Tell Me Something Tuesday: What Are Some of Your Favourite Indie/Small Pub Authors/Books?

Tell Me Something Tuesday is a weekly meme created by Heidi at Rainy Day Ramblings in order to discuss a wide range of topics from books to blogging (and some slightly more personal matters throw in for good measure). After Heidi stopped blogging (apparently for good), five of us took over as hosts while providing new questions. The current team is composed of Berls at Because Reading Is Better Than Real Life, Jen at That's What I'm Talking About, Karen at For What It's Worth, Linda at Book Girl of Mur-y-Castell and Roberta at Offbeat YA. This week's question is...

WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVOURITE INDIE/SMALL PUB AUTHORS/BOOKS?

When I suggested this week's topic, I knew in advance that it would be scheduled for April (Indie Month), but what I didn't know was that I'd get the chance to use it to promote a series that I love just a few weeks prior to its last installment's release. What timing, uh? 😃

So...I think you all know by now that I have a thing for Dead Girl Books. And back when I started blogging (almost 10 years and a half ago now 👀), I stumbled upon a book titled, go figure, Deadgirl, by debut author B.C. (Bobby) Johnson. And it was fresh and different and engaging, and I loved it, and I messaged the author on Goodreads, and he replied...and we're still mutuals 10+ years and 3 books later. (Please note: we follow each other and we occasionally talk and I've proof/beta-read for Bobby in the past and I still get ARCs from him, but I'm not implying that we are friends in the strict sense of the word. I try to maintain a reader/author relationship with the writers I happen to work with or to talk to more often, even if it's obviously a lot friendlier than the one I have with most).

Now, Deadgirl (original cover below) was initially printed by a small publisher that shut up shop shortly after its release.

Bobby was of course dismayed, but he ultimately managed to strike a deal with another small publisher, and began to make plans for the quadrilogy he had in mind since writing Book 1. He was in fact able to relaunch Deadgirl and have the sequel Deadgirl: Ghostlight see the...light of day (covers below)...before the second publisher went through the same fate as the first.

But the indomitable Bobby refused to go down with his drowned ship. Since then, he's self-published the third installment in the series (Deadgirl: Goneward), and a bridge novella in ebook form (Daphne) covering some events in between Book 2 and 3 from the point of view of a side character (again, covers below). He even managed to hire the artist who had designed the first two covers, and did his best to keep the latter books in the series consistent with the previous ones, graphic-wise. He also got the rights pertaining to Book 1 and 2 reverted to him, so that he can still print more copies and keep the series alive. (That's the gist of it, but I hope you'll have the chance to hear the whole story from Bobby himself in a future guest post...).

And now, 11 years after the first installment came out, Bobby is finally on the verge of publishing the fourth and last book in the series, titled Deadgirl: Daybreak (cover to be revealed). He said it should go on sale in a month or two, and I'm both sad (bye Deadgirl 😥) and giddy (yay! Deadgirl! 💃), and I hope I can get you interested in this quirky story about a girl who just won't stay dead (NOT a zombie, NOT a ghost - something else entirely), her loyal band of friends (some human, some not so much), and the supernatural/magical threats on their tail. Stay tuned for Deadgirl: Daybreak...and don't forget to support indie/small pub books, because they're no less awesome that their bigwig counterparts, and chances are they will be able to fulfill your need for something off the beaten path...as it is the case here 😀👍 .

Well, that's it for now. Did you enjoy this post? Would you like to participate in the meme on a regular or semi-regular basis, and get emailed the prompt list? Just head over here and fill in Jen's form! (Of course, you can jump in anytime you like - you are under no obligation to actually do all the posts, or even most of them, just because you signed up, and you can remove yourself from the list at any time). And if you're interested in participating in a more casual manner, or only in commenting, here is the TMST prompt list for the month of April:

• April 11th: How long do you stick with a series you loved, if you start not enjoying the books?
• April 18th: What were your expectations when you started blogging? (a question I submitted)
• April 25th: If you could go back and change one thing about your life, what would it be? (a question I submitted)

I'll be back for the meme on April 18th, and I'm VERY curious about your answers! but I plan on reading your takes on next week's question as well.

Now tell me something...do you read indie/small pub books? Any recommendations?