You know how I love reading lists. Somehow or other in an email conversation (perhaps me begging for a list of top favorites had something to do with it!) I was lucky enough to receive this wonderful email from avid reader Elisabeth:

This is a list of favorite authors who never were in the bookstores, but are available on the Kindle. Usually they are self published, or from small publishers. They often have thousands or tens of thousands ahead of them on the Amazon best seller lists. But they are all favorites of mine.

I’ve found these authors through recommendations from Amazon, from web sites like Smashwords and Dailycheapreads, from visiting authors’ websites with blogs, and by following links and recommendations from author sites. I visit the website for every publisher of authors I like to find others I’ll like.

There are lots of authors I’ve found this way who didn’t make the list. These are the ones I like best.

I’ve only listed one book per author, although almost all have more than one on their backlist. The authors are in alphabetical order as it is too hard to rank in order of my preference.

James Benn: Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery

Karen Cantwell: Take the Monkeys and Run (A Barbara Marr Murder Mystery) (This is one of my favorites too!)

Jesse Crockery: Live Free or Die (The Granite State Mysteries)

Peggy Ehrhart: Sweet Man Is Gone (A Maxx Maxwell Mystery)

Gemma Halliday: Scandal Sheet (Hollywood Headlines)

Dorthy Howell: Handbags and Homicide

Judith Ivie: Waiting for Armando (Kate Lawrence Mysteries) Judith is also executive editor of Mainly Murder Press which prints many of the books on this list.

Camille LaGuire: Have Gun, Will Play (A Mick and Casey Mystery)

Mark Loeffelholtz: Blood & Ashes: The Debut Oscar Jade Thriller!

Ellen O’Connell: Rottweiler Rescue: a mystery for dog lovers

Vincent O’Neil: Murder in Exile (Frank Cole Mysteries)

J.C. Phelps: Color Me Grey (Book One of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles)

Hank Phillippi Ryan: Prime Time

Neil Plakcy: In Dog We Trust

Maria Schneider: Executive Lunch (A Sedona O’Hala Mystery) (I’ve heard of this one…)

Stephen Stanley: A Midcoast Murder

Connie Shelton: Deadly Gamble: The First Charlie Parker Mystery (Charlie Parker Mystery Series)

Cathy Wiley: Dead to Writes

Suzanne Young: Murder by Yew (Edna Davies Mysteries)

What a fabulous list. I own four of these, have read two of them and need to buy the rest!!! Thank you, Elisabeth, for sorting through what you’ve read and telling us about the gems.

Given that everyone is in a bargain frame of mind, I decided to create two lists for 2011. This is the first and is the “under 5″ reads that I really enjoyed. It includes some short stories too, but I listed those separately so that they aren’t confused with the novels.

Cadaver Client – Frank Tuttle — Another read from Tuttle that is full of atmosphere; this is a Markhat mystery. Loved it. Loved it! I think this one is safe for cozy readers, but you might want a large fire going. It’s got humor and spooks. It’s $2.66 right now for Kindle.

Fleeting Memory (An Enescu Fleet Mystery) – Sherban Young – A nice Sherlockian cozy. It gets off to a puzzling, almost confusing start, but hey, the main character has lost his memory! Don’t worry; all the pieces get tied together. Fun read. It’s $2.99 for Kindle.

Straight to Hell (The Lilith Straight Series) – Michelle Scott — Oh the perils…this has cozy and chick-lit elements, but some of the story is heart-wretching when the main is out to save her daughter. So it’s sort of cozy, but with a very dark underlying thread in places. I say we all write the author and tell her to take it easy on Lilith in the next book! Kindle-aholic, you don’t get to vote because we all know you can take the dark threads better than the rest of us! It is priced at $1.99.

Hard Spell: An Occult Crimes Unit Investigation Justin Gustainis – This was under five dollars last time I checked. It’s good urban fantasy, although the cursing is fairly prevalent throughout and was overdone/annoying in a couple of spots. Sure, cops talk trash, but the book was over-salted in a few places. Imaginative, fun and a good mystery. Definitely more thriller than cozy. This one is $4.79 for Kindle.

Hollowland (The Hollows) – Amanda Hocking — apocalypse zombie fiction. This was free when I got it and still free last time I checked. It’s a good intro to Amanda Hocking’s writing style which is high on characterization and good plotting. There were some logic fails, but they were minor things rather than plot things (example: Picking a car battery up over one’s head as a weapon to throw at a zombie…uhm, lifted one of those things lately?? They must weigh at least twenty pounds. Sure it’s possible, but I’d be more likely to drop it on my toe trying…) This is a fun escapist read that ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. Luckily the second book is out already: Hollowmen, Book Two

Child of Fire: A Twenty Palaces Novel – Harry Connelly — You won’t find this kind of bargain very often, not from the big publishers. If it’s still 99 cents and you like Urban Fantasy, grab it. The end got a little convoluted, but the characterization and plotting is strong. Told from the “side-kick” point of view, it was a fun read and you can’t beat the price at 99 cents.

Top Short Stories of the Year

In no particular order:

Dead Man’s Rain – Frank Tuttle — Longer than a short story, this is a novelette and a great little read. Highly recommended for urban fantasy readers. It can work for cozy readers, but probably not if you’re reading with the lights off! It’s priced at $2.80. If you like ghost stories, give this a try. I loved it!

It’s a Dunder-Bull Wife. – Karen Cantwell — Definitely a cozy read here; feel-good humor and a nice visit with Barbara Marr. If you haven’t tried her cozy series, it is also under 5 and well worth a look. The first in the series is: Take the Monkeys and Run and it is every bit as zany as the title implies! It’s only 99 cents right now, and I think that price is good through the end of the year. The second, if possible, is zanier than the first: Citizen Insane and is only $2.99.

Movement – Nancy Fulda –A thoughtful piece, worth reading. It’s a short story and will be at $2.99 until the end of the year because the profit is being donated by the author to an autism charity. It may go to 99 cents after the first of the year? I’m really only guessing.

Backlash - Nancy Fulda — A futuristic adventure; fun little thriller. Since this one is also longer than a standard short story, it’s $2.99.

Some of you have already listed your top reads in the comments section of this post. Don’t be shy! If you haven’t already, tell us your top reads!