Urban Fantasy, Gone Self-Pub Part 2

 

Here we are again. Ff you missed my first post and explanation of self pub you can click here.

This will be my last post—for now—for my Urban Fantasy, Gone Self-Pub feature.

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Jenna Black

Red Hot Rain (Nikki Glass, book 4) 

Grab them: Amazon| Goodreads

Is this author going Self pub/indie or small?

Self published!

Important information or news?

To be quite honest I can't find an official post, and I'm not that handy at twitter. There's a goodreads page, a cover, an amazon preoder for 1.99, and both sites confirm May 16th, 2016 as the release date.

So that makes me keep the faith. I hope this bad boy sells well. I've pre-ordered. If it goes well I'm praying for Faeriewalker and Morgan Kingsley to get a revival.

What do we think of the cover(s)?

It fits the series perfectly! I like that the woman's hair is a different style, more wavy. Also that Nikki has her back turned away. (In my mind it's very symbolic.) the cover fits perfectly into the series! Bravo! 

Lisa Shearin

Wedding Bells, Magic Spells (Raine Benares, book 10)

Grab them: Amazon| Goodreads

Is this author going Self pub/indie or small?

Self published.

Important information or news?

Officially released February of 2016!

Okay, okay. This is High Fantasy more than Urban Fantasy. However, I'm interested in this series, it appeals to UF fans, and—hey—I couldn't help myself.

I'd really like to know how it sold, and if the author is encouraged to continue the series. Hmmm, it looks like it's priced at $7.99.

Black's book above is set at $1.99 for a pre-order. Man my need to get a conscis on which sells more, and if the higher or lowever priced books wins is tickling my brain.

What do we think of the cover(s)?

filler

Cornelia Funke

The Petrified Flesh (Reckless, book 1)
Living Flesh (Reckless, book 2)
The Golden Yarn (Reckless, book 3)

Grab them: Amazon| Goodreads

Is this author going Self pub/indie or small?

Self published.

Important information or news?

Self-pub, however, I think it's just for the English release of her books. Apparently she refused to make the suggested changes that the American publisher wanted her to make.

After reading this article about that changes the publishers wanted her to make, all I have to say is bravo to her for sticking up for herself.

It's always annoyed me how foreign things are edited so that they are more appealing or less shocking to an English speaking audience. Stop it!

She will be publishing them through her own publishing company, Breathing Books.

What do we think of the cover(s)?

Well first off the fact that the titles are sooooooo different makes it so tough to search and find! The first books are Reckless, Fearless, and The Golden Yarn. However, now the all say Reckless and then have whole new titles! At least the Golden Yarn is The Golden Yarn no matter what. (Now that I've looked for the proper links I think it means the US version series name is Reckless? Either way it's really hard and I'm wondering if it has something to do with rights.)

Now about the art. I LOVE it! Way better than any of the other releases.

Ilona Andrews

Clean Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles, book 1)
Sweep in Peace (Innkeeper Chronicles, book 2)
One Feel Sweep (Innkeeper Chronicles, book 3) 

Grab them: Amazon| Goodreads

Is this author going Self pub/indie or small?

Self Published.

Important information or news?

The series, and each book, actually started as a free online serial. Readers can actually leave comments to the authors, and chapters/parts are released periodically.

Then when they're done with the book, they self pub it. But the serials still stay up for free online. I think it's awesome, and it happens to be one of my favorite series from the pair.

What do we think of the cover(s)?

So no cover for book 3 yet. However, I've always enjoyed the art. I get why people don't like it, but it looks much better to me than some of the covers they've had for their other series. Way better. Besides Sweep in Peace's cover is lovely.

Erica Hayes

Demon Chained (Shadowfae Chronicles, book 5) 

Grab them: Amazon| Goodreads

Is this author going Self pub/indie or small?

Self published.

Important information or news?

There really hasn't been any news on this series whether it officially wrapped up the series or not. Or if Demon Chained wrapped it up.

It's been since 2013 so I'm not sure if any more go out.

What do we think of the cover(s)?

Some people have thought this cover is smoking . . . but there is something off about the guy's chest.

Lara Adrian

Midnight Breed Series 

Grab them: Amazon| Goodreads

All right I'm tired, so I'm phoning this one in. This series has moved to self pub at some point. And the covers are pretty consistent so you can't tell when it went self pub that way. Overall I've heard really great things from fans of the series about it.

Urban Fantasy, Gone Self-Pub Part 1

 

 

Well at least there's a lot of Urban Fantasy authors going self pub and indie pub. Some to small pub/press.

Since the list has really grown I decided to compile a list here. It's been an exciting ride as authors have gotten the rights to their series, sometimes many-many years, and are actually continuing series!

First what is self pub or indie pub? Well that means self published and independent publishing. Sometimes indie can be confused with small press pub.

Self/indie pub means the author has full control over every aspect. Small pub/press just means that the publishing house is not one of the big ones. We'll keep it simple.

