.
Small Talk (my post about it)
One by One (my post about it)
DC Smith Investigation by Peter Grainger—I’ve listened to these on audio, but the novels are self-published. Smith is a former DCI who’s voluntarily demoted down to Detective Sergeant so he can actually work cases–in his own idiosyncratic way. There is something indescribably charming about these books, I can see myself re-reading these for years.
An Accidental Death (my post about it)
But For the Grace (my post about it)
Luck and Judgement (my post about it)
Persons of Interest (my post about it)
In This Bright Future (my post about it)
The Rags of Time (my post about it)
Time and Tide (my post about it)
A Private Investigation (my post about it)
The Truth (my post about it)
The Camera Man (as close as I got to posting about it)
King’s Lake Investigations by Peter Grainger—I’ve listened to these on audio, but the novels are self-published. This series tells what happens after DS Smith leaves Kings Lake, following those he trained and left as they form the backbone of the new Murder Squad. They’re just as good.
Songbird (my post about it)
On Eden Street (my post about it)
Roxanne (my post about it)
Missing Pieces (my post about it)
Another Girl (my post about it)
Catch & Neutralize by Chris Grams—Members of a vigilante group that takes down criminals who’ve gotten away with crimes against women and children find themselves in a very hairy situation. (my post about it)
Fatal Forgery by Susan Grossey—as 19th Century British Policing begins to take a new shape, a magistrate’s constable investigates a new kind of financial crime. (my post about it)
Ostler by Susan Grossey—Grossey brings us a 19th Century amatuer slueth hunting for a friend’s murderer, who finds so much more. (my post about it)
DoubleBlind by Libby Fischer Hellmann—a PI looks into suspicious deaths following COVID vaccines while dealing with people who think she’s a wife who ran away from a cult. Eventually, she has to stop and figure out what’s going on with her doppelgänger for her own sake. (my post about it)
The Secret of Rosalia Flats by Tim W. Jackson—following the death of his father, a man returns to his Caribbean island childhood home to look into what happened. (my post about it)
Cooked Goose by Laura Jenski—a couple on a cross-country motor home trip discovers a body in a campground, and decides to investigate the death to “help” local law enforcement. (I thought I posted about this months ago, apparently not. Soon, maybe?)
Afton Morrison by Brent Jones—the story of a Children’s Librarian with impulses to become a serial killer. No really. It’s twisted. It’s fun. It has some heart, too.
Go Home, Afton (my post about it)
See You Soon, Afton (my post about it)
Nice Try, Afton (my post about it)
Time’s Up, Afton (my post about it)
Harvested by Troy Lambert—a PI starts looking into a rash of dognappings sweeping across Seattle and uncovers something chilling. (my post about it)
Stray Ally by Troy Lambert—An ex-special ops soldier takes on terrorists, Aryans on the hunt, and an out of control military officer, with only his wits, experience and a fantastic stray dog. (my post about it)
Teaching Moments by Troy Lambert—Max Boucher is back, this time to hunt for a stolen horse–and runs across a serial killer while he’s at it. (my post about it)
Cutthroat Cupcakes by Cate Lawley—I maybe should’ve included this on the Fantasy and UF lists, too. But Lawley describes these as cozy mysteries, so I’ll stick with that. The owner of an artisan candy shop is arrested by magic police for selling cursed items that have been used to kill someone. It’s a rough way to learn that magic exists. She works with the detective to find the actual killer to clear her name. (my post about it)
Cooking for Cannibals by Rich Leder—an ex-con trying to go straight, a behavioral gerontologist, and a group of senior citizens get into hot water with an experimental drug and competing criminal organizations. (my post about it)
Let There Be Linda by Rich Leder—I can’t sum this up in a sentence or two–a comic crime novel set in L.A. full of interweaving plotlines. (my post about it)
McCall & Company: Workman’s Complication by Rich Leder—a struggling actress takes over her late father’s P.I. Agency (my post about it)
Shadow Ranch by Rebeca Carey Lyles—A woman trapped in a polygamous cult attempts to free herself, her brother, and others. Featuring a truly despicable villain. (my post about it)
The Lion’s Tail by Luna Miller, Aidan Isherwood (Translator)—a retired physician turns to a new career as a P.I. An early case turns out to be too much for her to tackle on her own and she recruits some help from people in her neighborhood, creating her own Baker Street Irregulars. (my post about it)
San Diego Dead by Mark Nolan—a modern-day privateer and his dog are on the run from a vengeful drug mob. (my post about it)
How the Wired Weep by Ian Patrick—you’re not going to see me say something negative about a Patrick novel, but this one is special. a gut-wrenching, taut look at a police informant and his detective handler as they try to take down a local drug lord. (my post about it)
The Warrior Series by Ty Patterson—Once upon a time, I think we’d call these books “Men’s Adventure” novels. Former Delta operative (and some friends) now run a covert-ops group.
