PW Select January 2015

January 2015
Your Guide to
Self-Publishing
2015: The Year Ahead
Book Fairs & Writing
Conferences in 2015
78 New Titles Listed
Indie Reviews
Roundup
SELFPUBLISHING PREVIEW
A Look Ahead to
Self-Publishing in 2015
Industry insiders predict an increase in diversity, serialization, and
hybrid publishing
By Jennifer McCartney
elf-publishing saw another

successful year in 2014,
with authors like Deborah
Bladon and Jen McLaughlin
hitting the New York Times
bestseller lists, fanfic authors like Sophie
Jackson receiving six-figure advances,
and many millions of titles being published across the industrys numerous
platforms. The view of self-publishing as
an outlet of last resort for desperate authors is also changingthe negative
stigma thats long been associated with
the industry is being discarded for a more
progressive outlook, along with the acknowledgement that self-publishing and
traditional publishing can coexist and
even benefit one another. And self-publishing platforms are increasingly serving as a kind of testing ground for traditional publishers, which are snapping up
successful indie authors and offering
them, in some cases, million-dollar advances. Further, some traditionally
published authors are
becoming more open
to exploring selfpublishing as a supplement to or as a
replacement for their
traditional publishing
careers.
A year ago, we predicted
that the self-publishing industry would
mature in 2014, with writers taking
ownership of their role as both authors
and business owners. As 2015 begins, we
once again anticipate a year of growth,
despite some concerns about market
saturation. For this

years preview, we
talked to a number of
industry insiders
about the current
state of self-publishing, the trends theyve
noticed over the past
year, and the current
challenges facing indie authors in an increasingly crowded
market, along with
some of their predictions for 2015.
As an example of
continued industry Dan Dillon
growth, A shleigh
Gardner, head of content at Wattpad,
noted that in 2014 the social publishing
site gained millions of users who shared
15 million works of fan fiction alone
resulting in breakout publishing stars
like Anna Todd, whose One Direction fanfic, After, got her
a four-book deal with
Gallery Books at Simon & Schuster.
Established selfpublishing sites like
Lulu also saw growth
over the past year, according to the companys v-p of marketing, Dan Dillon, as a result of new initiatives like Lulu Jr.a brand enabling
children to become published authors. In
addition to Lulu Jr., the company announced a partnership with Crayola to
develop a line of co-branded book-mak-
36 P U B L I S H E R S W E E K L Y J A N U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 5
ing kits for kids.

Across all segments of self-publishing, there were signs of continued
growth and innovationfrom Crayola
to fanfic to hybrid publishing to the rise
of serialization, we break it all down for
you here.
The Rise of the

Authorpreneur
As more and more authors go it alone,
they are increasingly treating their selfpublishing ventures as businesses. This
means realizing that their publishing efforts must be part of a broader business
model that takes into account everything
from branding to media outreach to editorial collaborationwhich is an important development, according to Beat
Barblan, director of identifier services at
Bowker.
There has been a realization over the
last year, I would say, that, in order to
be successful, self-publishers must
see themselves as business owners and
recognize that writing the content is
only the first of many steps, says Barblan. While he notes that content
is still king, he points out that even
good content will have trouble finding
an audience if authors arent publishing
professionallypaying attention to the
services a traditional publisher offers
like editing, marketing, e-book conversion, and cover design. Authors have
realized that when choosing to self-publish they are not eliminating the role
of the publisher: rather, they choose to
assume the publishers responsibilities.
This means that indie authors are doing
more work than their traditionally published counterparts, but are perhaps
more empowered as a resulttaking
ownership of their titles and working to
expand their business.
Dillon at Lulu agrees. Its been very
fulfilling to see the concept of the
authorpreneur take hold in 2014, he
says. As an example, Dillon points to the
portion of Lulu authors who are utilizing
the free tools offered by
the site to communicate
directly with their readers, which in turn builds
loyalty and drives sales.
The one thing our authors did supremely
well in 2014 is they got
to know their readers, to
understand who they
are, and to deliver an
ever increasing amount
of high quality content Beat Barblan
to them, something
Dillon says is the hallmark of a maturing
and thriving marketplace. As 2015 gets
under way, we expect to serve even greater numbers of authors who consider
themselves the CEO of their book business. He also notes that, as business
owners, authors are working to develop
customer loyalty in order to keep their
customers for life.
The need for a long-term outlook by
indie authors is echoed by Smashwords

founder Mark Coker: Now more than
ever, indies must focus on their longterm game plan. Avoid the temptation of
making short-term decisions that harm
your long-term opportunities.Understand that as an indie author you are an
essential participant in the publishing
community.
Many others in the industry also say
that indie authors will need to pay
increasing attention to professionalism.
Barblan predicts that readers will
increasingly expect self-published books
to be indistinguishable from those that
are traditionally published. From the
value of the content to the type of paper
used to print physical books or the care
taken in their conversion to e-books,
books should be of equal quality regardless of how they get published, says Barblan. The reader wants good, well-presented content that is readily available at
a reasonable cost.
The Hybrid
As self-publishing has become more established, it appears to also have become

a viable option for traditionally published authors, who have
tended to shy away from it
in the past. For instance,
self-publishing allowed
New York Times bestselling
author Eileen Goudge to
release Bones and Roses in
2014 after she failed to
find a publisher for the
novel. Smashwords Coker
predicts that well see more
traditionally published authors going this routeespecially midlist authors,
who tend to get less attention from their
publishers than frontlist authors and may
be looking for a change. In addition, the
flexibility offered by hybrid publishing
means that authors with out-of-print
backlists can regain the rights and publish the titles themselves, perhaps opening up their work to a new generation.
Clearly, [self-]publishing has not
only matured, it has lost the stigma that
stuck to it for years, explains Sally Dedecker, an

industry consultant and
education director at BEA. I hear from
traditional authors who are exploring
the [self-]publishing option, and looking for a game plan to shift to hybrid or
leap right into [self-]publishing. As an
example, she notes that at uPublishU at
BEA in 2014, a number of attendees
were traditional authors who wanted to
explore their options and investigate the
benefits of various publishing platforms
and learn more about rights and marketing.
Barblan agrees that 2015 will be a
year of growth for hybrids. I think we
will see an increase in hybrid publishers,
choosing to publish both ways: via
traditional publishers as well as on their
own depending on type of content and
market, he says. As authors learn more
about their publishing options, whether
via a panel at BEA or from networking
with other writers and readers, and are
able to choose exactly how to publish
individual titles depending on their
needs, it seems clear that hybrid publishing will continue to attract new fans
in the coming year.
Serialization
and Fan Fiction
Authors have also taken note of the opportunities offered by serialization. By

releasing their work a chapter at a time,
authors can keep readers hooked while
incorporating feedback from their fans as
they goa format thats been successful
for a number of indie authors this year.
This publishing model also allows for
increased author revenuepublishing
30 chapters priced at 99 lets authors
potentially enjoy 30 times the revenue
compared to a single title at the same
price point.
Serialization is here to stay, predicts
Wattpads Gardner, pointing to the more
than 14 million stories shared serially on
the site in 2014. With so many writers
sharing stories chapter by chapter, reading is becoming episodic. The reality is
people still love to read, but prefer to do
W W W . P U B L I S H E R S W E E K LY. C O M
37
survey from the year before, which saw
it in short bursts, often
free books downloaded 91 times more
on the go. (In fact, auoften. So many authors are using free
thors are writing on the
promotions and perma-free that free
go as wellmore than 20 billion words
books face increased competition, he
were published on Wattpads iOS and
says.
Android mobile platforms in 2014.)
Nevertheless, Dillon is confident that
Gardner also notes that fan fiction
there is still an appetite for new books,
continues to be the fastest growing
category on Wattpad, covering
everything from celebrities to
YouTubers to apps and classic
novels. Gardner says she expects to see more real person
fan fiction and stories about
breaking news in the coming
year. Also, while genre fiction
remains strong, shes seeing a
change in subject matter
sexy cowboys are giving way
to sexy MMA fighters in the
romance genre, and jinns are
taking over from vampires as
common protagonists in the Ashleigh Gardner
fantasy realm.
Thoughts on Market
Saturation
With an increasing number of indie

titles being self-published every year,
authors face the constant challenge of
discoverabilitygetting their titles noticed in a sea of seemingly endless options. Theres a glut of high-quality,
low-cost books out there, Coker says,
adding that one reason for this is the
immortal e-books from both indie
and traditional authors that will never
go out of print.More importantly, he
notes, traditional publishers are beginning to heavily discount their e-books
and offer some content for free in an attempt to capitalize on the success that
many indie authors have seen with this
strategy. This means even more good
content is available at a very low (or
nonexistent) price point.
Coker offers the statistics to back this
point up, noting that a 2014 Smashwords survey found that free e-books at
Apples iBooks store were downloaded
39 times more frequently than books
that cost moneya figure that sounds
encouraging until its compared with the
and that those books all have the potential to find an audience. The magic of
the book business is that for every book,
there are n number of customers, he
notes. Readers are perpetually buying
new content, and no one book addresses
their every need or desire. Dillon also
says that, unlike practical items like
washing machines, snowblowers, or tablets, readers can always use another book.
Diane Mancher, founder of One Potata
Productions and cofounder of the SelfPublishing Book Expo agrees, pointing
out that she doesnt believe there can ever
be too much content available. That to
me would be like suggesting there is too
much music to listen to or too much art
to appreciate.
I think that the publishing industry
has always been faced with too many
books, so little time to read, adds
Dedecker. That said, authors who embrace best practices in publishing, have
a solid focused plan to engage readers,
and are testing new opportunities to
reach new audiences can put themselves

in the drivers seat.
Challenges for 2015

While noting the increasing challenge
of discoverability, our industry experts
are mostly in agreement that 2015 will
continue to be an exciting year for selfpublishing.
Best practices for book publishing, working to better understand issues around discovery
including metadataand experimenting with new ways to
monetize their content should
be high on the to do list,
advises Dedecker. Dillon predicts the continued resiliency
of the print format across various segments of the market,
while also noting that reader
data will become an important
focus for brands, authors, and
marketers in the coming year. Mancher believes that 2015 will continue to see traditional publishers
mine indie authors to find the next
big thing. Coker predicts a drop in author revenue from e-books sold in Europe as the result of an increased valueadded tax (VAT) that took effect January 1, something he says will make ebooks less competitive to print books
and other nonbook options for leisure,
entertainment, and knowledge.
Finally, theres the view that selfpublishing can continue to act as a corrective to the traditional publishing
industry, which is often seen as lacking
in diversity and minority voices.
Theres been a lot of talk about the
need for diversity in books lately, notes
Gardner. On Wattpad, we see a true
range of storytelling. You can find
stories you wouldnt be able to find
anywhere else that cover emerging or
underrepresented genres like urban
fiction, fan fiction, and LGBT stories.
Gardner says shes hoping that 2015 offers more recognition for authors and
books that represent different cultures,
experiences, and viewpoints.
B O O K FA I R S & C O N F E R E N C E S 2015
Hitting the Road in 2015

Any indie author serious about selling books must understand the importance of marketingand that includes attending book fairs, literary festivals, and writers conferences. At
these events, authors can meet fans, network, make personal connections, and market their
work to wider audiences. What follows is a selective list of some of the relevant conferences
and fairs happening around the world in 2015. Conferences and shows with a focus on selfpublishing have been marked with an asterisk.
JANUARY
Wizard World New Orleans
Comic Con
Minsk International Book

Trade Fair
WHERE: New Orleans

WHEN: Jan. 911
WHERE: Minsk, Belarus

WHEN: Feb. 1115
wizardworld.com/home-neworleans.html
*Digital Book World Conference

& Expo
WHERE: New York
WHEN: Jan. 1315
conference.digitalbookworld.com
Wizard World Portland Comic Con

WHERE: Portland, Ore.
WHEN: Jan. 2325
wizardworld.com/portland.html
International Cairo Book Fair

WHERE: Cairo
WHEN: Jan. 28Feb. 12
cairobookfair.org
Angoulme International Comics

Festival
WHERE: Angoulme, France
WHEN: Jan. 29Feb. 1
bdangouleme.com
*ALA Midwinter Meeting

WHERE: Chicago
WHEN: Jan. 30Feb. 3
alamw15.ala.org
Taipei International Book

Exhibition
WHERE: Taipei, Taiwan
WHEN: Feb. 1116
chinaexhibition.com/Official_Site/21516-Taipei_Book_Fair_Foundation_
(TBFF).html
*The Annual Genre-LA Writers

Conference
WHERE: Van Nuys, Calif.
WHEN: TBD
wcwriters.com/genrela/index.html
San Miguel Writers Conference

WHERE: San Miguel de Allende, Mexico
WHEN: Feb. 1115
sanmiguelwritersconference.org
*San Francisco Writers Conference

WHERE: San Francisco
WHEN: Feb. 1215
sfwriters.org
Feria Internacional del Libro

La Habana
WHERE: Havana
WHEN: Feb. 1222
FEBRUARY
feriadellibro.cubaliteraria.cu
*Indie Author Conference

& Pitchapalooza
New Delhi World Book Fair
WHERE: Phoenix, Ariz.

