What is your favorite "self-published" book?

Does self publishing scare you away, or are you one of the dedicated readers out there who will devour a good book no matter how it ended up in print?

A great example of a very successful self-published author is Christopher Paolini. His Eragon series has proven he is a gifted writer. He was 15 when he wrote his first draft to Eragon. His family believed in him and published the book in 2001. Two years later, Alfred A. Knofp Books for Young Readers published Eragon and it was an instant success.

My favorite "self-published" book is Journey into the Realm: The Elf Girl by Markelle Grabo. Quite similar to Christopher, Markelle started writing story ideas in fifth grade, and as a freshmen she took it more seriously. Like Christopher's family, Markelle's parents supported her, and two years later with an editor, and graphic designer, and acceptance by POD House, Booklocker.com. Journey into the Realm: the Elf Girl became reality. Since the debut of this 1st book in the 6 book series the author has had successful book signings,guest appearances, good sales and some very good reviews. Her readers are waiting patiently for the second installment which is expected out April 2012.

I invite you to visit www.markellegrabo.com where you can read the 1st chapter, see the book trailer and learn more about this young author. Share the website with those you know love fantasy. Become a fan of her Facebook page and she'll keep you up to date on her journey.

And finally, please share with all of us your favorite self published author/book.

Tags: MarkelleGrabo, fantasy, fiction, published-self

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kelli Wheelwright on July 23, 2011 at 10:55pm

I love self pubs... I think they often are overlooked or underestimated- which is a shame. There is so much talent out there that hasn't made it to a publishing house (mostly because it isn't trendy enough, lol)

Here are a couple that TRULY impressed me:

A Father's Anguish by RW Doyen

Wasteland by Patricia Williams

Fire Season by VH Folland

Predator of Darkness by Leonard D Hilley II

Teagan's Story by Talia Jager

The books are all very different from eachother, but well written and great reads. I would recommend every one of them!

http://www.ekfamilybooks.blogspot.com

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Permalink Reply by Kelli Wheelwright on July 26, 2011 at 2:34am

Ya, I thought I would reveal my real name, less mysterious... plus I was tired of people calling me Kate. I still don't know where they were getting that one!

Thanks for the nod on my reviews, getting to know some of the self pub authors is one of my favorite parts about having a blog!

http://www.ekfamilybooks.blogspot.com

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PublicistPermalink Reply by Maryanne Grabo on July 28, 2011 at 5:40pm

Thanks Kelli

It is really nice to know that self-pubished authors are being respected and read.

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Permalink Reply by Pearson Oldmitz on July 25, 2011 at 3:34pm

My favorite "self-published" book is Vigilia's Tempest by Stephen Poleskie. The author published his first book with a reputable independent publisher, but the process took five years. After that he decided to publish his own books. Also his work does not exactly fit into the genres so narrowly defined these days. The book is about a man who discovers that Lindbergh might have had a secret copilot on his famous solo trans Atlantic flight. You can read a review on my Book Blogs page or an Amazon.com. You can learn more about this amazing artist and writer, and his four other books on his web site: www.StephenPoleskie.com.

Pearson Oldmitz

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Permalink Reply by Shanan B. on July 25, 2011 at 6:26pm

Hollowland by Amanda Hocking. I don't even like zombie books, but I could not stop talking about this one!!

Here is link to my review: http://thebookaddictnet.blogspot.com/2011/07/book-addict-reviews-ho...

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PublicistPermalink Reply by Maryanne Grabo on July 28, 2011 at 5:51pm

Thanks

I checked out your blog.
- you have some nice reviews

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PublicistPermalink Reply by Maryanne Grabo on July 25, 2011 at 7:36pm

Thanks for sharing. Many of these authors are needles in the hay stack just waiting to be found. I wish all of the the greatest success!

Keep on sharing. The more we share the more we reap the rewards of these great books.

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Permalink Reply by Spencer Brokaw on July 25, 2011 at 8:03pm

I enjoy Michael Hicks books IN HER NAME, the first one is FREE! He also has a book named Season of the Harvest. I also enjoy Emerald Barnes and Suzy Turner.

Being a self-published author myself, I like to read self-pubbed authors. I am 12 and I finished my first book last year at age 11. I started to snoop around and found KDP. My book The Impenetrable Spy is now available on Amazon Kindle, Smashwords, and soon in paperback on Amazon!

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Permalink Reply by Sift Book Reviews on July 25, 2011 at 9:43pm

At Sift, we ONLY review self-published SFF books so we read a lot of self-published books. As a reader (meaning outside of my role at Sift), I don't pick up a self-pubbed book unless I've heard good things about it from someone whose opinion I trust.

My favorite indie book I've read is actually a collection of short stories by Renee Harrell called After Things Went Bad.

Sarah from www.siftreviews.com

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PublicistPermalink Reply by Maryanne Grabo on July 25, 2011 at 10:03pm

Hi Sara, I just checked out your website. Of all the reveiwers at Sift can you suggest one that may take an interest in my daughter's book as mentioned above?