Booksellers, publishers, librarians, and agents are encouraged to look at the 73 self-published titles below, with descriptions provided by their authors. Some of these writers are waiting to be discovered; others have a track record and a following and are doing it on their own. If you are a self-published author interested in listing titles in this section, please visit publishersweekly.com/pw-select for more information.
Fiction
Because
Jack A. Langedijk. Jack A. Langedijk. $18.99 paper (388p), ISBN 978-0-9937586-1-4; $6.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0-9937586-0-7
Amazon
An inspiring story of a caring and passionate man who is sent into a tailspin after a tragic climbing accident on Mount Everest.
Becoming Phoebe
J. Michael Neal. Melancholy Donkey Press. $17 paper (422p), ISBN 978-0-9970258-0-4
Amazon, Ingram
After a troubled childhood in foster care, Phoebe Rose finds a place to belong by playing hockey.
The Dance of the Sea
Soosaiya Anthreas. Gatekeeper Press. $11.95 paper (462p), ISBN 978-1-61984-948-8
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Books-A-Million, Kobo
A young woman from the Indian subcontinent battles against a devastating tsunami, conflicts between traditional and mechanized fishing, and apathy from her brother.
Grayson Springs
Ron Gambrell. Rough River Publishing. $14.95 paper (338p), ISBN 978-0-9908562-0-7; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0-9908562-1-4
Roughriverpublishing.com, Amazon, BN.com, Carmichael’s
At wit’s end with their daughter’s rage, Brooke’s parents send her on a life-altering journey deep into the rural hills of central Kentucky, to a long-forgotten place called Grayson Springs.
Harrington’s Valley
Darrel Rachel. CreateSpace. $15.99 paper (376p), ISBN 978-1-4954-5201-7
Amazon, BN.com, Books-A-Million
Three people struggle to survive on the turbulent Civil War frontier.
Heartbreaker
Thomas Duffy. CreateSpace. $10.99 paper (184p), ISBN 978-1-5174-1653-9
Amazon, BN.com
A down-on-her-luck young woman named Amber comes to New York City and gets into serious trouble when she becomes an independent escort.
Insanity by Increments: Stories
Alaric Cabiling. Alaric Cabiling. $2.99 e-book, ASIN B00UA3E80U
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Google Play, Kobo
This collection of short stories examines the darker side of the human condition with characters that reveal humanity in the midst of distress.
Kingdom Cursed (Legends of South Haven, Book 4)
Helena Sustaita and J.T. Griffin. CreateSpace. $2.99 e-book, ASIN B01A00QI96
Amazon, BN.com
In this evil dark tale, sacrifices are made and fates are set in stone. Who is willing to pay with blood and bone?
The Lame Duck
Bernard Leo Remakus. CreateSpace. $19.95 paper (386p), ISBN 978-1-5191-6384-4; $2.99 e-book, ASIN B017PXXXEE
Amazon
The chance meeting of a hapless country doctor and a beautiful female malpractice attorney sets the stage for the perfect crime—and a love story for the ages.
One Year with Dicky
Elizabeth Aguilar. AuthorHouse. $24.34 paper (400p), ISBN 978-1-5049-3584-5; $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-5049-3585-2
Amazon
Dicky and Lizzie are two completely different people bound by an extraordinary friendship. Follow their adventures and misadventures through life, love, and friendship.
Peeeeeniiiiiiiiis! The P-Phenomenon
J.J. Ogden. CreateSpace. $12 paper (224p), ISBN 978-1-5196-8856-9
Amazon
In the small town of Wolcott, the people wake up to an absence of a most disturbing nature, and they don’t handle it very well.
The Road to Rus’
Michael Hnatyshyn. BookBaby. $24.99 paper (330p), ISBN 978-0-9967966-0-6
Amazon, Apple iBooks, Baker & Taylor, BN.com, Kobo, Oyster, Scribd
In the ninth century, Slavic tribes with the aid of the Vikings organize a brazen attack on Constantinople. This is the story of the birth of Kyivan Rus’.
