Awesome Indies Book Awards: APPROVED

When a Stranger Comes

When a Stranger Comes
Title: When a Stranger Comes
ASIN: B075MR6JVG
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Publisher:
Published: 13 Sept. 2017
Author's Twitter: @KarenSueBell
Author Alexa Wainwright vows to do whatever it takes to attain the heady ego-stroking success of her debut. But is she really? Witnessing an out-of-the-blue lightning bolt whose giant tendrils spread over the blue sky and city streets below her loft window, Alexa doesn’t realize just how this vow will be tested as she’s magically transported to an alternate reality. In this universe, the characters from her books are given the breath of life and she meets publisher, King Blakemore, who just might be the Devil himself. At first, she shrugs off her doubts about this peculiar publisher and very lucrative book deal offer because the temptation of riches and refound fame is too strong. Alexa's pact with the Devil is an allegory for the evil lurking in our midst. The social decay of modern society with its excessive greed, the ignorance of our political leaders, and our indifference toward the survival of all species from the effects of climate change, among other environmental pressures, are perhaps brought forth by the darkest forces of human nature.

Assessed for Awesome Indies Book Award

Waterwight Breathe

Waterwight Breathe
Title: Waterwight Breathe
ASIN: B07M6MN3K3
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Publisher:
Published: 6 Mar. 2019
Author's Twitter: @LeadvilleLaurel
After Celeste regains consciousness in a mysterious cave, she discovers powerful new abilities--skills she will need for the challenges that continue to demand her attention. This time, the gods are in trouble, and Celeste must decide how, or if, she will help them. With insane scientists plotting to subjugate her village, she and her friends rally for a final confrontation that will change everything.

Assessed for Awesome Indies Book Awards

Fortuna and the Scapegrace

Fortuna and the Scapegrace
Title: Fortuna and the Scapegrace
ASIN: B07LGFGRPG
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Publisher:
Published: January 15, 2019
Author's Twitter: @briankindall
Didier Rain has never been so destitute, forlorn, and in dire need of a bath. As he roams the rain-muddied streets of San Francisco, it appears the angels of good fortune have finally forsaken him. Hunted by factions that would seek to do him harm, and suffering an acute case of soul pain, the once dandy rogue sees little promise for sunnier days. In a twist of destiny, a seductive albino soothsayer launches Rain onto the next leg of his life’s stormy voyage, aboard a clipper ship headed for the South Seas where a new life and love await. Is this Lady Luck, or are the gods having fun with their favorite gullible scallawag? At turns ribald, horrifying, and hilarious, Fortuna and the Scapegrace follows Delivering Virtue as book two in Didier Rain’s unfolding epic adventure of foibles, hope, and quest for love and redemption. This is the second book in The Epic of Didier Rain series.

Assessed for Awesome Indies Book Awards

Far Cry From The Turquoise Room

Far Cry From The Turquoise Room
Title: Far Cry From The Turquoise Room
ASIN: B004ZF80N0
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Published: May 4, 2011
Author:
Author's Twitter: @AuthorRigby
Told from both daughter and father's perspectives, Far Cry From The Turquoise Room is a coming-of-age, riches-to-rags tale of loss, resilience, and self-discovery, set just before the millennium. Leila is the eight-year-old daughter of Hassan Nassiri, a wealthy Iranian property owner, and younger sister to the adored Fayruz, her father's favourite daughter. But a holiday narrowboat tragedy has far-reaching consequences for the surviving family. Hassan withdraws into reclusive grief or high jinks with his men friends at his second home in Hampstead, leaving Leila to fend for herself in a lonely world of nannies, chess and star-gazing. Leila eventually runs away from home and joins a family of travellers in Sussex, and so follows a tale of adventure, danger and romance – and further anguish for her surviving family. But how will she fare at such a young age and will her family ever find her?  

