Booksellers, publishers, and agents are encouraged to look at the 41 self-published titles listed 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
The Autumn Crush
Andrew Eustace Anselmi. Inkwater Press. $17.95 paper (424p), ISBN 978-1-62901-120-2; $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-62901-121-9
Inkwaterbooks.com, Amazon, BN.com, Powell’s
Guy Bennett was a post–World War II success story. Born to Italian immigrants, he became a captain of industry, with a son in the U.S. Senate. But in 1989, Bennett stands accused of double murder. The DA, who lost the Senate race to Guy’s son, believes he has all the evidence he needs. The defense spans the globe and reaches back generations, unearthing a family secret that reveals the devastating truth.
Earth’s Imagined Corners (Round Earth Series, Book 1)
Tamara Linse. Willow Words. $14.95 paper (472p), ISBN 978-0-9909533-2-6
Amazon, BN.com, Ingram
In 1885 Iowa, Sara Moore is a dutiful daughter, but when her father tries to force her to marry his younger partner, she must choose between the partner, who treats her like property, and James Youngblood, a kind man she hardly knows who has a troubled past. When Sarah confronts her father, he beats her and turns her out of the house, so she decides to elope with James to Kansas City with hardly a penny to their names. This is a novel that comprehends the great kindnesses and violences we do to each other.
The Kidnapping of Jamaica’s Homeland Security: The Adventures of the Expeditor
Joe S. Davis. Creative Publishing Partners. $5.99 e-book, ASIN B00QP7SLEY
Amazon
A story about terrorism on foreign soil told from the perspective of kidnappers. Kidnapping is being used as the engine to control the country and, if successful, other countries.
The Liberation of Ravenna Morton
Suzanne Jenkins. CreateSpace. 99¢ e-book, ASIN B00KSOPT2M
Amazon
Ravenna Morton is an American Indian woman living an old-fashioned life in a primitive cabin at the edge of the Kalamazoo River. She faces modern problems when her lifelong affair with a Greek artist is closely examined by their children after a child she gave up for adoption dies. This novel captures the small-town dynamic of a family’s private secrets being exposed to the world. A poignant look at the melding of two Americanized cultures.
Sighing Woman Tea
Mark Daniel Seiler. Xlibris. $15.99 paper (388p), ISBN 978-1-4990-6363-9
Amazon, BN.com
In this serio-comic novel, a large corporation tries to take control of a tiny tea-producing island nation, threatening its traditional way of life. Viridis was founded in the 12th century by a mixed-race crew whose ship was blown off course. Thomas Burke, descendant of an island founder, left to pursue a career in mathematics. Now he has returned to warn the gentle islanders that their tea, more expensive per ounce than gold, is in danger of attracting greedy attention. When an occupying force takes over Viridis, Burke and the locals must find an island way of protecting themselves by calling on sacrifice, patience, showmanship, and the spirit of the island.
Strong Convictions: An Emmett Strong Western
GP Hutchinson. The Hutchinson Group. $12.99 paper (306p), ISBN 978-1-4991-5102-2; $3.49 e-book, ASIN B00TPZMQM6
Amazon, BN.com
Texas Ranger Emmett Strong must overcome his reluctance to draw his sidearm, avenge his brother’s death at the hands of a mad gunslinger, and rescue his forbidden love interest.
Sweet Muse of Madness (Song of Greece Series, Book 1)
Anthony Giarmo. Anthony Giarmo. $20.90 paper (603p), ISBN 978-0-615-69772-7
Songofgreece.com, Amazon, BN.com
A historical novel centered on the compelling interaction between nature worshippers and early monotheists.
Zoo Story: A Tail for Our Time
Miles Wortman. CreateSpace. $9.95 paper (132p), ISBN 978-1-50601680-1; $4.99 e-book, ASIN B00UGTDXMW
Amazon, BN.com
When the zoo’s animals revolt and seize control, the blogosphere and global outrage spin out of control in this Orwellian satire on the decline of language and political discourse in social media.
Poetry
Foxglove in Springtime: Poetry and Short Stories
Abigail-Madison Chase. Amazon. 99¢ e-book, ASIN B00U1Y8R7S
Amazon
In this collection of lyrical expressions of love in the springtime, many of the poems reflect on longing and great passion. Written from the perspective of a lover, the poems are for every mood and occasion.
Mystery/Thriller
Betrayal by Blood and Demons: The Judas Factor
Ian McBride. Lulu.com. $9.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4834-2196-4
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Lulu.com
The depths of human darkness are probed in an epic battle of good versus evil as a father attempts to overcome the ultimate betrayal as the Twin Towers fall in 2001.
