Connecting Readers and Writers discussion

This is a great place to tell others about the wonderful indi books you have read and loved. It would be helpful if you can put the cover or the link to the book here.
*This is not a place for self-promotion or to promote someone you know.

I can't wait to see what you like.

Two come to mind, and any 3 books by Shawn Kirsten Maravel

Haven't read many books by indie authors yet, but your evil plan, Elle, is definitely helping me with that. :) My favorite indie book so far is The Annihilation of Foreverland by Tony Bertauski.

I've heard that The Annihilation of Foreverland is good, but I haven't read it yet (it's in my TBR list).

My favorite so far is In Wilder Lands by Jim Galford. If you like fantasy, check it out.

Just added In Wilder Lands to my TBR list. I've seen it before and thought about reading it, but just haven't gotten around to it. :)

I've got three that top my list:

Doodling by Jonathan Gould

On Dark Shores: The Lady by JA Clement

Since Tomorrow by Morgan Nyberg

I thought these were both high quality. They're both, um, literary fiction, by my lights.

Scar is major and certainly 'the best indi book I've read'.

Ryan Frawley Scar


Mary Travers Litany

Two of the best authors I have read are Lindsay Buroker and Michael J. Sullivan

Two great Indie authors are Adams Pepper Pepper Adams and Brett Sills Brett Sills

I am reading Zed by Stephen Herfst. It just came out and it is seriously entertaining. I'm really impressed Zed

Other than yours, Elle, The Skin of Water, by G.S. Johnston was the best indie I've read. I also loved, Careful What You Wish For... (The Wishes Chronicles, #1) Romantic Suspense by Paula Millhouse.

Besides my own??????

It's a tie between Dreamy Filthy Suicide and The God Eaters

‘Scars of The Prophet’ isn’t just one of the best indi books I’ve read, it’s one of the best, period.

It’s $.99 on Amazon. This is the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Scars-Prophet-N...

I ran across it while trolling Goodreads creative writing. I like to periodically see what’s up under the ‘new’ tab. I’ve found posts by print published authors and a lot of talented new folks. It’s fun to discover a piece that gives off a future famous writer vibe…

Cool, Mark - I've just purchased 'Scars of the Prophet'.

Two of the best books I've read in a while are "Ashes" (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007...) and "My Sweet Saga" (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0615...). I seldom give 5 stars out, but both of these are 5+. I haven't posted my review for Ashes yet, but it's kind of like Dean Koontz with a bit of Stephen King thrown in there.

I loved The Seamstresses so much that I then went out and bought Displaced and although it was completly different, I loved it just as much.

Vered wrote: "Cool, Mark - I've just purchased 'Scars of the Prophet'.


Hi Vered,

Hope you enjoy 'Scars' and thanks for the recommendations!

I’ve checked out the links to both book’s sample pages and added ‘My Sweet Saga’ to my read list. In the next day or two I will buy a Kindle copy.

Your two recommendations are very different from each other. Hmmm…

Yeah, my taste in literature is very... diverse, let's say! So yes, those two books are really different from each other. The only thing in common is that I enjoyed both of them immensely!

My favourite indie book of 2011 was Eternal Knight by Matt Heppe. But I have given 5 star ratings to several other indie books as well. I would highly recommend Christy Hayes and Sherry Gammon.

I've sampled or bought several of these (a couple for 99c which is a steal) - so this is a useful thread, for us and the authors.

Agreed, Bryn - I've bought a few books based on recommendations from this thread. And yeah, 99c is a no-brainer purchase.

I feel bad about the 99c ones... given that these are our 'best indies', and I know these authors must have had at least a few expenses, I can't quite like that I haven't paid them.
Flippantly: if they had a tin can next to that for voluntary extras, I'd salve my conscience.
It's up to them, of course.

Good one Bryn! I think the idea for some is to use the lower price to build up a loyal fan base, and then go for a higher price (often around $2.99). This way, it's an easy way for people to take a risk on a new author, and then later they are willing to pay more. This is the strategy used by John Locke, a multi bestseller Indie author who has sold over 1 million copies of his books in less than a year.

I also haven't read many yet but so far my favorite has been

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...

I feel like i kind of got lucky with this one. I posted that I was willing to review and the author of this one was actually the first person that responded so I got to start my read and review experience off with a well written and fun legal thriller.

For those interested, I am creating lists of the best indie new releases in different genres.

You can find them on Twitter at http://twitter.com/kindiebooks or on Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/list/user_vo...

Jackie wrote: "I also haven't read many yet but so far my favorite has been

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...

I feel like i kind of got lucky with this one. I posted that I was w..."

