This is the eighth in this new series of updates about formerly featured Debut Author Challenge authors and their works published since their last update. The year in parentheses after the author's name is the year that author was featured in the Debut Author Challenge.
| Part 1 here | Part 11 here | Part 21 here | Part 31 here | Part 41 here |
| Part 2 here | Part 12 here | Part 22 here | Part 32 here | Part 42 here |
| Part 3 here | Part 13 here | Part 23 here | Part 33 here | Part 43 here |
| Part 4 here | Part 14 here | Part 24 here | Part 34 here | Part 44 here |
| Part 5 here | Part 15 here | Part 25 here | Part 35 here | Part 45 here |
| Part 6 here | Part 16 here | Part 26 here | Part 36 here | Part 46 here |
| Part 7 here | Part 17 here | Part 27 here | Part 37 here | Part 47 here |
| Part 8 here | Part 18 here | Part 28 here | Part 38 here | Part 48 here |
| Part 9 here | Part 19 here | Part 29 here | Part 39 here | Part 49 here |
| Part 10 here | Part 20 here | Part 30 here | Part 40 here | Part 50 here |
Curtis C. Chen (2016)
Kangaroo Too
Kangaroo 2
Thomas Dunne Books, June 20, 2017
Hardcover, 320 pages
[description not yet available]
J. Kathleen Cheney (2013)
Iron Shoes: Three Tales from Hawk's Folly Farm
EQP Books, April 4, 2016
eBook and Trade Paperback, 303 pages
For the first time, these three novellas are collected into one volume: Iron Shoes; Snow Comes to Hawk's Folly; and Snowfall.
Iron Shoes
Imogen Hawkes is running out of time. She must come up with enough money to prevent the bank from foreclosing on her farm. All her hopes are pinned on her horse winning the Special Stakes.
But things keep going wrong, and it's soon clear someone is determined to stop her. As race day draws closer, Imogen finds unexpected sources of help...including the new stallion she's purchased from Boston, who's not at all what he seems.
Despite a life spent avoiding it, Imogen learns that magic may be her best ally....
Snow Comes to Hawk's Folly:
Imogen has the life she's always wanted. Her farm is thriving, as is her family. But a guest comes to the farm, bringing trouble in his wake.
When Imogen's son disappears, how far will she go to get him back? Is it magic? Or something more mundane? In her family, the mundane is rarely to blame...
Snowfall:
Lourdes Medina has left everything she knows. Following a vision in a dream, she's gone north to Saratoga Springs to buy back the mare her brother sold out from under her. But the horse's new owner, Finn, makes her an interesting offer in return for the horse. Against her better judgment, Lourdes becomes entangled in his family's problems…and it seems she's unwittingly gained an enemy, a woman who will go to any length to get the husband she wants.
But Finn is a mystery. He seems to have abilities that she's never seen before, including the ability to overhear her speaking to horses. It's Lourdes' one small magic--she can speak directly to a horse, mind to mind, and they obey her word. When she learns the truth about Finn, that's when things truly become complicated. What exactly is a puca?
Whatever Else
EQP Books, July 4, 2016
eBook, 25 pages
Maia is a young woman with only a small gift: the ability to watch others from afar. To cement a treaty between two clans, she married Arras, a young man she's known most of her life. But when her brother comes to visit, he reveals a shameful secret that leaves Maia questioning everything she believes about her husband. Now she must use her small gift to determine the truth of her brother's claim...and decide whether to stay at her husband's side or flee him.
The Dragon's Child: Six Short Stories
Pronoun, July 28, 2016
eBook, 185 pages
Kseniya Ilyevna originally came to the mountain of the Dragon Wizard to protect her younger sister, but when she learns of the wizard’s true plans for his daughter, she vows to spirit the child away. In seizing freedom for the little girl—her sister’s child, Jia-li—Kseniya finds herself tied to the Zheng family and all the strange events that befall them. In six short stories, we follow Kseniya and her extended family as Jia-li grows into a budding wizard herself.
After the War
A Novella of the Golden City
EQP Books, August 16, 2016
Paperback and eBook, 103 pages
After the Great War, Alejandro Ferreira wandered across Europe, unable even to remember his name, until one night in Lisboa, a young woman recognizes him. She brings him home to his family--one he can't recall, but very much wants to keep.
His seer's gift has been as much of a trial as a blessing. It didn't keep him out of trouble during the Great War, either--someone cursed him to lose his memory. Someone else is after him, wanting him to keep a secret he doesn't even remember he has. And he quickly learns that all is not well between himself and his lovely wife. Without his memories or his seer's gift, can Alejandro rebuild his life and unveil his stalker before they eliminate him?
The Sparrow in Hiding
EQP Books, October 18, 2016
eBook, 112 pages
Irina’s family has come to the countryside to escape the summer heat of St. Petersburg, but she discovers a new worker has been hired to maintain her family’s aviary, a one-armed man who poses an intriguing mystery.
