HC chats with Nebula Award-winning author Vanessa Ricci-Thode about the business side of Self-Publishing.
You can (and should) learn more about Vanessa and her books at:
Website
Bluesky
Instagram
Also, be sure to see her contribution to Spreading the Self-Pub Love in 2025!
I’m scheduling this to follow James T. Lambert’s, because I figure all the words that Michel doesn’t use balances out the bonus words that Lambert did use. (not that I’m complaining about either…I just enjoy the contrast–they hit my in-box in succession, too)
I had so much fun with this last year (and grew my TBR–plus a few others’), that I’m bringing it back. In the spirit of “a rising tide lifts all boats,” for Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week I wanted to give some Self-Published authors a chance to spread some love.
(They also get to do a bit of self-promotion, I mean, c’mon, it’s hard out here…)
An Elevator Pitch for Something You Love
Whispers of the Storm by Z.B. Steele
Name of the Wind, if the plot moved at a reasonable pace.
My Elevator Pitch by Michael Michel
Dreams of Dust and Steel, a five-book, gritty, epic fantasy series that blends the depth of character and political intrigue of A Game of Thrones with the psychosocial “magic system” of X-Men.
About this Author
Michael Michel lives in Bend, Oregon with the love of his life and their two children. When he isn’t obsessively writing, editing, or doing publishing work, he can be found exercising, coaching leaders in the corporate world, and dancing his butt off at amazing festivals like Burning Man. His favorite shows are Dark, The Wire, Arcane, and Norsemen. He loves nature and deep conversations. Few things bring him more joy than a couple of hours playing table tennis.
Website ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Goodreads
Be sure to check out Whispers of the Storm and Dreams of Dust and Steel, let’s show them both some love!
Image by Dawn Hudson/Prawny from PublicDomainPictures.net
The 2025 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
I had so much fun with this last year (and grew my TBR–plus a few others’), that I’m bringing it back. In the spirit of “a rising tide lifts all boats,” for Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week I wanted to give some Self-Published authors a chance to spread some love.
(They also get to do a bit of self-promotion, I mean, c’mon, it’s hard out here…)
An Elevator Pitch for Something You Love (it’s a tall building and a slow elevator in this case, but I couldn’t find anything to cut)
Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
I’ll go with Dungeon Crawler Carl from Matt Dinniman. (I just saw that Ace Books acquired the first six books in the series in 2024, but they were originally self-published through Royal Road).
Dungeon Crawler Carl is both the first book and the name of the (currently) seven book series by Matt Dinniman. It’s around 3am on the coldest night in Seattle when the world ends. Carl’s ex-girlfriend’s prize-winning Persian cat, Princess Donut the Queen Anne Chonk just jumped out the window and Carl goes out in his boxers, a leather jacket, and his ex’s ill-fitting pink crocs to rescue her. That’s when the aliens flatten every structure with a roof, killing most of the people in the world. They announce they have claimed the Earth for mining since we didn’t protest at our nearest Syndicate office and if we want it back people will have to participate in ‘Dungeon Crawler World,’ an AI-run, 18-level dungeon constructed here. Just take one of the stairwells down to join. But each level will have half as many staircases and only one person can exit the 18th level. But when (if) they do, they recover full ownership of the Earth.
Carl is freezing, so he and Donut go into the dungeon, where they find that most of the crawlers that enter the dungeon on other worlds die long before reaching the end. In fact, the farthest anyone has gotten is the 13th level where they survived for under five minutes. Because he was one of the first to enter the dungeon with a cat, he gets a ‘Crazy Cat Lady’ achievement containing a ‘special pet biscuit’ which changes Donut into an intelligent, talking cat and a crawler, which lets them adventure together.
It’s a hilarious, vulgar, and touching series (emphasis on the first two in the first book but getting deeper and deeper as time goes on) playing with the tropes of LitRPG. While the eBooks I read first were great, I got a great deal on the first audiobook from audible and enjoyed it so much I bought the entire series in audio. I’m on my second listen. Jeff Hayes narrates the Sound Booth Theater version on Audible, and he is wonderful, but Sound Booth is also doing a full-cast audio drama (sound effects, music, the whole Magilla!) as well, which I’m going to try.
