Indie '25 - The Halftime Show

Six months into my year of indie reads

Jul 01, 2025

Greetings and salutations! And a Happy Canada Day to my fellow Canucks!

It’s another noteworthy day, however, as today marks the official halfway point of my Indie '25 year. At the onset of the year I set the goal to read a solid 25 independently published novellas or novels and for those of you who have not been following along, I have read a clean 17 this year so far and all of them from authors right here on Substack! It has been quite the ride so far, so just wanted to touch base and talk about my experience as of yet, sharing not only a couple pearls of wisdom I have picked up along the way but also talk about my plans moving forward.

Seventeen reads in six months. Wow. I know that might not seem like a lot to some people but for me it’s a hell of a feat. I’ve always considered myself a slow reader, really only averaging about six-seven books per year since college and adult life and whatever else, so this amount is somewhat unbelievable to me. It’s made me realize that I’m not a slow reader per se, it’s just that a lot of traditionally published books in the last few years have not been to my liking for one reason or another. But before I get into that more in-depth, I wanted to first touch on the why of my decision to undertake a year solely defined by reading indie novels.

The most significant reason that I began this endeavour is that I am an indie author myself. I know the struggles of marketing, of shamelessly self-promoting my work— often to lacking returns. I’m going to take a quick moment to plug my own book, Synthetic Magic, which I spoke about it in this post briefly. The epub is still free until August 1st. Take a gander and grab a copy if it catches your fancy.

Synthetic Magic - FREE

There is a lot of noise online when it comes to people trying to hock their wares, but alongside that is the pleading need for reviews, ratings, and recommendations on indie books. A lot of readers out there are still hesitant to sample indie fiction due to one stigma or another, so I can say with confidence that there is nothing that helps an indie author out more than leaving reviews and recommendations for their book. Read the damn thing and tell people about it, it’s that simple. So knowing that it’s difficult to spread the word about your work, coupled with my own modest platform, it was an easy jump to the decision to do just that.

The second reason, as I mentioned earlier, is the current trends of traditional publishing. I have seen countless articles ~~whining~~ talking about trad publishing in recent years; the lack of fiction for men, the wave of romantasy and spicier content, concerns over the need to have a huge online platform to even be considered by agents, and the seeming hopelessness of querying against the “woke agenda”. I’ve been a long time fantasy reader and I’m not going to ~~cry about~~ comment on any of this myself, because doing so seems like an exercise in futility and I’m also not here to dunk on anyone’s interests. Read what you want, unapologetically. And to the other side of the fence: let people read what they want without spitting on their cupcake about it. That said, I’d be a fool not to acknowledge that there is some truth to the fact that the market trends are not appealing to as broad a scope these days as it did in years gone by. This was the other major driving force to turning my focus toward the indie community.

Are you craving weird pulpy fiction? Indie books. Are you craving a return to classic storytelling? Indie books. Are you looking for the whimsical and the fantastical? Indie books! I cannot stress this enough after reading seventeen this year already. With the constrictions of traditional publishing eliminated, there truly is something for everyone being released every single day and all the original wonderful ideas people are craving are thriving in the indie community. Just be brave enough to take the plunge. Are they all going to be bangers? No, but the ones that are will sing to your heart and make you fall in love with reading all over again.

As I mentioned earlier, I am primarily a fantasy reader. It’s been my wheelhouse since I was a kid. I’ve read a lot of the typical series’ one would except: Harry Potter when I was a child, moving on to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, growing up into other popular series like The Wheel of Time, Malazan Book of the Fallen, and A Song of Ice & Fire. Before undertaking Indie ‘25 I was really into Joe Abercrombie (The First Law & Age of Madness), as well as Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files, so it was my hope to branch off this path a bit in 2025 and read things that are outside my comfort zone. And while I have read a few fantasies this year already (which were unto themselves and completely unlike the standard epic), I have also been relishing as I dallied in other genres. Not just dipping my toe in, but plunging in feet first as I explore what a fantastic world of fiction there is out there. Contemporary, mystery, horror, time travel, dystopian, cyberpunk, steampunk, love stories, pulp fiction, and not to mention my first ever western and romance reads… It’s been a hell of a ride and there’s nothing I have given less than three stars to so far— Which really speaks to the quality of writing here on Substack too!

