Indie Authors - Book Recommendations
Meet the Authors
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Michelle Sauer
Michelle Sauer has a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing and a Bachelor of Arts in Art Education with a minor in Art History and Film Photography. By day, she is a Converse-wearing, kindergarten-8th grade Art teacher in Colorado. By night, she loves to spend time with her gamer and sports-loving husband. She dabbles in multiple hobbies such as reading, crafting, fine arts, board games, video games, and driving around in her 1976 Corvette Stingray.
She loves dogs and misses her companion, Hobbes, a hundred-pound German shepherd and wannabe cop. She often can be found re-watching Psych, keeping up on pop-culture, making content, napping, and reading everything from middle grade to dark romantasy. She has co-written screenplays and enjoys the Horror genre. Her debut novel, Pacific Tails, is based off her love of mysteries, adventure, magic, and growing up in southern California.
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G.T. Gretz
G. T. Gretz grew up in a small rural town but moved on to the complex life just outside New York City. Since childhood, she has had a passion for books, reading, and perfecting her craft with the written word. With a wide variety of genres, eras, and authors in her personal library, her taste in literature is extensive, not limited to merely fiction. While she prefers to write Dystopian, Science Fiction, and Fantasy, as a multi-genre reader, she too is a multi-genre author, exploring Contemporary, Romance, and Paranormal, among others. In her works, Gretz is known to devise complex and intricate stories, intersecting on themselves and bringing together massive storylines and themes to convey a greater message. When she isn't busy writing and planning out her next novel, she takes pride in her dedication and devotion to editing for others, guiding and supporting fellow others to reach for success. From cover designs to editing, to writing some of the most exciting and challenging books as of late, Gretz is an author to keep an eye on!
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Trevor Billings
Trevor Billings is an author from Louisiana that somehow ended up on the other end of the planet, better known as Georgia. It is there that he lives and hikes with his wonderful family, and generally has very few complaints about his life in general.
His writing career started as nothing more than a Covid project. After a short while, that project grew from being an amusing way to pass the time into a full-blown hobby. Once Forged by Light was complete, he sat back and realized that he'd accomplished a goal he made for himself years ago.
Today, he is working to expand his skills and become a better author. So, if you're reading this please check out his work, and please don't forget to leave a review.
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C.L. Carner
SALES MANAGER
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M.K. Dockery
M K Dockery, a wordsmith by night and mother of three by day, transformed her late-blooming passion for reading into a haven from life's challenges. Overcoming early struggles in literacy, she cultivated a deep love for history and an unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Her resilience against childhood bullying fueled her creativity, leading her to craft intricate worlds in her writing. These realms are not only reflections of reality but also emotional journeys that promise to either touch hearts or elevate spirits. Dockery's works are more than stories; they're portals to experiences resonating with the depths of the human condition.
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R.M. Palumbo
R.M. Palumbo is a professional in the medical field. She resides in Ohio with her husband and two children. She has a love for books and has her own in-home library. Her love of writing began in her teenage years when she spent a lot of time writing poetry. She always wanted to become an author following in the footsteps of some of her favorite authors who have inspired her. Sue Ann Jaffarian, P.C. and Kristin Cast and Apryl Baker. Fates Divided-A Paranormal Romance is R.M. Palumbo’s first book, and she is currently working on her second book.
Try a New Book
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Pacific Tails by Michelle Sauer
Pacific Tales, set in the 1990s, released last October. It's about a mermaid queen who was killed, but in her last moments, she enacts a spell of reincarnation. The spirit of the queen is reborn in Zoe Vaughn, a college student who is working on relocating to another university after some false allegations. Before she has a chance to move, she's pulled into a high-stakes adventure with her professor, Bennett Baxter (who goes by his surname), as he tries to help her restore her powers as the rightful queen of the pacific ocean. Through contact with ghosts, demons, and werewolves, Zoe has to unite the five stones of her power and take her rightful place on the throne before her mysterious murderer can take it from her.
This book is a whopping 521 pages! The art inside the book is stunning, and I'm not just talking about the story. This book features age gap, professor/student, friend turned enemy, and enemy turned friend.
Spice Level: 🌶️
If any of the above tropes or the storyline interest you, please check out Michelle in all of the following locations.
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When the Mountains Were Alive by G.T. Gretz
BEST SELLING SERIES G T Gretz delves into the exciting backstory of the fan-favorite character of the Fallen Ash Series, challenging the limits of sacrifice in the name of love, and the value of life and personal identity.
In this first companion novel to the Fallen Ash Series, Gretz dives deep into the story of the fan-favorite Charon Valentine, exploring his earlier life as Haros, the crowned prince of Edithir. When The Mountains Were Alive is a must-read fantasy and companion novel. Gretz tells an incredible story and pulls fantasy and romance into the original science fiction and dystopian series with flawless, masterful skill.
“It says you will be the last king, and die over and again for the one you love, the one who will never bear your children in this world. Haros, one day you will sacrifice everything for your lover. Future, fortune, and name. One day… everything will change for you,” she said, reading the fine lines of his palm.