Dead Letter
Marc Kuhn. CreateSpace. $8.75 paper (204p), ISBN 978-1-4909-0673-7
Amazon, BN.com
Eastern Shore, Maryland, 1943. This is a story of young love, misguided jealousy, a world war, and a soldier’s lost letter that delivers a shocking ending 40 years later.
Dividers
Travis Adams Irish. CreateSpace. $3.99 e-book (610p), ASIN B00O7H7CC6
Amazon, BN.com
A story of betrayal, romance, tragedy, and the struggle against madness. Earl Calbraw’s most cruel and resourceful enemy is his own son, Jacob. Jacob wants the truth about the disappearance of his mother, while his father pursues the forgiveness of a world scarred by the greed of his ambition. Each man is mindlessly caught up in the passion of the game, having at each other with ferocity and cunning. In the throes of their hatred, another enemy is born, discerning and ruthless, inspired unto their destruction.
The Kingdom of Assassins
Erik Mackenzie. Erik. $2.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0-9837615-4-9
Amazon
In the near future, a disillusioned New York City counterterrorist detective investigates a terrorist cell. A beautiful Arabian princess comes to identify one of the dead from an assault on a safe house. A Saudi diplomat is soon found dead, as is another man with no identity. Tensions rise between Iran and the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. From the concrete canyons of New York City to the searing oceans of sand in Arabia, Detective Mike Maclaymore pursues the truth to its terrifying conclusion.
Sundown on Top of the World: A Hunter Rayne Highway Mystery
R.E. Donald. Proud Horse Publishing. $15.95 paper (307p), ISBN 978-0-9881118-8-2
Proudhorsepublishing.com, Amazon, BN.com, Chapters
Former homicide investigator Hunter Rayne heads to Alaska, where a chance meeting with a young woman reawakens his interest in a cold case involving a bloody cabin and two missing people.
SF/Fantasy/Horror
Anne Manx and the Blood Chase
Larry M. Weiner. Radio Repertory Company of America. $6.99 audio, ISBN 978-0-9771342-4-3
RRCA.com
Anne Manx is dying! In this sixth installment, Anne (played by Claudia Christian from Babylon 5), the galaxy’s finest PI, trails a cryptic clue to Balduria, seeking to save her life. Hot on her tail, the flame-haired fiend Jean Richmond (played by Patricia Tallman from Babylon 5 and Night of the Living Dead) is going to steal the secret to multiple lives for herself. With fast-paced dialogue and two-fisted double entendres, Anne Manx and the darkly duplicitous Brighid (played by Moira Kelly from One Tree Hill, The West Wing, and The Lion King) spiral into danger as they try to outwit Chief Arum (played by Jerry Robbins from Powder River and Beacon Hill) and the entire planet, who are literally out for their blood.
At the Sharp End of Lightning (Oceanlight, Book 1)
N.R. Bates. N.R. Bates. $8.99 e-book, ASIN B00T0TJLYI
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com
The interwoven fantastical tale of family, loss and sacrifice, unexpected gifts, and coping with disability and new abilities set against the backdrop of climate change occurring across parallel worlds.
Compendium (Artifacts of Lumin, Book 1)
Alia Luria. Willowslip Press. $19.99 paper (477p), ISBN 978-0-9908403-0-5; $4.99 e-book, ASIN B00T44VIFY
Alialuria.com, Willowslip.com, Amazon
Lumin is dying. Its only hope is 500 years of darkness. When they disable the Network, all devices go dormant. Will future generations remember how to turn it back on?
Crescent City (An Alec Winters Series, Book 1)
Chariss K. Walker. CreateSpace. $15.95 paper (196p), ISBN 978-1-5032-8390-9; $5.99 e-book, ASIN B00ROPS18C
Amazon, BN.com
Often, perpetrators don’t get punished for their atrocious crimes. In New Orleans, Alec Winters gives these sexual predators exactly what they deserve.
Cyrus Persian
Holly Simpson. Xlibris. $29.99 hardcover (222p), ISBN 978-1-5035-1623-6; $19.99 paper (222p), ISBN 978-1-5035-1624-3
Amazon, BN.com, Xlibris.com
Born in the sixth century B.C.E. in Persia, Cyrus Persian becomes a vampire later in Egypt. He falls in love with a Greek girl, and they marry and adopt twin sons; one dies and the other becomes a vampire. After Lydia, the Egyptian priestess who owns Cyrus, dies in the arena in Rome, they flee to Gaul. Later they escape from the world and sleep for a thousand years using Celtic sacred words. They return in 1973.