Sapphire: A Tale of the Cold War
Thomas Graham Jr. AuthorHouse. $19.95 paper (388p) ISBN 978-1-4969-2785-9; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4969-2848-1
Amazon
This tale set during perhaps the most dangerous period of the Cold War follows a young woman in the years 1954–1961 as she navigates a maelstrom of danger, deceit, and crisis.
The Sins of Soldiers
S.J. Hardman Lea. Matador. $12.99 paper (320p), ISBN 978-1-78589-018-5
Amazon, Troubador
In 1916, Anson Scott, a U.S. newsman, is serving undercover in the British army but finds that war is very different from what he expected.
23 Degrees South: A Tropical Tale of Changing Whether...
Neal Rabin. Ponderosa Publishing. $9.99 paper (232p), ISBN 978-0-9970468-0-9
Amazon, BN.com
From the treacherous jungles of Brazil to Carmen Miranda’s hideout, two friends go on an adventure of force-fed self-discovery. Staying alive is just one of their many challenges.
Tainted Harvest
Nancy Smith. First Look. $9.99 paper (204p), ISBN 978-0-9913907-5-5
Amazon
What if the colonists of Salem, Mass., experienced something that was real—just beyond their understanding?
Time Trials
Terry Lee. Featherstone Creations. $2.99 e-book, ASIN B018UY3HOS
Amazon
The Bad-Ass Girls are eight women who continue their friendship during stages of growth over four decades through life events—good and bad.
What She Knew
Nadine Galinsky Feldman. CreateSpace. $11.99 paper (214p), ISBN 978-1-5148-7922-1
Amazon
An ambitious, successful money manager is ensnared in the Madoff scandal, while a family crisis threatens to derail her attempts to clear her name.
Poetry
The Ease of Body-Being
Henrik Flørenes. AuthorHouse. $13.66 paper (106p), ISBN 978-1-5049-9175-9; $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-5049-9174-2
Amazon
In this collection of poems, Flørenes celebrates our oneness with our body and being. Let go, feel free, and immerse yourself.
If I Told You the Whole Story
Gina L. Glidden. iUniverse.$10.95 paper (116p), ISBN 978-1-4759-3606-3; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4759-3607-0
Amazon
From the feelings of the loss of a loved one to the joy of being a mother, these poems dig deep into the emotions that give life meaning.
Mystery/Thriller
Bodyguard of Deception
Samuel Marquis. Mount Sopris Publishing. $13.99 paper (331p), ISBN 978-1-943593-12-5
Amazon
Can the American and British allies stop a German spymaster and his U-boat-commander brother from warning Hitler’s High Command about their greatest military secret?
Death by Disputation: A Francis Bacon Mystery
Anna Castle. Anna Castle. $13.49 paper (364p) ISBN 978-0-9916025-4-4; $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0-9916025-5-1
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Kobo, Smashwords
Thomas Clarady is recruited to spy on a group of radical Puritans at Cambridge University with Francis Bacon as his exacting spymaster.
Fast Track to Glory
Tomasz Chrusciel. Agato House. $2.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0-9929574-2-1
Amazon
Nina Monte has to authenticate an artifact hidden on a galley that sank in the fifteenth century. Soon she discovers that at stake is freedom for all humankind.
The Harmony Scroll
(Stella Hunter Mystery #2)
Edita A. Petrick. Edita A. Petrick. 99¢ e-book, ASIN B013RHJT5O
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Inktera, Kobo, Scribd, Oyster
When Stella Hunter learns the contents of an ancient golden scroll can break her son’s dormant curse forever, she goes after it with a vengeance.
The Midwife Factor
(A Lynn Davis Mystery)
GiGi Gossett. iUniverse. $24.95 paper (454p) ISBN 978-1-4917-4391-1; $5.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4917-4393-5
Amazon
Two girls separated at birth attempt to find their way back to each other as past secrets are revealed. Only the kindly midwife knows the truth, but a criminal’s plan may change everything.