He scoffed not believing a word of it, and why would he when his entire life was already decided? He was Haros, the crowned prince of Edithir, and anything but suited to take the throne. Consumed by desires born from his long, well-kept secret, the last thing he wanted was more responsibilities. Forced into an engagement with Princess Keirah of Ordaithahn, and burdened with her chambermaid, Mira, Haros must face the fate he never wanted and has spent his whole life trying to deny. When the Horsemen descend on his world, harkening the end days, everything changes. Will he choose to be the man everyone believes he can be, or is he doomed to sacrifice everything?
Spice Level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️
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Forged by Light by Trevor Billings
The Li-Tech Chronicles Book 1
In 3263 you could either work the mines, extracting raw materials for shipment to Luna, or take a menial job maintaining the atmosphere of Earth.
Not satisfied with either, Jack Monroe chooses to enlist in the AHF to protect those he loves and find his purpose in life. Should he successfully complete the first year of training, he will have become something he never would have imagined, a leader and a killer.
Armed with the power of Li-Tech, Jack and his fellow soldiers of the AHF prepare to face the greatest threat mankind has ever seen. Can they defeat the all-encompassing darkness that is slowly destroying world after world? If they fail, if their Light is extinguished, humanity—like so many others before them—will fall.
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My Fair Verona by Chey Carner
Ross Lake was a small and quiet town, the kind where everyone knows each other. When Sara Jensen, a twenty-two-year-old graduate of the police academy, took a position with the Ross Lake Police Department, she never expected to see any action. Then one day, a couple of hikers come across a woman's body in the woods. Sara and her veteran partner, Harold Dunn, are thrown into a world of secrets and horror as they investigate her murder. Dunn and Jensen aren't the only ones who want a confession, though. A malevolent spirit is also seeking revenge and clings to the world of the living through the people it knew in life, but the police can't prosecute the dead, so Dunn and Jensen must stop the spirit to save their suspect.
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Orb of Dragonkind by CL Carner
Silver Talons Guild Book 1
Sophie Rend is seventeen. She wants nothing more than to become the first ever female wizard's apprentice, and when a chance encounter with a magical orb gets her sent straight to the wizard's tower, he gives her a dangerous quest that will not only test her abilities, but her loyalty to her friends and family.
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Ascent from Ash by CL Carner
Silver Talons Guild Book 2
Long ago, ancient dragons sealed their powers inside two magical artifacts to protect dragon kind from going extinct. Years after this event, four descendants of those dragons claimed their powers and gained the ability to shift into their ancient draconic forms. Three of the four set out to change the world and the way humankind viewed them. They formed an alliance and a set of rules that all dragons would live by to peacefully coexist with humanity. The Queen of Ash, Akiri refused to join this alliance; she had other plans. She wanted to produce a clutch of eggs and protect her kingdom with a thunder of dragons, but when her lair was destroyed, Queen Akiri had to ask the Dragon Alliance for help. There was only one problem with that; bad blood between Akiri and the leader of the Alliance, Sophie Rend, could be the downfall of her Kingdom.
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Wingless by MK Dockery
Captured as a child, Rennah was made a slave by the terrifying Warlord Dathka Jen. The memory of their encounter was seared into her mind, and she would often relive the terrible event. His face haunted her, even in dreams.
Believed a malevolent sorceress, the Master and Mistress Kesten banished her to the dank walls of Rough Keep where the damned and unwanted were sent.
One day she is nearly drowned in a bath and dragged to the Main Palace Keep.
Amid chaos caused by the arrival of the Warlord Dathka Jen, she suddenly questions everything.
Can Rennah believe Dathka Jen's claims about her identity and the world they live in? A clash of three that should never meet and the loss of ancient races on the brink of decimation. Elf, Fae, and the veil between worlds that is no more, and all that stands within the void.
Can she run from him while sensing the threads of an invisible cord connecting them?
The truth will shatter the foundation of not just the region she has known but reaches far beyond, as the ground of the empire quakes beneath the man who will stop at nothing to get to her.
Spice Level:
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Fates Divided by RM Palumbo
Mariah Sommers has finally become the designer she always wanted to be, but not without a fight from the newly fired Rebecca Walters. Through all the drama, Mariah meets Dorian, the elusive CEO of the company. They are inexplicably drawn to one another and she feels like fate has brought him to her. The more she tries to learn about him, the less she understands. When disaster strikes the office, Mariah’s life is in Dorian’s hands. Will fate allow them more time together or tear them apart?
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The Unseen Curse by Zachary Jeffries
Every small town has dark secrets. Miridical, Rhode Island has dark magic.
With absolutely nothing to do in this tiny, boring town, high school sophomore Juniper Szmydt passes the time solving small crimes. But when one of the town founders is killed, she jumps at the chance to solve a murder. Dad works for the mayor and can’t help her snoop, so June’s on her own playing nice with a town she’s hated since moving to last year.
But the town isn’t playing nice back, and it becomes evident people are keeping secrets from the Szmydts. Only a scrying mirror can show Juniper the truth: Miridical is magical. Now, the mystery becomes who is hiding the truth from the Szmydt family; she must solve it by Samhain when the mysterious forces of Miridical will claim her father as their next victim.
