Small press catalogs…
One of the unexpected pleasures I’ve received from my association with small presses is confirming my old opinion that they have catalogs with many good books written by many good authors. Of course, the author’s negative in this is that it also confirms that competition is stiff, but the pleasure is augmented when the author, like me, is an avid reader. I always knew this, of course, and often perused specific publisher’s catalogs. But I’m doing it more often now.
Let me hasten to add that there’s no one pressuring me to do this. But, as an author, I know my own books get buried in the thousands of books available at big retail sites. I hate to browse on Amazon and Smashwords for that reason, knowing that other authors must surely suffer the same fate…and their books can be interesting reading.
Black Opal Books and Penmore Press, two small presses that have morphed me into a mongrel (a traditionally published as well as a self-published author), have catalogs with many interesting books that might get buried in the lists of the giant retail sites. I’ve read many books listed therein, and I’m sure I’ll read many more. (Some are already on my TBR list, either already purchased and waiting patiently for me on my Kindle, or waiting to be purchased.)
So I thought in this blog post I’d list some of these books. Most I have reviewed, either in my “official reviewing capacity” on Bookpleasures (before I became associated with the two publishers, mind you) and/or on this blog (see the “Book Reviews” and “Mini-Reviews of Books” archives).
Here’s the list from the Black Opal Books catalog:
Sandra Gardner, Dead Shrinks Don’t Talk
June Trop, Deadliest Fever
Ken Newman, The God Machine
Sandra Gardner, Grave Expectations
Howard Levine, Last Gasp
S. P. Brown, The Legacy
Bruce W. Most, Murder on the Tracks
Rebecca Marks, On the Rocks
Trisha O’Keefe, Poseidon’s Eye
Theodore P. Durch, Pure Gold
Rebecca Marks, Stone Cold Sober
Geza Tatrallyay, Twisted Traffick
S.P. Brown, Veiled Memory
Keith Steinbaum, You Say Goodbye
Zoe Tasia, Kilts and Catnip
Here’s the list from the Penmore Press catalog:
Leah Devlin, Aegir’s Curse
Leah Devlin, The Bottom Dwellers
Marc Leibman, Cherubs 2
The only two I haven’t reviewed are the Most and second Devlin books. That doesn’t mean they aren’t any good—I just haven’t had time to review them, and now it’s a wee bit too late (I try to review a book soon after I read it).
I don’t know why the list from Penmore is much shorter. Maybe because they don’t carry sci-fi or fantasy books? Or the catalog is a bit biased toward nautical and military books? I’m more interested in mystery, thriller, and sci-fi novels because they are my genres (my Rembrandt’s Angel from Penmore is a mystery/thriller, but that publisher doesn’t have sci-fi), but I’ll read just about anything that attracts my attention. Marc Leibman’s book is about a USN SAR helicopter pilot during the Vietnam War. Helicopters and that era interest me. Also, my character Penny Castro (The Last Humans from Black Opal) had been involved in SAR with the USN.
I’m generally not interested in fantasy (especially werewolves, vampires, elves, fairies, zombies, and the like), but I’m a sucker for mythology, especially Celtic legends. Stan Brown’s Veiled Memory and Zoe Tasia’s Kilts and Catnip in the Black Opal catalog attracted me for that reason.
Of course, these catalogs have many other books. This selection only reflects my own personal tastes as a reader. They, like other small press catalogs, are handier to use as a source for good reading. How do you find these catalogs? Via our pal Google! Try things like “small press publishers” in the Google search box. And don’t forget those that the Big Five have swallowed (like Tor, for example). It’s an easy way to find books because your mind won’t go into information overload.
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Comments are always welcome.
The Last Humans. Ex-USN and LA Sheriff’s Department diver Penny Castro goes on a forensic dive and surfaces to find a dying world as far as human civilization is concerned. She struggles to survive. Her adventures—and there are many—aren’t for the faint of heart. This post-apocalyptic thriller published by Black Opal Books in both ebook and print versions is available at the publisher’s website, online retailers like Amazon and Smashwords and the latter’s affiliated retailers (iBooks, B&N, Kobo, etc.), and your favorite bookstore (if they don’t have it, ask for it!).
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