WHEN: TBD
changinghands.com/
indieauthorconference2014
WHERE: New Delhi

WHEN: Feb. 1422
newdelhiworldbookfair.gov.in
Vilnius Book Fair

WHERE: Vilnius, Lithuania
WHEN: Feb. 1922
vilniausknygumuge.lt/lt
Brussels Book Fair

WHERE: Brussels
WHEN: Feb. 26-Mar. 2
flb.be
*SleuthFest
WHERE: Deerfield Beach, Fla.
WHEN: Feb. 26Mar. 1
sleuthfest.com
*London Author Fair

WHERE: London
WHEN: TBD
londonauthorfair.com
MARCH
Dublin Book Festival
WHERE: Dublin
WHEN: TBD
dublinbookfestival.com
*EPICon
WHERE: San Antonio, Tex.
WHEN: Mar. 1214
epicorg.com/epicon.html
Leipzig Book Fair
WHERE: Leipzig, Germany
WHEN: Mar. 1215
leipziger-buchmesse.de
*South by Southwest
WHERE: Austin, Tex.
WHEN: Mar. 1322
sxsw.com
39
*Unicorn Writers
Conference
WHEN: Mar. 14
WHERE: Purchase, N.Y.
unicornwritersconference.com/home.html
Paris Book Fair (Salon du Livre)

WHERE: Paris
WHEN: Mar. 2023
Bogota International Book Fair

WHERE: Bogota, Colombia
WHEN: Apr. 22May 4
feriadellibro.com
Budapest International
Book Festival
WHERE: Budapest, Hungary
WHEN: Apr. 2326
salondulivreparis.com
konyvfesztival.com
*PubSense Summit
Buenos Aires International Book

Fair
WHERE: Charleston, S.C.

WHEN: Mar. 2224
Idaho Writers & Readers

Rendezvous
WHERE: Boise, Idaho
WHEN: May 1416
idahowritersguild.com/rendezvous
Prague International Book Fair

and Literary Festival Book World
WHERE: Prague, Czech Republic
WHEN: May 1417
svetknihy.cz/en/menu/
Warsaw International Book Fair

WHERE: Warsaw, Poland
WHEN: May 1417
pubsensesummit.com
WHERE: Buenos Aires, Argentina

WHEN: Apr. 23May 11
Bangkok International Book Fair
el-libro.org.ar
targi-ksiazki.waw.pl/en
WHERE: Bangkok
WHEN: Mar. 27Apr. 6
*2014 Redwood Writers Conference
St. Petersburg International Book Salon

WHERE: St. Petersburg, Russia
WHEN: May 2124
spbbooksalon.ru
pubat.or.th/index/topic/8eaa241d4d9d
d05b61f9093d67393b6d
Bologna Childrens Book Fair

WHERE: Bologna, Italy
WHEN: Mar. 30Apr. 2
WHERE: Santa Rosa, Calif.

WHEN: TBD
redwoodwriters.org/conference-2
Geneva International Book and

Press Fair
*BookExpo America (BEA)

WHERE: New York
WHEN: May 27May 29
bookfair.bolognafiere.it/home/878.html
WHERE: Geneva, Switzerland

WHEN: Apr. 29May 3
bookexpoamerica.com
APRIL
salondulivre.ch/en
*BookCon
WHERE: SeaTac, Wash.

WHEN: Apr. 25
M AY
*Nonfiction Writers Conference
WHERE: New York

WHEN: May 3031
*Norwescon
norwescon.org
WHERE: Online
WHEN: May 68
WonderCon Anaheim
nonfictionwritersconference.com/
2015-nonfiction-writers-conference
WHERE: Anaheim, Calif.

WHEN: Apr. 35
comic-con.org/wca
*Association of Writers and

Writing Programs (AWP)
WHERE: Minneapolis
WHEN: Apr. 811
awpwriter.org/awp_conference
Qubec International Book Fair

WHERE: Qubec City, Canada
WHEN: Apr. 812
silq.ca
*London Book Fair

WHERE: London
WHEN: Apr. 1416
londonbookfair.co.uk
*IndieReCon
WHERE: Online
WHEN: Apr. 1618
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

WHERE: Abu Dhabi, United Arab
Emirates
WHEN: May 713
adbookfair.com
Thessaloniki Book Fair

WHERE: Thessaloniki, Greece
WHEN: May 710
thessalonikibookfair.com/2015/en/
index.html
*The Self-Publishing Conference

WHERE: Leicester, England
WHEN: May 9
selfpublishingconference.org.uk
Turin International Book Fair

WHERE: Turin, Italy
WHEN: May 1418
salonelibro.it
indierecon.org
thebookcon.com
*uPublishU at BEA
WHERE: New York
WHEN: May 30
bookexpoamerica.com/BEA-Conferences/
DIY-Authors-Conference/#page=page-1
JUNE
*The Santa Barbara Writers Conference

WHERE: Santa Barbara, Calif.
WHEN: June 712
sbwriters.com
Cape Town Book Fair

WHERE: Cape Town, South Africa
WHEN: June 1921
capetownbookfair.co.za
Seoul International Book Fair

WHERE: Seoul, South Korea
WHEN: TBD
sibf.or.kr
Wizard World Sacramento Comic Con

WHERE: Sacramento, Calif.
WHEN: June 1921
wizardworld.com/sacramento.html
*ALA Annual Conference
WHEN: June 2530
alaac15.ala.org
*The Writers League of Texas 2013

Agents & Editors Conference
*Kentucky Women Writers Conference

WHERE: Lexington, Ky.
WHEN: Sept. 1112
womenwriters.as.uky.edu
*RomCon
WHERE: Denver, Colo.
WHEN: Sept. 2327
Helsinki Book Fair

WHERE: Helsinki,
Finland
WHEN: Oct. 2225
messukeskus.com/Sites3/Kirjamessut/
en/Pages/default.aspx
Belgrade Book Fair
WHERE: Austin, Tex.

WHEN: June 2628
romcon.com/about-reader-weekend
writersleague.org/38/Conference
Moscow International Book Fair
J U LY
WHERE: Moscow
WHEN: Sept. 26
beogradskisajamknjiga.com/active/en/
home.html
moscowbookfair.ru
N OV E M B E R
Tokyo International Book Fair

WHERE: Tokyo
WHEN: July 14
bookfair.jp/en
*ThrillerFest X
WHERE: New York
WHEN: July 711
thrillerfest.com
*Comic-Con International
WHERE: San Diego, Calif.
WHEN: July 912
comic-con.org/cci
Hong Kong Book Fair
Gteborg Book Fair

WHERE: Gteborg, Sweden
WHEN: Sept. 2427
*Chicago Writers Conference
*Self-Publishing Book Expo
WHERE: Chicago, Ill.

WHEN: TBD
selfpubbookexpo.com/show-info
OCTOBER
Istanbul Book Fair
WHERE: Barcelona, Spain

WHEN: TBD
istanbulbookfair.com
Liber International Book Fair
Alternative Press Expo
*Writers Digest Conference

WHEN: TBD
WHERE: New York

WHEN: July 31Aug. 2
comic-con.org/ape
writersdigestconference.com/ehome/
index.php?eventid=61986&
New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association Fall Conference
AUGUST
WHERE: Somerset, N.J.

WHEN: Oct. 2-4
Travel Writers & Photographers

Conference
newatlanticbooks.site-ym.com/
?page=fallconference
WHERE: Corte Madera, Calif.

WHEN: Aug. 1316
*New York Comic Con
bibf.net/websiteen/home/default.aspx
Montreal Book Fair

WHERE: Montreal, Canada
WHEN: TBD
salondulivredemontreal.com
International Fair of Intellectual

Literature Non/Fiction
WHERE: Moscow
WHEN: Nov. 2529
moscowbookfair.ru
Guadalajara International Book Fair

WHERE: Guadalajara, Mexico
WHEN: Nov. 28Dec. 6
fil.com.mx
newyorkcomiccon.com
Basel Book Fair
*Frankfurt Book Fair
WHERE: Basel, Switzerland

WHEN: TBD
WHERE: Frankfurt, Germany

WHEN: Oct. 1418
book-fair.com/en
Gourmand International World

Cookbook Fair
WHERE: Atlanta, Ga.

WHEN: Sept. 47
WHERE: Frankfurt, Germany (In con-
dragoncon.org/index.php
WHERE: Istanbul, Turkey

WHEN: Nov. 715
WHERE: New York

WHEN: Oct. 811
SEPTEMBER
DragonCon
WHERE: New York

WHEN: TBD
chicagowritersconference.org
hkbookfair.hktdc.com/tc/index.aspx
WHERE: Beijing, China

WHEN: Aug. 2630
WHERE: Sharjah, United Arab Emirates

WHEN: Nov. 414
sharjahbookfair.com/
salonliber.es/eng/index.html
Beijing International Book Fair
Sharjah World Book Fair
bokmassan.se/en
WHERE: Hong Kong

WHEN: July 1521
bookpassage.com/travel-writers-photographers-conference
WHERE: Belgrade, Serbia

WHEN: Oct. 25Nov. 1
junction with Frankfurt Book Fair)