Red Ochre Falls
Kristen Gibson. Kristen Gibson. $10.99 paper (294p), ISBN 978-0-9909058-0-6; $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0-9909058-1-3
Amazon
After her friend’s suspicious death, Mattie Harper solicits the help of Garrett Mackenzie, and the two become entangled in more than just an investigation to uncover the truth.
Riverside
Brett Burlison. Barton Creek Press. $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0-9969696-1-1
Amazon, Apple iBooks
Two young lovers chase the American dream only to be hindered by their own pasts, drugs, and bad guys from New Orleans. Set in Austin, Texas, in the early 1990s.
Shadow Language
J.P. Bloch. Pegasus Books. $16.95 trade paper (232p), ISBN 978-1-941859-24-7; $4.99 e-book, ASIN B00UUHSI4S
Amazon, BN.com
Detective Joe Hilario has social anxiety disorder. Joe dates women to find a serial killer, secretly determining to be the next murder victim.
Utopian Day
C.L. Wells. CreateSpace. $9.99 paper (253p), ISBN 978-1-5123-1746-6
Amazon, Ingram
Three convicted felons attempt to change their criminal ways but are blackmailed into committing one last heist.
SF/Fantasy/Horror
Amballore House
Jose Thekkumthala. CreateSpace. $13.99 paper (364p), ISBN 978-1-5168-7484-2
Amazon
A multigenerational story spanning thousands of years that blends genres such as horror, humor, science fiction, family saga, and crime. An encounter of the human and the superhuman.
Cinderella: A Modern Adult Fairy Tale (Not Quite the Fairy Tale #1)
May Sage. Sage House. $8.99 paper (217p)
ISBN 978-1-5174-9877-5; $2.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-5174-9877-5
Amazon
Step into an adult version of the old tale, where Cinderella can’t wait to sue her stepmother and has no intention to go anywhere near the king.
Don’t Play with the Aliens, Book 1
Oz Carter. Owensmark. $1.49 e-book, ASIN B00XYS7GBQ
Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords
A trader of nonterrestrial artifacts discovers the remnants of an extinct civilization. But the civilization is not quite extinct.
Gifted Thief
Helen Harper. HarperFire. $12.99 paper (384p), ISBN 978-1-5196-8382-3; $3.99 e-book, ASIN B017EG7VLS
Helenharper.co.uk, Amazon
Integrity Taylor should have been a magically gifted clan princess. Instead she’s an outcast from her own kind.
Planet Prey
RoChe Montoya. RoChe Montoya. 99¢ e-book, ASIN B00U1UJW1C
Amazon
A passenger ship crashes on a remote planet where deadly alien hunters come to track killer beast for sport.
The Rise of Nazil: Secret of the Seven
Aaron-Michael Hall. CreateSpace. $3.99 e-book, ASIN B014FPTWVS
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Smashwords
It was the 75th year of Alberoth when the AsZar summoned the Guardians. There was an imbalance in the lands of Faélondul.
Running
S. Bryce. S.K. Holder. $11.99 paper (228p), ISBN 978-1-5143-4795-9; $2.99 e-book, ASIN B00IC8EYMW
Amazon, BN.com, Google Play, Kobo
Kate settles into a life with her new family: a murderer, an alcoholic, a thief, a teenage runaway—and a wolf.
Sands of Time: Fate of the True Vampires, Book 1
Christine Church. CreateSpace. $7.99 paper (90p), ISBN 978-1-5188-1523-2
Amazon, BN.com, Kobo, Smashwords
Proof of the existence of vampires unearthed. An ancient cure discovered. A desperate half-breed in need of a family. Can she save her children before he destroys them?
Unsung Heroes: The First Paragon (Chronicle #1)
Ian W.V. Rupe. BookBaby. $19.99 paper (513p), ISBN 978-1-68222-601-8; $4.99 e-book, ASIN B018IXBR34
Amazon, BN.com, Ciando, Copia, eSentral, Kobo
An immortal named Tribe infuses a mortal, Teagan Carter, to wage war against the gods that seek to feed on every mortal soul in existence.
