self-published

What Sunita is Reading in late September and early October

What Sunita is Reading in late September and early October

I’ve been reading for review,  trying out new authors and trying to find more self-published work. I seem to be partway through an awful lot of books. It’s a mixed bag in terms of content and quality. Reckless Runaway At the Racecourse, by Ros Clarke. Ros and I follow each other on Twitter and she offered(…)

REVIEW: Silent Blade and Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews

REVIEW: Silent Blade and Silver Shark by Ilona Andrews

Dear Ms. Andrews: Thank you for sending me a complimentary copy of this short story. Because it is short, I admit I don’t have much to say about it. When I was told that this book was connected to another short, “Silent Blade”, it made sense to read it and review it together. I had(…)

REVIEW: Something Different by S.A. Reid

REVIEW: Something Different by S.A. Reid

Dear Ms. Reid (actually I’m just assuming your gender here — sorry if I got it wrong). This is a self-pubbed book that you sent to Dear Author for possible review. I enjoyed the excerpt and it hit one of my buttons pretty hard (*love* stories about prostitutes or strippers — no idea why), so(…)

Thursday Midday Links: Steve Jobs Passed Away

Thursday Midday Links: Steve Jobs Passed Away

I don’t have any beautiful eulogy to give Jobs and it’s not that I don’t believe that he deserves a beautiful eulogy. He does.  He transformed our collective lives. But I have neither the connection nor the knowledge from which to give voice to a remembrance.  I’ve read several and these are few I thought(…)

Authorial Stickiness and Self Publishing

Authorial Stickiness and Self Publishing

I’ve been buying and reading a number of self published books of late, primarily because of the price point of $.99.  I find that the $.99 price point overcomes a lot of reservations I might have about a book.  One thing I did notice, as I was going through my purchases, is that I don’t(…)

Tuesday Midday Links:  A Reader Poll and eBook Rumors

Tuesday Midday Links: A Reader Poll and eBook Rumors

EBook device rumor alert: Amazon is holder a press conference tomorrow that many are saying will be used to announce the Kindle Fire, a 7″ tablet.  This device seems marketed more toward video and audio consumption.  Amazon announced yesterday that Fox has signed up for video streaming and this content is free to Prime members(…)

REVIEW: Working Arrangements by Ellen Wolf

REVIEW: Working Arrangements by Ellen Wolf

Dear Ms. Wolf: When I first started this book, I wondered if was a reprint of a formerly published book because I felt like I had read it before.  I double checked and no, it was a self published work and possibly your first one.  Yet, I had read a story very similar to this(…)

DUAL REVIEW: Spoil of War by Phoenix Sullivan

DUAL REVIEW: Spoil of War by Phoenix Sullivan

Dear Readers, January’s review kicked off quite a discussion here and around the web about this book.  I found the review persuasive, but as the arguments dragged on and became increasingly vituperative, I decided I would have to read it for myself in order to render an informed verdict. So I did. But I am(…)

Review: Matchmakers 2.0 by Debora Geary

Review: Matchmakers 2.0 by Debora Geary

Dear Ms. Geary, I’ll be really, really honest – the entire reason I read this was simply because of all the reviews you have on Amazon. I picked up Matchmakers 2.0 when it was free several weeks ago, but I haven’t really had any inclination to read it. Then I was browsing Amazon and noticed(…)

Review: Seeing Spots by Ellen Fisher

Review: Seeing Spots by Ellen Fisher

Dear Ms. Fisher, You have a fair amount of self-published books up for sale.  I think I tried one and enjoyed it, tried another and it wasn’t for me, though you have a nice, easy voice. When I was searching for self-published books to read, I ran across this one and purchased, as it was(…)

What Sunita is reading, for the week ending August 21

What Sunita is reading, for the week ending August 21

My reading weeks are highly variable. Sometimes I read half a dozen (or more) novels in their entirety, sometimes I don’t make it through a single one. This was a good week. I was doing some catching up of series in preparation for new releases, as well as following up on reads that have been(…)

REVIEW: Carnal Secrets by Nadia Lee

REVIEW: Carnal Secrets by Nadia Lee

Dear Ms. Lee: I have talked with you on Twitter for several years now, and I even purchased another of your books from Amazon, but Carnal Secrets is the first of your books I sat down to read all the way through. For those people suspicious of self-published books, I am happy to report that(…)

Review: More than a Man by Emily Ryan-Davis and Elise Logan

Review: More than a Man by Emily Ryan-Davis and Elise Logan

Dear Ms. Ryan-Davis and Ms. Logan, I’ve never read anything by either of you before. I have seen the cover to your book on Amazon, but barely spared it a glance. It seemed like generic SF romance and the title seemed nice if unexciting. What caused me to purchase this book, you ask? Someone on(…)

REVIEW: Never a Mistress, No Longer a Maid by Maureen Driscoll

REVIEW: Never a Mistress, No Longer a Maid by Maureen Driscoll

Dear Ms. Driscoll: When you sent me your book back in June, it was one of the better pitches I had received for a book review.  When I started reading it, however, I had some real concerns.  I want to point out in the beginning of this review that I am no historian.  What I(…)

REVIEW: Spoil of War by Phoenix Sullivan

REVIEW: Spoil of War by Phoenix Sullivan

Dear Ms. Sullivan, When Jane put out the call for site improvements, I saw several people suggest more ‘Indie’ reviews. And I was inspired. I’ve been suffering from some lackluster reading, and I thought that reading and reviewing some Indie books would be an interesting challenge. So I started with yours. You might want to(…)