WHEN: Oct. 1418
cookbookfair.com
buchbasel.ch
These events are of special
*
interest to indie authors due to
specific programming and/or
the presence of relevant
vendors.
41
BOOKWORKS COLUMN
Self-Publishing
Predictions for 2015
By Betty Kelly Sargent
verybody knows that self-publishing has exploded. In fact, an analysis by ProQuest affiliate
Bowker from last fall reveals that the number of
self-published titles in 2013 was up 437% over
2008. Not only that, but a small but growing
number of indie authors have been making incomes in the
high six figuresand sometimes more. But what now? Is the
bubble about to burst or will self-published authors continue
to thrive?
Bestselling writer Hugh Howey, author of the Wool and
the Silo series, believes 2015 will be a quiet year in selfpublishing when compared with 2014. I predict e-book
penetration will continue to grow, he told GalleyCat in
December. Publishers seem to have embraced what digital
does for their bottom line. Additionally, Howey told GalleyCat
he feels the future of Barnes & Noble will become clearer in
2015 and that Google and Apple will win market share from
Amazon.
Joel Friedlander, the publishing guru who runs the blog the
Book Designer, believes that self-publishing will continue to
grow, and he says there are two trends for indie authors to watch
and take advantage of in 2015. The first is collaboration. This
is already starting to happen with authors cooperating on publishing and marketing tasks, even forming new, small presses
to better distribute their work, he says. By pooling their
energy and knowledge, indie authors can publish more, better,
and faster.
The second trend, according to Friedlander, is the maturing
of online bookselling and marketing. We are seeing and will
continue to see new services, new products, and new ways to
connect with readers that leverage the broad acceptance of mobile platforms, he points out. Tech-savvy publishers will find
the Holy Grail of book marketing when they learn to combine
the power of social interaction with the intimacy of mobile
computing.
Speaking of mobile computing, its interesting to note that
publishing analyst Thad McIlroys 11 Topmost Digital Book
Publishing Trends & Opportunities report cites data from the
Pew Research Center and Nielsen Book Research indicating the
following:
About 70 million people in the U.S. have tablets. Roughly,

one-third of these people use their tablet for reading, and
theyre the source of 42% of e-book purchases.
Around 175 million people in the U.S. own cellphones. About
12% of them (thats 21 million people) read books on their
devices. They account for about 7% of e-book purchases.
Sales of dedicated e-readers are on the decline, but about
50 million people in the U.S. have them, and e-readers are
still the source of one-third of e-book purchases.
The lesson here for indie authors is pretty clear: if mobile isnt
already an important part of your strategy, you need to revisit
your strategy.
On his website, author and blogger Russell Blake predicts
that subscription services, such as Oyster, Scribd, and Amazons
Kindle Unlimited, will make it harder for indie authors to sell
their books in 2015. (The New York Times also covered indie
authors displeasure with Kindle Unlimited.) Blake also underscores the importance of building your brand and says exclusivity
to any vendor will continue to cost authors more that it earns
them over the mid-to-long run, and he suggests that diversification across all vendors will continue to be important for
smart publishers, indie especially.
And what do all these advances in technology mean for indie
authors? According to an article by technology journalist Jeff
Bertolucci in Information Week, almost anyone can be a data
scientist. Lukas Biewald, CEO and cofounder of CrowdFlower,
a data mining and crowdsourcing service, says, As data
becomes more accessible and analytic tools become easier to use
and readily available, data science wont be limited to those in
the technology sector. In 2015, anyone with the right tools can
draw powerful insights from data.
Perhaps most interesting of all is what McIlroy says in his
aforementioned report about self-publishing and the publishing
industry at large: Self-publishing represents a creative disruption within the publishing industry. As such, its to be
embraced. These self-published authors may have much to teach
the entire publishing industry; each experiment is an idea that
a traditional publishing house might adopt.
Betty Kelly Sargent is the founder and CEO of BookWorks.
SELFPUBLISHED LISTINGS
New Titles
from Self-Publishers
Booksellers, publishers, and agents are encouraged to take a look at the listings
of 78 self-published books below. Some of these authors are waiting to be discovered; others have a track record and a following and are doing it on their own.
FICTION
Anchors Aweigh:
Voyage to What I Chose to Become
Albert Schriber. iUniverse. $10.95 paper
(122p), ISBN 978-1-4917-5089-6;
$3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4917-5090-2
Amazon; BN.com; iUniverse
In 1968, during the Vietnam era, Joseph
is concerned he will be selected in the draft
lottery. He left home at 15 to escape a troubled family life and
dropped out of high school.
He decides to join the Navy
to make a better life for
himself, but his first experiences in boot camp are
unpleasant reminders of his
abusive past. Later, during a decade of
adventures in the Navy, Joseph becomes
aware that his journey will be filled with
new discoveries and loaded with life
choices.
Armor of Glass: A Novel
R.M.A. Spears. AuthorHouse. $19.95
paper (258p), ISBN 978-1-4918-9966-3;
$3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4918-9968-7
Amazon; BN.com; IndieBound
A Marine battles his
memories, his loves, and his
life as he continues to search
for the woman he lost four
times, despite attending her
funeral.
The Blue Folio
Matt McMahon. Black Ostrich Press.
$15.99 paper (226p), ISBN 978-09907103-0-1; $5.99 e-book, ISBN 978-
0-99071032-5
Amazon; iBooks; BN.com;
Kobo; Smashwords
Conspiracies throughout
the 2037 Second
Constitutional Convention
and the new constitutions
most perilous application in 2059 threaten
the presidents job, her life, and the new
peoplecentric government.
Bury Me Behind the Baseboard
Pavel Sanaev, trans. by Konstantin
Gurevich and Helen Anderson.
CreateSpace. $15 paper
(159p),
ISBN 978-1-49922786-4; $5 e-book, ASIN
B00K1MNA2M
Amazon; BN.com
An autobiographical
story about family, love, madness, violence,
and trauma told from the viewpoint of an
eight-year-old boy. A bestseller in Russia
and the basis of a play and movie, it is a
portrait of a generation, unveiling the madness of family structures familiar to everybody. The novel won the first place in the
informal readers poll, 25 Books That
Inspired the World (19892014), featured
in the November 2014 issue of World
Literature Today.
Church of Golf: A Novel
About Second Chances
Spencer Stephens. Saint
Pete Press. $14.25 paper
(372p), ISBN 978-09908437-0-2; $4.25
e-book, ASIN B00OY8WU98; BN ID

2940046224177
Amazon; BN.com; Smashwords
A man who appears hopelessly lost discovers that the way back is religious devotion to golf.
Days of Amber
Alex Chu. McNally
Jackson Books. $20 paper
(150p), ISBN 978-1941969-01-4
Amazon; McNally Jackson
The aloof employees of
software company Amber & Associates get
a harsh wake-up call when a hacker breaches
their system.
Eureka Man: A Novel
Patrick Middleton. CreateSpace. $11.50
paper (270p), ISBN 978-1-4942-2420-2;
$3.99 e-book, ASIN B00PJF1UZK; BN
ID 2940046126341
Amazon; Smashwords;
BN.com
Young Oliver Priddy is
sentenced to a life sentence
without parole in a penitentiary. Within this violent environment he
needs to transform his seemingly hopeless
situation through higher education opportunities.
Eve: In the Beginning
H.B. Moore. Mirror Press. $3.99 e-book,
ISBN 978-1-941145-39-5
Amazon; BN.com; Kobo; iTunes; Scribd;
Page Foundry
The first love story on earth. In a world
43
where everything is perfect, yet the same day after
day, Eve must decide if she
wants to live forever in the
garden with Adam and
never know what lies
beyond the walls. When she makes a choice
with terrible consequences, the pain of
mortality is swift. As she and Adam explore
their new world, and her body changes, Eve
discovers the sweetness of first love with
the man who has always been at her side.
Fifteen
Carolyn Doyle. Skydance Press. $14.95
paper (290p), ISBN 978-0-9915305-0-2;
$4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0-9915305-1-9
Amazon; BN.com
Uprising in the world of
1967upheaval in a Bronx
home. In an ItalianAmerican household, the
young mother, Maria, married to grumpy, older Luigi,
searches for a way out of her stale life. Her
daughter, Angelina, a typical teen, struggles to find herself during this turbulent
era. Since mother and daughter are often
mistaken for sisters, problems develop,
especially when Pasquale, the sultry Italian
stallion, enters the picture. Sparks fly and
nothing in the Campisi family is ever the
same again.
The Holly & The Icy:
Twenty-Five Christmas Tales to Warm
Your Nose and Freeze Your Toes
Chelsea E. Dill. Chelsea E. Dill. $5.69
e-book, ASIN B00P9UQ12W
Amazon
Dill presents twenty-five stories, one to
read on each day of December until
Christmas Day. From
anthropomorphic
cookies, Nutcracker-like
nostalgic fantasies,
romanticized earthy
Americana, humorous
spins on traditions, and
bizarre festivities gone awry, theres something for every day in twenty-five days of
December.
Holy Fool Holy Father

Nicholas A. Marziani Jr. WC Publishing.
$22 hardcover (290p), ISBN 978-09903419-3-2; $14.99 paper (290p),
ISBN 978-0-9903419-2-5; $3.99
e-book, ISBN 978-0-9903419-4-9
Amazon; Kobo; BN.com;
Holyfoolholyfatherthenovel.com
A young Russian man from Kazakhstan
and his lady companion
grow into a calling that
takes them all the way to
Rome and high Vatican
politics as global catastrophe threatens.
The Immigrant:
One from My Four
Legged Stool
Alfred Woollacott III.
Myfourleggedstool
Publishers. $15.99 paper
(414p),
ISBN 978-0-9904423-1-8; $3.99
e-book, ISBN 978-0-9904423-2-5
Amazon; BN.com
A historical saga of John Law, a young
Scottish prisoner of war who is shipped to
the colonies in 1650. Now an outcast, he
starts over as an immigrant in a Puritan
theocracy. This novel follows the travails of
John, his faith in God, and his good wife
and growing family.
A Modern Holy Land Story
William Drennan. CreateSpace. $6.99
paper (40p), ISBN 978-1-46801153-1;
$2.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-312-72202-6
Lulu.com; Amazon; BN.com
An Arab-Israeli battle
ends when both sides see
each other as brothers, not
enemies. Settings in New
York and Israel. A paradigm for peace, this is as
timely as today.
Paperwhite Narcissus
Tom Baker. iUniverse. $13.95 paper
(196p), ISBN 978-1-4917-5142-8;
$3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4917-5141-1
Amazon; BN.com; iUniverse;
TomBakerBooks.com
Tim Halladay, a senior at the College of
William & Mary, is in the
process of discovering his
true sexuality. The novel
explores narcissism, identity, and the doppelgnger
theory as one young man
struggles to define himself.
Prince Ric
Kevin Michael Irvine. Kevin Michael
Irvine. $2.99 e-book,
ISBN 978-0-9808561-0-8
Amazon; BN.com
Epic friendship turns to
exile and survival in the
world of Madison Avenue
advertising.
Smokey Bear:
The Cub Who Left
His Pawprints on History
Karen Signell. Karen Signell. $17.43
paper (510p), ISBN 978-0-9906185-0-8;
$3.99 e-book, ASIN B00N51Q6W2;
BN ID 2940046139174
Amazon; BN.com
A heartwarming and bittersweet story about a real
cub, badly burned in a
wildfire, rescued by a game
warden to live with his
family, and then confined
to the National Zoo.
To Be the Daughter of Two Worlds
Gita Bhattacharji. iUniverse. $17.95
paper (286p), ISBN 978-1-4917-3756-9;
$3.99 e-book, ISBN 9781-4917-3757-6
Amazon; BN.com
Sita is a New Yorker as
well as a modern Indian
woman who both questions
and respects her familys
traditions. She is bound by the expectations
of her traditional Indian family that are
spearheaded by Aunt Priya, a feisty little
country bumpkin and loud-mouthed,
uncouth character with a heart of gold who
feels Sita should never forget her Indian
roots. Can Sita fit into her new way of life
in New York and find true love without
disappointing her family?
Your Smallest Bones
Sean Taylor. Seventh Tangent. $8.99
paper (175p), ISBN 978-0-578-15298-1;
$3.99 e-book, ASIN B00PX80FCW
Amazon; BN.com
A collection of 12 stories: Stories you can hear in
the walls of the San
Francisco apartments with
the highest turnover rates.
Stories about all the beautiful people you will never
know, doing extraordinary things. They are
helping an ex-lover push a grand piano
onto a frozen lake. Letting their hands press
on thought-lost braille letters. Listening to
the pliant science of perfect bones, and
binding mattresses like books to get some
sleep.
POETRY
City Times and Other Poems
Vihang Naik. AuthorHouse. $13.66
paper (80p), ISBN 978-1-4918-9713-3;
$3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-4918-9714-0
Amazon; BN.com; Google Play
Naik throws light on the life of a city in
all its shades, glory, and misery in these
philosophical poems. The poems are
divided in six sections: one is an inner travelogue; another is about the
other chimeras in the city;
a third is about the beginning of meditation and
knowledge; one records the
poets sense of futility,
memory, pain, exile, and
alienation at the shore of life. In the last
section, the city is unfolded as a marketplace, as a heaven for underdogs, and as a
seedbed of change, and is observed at evening, at midnight, by moonlight, and
through fog and haze.
MYSTERY/THRILLER
The Alcatraz Rose
Anthony Eglin. Larkspur House. $15.95
paper (229p), ISBN 978-1-5027-0703-1;
$8.99 e-book,
ASIN B00PSOWKAG
Amazon
A childs cry for help. A
long extinct rose. A notorious crime from the distant past. The redoubtable
British botanist and sleuth
Lawrence Kingston has
never before faced a mystery quite this challengingor this deadly. By the author of
The Blue Rose and other English Garden
mysteries.
Arena of God:
The Gideon Jones Chronicles
Brian M. Oldham. A Coastal Town Press.
$15.95 paper (354p),
ISBN 978-0-9916174-8-7
Amazon; BN.com; Ingram
Gideon Jones is confronted with a dangerous
divorce and then a double
kidnapping. He turns to
his friends for help and
finds a powerful source of
help from outside his
coastal town.
Dark Seed:
No One Knows What Evil Grows
Lawrence Verigin. Promontory Press.
$17.99 paper (298p),
ISBN 978-1-927559-17-8; $7.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1-927559-18-5
Amazon; BN.com
A disillusioned journalist and the
grieving daughter of a murdered scientist
uncover an immoral and
destructive global plot by
the largest developer of
genetically engineered
seed and its parent pharmaceutical conglomerate.
Nick Barnes and Morgan
Elles learn that the goal of the man behind
the organizations is complete control of
human existence. The couple quickly find
themselves fighting for their lives in this
high-concept thriller that tackles one of the
big issues of our time.
Dead in a Dumpster:
Leah Norwood Mystery #1
B.L. Blair. B.L. Blair. $8.99 paper (210p),
ISBN 978-0-9906584-0-5;
$3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-09906584-2-9
Amazon; BN.com; Kobo; iTunes;
Smashwords
The police have too
many suspects and too
many soft alibis. Leah
loves a good mystery. Can
she find the killer before
the police charge her with
murder?
Death of a Diva:
From Berlin to Broadway
Brigitte Goldstein. Pierredor Books.
$14.99 paper (278p),
ISBN 978-0-692-24666-5; $4.99
e-book, ASIN B00O3GWB3G
Amazon; BN.com
Stella Berger, former darling of stage and
cinema in Weimar Germany and an outspoken critic of the Nazi regime, is found
strangled in her dressing room during a
triumphal run on Broadway in 1941.
Assisting in the police
search for the killer is a
young Jewish refugee, who
traces Stellas life from its
humble beginnings in a
Viennese Jewish ghetto to
Stellas rise to international fame. Could a closely guarded secret
in Stellas past imperil her public image yet
also provide the clue to solving the crime?
From the coffeehouse culture of pre-WWI
Vienna to the cabaret milieu of 1920s
Berlin to wartime New York, the novel
takes the reader on a cultural whirlwind
tour as the characters flee across the continent to escape Nazi persecution.
Exam Room Confidential:
The Wellborne Files
Louis Siegel. CreateSpace.
$12.99 paper (256p),
ISBN 978-1-49546068-5; $6.99 e-book,
ASIN B00QQYEHOY
Amazon; BN.com
A shocking look at medicines underbelly and the medical and social pathology
one doctor confronts. A cautionary tale
45
about the trust and respect
placed in doctors.
Get Out of Town:
The First Tyler Knight
Mystery
Laurie Banton. Pebble Bay
Publishers. $4.99 e-book,
ISBN 978-1-59585530-5
Amazon
Banton weaves a tumbled, tangled mystery crackling with energy, suspense, and a
jolting finish, yet comforting as a good cup
of tea.
Mosaics: A Thriller
E.E. Giorgi. Quemazon Publishing.
$13.99 paper (396p),
ISBN 978-0-99604513-1;
$4.99 e-book, ASIN
B00MQZSFA4
Amazon; BN.com
Dubbed the Byzantine
Strangler because of the
mosaic tiles he leaves at the
scene, a serial killer is stalking the streets
of Los Angeles. Who will be next in the
mosaic?
The Organ Takers:
A Novel of Surgical Suspense
Richard Van Anderson. White Light
Press. $11.99 paper (292p),
ISBN 978-0-9907597-1-3; $2.99
e-book, ISBN 978-09907597-2-0
Amazon; BN.com; Google
Play; Kobo
Failed surgeon David
McBride is forced to perform illegal organ harvests.
While fighting to free himself from the
situation, McBride loses everything,
including his humanity, and sets off down
the path to revenge. Book one of the
McBride trilogy.
Renegades Among the
Tumbleweeds
Hewitt Freiburg.
AuthorHouse. $21.04
paper (507p), ISBN 978-
1-4969-2874-0; $3.99 e-book, ISBN

