Growing up, I’d always been fascinated by science fiction narratives, having been suckered in by Star Warsat a very young age. But it wasn’t until I stumbled upon The Hitchhiker’s GuideTo The Galaxy that I realized stories didn’t have to take everything so seriously. This pivoted to an obsession with comedy, leading me to write skits for the stage and screen in my late 20s as a fun side-gig along with my own comedic sci-fi novel series. I’ve always appreciated stories that lean into the lighter side of things. Reality is grim and dark enough as it is, our escapism doesn’t need to double down on that.
Lingeriais a sarcastic, humor-infused take on the portal fantasy, which forces the author of a beloved fantasy series into the world that he's written - and come to despise.
It's a solidly entertaining book that appropriately skewers a lot of the tropes of fantasy fiction and the associated fandom.
I enjoyed the world of Lingeria and it's definitely a fun read for people seeking to scratch that Discworlditch.
LINGERIA: A wondrous world of centaurs, goblins, elves, knights, bounty hunters, giant centipedes, angry bookies, four-armed Yetis, and a single wizard. There is just one problem – Lingeria shouldn’t exist. It is the product of acclaimed, and depressed, author Norman Halliday
So, how did Norman come to be sleeping on the couch of one of his fiction characters? And why are Norman’s novels revered as Lingerian scripture? Also, why does all of Lingeria believe Norman to be God? Actually, a better question is … Who s this cruel wizard, about whom Norman never wrote, that seized power over the land?…
After spending nearly two decades working in technology and Intelligence—working with law enforcement from all different agencies—I developed an appreciation and understanding of the worst that humans can do to each other. My specialty was domestic counterterrorism and foreign policy—and I did everything from developing software for chem/bio work to White House briefings. I have studied profiling and analysis in academic and real world settings – I have two Masters degrees – Strategic Intelligence & Criminal Justice – from American Military University, both with a minor in Terrorism Studies. While the academic background is great, the real-life experiences are what taught me the most – and find their way into my stories.
Jinx Ballou is a serious bada$$. Transgender, ex-cop, skilled bounty hunter – she learns to deal with unexpected notoriety and some people that really need their a$$es kicked.
The story deals with some difficult topics with sensitivity, humor, and grace.
Once I started reading, I couldn’t put the book down – it kept me captivated from beginning to end.
I’m already on the third book in the series and have enjoyed every minute of getting to know Jinx and her world.
A shocking murder. A suspect on the run. Can a maligned young bounty hunter finally bring the killer in?
Jinx Ballou’s career hangs by a thread. Outed as transgender and blackballed, the tough-as-nails bounty hunter is determined to prove herself. She convinces a desperate bail agent to hire her, but the fugitive she’s assigned has already eluded some of the best in the business.
Jinx takes the job and uncovers a horrifying truth that calls everything into question. As the danger rises, Jinx pushes her skills, her body, and her luck to the limit to apprehend the fugitive murder suspect…
Before I was published, I played Dungeons and Dragons for years. I grew up on games involving fantasy, and though my career took me into government, it stayed my passion. I’m well on my way to publishing the last two books in my four-part saga as well as venturing into Kindle Vella, and I can’t wait to see what is next for me in the realm of fantasy. When writing in the genre, it’s easy to fall into the same old tropes and utilize the same creatures. These five books are atypical in this age of overdone plots and monsters. I hope you find your next read among them.
The Season of the Runerseries is a great book for fans of The Witcher.It is unique in that it doesn’t focus on western European culture, but rather eastern European or middle-eastern or Eastern. Runers are humans who have committed a crime and been genetically altered. They’re bounty hunters, essentially. It follows Tzarik, a Runer, as he struggles with the will to go on. He meets Sybal, a diamond mine heiress and brand new Runer, and trains her to help him take down a necromancer. I enjoyed everything about this story, and I’d recommend it to those wanting a darker fantasy.
The endless road and life of a monster-hunting Runer has gone stale for Tzarik and death is the only alternative. Tired of risking his life for the prejudiced people of Al’Myrah, it’s time to just let go. The only thing that stands in his way: A Runer cannot take his own life, breaking his oath to the dark magic that binds him to the hunt. When a warlord from the far east threatens her family, Sybal, a young diamond mine heiress with a lavish lifestyle, takes action to protect her family and estate. But…
Growing up with a severe disability and being an advocate from a very young age has taught me a lot of hard lessons. I struggled and endured a tremendous amount of bullying and discrimination, so I tend to pick books that I can relate to such as the Dresden Files where the character also struggles with difficulties in his life. I also pick books that make me laugh or are truly magical that help lift my spirits.