Evgeny is hiding from a witch. With the help of his younger sister, he’d survived the witch’s curse, but in the aftermath, he was left with only one arm, eyes that appear inhuman, and an ability to see the truth in others’ souls.
Will he ever be safe from the witch again?
Adam Christopher (2011)
Dishonored - The Corroded Man
Titan Books, September 27, 2016
Mass Market Paperback and eBook, 368 pages
A strange, shrouded figure appears in Dunwall, seeming to possess powers once wielded by the assassin known as Daud. Faced with the possibility that their deadliest foe has returned, Emily and Corvo plunge headlong into a life-and-death race against time. If they fail to learn the truth about this mysterious enemy, the result could be destruction on an unimaginable scale.
The next 3 are part of Adam Christopher's L.A. Trilogy. These covers by Will Staehle are fabulous. I would love posters of these!
Made to Kill
L.A. Trilogy 1
Tor Books, October 11, 2016
Trade Paperback, 240 pages
Hardcover and eBook, November 3, 2015
In an alternate version of 1960s Los Angeles, the world's only robot detective has been turned into a hit man by his corrupted master computer.
Ray is good at the job, too—not only does nobody suspect the world's last robot is a hit man, his fame allows the Electromatic Detective Agency to continue as the perfect front, and with a twenty-four-hour memory limit, he sure can keep a secret.
When a woman arrives at the agency wanting to hire Ray to investigate the brutal murder of a priest, his attempts to dissuade her are overruled when she produces a lucrative advance payment. Profit is profit, and Ray accepts the job, even though the woman demands total anonymity. She tells them not to try to reach her—she'll call when the time is right—and she vanishes into the city.
Ray's investigation leads him into a dark world of Hollywood intrigue, where the glamorous jet set societies are under the spell of a mysterious bandage-swathed man. The man and his champagne-sipping circle of followers conduct Satanic rituals behind Hollywood's razzle-dazzle façade—rituals that lead to . . . murder!
Made to Kill is the thrilling new speculative noir from novelist and comic writer Adam Christopher.
Standard Hollywood Depravity
L.A. Trilogy
Tor.com, March 7, 2017
Trade Paperback and eBook, 176 pages
The moment Raymond Electromatic set eyes on her, he knew she was the dame marked in his optics, the woman that his boss had warned him about.
Honey.
As the band shook the hair out of their British faces, stomping and strumming, the go-go dancer’s cage swung, and the events of that otherwise average night were set in motion. A shot, under the cover of darkness, a body bleeding out in a corner, and most of Los Angeles’ population of hired guns hulking, sour-faced over un-drunk whiskey sours at the bar.
But as Ray tries to track down the package he was dispatched to the club to retrieve, his own programming might be working against him, sending him down a long hall and straight into a mobster’s paradise. Is Honey still the goal—or was she merely bait for a bigger catch?
Just your standard bit of Hollywood depravity, as tracked by the memory tapes of a less-than-standard robot hitman.
Killing Is My Business
L.A. Trilogy 2
Tor Books, July 25, 2017
Hardcover, 256 pages
[description not yet available]
Wesley Chu (2013)
The Days of Tao
Subterranean Press, April 2016
Hardcover, 120 pages
Dust Jacket Illustration: Galen Dara
Cameron Tan wouldn’t have even been in Greece if he hadn’t gotten a ‘D’ in Art History.
Instead of spending the summer after college completing his training as a Prophus operative, he’s doing a study abroad program in Greece, enjoying a normal life – spending time with friends and getting teased about his crush on a classmate.
Then the emergency notification comes in: a Prophus agent with vital information needs immediate extraction, and Cameron is the only agent on the ground, responsible for getting the other agent and data out of the country. The Prophus are relying on him to uncomplicate things.
Easy.
Easy, except the rival Genjix have declared all-out war against the Prophus, which means Greece is about to be a very dangerous place. And the agent isn’t the only person relying on Cameron to get them safely out of the country – his friends from the study abroad program are, too. Cameron knows a good agent would leave them to fend for themselves. He also knows a good person wouldn’t. Suddenly, things aren’t easy at all.
The Days of Tao is the latest in the popular Tao series from award-winning author, Wesley Chu. Following after The Rebirths of Tao, this novella carries on the fast-moving and fun tone of the series.
The Rise of Io
Io 1
Angry Robot October 4, 2016
Trade Paperback and eBook, 352 pages
Ella Patel – thief, con-artist and smuggler – is in the wrong place at the wrong time. One night, on the border of a demilitarized zone run by the body-swapping alien invaders, she happens upon a man and woman being chased by a group of assailants. The man freezes, leaving the woman to fight off five attackers at once, before succumbing. As she dies, to both Ella and the man’s surprise, the sparkling light that rises from the woman enters Ella, instead of the man. She soon realizes she’s been inhabited by Io, a low-ranking Quasing who was involved in some of the worst decisions in history. Now Ella must now help the alien presence to complete her mission and investigate a rash of murders in the border states that maintain the frail peace.