Juarez Square and Other Stories
D.L. Young. Concordia Professional Services. $2.99 e-book, ASIN B00TJLNRBK
Amazon
Eleven stories, including new works exclusive to this collection, explore the near-future impacts of advanced robotics, artificial intelligence, automated warfare, and genetic engineering. “The Reader,” “Training the Fundies,” and the title work envision an anarchic, cutthroat existence along the U.S.-Mexico border. In “Ximena,” a woman opens a robot brothel in Madrid. “The Jacob Seeds” takes place on a man-made floating island nation, where a scientist’s revolutionary breakthrough in genetically modified food becomes the prize of a high-stakes, winner-take-all political battle.
Revolution (The Scent of Roses, Book 1)
Sabrina Seidner. CreateSpace. $15.95 paper (484p), ISBN 978-1-4948-2310-8
Amazon
As an officer for an elite Maintainer force tasked with reclaiming genetically desirable beings for breeding by the Powers, Heather Staman makes death-defying choices throughout this postapocalyptic read.
Romance/Erotica
Annalisa’s Highway Blues
David Reichart. CreateSpace. $6.99 paper (152p), ISBN 978-1-4700-6494-5
Amazon, BN.com, Smashwords
Hard times force a smalltown girl into the male-dominated world of long-haul trucking, where she finds danger, loneliness, hard work, and something unexpected out on the road—the kind of romance she’d always dreamed about.
Shattered Dreams
Brenda Kennedy. Lulu.com. $13 paper (240p), ISBN 978-1-312-68434-8
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, OverDrive, Smashwords
Emma Greyson, age 22, has a loving husband and a newborn son. She is finally living her dream, until fate steps in and shatters everything. Trying to deal with the death of her husband and learning how to be a single mom, Emma moves from Fort Drum, N.Y., back to her hometown of Sarasota, Fla. Four years later, Emma has a fresh start with a new job and new friends. She meets an attractive doctor, Alec Collins. Taking things slowly, she is happy with the way things are going until fate steps in again and reveals the ugly truth of Alec’s past.
Inspirational
New Testament: Breakthrough Version
Ray Geide. Breakthrough Version Publishing. $14.95 paper (352p), ISBN 978-0-9628012-4-2
Breakthroughversion.com, Amazon, Baker & Taylor, BN.com, Ingram
This new version of the New Testament is accurate, easy-to-understand, brings out nuances in the Greek text, and corrects problems in other versions.
Seamless Subtleties: The Path to Enlightenment
Michael Raymond. Raymond Valente. $17.95 paper (222p), ISBN 978-0-692-34708-9
Seamlesssubtleties.com, Amazon, BN.com
This is a book of the human experience. It puts forth a path that better allows for the power of our mystery. It takes personal experiences of a boy growing up in the Bronx, N.Y., and expounds upon them in a way that shows how many accepted habits are working against us.
Nonfiction
Be a Critical Thinker: Hone Your Mind to Think Critically (Revised Edition)
Donald L. Karshner. Bullen Publishing Services. $9.99 paper, ISBN 978-0-615-78374-1
Amazon, BN.com
A guide to applying critical thinking skills in daily life to scrutinize ideas, facts, and interpretations, even when they are inconsistent or contradictory. Readers will be better equipped to clarify their thinking process, intelligently critique what they read and hear, correct errors, dispel misunderstandings and ignorance, and make a positive contribution to a discussion or debate.
Dad’s War Photos: Adventures in the South Pacific
Neal Bertrand. Cypress Cove Publishing. $19.95 paper (306p), ISBN 978-1-936707-24-9
Baker & Taylor, Ingram
The author traces his father’s steps from home to war and back, using his photos and battalion journal. Includes 14 chapters of planes and New Guinea natives in daily life.
The Men Who Made the Yankees: The Odyssey of the World’s Greatest Baseball Team from Baltimore to the Bronx
W. Nikola-Lisa. Gyroscope Books. $19.95 paper (144p), ISBN 978-0-9912183-2-5
Amazon, Ingram, BN.com
This book traces the rise of the New York Yankees from the origin of the American League to the Yankees’ first world championship title in 1923.
Wishes to Die For: Expanding Upon Doing Less in Advance Care Directives
Kevin J. Haselhorst. Kevin J. Haselhorst, PC. $12.95 paper (220p), ISBN 978-0-99157140-6; $5.99 e-book, ASIN B00TJMBQ6C
Amazon
Veteran emergency physician Haselhorst advocates for dying with dignity through personal empowerment and spiritual awareness in this book of wishes to inspire and guide advance care planning.
Bio/Autobio
From the Danube to the Hudson
Katherine Griesz. CreateSpace. $19.95 paper (482p), ISBN 978-1-4701-6505-5
Amazon, BN.com
Narrative nonfiction about a Hungarian family’s rise, fall, love, loss, survival in WWII, behind the Iron Curtain, and finally, in America.
