Booksellers, publishers, librarians, and agents are encouraged to look at the 52 self-published titles below. Each appears with a list of retailers that are selling the book and a description provided by its author. Some of these writers are waiting to be discovered; others have track records and followings and are doing it on their own. If you are a self-published author interested in listing titles in this section, please visit publishersweekly.com/pw-select for more information.
Fiction
East of Midnight (The Chalmers Trilogy #1)
Karen Humeniuk. Karen Humeniuk. $17.99 paper (420p), ISBN 978-1-953839-62-6; $2.99 e-book, ASIN B0BKLQPTPW
Amazon, BN.com
This is a faith-driven story of two families connected by past tragedy and hope for a better future.
Great Big Smile
Jeremy Dorfman. Jeremy Dorfman. $14.98 paper (426p), ISBN 979-89-85579-11-6; $4.99 e-book, ASIN B0BNFBCKKX
Amazon, BN.com, Bookshop.org
The photographers of SmilePosts, a motley group struggling with adulthood and unfulfilled dreams, invade schools in the cities and suburbs for the rite of passage known as picture day.
Hieronymus
Nic Ularu. Austin Macauley. $15.95 paper (236p), ISBN 978-1-68562-241-1; $4.50 e-book, ISBN 978-1-68562-242-8
Amazon, BN.com
This is a novel about the life and work of Hieronymus Bosch that preserves the historical context of the dark end of the Middle Ages in Northern Europe.
Justice?
J.D. Henington. XlibrisAU. $11.99 paper (182p), ISBN 978-1-66983-121-1; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-66983-120-4
Amazon
This novel scrutinizes the shadowy lives, scandalous history, and suppressed secrets and emotions of two Italian post–World War II families coincidentally seeking asylum in Australia’s South Coast village of Cringilla.
Late Winter
Michael P. Charlton. Faded Ink Publishing. $12.49 paper (194p), ISBN 978-1-399-95057-2; $7.99 e-book, ASIN B0BXZL2JBM
Michaelpcharlton.com, Amazon
Explore how the degenerate land folk survive within a tracked and traced society.
Never Has a Rain Storm Not Cleared
Robert E. Barrera. Reading Glass Books. $9.99 paper (208p), ISBN 978-1-959151-44-9; $2.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-959151-45-6
Ingram
A successful businessman is presented with severe challenges. Mysterious happenings begin. Occult forces are pushing through. Can he fight them? Can he win? But he has help.
Promise to a Guardian Angel
Ronald Freed and Karin A. Todd. Vantage Press. $23.75 paper (243p), ISBN 978-0-533-14390-0
Amazon
This novel features angels, with action, mystery, love, moderate violence, despair, contentment, and a surprise ending.
Sins of the Father (Justice? #2)
J.D. Henington. XlibrisAU. $14.99 paper (226p), ISBN 978-1-66983-123-5; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-66983-128-0
Amazon
In this sequel, suppressed family secrets, deep relationships, and family ties of three Neapolitan families are revealed, setting the scene for revenge, justice, power, and immense wealth.
Sortilege: The Gothic Hybrid
Linda Gibson. Linda Gibson. $6.99 e-book, ASIN B09BLLS6XD
Amazon
The past and present intertwine in this debut novel of everyday wonders, gothic adventures, dark enchantments, and forbidden love.
This Time Could Be Different
Khristin Wierman. SparkPress. $17.95 paper (400p), ISBN 978-1-68463-216-9; $9.49 e-book, ASIN B0BQBMW5VY
Amazon, BN.com
Seeking purpose and change in her life, compulsive overachiever Madeline risks everything to leave her comfort zone and unlock a world more fulfilling than she could have imagined.
Poetry
Healing Grace: Inspirational Poetry for Coping & Closure
Michelle G. Stradford. Sunurchin. $20.99 (213p), ISBN 978-1-957087-06-1; $12.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-957087-05-4
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Books-a-Million, Bookshop.org, Kobo
This is a self-forgiving embrace providing the strength to reclaim the inner parts that have been erased. Readers may feel comforted by the poems, affirmations, and meditations.
In Doubtful Taste: New and Selected Poems
Don Behrend. Don Behrend. $9.19 paper (100p), ISBN 978-0-646-86784-7
Amazon, BN.com
An entertainment in light verse for the present day.
Sivateja Mukkamala Poetry: Love, Life and Liberation
Sivateja Mukkamala. XlibrisAU. $8.99 paper (100p), ISBN 978-1-66983-111-2; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-66983-110-5
Amazon
This debut author shares his reflections about love, life, liberation, and conditioning of the human mind in poems and verses.