What I’m really trying to say is this: step outside your comfort zone. Try something new, something you might not have thought you would enjoy. Don’t get caught in the weird, preachy, stuffy, conservative trends about classical storytelling and the importance of producing what essentially amounts to more of the same stuff we’ve had for a hundred years. Go explore the strange and captivating worlds people are penning. Your old favourites will always be there for you and you won’t be disappointed!

And to that point, the indie authors penning these tales have been so freaking generous. At the onset of this year, I fully intended to purchase a copy of each book I was going to read, but there have been a substantial amount who sent me a copy for free; either from promotions being run by their authors on their websites, people who ARC copies that wanted to get the word out, or those looking to just get a solid review after reading a couple of those I put out. I cannot thank those people enough and I hope I did not and do not fall short of your expectations. Big shout out for the freebies from

, and

for works I’ve read and reviewed so far; as well as

Richard Parry

Hanna Delaney

, and

Tom Schecter

, for copies of their work sent to me that are currently on my TBR; and to

Marian L Thorpe

, whose novel I am currently reading. I appreciate all the authors I have read, but those tagged get a special how-do-ya-do from me for their generosity.

What’s my plans for the rest of the year? Glad you asked.

As I have a full six months to read eight works in order to hit my goal of 25 books this year, I am going to be taking on a couple longer reads to fill the space. Initially I was looking for books sitting around 250-300 pages, but I’m going to relax that rule as I accept further recommendations.

As mentioned, I am currently engrossed with

Marian L Thorpe

’s novel Empire’s Daughter (of which I’m only on Chapter 4 right now but is excellent so far, by the way). Billed as a Historical Fantasy with LGBT themes, I wish I had started it earlier so that I could slip it into my June reviews for a nod to Pride Month, but c’est la vie.

Other works I have locked and loaded on the docket are:

The Ring by
Hanna Delaney
~ I read Hanna’s Oceanus earlier this year and she’s an amazing author. She has been pumping up her Gothic crime thriller The Ring on her Instagram as it is currently entered into Kindle’s Storyteller Contest UK for 2025. Hanna has been an amazing supporter amongst the indie community and if you could find the time to read and review The Ring to help her chances in this contest, I am sure she would greatly appreciate it.
Joy by
Emily S Hurricane
~ I reached out to Emily just a couple months ago about which of her works she would recommend. She has an impressive bibliography and is an aces writer across a bunch of different genres, so she recommended her forthcoming detective drama ‘Joy’, which she told me is currently only available on her Patreon but will be going to marketplace later this year. I’m particularly excited for this one, if I’m being honest.
The Last of the Etela by
Tom Schecter
~ Tom has been making a lot of noise on Substack recently about the release of the first book in his Shieldbreaker Saga and I have been seeing pictures of the novel dropping EVERYWHERE lately. I just got the notification that my copy shipped yesterday so I cannot wait for this bad boy to hit my PO box.
The Highwayman Kennedy Thornwick by
Lisa Kuznak
~ This is going to be a nice autumn read I think. Everyone knows I’m a Kuznak fan, so I’m going for the hat trick and intend to give Highwayman the review it deserves after Lisa’s SPFBO judge pointedly (and possibly maliciously) neglected to review this novel last year. Justice for Kennedy Thornwick.
The Light That Remains by
Richard Parry
~ This is going to be my first ever exploration into cozy fantasy, which I have been admittedly hesitant about before because I thought it was all orcs working in coffee shops and whatnot. But I’m keeping an open mind as the blurb about this book seemed quite promising.

There are others that I haven’t included here that I am still hmming and hnnnging about, but those five are locked in and solid on my list. I’m obviously going to try and blow my goal of 25 out of the water, so PLEASE send me more recommendations. Actually, one genre in particular I am interested in seeing recc’d is romantasy. Given the popularity of the genre in recent years, I will admit myself curious. I have had a couple thrown at me so far but nothing that has stuck so if you know a kickass indie romantasy, walk your ass down to the comment section and chuck it at my head.

And that’s it. Big stuff coming for the second half of 2025 and I look forward to keep on keepin’ on with the indie reviews. In 2026 there are a few trad books I plan to read (looking at you Joe Abercrombie’s The Devils and the next installment of The Dresden Files), but regardless of that I personally guarantee that any indie novel I purchase (or receive a copy of) that I don’t get to by the end of this year will still get its due as I go into overtime in 2026.

SO RECOMMEND THEM.

Thanks!

~ Ian Barr, Dump-Bear-in-Chief

The Word Dump

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