 

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Rachel Caine

Red Hot Rain (Weather Warden, book 10)

Grab them: Amazon| Goodreads

Is this author going Self pub/indie or small?

It's been six years since the last book! Caine is now self-publishing with fan backing.

Important information or news?

There is a Kickstarter for the rebirth of the series! As of now the total is $18,291, and you can still back it I believe.

The expected publication date is July 1st 2016 . So far I'm not sure if it will be epub only or paper copies as well.

What do we think of the cover(s)?

Personally I think Caine has done a fantastic job finding someone to imatitate the style and feel of the previuos cover. It's just enough "different" to signal the change, but keep it tied in.

Either way it's all good to me. It's like a sexy/bad ass tango.

Amanda Bonilla

Against the Dawn (Shaede Assassin #4)
&
Shadows at Midnight (Shaede Assassin #5)

Grab them: Kindle | Goodreads

Is this author going Self pub/indie or small?

Well I honestly thought she had gone self pub for this. BUT, I have seen in the publisher area on Goodreads and Amazon that NYLA is listed as the publisher.

Well I'm confused the link is about all I could find and if I google search it really brings up nothing but that link and that NYLA stands for New York Library Association.

Well either way I remember this article from Publishers Weekly about her making the decision to self pub after her contract ended. Not to mention her posts pretty much confirm that the series is self pub.

Long story short, she's gone self-published!!

Important information or news?

Since the last traditionally published books came out in 2013 Amanda has released one a year. The last update was about Shadows at Midnight from 2015. So while she's released one a year, it's up in the air from what I can see.

My Goodreads friend that got me to finally start the series assures me that book number 5 is most definitely not a series ender. So we'll see what happens. 

What do we think of the cover(s)?

To my eyes you can tell that the artist has changed. However, the new artist is good! The series stills looks professional and I love the consistency of the typography. A-mazing.

Veronica Wolff

Reckoning (The Watchers, book 5)

Grab them: Kindle | Goodreads

Is this author going Self pub/indie or small?

Self-pub!

Important information or news?

Reckoning just came out in April of this year! (No I haven't bought my copy yet! The shame.)

No word yet on future books. But I have hope. It was a 3 year wait for book 5.

What do we think of the cover(s)?

Fits perfectly with the series. I have to be honest for such a great series I always found the covers tacky. But I feel like the idea was that the Vampire Academy's original floating head covers were the inspiration. After all the sold.

Though I did notice that they have a different cover for the kindle edition. Will the rest of the books get new covers? The thing is it looks so much like the original cover that I have to wonder if the change was simply made because the rights have gone back to the author and she can't use the old artwork?

Food for thought.

Kelly Gay

The Cold Light of Day (Charlie Madigon, book 5)

Grab them: Kindle | Goodreads

Is this author going Self pub/indie or small?

Self-published.

Important information or news?

Well it's been since 2012 that the last book came out, Shadows Before the Sun.

It's been a crazy ride. It took forever for news that Gay was fighting for this series. But since she confirmed that she would be taking it self pub and had the rights I've kept the faith.

Latest news from April 2016:

Wrapping up some contracted work this month and next. Then I can turn my attention to the website and, of course, to Charlie.

Well Goodreads still states the release is 2016. (And I'm curious as to what her new contracted work is? As long as I get my Charlie Madigan books dang it!)

What do we think of the cover(s)?

filler

Kelly Keaton (AKA Kelly Gay)

Heart of Stone (Gods & Monsters, book 4)

Grab them: Kindle | Goodreads

Is this author going Self pub/indie or small?

Self-published.

Important information or news?

Heart of Stone was published in 2015 on Smashwords and Barnes & Noble. It's now available on Amazon.

The last traditional book was published 2013, so not too big of a gab there. (And the reason as to why I'll get another Charlie Madigan book!)

No news on more books in the series, but I do see from reviews that fans say there should definitely be more. That it was not an end book. (If it is it leaves a lot of things up in the air. 

What do we think of the cover(s)?

The cover for Heart of Stone fits perfectly. Especially the first book. Honestly if I was a stalker super fan I would never have noticed the change until trying to buy the book when it first released.

T.A. Pratt

Queen of Nothing (Marla Mason, book 9)

Grab them: Kindle | Goodreads

Is this author going Self pub/indie or small?

One of the original Urban Fantasy authors to go to self-publishing after the series was not renewed. (Which is why when a series doesn't get picked up I pray they author will self-pub.)

Important information or news?

Apparently there are kickstarters for this series! Considering I knew when it switched to self-published I had no idea about the Kickstarters.

Book 5 and on have been self-published.

What do we think of the cover(s)?

At first I wasn't too thrilled with the covers, just happy that the series would continue. Below you can see Broken Mirrors. However, the self-pub books have been getting some great makeovers. The aforementioned Broken Mirrors has a great cover for the audio and Kindle. (Though I couldn't find a decent one to post.

However, the cover for the Queen of Nothing is disappointing. I wonder if it will be eventually given a better cover to match the rest of the books?