The Warrior (my post about it)
The Reluctant Warrior (my post about it)
Dead Down East by Carl Schmidt—a part-time PI gets sucked into investigating the death of his state’s governor (my post about it)
If you’re a self-published author that I’ve featured on this blog and I didn’t mention you in this post and should have. I’m sorry (unless you’re this guy). Please drop me a line, and I’ll fix this. I want to keep this regularly updated so I keep talking about Self-Published Authors.
The 2024 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
(updated 7/25/24)
From the first moment that people did the strange thing of asking me to talk about their books on my blog, I’ve been impressed by the quality of a lot of what’s been published by authors going out on their own, taking all the risks, shouldering all the responsibility and doing all the work to get their words, their dreams, their blood, sweat, and tears. This should be celebrated—it’s definitely appreciated, as we’re trying to show this week.
In addition to the Q&As and Guest Posts I have this week, I’m also continuing my habit of highlighting the self-published works that I’ve blogged about over the last few years—just a sentence or two. Hopefully, this’ll be enough to make you click on the link to the full post. Beyond that, it’d be great if I inspired you to add a few of these to your TBR. Also, be sure you check out the other posts over at the SPAAW Hub.
Today we’re going to be looking at Self-Published Urban Fantasy. Magic-users of various stripes, creatures that’ll push your imagination, and more dragons than show up on my Self-Published Fantasy list, believe it or not. There’s a lot to dig into here.
Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron—A nice-guy dragon learns how to get by in a dragon-eat-dragon world with the help of a human mage on the lamb from the mob. (my post about it)
Spirelli Paranormal Investigations: Episodes 1-6 by Kate Baray—a fixer for the paranormal community and debunker of paranormal frauds takes on an assistant, just in time for some real hairy cases (apparently I haven’t written about this one yet)
Justice Calling by Annie Bellet—a magic user on the run, living among a bunch of shape-shifters, is accused of killing some. She works to clear her name, save her friends, and stay off the radar of those hunting for her. (my post about it)
Vale Investigations by Cristelle Comby—a P.I. who is the emissary of Hades’ daughter on Earth investigates mysterious deaths and other happenings.
Hostile Takeover (my post about it)
Evil Embers
Bad Little Girls Die Horrible Deaths and Other Tales of Dark Fantasy by Harry Connolly—a collection of short stories that I still think about. (my post about it)
Twenty Palaces by Harry Connolly—I loved this UF series, but sadly was one of the few who read it. After the publisher declined to keep going with it Connolly has published a prequel and a sequel—with more on the way.
Twenty Palaces—the prequel to the whole thing (my post about it)
The Twisted Path (my post about it)
The Iron Gate—catches up with our heroes and throws them into a life-changing situation (even for people in their…circumstances), a great way to resume the series. (my post about it)
Ella Grey Series by Jayne Faith. A minor demon hunter in a slightly-futuristic Boise finds herself tangling with some major powers.