Janet has a penchant for coming up with the craziest and most outrageous scenes with her characters who go around investigating strange cases as bounty hunters. This is a short and sweet holiday version based on the original Stephanie Plum series. Every book features explosions, mishaps, romantic hookups, and epic failures. She makes me laugh every time, and I don’t feel as bad about having an old car, small apartment, empty fridge, or lack of romance. Totally worth it.
Stephanie Plum is back between-the-numbers and she's looking to get lucky in an Atlantic City hotel room, in a Winnebago, and with a brown-eyed stud who has stolen her heart.
Stephanie Plum has a way of attracting danger, lunatics, oddballs, bad luck . . . and mystery men. And no one is more mysterious than the unmentionable Diesel. He's back and hot on the trail of a little man in green pants who's lost a giant bag of money. Problem is, the money isn't exactly lost. Stephanie's Grandma Mazur has found it, and like any good…
To be a successful humorous cozy mystery author, character development is the key. Prior to writing cozy mysteries, like the protagonist in my Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, I enjoyed a career as a ladies’ apparel sales exec. Fortunately for my writing gig, salespeople are also students of human nature. I've been fascinated by what makes people tick all my life and have taken all I have learned and applied it to my writing. The relationship between the protagonist and her sidekick is one that makes the characters in my stories imperfect, but believable, accents their individuality, and lets their personalities come alive so that readers can’t help but invest in them.
Ironically, as a wordsmith, I absolutely adore the universal hilarity of physical comedy, an art form that transcends the need for words. So, I was immediately drawn to the slapstick antics of calamitous Trenton, NJ rookie bounty hunter Stephanie Plum. In this book, Stephanie is hot on the trail of bail jumper Kenny Mancuso. Low on expertise but learning fast, high on resilience, and despite the help she gets from friends and relatives, Stephanie is targeted by a loathsome adversary. Lula, Stephanie’s soon-to-be-sidekick, was first introduced as a minor character in the debut of the series, One for the Money.
Lula is a zaftig black ex-hooker who somehow squeezes her size 16 body into a size 10 spandex bodysuit. Lula’s wisecracking, street-smart philosophy is to always shoot first and ask questions later. In this second book of the series, Lula becomes a continuing character with her role as a file…
Kenny Mancuso shot his childhood buddy Moogey Bues and then jumped bail. Now bounty hunter Stephanie Plum is on the case to track Kenny down. Then someone finished Moogey off, Kenny can't be found, twenty-four coffins are missing, and there's some ex-army heavy artillery roaming the streets. And Joe Morelli - the cop with more than a professional interest in her every move - is tailing Stephanie. With a healthy disregard for the law, and an unhealthy dependence on marshmallow hot chocolate, Stephanie's a match for anyone - even Morelli. That is, until her eccentric grandmother goes AWOL and little…
Have you noticed the scarcity of YA novels told solely from a guy’s point of view? If you aren’t a boy, the parent of one, or maybe a savvy librarian, you probably haven’t. I’m two out of three. I have two awesome sons. They’re avid readers and burned through the YA section and into adult fantasy and sci-fi long before I was ready for them to. Boys read! There’s a need for protagonists who identify as male. No surprise, my YA novels often feature ordinary boys doing heroic things. Thanks to years of spying on my sons and their friends, I have plenty of fodder to feed my muse.
I avoid zombie fiction like the plague. Heh-heh. That level of horror just isn’t my thing. But I picked up Rot & Ruin curious about the two central characters, teen brothers Benny and Tom Imura. Wow! This book is much more than a plot-driven, gruesome-shock-around-every-corner horror story.
The Imura brothers set out together, despite mistrust and sibling rivalry, on a quest through a post-apocalyptic world swarming with the undead. I loved the interaction of love and obligation between them. Deadly trials ultimately forge their relationship into one of deep affection, trust, and loyalty. Nothing melts my heart like an unbreakable brother bond. Bonus, older brother Tom is a freakin’ cool fighter!
'This is anything but another zombie novel... exciting, full of action, and curiously thoughtful' Charlaine Harris, author of the True Blood series 'A thought-provoking thriller that still delivers a good dose of action and gore' The Bookseller
The perfect read for fans of The Walking Dead, from an award-winning author.
Nearly fourteen years ago, a freak virus swept across the world - turning those infected into the undead. Benny Imura has grown-up never knowing anything different; his last memory of his parents was of them becoming zombies. Now Benny is fifteen, and joining his brother Tom in the 'family business'…
Being a petite person, I can’t move furniture by myself or lift heavy boxes. It’s freaking annoying. I dream of having a magic wand or some sort of power that would make me stronger. If there was a potion to turn me into a Buffy the Vampire Slayer, kick-butt type of girl I’d drink it in a second. Since there is no such potion, I write and read books about supernatural girls who don’t take crap from anyone, especially the guys in their lives.