Romance/Erotica
Bitter Sweet Love: A Twisted Novel (Twisted Series #1)
R.C. Stephens. R.C. Stephens. $2.99 e-book, ASIN B00RUAX0WS
Amazon, Apple iBooks, Kobo, Smashwords
Lexi finds herself caught up in a love triangle that turns dark, forcing her to confront a chain of bad choices. Will Lexi find love, or will she be consumed by darkness?
Crossing in Time (Between Two Evils #1)
D.L. Orton. Rocky Mountain Press. $34.99 hardcover (418p), ISBN 978-1-941368-02-2; $24.95 audio (11 hrs), ASIN B01645M8J0
Amazon, Apple iBooks, Audible, BN.com, BookDepository, Ingram
If someone took everything you live for, how far would you go to get it back?
Hooked
Christine Manzari. Manzari Books. $2.99 e-book, ASIN B00REQ9FAE
Amazon
Cat and Huck think a one-night stand seems harmless, but when their secrets are revealed, they realize it could ruin everything. Will they risk it all for a chance at more?
The Lessons (Off-Limits #1)
Elizabeth Brown. KDP. $2.99 e-book, ASIN B00WZTFNLK
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Smashwords
What happens when a 30-year-old virgin hires a sex therapist to take care of her “little problem”? Lots of laughs and tons of heat.
Molly Takes the Cake (The River Oaks Series #1)
The Taylor Sisters. iUniverse. $18.95 paper (314p), ISBN 978-1-4917-7247-8; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4917-7248-5
Amazon
Baker Molly Tauber endlessly awaits her molasses-slow fiancé in this romantic comedy peopled with charming small-town characters.
Needing to Fall
Ryan Michele. Ryan Michele. $3.99 e-book, ASIN B01913P11O
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Google Play, Kobo
A woman’s journey through depression and coming into the light.
Paradise Bound
Rafaële Désiré. Clear Souce Publishing. $5.99 e-book, ASIN B018A3GM64
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Kobo
A young French doctor is torn between three men after a vacation to Southern California makes her reconsider her life choices.
Southern Comfort (Honkey Tonk Angels #1)
Ciana Stone. Ciana Stone. 99¢ e-book, ASIN B017JA1SFO
Amazon
They say nothing ever happens in Cotton Creek. They might have been right once. Not anymore. There’s about to be fun, passion, and danger.
Inspirational
For Just a Little While
Jess Fulton. CreateSpace. $11.99 paper (298p), ISBN 978-1-5196-3845-8; $3.99 e-book, ASIN B018ZURGWQ
Amazon
Faith should have died that cold, snowy night in November. But instead a miracle happened. However, this gift of life, like most gifts of life, came with some strings attached.
Nonfiction
Adversity Is Your Greatest Ally: How to Use Life Challenges As Stepping Stones to Live the Life of Your Dreams
Michael Taylor. Creation Publishing Group. $15.99 paper (208p), ISBN 978-0-9641894-6-1; $9.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-310-97520-2
Abebooks.com, Amazon, BN.com
A blueprint to harnessing the power of adversity to create a life of true joy.
Creative Meditation and Manifestation: Using Your 21 Innate Powers to Create Your Life
Amara Honeck. Soul Reflections Press. $18.95 paper (238p), ISBN 978-0-99711780-6
Amazon, Apple iBooks, Smashwords
A step-by-step guide to developing your innate powers, giving you the ability to manifest lasting life changes, win back your autonomy, and create your beautiful life.
Democracy on the Edge: A Discussion of Political Issues in America
Terry A. AmRhein. Mill City Press. $16 paper (284p), ISBN 978-1-63413-432-3; $9.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-63413-433-0
Amrheinsbooks.com, Amazon, BN.com
Read about the issues candidates are debating right now: the financial crisis, money in elections, income inequality, health care, Wall Street banks, gun control, and more.