Mystery/Thriller
Betrayal in the Casbah
Ted Kissel. Koehler Books. $32.95 (316p), ISBN 978-1-64663-567-2; $19.95 paper, ISBN 978-1-64663-565-8
Amazon, BN.com
It’s the early 2000s in the U.S. embassy in Algiers. U.S. military attaché Colonel Mitch Ross is approached by the CIA with a mission: rescue a downed American pilot held by terrorists.
Deepfake (Terry Luvello, PI #2)
Joe Rielinger. NineStar Press. $17.99 paper (369p), ISBN 978-1-64890-666-4; $6.49 e-book, ASIN B0C7JW3Y9N
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com
A young girl with a father accused of murder. A detective awakened by a 3:00 a.m. knock. One murder, two damning videos. What if the devil’s greatest trick was somehow the next case?
Digital Assassins: Surviving Cyberterrorism and a Digital Assassination Attempt
Danielle Spencer. Ingram. $12.99 paper (208p), ISBN 979-88-88107-70-6; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 979-88-88107-72-0
Amazon, BN.com
A government whistleblower exposes retaliation efforts from the most powerful debt collection agency in the world. This book uses fictional characters to expose actual events.
The Empty Kayak
Jodé Millman. Level Best Books. $16.99 paper (366p), ISBN 978-1-68512-287-4; $5.99 e-book, ASIN B0C1PT8484
Amazon, BN.com, Bookshop.org, Kobo
Detective Ebony Jones and attorney Jessie Martin uncover secrets and deceptions when a close friend suspiciously drowns in the Hudson River. Was it an accident, suicide, or murder?
Naked Came the Detective
Glendall C. Jackson III. GCJ3 Enterprises. $8.99 paper (100p), ISBN 979-89-88391-60-9; $3.99 e-book, ASIN B0C6YQGTZM
Amazon, BN.com, Ingram
This novella turns the tired trope of a murdered call girl on its head. A skilled sex worker investigates the murder of one of her clients and encounters a shocking discovery.
SF/Fantasy/Horror
Blood Fortune
Brock Rivers. Bad Wolf Publishing. $14.99 paper (326p), ISBN 979-89-88341-01-7; $9.99 e-book, ISBN 979-89-88341-02-4
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Google Play
This historical sci-fi thriller travels from the golden treasure of the Aztecs, to a shadow government facility underneath the New Mexico desert, to the frozen moon of Enceladus.
Changing Tide
Robert Joncas. Cougar Productions. $16.99 paper (260p), ISBN 979-89-87150-10-8; $9.99 e-book, ISBN 979-89-87150-11-5
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Ingram, Kobo
This novel melds romance, action, horror, and a battle in the depths of the Grand Canyon to save humanity.
Thomas Owais Campbell. Dorrance Publishing. $21 paper (272p), ISBN 979-88-88123-56-0; $16 e-book, ISBN 979-88-88128-56-5
Amazon, BN.com
Orphaned and alone, Eros Wolf is a gifted but socially awkward student. Determined to succeed, he must learn to control his dangerous potent abilities before they consume him.
Kael: Dawn of a New North
Tyson W. Simmons. Tyson W. Simmons. $13.99 paper (313p), ISBN 979-83-984801-2-2; $2.99 e-book, ASIN B0C874YQJT
Amazon
Kael has a blissful life, but war brings an end to all things. Visions and dreams abound, and Kael will discover that his talents are not only a gift from the gods but also a curse.
The Light Within Darkness
David C. Jeffrey. Sylvanus Books. $12.99 paper (422p), ISBN 978-0-9986742-6-1; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-0-9986742-7-8
Amazon, Apple iBooks, BN.com, Kobo
Year 2218. Aiden Macallan and the crew of Sun Wolf search uncharted star systems and exotic exoplanets to hunt down a sinister mastermind who is on a crusade to exterminate humanity.
Nightstalkers: The Extinction Event
Jasper T. Scott. Anthem Press. $3.99 e-book, ASIN B0C5K175RZ
Amazon
This is a post-apocalyptic invasion story.
Romance/Erotica
The Legacy Soars!
Cheryl Devenney. Cheryl Devenney. $10.99 paper (251p), ISBN 979-82-18-06656-7; $3.99 e-book, ASIN B0BNP4BHJ6
Amazon, BN.com
The sky’s the limit on the WWII home front.
Let It Love
Emma Aiseman. Emma Aiseman. $12.99 paper (276p), ISBN 979-82-18-21064-9; $4.99 e-book, ASIN B0C57QW4CR
Amazon, BN.com, Books-a-Million
One easy-to-cheer-for heroine who doesn’t think she deserves her Happily Ever After, one annoying boyfriend, and one irresistible Prince Charming. Will she give love a chance?
