In Celebration of Indie Authors

What is an indie author? A person who believes in their story so deeply that they put it out into the world without the help of a big publishing house. Let me give you some examples: Andy Weir (THE MARTIAN), Hugh Howey (WOOL), E.L James (50 SHADES OF GREY), Lisa Genova (STILL ALICE). Any of them ring a bell? In the writing world, we call them authorpreneurs.

We are many. And growing. And slowly taking over e-book sales. Today, 40% of e-books sold on Amazon are self-published and 26% of those have landed on bestseller lists. These are actual statistics that date back to May 2015. I believe indie authors have reached 50% of sales now.

To celebrate indie authors, I will be bundling up 12 fantastic Young Adult e-books and giving them away to 12 lucky winners. Check out which exciting reads made the list.

99 DAYS OF LANEY MACGUIRE by Rachel Bateman

When Laney returned to Seeley Lake after graduation, she expected a relaxing summer to get her bearings straight before college.

She didn’t expect her dad to get married, or for her best friends to be so different.

And she definitely didn’t expect to fall in love with Weston.

As the summer goes on, Laney learns that sometimes the things you expect the least are the things you need the most.

“When I say you need to read this book, I mean you really need to read this book.” 
Kate of Tales of Books and Bands

SCARRED by Joanne Macgregor

Life leaves you scarred. Love can make you beautiful.

Sloane Munster had the perfect life, until she didn’t. Now seventeen-year-old Sloane is trying to reboot her life after a serious accident left her badly scarred and emotionally traumatized.

Starting her senior year at a different school, she recognizes Luke Naughton, a swimmer whom she once had a crush on, in her new class. But when she smiles at him, he glares back with revulsion and she’s sure he’s disgusted by her ugly scar. No matter how hard she tries to keep out of his way, life keeps bringing them together and despite misunderstandings and guilty secrets, the chemistry between them sparks. Meanwhile, tensions are mounting at their school where bullying is rife and Sloane is not the most deeply scarred person.

Sharp with bittersweet humor, Scarred is an intense, beautiful, compelling story of life, death, damage, and fighting for love against all the odds.

A great read for fans of Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins and Abbi Glines.

“There are lessons to be learned wrapped within a highly engaging tale from this brilliant author.” Dianne from Tome Tender

SHEARWATER by D.S. Murphy

After her parents die in a car accident, 15-year old Clara Clark is shipped off to live with a grandfather she never knew existed… in Ireland. Once there, she discovers that her mother’s past is filled with secrets. Determined to discover the truth about her mother, a string of strange incidents cause her to question her sanity. As the mystery deepens, she begins going through changes of her own, until she’s not sure just who – or what – she is anymore.

Then she meets the charming Sebastian, who won’t leave her alone, and the brooding Ethan, who can’t stand to be around her. Both of them seem to have supernatural powers, and she’s not quite sure whether they want to kiss her or kill her. When a shocking revelation destroys everything she thought she knew, she’s forced to choose… whether to cling to the last of her humanity, or venture into the deep abyss in search of her true identity.

“Shearwater takes Twilight to the sea, with a shape-shifting merman battling forbidden love and a cult that seeks his blood for power.” Chris Maloney

SEEKER by Amy Reece 

Ally Moran has always just known about things—things she shouldn’t really be able to know…

Suddenly when she starts having vivid visions about a former friend who is in desperate trouble, the adults in her life think she might hold the key to an ancient mystery.

Jack Ruiz has a troubled past, but is trying to make a fresh start at a new high school…

He just wants to keep his head down and graduate, hopefully before he turns 20. The last thing he needs is to get involved with a feisty redhead and her psychic visions.

While Jack valiantly attempts to keep Ally at arm’s length, she is equally determined to be a part of his life. Who will win this battle of wills?

More importantly…

Can this unlikely couple work together to find answers to Ally’s visions before someone gets killed?

“Seeker had a perfect combination of drama and suspense with a touch of romance.” from Goodreads

 UNTETHERED by Katie Hayoz

Sixteen-year-old Sylvie isn’t comfortable in her own skin.  In fact, there are times she can’t even manage to stay inside it.  But if there is one thing she’s sure of, it’s her love for Kevin Phillips. She’s willing to stake everything on it –her family, her friends, and possibly her soul.

Sylvie has been best friends with Cassie forever.  But everything is turned around when the boy Sylvie’s loved since fifth grade falls for Cassie. Devastated, Sylvie intends to get Kevin by any means possible, even if it involves treachery, deceit, and the dark side of astral projection. She is positive her plans will give her what she wants, but she doesn’t count on it all spiraling out of control.

“I had no idea what kind of greatness I was in for. I am still blown away by the extent to which I LOVED this book! It is pure awesomeness. Period.” Toni from My Book Addiction

FAIRY, TEXAS by Margo Bond Collins

Laney Harris thinks there might be monsters in Fairy, Texas. She’s right.

When her mother remarried and moved them to a town where a date meant hanging out at the Sonic, Laney figured that “boring” would have a whole new meaning. A new stepsister who despised her and a high school where she was the only topic of gossip were bad enough. But when she met the school counselor (and his terminal bad breath), she grew suspicious. Especially since he had wings that only she could see. And then there were Josh and Mason, two gorgeous glimmering-eyed classmates whose interest in her might not be for the reasons she hoped. Not to mention that dead guy she nearly tripped over in gym class.

