Top 10 Tuesday: New Authors Read in 2014

Trying some new blogging ideas as it's TOP TEN TUESDAY over at brokeandbookish.com.

Today's theme is Top Ten New-To-Me Authors I Read In 2014

I probably have a few others I forgot but for now I'm putting down seven books I read. My list is all over the place with an interesting mix of books I tried this year. I seem to be leaning towards light romance, horror and historical. Please share yours in the comments! 

In no particular order:
  

 1. Dana Fredsti's series,  Plague World (Ashley Parker) (Plague Town, Plague Nation, Plague World)

Plague World - The plague has gone airborne, making it transferable without physical contract. It cannot be controlled by anyone, so reports of the zombie swarm are coming in from across the United States - and across the world. 



2. Heather Graham - Krewe of Hunters series. The Night Is Watching: Book 9 in Krewe of Hunters series

I met her at the Love is Murder conference last year. Her paranormal-historical series intrigued me and once I read the first one I saw, I was hooked! (There are 11 books in the series; I read the first set - The Night is Watching, book 9; The Night is Alive, 10; and The Night is Forever, 11.) They all feature different settings though and can be read out of order. I'm working on the others.

The Old West town of Lily, Arizona, is home to the Gilded Lily, a former theater…and bawdy house. These days, it offers theatrical productions geared to tourists, but the recent discovery of a skull, a real skull, among the props and costumes shakes everyone up. The Krewe of Hunters, a special FBI unit of paranormal investigators. 

In this case, it's agent Jane Everett. Jane's also a talented artist who creates images of the dead as they once were. But the Krewe always works with local law enforcement, and here that means Sloan Trent, former Houston cop and now sheriff. His great-great-grandmother was an actress at the Gilded Lily…and she's not resting in peace. Then more remains appear in the nearby desert. As they search for answers, using all the skills at their disposal, Jane and Sloan find themselves falling into danger—and into love.

 3. Jaime Johnesee,  Bob the Zombie - The Misadventures of Bob the Zombie


What's better than a zombie with a sense of humor? Fun little series and great art! The new set features a new novella and all the Bob stories including, Bob the Zombie, Bob the Spy, Bob the Valentine, Bob the Mentor and Bob the Hero. 

Bob is an ordinary guy. He likes classic rock, a good party, and tacos. It's too bad that he is dead. Well, technically speaking, Bob is undead. After an accident claimed his life his mother couldn't bear to bury him. A quick call to a necromancer fixed that problem and, voila…he was reborn!  Armed with a quick wit, a sharp intellect, some good friends, and his trusty stapler, Bob embarks on some crazy adventures that will make you laugh, make you cringe, and --most importantly-- make you cheer for Bob to have a happy ending. 

4. It Happened at the Fair: A Novel - Deanne Gist. 

This was a great (and big at 434 pages) novel set at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Great history, a sweet love story and interesting background as a teacher for the deaf and a farmer/budding inventor who is having hearing problems he doesn't want to admit meet at the fair.  Loved it!  I'm reading her other book next about a lady doctor and a Texas Ranger who also meet at the fair. - Fair Play: A Novel.

  5. One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd


I mentioned this book before in another post, but I have to include it again as it really stuck with me. Fascinating, sounds true-but-isn't story of women who volunteer and are "drafted" to be wives to Indian tribes to attain so-called peace. Great historic setting though I cringed at a couple instances of animal cruelty though the actions would have fit the times. 






6. The Asylum Collection: Asylum, Sanctum


I'll include a book I am now reading as well - the cover of Asylum caught my eye as did the strange, supposedly real "found" photos of old asylums. I just started it and it's interesting about a group of students taking summer courses who end up rooming in the old, spooky former asylum. The foreboding begins when one student finds a scary photo of a doctor with scratched out eyes in his desk.... (far as I've read.)  (The link and cover includes the second book, Sanctum, which I haven't gotten yet.)

 7.  I'm also reading this one at the moment -Lover's Knot (A Shenandoah Album Novel)
   

Confused about her troubled marriage, Kendra Taylor needs time to sort out her feelings. Retreating to an abandoned cabin left to her husband, Isaac, by the maternal grandmother he never knew, she is quickly welcomed into the rural community of Toms Brook. She soon becomes curious about a beautiful heirloom quilt and the past Isaac has always refused to explore. The unusual quilt clearly has a story to tell, and Kendra hopes that helping her husband connect with his roots may also help him reconnect with her.
   At first Isaac's reluctant visits to the cabin only underscore the difficulties in their marriage. But as circumstances force them to piece together a new relationship, Isaac discovers that the history of a family he never knew may hold the key to his future. As a passionate story of strength, loss and desperation unfolds, the secrets of the quilt are revealed and the threads of an unraveling marriage are secured.


** Name some authors you've read that are new to you!