Stone Cold Magic (my post about it)
Dark Harvest Magic (my post about it)
Demon Born Magic (my post about it)
Blood Storm Magic (my post about it)
Bloodlines by Peter Hartog—an Urban Fantasy/Science Fiction/Detective mashup in a world that looks not dissimilar from Scott’s Blade Runner, powered by magic, and that has pan-dimensional aliens walking around. (my post about it)
Pieces of Eight by Peter Hartog—the sequel to Bloodlines and continues to expand our understanding of this world while delivering a great story. (my post about it)
Fred, The Vampire Accountant by Drew Hayes. The misadventures of a vampire accountant and his increasingly diverse and lethal band of friends trying to make their way in the world.
The Utterly Uninteresting and Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant (my post about it)
Undeath & Taxes (my post about it)
Bloody Acquisitions (my post about it)
The Fangs of Freelance (my post about it)
Deadly Assessments (my post about it)
Undeading Bells (my post about it)
Out of House and Home (my post about it)
Posthumous Education (my post about it)
Terra Chronicles by JC Jackson. Another SF/Urban Fantasy mix (I didn’t realize how many of these I read until I did this post) about the adventures of an Elven arcanist and her paladin partner working for a Law Enforcement agency.
Twisted Magics (my post about it)
Shattered Illusions (my post about it)
Twice Cursed (my post about it)
Conjured Defense (my post about it)
Mortgaged Mortality (my post about it)
Divine and Conquer (my post about it)
Cutthroat Cupcakes by Cate Lawley—a candy maker discovers she’s a witch when she’s arrested of murder by magic. Fun ensues. (my post about it)
These next three series are hard to talk about, they’re sort of one series, sort of separate (actually, there are four threads, but I haven’t gotten to the last one yet)…
The Guild Codex: Demonized by Annette Marie. A woman with plenty of theoretical and no practical magical knowledge finds herself bound to a rare and very powerful demon.
Taming Demons for Beginners (my post about it)
Slaying Monsters for the Feeble (my post about it)
Hunting Fiends for the Ill-Equipped (my post about it)
The Guild Codex: Spellbound by Annette Marie. A bartender with an anger-management (and therefore staying employed) problem finds herself working for a Mage Guild.
Three Mages and a Margarita (my post about it)
Dark Arts and a Daiquiri (my post about it)
Two Witches and a Whiskey (my post about it)
Demon Magic and a Martini (my post about it)
The Alchemist and an Amaretto (my post about it)
Druid Vices and a Vodka (my post about it)
Lost Talismans and a Tequila
The Guild Codex: Warped by Annette Marie, Rob Jacobsen. A former two-bit criminal gets pulled into helping the MPD police magic users.
Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors (my post about it)
Hellbound Guilds & Other Misdirections (my post about it)
Pure of Heart by Danielle Parker—a sole werewolf and her family try to keep her secret under wraps and keep her wolf side from hurting anyone in this small Colorado town. (my post about it)
Rites of Passage by M.D. Presley—An atypical magic system fuels this intricate UF series debut (my post about it)
Ree Reyes series by Michael R. Underwood. Ree’s a barista and comic shop worker with ambitions of becoming a screenwriter. She inadvertently finds herself in a world of magic powered by Geekomancy “A style of magic where your love of pop culture becomes the source for amazing abilities – from bringing props to life to borrowing amazing skills from your favorite movies.” These were originally published by others, but Underwood has the rights back and is putting them out in new editions.
Geekomancy (This came out before the blog, so check out my Goodreads review)
Celebromancy (This came out before the blog, and I apparently didn’t write anything about it)
Attack the Geek (my post about it)
Hexomancy (my post about it)
Arcane Casebook series by Dan Willis—This series is set in the 1930s about a P.I. who practices rune magic. Think Depression-era Harry Dresden mixed with Al MacBharrais.
In Plain Sight (my post about it)
Ghost of a Chance (my post about it)
If you're a self-published author that I've featured on this blog and I didn't mention you in this post and should have. I'm sorry (unless you're this guy). Please drop me a line, and I'll fix this. I want to keep this regularly updated so I keep talking about Self-Published Authors.
The 2024 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
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