Here are two great anthologies from Indie authors:
- Grumpy Old Gods Volume 2 — good mix of gods vs. humans stories
- Once… Tales, Myths and Legends of Faerie — great stories about faerie
A note about my reviews: I only post reviews about books I liked so don’t be surprised to see lots of 4/5 and 5/5. If I don’t like the book, I won’t spend time writing about it.
Grumpy Old Gods Volume 2
Edited by Vanessa Wells, Juneta Key
5/5
Another excellent collection of stories where the gods are almost human as they struggle to balance the crazy men and women they are supposed to be managing. And not always well. This includes over ten stories ranging from Game Night to Best Laid Plans to Purr Like an Egyptian. Most are based in the present like Hammer Down; some in the past like The Oaken Goddess while some seem to be kinda of a mixture (like Game Night). There are even a few vampires thrown in to augment the gods!
If you’re into the ancient gods, be they Greek or Roman or even Nordic, you’ll enjoy this story collection.
Once…
by Ronel Janse van Vuuren
5/5
Ronel Janse van Vuuren’s Once (2018) is a smorgasbord of creative, awe-inspiring stories about faeries and humans and what happens when they stumble over each other. Sixteen stories with names like “Purple Sparks”, “Rumour Has It”, “The Field Mouse”, and “Wishmaster”–each as enticing as the one before.
Probably my favorite is the first–“Queen of Ice”–where the faerie queen gets herself into a pickle of trouble when she is distracted by her human lover. This endangers both her world, the mortal she loves, and the world he ultimately thinks will provide his escape. How she resolves this is fascinating. My favorite fun story is “The Fae of Bremen” where several fae animals get caught in the desert and must come up with a way to survive. Other favorites are “The Ashiest Princess” (just think on that for a moment) and “Blood and Ice”. I’m not too educated on fae so I appreciated van Vuuren’s preface. It provided a one-page primer on fae and their worlds for those like me who don’t understand this mystical world.
Overall, a fun collection of stories to fill free moments in your days with wonder and fantasy.
More books about the gods
Another great historic fiction from Luciana Cavallaro
2 Excellent Ancient Greece Gods Indie Books
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy, the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers, and the Man vs. Nature saga. She is also the author/editor of over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, adjunct professor of technology in education, blog webmaster, an Amazon Vine Voice, a columnist for NEA Today, and a freelance journalist. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, In the Footsteps of Giants, Winter 2021.
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Thanks so much, Jacqui!
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My pleasure, Ronel.
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How does one, an indie author, find out about these indie anthologies? To submit to? Is there an indie short fiction community anywhere?
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That is a good question. There’s a regular one over at IWSG (https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/https://www.insecurewriterssupportgroup.com/). You might sign up for their newsletter!
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Cool, thanks.
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Thanks Jacqui I will definetly try the other two also please keep recommending us such a good reading stuff .thanks
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Thanks jacqui for recommending queen of ice i like such type of tales very much.hope i will enjoy very great weekend thanks once again
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You will enjoy these two also!
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yeah sure great recommendation thanks
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Thanks for these recommends Jacqui. I’m checking them out, and the covers are both beautiful. 🙂
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Very interesting books. You’ll enjoy!
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🙂
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Thanks for sharing, Jacqui! 🙂
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Absolutely.
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Ooo, Grumpy Gods sounds fun.
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They are all fun. Not depressing at all despite the name!
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These look good! You always present such good reads. 🙂
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These were great. I don’t read a lot of anthologies or story collections.
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I love to see indie authors in the spotlight! Thanks for sharing Juneta and Ronel’s great story collections!
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I do too. I’ll never forget my first Indie read and then my 10th. They are a lot better than mostly given credit for!
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Thank you for featuring our anthology Jacqui and Once also is a great read. Yup, I have read it. Highly recommend as well.
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My pleasure. It was a joy to read!
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I can’t possibly keep up with you! It’s cool that you help promote these.
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I really enjoy most of the Indie books I read. These authors often ‘try harder’ than the established or ‘made’ authors. I love it.
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That’s terrific.
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Sounds like two more winners. Thanks for sharing, Jacqui.
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No downside with either!
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I like Grump gods. If I were a god, I’d be grumpy too.
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I often think of them as childish and whimsical, so grumpy fits. But not you. Your adjectives are more like creative and patient.
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Thanks for the recommendations Jacqui and have a lovely weekend.
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Thanks, Sally. Luckily, I have lots of good books to read!
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I am planning to make inroads in to mine when house and dog sitting next week.. four days in a row offline.. how will I survive!!! x
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These sound like a couple of terrific books. Both titles are intriguing, exactly what a title should be.
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Agreed. I read both, happy I did!
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I must say “Grumpy Old Gods” is just a brilliant title and certainly makes me want to know more about the book 🙂
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And it’s an entire series!
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They both sound intriguing, Jacqui. Anthologies are always fun reads with the variety of stories they offer!
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I agree, and then I can read in pieces, which works for me. I rarely can devote hours to it!
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I particularly like the sound of ‘Once’.
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Clever one, that. I enjoyed it!
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Two varied and interesting sounding anthologies, Jacqui.
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Definitely. Ronel is eclectic at times.
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Thanks for the recommendations, Jacqui
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Sorry…hit send too soon. Have a great weekend! 🙂
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My pleasure. It sound be a nice weekend though I think we’re quickly moving into the cold weather. Sigh.
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I agree! I’m so not ready.
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