With the Prophus assigned to help her seemingly wanting to stab her in the back, and the enemy Genjix hunting her, Ella must also deal with Io’s annoying inferiority complex. To top it all off, Ella thinks the damn alien voice in her head is trying to get her killed. And if you can’t trust the voices in your head, who can you trust?
File Under: Science Fiction [ Ella From the Block | Alien Insider | War Without End | Shape Up and Strike Back ]
Time Seige
Time Salvager 2
Tor Books, July 4, 2017
Trade Paperback, 432 pages
Hardcover and eBooks, July 12, 2016
[description not yet available]
Cassandra Rose Clarke (2013)
Our Lady of Ice
Saga Press, October 25, 2016
Trade Paperback, 448 pages
Hardcover and eBook, October 27, 2015
The Yiddish Policeman’s Union meets The Windup Girl when a female PI goes up against a ruthless gangster—just as both humans and robots agitate for independence in an Argentinian colony in Antarctica.
In Argentine Antarctica, Eliana Gomez is the only female PI in Hope City—a domed colony dependent on electricity (and maintenance robots) for heat, light, and survival in the icy deserts of the continent. At the center is an old amusement park—now home only to the androids once programmed to entertain—but Hope City’s days as a tourist destination are long over. Now the City produces atomic power for the mainland while local factions agitate for independence and a local mobster, Ignacio Cabrera, runs a brisk black-market trade in illegally imported food.
Eliana doesn’t care about politics. She doesn’t even care much that her boyfriend, Diego, works as muscle for Cabrera. She just wants to save enough money to escape Hope City. But when an aristocrat hires Eliana to protect an explosive personal secret, Eliana finds herself caught up in the political tensions threatening to tear Hope City apart. In the clash of backstabbing politicians, violent freedom fighters, a gangster who will stop at nothing to protect his interests, and a newly sentient robot underclass intent on a very different independence, Eliana finds her job coming into deadly conflict with Diego’s—just as the electricity keeping Hope City from freezing begins to fail…
With the inner workings of the mob combined with the story of a revolution, “Clarke brings novelty and delight to steampunk Antarctica in this complex and lovely mystery” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). Our Lady of the Ice questions what it means to be human, what it means to be free, and whether we’re ever able to transcend our pasts and our programming to find true independence.
The Mad Scientist's Daughter
Saga Press, November 8, 2016
Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook, 336 pages
Nominated for the Phillip K. Dick Award, a science fiction fairy tale set in a collapsing future America about a girl and the android she falls in love with.
When Cat Novak was a young girl, her father brought Finn, an experimental android, to their isolated home. A billion-dollar construct, Finn looks and acts human, but he has no desire to be one. He was programmed to assist his owners, and performs his duties to perfection.
His primary task now is to tutor Cat. Finn stays with her, becoming her constant companion and friend as she grows into adulthood. But when the government grants rights to the ever-increasing robot population, Finn struggles to find his place in the world. As their relationship goes further than anyone intended, they have to face the threat of being separated forever.
Magic of Blood and Sea: The Assassin's Curse; The Pirate's Wish
Saga Press, February 7, 2017
Hardcover, Trade Paperback and eBook, 544 pages
A pirate princess and a cursed assassin find their fates intertwined in this gorgeous and thrilling adventure.
Ananna of the Tanarau abandons ship when her parents try to marry her off to an ally pirate clan. She wants to captain her own boat, not serve as second-in-command to a handsome and clueless man. But her escape has dire consequences when she learns that her fiancé’s clan has sent an assassin after her.
And when this assassin, Naji, finally finds her, things get even worse. Ananna inadvertently triggers a nasty curse—with a life-altering result. Now, Ananna and Naji are forced to become uneasy allies as they work to complete three impossible tasks that will cure the curse.
Unfortunately, Naji has enemies from the shadowy world known as the Mists, and Ananna must face the repercussions of betraying her engagement that set her off on her adventures. Together, the two must break the curse, escape their enemies, and come to terms with their growing romantic attraction.
Star's End
Saga Press, March 21, 2017
Hardcover and eBook, 448 pages
A new space opera about a young woman who must face the truth about her father’s past from critically acclaimed author Cassandra Rose Clarke.
The Corominas family owns a small planet system, which consists of one gaseous planet and four terraformed moons, nicknamed the Four Sisters. Phillip Coromina, the patriarch of the family, earned his wealth through a manufacturing company he started as a young man and is preparing his eldest daughter, Esme, to take over the company when he dies.
When Esme comes of age and begins to take over the business, she gradually discovers the reach of her father’s company, the sinister aspects of its work with alien DNA, and the shocking betrayal that estranged her three half-sisters from their father. After a lifetime of following her father’s orders, Esme must decide if she should agree to his dying wish of assembling her sisters for a last goodbye or face her role in her family’s tragic undoing.
