I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: It takes far more to interest me in a self-published work than in a traditionally published one. I know that my own self-pub work, Toying with his Affections, which came out today (woohoo!) will face the same struggle for eyes and for legitimacy. Even authors whose traditionally-published work I enjoy have to start over when they begin self pubbing because I’ve been burned too often by going “Oh, so-and-so has a new book out!” and then finding out it’s poorly edited or has no discernible plot or whatever.

There are gazillions of self-pubbed books out there. Seriously. I couldn’t begin to try them all. And there are a lot of subgenres I don’t read, so for those you’ll have to find another place to recommend books to you. Even books by some of my friends I have bought and have sitting on my Kindle or iPad and have not yet read (so sorry, Lexxi Callahan and Penny Watson, I promise I will get to them before the end of the summer, but things have been madness)!

So first off, I don’t read much historical at all. I know there are some great self-pubbed historical romance authors, but I just don’t read it, so I can’t help you out. Likewise paranormal. But here are some things I have read and do like:

ROMANTIC SUSPENSE:

You know that would be first, right? There are two authors in this genre I think do a great job with their self-pubbed work.

1. Carolyn Crane

Crane has several books ranging from short stories and novellas to category length fiction to single-title. I am always happy to see a new one…like today!

2. Rachel Grant

Rachel Grant’s Concrete Evidence was probably the first romantic suspense self-pub I read strictly on recommendation (that is, I hadn’t read something she traditionally published or met her at a conference or anything). I still think it’s the best of her books, but I’d recommend any of her first three.

CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE

Laura Florand

Oh, these are beautiful. I wouldn’t glom, because the themes can get a bit repetitive (hero falls first, chases heroine) but the writing is lovely. The Chocolate Kiss is my favorite because of the hint of magical realism, which is always something that tends to draw me in.

[edited to add: Actually, I’d forgotten that The Chocolate Kiss was one of Florand’s books that came from Kensington, a traditional publisher. I mix up her self-pub and traditional books, which is to her credit. So for self-pub, try The Chocolate Temptation instead.]

ODDS AND ENDS

And then there are the books in genres I normally don’t read that I’ve picked up because they were written by people I knew from their traditional publishing careers or because I met them at a conference and liked what they had to say about the world.

1. Bria Quinlan: YA

I picked up Quinlan’s Wreckless for my niece. People sometimes mistake these books for being NA, but they’re definitely not. They’re YA and totally suitable for my 12-year-old niece to read. I haven’t read her other books, but I did read this one before I gave it to Leyla and it was sweet, well-written, with enough humor to make it good for a kid who’s still figuring stuff out.

2. K.M. Jackson‘s Bounce: Women’s Fiction

I don’t read women’s fiction. I especially don’t read women’s fiction with infidelity. It’s a giant line in the sand for me having less to do with how well stories are written than with my own personal history. But reading is an intensely personal experience, so everyone has lines in different places and no one will like everything. I admit that I did not read Bounce too carefully for precisely these reasons—I did not want to get overly involved with the characters. But I know Kwana, so I skimmed through it and I liked what I read. It got excellent reviews, so I feel certain that if those are no your particular issues, you’ll enjoy it!

And, finally, two westerns, one historical and one contemporary, both of which I bought because I like the authors’ traditionally published work:

Molly O’Keefe‘s Seduced & Sarah M. Anderson‘s Nobody

I am absolutely sure I have left people out, but you have to start somewhere! So what about you? Do you have favorites in the indie publishing world?