978-1-4969-2876-4
Amazon; BN.com; Google Play
An archeologist finds a box that is way
too old for where he is digging in Maine;
documents that could change history are
inside. A strange map and several murders
are involved.
Sugar Valley:
Hollywoods Darkest Secret
Stephen Andrew Salamon. CreateSpace.
$19.99 paper (506),
ISBN 978-1-50090755-6; $4.99 e-book,
ASIN B00N85YURI
Amazon; BN.com
Damen Schultz and his
friends are hunted by the
rich and famous when they
embark on a journey of
becoming movie stars. But only one will
win the Oscar.
Taste of Poison:
Piri Aji Series, Book 1
Terry don Foley.
CreateSpace. $20 paper
(414p), ISBN 978-149609643-2; $9.99
e-book, ASIN
B00FNTCX6C
Amazon; BN.com
A crime thriller with violence, sex, and
true love. A look inside the intimate lives
of the owners of Colombian drug cartels
and their families.
Twisted Linen:
A Prophetic Thriller of
Deception, Deceit and Faith
C.W. Cook. Chadwick Publishing. $2.99
e-book, ASIN B00NLLPCVC
Amazon
Against his wifes
warnings, Simon agrees
to help Cardinal Genovi
expose the conspiracy
behind a modern-day
cult. But Simon should
have listened to Grace; shes more than
smart and alluringshe is usually right!
The short novel is drawn from modern-day
events, human genetic engineering, and

end-times Scripture. With a touch of the
occult and the paranormal, it weaves a tale
around Biblical prophecy concerning Israel
and astronomical signs to occur in 2017
with writing thats free of foul language.
The Wolf Hunter
Mark Giles. Noir West. $16.99 paper
(392p), ISBN 978-0-615-97061-5; $5
e-book, ASIN
B00O9E43Q0
Amazon; BN.com
Annie Mann and
Wilhelm Spatz are polar
opposites when it comes to
wolves in the Stanley
Valley. His side has the gunsuntil the
Wolf Hunter arrives. Hes a man with a past
he wants to change.
SF/FANTASY/HORROR
America, Inc.
A.E. Weber Wolstein. Vinspire
Publishing. $12.99 paper (263p), ISBN
978-0-98906329-6; $2.99 e-book, ASIN
B00O3IOF1A; BN ID 2940150635159
Amazon; BN.com
The world has been united under one
empire: America. Ivan Luciano is the most
powerful man in that empire, but he wants
more, and he convinced his
girlfriend, Lucy, to help. A
brilliant engineer, Lucy has
brought life to robots.
Theyre even passing as
humans, and one of them is
going to run for president.
If Ivan has his way, the robot will win. And
with a robot as commander-in-chief, Ivan
will have ultimate control. Lucy leads a
clan of revolutionaries to combat her exs
greed and stop him once and for all. With
her knowledge of the robots, she can save
the worldif Ivan doesnt win first.
Arcanas Avatar (Fallen Arcana, Vol. 1)
Jared Bennett. CreateSpace. $9.99 paper
(326p), ISBN 978-1-5008-8003-3;
$4.99 e-book, ASIN B00NAI0FO0
Amazon
Charles and Aurin have called the city of
Hudcoeden home since they were carried
there as infants from the fallen city of
Falderal. Aurin, a skilled swordsman
serving the city guard, carries an old sword
said to belong to his father. Charles seeks to
hone his magical skill as a member of the
order of Wizards, but he
continually finds himself
at odds with a Druid
order. But the mysterious
forces that saw Falderal
fall under a tide of
demons have returned,
and the people of Hudcoeden accuse
Charles and Aurin of bringing the nightmare.
The Darkest Side of Saturn: Odyssey
of a Reluctant Prophet of Doom
Tony Taylor. iUniverse. $25.95 paper
(475p), ISBN 978-1-4917-342-1-6;
$5.99 e-book, ISBN 9781-4917-342-2-3
Amazon; BN.com
Visionary and satiric.
Two astronomers discover
an asteroid: death is possiblewill it hit? The
story contains strong doses of romance,
science, religion, and sexwith some
ballet thrown in for good measure.
The Deer Effect
Susan Wingate. Eye of the Needle Press.
$13.99 paper (344p),
ISBN 978-1-50551731-6; $2.99 e-book,
ASIN B00MRPKZ2O
Amazon; BN.com
When his wife, Hannah, is found dead
near the body of a fawn,
Rod Demsey sets out to
find her killer (with his
dog, who seems to be able
to communicate with
spirits). His grief causes his
faith to wither until an
unexpected turn brings Rod face-to-face
with the only person who can tell him what
really happened to his wife in a story of loss,
redemption, and forgiveness. By the author
of Drowning.
Forsaken: Shadow Cove Saga, Book 1
J.D. Barker. Hampton Creek Press. $22
hardcover (340p), ISBN 978-0-99069493-9; $13.99 paper (386p),

ISBN 978-0-9906949-0-8; $5.99
e-book, ISBN 978-0-9906949-1-5
Books-A-Million;
IndieBound; Google Play;
Kobo
From the witch trials of
centuries past, an evil
awakens when a horror
author begins his latest novel.
Link
D.A. Karr. CreateSpace. $15.95 paper
(270p), ISBN 978-1-5004-2014-7;
$8.99 e-book, ASIN B00QR54QG6
Amazon; BN.com
Space time, 2800: As the earth shifts on
its axis, humankind is
caught in a war of survival
and time. Capt. John
Garrick and the NSTEA
Phoenix become a pawn
b e t w e e n t e c h n o l o g y,
humans, and whats left of
civilization. But no amount of careful planning can prepare the time jumpers for the
dangerous enemy that seems to predict
their every move. As the NSTEA seals a
deal to deliver time technology to a notorious outlaw, Garrick plots to undermine
the NSTEA and Phoenixs crew prepares for
the inevitablea fight to the finish.
The Watchers Keep
Timothy Bond. My Ostrich Press. $24.99
paper (690p), ISBN 978-1-5053-3501-9;
$5.99 e-book, ASIN B00QFLBCEQ; BN
ID 2940046318746
Amazon; iTunes; BN.com; Google Play;
Kobo; Page Foundry;
Smashwords
The Children of the
Prophecy pursue the fabled
Triadine, a talisman of
unequaled power, in an
attempt to banish the Dark
Wizard from the land.
ROMANCE/EROTICA
Ill Look to the Sky!
M. Anthony Martin. CreateSpace. $18.50
paper (482p), ISBN 978-14954-5792-0; $7 e-book,