Assessed for Awesome Indies Book Awards

First Cut

First Cut
Title: First Cut
ASIN: B081FBTHRD
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Published: 8 Jan. 2020
Author:
Author's Twitter: @jtbishopauthor
In this gripping thriller, former detective Jill Jacobs must confront the Makeup Artist, an elusive psychopath whose trail of terror left seven dead and whose obsession almost destroyed her. When the Artist strikes again in a new city, Detectives Gordon Daniels and Aaron Remalla must find the woman whose strange psychic connection to the killer is their best hope to catch him. Desperate and afraid, Jill’s only chance to find closure is to confront the man who stalked her and his grisly crimes. But there’s a catch. She must return to the mindset that bound her to him. The mindset the killer still seeks from her. But choosing to help Daniels and Remalla will not only risk her life but also her heart, when she falls for one of them, drawing the attention of the man she’s driven to capture. After losing everything, can she find the courage to face the murderer who took it all away, and who is eager to do it again?

Assessed for Awesome Indies Book Awards

XYZ

XYZ
Title: XYZ
ASIN: B07TTWHYL2
Category:
Published: July 31, 2019
Author's Twitter: @_william_knight
Jack Cooper blames the internet for everything bad that’s happened to him, and he badly needs an update. Once a king of computer coding and a Space Invaders champion to boot, he's now middle-aged, unemployed, cynical and sarcastic. He drinks too much and is addicted to online hook ups. His wife wants a divorce, his single daughter is expecting a baby and his shameful, twenty-something, species-confused son dresses as a bear. But when Jack’s daughter engineers a job for him at totally-lit tech firm Sweet, he’s confronted by a Generation Y and Z culture he detests. He loathes every detail – every Instant Message, gif and emoji, and the constant broadcasting of "success" on social media. Can Jack ever relate to the gender-neutral, app-wielding, digitally-connected snowflakes at his new politically-correct company, or will he remain a dinosaur stuck in the 1980s?And will Jack halt his slide into loneliness and repair things with his family?

Assessed for Awesome Indies Book Awards

RoboDocs

RoboDocs
Title: RoboDocs
ASIN: B07GCCQX6H
Tags: ,
Published: August 10, 2018
Even in 2030, young people who dream of becoming doctors want to help people in need. Hal believes that health care is about caring, and patients want their doctor to be knowledgeable, trustworthy and compassionate. However, medical training seems designed to whittle away at his convictions and reshape him to fit its own purposes. College, medical school and residency spend eleven years molding him into a cog that fits in the healthcare machine. Contending with A.I. Assistants, cybernetic implants and robots, Hal’s journey is an emotional roller coaster. His wife Sarah does everything humanly possible to save his last spark of passion and hope; she even follows him to Africa in search of his dreams. Can she rescue his humanity? A few years ago, this story would have been pure science fiction. But medical technology is advancing at breakneck speed; the doctor you visit tomorrow could be a RoboDoc.

Assessed for 

Priestess of Ishana

Priestess of Ishana
Title: Priestess of Ishana
ASIN: B07KNYWT36
Tags: ,
Series:
Published: November 17, 2018
Author's Twitter: @JudithStarkston
A malignant curse from the Underworld threatens Tesha’s city with fiery devastation. The young priestess of Ishana, goddess of love and war, must overcome this demonic darkness. Charred remains of an enemy of the Hitolian Empire reveal both treason and evil magic. Into this crisis, King Hattu, the younger brother of the Great King, arrives to make offerings to the goddess Ishana, but he conceals his true mission in the city. As a connection sparks between King Hattu and Tesha, the Grand Votary accuses Hattu of murderous sorcery and jails him under penalty of death. Isolated in prison, Hattu’s only hope lies in Tesha to uncover the conspiracy against him. Unfortunately, the Grand Votary is Tesha’s father, a rash, unyielding man, and now her worst enemy. To help Hattu, she must risk destroying her own father. In a whirlpool of magic, politics, family crisis and love, Tesha pursues justice.

Assessed for Awesome Indies Book Awards