I highly recommend the series with some caveats:
I have no problems with this, although the gore can make me squirm, but it’s prominent enough I warn people about it. Read/listen to the sample to get a feel for the language. The rest doesn’t show up until later in the book/series, but you can use the amount of swearing compared to most books to get the idea of where these sit on the scale on the other two. Okay, it’s not as far on the violence/gore/sex as it is on the swearing, but it’s more than you get in the average non-serial killer/non-horror/non-romance book. I don’t know if that will help you decide, but it’s the best I can do.
My Elevator Pitch by James T. Lambert
A broken soldier tries to heal while a lost warship threatens to plunge him—and the galaxy—into more bloodshed.
Kayn Erd hates to kill. But that’s what his military training taught him: follow orders, use anything you’ve got, and kill or be killed. When his friend discovers a map to a long-lost AI battleship, he wonders if anyone can be trusted with such a weapon.
Recovering the ship will bring untold wealth and unequaled military might, but Kayn pleads with his crew to let the past stay buried. He stands torn between privateers pursuing treasure and upholding his vow to never again go to war, while others search in order to claim the prize for themselves.
Can they win the desperate race and keep it out of the wrong hands while finding who will wield this ancient power for the good of the galaxy?
Relics of War is a tense Space Opera. If you like conflicted characters, close-run quests for treasure, and the fate of the galaxy in jeopardy you’ll love James T. Lambert’s fast-paced adventure.
About this Author
James T. Lambert writes science-fiction, urban fantasy, and a little steampunk from his writing office/land yacht ‘Bertrude’. By day he breaks carefully constructed code conceived by clever coders, while by night he sorts strings of syllibant sentences for story structure. Since his first novel-length project in the 2011 NaNoWriMo, he’s been polishing his craft, working toward his overnight success after ten years. Other than writing and breaking things, Jim also enjoys reading, movies, comics, theater, boardgames, Scotch, craft beer, hot air ballooning, and having far too many hobbies. His published books include Aether Powered, Proxies, The Tao of Trek, Steam Opera, and Relics of War.
Website ~ Amazon Author Page ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Instagram ~ Bluesky ~ TikTok ~ Tao of Trek
Be sure to check out Dungeon Crawler Carl and Relics of War, let’s show them both some love!
Image by Dawn Hudson/Prawny from PublicDomainPictures.net
The 2025 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
I had so much fun with this last year (and grew my TBR–plus a few others’), that I’m bringing it back. In the spirit of “a rising tide lifts all boats,” for Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week I wanted to give some Self-Published authors a chance to spread some love.
(They also get to do a bit of self-promotion, I mean, c’mon, it’s hard out here…)
An Elevator Pitch for Something You Love
A Coup of Tea by Casey Blair
A princess abandons her life of privilege and flees to a life of service in a tea shop on the edge of a magical catastrophe, where she has the chance to make a real difference. As long as her old life doesn’t catch up with her.
My Elevator Pitch by Vanessa Ricci-Thode
Tollar is a hero for hire who just wants to return a stolen dragon egg & continue her adventures. When the dragon hatches & imprints on her, she’s stuck relying on her anxious neighbour. But as threats loom, it will take cooperation & some impressive magic to keep the dragon (and each other) safe.
also for my book that just won the Nebula, The Young Necromancer’s Guide to Ghosts: Lusi can see ghosts. And that’s only the beginning of her problems. On the run with her older sister, Lusi must put her trust in powerful strangers and learn the truth about her unusual talents to keep her family safe.
About this Author
Vanessa is a Nebula Award-winning Halloween enthusiast and a bookish geek who loves dragons, astronomy, and travel. If she’s not hibernating, she can be found in her butterfly garden, achieving her final form as a garden witch. She lives in Waterloo (no, the other one) with her spouse, daughter and very good dogs. To learn more, visit her website thodestool.ca or follow her on social media @VRicciThode.
Be sure to check out A Coup of Tea, The Dragon Next Door, and The Young Necromancer’s Guide to Ghosts, let’s show them both some love!
Image by Dawn Hudson/Prawny from PublicDomainPictures.net
The 2025 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
Let’s take a quick break from Appreciating Self-Published Authors to take a quick look at some authors who definitely aren’t self-published (you’d think I’d plan things better for this week, right?)
