the significance of courtesy

One thing I appreciate in this world of indie publishing is the camaraderie.  Regardless of genre or goals, the indie authors I have been graced to know are supportive, excited, and pleased to reciprocate lessons learned, as well as the joys independent publishing has offered.  One of my to do's this year is to read more, always something I need to incorporate.  This year I want to split the reading between traditional and indie authors, in part to seek out new books and writers, also to expand my library.  I have a few ebooks on the iTouch, some I've started and have found aren't my cup of tea, the same with print novels; I have an Iris Murdoch paperback that I tried to read while Bob was lying low.  I doubt I'll get back to it, sort of plodding and there are too many books waiting. While I love going to Recycle Bookstore and fondling novels, I enjoy scrolling the web, reading blogs, giving new writers a go.  Right now I'm reading several indie authors, as well as cracking a Patsy Cline bio Bob got me for Christmas.  So many books, so little time!

In a second, I'll get to those indie authors, but before I forget, I wanted to add that I went to the write-in yesterday, always a pleasure to see those folks!  Driving home, I thought about the changes in publishing, so many authors exploding onto the literary stage.  So how to choose?  Well, pretty much like ambling through a shop, poking one's nose into a novel, waiting for the spark to ignite.  Sometimes it does, sometimes not.  But now the choices are so varied, it's like a candy store for readers, albeit with some peril; you can't try everything without either growing ill or larger.  After a few paragraphs, I know if a novel is for me.  It's the same no matter who writes it or in what format I read.  I look forward to the day when indie authors perhaps lose that identifier; authors are authors are authors.  Other barriers have fallen, and one day, this one will too.

So, here are some indie writers I have been entranced with as of late, and let's start at the top; Julie K. Rose is releasing her second novel Oleanna this month, a haunting, poetic tale set in 1905 Norway.  Oleanna and her sister Elizabeth have just said goodbye to their brother John, who is chasing his future in America.  The farm keeps the women busy, as does Anders Samuelsson, with whom Oleanna shares more than a passing fancy.  Rose's descriptions of the rugged but calming locale is part of the novel's beauty; equally ghosts swarming Oleanna fill the narrative with an ancient stillness, so far removed from today's chaotic, noisy world.  Rose's first novel, The Pilgrim Glass, is another outstanding story, and Julie releases her books in print and ebook.  Oleanna will be available later this month, The Pilgrim Glass out now.

If historical fiction appeals, Suzy Stewart Dubot is another author to explore.  Never Love Another is set in England, which appeals greatly to me, as you might imagine.  Louise and Felix have been in love for ages, but their lives are set in different classes, destined not to mix.  I felt whisked back to Britain with Dubot's lyrical descriptions, also on display in The Viscount's Midsummer's Mistress (which I'm still reading).  In Bed Times! Dubot weaves back and forth through the centuries, capturing the reader's attention with a special bed and the enigmatic question of what if...  I like to experiment with time travel in a few of my tales, so I enjoy Suzy's playful nature, all these stories available as ebooks.

Marlene Dotterer likes time travel too; Shipbuilder concerns a duo from 2006 inadvertently sent back to Ireland in the early 1900s, right before Titanic is constructed.  Sam and Casey can't return, must make the best of their situation, which isn't easy, even if Casey has some wild ideas how to breach long-held codes.  But her heart breaks when she learns her boss, Thomas Andrews, is destined to go down with his ship on Titanic's ill-fated maiden voyage.  Dotterer blends modern ideas with turn of the century rules in a tale brimming with history, sci-fi and love, available in print or ebook.

Heather Domin has recently released Allegiance, and she gets the suspense started immediately, William Young a Scot heading for Ireland (Do you sense a theme here with me?  I do miss that part of the planet!) to infiltrate a possible IRA cell in 1922.  I'm through five chapters, and the detail is outstanding; I can't wait to see what happens now that William has met Adam, exactly the man he's been sent to uncover.  Domin has another novel, The Soldier of Raetia, out in paperback as well as ebook.

Getting away from the UK and Ireland for just a minute, I want to include Shawn Michel de Montaigne; I found this author quite by accident, and while Melody And The Pier To Forever, an young adult/fantasy tale not my usual speed, I was drawn in by the beautiful descriptions and attention to detail.  Melody is destined for some epic events in her life, and I'm looking forward to losing myself in her escapades.  It's a long novel, over 300K, but early indications are promising.

And one more; Jeffra Hays, who has several short stories and a novella available as ebooks; Nut Weevil Screw is on my iTouch, waiting in the queue.  Why I wanted to write this post, pointing out a tiny fraction of great fiction just waiting to be enjoyed.  As I drove along Silicon Valley roadways yesterday, the warm sun not feeling at all like January, I thought of how technology has enabled writers to pursue their dreams.  Here we are, writing and editing, formatting and designing covers, then uploading all that hard work, years of sweat and toil set into motion with the few clicks of a mouse.  Well, I use a mouse, am rubbish without one.  I'm also pretty desolate without something to read, and what remains to be discovered makes my head spin!  So many authors I won't get to in my lifetime, no way to read all that so deserves a look.  But publishing is changing, thousands of little niches waiting to be explored.  As Julie Rose and I note often, if our works touch one person, reach one heart, what more needs to be said?

Well, a little more, otherwise we'd not write another word!  But for myself, it's the small gains, the subtle responses.  The thrill of reading a great book, passing it along, then feeling inspired to write something new.  Expressive in nature, cyclical in nurture; they really do go hand in hand.