Grace in a Wintry Season: Feeling Our Creator’s Love in a World Grown Distant and Cold—and Loving in Return
Edwin Steinmann. Florence Fleming. $19.99 hardcover (154p), ISBN 978-0-9961841-0-6; $11.99 paper (154p), ISBN 978-0-9961841-2-0
Amazon, Ingram
Steinmann, an attorney, moves from being a disenchanted mystic to being a re-enchanted mystic, relating one inner vision (mystical experience) and 14 enlightening dreams.
Identifying and Overcoming Fear: So That You Can Get the Job You Have Always Wanted
Deloris Cook. AuthorHouse. $13.95 paper (134p), ISBN 978-1-5049-1998-2
Amazon, AuthorHouse, BN.com
This book offers a tried-and-true method to help you get where you want to be in life. It discusses your attitude, motivation, confidence, job search, first impression, and communication.
Igbo Mediators of Yahweh Culture of Life, Vols. 1–3
Philip Chidi Njemanze. Xlibris. $44.92 hardcover (514p), ISBN 978-1-49909712-2
Amazon, BN.com, Xlibris
The author discusses the secrets of ancient Egyptian civilization hidden in hieroglyphic writings.
Mandarin Chinese: An Explanatory Guide to Key Language Issues; For Intermediate and Advanced Chinese Language Students
Orna Taub. Partridge Singapore. $15.35 paper (402p), ISBN 978-1-4828-3182-5; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4828-3183-2
Amazon
A practical guidebook for students of the Chinese language who have progressed past the beginner level, designed to help make the learning process more enriching and easier to follow.
May the Spirit Be Unbroken: Search for the Mother Root
Maxine Louise Michel De Felice. AuthorHouse. $19.95 paper (300p), ISBN 978-1-4772-1078-9; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4772-1079-6
Amazon
This story is of the resilience of the human spirit, featuring three generations of activist families in the context of radical-change movements of 20th century.
Memoirs by Proxy: The Farmer and the Typist
Beth Harlan Greb. AuthorHouse. $23.95 paper (352p), ISBN 978-1-5049-0586-2; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-5049-0585-5
Amazon
Greb’s parents left behind documents and letters that have allowed her to write about the journey of an American family from humble beginnings to prosperity and achievement.
Motor City: The Odyssey of the War on Drugs, Scales of Injustice, and Two of America’s Most Wanted
Sherri Jefferson. Sherri Jefferson. $12.95 paper (152p), ISBN 978-0-96546565-6; $9.99 e-book, ASIN B019YP5GI2
Amazon, BN.com
This book stirs debate about the war on drugs and how the collision of drugs, race, and class became intertwined in the lives of two of America’s Most Wanted.
A Movable Marriage: A Memoir
Tricia Pimental. TAP Publishing. $12.99 paper (244p), ISBN 978-0-9856383-3-7
Amazon
A funny and poignant memoir about a homebody and her nomadic spouse.
Ravished Paradise: Forced March to Nothingness
Mardig Madenjian. Mardiros Maadenjian. $23.50 paper (359p), ISBN 978-0-9963353-0-0
Amazon
The author tells of his parents’ survival during and after the Armenian genocide by the hand of the Turks.
Recovering Our Children: A Handbook for Parents of Young People in Early Recovery
John C. Cates and Jennifer Cummings. iUniverse. $13.95 paper (146p), ISBN 978-0-595-26428-5; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4620-7720-5
Amazon
The authors help parents understand substance abuse in their young people. They provide rationale and strategies for parents to support their children in reclaiming their lives.
Rule #1: Crazy People Make You Crazy; The Survival Guide for Coping with Impossible People (at-work edition)
John J. Patterson, illus. by Mark Hill. Spring Branch Farm. $17.99 paper (180p), ISBN 978-0-9861942-1-4
Amazon
This book is about coping with the crazy people at work. Rule #1—crazy people make you crazy—is the foundation of 10 rules. A serious book with funny cartoons and stories.
