I've written before about how I love being part of a book club for how it makes you read books you wouldn't usually choose for yourself. Judging writing competitions is the other way this sort of reading is thrust upon you.
For the past few weeks, I've been reading widely across the indie author scene, as one of the judges of the Amazon Kindle Storyteller Award.
Launched at the beginning of the year, the award was open to debut and experienced authors in English, across any genre, for a book published on KDP UK between 20th February and 20th May.
The winning author will be announced at a central London ceremony in July where they will be awarded a cash prize of £20,000, a marketing campaign to support the book on Amazon.co.uk, as well as the opportunity to have their book translated for international sales.
There were 2.731 entries. You can see all the books here. The award shortlist was drawn up based on customer ratings for the titles, sales and borrow figures.
These are the “teasers” Amazon has released about the shortlisted books (with an extra insight from me in brackets) to give you a taste of what I've been reading:
A compelling real life account from an author who gets a second wind in life. (Man against nature)
An edge of the seat thriller featuring archaelogical mysteries and a chase across the globe. (Action fights with fun asides and the whole world at stake)
A captivating fantasy world for Young Adults in which a nightmare inspires a thrilling quest. (Dragons, pixies and unicorns).
Lifting the lid on the Fifteenth Century, this is one royal read. (The man behind Tudor majesty)
Action-packed tale of adventure with an unconventional private eye. (Vampires, werewolves and worse prowl mean city streets.)
A story of personal attraction and professional conflict. (Romance with a socio-economic undertone)
So yes, not my usual reading list.
The judging process and winners are all still very hush-hush, and I can't reveal the shortlist even, but the judging panel met this week and it looks like we have a clear winner.
Stay tuned for news of who it is. And if you're a writer, get writing now so you have a cracking book to enter next year!