If she’s going to survive in this small town, she’ll have to learn to wing it.

“If I were to say this book is a bit like Twilight, only actually good, you might feel free to scoff.” from Goodreads

HOW TO BE A MERMAID by Erin Hayes

All Tara ever wanted was to be a mermaid. So she takes a year off between high school and college to don a fake tail and tour aquariums across the country in a professional mermaid troupe. Everything’s great until she meets a gorgeous real-life merman named Finn. Suddenly, what she thought was a dream turns out to be a nightmare — she’s turning into a mermaid herself. For real. Yet when she returns to the sea to seek out Finn and reverse her transformation, she finds herself in the middle of an impending war between the land and sea. Tara may have always wanted to be a mermaid, but now it’s sink or swim. In order to survive, she has to learn how to be one, too.

“OH. MY. GOODNESS! There are no words! This book is the best mermaid books on the planet!” from Amazon

ASHLYNN’S DREAMS by Julie C. Gilbert

Twelve-year-old Jillian Blairington is just an ordinary girl — bright, brave, and sometimes a bit too headstrong for her own good. She never thought she was particularly special or different than anybody else.

She was wrong.

Everything changes the day she and her babysitter, Danielle, are kidnapped and taken to a secret scientific facility. There Jillian learns she has a new name, Ashlynn, and a strange connection to the other children at the lab. They each have powerful abilities, Gifts that Jillian doesn’t quite understand. As if that wasn’t enough to absorb, Jillian discovers she has a Gift of her own — the power to enter other people’s dreams.

Jillian’s task seems simple enough: the scientists want her to use her ability to find another Gifted child who has disappeared. But the longer Jillian stays in the facility, the more she realizes that nothing is as it seems … and everybody has secrets. Besides, the boy’s life is not the only one at stake. The scientists will stop at nothing to force Jillian’s cooperation, even if that means threatening Danielle.

Jillian knows they have to get free. But after all they’ve seen, will they ever truly escape?

“Penned in the perspective of journal entries and letters, “Ashlynn’s Dreams” is a thought-provoking and thrilling ride into the world of gene splicing, nanotechnology and dream manipulation.” from Amazon

THE CUPCAKE WITCH by Poppy Lawless

They say the course of true love never runs smooth.
That’s nothing a magical cupcake can’t solve.

Julie

Buttercream. Vanilla. Fondant. Dark chocolate. Brown sugar. Molasses. Baking has always been my true love, but it wasn’t until my mother’s death, and the unexpected inheritance of Serendipity Gardens, that my bliss called me. Bittersweet. But Serendipity Gardens has more to offer than just a potential shopfront. An unusual recipe box left to me by a distant relative might be the key to unlocking my dreams.

Too bad the most powerful family in Chancellor has plans that could turn those dreams to ruins—literally.

Too bad the son of that powerful family is just the kind of guy I’ve been looking for.

Horatio
I suppose being heir to the Hunter family’s Blushing Grape Winery should make me happy, but nothing could be further from the truth. With my mother gone, my father has taken me under his wing, and I despise everything about the way he does business. Sour grapes, indeed. Instead of raising money for charitable causes, my true passion, I’m chasing my father’s manifest destiny.

Too bad his dream includes paving paradise.

Too bad the property owner is the sweetest woman I’ve ever met.

“The Cupcake Witch leaves readers feeling much like a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie, all warm and gooey. If you’re looking for a quick read with a sweet romance and dash of magic than this book is perfect for you!” Bittersweet Enchantment

THE MASTERPIECERS by Olivia Wildenstein

Nineteen-year-old Ivy Redd’s talent with a needle and thread has earned her a spot on a coveted reality TV art competition set in New York’s Metropolitan Museum. The prize: a significant amount of money and instant acceptance into the Masterpiecers, the school that ensures new artists fame and fortune. Her talent has also thrust her and her twin sister, Aster, into the spotlight.

Not that Aster needed help with becoming a media favorite. She managed that on her own by running over a wanted Mafioso. She told the police it was self-defense, because she couldn’t tell them the truth—the truth would make her sister look bad.

Locked in an Indiana jail to await her trial, Aster watches Ivy on the small TV hanging in the dayroom. It’s the highlight of her day, until she finds out what her sister truly thinks of her. Then, observing her sister becomes a punishment far crueler than imprisonment.

“A great read that keeps you guessing!” from Amazon

MAILBOX by Nancy Freund

In 76 funny and poignant linked vignettes, 13-year-old agnostic protagonist Sandy Drue launches a personal quest.

Her family has moved from New York City to Small Town USA — not an easy move, especially for Sandy’s artist/intellectual mother who watches Sandy and her brother adapt to their new community and feels more and more like she’s hosting foreign exchange students who never leave. Sandy loves this idea, both hosting foreign students and travelling the world. At 13, she is in-between — between her mother’s mindset and her own, between childhood and adulthood, between geographical and cultural divisions, and in the 1970s, between political conflicts in American history and a changing economy. She is searching for the Meaning of Life, and she thinks she finds it. She is finally ready to write her book.

The result is a compulsively readable tale of the mysteries and mischief, struggles and victories of growing up — a fantastic piece of contemporary fiction as true to life as a careful documentary.

“A charming novel, full of honesty and insight, Mailbox is shot through with the mystery and mischief of childhood, and the struggles – and victories – of growing up. Compulsively readable.”  Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award winning author