This Giraffe Can Laugh: A Simple and Concise Guide to Overcoming Depression and Anxiety by Someone Who Has
Helen Theuma, illus. by Helen Theuma. ASPG. $14.95 e-book, ISBN 978-1-925346-38-1
Helentheuma.com
Theuma aims to change the way you view your own mind to give you back the power to control it, bringing insight and hope to the topic of mental health. Move out of the darkness toward happiness.
Waiting to Die, Longing to Love
Russell K. Lanier. Expert Insights Publishing. $17.99 paper (342p), ISBN 978-1-5195-9399-3
Waitingtodiebook.com, Amazon
An award-winning television news producer becomes addicted to crack cocaine after an investigation into illegal drugs and prostitution.
Children’s/YA
Capitol Kid
Bill Gourgey. Jacked Arts Press. $14.95 paper (200p), ISBN 978-0-9894205-7-0
Amazon
A young computer genius, on the run from drug dealers, hides out in the U.S. Capitol and soon finds himself entangled in a dastardly political conspiracy.
Dinosaurs Living in My Hair
Jayne M. Rose-Vallee, illus. by Anni Matsick. Rosevallee Creations. $17.99 hardcover (32p), ISBN 978-0-9861922-0-3
Rosevalleecreations.com, Amazon
In this picture book, Sabrina has masses of wild, curly blonde hair and worries there may be animals—like dinosaurs—living in there.
Enchanted Castle on the River: Matt’s Journey
Sylvia Abolis Mennear. Createspace. $17.99 paper (150p), ISBN 978-1-5176-2665-5
Amazon, BN.com, Xlibris
On a family camping trip, Matthew, a young teen, is transported back to the Middle Ages by the wizard Zerkin. Now son of the king, Matthew is next in line for the throne—if his younger brother doesn’t kill him first. To get back home, Matthew must fulfill a wish for the king and the wizard.
The Feeding Season
Stoyan T. Stoyanov, illus. by Stoyan Stoyanov. Smashwords. $1.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-310-70497-0
Amazon, Smashwords
Bars Ibis and his coevals are forced to leave the Fortress and fight for their lives while roaming about the lethal Old Earth. They have one mission—to survive the Feeding Season.
Help Me!
Donna M. Zadunajsky. Pronoun. $6.99 paper (125p), ISBN 978-1-5227-4245-6; $2.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-938037-43-6
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Google Play, Kobo
A novella about a boy named Mick and his struggles with life. His parents’ divorce and a friend’s suicide make his world unbearable. Each “cut” has a deeper meaning—a cry for help.
The History Major: A Novella
Michael Phillip Cash. Chelshire. $10.99 paper (130p), ISBN 978-1-5188-9379-7
Amazon
After a vicious fight with her boyfriend, followed by a night of heavy partying, college freshman Amanda Greene wakes up in her dorm room to find things are not the same as the day before.
Love at First Book: A Short Story in Verse
Sarah Tregay. CreateSpace. $3.99 paper (64p), ISBN 978-1-5088-0972-2; 99¢ e-book, ASIN B010OG1MX8
Amazon, Kobo
Lorelei catches a stanza of heart-stopping description of a boy with a book in his back pocket. And that might have been all if he didn’t leave it behind with a poem tucked inside.
Song of the Oceanides
J.G. Z´ ymbalist. CreateSpace. $25.99 paper (574p), ISBN 978-1-5232-1403-7; 99¢ e-book, ASIN B01AM2I8MC
Amazon
A dreamlike, suspenseful coming-of-age tale about artists, daydreamers, sea nymphs, Martians, and Martian hummingbird moths.
Zeal Master: Warrior’s Dream
Rahmel Garner. Lulu Press. $14.56 paper (42p), ISBN 978-1-329-74900-9
Lulu
A story of a forgotten time when supernatural forces ruled the earth. This world is centered around a group of people known as zealeths.