The Man in the Dark Suit
Janet G. Sims. Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency. $15.95 paper (256p), ISBN 978-1-62857-782-2
Amazon
A young woman wakes up with amnesia. Her mind keeps trying to regain her memory, but are her dreams real or just her imagination?
Stuck with Me
Leslie McElroy. Leslie McElroy. $16.99 paper (315p), ISBN 979-837411018-0; $9.99 e-book, ASIN B0BSKN25NQ
Amazon
Hopeless romantic Lucy Gilbert still hasn’t found her own epic romance. After moving back home, she runs into the one person she truly ever loved: Jamie Gallagher.
Comics
Nick Pope
Christopher Stanton, illus. by Christopher Darling. Christopher Stanton. $19.03 paper (142p), ISBN 979-83-931393-4-6
Amazon
Born with facial birthmarks, Nick faces constant teasing, as well as depression and confusion about his sexuality. This diary tracks three chaotic months of his life in 1987.
Nonfiction
The Aerospace Professor: The Man and the Brand
Jeffery Battle. Battle Enterprises. $13.99 paper (152p), ISBN 979-88-497-2483-6; $13.99 e-book, ASIN B0BD55T4RR
Amazon, BN.com, Google Play, Kobo, Scribd
The aerospace professor’s autobiography is a compilation of dramatic and emotional journeys from the author’s early childhood through maturity.
AlieNation: The Imitated Life
Jayma Anne Montgomery. Write My Wrongs. $15.99 paper (202p), ISBN 978-1-956932-47-8; $4.99 e-book, ASIN B0C34HFFT2
Amazon, BN.com
This is a memoir in a series of narrative vignettes. It details the author’s immigration story, assimilation process, blended family dynamics, and harrowing journey into womanhood.
The Apapa Six: West Africa from a 60s Perspective
John Berryman. BalboaPressUK. $35.08 paper (106p), ISBN 978-1-982283-15-5; $4.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-982283-16-2
Amazon
The author juxtaposes the personal and intercommunal dynamics of the West African experience during the 1960s with an analysis of the challenges the new entities have faced.
Comfortable Falsehoods and Uncomfortable Truths
Jerry Kotsovos. Jerry Kotsovos. $25 (340p), ISBN 979-8-771340-27-7
Amazon
Comfortable falsehoods regarding tens of social issues (for example, obscenity, sports, war, politics, religion, sexuality) and uncomfortable truths contradicting them.
Education and Science: The Brain’s Body; Help to Improve Brain, Body, and Sense Events
Christopher K. Slaton. XlibrisUS. $17.99 paper (258p), ISBN 978-1-66981-541-9; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-66981-543-3
Amazon
The purpose of this work is to learn about the brain from a human systems science perspective and develop processing skill through self-research.
The Feeling: Suburban Secrets; Behind Closed Doors
Carol-Rose Marshall. BookBaby. $17.99 paper (194p), ISBN 978-1-66783-963-9; $5.99 e-book, ASIN B0B1GGSBS6
Amazon
The true story of Rachel, who has a feeling about her husband. She tolerated his flaws until she could no longer ignore the feeling and discovered the truth.
Foxbook: Medieval & Contemporary Fables from Armenia
Trans. from the Armenian and edited by Sar Kamler. Dudukhouse. $38.46 (311p), ISBN 978-1-73883-524-9; $25.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-73883-523-2
Amazon, BN.com
This 335th anniversary tribute brings over 200 Armenian medieval fables to English readers for the first time.
A Generation of Leaves: A Ukrainian Journey 1923–1948
Ivan Kochan, edited by Christine Foster Kochan and Mark Collins Jenkins. Christine Foster. $14.99 paper (255p), ISBN 979-83-7808-816-4; $9.99 e-book, ASIN B0BYWDRSY6
Amazon
A coming-of-age story, a war story, and a love story that features how life was lived in an overlooked part of the world.
It Was a Privilege to Care for Her
Keith Klafehn. Stonehenge Literary and Media. $11.99 paper (318p), ISBN 978-1-08-809817-2; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-08-809828-8
Amazon
The author and those who knew his wife are made greater by her memory and gain solace in knowing that they will always bear the calm, irreplaceable stamp of her adventurous life.
A Life’s Work: Learning to Overrule My Mindless Brain
Shep McKenney. Transcendent Publishing. $17.99 paper (182p), ISBN 979-89-85770-48-3; $3.99 e-book, ASIN B0BBS61N45
Amazon
Exploring the paths of religion, philosophy, and science through the lens of his life experiences, the author reveals lessons readers may find useful to find happiness.