ASIN B00M14ITRY
Amazon; BN.com
A beautiful and talented
36-year-old divorce with
two daughters falls in love
with a younger, aspiring
actor. A retro tale of starcrossed Hollywood.
Lady Catherines Secret
(Secrets and Seduction, Book 2)
Sheridan Jeane. Flowers and Fullerton.
$14.99 paper (398p),
ISBN 978-1-63303006-0; $4.99 e-book,
ISBN 978-1-63303005-3
Amazon; BN.com
Despite
Lady
Catherines love of fencing, she needs to
stop pretending to be a boy and fraternizing with menbut not until after she
competes in the upcoming tournament.
INSPIRATIONAL
Akashic Alphabet
Trenace Rose. Dementi Milestone
Publishing. $38.95
hardcover (72p),
ISBN 978-09898812-5-8
AkashicAlphabet.
com; Baker & Taylor;
Ingram; Pathway
This research-based series of vision narratives, coupled with 27 master artist illustrations, conveys diverse spiritual and cultural beliefs, revealing a graceful
connection of Oneness in all. A powerful
lift for the soul.
America:
We Have the Country We Want
Mark Mullen. Mark Mullen. $12.87
paper (140p), ISBN 9781-50289021-4; $4.87
e-book, ASIN
B00P8RBTYG
Amazon; BN.com
Mullen analyzes failures of
business, media, politicians,
47
education, and society. He
discusses throwaway
employees, college for all, religion, guns,
and more.
When All Balls Drop:
The Upside of Losing Everything
Heidi Siefkas. Wheatmark. $15.95 paper
(270p), ISBN 978-1-62787-121-1;
$9.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-62787-122-8
Amazon; BN.com; Brookline Booksmith;
Trident Cafe (Boston)
Siefkas was a happily married, globetrotting professionaluntil a tree
limb in New Yorks
Hudson River Valley
struck her down, breaking her neck. She
lost her independence. She lost her career.
Her marriage disintegrated as she confronted a trail of devastating lies about her
husbands double life. But Siefkas fought
to rebuild herself. Along the way, she
gained clarity about her core values,
coming to a deeper understanding of what
it means to have it all. Through down-toearth vignettes, Siefkas shows its possible
to look up in spite of pain, deceit, and loss.
COMICS/GRAPHIC NOVELS
Of Fleas and Fleadom,
A Tale of Two Vermin
Lewis Goldstein, illus. by Arianna
Grinager. CreateSpace.
$14.99 paper (52p),
ISBN 978-1-50309147-4
Amazon; Baableonbooks.com; BN.com
Finnegan T., a shy,
quiet flea, lived on a cat in a monastery
until they tried to poison him. Follow
Finnegans adventures as he searches for
sanctuary in the dangerous world of Man.
Two vermin, one small, one bigwho is
the true villain? A graphic epic told in
rhyme.
NONFICTION
The Creative Year:
52 Workshops for Writers
Elisabeth Sharp McKetta. Frog Prince Press.
$8 paper (72p),
ISBN 978-0-99083230-0; $5.99 e-book, ASIN
B00OU0QB54
Amazon
Most writers struggle
with three things: how to
get started, how to improve, and what to
do with a finished piece of writing. This
concise guidebook illuminates a path for
all three. Each workshop contains three
parts: process, prompt, and venue. Used
together, these techniques provide the
scaffolding for a sustainable, fulfilling
writing life.
The Creativity Catalog:
300 of the Worlds Most Creative
Things and How They Can Make
You More Creative
Too
Donald Rattner. The
Creative Home. $45
paper (220p), ISBN
978-0-9907787-0-7
Amazon;
Thecreativehome.com
This compilation explores a genre of
household products designed to cultivate
creative thinking and innovation through
practical problem solving, hands-on experience, and open-ended play.
BIO/AUTOBIO
Falling Off Broadway
David Black. Mezzo
Books. $15.99 paper
(157p), ISBN 978-163192-325-8
Amazon
A witty, entertaining
memoir of his adventures on Broadway by
a Tony Awardwinning producer. Black
provides personal accounts of theatrical
luminaries such as Laurence Olivier, John
Gielgud, Julie Harris, Gene Hackman, Joel
Grey, Bernadette Peters, Burt Reynolds,
Julie Andrews, Joshua Logan, Alan King,
David Merrick, and well-known figures
Donald Trump and Richard Nixon. This
memoir is based on Blacks one-man play,
which received rave reviews in New York
and London.
Small Moments: A Childs Memories

of the Civil Rights Movement
Mary Barrow. Wise Ink Creative
Publishing. $15 paper (207p),
ISBN 978-1-94001406-7; $4.99 e-book,
ISBN 978-1-94001407-4
Amazon; BN.com
Based during the years
of the civil rights movement, this is the true story of how one
uneducated and underprivileged woman
taught a child to see the world not in terms
of color but in terms of kindness, equality,
and love.
A View with a Room
Kevin McDonough. CreateSpace. $7.99
paper (192p), ISBN 978-1-5023-5437-2;
$3.99 e-book, ASIN
B00OOFTMEC; BN ID
2940046371581
Amazon; BN.com; Kobo;
Smashwords
A humorous adventure
of the authors dream to
live in Paris. But a chance meeting at a
sidewalk crpe stand propels his life in an
unexpected new direction.
BUSINESS/
PERSONAL FINANCE
Private Notes of a Headhunter:
Proven Job Search and Interviewing
Techniques for College
Students & Recent
Grads
Kenneth A. Heinzel.
CreateSpace. $9.95 paper
(204p), ISBN 978-09884936-0-5; $2.99
e-book, ASIN B00BJRVE9E
Amazon; BN.com
Analysis of the job interview from the
vantage point of an executive recruiter who
was also a college professor and an industry
sales manager.
HEALTH/DIET/PARENTING
Brain Health for Life: Beyond Pills,
Politics, and Popular Diets
Karen V. Unger. Inkwater Press. $16.95
paper (306p), ISBN 978-1-62901-154-7
Amazon; Baker & Taylor;
BN.com; Ingram;
Inkwater.com; Powells
Learn what to eat, what
to avoid, and how to
change your lifestyle
today to promote strong,
vibrant brain health throughout your
life.
101+ Secrets from Nutrition School:
That You Need To Know
Lynne Dorner. Aware of This? $27.95
hardcover (242p), ISBN 978-0-99091552-2
Amazon; BN.com
To inspire those looking
to make positive life
changes, a health coach
shares the most essential
lessons she learned along
her educational journey. The lessons,
accompanied by illustrations, are significant and life-changing calls to action.
Dorner is passionate about goal setting and
clean eating to bring about long-lasting
results.
HISTORY
Icebound Empire: Industry and
Politics on the Last Frontier 18981938
Elizabeth A. Tower. Old Stone Press.
$17.95 paper (342p),
ISBN 978-1-938462-12-2
Amazon; BN.com
Award-winning
Alaska historian Towers
book is being relaunched
in a third edition with
significantly more content, photographs, map
illustrations, chronology, and a firsthand
account of Alaska railroad development in
the early 20th century that has never been
published beyond the Alaska Historical
Society journals. It is the story of three
men who were prime movers and shakers
in the most ambitious of the early 20thcentury Alaska developments: the J.P.
MorganGuggenheim Alaska Syndicate,
which built the Kennecott Copper Co. and
the Copper River and Northwestern

Railway.
SCIENCE
The Humem State:
The Emergence and Establishment
of Our Extended Presence
Alan Brook. Humemity. $13.89 paper
(312p), ISBN 978-0692-25162-1; $7.62
e-book, ASIN
B00O5C4EVU
Amazon; BN.com
A reconceptualization
of the very idea of identityhuman or otherwise. Brook asks how
we as individuals can benefit from advances
in technology without continuing to surrender the control, ownership, and privacy
of our data to corporations and governments.
SELFHELP
Pinstripe Suits to Prison Blues:
How an Entrepreneur Went from
Millionaire to Bankruptcy and
Prison Only to Return a Stronger
Person Dedicating His Life to
Helping Others with the Power
of Faith, Family and Friends
Michael R. Holley.
Hopeful Publishing Co.
$17.95 paper (172p),
ISBN 978-0-98622860-5; $5.99 e-book,
ASIN B00RKN080M
Amazon; Michaelholley
.com; BN.com
Follow an entrepreneurs journey from
rise to fall to resurrection. Holleys story
includes fishing boat tales, car salesman
anecdotes, and the growth and collapse of
a large Chevrolet dealer. Holley recounts
his experience in state prison and the
reemergence of hope.
Seeking the Face of Love
Hadrian Bradley. Bradley
House. $14.95 paper
(260p), ISBN 978-0692-30127-2; $9.95
e-book, ASIN
B00PRTH44E
Amazon; BN.com
Humanity is connected by
spiritual energy and man-made systems of
economics and law. There are ways to lift
humanity out of spiritual darkness and
poverty, but action requires love.
Transform Your Life:
7 Steps to a Better Life
Nella Ann Roberts. Balboa Press. $11.99
paper (128p), ISBN 978-1-4525-9859-8;
$6.99 e-book, ISBN 9781-4525-9860-4
Amazon; BN.com
This book aims to help
you change your life, be
more successful, and have
a better life.
Wake-Up Call...
A Mothers Grief Journey:
The Call That Changes Your Life Forever
Cherie Rickard. CreateSpace. $13.95
paper, ISBN 978-1-5031-2912-2; $4.99
e-book, ASIN B00PESCJ9S;
BN ID 2940150612075
Amazon; BN.com; BooksA-Million
A moving, inspirational
voyage inside the shattered
life and broken heart of a
mother who tragically and
unexpectedly loses her teenage son in a onecar accident. In ways unexpected, practical,
and real, Rickard gives anyone who has ever
experienced the devastating loss of a loved
one, real-life, hard-core, often tough-spoken
but love-laden and extremely practical
advice on how to turn lifes most tragic
blows into triumph.
Who Stole My Spandex?
Midlife Musings from a Middle-Aged
MILF
Marcia Kester Doyle. Blue
Lobster Book Co. $12.95
paper (304p), ISBN 9780-9899553-5-5; $4.99
e-book, ASIN
B00Q41HS5O; BN ID
2940150216563
Amazon; BN.com
A humorous collection of stories from
49
the authors madcap world of
menopausal pitfalls, wardrobe malfunctions, and a family full of
pranksters.
CHILDRENS FICTION
Angel Academy
Aaron M. Stephens.
Aaron M. Stephens.
$19.95 paper (296p),
ISBN 978-0-99087840-7; $9.99 e-book, ISBN
978-0-9908784-1-4
Books-A-Million; Google
Play; Kobo
Imagine a magical world of angels.
Discover a whole new cast of personalities,
where they are born, where they train, and
more. New friendships will be formed with
angels Braeden and Morgan. The world is
ready to believe.
Chores to Do
K.L. Hagood. Llumina Press. $11.95
paper (24p), ISBN 978-1-59526-684-2
Llumina.com; Amazon; BN.com
This book is one
way to get the kids
up and going. Get
t h e m o rg a n i z e d
with this fun and
creative book.
Destinys Gate:
Paige Maddison Series, Book 2
Lee Bice-Matheson and J.R. Matheson.
FriesenPress. $26.99 hardcover (277p),
ISBN 978-1-4602-4607-8; $22.99 paper
(277p), ISBN 978-1-4602-4606-1;
$2.99 e-book, ASIN B00N29FO8Y; BN
ID 2940150617841
Friesenpress.com;
Amazon; BN.com
When
Paige
Maddisons premonitions, nightmares, and
ghostly visions return,
she realizes there is no way of getting back
to the normal she once knew. Paige becomes
the target of the Earthbounds, anguished
souls who seek revenge and retribution.
But she soon learns that she is being called
upon by a greater power beyond her wildest

