I have read an amazing number of indie books this year. When I looked back at my reviews I was surprised. The realization I had read so many started me thinking about the ones I remembered. I decided to make a list of the ones I liked the most.
You will probably notice a paucity of “romance” novels. This may puzzle you since the books I write are romantic thrillers. If you look closely you will see that many of these books fit into more than one category and quite a few are romances as well as their main listings.
I do hope you will take the time to check out some if not all of these fine reads. Indie authors do not have the benefit of large publishing houses to fund their promotions. These hard working writers toil at their craft because they have stories to tell. Then they are forced to take time away from their first love, spinning yarns, to plod through the often messy and always time consuming work of promoting their books. Indie writers rely on reviews. It’s only through their reviews that they get any recognition and sometimes the feedback that empowers them to hone their craft. (We count our reviews more than we count the dollars and cents we make. Believe me when I say we are not in it for the money.)
Many indie writers have full time jobs or full time families that they care for in addition to writing. They carve out what little spare time they have, jealously devoting short hours to writing and promoting. There is nothing particularly glamorous about the work. The reward is the positive review; the one where a reader “gets it”.
So here they are; my favorite books of 2015. I have not added my books to the list. That doesn’t mean they are not among my favorites. In fact they rate pretty high on the list. If I didn’t love them, I would not have written them. This isn’t about me. This about those who share my dream of sharing good stories with a receptive and appreciative audience.
Fantasy
The Watchmage of Old New York by C.A. Sanders
Taken by the Huntsman by Mistral Dawn (Erotic Fantasy)
Into the Sunlits (Followers of Torments Book 3) by K Caffee
Science Fiction
Planet Purgatory by Benedict Martin
Connected: The Call and The Shift (Author’s Cut) by Michelle Medhat (also a Thriller)
ARIA: Left Luggage by Geoff Nelder
Thriller
The 9th Hour by C.M.T. Stibbe
Random Lucidity by Dave Adair
Kill Order: A Riz Sabir Thriller by Charlie Flowers (A great series all around)
Big Sky Siren: Book 1 Of The Big Sky Series by L.A. Ramirez (Romance)
Gold, Silver, and Bombs: The Phoenix Series Book 2 by Ted Tayler
The Assassin Who Couldn’t Dance by Glen Barrera
The Gangster’s Son by Joseph Mark Brewer
A Fine Balance by Robyn Cain (Romance)
Meter of Corruption by Wolf Schimanksi
Romance
Unsevered by Traci Sanders (Paranormal Romance)
Myka and the Millionaire by Alexis Alvarez (Erotic)
Horror
The Threshold by Anita Kovacevic
Horror at Pine Ridge by Craig McDonough
Death Most Wicked by Suzi Albracht
Historical Fiction
Song at Dawn: 1150 in Provence (The Troubadours Quartet)S by Jean Gill (Romantic) Also the next two books in this series
Chasing Pharaohs: A Novel of Ancient Egypt by C.M.T. Stibbe (Thriller)
THE ZEBRA AFFAIRE: An Apartheid Love Story by Mark Fine (Romantic)
My Books
Between the Beats 
I’m absolutely floored, thank you!
There’s a few others that I totally agree with (and an even larger number I need to check out.)
Everything you wrote is true. I sometimes feel like laughing at myself for even attempting to write, let alone publish. But then the stories wake me up and the characters nag till they’re written, and a reader comments on something so that I see it matters, and every reluctance or insecurity vanishes.You do me great honour, Elizabeth, by including me on this list. I hope I live up to it.!