This meme was formerly hosted by MizB at A Daily Rhythm and revived on Taking on a World of Words—and shown to me by Aurore-Anne-Chehoke at Diary-of-a-black-city-girl.
The Three Ws are:
What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?
Seems easy enough, right? Let’s take a peek at this week’s answers:
 |
 |
| This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone |
Rift in the Soul by Faith Hunter, read by Khristine Hvam |
Epistolary romance + SF adventure (and I’m guessing some time travel) + dynamite prose. I really don’t know much about This Is How You Lose the Time War beyond that. Oh, and it’s the Book Club pick for this month. So, I guess we’ll see what I’m in for.
I’d planned on listening to the (too soon, but also probably timed-just-right) end of the Souldwood series last month, but a rush library holds came through, so it got pushed back. I should be finishing this today, which will allow me to tackle the next batch of library holds that have come through. It’s like Libby does this to me on purpose.
 |
 |
 |
| Samurai! by Saburo Sakai with Martin Caidin and Fred Saito |
Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic |
The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon, read by Kate McKinnon & Emily Lynne |
Samurai! was a great look at the War in the Pacific from the other side.
I learned a lot from Algospeak, now I just have to figure how to talk about it–and what to do with this knowledge.
Kate McKinnon’s narration is the only thing zanier and more brilliant than the text of this book that I can think of lately. This was a delightful read that I’ve been recommending like crazy.
 |
 |
| Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper |
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans, read by Maggi-Meg Reed, Jane Oppenheimer, Carly Robins, Jeff Ebner, David Pittu, Chris Andrew Ciulla, Mark Bramhall, Petrea Burchard, Robert Petkoff, Kimberly Farr, Cerris Morgan-Moyer, Peter Ganim, Jade Wheeler & Various |
I’ve been intending to read Harper’s latest since it was released in ’23. A Hollywood fixer trying to solve her boss’ murder. Sounds pretty cool. Coming from Harper? It’s practically guaranteed to be more than that.
A list of narrators that long “& Various”? That seems like a lot. The owner of Shared Stories recommended this to me, will be giving it a shot.
HC sat down with author, bon vivant, and all-around hoopy frood, JCM Berne, to talk about the business side of Self-Publishing.
You can (and should) learn more about JCM and check out his books, YouTube Channel and more at:
Website
Bluesky
Twitter
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube
Also, be sure to see his contribution to Spreading the Self-Pub Love in 2025!
(updated 7/22/25)
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.
As part of this week-long celebration, I’m continuing my habit of highlighting the self-published works that I’ve blogged about over the last few years (or meant to blog about, but at least read)—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 Steampunk. This list doubled this year. Okay, sure, that’s still not a lot. It hardly seems to justify a separate list. But I kept these on their own so they wouldn’t get lost in the SF mix. Consider this an open invitation for people to fill up my comment section with recommendations so I can post a longer version of this list next time I run this.
The Curse of the Silver Pharaoh by Pip Ballantine & Tee Morris—set in the same world as their Ministry of Peculiar Occurrences series, this puts the adventurous group of homeless kids the Ministry uses in a private school to find an Egyptian artifact. I still need to write my post on it, but it’s worth your time.
Bartleby and James: Edwardian Steampunk Chronicle by Michael Coorlim—these short stories are a nice little dose of Steampunk with a thin coating of Victorian P.I. Light fun. (my post about it)
Bodacious Creed: A Steampunk Zombie Western by Jonathan Fesmire—the reanimated corpse of one of the most-feared lawmen in the West roots out a criminal organization set to rule California. (my post about it)
Bodacious Creed and the Jade Lake by Jonathan Fesmire—Creed heads to SF and tangles with a human trafficking ring. (my post about it)
Bodacious Creed and the San Francisco Syndicate by Jonathan Fesmire—Creed has settled into San Francisco and is on the hunt for an outlaw who uses machines to alter the bodies and minds of his victims. I haven’t read this yet, but I can’t pass up the chance to talk about it. Really looking forward to diving in.