Jesse James, yes you read that correctly, is a kick-butt eighteen-year-old girl who takes on Fae Royalty, drug dealers, and heartbreak to find and rescue her parents, who happen to be Fae bounty hunters. How does she do that, you ask? She becomes a Fae bounty hunter herself which wasn’t her life plan but ends up working out pretty well except for the whole falling in love with a certain lying Fae prince...but I don’t want to give too much away.
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Jesse James is a normal eighteen-year-old, even if her parents are the best faerie bounty hunters in New York. Jesse’s only concern is how to pay for college, but that changes the night her parents disappear. Equipped with her parents’ weapons and her own smarts, Jesse enters the dangerous world of bounty hunting in search of her mother and father. In her quest, she encounters all manner of Fae, but the scariest is Lukas, the mysterious, imposing faerie who offers to help her find her parents.But there are powerful forces at work, and Jesse is about to become a player…
As part of the LGBTQ+ rainbow, I know firsthand what it is to be othered, and I grew up desperately wanting to read about and watch characters like me in books and movies. Now that I’ve found a genre of books that celebrates LGBTQ+ lives, I can’t help but want to read and write the stories I’ve always wanted to see and experience in the world of fiction and romance. Everyone deserves love, and I want to share that love with as many people as I can.
This book and series has everything, an enigmatic main character, an elusive serial killer, and best of all, a romantic relationship between LGBTQ+ characters that’s enviable and healthy and something to aspire to. Levi Abrams is likely my favorite character in any book I’ve ever read. He’s prickly, difficult, whip-smart, and driven, but he’s also vulnerable, genuine, and fiercely loyal. I love that I didn’t guess who the killer was in the first book (I had a theory, but I genuinely didn’t know for sure until the big reveal), and this series kept me on my toes the whole time. The writing is solid and the character development is spot on. It’s the kind of series I wish I had written myself.
Homicide detective Levi Abrams is barely holding his life together. He’s reeling from the fallout of a fatal shooting, and his relationship with his boyfriend is crumbling. The last thing he’s prepared for is a serial killer stalking the streets of Las Vegas. Or how he keeps getting thrown into the path of annoyingly charming bounty hunter Dominic Russo.
Dominic likes his life free of complications. That means no tangling with cops — especially prickly, uptight detectives. But when he stumbles across one of the Seven of Spades’s horrifying crime scenes, he…
When I was little I used to seek out stories that featured strong female characters—especially in genre fiction. This proved to be quite difficult, even as I enlisted my entire family to help in the search. Because of this, ensuring that each of my own works feature this is a must. I am an author, artist, and podcast host who focuses on understanding the importance of story elements. I am an active martial artist, have a degree in creative writing from Kwantlen Polytechnic University, and often get mesmerized by the process of creating comics and music. I hope you enjoy these recommendations as much as I did.
This is one of the first stories I ever read with a strong female protagonist at the helm. Dante Valentine is a bounty hunter, necromancer, and a no-nonsense kind of woman. She is stubborn, flawed, and her story is a classic answer to what happens when you make a literal deal with the devil. I appreciate that she is unapologetically human and blatantly admits to her faults as a person. She is honest—perhaps sometimes too much so—and perseveres when things go awry. If anything, I would say she is a stand-out not only as far as female protagonists are concerned, but protagonists in speculative fiction as well.
Dante Valentine, Necromancer and bounty hunter, just wants to be left alone. But the Devil has other ideas.
The Prince wants Dante. And he wants her now. And Dante and her lover, Japhrimel, have no choice but to answer the Prince's summons. And to fulfill a seemingly simple task: become the Devil's Right Hand, hunt down four demons that have escaped from Hell, and earn His gratitude.
It's a shame that nothing is ever easy when it comes to the Devil. Because of course, he doesn't tell Dante the whole truth: there is a rebellion brewing in Hell. And there…
My family moved from America to rural China when I was four. We never stayed in one place for very long. Ever since, I’ve been searching for home in books and countries around the world. The themes of home, belonging, and identity are important ones to me that I explore in my young adult novels. My love of travel, martial arts, and tech also lend themselves well to writing fast-paced adventure books with epic battles and fight scenes. I hope you enjoy the novels on this list as much as I do!
Warcross hooked me from page one and never let go.
First off, the near future American and Japanese settings were super fun to explore. Secondly, there were hackers, dark web bounty hunters, and virtual reality games—I mean, come on!
This book had all the fun tropes that I love in a series.
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu - when a game called Warcross takes the world by storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths.
For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn't just a game - it's a way of life. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships -…
