Recently I've run a poll on Twitter to see how much people are willing to pay for either a debut novel, i.e., one by a writer who has not been tried and tested. This was sparked by a conversation on the subject with writer Ben Winter. At the moment, the '1.99-2.99' option is winning.
This led to chat with others about trying unknown authors, generally, and I commented that something I love about being a member of Rosie Amber's book review team is that I have, on occasion, discovered a real gem that I would otherwise not have known existed.
As I have no book review ready for #TuesdayBookBlog for the second week running, I thought I'd show some examples of those gems - in many cases, I've gone on to read more of the author's books. Please note, they are all by authors I had never heard of before I chose their book to read. I didn't know them from Twitter, I hadn't even seen a passing tweet by them!
The poll is HERE, if you would like to vote - I know it's not a black-and-white question, but you're only allowed 4 options!
...and here are the books. I've been keeping this blog and reviewing for Rosie for nearly 9 years now, so some of them go a fair way back. Click title of book for my review and Amazon/Goodreads links.
The Silent Kookaburra by Liza Perrat
I've read almost all her books since this one! Excellent family drama set in small town Australia.
The Usurper King by Zeb Haradon
A great find indeed. I've read two more since; his latest, Cousin Calls is one of my favourite books in years. Genre? He writes like no one else, and certainly doesn't fit into any neat Amazon box. Just take a look :)
The World Without Flags by Ben Lyle Bedard
Post Apocalyptic, therefore right up my street, though that is no guarantee I'll love the book! This, however, was so good I bought the prequel as soon as I'd finished it.
Historical novella
Singularity Syndrome by Susan Kuchinskas
Actually the sequel; I read the first book via Rosie, too. Dystopian, scifi
An Idle King by Andrew Paterson
Military Drama
Gone: Catastrophe in Paradise by O J Modeska
Non-fiction, an account of an airplane tragedy. Bought her next book too - just as good.
Went on to read the whole series (I liked Book #2 best), and also read an earlier book of his. Time Travel, human drama.
Black Irish Blues by Andrew Cotto
Crime drama set in New Jersey
The Memory Box by Eva Lesko Natiello
Psychological family drama
Human drama/thriller novellas - I've read a few of hers via Rosie's blog
The Unrivalled Transcendence of William J Gyle
Read this years ago but it still sticks in my mind as a terrific book. Drama about a homeless man.
Historical family drama
The Code For Killing by William Savage
Not the first of Mr Savage's books that I've read - I read his first one via Rosie's blog and went on to read about ten more! Historical mysteries.
The Brazilian Husband by Rebecca Powell
Contemporary family drama
I'm a great one for buying random books via Amazon browsing, or after I've read a great review on a blog. Perhaps one of these might hit the spot for you, too :)
I would like to add 'Cold Fish Soup' by Adam Farrer (@AdamJFarrer on Twitter.) Never heard of him or it, he responded to one of my tweets about Aerosmith, I bought and read his book, which is pretty unusual for me to do, and it's brilliant. Recommended.
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I've found a few like this. Talked to someone on Twitter, thought their book looked good and found it to be so. A book called Smile of the Wolf comes to mind - Tim Leach, I think. And Carl Rackman's Irex, and John Privilege's The Turning of the World.
DeleteI totally agree, Terry. I have read a few of those and went on to read more books by their authors as well. And I keep discovering new authors thanks to Rosie's team, some that have become big favourites of mine, so giving new authors (or unknown to you authors) a chance is well-worth trying.
ReplyDeleteIt most certainly is! I love it when I pick one from Rosie's team list and it's a really good one :)
DeleteI'm always looking for new authors! I like reading debut novels, and have found some of my favorites that way!
ReplyDeleteGood for you, David!
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