A magical murder mystery with a sweet sapphic paranormal romance.
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Angel of Fate by Zachary Jeffries
Angels of New York State Book 1
This Grim Reaper just met his Fate.
High school sophomore MaKayla Colfax was perfectly happy with her life until she inherited a mysterious pair of scissors. They don't cut, but when holding them, MaKayla begins seeing things like lines between people, connections. With the scissors, she uncovers the ancient power of her lineage of Greek Fates.
If Grim Reaper-in-training Cain Morrigan messes up one more soul harvest, he'll remain a disgusting human for the rest of his existence. But his new target has supernatural connections tied to Earth. Now Cain's only hope is to find some force powerful enough to cut these ties.
Can MaKayla embrace her destiny in time to preserve the balance of life and death? Can Cain tolerate a human long enough to make MaKayla into the Fate he needs? And for the love of gods, can the two of them work together for one minute without fighting?
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Witches of Fate by Zachary Jeffries
Angels of New York State Book 2
It’s witches against the world.
Lockport, New York is in chaos. The power is out, phone lines are down, and an unnatural snowstorm has blanketed May. Not the best conditions for a first date.
Finally finding an opportunity, Aurora is determined to start dating Ivy. But as warring factions of witchcraft descend upon their town, Aurora discovers powers of her own. While uncovering a hidden world of magic, she unravels the secrets and lies of magical forces who kept them apart.
Ivy is haunted—not just by her past, but by a relentless possession. As she wrestles with control over her abilities as a spiritual medium, her relationship with Aurora suffers. She must confess her experience with the occult if she wants a future with her potential girlfriend.
To survive the supernatural snowstorm, these young women must trust each other and their abilities while magical factions recruit them into an age-old battle between gods and mortals. "Witches of Fate" is another book in the Angels of New York State series (to be read in any order), along with "Angel of Fate," full of mythological showdowns, unexpected twists, and a race against time. Join Aurora and Ivy as they confront the truth, fight to save their relationship, and survive the worst day ever.
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Curse of the Shadow King
Knights of Avalon Book 1
Centuries ago, Jasper Kain transformed into an immortal warrior when an ominous phantom known as the Shadow King seared mysterious circular runic designs into his palms, a curse with forbidden blood magic. Demonic armies invade Japan and rampage through the streets of Tokyo, demolishing everything in sight. Vincent Angelo, an unhinged stranger appears, bearing the same cursed tattoos as Jasper, and answers to a dark prophecy foretelling the end of the world; hidden within the shadows of his fractured mind. Jasper, together, with fellow Chosen Knights, Hanako, and Tenchi, face many perils while fighting against powerful mythological adversaries. The heroes cross realms and risk everything to awaken the Children of the Gods; The Holy Mages, who are sworn to protect the heart of magic, Avalon.
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Yoruba Knight by Joseph Harkreader
Knights of Avalon Book 2
After her mother's death, Maki Kobayasha experienced a jarring culture shock when she moved from New York to Japan to live with her biological father-- a man she had never met.
A dull day in school quickly becomes chaotic! Voodoo spells, dark magic, and necromancy turn everything upside down.
A frightening power awakens within Maki, and blazes out of control. Its mysterious origins unveil painful secrets she must face to survive.
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Wish of the White Tiger
The mystical, floating city of Mèngjìng is a haven separated from the world. Within its borders, two sadistic kings govern the nations of Pallava and Ming. Here, anything goes. Lust, decadent food, drugs, and murder are on the menu around the clock.
Baihu—an elite guard sworn to protect the Ming Dynasty—dreams of freedom and love, knowing he'll never have either as a lowly guard. After years dedicated to fulfilling the wishes of his sadistic emperor, he decides to flee the palace at the risk of his life.
Rummaging through his master's treasure for a trinket to sell in the city's black market to fund his escape, Baihu comes across a mysterious white light unexpectedly gleaming from a dusty object in the dark—a bejeweled golden lamp.
With a gentle rub on the lamp, a Genie awakens from another world, ready to indulge in Baihu's every whim.
But can he indulge his whims when his life and the lives of everyone around him are in danger of the fatal consequences of a sadistic tyrant?
Baihu quickly learns everything he knows is not as it seems, and maybe freedom and love are within his reach.
The Spice Scale
It’s important for readers to know what a book contains in its content, so they can make informed decisions based on their own interests. One of the key elements that emerged in recent years to help with this is the spice scale. However, everyone tends to rate the spice scale slightly differently from each other. For the sake of clarity on my ratings, this is the spice scale I will be using.
None = Handholding and light kissing.
🌶️ = Heavy petting, fade to black, references to sexual acts, typical PG-13.
🌶️🌶️ = Partial open door to sex, heavily veiled. Huge sensuality. May include some details.
🌶️🌶️🌶️ = Sex is included with description but it is not graphic. May include kinks. 18+ only.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ = There are many sex scenes, but they aren’t frequent. Details are included. Some kinks may be present. 18+ only.
🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️🌶️ = Sex occurs frequently throughout the text with heavy detail. May be too much to read in full. 18+ only. Heavy in kinks.