comprehension. Should she embrace her
special gift and fulfill her destiny? Or will
she succumb to the evil that surrounds her
and deny her true identity?
Gollywood, Here I Come!
Terry John Barto, illus. by Mattia Cerato.
AuthorHouse. $15.15 paper (32p),
ISBN 978-1-4969-3509-0; $3.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1-4969-3512-0
Amazon; BN.com; Books-A-Million;
IndieBound
When Anamazie isnt
twirling a baton, taking
an acti ng c la ss, or
attending singing and
dance lessons, she fantasizes about being a
movie star. After she leads the school band
in the Fourth of July parade, her dream
comes true. This story taps into the publics
fascination with celebrities and movie
stars, and leaves young readers with a positive message in a fun way.
Inner Fire
R.L. Stedman. Waverley Productions.
$14 paper (260p),
ISBN 978-1-50306047-0; $2.99 e-book,
ASIN B00OXPXG04
Amazon; BN.com
When her friend is
assaulted, Corinne
Peterson cant help reacting. But now her
hands are burned and strange men are
watching her house. Could they be terrorists? Secret agents?
Jillian McClout, Happy Scout:
A Smile Is Born (Vol. 1)
D.J. Stamper, illus. by Aubrey N.
Stamper. CreateSpace. $5.99 paper (50p),
ISBN 978-1-5031-8550-0; $2.99
e-book, ASIN B00PEYNN88
Amazon
Jillians on a mission to
bring smiles to the faces of
at least three people in one
day, but she soon learns
that the task is easier
pledged than done.
Libellus de Numeros
(Magicae Mathematica, Book 1)
Jim West. Jim West. $14.99 paper
(382p), ISBN 978-1-50283491-1; $3.99
e-book, ASIN B00P2783FK; BN ID
2940046407754
Amazon; BN.com
Alex gets transported to
another world where Latin
and math combine with magical effects. In a world where
math is magic, Alex wishes
she had paid more attention in math class.
Mistake, Wisconsin
Kersti Niebruegge. Kersti Niebruegge.
$6.99 paper (160p), ISBN 978-09908710-1-9; $3.99 e-book,
ISBN 978-0-9908710-0-2
Amazon; BN.com
Deep in Wisconsins
eccentric Northwoods, a
high school sophomore realizes she must take on a corrupt politician if she wants
to save her towns beloved
holidaymusky fishing Opening Day.
Never Forgotten
(Never Forgotten Series, Book 1)
Kelly Risser. Clean Teen Publishing.
$11.95 paper (314p), ISBN 978-1940534-53-4; free
e-book, ASIN
B00LEZ92TA; BN ID
2940046053258
Amazon; iTunes; BN.com;
Smashwords
Those we love are never
forgotten. With her friends, Meara embarks
on a journey to unlock secrets that reveal
not only who she is but what she is.
The Party Line
Karen Alkofer. CreateSpace. $15 paper
(196p), ISBN 978-1-5007-1675-2;
$7.99 e-book, ASIN
B00P9JQ4EI
Amazon; BN.com
Fifteen-year-old Lizzie
enjoys eavesdropping on her
Tehran apartments telephone party line, but what
SELF-PUBLISHED LISTINGS
she overhears thrusts her into an unexpected
adventure that will change her life forever.
Shifters
Douglas Pershing and Angelia Pershing.
Pershing Books. $13.28 paper (372p),
ISBN 978-1-4910-9164-7; $2.99
e-book, ASIN B00E9OEQEO
Amazon; BN.com
Teenagers Tanner and
Ryland uncover a secret
that thrusts them into a
conflict they never knew
existed. Now theyre
fighting for a people who
are ungrateful while facing foes powerful
beyond imagination.
The Tale of Nottingswood
J.R. Young, illus. by Amelia Grace. Pond
Publishing. $5.99 paper (79p),
ISBN 978-0-9719423-7-0; $1.99
e-book, ISBN 978-1-311-39806-2
Nottingswood.com; Amazon; Apple
iBooks; BN.com; Kobo; Smashwords
When teenage twins
stumble on a mysterious
creature, they uncover a
secret power that jeopardizes everything theyve
ever known. A dystopian
novelette in verse.
Want (Numbered, Book 1)
Magus Tor. Magus Tor Books and Games.
$15.90 paper (208p)
ISBN 978-1-50281819-5; $3.99 e-book,
ASIN B00OFKVLV8
Amazon; BN.com; Fishpond
Trust no one, no one
truststhat is the way of
Lunar City. Aurelia, a newly
graduated med worker, is
posted to Lunar City
Hospital. On her way to the
moon, her shuttle is attacked
by terrorists. The only word she heard was the
Resistance. Who are the Resistance and what
do they want from her?
Weresisters
John Patrick Kennedy. Dark Trope
Publishing. $15.66 paper (430p),
ISBN 978-1-5053-3842-3; $2.99

e-book, ASIN B00R41RAB0
Amazon; BN.com
Sixteen-year-old Kyra is
odd. All she wants in her
junior year of high school is
to be cool. Instead, she
becomes a werewolf.
The Wig: Happy Holidays (Book 3)
Renata Suerth. Renata Suerth. $9.99
paper (132p), ISBN 978-0-9882685-2-4;
$3.99 e-book, ASIN B00GZACWZK
Amazon; BN.com; Books-A-Million;
Ingram; Kobo; Powells
Sofie has high hopes for
the holidays, but Mother
Nature has different
plans. An unexpected
invasion, a new family
pet, a Christmas non-miracle, and other mishaps await Sofie, the
queen of not-so-great luck.
CHILDRENS NONFICTION
Asheem: The Boy Who Could Not Read
Sharon D. Ulett, M.Ed. CreateSpace. $20
paper (86p), ISBN 978-1-5007-2053-7;
$9.99 e-book, ASIN B00P1WX9U0;
BN ID 2940150527553
Amazon; BN.com;
Sharondulettsbooks.com
A young boy struggling
with the challenges of
learning disabilities
achieves his goals after
receiving the help he needs from a caring
teacher and a supportive team of individuals, including his family.
The Becoming Years18 to 28:
The Ten Years It Takes to Get Over
Being a Kid
George Wray. Alpha-Graphics. $24 paper
(332p), ISBN 978-09903721-0-3
Amazon
This conversational book
details 30 different subjects
related to young people
working to achieve selfdirection while newly encountering an
impersonal world after age 18.
Looking for
a career?
Looking for
a new job?
Look no
further...
JOBP
ZONE
publishersweekly.com/jobzone
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51
JOBZONE1/3v.indd 1
2/21/13 1:27 PM
Your
business is only as strong as
your talent.
REVIEWS ROUNDUP
Reviews Roundup
Over the last month, weve reviewed two dozen self-published titles received via BookLife,
PWs website dedicated to indie authors. Among this months highlights is Richard Van
Andersons The Organ Takers: A Novel of Surgical Suspense, which received a starred review. Our
reviewer called it a taut and powerful medical thriller and a superior page-turner.
Fiction
Nonfiction
A Baby to Die For
Alex Haleys Roots: An Authors Odyssey
Mike Slosberg. Nightengale, $16.95 paper (420p)

ISBN 978-1-935993-64-3
From the Sky: Arrival
Adam Henig. CreateSpace, $6.99 paper (118p) ISBN 978-1-5007-5149-4
The Cookie Doctor
David McGowan, $2.99 e-book (251p) ASIN B00NLDK7YC
Peter T. Pugliese. Topical Agent, $9.99 hardcover (252p)

ISBN 978-0-9630-2116-8
Healing Ruby
The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife and the Missing Corpse
Jennifer Westall. Jennifer Westall, $3.99 e-book (369p) ASIN B00O3GRNF2
Keota
Piu Marie Eatwell. Head of Zeus, $24.95 hardcover (338p)

ISBN 978-1-78185-608-6
Toni Volk. CreateSpace, $13.99 paper (364p)

ISBN 978-1-4948-9419-1
Childrens/YA
The Maghreb Conspiracy:

The Third Spy Story in Crofts Mideast Trilogy
The Angels on My Tree
Roger Croft. CreateSpace, $11.90 hardcover ISBN 978-1-5008-2332-0
Lu Ann Schnable Kaldor, illus. by Eve S. Gendron. Four Directions Press,

$17.99 hardcover (40p) ISBN 978-0-9627659-4-0
The Narrow Path to War: Marshals of Arion, Book 1
Angelinas Prayer
D.L. Frizzell. BookLogix, $14.95 paper (363p)

ISBN 978-1-61005-499-7
The Organ Takers: A Novel of Surgical Suspense

Richard Van Anderson. White Light, $11.99 paper (306p)
ISBN 978-0-9907597-1-3
Scale-Bright
Benjanun Sriduangkaew. Immersion, $14 paper (110p)
ISBN 978-0-9563924-9-7
Seven Days
Sterling Nixon. S&J Publisher, $9.99 paper (360p)
ISBN 978-0-9903708-0-2
SoulServe
Cheryl Bartky. Bark of the Tree Communications, $5.95 paper (48p)

ISBN 978-1-4811-6715-4
The Land Outside

Daniel Landin. Daniel Landin, $2.99 e-book (54p) ASIN B00HUKC4AC
The Murder of Adam and Eve

William Dietrich. Burrows Publishing, $13.99 paper (306p)
ISBN 978-0-9906621-0-5
The Orphan of Torundi

J.L. McCreedy. Penelope Pipp Publishing, $4.99 e-book (294p)
ISBN 978-0-9882369-3-6
Porter Searches for Santa
Robert S. Wilson. Robert S. Wilson, $2.99 e-book (95p) ASIN B00N16R44K
Jonathan I. Gonzales. N.B. 498 Press, $16.95 hardcover (36p)

ISBN 978-0-9960610-0-1
Third Daughter
The Stone Lions
Susan Kaye Quinn. Susan Kaye Quinn, $12.99 paper (346p)

ISBN 978-1-4937-7477-7
Too Close
Elizabeth Krall. CreateSpace, $9.99 hardcover ISBN 978-1-4820-9792-4
Two Performance Artists Kidnap Their Boss and

Do Things with Him
Scotch Wichmann. Freakshow Books, $17.99 paper (482p)
ISBN 978-0-9910257-0-1
Gwen Dandridge. Hickory Tree, $10.99 paper (238p)

ISBN 978-0-9893157-8-4
Audio
The Island of Doctor Moreau
H.G. Wells, read by a full cast. Mondello, 3 CDs, 3 hrs., $19.95
ISBN 978-1-940650-11-1
Reviews
Fiction
A Baby to Die For
Mike Slosberg. Nightengale, $16.95
trade paper (420p) ISBN 978-1-935993-64-3
Slosberg (The Hitler Error) delivers an

emotional gut punch to the reader in this
thriller, set in 1972 and involving the
American black market for adoption.
New Yorkers Ellen and Tuck Handler are
desperate to have a child after Ellen suffers
two miscarriages. Their doctor has warned
against any further attempts to get pregnant, since he believes they would imperil
Ellens life. The Handlers explore adoption through a reputable agency, only to
be laughed at by
the social
worker, Harriet
Flynn, for the
list theyve
drawn up of
their ideal babys
characteristics.
Flynn notes that
the recent Roe v.
Wade decision
will only lower
the number of infants available, and the
Handlers decide to explore the shady
underworld where babies are bought and
sold. The windup isnt quite as effective as
the setup, but Slosberg does a good job of
incorporating ethical issues into his plot.
From the Sky: Arrival

David McGowan. David McGowan, $2.99
e-book (251p) ASIN B00NLDK7YC
This stale trilogy opener unimaginatively depicts a destructive alien invasion

that resembles many such events in fiction
and film. The
Californian town
of Camberway is
besieged by suspicious flying
saucers, and when
more strange
things start happening,
Camberways residents must use all
of their wits to
survive. The aliens searchlights and
vaporizing beams are straight out of The
Twilight Zone and War of the Worlds. Most

of the characters are one-dimensional, and
there are too many individual stories to
keep track of. McGowan is clearly
inspired by the idea of human responses to
unimaginable disaster, but the conventional plot never goes anywhere new.
Healing Ruby
Jennifer Westall. Jennifer Westall, $3.99
e-book (369p) ASIN B00O3GRNF2
Coming of age in Depression-era

Alabama is fraught with pitfalls for Ruby
Graves in the opener of Westalls (Loves
Providence) Healing Ruby series. Ruby is a
typical young woman of her time, but
then tragedy strikes her family repeatedly,
much like the biblical figure Job. In the
wake of those tragedies comes a new
understanding of her faith, and more
questions than she can ever find answers
to, among them mysteries in her familys
past. Plot strands are teased out slowly
and answers revealed as the story progresses, and the novel builds to a satisfying climax followed by a gentle push
toward the next
installment.
Woven with
scriptural references that and
brutally frank
regarding the
treatment of
people in the
1930s South,
Westalls story
also sounds notes
of hope and faith that balance her portrayal. Insight into history and race relations enrich a textured narrative.
Keota
Toni Volk. CreateSpace, $13.99 trade paper
(364p) ISBN 978-1-4948-9419-1
Volk introduces her protagonist, Keota,

as a teenage girl abused by an alcoholic
father and ignored by her mother. While
Keota fears becoming like her parents, it
seems a fate she cannot avoid. She resents
her nomadic childhood but maintains an
equally itinerant lifestyle as an adult,
scoping out potential exits as soon as she
lands anywhereeven
on her wedding night.
As Volk begins telling
Keotas adult story, the character quickly
moves from sympathetic protagonist to
unsympathetic antihero, a satisfying
transformation to the reader. At 23 she
abandons her new familywhich now
includes a young daughter, Chrisand
travels from Chicago to New York before
finally leaving
for Mexico. As an
adult, Chris
coerces her childhood friend
Rainy to accompany her in a
drive through
Mexico in search
of a mother shes
not sure wants to
be found.
Despite some dangerous encounters,
Chris remains singularly obsessed with
the woman who deserted her. The conclusion is anticlimactic, but Volks complex
characters, intriguing back stories, and
interesting foreign locales make this novel
worth the read.
The Maghreb Conspiracy:

