Self-published and small press authors always seem to get a lot of shit, so a bunch of book bloggers decided to get together and share our love for the self-pubbed and small press authors who entertain us with awesome stories. I don't know why certain people out there in the book blogging sphere keep insisting on saying that self-pubbed = crap writing because, while I may have hit a dud or two, most of what I've read over the last decade have been pretty fucking good! So, go click any and/or all of our posts all week long over on Witty & Sarcastic Bookclub run by the fabulous Jodie. Many thanks to her for organizing this and for Anca Antoci over at Summon Fantasy for creating the banners and badge. For my final day of Self-published Authors Appreciation Week, I want to feature an author I found when I started out blogging in 2011. At first, I hesitated to include Dianne Duvall because she started out with Kensington. Night Reigns (2012), which is book 2 of her Immortal Guardians series, was in one of the first batches of books I received from Kensington as a Remote Reviewer and they were kind enough to send book 1, Darkness Dawns so I could start at the beginning. Because back then I had a real hard time if I didn't start with the first book. I still don't like to jump in to a series willy nilly, but I've gotten a tad more relaxed about it. For those who have never heard of Dianne Duvall or her Immortal Guardians series, you can totally read each book as a standalone. She does a great job of recapping without info dumping, but honestly? While you can read them out of order, I just think you'll lose that special connection and nuance of reading them in order. Does that make sense? Or maybe I'm completely biased since I totally love this series. lol
Anyway, she started off with traditional publishing, but I believe she's been self-pubbing since about 2015 which is why I decided she deserved to be included. Besides, it's my blog, my rules and I fucking love her books. Right from the get go, Darkness Dawns breaks out with action and humor and danger and attraction. The dialogue just flows so easily, the characters are pretty terrific, the action is kickass, and the plot just sweeps me up and doesn't let go. For me, it is the epitome of entertainment. I can't give it enough praise. And you know what the best part is? ALL of her books are like that. All.Of.Them! I just know, from the time I open the cover, I will not be able to put any of the books down. I will tell myself to savor it, but I.Just.Can't! I race through each book so fast I have to go back and reread some parts. Not something I really consider a problem though. LOL
So, she has the Immortal Guardians series and then she wrote two prequel books in her Gifted Ones series which I have not had the opportunity yet to read. I really hope to get to them at some point soon. And then last year she branched out with her IG-connected Aldebarian Alliance series and I cannot stress enough that each book so far has everything that the IG books have but they also have space travel and aliens! Booyah! Holy shit, I hope these books go on forever. Forever. Yeah, yeah. I know they won't but I can dream, okay? For the last decade, the Immortal Guardians Universe continues to stand in my Top Ten Favorite Series of ALL Time List and I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon.
Okay, so I'm reaching into my waaaaay back machine for some of these earlier book reviews, so I hope you enjoy my changing style over the years. :D
Immortal Guardians
Cliff's Descent ~ coming soon! Like, next week soon! 7/27/2021 You know I'm devouring it as soon as it pubs, right?
Aldebarian Alliance
Dianne Duvall is the New
York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author of the Immortal Guardians
paranormal romance series, the Aldebarian Alliance sci‐fi
romance series, and The Gifted Ones medieval and time‐travel
romance series. The Lasaran, the first
book in the Aldebarian Alliance Series, was a #1 Audible Mover & Shaker.
The Segonian, the second book in the Aldebarian Alliance Series, was a
Barnes&Noble Top Indie Favorite. Audible chose Awaken the Darkness as one
of the Top 5 Best Paranormal Romance Audiobooks of 2018. Reviewers have called
Dianne's books "fast-paced and humorous" (Publishers Weekly),
"utterly addictive" (RT Book Reviews), "extraordinary" (Long and Short
Reviews), and "wonderfully
imaginative" (The Romance Reviews). Dianne's books have twice
been nominated for RT Reviewers' Choice
Awards. And her audiobooks have been awarded the AudioFile Earphones Award for
Excellence.
Dianne's books have all
appeared on the New York Times, USA Today, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Books, and/or Kobo Bestseller lists. The
first book in Dianne's The Gifted Ones series, A Sorceress of His Own, is a
prequel of sorts to Darkness Dawns. A USA Today bestseller, A Sorceress of His
Own is a medieval romance with paranormal elements that was awarded the
AudioFile Earphones Award for Excellence and was an Audie Finalist. The second
book in the series, Rendezvous With Yesterday, is a time travel romance that
won the GraveTells Readers' Choice Award for Best Historical Romance.
In addition to writing
romance, Dianne has completed a one-act play
(comedy) and teamed up with an award-winning screenwriter to write
a spec script for a new situation
comedy. Several of her poems have also
been published in anthologies.
When she isn't writing,
Dianne is very active in the independent film
industry and has even appeared on-screen, crawling out of a moonlit grave and wielding a machete like some of the
psychotic vampires she creates in her
books.
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