Just finishing that one up right now... it's quite good!! I was pleasantly surprised at how good it is!! Well worth looking at it if you want a bit of a murder/whodunit/thriller with realistic characters :D

I am reading Running from Beige, and it is wonderful.
The reader feels like she's in the skin of the women in the book. It's author is Terri Marie

Joyce Shaughnessy
blessedarethemerciful.posterous.com

I'm an indie author so I get to meet quite a few online. I'd recommend The Speaker for the Trees by Sean DeLauder here on Goodreads. In fact, generally I'd recommend people look to the indies on Goodreads rather than just trolling Amazon. There are a ton of good writers here.

I'll go with 'SEED' by Ania Ahlborn.

I found it through someone raving about it on Twitter, ended up following her and her blog etc. She must have been doing something right, coz Amazon have bought the rights and are re-issuing it in the summer!

Really creepy, really gripping, deffo worth checking out!

Seed
Seed

Robert Polevoi Port Royal
I know I voted before, but we can update when we find a new one we adore?

thoroughly enjoyed this one - just finished it

I really enjoyed 'Draykon by Charlotte E. English. Just as good as any traditionally published work. If you like fantasy, give it a whirl.

Watching Swifts, by R.J. Askew. Prose poem or a novella? I neither know nor care, it's a wonderful read for a summer's day. Particularly now as we're in the middle of the Swift summer (however rainy it's turned out to be).

Oh yeah, and I'm always rattling on about it lately, but 'Wool' by Hugh Howey is AMAZING!!
Not really an indie anymore, as he just got taken on by Random House - and the movie rights optioned by Ridley Scott!!
When I grow up, I want to be him :0)
Seriously though, 'Wool' is a dystopian thriller, split into 5 mini-books, and it's absolutely gripping. You can still get it from i`tunes, but I think the Amazon Kindle versions have been pulled pending a re-release. Worth looking for though!

As an Indie Author, I read as many other Indie works as I can. And I'd love your feedback on my novel. ‎"Love is the heart of the matter." Read all about it in THE CHAKRA DIARIES, free on Kindle today at http://amzn.to/L85hiL

I loved Samantha Young's Fire Spirits series


I had some issues in the first one with some of the editing and language choice, but the story is wonderful and worth reading. I can't wait for the next book to come out this fall.

Well... here's a couple to add to your TBR list for sure!

~ 5 stars
~ 5 stars
~ 5 stars
~ 5 stars (extremely short but worth it!)
~ Book #1 in the series and currently free on Amazon approx. 25 pages ~ 4 stars
~ book #2 in the series novella and 99c on Amazon ~ 5 stars
~ 4 stars
and so far anything I've read by these indie authors:
Tony Talbot
Natasha Duncan-Drake
Kim Fielding

My favorite Indie book so far has been

For adults, it has to be 'The Year God's Daughter' by A R Lochlann.

[http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13...]

I'm only a quarter of the way through, but I think it's brilliant, and I'm not given to gushing.

YA has to be '11.42' by Jo Danilo, but she's rewriting.

I love a lot, I really liked Seed by Ania Ahlborn, and Amanda Hocking of course, but my newest favorite is Chandra Hahn, her Unfortunate Fairy Tale series is really fun, but I loved her fantasy novel The Iron Butterfly even more. It's a really great read.

One of my absolutely preferred indie books is . It's SciFi, hardcore erotica and even has a touch of romance.

I just love this group! There are so many awesome suggestions that I never even know where to start.

I'd have to say the best indie book I have read was The Sons of Liberty by James Tow. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

That book probably got me the most excited about indie books because I hadn't read many before it. That book really showed me that there are incredible authors way more deserving of attention that some of the crap I see in the stores.

The best indie book of its kind I've ever read was Song of Fire by Jon O'Bergh. He is primarily a composer and musician, and when writing his memoir decided to compose a song for each chapter or heading. So as you read, you listen to his music and experience his life through word and song. I received the review request at my website, and due to illness didn't get to it for several months, but was so glad I was given the opportunity because otherwise, I probably would have missed this gem because its not the kind of book I normally look for.

Red wrote: "The best indie book of its kind I've ever read was Song of Fire by Jon O'Bergh. He is primarily a composer and musician, and when writing his memoir decided to compose a song for each chapter or he..."

That sounds really unique and interesting. I'm going to have to check it out! Thanks for mentioning it!

Yea, it was quite different and I wish had more exposure and audience. Maybe one day though. I got to chat with the author about it also, and really seemed a nice guy too.

I have to say was a good book. The writing was wonderful.

Wolf Pear by Dianne F. Gray was really good! She's Aussie too which was a nice find :D

"Dirt" by S. L. Dwyer was superb!

I liked Flat-Out Love. It's romance, mystery, coming-of age, all that stuff. Also a huge best seller in ebook world, so I'm kinda jealous, but trying to be a bigger person.

I agree Joyce, was a great book! :)

"Tom Fleck" by Harry Nicholson is a fantastic read. I just wrote a review of his book if you want to check it out:
http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...

Here's the link to Harry's book page on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10...