Aether Powered by James T. Lambert—A UW Engineering student inherits a trunkful of steampunk goodies from a distant relative. Action ensues. (my post about it)
Steam Opera by James T. Lambert—An imaginative engineer/inventor and a gutsy investor attempt to land on the moon pre-1900. (my post about it)
The Silk Empress by Josef Matulich—a brilliant and reckless British orphan finds himself on an airship on the Silk Road (well, technically, above it). It’s a rollicking adventure. (my post about it)
The Golden Spider by Anne Renwick—a steamy Kraken-filled Steampunk story, lots of good action, and great inter-personal moments. (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 2025 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
(updated 7/22/25)
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.
As part of this week-long celebration, I’m continuing my habit of highlighting the self-published works that I’ve blogged about over the last few years (or meant to blog about, but at least read)—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 Non-Fiction—which are primarily memoirs at their core, it’s what the authors do with the memoirs that makes these really stand out. But there are a few other things, too.
Life and Death Behind the Brick and Razor: Code Red Diamond by Isaac Alexis, MD—A prison doctor uses his experiences to give suggestions for a healthy/healthier life. (my post about it)
How Not to Be an *SS: Essays on Becoming a Good & Safe Man by Andrew J. Bauman—Bauman calls men to an authentic, Biblical masculinity—one built on humility, kindness, and service. While offering concrete ways to set aside patterns of abuse and neglect. (my post about it)
Kneading Journalism: Essays on baking bread and breaking down the news by Tony Ganzer—This is a collection of essays about the state of journalism, how people relate to and view the media we consume, and what the future may hold. Oh, and bread recipes, of course. It makes sense in context (and is a really great idea). (my post about it)
Grammar Sex and Other Stuff by Robert Germaux — quick essays with humor and heart (my post about it)
No Problem, Mr. Walt: Building a Boat, Rebuilding a Life, & Discovering China by Walt Hackman—Hackman was one of the first self-published authors to reach out to me, and I’m so glad he did. A fascinating read about a man deciding to have an authentic Chinese junk built for him to use as a houseboat in California. (my post about it)
Fifth Sparrow Rising by Cindi Hartley—A little bit a bit of Hartley’s personal story and faith, a little bit of the experiences through some of the hardest parts of her life, and things she;s learned through it all. All told in the hope that she can show others they are “not alone and that there is a way to find light again, as well as be a light, even when one has lived through darkness.”
Finding Hope in Hard Things: A Positive Take on Suffering by Pierce Taylor Hibbs—The central premise is that God uses the “hard things” in life to shape us into the people he wants us to be, and uses some of the hard things in his life as case studies to demonstrate how they were used so the reader is equipped to look at their own lives and see the purpose in their suffering. (my post about it)
The Great Lie: What All of Hell Wants You to Keep Believing by Pierce Taylor Hibbs—Paired with Hibbs’ characteristic clear prose and gift with language and illustrations, Hibbs reminds the reader that God is always speaking to us, through both the Creation and His Word. (my post about it)
In Divine Company by Pierce Taylor Hibbs—Pierce’s treatment of prayer focuses on the communicative nature of God and His image bearers and then nurturing that in our lives to improve our prayer. (my post about it)
Struck Down but Not Destroyed: Living Faithfully with Anxiety by Pierce Taylor Hibbs—Drawing on what he’s learned from over 12 years of anxiety, Hibbs talks about learning to see what God’s purpose in the suffering is (anxiety disorders specifically, but easily transferable to other types), understanding that His hand is guiding all things—including our problems—so how do we in faith (without denying the suffering) rest in faith. (my post about it)
And Drink I Did: One Man’s Story of Growing Through Recovery by Jay Keefe—It’s all there in the subtitle, Keefe tells about his OCD, his alcoholic days, his getting sober, and how he’s trying to help others since then. Powerful stuff. (my post about it)
If You Give A Mouse Metformin by Nikhil Krishnan, i Cenizal (Illustrator) — 1 part picture book parody, 1 part satire, 1 part good look at the pharmecutical process (the good and the bad) (my post about it)
How to Take Over the World: Practical Schemes and Scientific Solutions for the Aspiring Supervillain by Ryan North—A tongue-in-cheek way to talk about some of the most advanced science around and how it can (and in some ways is) be used to destroy the world. (my post about it)
The Genius’ Guide to Bad Writing by R.T. Slaywood, R.C. Martinez—A guide for the writer who is tired of success and wants to reclaim their lives from answering the siren call of fortune and fame that comes to every author. Slaywood and Martinez have a 10-Step program guaranteed to ruin a novel or two and stop a career dead in its spot. (my post about it)
Uber Diva by Charles St. Anthony—a humorist writes a memoir of a Lyft/Uber driver mixed with a guide to starting/surviving/thriving as one in a tough market. St. Anthony also has a few other books out now that are probably worth a read. (my post about it)
Flying Alone: A Memoir by Beth Ruggiero York—A female pilot’s memoir of her path from flight school to flying for TWA (now that I have a son learning to fly, some of her more harrowing experiences keep flashing through the back of my mind). (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 2025 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
I had so much fun with this last year (and grew my TBR–plus a few others’), that I’m bringing it back. In the spirit of “a rising tide lifts all boats,” for Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week I wanted to give some Self-Published authors a chance to spread some love.
