2011 Debut Author Challenge - October Debut Authors

Here are the October debut authors and their novels (in alphabetical order). Pick one or more and let us know in the comments which one(s) you'll be reading. If I've missed any, let me know in the comments. 


Debris
Author:  Jo Anderton
Series:  The Veiled Worlds
Format:  Mass Market Paperback, 464 pages
Publisher:  Angry Robot Books (October 2011*)
Price:  $7.99
Language:  English
Genre:  Fantasy Adventure
ISBN:  978-0-85766-154-8
*Debris was available on September 27, 2011

In a far future where technology is all but indistinguishable from magic, Tanyana is one of the elite.

She can control pions, the building blocks of matter, shaping them into new forms using ritual gestures and techniques. The rewards are great, and she is one of most highly regarded people in the city. But that was before the “accident”.

Stripped of her powers, bound inside a bizarre powersuit, she finds herself cast down to the very lowest level of society. Powerless, penniless and scarred, Tanyana must adjust to a new life collecting “debris”, the stuff left behind by pions. But as she tries to find who has done all of this to her, she also starts to realize that debris is more important than anyone could guess.

Debris is a stunning new piece of Science Fantasy, which draws in themes from Japanese manga, and classic Western SF and Fantasy to create this unique, engrossing debut from the very exciting young author Jo Anderton.

FILE UNDER: Science Fiction [ Sentient Matter | Cast Down | Cruel Betrayals | All Is Lies ]

Read a guest blog by Jo Anderton about genre.


Swell
Author:  Corwin Ericson
Format:  Trade Paperback, 390 pages
Publisher:  Dark Coast Press (October 25, 2011)
Price:  $16.95
Language:  English
Genre:  Fiction
ISBN:  978-0984428847

The tiny northeast island of Bismuth keeps getting smaller for Orange Whippey.
A bad day soaking wet and stranded on Wreck Rock gets worse when Orange is conscripted into the service of lifelong nemesis Mr. Lucy and his repugnant son, Donny. A vast Atlantic of epic fish tales and mythical whales is teeming with drug dealers, Korean smugglers, and corporate schemers. When a mysterious package goes missing, Orange is plunged further into a world of unwanted responsibility. He’s sleep-deprived, shanghaied, tied-up and beaten, but all he wants is a dry pair of pants and some coffee. First though, there are questions that need to be answered. Who has the package? What’s all the fuss? And ultimately, why the hell should Orange care?

Misadventures range from absurd to terrifying as Snorri—a Finlindian whale herder who used to be married to a bear—and Waldena—an Estonindian harpoonist and Thor-cult priestess—do their best to keep Orange from doing what he would ultimately prefer to do: nothing.

Unleashed
Author:  Sara Humphreys
Series:  The Amoveo Legend
Format:  Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
Publisher:  SourcebooksCasablanca (October 1, 2011)
Price:  $6.99
Language:  English
Genre:  Paranormal Romance
ISBN:  9781402258435

What if you suddenly discovered your own powers were beyond anything you’d ever imagined…

Samantha Logan’s childhood home had always been a haven, but everything changed while she was away. She has a gorgeous new neighbor, Malcolm, who introduces her to the amazing world of the dream-walking, shapeshifting Amoveo clans…but what leaves her reeling with disbelief is when he tells her she’s one of them…

And shock turns to terror as Samantha falls prey to the deadly enemy determined to destroy the Amoveo, and the only chance she has to come into her true powers is to trust in Malcolm to show her the way…

Get swept away into Sara Humphreys’s glorious world and breathtaking love story…

Mirror Maze
Author:  Michaela Jordan
Format:  Trade Paperback, 368 pages
Publisher:  Pyr (October 2011)
Price:  $17.95
Language:  English
Genre:  Fantasy
ISBN:  978-1-61614-529-3

Jacob Aldridge is still utterly devastated by the death of his fiancée when he suddenly encounters her doppelganger. Livia Aram’s uncanny resemblance to the late Rhoda Carothers so transcends coincidence that Jacob becomes obsessed with her. The intensity of his passion terrifies her until her compassion is roused by his desperate plight. A demon is stalking him, a succubus-like entity that feeds on human pain and desire. With the help of Jacob’s sister, Cecily, and Livia’s guardian, the mysterious Dr. Chang, they overcome the demon. Or so it appears. . . .

Jacob, Liva, and Cecily are all victims of a single curse, a curse which entrapped and destroyed their parents before them. Now fate has drawn their descendants together again, and the curse is playing out. Nothing can help them, until Cecily’s husband returns from abroad. Colonel Beckford has been missing for years; he has seen strange things and acquired strange powers in his absence. Now he will do whatever it takes to free his wife and eliminate the demon and its curse once and for all.

The Shadow Reader
Author:  Sandy Williams
Series:  McKenzie Lewis 1
Format:  Mass Market Paperback, 320 pages
Publisher:  Ace (October 25, 2011)
Price:  $7.99
Language:  English
Genre:  Urban fantasy
ISBN:  9781937007010

A Houston college student, McKenzie Lewis can track fae by reading the shadows they leave behind. For years she has been working for the fae King, tracking rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn't her only secret. She's in love with Kyol, the King's sword-master-but human and fae relationships are forbidden. When McKenzie is captured by Aren, the fierce rebel leader, she learns that not everything is as she thought. And McKenzie must decide who to trust and where she stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.