It Takes a Fool: A Tough Lesson Learned on Bullying
Sasha Dreams. I Dream Business. $7.95 paper (108p), ISBN 978-0-9909026-2-1
Amazon, BN.com
The author explores the darkest depths of poverty, addiction, and bullying, and how even the innocence of a child can be twisted into something monstrous. If readers sign the pledge to end bullying, $1 will be donated to the Stop Bullying Now Foundation.
A Long Way from Paris
E.C. Murray. Plicata Press. $16 paper (280p), ISBN 978-0-9903102-1-1
Amazon, BN.com, IndieBound
In this story flecked with humor and heartbreak, a city girl is transformed by her life herding goats in the remote mountains of southern France.
Muddy Jungle Rivers
Wendell Affield. Hawthorn Petal Press. $19.95 paper (352p), ISBN 978-0-9847023-0-5
Amazon, BN.com
The author gives the reader a close-up look at life on a river boat during the Vietnam Wa—the frustration, rage, terror, death, betrayal, and search for redemption.
Self-Help
Lucky Go Happy: Make Happiness Happen!
Paul van der Merwe. AuthorHouse. $14.95 paper (108p), ISBN 978-1-4969-4164-0; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4969-4163-3
Luckygohappythebook.com, Amazon, AuthorHouse, BN.com, Ebookmall
Lucky the rat encounters some wise and colorful characters in the African bush in this modern-day fable, helping readers to make happiness happen for themselves and those around them.
Children’s Fiction
The Gatekeeper’s Son
C.R. Fladmark. The Shokunin Publishing Co. $15.99 paper (348p), ISBN 978-0-9937776-0-8; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0-9937776-1-5
Amazon, Apple iBooks, Baker & Taylor, BN.com, Kobo, OverDrive, Smashwords
With the help of a mysterious girl, a teenager saves his grandfather’s business empire while discovering things about himself and his family that lead him back to ancient Japan.
Kiwi in Cat City (Kiwi Series, Book 1)
Vickie Johnstone, illus. by Nikki McBroom. CreateSpace. $2.99 e-book, ASIN B004YKSZMM
Amazon, Apple iBooks, Baker & Taylor, BN.com, Flipkart, Kobo, OverDrive, Oyster, PageFoundry, Scribd, Smashwords, Txtr, WHSmith
Have you ever wished your cat could talk or wondered where he or she goes when you are not around? One night, Amy and her brother, James, follow their cat, Kiwi. But with a flick of her tail, Kiwi magically changes the children into kittens and leads them on the adventure of their lives. In the blue-lit world of Cat City, the budding detectives help Inspector Furrball investigate the mysterious catnapping of Mr Katz and find out what happened to Madame Purrfect.
Luz, Rebound
Jeania Kimbrough. Smoke Signal Press. $17 paper (214p), ISBN 978-0-9960562-1-2
Amazon, BN.com
A coming-home story about a girl on the rebound.
Parents for Sale
Nicole Audet. AuthorHouse. $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4969-5745-0
AuthorHouse
Discover what happens to the Clark twins when they try to sell their parents to save their dog, Pistachio.
Rocco’s Wings (Tales of Terrakesh, Book 1)
Rebecca Murdock, illus. by Kalen Chock. Bark & Howl Press. $14.99 paper (266p), ISBN 978-0-9920413-3-5
Amazon
Rocco is the only villager with wings. His are blue, and at night also bioluminescent. He is captured by urvogels (winged, humanlike creatures) living on the cliffs of Upper Terrakesh. He witnesses urvogels getting their wings cut off—punishment for so-called vanity crimes. Rocco’s new friends Basalt, Vesta, Magma, and Iggy are facing trial. If convicted, they will lose their wings. Rocco must decide if he should help them or escape on his own.
Rungle in the Jungle
Logan Rogers, illus. by Rachel McCoy. CreateSpace. $14.95 paper (82p), ISBN 978-1-4904-3252-6
Amazon, BN.com
A poetic rhyming story set in the jungle with three main characters who decide to host a race. They go through the jungle, inviting all the animals. They are excited until the snake appears and enters, creating fear in his competition. The two main heroes don’t listen to his boasting and go on to win, proving positive thoughts overcome negativity and fear.
Street of Dreams
Norma Hansburg. Inkwater Press. $15.95 paper (132p), ISBN 978-1-62901-210-0
Inkwaterbooks.com, Amazon, BN.com, Powell’s
For middle-grade readers, youth, and adults alike, this story is an emotional escape into the world of a 12-year-old growing up in Brooklyn in the mid-1970s, who experiences the many facets of city life, including crime, police, various and cultures, as she walks the tightrope between youth and early adulthood.