The Third Spy Story in Crofts
Mideast Trilogy
Roger Croft. CreateSpace, $11.90
ISBN 978-1-5008-2332-0
Set in 2005, Crofts third spy novel featuring MI6 operative and former journalist Michael Vaux (after 2013s Operation
Saladin) tapers off after an intriguing
start. A wet-behind-the-ears agent,
Sebastian Micklethwait, lands an
extremely sensitive assignment.
Micklethwait is
to travel with
facilitator
Mokhtar Tawil
to Morocco,
where Tawil will
help him connect with a
member of alQaedas execuW W W . P U B L I S H E R S W E E K L Y . C O M 52a
REVIEWS
tive committee whos offered
to provide valuable intelligence on the groups plans.
The mission, dubbed Operation Apostate,
goes awry almost immediately, as Tawil is
murdered on the first leg of their trip and
Micklethwait himself is taken prisoner. It
falls to Vaux, whos been tapped to oversee
Operation Apostate, to try to rescue the
agent and salvage whatever can be salvaged. Vaux is a familiar genre staple, a
maverick who gets results, but this time
out, Croft doesnt give him enough depth
to be truly memorable.
The Narrow Path to War:

Marshals of Arion, Book 1
D.L. Frizzell. BookLogix, $14.95 trade paper
(363p) ISBN 978-1-61005-499-7
Frizzells imagined universe becomes

less interesting as his debut proceeds
not a good sign for a series kickoff. A fleet
of six spaceships crossed an entire arm of
the galaxy in only a decade to establish a
new home for humanity on an Earthlike
planet, Arion. During the next 500 years,
the population of Arion lost the use of all
micro-electronics. The introduction of
the main characters is well handled; student Alex Vonn refuses to take shelter
during a powerful magnetic storm so that
he can witness
the phenomenon, and Frizell
makes the danger
palpable.
Marshal Hugh
Redland is first
seen on the trail
of an escaped
prisoner, only to
find that hes
chasing the
wrong quarry, a mercenary in possession
of an odd map of the entire planet. All the
ingredients for excitement are here, but
the plot focuses on Vonns tiresome search
for the truth about his father, the characters lack depth, and the prose is unmemorable.
The Organ Takers:
A Novel of Surgical Suspense
Richard Van Anderson. White Light, $11.99

Robin Cook fans will relish this taut
and powerful medical thriller set in

Manhattan, the first in a trilogy. Dr.
David McBrides career is in ruins after he
delayed reporting that a superior was
taking bribes to move patients in need of
transplanted organs up the waiting list.
Instead of using his superior surgical
skills to save lives, David is relegated to
working on rats in a research lab. Fortune
seems to smile upon him when hes
offered a chance to redeem himself with a
probationary
period in
another residency program.
But before he
can start that
new chapter,
Davids corralled by a shady
figure who calls
himself Mr.
White and displays a disturbingly detailed knowledge
of every aspect of Davids life. Unless
David agrees to perform illegal kidney
harvesting and transplants, White will
arrange for him to be charged with drug
theft. Van Anderson makes good use of
his own medical training in the service of
a superior page-turner.
Scale-Bright
Benjanun Sriduangkaew. Immersion, $14
The title novella is the longest published work to date from Sriduangkaew, a
talented writer of short fiction; here it
joins three previously published short
stories, all set in the same mythic Chinese
universe. As Julienne rides the train to
work in modern Hong Kong, she is
accosted by a
man whom no
one else sees.
Later she notices
a strangelooking woman,
also invisible to
others, bleeding
in the street.
Others might
doubt their
sanity after
these events, but Julienne is intimately
familiar with the supernatural, largely
52b P U B L I S H E R S W E E K L Y J A N U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 5
because her aunties, a happily married

lesbian couple, also happen to be Houyi,
the Divine Archer, and Change, the
Goddess of the Moon, major figures in
the Chinese pantheon. The bleeding
woman, Olivia, is actually a demon out to
steal Juliennes life force. Julienne survives the encounter, and the two find
themselves oddly attracted to each other.
Later, aided by Juliennes aunties, they set
out on a quest to free Olivias older sister
from her centuries-long confinement.
Fine writing, fascinating sexual politics,
and well-developed, quirky characters
make this tale a resounding success.
Seven Days
Sterling Nixon. S&J Publisher, $9.99
In Nixons novel, social ideologies

clash in a complex political thriller of
political corruption and patriotism.
Ex-CIA and Border Patrol agent Rick
Savage is a self-exiled outcast whose discovery of department treachery destroyed
both his marriage and patriotic faith. He
discovers the Divided House, a
domestic civil war between the western
and eastern
United States
(the West has
stopped paying
taxes and is
threatening
secession),
orchestrated by
narcissist genius
Marcus McKeet.
It becomes clear
that the apocalyptic emergency predicted by fringe survivalists is real. Nixons novel, which
throws in a mysterious and deadly infection for good measure, questions our governments ability (and intention) to protect us. Conspiracy fans will crawl out of
the bunker for this dystopian/conspiracy
hybrid, which is an emotionally devastating and confrontational entertainment.
SoulServe
Robert S. Wilson. Robert S. Wilson, $2.99
e-book (95p) ASIN B00N16R44K
Murders that mix technology with

ghosts bring Antivii agent Ray Garret
REVIEWS
into a world of secret experiments that
could save his dying wife in this short,
well-structured murder mystery. Though
the book is a bit
sparse on details
(theres no stated
year or location,
and Antiviis role
is never fully
defined), Rays a
very human
character, good
at his job and
devoted to his
wife, Rhonda
so much that hes willing to risk his career
in order to save her life. The links between
the murders and Rhondas salvation grow
as the race against time quickens,
building to a heart-wrenching conclusion
that hits the reader a few pages before it
slams into Ray. There are issues with how
Wilson (the Empire of Blood series) handles female charactersRhonda is merely
a plot point, and helpful scientist Dr.
Rainns is a classic sexpotbut otherwise
this thriller doesnt disappoint.
Third Daughter
Susan Kaye Quinn. Susan Kaye Quinn, $12.99
Romance and intrigue collide in the

fluffy, entertaining first installment of
Quinns Dharian Affairs steampunk
trilogy. As the third daughter of the
Queen of Dharia, 17-year-old Aniri has
the opportunity to marry for love.
However, she agrees to an arranged marriage with Prince Malik of neighboring
Jungali after he makes an impassioned
plea for peaceand her mother presents a
calculated need
for a spy
amongst the
Jungali. Far
from home,
Aniri must find
the evidence
needed to prevent war, even as
she maintains
the pretense of
romance with
her betrothed. As danger mounts, so do
the lies, deceptions, and mysteries. The
feisty, resourceful princess leaps into and
out of trouble with grace and style. Quinn

(the Mindjack trilogy) could have done
much more with the alternate East Indian
setting, which feels mostly like window
dressing, but steampunk fans will appreciate the airships, sword fights, illicit
romance, fantastical technology, desperate
escapes, last-minute rescues, and breathtaking scenery, all pulled together by a
genuine sense of fun.
Too Close
Elizabeth Krall. CreateSpace, $9.99
ISBN 978-1-4820-9792-4
Kralls breezy style almost undermines

the serious dilemma at the heart of this
capable debut contemporary. When San
Francisco newspaper editor Nicola meets
that new guy in finance, Greg, she
wants nothing to do with him. Ever since
an evil ex ran off with her boss, she has
sworn off office
romances. Greg
is persistent,
however, and
soon he and
Nicola become
poster people for
true love. When
others comment
that they look
like brother and
sister, it only
serves to confirm their belief that they are
fated to be together. But wedding plans
lead to meeting parentsand the
shocking revelation that the lovebirds
may in fact be half-siblings. Krall deftly
navigates the ensuing complications and
emotional turmoil to a most satisfying
conclusion.
Two Performance
Artists Kidnap Their Boss
and Do Things with Him
Scotch Wichmann. Freakshow Books, $17.99
Computer programmers by day, performance artists by night, Larry and

Hank live out an alt-com dream in
Wichmanns bright and capacious fiction debut. They meet at a seedy club in
San Franciscos Tenderloin district and
immediately become pals; Hank has a
passionate Performance Art Manifesto
and Larry buys in. The only obstacles to
bromantic adventure are

Hanks nagging wife,
Sherry, and real life, which
demands that the duo make a living.
They get mind-numbingly boring jobs
at a multinational company called
Redsoft, run by
software mogul
Bill Kuntsler.
Performance art
falls short as the
tonic to their
boredom, and
they begin
acting out at
work, where
Larry finds
something like
love with a quirky girl called Mouse.
The same craving that fuels the duos
performance art pieces seems to drive
their madcap plan to kidnap Kuntsler.
Captivity, however, brings its own set of
problems, as the chaos, danger, absurdity, and insanity keep ratcheting up.
The books most entertaining episodes
are on trivia, Larrys family, their performance art, etc. Wichmanns shaggy
novel may be too much of a good thing,
but its still a good thing. Cheeky and
refreshing.
Nonfiction
Alex Haleys Roots:
An Authors Odyssey
Adam Henig. CreateSpace, $6.99 trade paper
(118p) ISBN 978-1-5007-5149-4
Henig tracks the life of Alex Haley after

the publication of his path breaking book,
Roots, offering a sad reminder of the potential downsides to achieving ones dreams.
He begins by offering some social context
on the TV premiere of the
mini-series
based on Haleys
book, Roots: The
Saga of an
American Family,
which detailed
his familys history from
Gambia,
through slavery,
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to the present. The amazing
response to the story made
Haley an overnight sensation.
Everywhere he went, he was mobbed. In
Philadelphia, a dozen guards were needed
to protect the author. The saga opened
the eyes of millions around the world to
the nature of the African-American experience and spawned a craze for genealogy.
But Haleys stardom was marred by an illconceived lawsuit against his publisher,
Doubleday, as well as scholarly questions
about his research methods and accusations of plagiarism. Adding to these problems, Henig discusses Haleys womanizing, which cost him three marriages, and
his inability to handle money responsibly.
Henig recounts the highs and lows of
Haleys life with sympathy, addressing the
critiques honestly.
The Cookie Doctor

Peter T. Pugliese. Topical Agent, $9.99 (252p)
ISBN 978-0-9630-2116-8
Pugliese spent much of his career as a

general practitioner in Bernville, Penn.,
becoming familiar with the Pennsylvania
Dutch community. He addressed certain
medical concerns decades before they
were publicly discussed, particularly in
such an insular community: postpartum
depression, addiction, incest, and psychological disorders. In this heartfelt
memoir,
Pugliese also
takes the time to
articulate his
faith and the
experiences that
make him
believe in God,
as well as
explaining how
he went from a
near career in the
priesthood to the world of medicine. He
is the quintessential country doctor, and
his decades of experience and obvious
kindness will endear him to readers. His
narrative is straightforward, and his
valuesespecially his attitudes toward
sex and sexualitymay seem dated and
preachy to younger readers, but his
sweetness and charm more than make up
for it.
The Dead Duke, His Secret Wife

and the Missing Corpse
Piu Marie Eatwell. Head of Zeus, $24.95
(338p) ISBN 978-1-78185-608-6
Eatwell (They Eat Horses, Dont They?)

