Greetings all, and please join me in checking out the work of five wonderful indie authors for our first Indie Author Shoutout! For your work to appear in the next shoutout, please drop me a line in the comments below!

1. Young, Dumb and Naïve (The Walker Diaries, Book 1) Young Adult Fiction/African American Literature & Fiction by Alicia Caldwell

2) Star Wars Meets the Eras of Feminism: Weighing All the Galaxy’s Women Great and Small (Academic Analysis of Science Fiction) by Valerie Estelle Frankel

Star Wars defined popular, big-screen science fiction. Still, what many viewers best recall is assertive, hilarious Lia, the diminutive princess with a giant blaster who had to save them all. As the 1977 film arrived, women were marching for equality and demanding equal pay, with few onscreen role models. Leia echoed their struggle and showed them what they could be. Two more films joined in, though by the early eighties, post-feminism was pushing back and shoving the tough heroine into her pornographic gold bikini. After a sixteen-year gap, the prequels catered to a far different audience. Queen Amidala’s decoy power originates in how dominated she is by her massive royal gowns. This obsession with fashion but also costuming as a girly superpower fits well with the heroines of the time. The third wavers filled the screens with glamorous, mighty girls – strong but not too strong, like the idealistic teen Ahsoka of Clone Wars. However, space colonialism, abusive romance, and sacrifice left these characters a work in progress. Finally, the sequel era has introduced many more women to fill the galaxy: Rey, Jyn, Rose, Maz, Qi’ra, Val, L3-37, Captain Phasma, Admiral Holdo, and of course General Leia. Making women the central warriors and leaders while keeping them powerful and nonsexualized emphasizes that they can share in the franchise instead of supporting male Jedi. There’s also more diversity, though it’s still imperfect. Hera and Sabine on the spinoff cartoon Rebels and the many girls in the new franchise Forces of Destiny round out the era, along with toys, picture books, and other hallmarks of a new, more feminist fourth wave for the franchise.

3) The Disappearing Act by R.L. Walker. YA mystery set in the carnival.

The carnival: here today, gone tomorrow.

Zoe has once chance to accept her fate and save her friends. Failure is not an option.

The summer starts off as a normal carnival season for Zoe who has grown up in the carnival. Soon she realizes it’s everything, but normal. Friends are disappearing and Zoe begins to notice she has an ability to see what is happening to her. Will she be able to learn to use her newfound telepathic powers to save her friends from a madman before the summer is over?

Come for the carnival, stay for the story….

4) Distorted Perception of Innocence Author Axel Desarden. A raw and compelling nonfiction narrative confessional

“There are hundreds of stories about enduring hardships and triumphs in the inner city. I have spent more than twenty years in silence identifying my patterns and behaviors in hopes of forbearing my true nature. Allow me to chauffeur you through this linguistic confessional as portrayed through the lenses of one boy, the youngest out of four siblings. Encapsulated in a blanket of safety and innocence as a child. A true living in the moment feel. No worries, no planning. A perfect world of imagination and daydreams. Weekly walks while swinging Dad’s hand to the nearby video rental store for an occasional kung fu movie was ideal.

Growing up in the 80’s/90’s impoverished section of the South Bronx was an absolute delight, that is until my natural development seized. Emotional growth stunted. Events that would breed confusion and contradiction. My thirst for identity formation grew beyond my conscious control with an attraction to a falsehood of pride and prejudice. Lost in a chase of what was. Read this with an open mind. Look for identification and not comparison.”

5) Ride the Wind by Amanda Crozier is Book 1 of the “Dragonlore” trilogy (Fantasy). Amanda Crozier is my birth name and my pen name. I was adopted from birth so only had the name for about two months. As the name implies, The Dragonlore Trilogy is a fantasy tale of magic and dragons

“Zysal was in trouble again! Sorcha heaved a troubled sigh whilst she watched the old Kevii disappear up the path that led to the log cabin that was their home. Merezin had called to complain that her son had been swimming yet again at Springall Falls, a place held sacred by all at the Kevii Hall. Tradition handed down and taught at the Hall linked it to ancient Dragon Lore, but because dragons had long since been relegated to myth and legend, the true reasoning behind the reverence seemed no longer clear, even to the Elders.” – opening paragraph, chapter 1.

“This place was perfect – everything was here, and had been since the last dragon had left. The wildlife had grown steadily in number, all waiting for this moment in time, and the return of an emergent young dragon.”

“His ancient memories told him that all Riders had long hair bound back with a hide thong in a cue; the longer the tail, the longer a Rider had been paired with their dragon. Riders rarely ever cut their hair but bound it back for convenience. He was truly proud of his white blond hair now that he understood it’s true significance.”

“Now feeling more hopeful that the enchantment would work with the cloak too, he tried it on. It was made of a very fine woven material. He had not seen the like of it before. It looked and hung like a heavy material but was light in weight to wear, and he found it to be a perfect fit. Also black in colour, it had a high collar and long sleeves that widened along his lower arm. It fastened at his throat and reached down midway between knee and ankle. There was a slit at the back, from his seat downwards, which would allow him to sit with comfort astride his dragon.

Glancing down, he noticed that something had dropped on the floor. He picked it up. It was a sleeveless jerkin, made from sturdy black hide. He slipped the cloak off in order to try the jerkin on. It moulded itself to his body just as the boots had done. There were ornate silver fastenings down the front; they matched the one on the cloak.”

 

So what did everyone think of these first few samples? Let us know in the comments below, and shout at me via Twitter @authorsarahkatz to have your work showcased in the next Shoutout!

In need of a new sci-fi read? Check out Apex Five, available on Amazon in Kindle & paperback!