(They also get to do a bit of self-promotion, I mean, c’mon, it’s hard out here…)
(A returning guest!)
An Elevator Pitch for Something You Love
Time-Marked Warlock by Shami Stovall
A warlock can create his own Groundhog Day. What will he do when, for him, time is no object? Solve murders, heal souls, and take as many runs as he needs to craft a perfect day. Bill Murray not included.
My Elevator Pitch by JCM Berne
After waking up from a dreamless death with a knife in his eye and no memory of his previous life, a cursed dwarf, a water witch, and his very good dog Blink fight anyone they come across. She’s seeking vengeance and he’s just hoping one of their enemies finds a way to kill him for good.
About this Author
Joe (JCM) Berne writes in a vain attempt to retrocon the tens thousands of hours and dollars he’s spent on comic books, genre fiction, and B movies into job training instead of ‘just a useless hobby.’ And to make his mother proud: results forthcoming.
Website ~ Bluesky ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ YouTube
Be sure to check out Time-Marked Warlock and Grimdwarf, Vol 1: Cursed (admittedly difficult since he hasn’t released it yet, but keep looking!), let’s show them both some love!
Image by Dawn Hudson/Prawny from PublicDomainPictures.net
The 2025 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
I had so much fun with this last year (and grew my TBR–plus a few others’), that I’m bringing it back. In the spirit of “a rising tide lifts all boats,” for Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week I wanted to give some Self-Published authors a chance to spread some love.
(They also get to do a bit of self-promotion, I mean, c’mon, it’s hard out here…)
An Elevator Pitch for Something You Love
The Scroungers by Thomas J. Devens
The Lords have fallen. It was the war to end all wars. Violence had plagued the Fractured Kingdoms since the fall of the Old Empire. But as the generals and the lords died in the Valley of Torglen, the folk looked beyond their allegiances. Beyond their nations.
Dark, grim, and written in a concise, no-nonsense prose that’s both moody and mood-setting. Perfect for fans of Abercrombie.
My Elevator Pitches by Livia J. Elliot
The Genesis of Change: Two alchemists, each sent on a mission by the leader of The Orders—The Rector. Élan must shatter their mentee’s humanity to train her as an alchemist, while Verve must define the unexplainable existing within a respected healer. When their missions reveal clues that could reformulate alchemy, they’ll edge closer to fathom The Rector’s goal while facing an endless conundrum—to remain as is, or to learn and adapt. The genesis of change is near.
Dance With Me: In a world of beauty, a ceramic-made ballerina awakens atop her music box. She must dance for her elven owners, and so her ballet goes on and on. They praise her elegance, her poise and balance, until one day she falls and her ceramic fractures—but the ballerina dances again, ignoring her ever-increasing fissures. The music plays, captivating and demanding… but should she dance? Even when what she once loved becomes a trap?
About this Author
Livia J. Elliot writes dark fantasy with themes centred around struggle, control, identity, and bias. She’s the lead writer of Unearthed Stories, an app publishing interactive fantasy and sci-fi for adult readers. Livia also hosts the podcast Books Undone, featuring literary analyses of speculative fiction. She’s based in Australia, and currently releasing two series: Records of the Order (philosophical dark fantasy) and Tales of the Bookshelves (literary fantasy).
Be sure to check out The Scroungers, The Genesis of Change and Dance with Me, let’s show them all some love!
Image by Dawn Hudson/Prawny from PublicDomainPictures.net
The 2025 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club
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