offers a meticulous examination of a late
Victorian/early Edwardian cause clbre
involving the fifth Duke of Portland, a
well-to-do London merchant, and a case of
disputed identity. Straightlaced
Victorians reveled in the salacious details
of this court case, which began when
Anna Maria Druce alleged that the
deceased duke had led a double life as
businessman T.C. Druce, also deceased;
she petitioned the court for an exhumation of Druce, convinced that her son was
the dukes legitimate heir. Ten years
passed before the
case ended in
January 1908,
ultimately
involving 12
judges, 14 hearings, and
numerous investigators and witnesses. Eatwell
follows the case
from beginning
to end, providing background on judges,
lawyers, evidence (some fraudulent, some
circumstantial and problematic), and
unreliable witnesses; details the duke and
Druces similarities (appearance, mannerisms, diet, infirmities, habits); and covers
the provocative madness of the trial. The
rigorous research is the books strength.
Eatwell often digresses to insert background, enriching the narrative with juicy
details from the time period, or to note
other sensational cases (both George Eliot
and Charles Dickens were involved in
double lives, for instance), positing that
the periods restrictive social mores often
forced people into scandalous situations.
Childrens/YA
The Land Outside
Daniel Landin. Daniel Landin, $2.99 e-book
(54p) ASIN B00HUKC4AC
This archetypal tale is made fresh and

enchanting by mesmerizing illustrations.
The central character, a small manta ray, is
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a restless soul, curious about the land

outside, the place beyond the familiar sea
that the ray inhabits. When a sea lion
describes that land, the ray dreams of it
and fervently longs to be there, praying
hard until one day he finds himself transformed into a bird in the land where
everything was
magnificently
new. Very soon
the restless ray
seeks more, and
is transformed
again and again
until, like the
Wizard of Ozs
Dorothy, he
comes to understand the value
of home. The narrative is a bit long for the
attention spans of youngest readers, but
Landins art, done in digitally manipulated acrylic, oil, and pencil, depicts creature after creature in a riot of color and
settings. The dominant blue of the sea setting provides a soothing anchor that could
make this a perfect bedtime story, one that
might prompt colorful dreams of worlds
outside. A visually arresting book. All
ages.
Porter Searches for Santa

Jonathan I. Gonzales. N.B. 498 Press, $16.95
(36p) ISBN 978-0-9960610-0-1
In a Christmas story whose modeled

clay artwork gives the scenes the feel of
stills from a Claymation film, a penguin
named Porter receives a letter from a child
that was meant for Santa Claus. Porter is

determined to discover who Santa is; the
penguin encyclopedia is no help, but
the grumpy yet wise penguin Old
Rockhopper might know. Porter and his
friend Franklin travel to Snowman
Mountain, where Old Rockhopper, who
looks rather like a gray tombstone
wearing an eye patch, tells boring stories
REVIEWS
that cause the penguins to sleep through
his descriptions of Santa. Finally, Porters
mother tells him about Santa, but as a
flightless bird, Porter cant make it to the
North Pole on his own. First-time author/
illustrator Gonzales accents his images
with charming details (such as the pearls
Porters mother wears and the silvery
fishsicles Porter has for lunch), but the
long-winded narrative proceeds slowly,
and while much is made of the dangers of
Porters journey to Snowman Mountain
and Old Rockhoppers temper, the artwork never gives a sense of significant
peril. All ages.
The Murder of Adam and Eve

William Dietrich. Burrows Publishing, $13.99
paper (306p) ISBN 978-0-9906621-0-5
In this uneven tale, two modern teens

are selected by aliens to travel back in
time to prehistoric Africa, in order to
protect the ancestors of the human race
the genetic Adam and Evefrom premature extinction. Picked seemingly at
random, 16-year-old Nick Brynner and
Eleanor Terrell must decide whether
mankind is worthy of its existence, or if
the powerful Xu should alter history to
give a different species the chance to take
its place. As they journey across the
Africa of 50,000 B.C.E. in whats essentially a needle-in-a-haystack mission,
they struggle to
survive while
engaging in
lengthy debates
about humanitys good and
bad moments,
and its ultimate
impact on the
Earth. Dietrich
(the Ethan Gage
series) eschews
subtlety in this environmentally minded
tale, which contains poetic passages
about the pristine beauty of the
untouched, savage savannah, while condemning humans for our modern excesses
and behavior. The plots potential is lost
in a sea of logistical oversights, mild
racism (the teens decide to call the first
African caveman they meet Boy), and a
gotcha ending. Ages 12up.
The Orphan of Torundi

J.L. McCreedy. Penelope Pipp Publishing,
$4.99 e-book (294p) ISBN 978-0-9882369-3-6
When an orphaned girl raised by missionaries on the fictional Pacific island of

Torundi is sent to an American boarding
school in Malaysia, mystery and intrigue
pop up around every corner. Questions
arise, including why 16-year-old Sam
Clemens was abruptly sent away after
years living on Torundi, why the enigmatic Gabe Jones is always antagonizing
her, and what all of this has to do with
Sams unknown parentage. Even as Sam
delves into these mysteries, she is dealing
with being around other teens and living
in the big city
for the first
time.
Unfortunately,
this story wavers
uncomfortably
between thriller
and comedy, and
it doesnt find a
balance between
fish-out-ofwater high jinks
and danger-laced adventure. Sam bounces
from one problem to the next, and little
time is spent developing the characters or
settingher new friends lack depth, her
burgeoning romance life fails to convince,
and certain plot points are predictable.
Nevertheless, McCreedy (Liberty Frye and
the Witches of Hessen) lays the groundwork
for a potentially promising series, which
may yet pay off down the road. Ages 12
up.
Angelinas Prayer
Cheryl Bartky. Bark of the Tree
Communications, $5.95 paper (48p)
ISBN 978-1-4811-6715-4
In this sweet but underdeveloped

Christmas-themed chapter book about
generosity, accepting loss, and defining
home, nine-year-old Angelina and her
mother have just moved to Albuquerque,
N. Mex., from New York City. Angelina
clings to the hope that her father, who
abandoned them two years earlier, will
return, but she is uncertain how he will
find them now that they have left New
York. Angelina quickly befriends two
neighborsTony, who is Hispanic like
Angelina, and Minerva, who

is Jewish. After Angelina
learns about the local holiday
custom of
lighting luminarias and their
power to answer
prayers, she
thinks that they
could be the way
to make her
family whole
again. While the
premise is
moving,
Bartkys dialogue can often be wooden
(Do you think if I made lots and lots of
luminarias and set them all around my
house, they would grow so bright that my
dad would be able to find me?). Bartky
does a fine job of conjuring the New
Mexico landscape and Albuquerque community, but the story feels shoehorned
into its slim format. Ages 8up.
The Stone Lions

Gwen Dandridge. Hickory Tree, $10.99 paper
(238p) ISBN 978-0-9893157-8-4
Debut author Dandridge explores the

complex world of 15th-century Islamic
Spain in this fantasy. Ara, the unruly
daughter of the sultan of Alhambra, and
her shy cousin Layla are swept up in a
magical plot to destroy the palace and
usurp its rightful ruler. Working with a
visiting Sufi mathemagician named
Tahirah and the
magically
transformed
harem eunuch
Suleiman, Ara
and Layla must
learn the
secrets of symmetryan
integral part of
Islamic art and
central to the
magic of the Alhambrato stop a great
evil from tearing apart their home.
Dandridge brings a deep respect for historical accuracy and Islamic culture to the
story, and although her interpretation of
Sharia law may sometimes err on the
stricter side, her depiction of womens
everyday lives in aristocratic 15th-century
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Spain is spot-on. Her prose is
slightly stiff in exposition
dealing with the principles
of symmetry, but Dandridge plays her
own academic background for laughs
with the scholarly Tahirah. More importantly, the story never stops feeling like a
Rowling-esque adventure, pitting brave
girls against seemingly impossible
oddsmathematically speaking, of
course. Ages 8up.
The Angels on My Tree

Lu Ann Schnable Kaldor, illus. by Eve S.
Gendron. Four Directions Press, $17.99 (40p)
ISBN 978-0-9627659-4-0
In a melancholy but hopeful holiday

story, a girls Christmas is shadowed
by the recent death of her father.
Familiar traditions only deepen the
awareness of his absence: We stood
side by side looking at our tree and
cried. After a while, my mother said,
Lets go surround ourselves with
beauty; it always makes us feel
better. A visit to the Metropolitan
Museum of Art in New York City
inspires the two of them to spend the
season helping others. For each act of
kindnesssuch as cooking for neighbors
or arranging for musicians to play at a
nursing homethey place another angel
Audio
The Island of Doctor Moreau
H.G. Wells, read by a full cast. Mondello,
3 CDs, 3 hrs., $19.95 ISBN 978-1-940650-11-1
Mondello Publishing provides an

updated adaptation of H. G. Wellss
classic novel, positioning the story in the
1950s and in the context of genetic mutation and nuclear power. Through uncontrollable events, Edward Prendick finds
himself on an unmarked island with
Montgomery, a scientist and aid to the
notorious Dr. Moreau. Prendick soon discovers that the islands wild-life is a bit
more human than hes comfortable with.
The full cast of
clear and distinctive voice actors
includes Matthew
Postner as
Prendick,
Nathalie Boltt as
Montgomery, and
Andrew McGinn
as Moreau. Other
actors fill in for secondary characters and
humanoid animals, which the production
captures well, providing each character
with strong vocal cues to help the listener
understand what kind of animal it is. The
background music and sound effects further enhance the mood and tone of the
production.
on their Christmas tree. The spare line

drawings, permeated with a sense of loneliness, become less so as mother and
daughter discover cheer through their
generosity; gradually, the images acquire
subtle warmth and splashes of pale color.
Kaldor wisely keeps the story away from
overt sentimentality, instead letting the
quiet prose and airy artwork carry the
message about letting go and moving forward. Ages 4up.
52f P U B L I S H E R S W E E K L Y J A N U A R Y 1 9 , 2 0 1 5

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PW Select January 2015

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January 2015

elf-publishing saw another

saturation. For this

ing kits for kids.

The Rise of the

indie authors is echoed by Smashwords

As self-publishing has become more established, it appears to also have become

stuck to it for years, explains Sally Dedecker, an

Authors have also taken note of the opportunities offered by serialization. By

With an increasing number of indie

reach new audiences can put themselves

Challenges for 2015

Hitting the Road in 2015

Minsk International Book

WHERE: New Orleans

WHERE: Minsk, Belarus

*Digital Book World Conference

Wizard World Portland Comic Con

International Cairo Book Fair

Angoulme International Comics

*ALA Midwinter Meeting

Taipei International Book

*The Annual Genre-LA Writers

San Miguel Writers Conference

*San Francisco Writers Conference

Feria Internacional del Libro

*Indie Author Conference

New Delhi World Book Fair

WHERE: Phoenix, Ariz.

WHERE: New Delhi

Vilnius Book Fair

Brussels Book Fair

*London Author Fair

WHERE: Purchase, N.Y.

Paris Book Fair (Salon du Livre)

Bogota International Book Fair

Buenos Aires International Book

WHERE: Charleston, S.C.

Idaho Writers & Readers

Prague International Book Fair

Warsaw International Book Fair

WHERE: Buenos Aires, Argentina

Bangkok International Book Fair

*2014 Redwood Writers Conference

St. Petersburg International Book Salon

Bologna Childrens Book Fair

WHERE: Santa Rosa, Calif.

Geneva International Book and

*BookExpo America (BEA)

WHERE: Geneva, Switzerland

WHERE: SeaTac, Wash.

*Nonfiction Writers Conference

WHERE: New York

WHERE: Anaheim, Calif.

*Association of Writers and

Qubec International Book Fair

*London Book Fair

Abu Dhabi International Book Fair

Thessaloniki Book Fair

*The Self-Publishing Conference

Turin International Book Fair

*The Santa Barbara Writers Conference

Cape Town Book Fair

Seoul International Book Fair