Loneliness Dissolved: Activating the Extraordinary Within
Alec Alpert. Alec Alpert. $3.99 e-book, ASIN B0C2W2WL5C
Amazon
This book explores loneliness’s complex nature and provides practical advice to achieve emotional independence.
The Lucky Seven
Norman W. Holden. NWH Holdings. $29.99 (380p), ISBN 978-1-73622-035-1; $19.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-73622-034-4
Amazon, Ingram
This is a true story of one airman’s remarkable escape and evasion from German-occupied Europe and the brave resistance fighters who delivered him to freedom.
Ride or Die: Loving Through Tragedy, A Husband’s Memoir
Jarie Bolander. SparkPress. $17.95 paper (208p), ISBN 978-1-68463-210-7; $8.99 e-book, ASIN B0BQBPBDJ3
Amazon
In this heartfelt tribute to his wife, the author explores how her illness changed their relationship, his journey through loss and grief, and the stigma around male caretakers.
A Steamy Affair with a Pressure Cooker
Virginia Baltay. Long Cove Press. $17.99 paper (242p), ISBN 979-82-18-07747-1
Amazon
This light-hearted approach combines history, instruction, and coaching with simple recipes designed to make any cook fall in love with an InstantPot.
A Texas Education: Learning (and Unlearning) in a Strangely Familiar Land
Tom Segady. iUniverse. $13.99 paper (180p), ISBN 978-1-66323-546-6; $3.99 e-book, ISBN 978-1-66323-545-9
Amazon
Learning—and unlearning—can come from anyone at any time. The stories in this book range from encounters that reveal the social world of academe, to a transforming encounter with a Black man who as a child worked as a chicken catcher at night to support his family and became wealthy enough to buy the movie theater that forced him to sit in the balcony when he was young.
This Too Shall Pass
David Yuen. Upward Bound Press. $15 paper (178p), ISBN 979-82-18-18621-0
Amazon
This is an exploration of life through a collection of poems, prose, memoir, and commentary written from a mostly Christian perspective.
Tinderbox: One Family’s Story of Adoption, Neurodiversity, and Fierce Love
Lynn Alsup. She Writes Press. $17.95 paper (296p), ISBN 978-1-64742-541-8; $8.99 e-book, ASIN B0BQBNHVW9
Amazon
After a harrowing but joyous journey through adoption, Lynn Alsup’s life with her adoptive daughter, Clare, transformed when they discovered FASD and the FASCETS Neurobehavioral Model.
Unhunched: Discover Wellness Through Posture
Aesha Tahir, illus. by Shawn Lin. Manuscripts. $16.99 paper (240p), ASIN B0C7GN2FWF; 99¢ e-book, ASIN B0C5HBVG8C
aeshatahir.com, Amazon
Readers may find many practical posture tips to live a long and healthy life while working with technology. The BRACE posture framework may empower readers beyond a pain-free life.
Children’s/YA
Follow the Shadows (The Tales of Moerden #1)
Rosemary Drisdelle. SparkPress. $17.95 paper (320p), ISBN 978-1-68463-218-3; $9.95 e-book, ASIN B0BQBN8LD9
Amazon, BN.com
Thrown into an alternate world, Marise Leeson is desperate to get home, but when she discovers she is the key to saving the dragons of Moerden, she embarks on a life-altering journey.
I Miss My Friend and That’s Okay
Shermaine Perry-Knights, illus. by Olga Shelkunova. Innovation Consultants of Dekalb. $20.99 (36p), ISBN 978-1-953518-47-7; $13.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-953518-46-0
BN.com, Books-a-Million
Two best friends who live far apart share their lives through letters. Readers will discover the magic of true friendship that comforts and strengthens during life’s obstacles.
Masterpiece: An Inclusive Kids Book Celebrating a Child on the Autism Spectrum
Alexandra Hoffman, illus. by Beatriz Mello. Wishing Star Publishing. $19.99 (32p), ISBN 978-1-77807-105-8; $12.99 paper, ISBN 978-1-77807-104-1
Amazon
An inclusive story featuring an autistic child who sees the world differently. When Samuel creates art, his beautiful way of looking at the world shows that he is a true masterpiece.
The Source of Death
Jay Michael Night. Synedrium Publishing. $2.99 e-book, ASIN B0BDCH74PJ
Amazon, BN.com, Ingram
This young adult coming-of-age fantasy is about Mikey Black, a teen who makes everyone around him deathly sick.
Willie the Worrying Dog
David Yuen, illus. by Micah Zhang. Upward Bound Press. $20 (36p), ISBN 979-82-18-17619-8
Amazon
Willie can’t help but worry. And now his owner wants to take him to a new park where everything’s different. Oh no—Willie feels doomed. Will Willie’s worry get the better of him?
