Ah, yes. The turkey has been sacrificed. Bushels of cranberry were destroyed to make a chunky red paste. And billions of pounds of pumpkin were savaged and turned into pie. Mmm….pie.
In other words, Thanksgiving is over and now it’s the dreaded “Black Friday” where people lose their shit and become complete savages to save an average of 39 cents at big box stores. Savages, I tell you.
But tomorrow is the oft forgotten “Small Business Saturday.” This is where your hard-earned cash can actually HELP your local economy in a big way. You can patronize your local indie book store or used book store. They always have good deals and usually have some books that are difficult to find elsewhere. Hell, even going into that little restaurant or coffee shop you’ve been eyeing helps.
But you know who else are small businesses? Indie authors, indie musicians, and indie game developers.
Have a few bucks and want to make someone happy? Patronize these web sites too. You don’t have to wait for the disappointing mess that is “Cyber Monday” to do so either. With that in mind, here are some links to my favorite indie authors that you SHOULD patronize anyway. But this weekend? Finally do it.
First off, there is the speculative fiction machine known as Matt Wallace. Matt’s tales helped bring the podio-fic craze to light many years ago. His Parsec Award winning stories have brought fear and wonder to thousands. His newest serial, Slingers, is an absolute treat. It describes a far future sport where warriors battle one another and ultimately, the corrupt governments that use their game to control the masses. Buy it direct from Matt’s site. Gift it. Make you favorite reader damned happy.
Scott Sigler, yet another maniacal machine of madness and great fiction, has a huge following. His free audio books revolutionized how we think about media and how writers market themselves and connect with readers. He has many different series, but his GFL series is appropriate for those young adult readers in your house as well as anyone that loves sci-fi. Go to Scott’s site, open your wallet, and get some awesome goodness.
Another way you can help indie authors is to become a patron. Back in the old days of the Renaissance, artists were sponsored by wealthy individuals and families. Their financial support allowed artists to sculpt, paint, draw, and etc without having to worry about starving to death or homelessness.
With services like Patreon, as well as donation links on indie authors’ sites, you can become a patron and help an indie author keep their lights on. You’d be surprised how little money it takes to help an author pay for their website or support their content creation. With that in mind, here are some authors worthy of your support.
- John Mierau. John writes fantastic science fiction. His stories “Farlost” and “Enemy Lines” are damned worthy of your support.
- Scott Roche. Yes, he’s a friend of mine. But he works damned hard and is creating stories in damned near all genres.
Now, with all that said, you may safely return to your cat pictures.
Cheers.