Welcome to A Month of Rain and Reads, a celebration of self-published and indie SFF throughout the entire month of November. To find out how you can take part and view the whole list of content, visit our introduction post.

Beba Andrić is a reader, reviewer, and fantasy enthusiast. Today, she’ll tell us about how she discovered fantasy and indie books, and about the friends she made along the way.

Finding My Indie Family

I was thrilled and honoured to be offered a guest spot by Nils and Trudi on Readindiefantasy.com. Indie authors are a passion of mine, to read, to support. Especially those who, I feel, are underrated. And there are lots! I’ve always been an avid reader, since childhood. Libraries were my second home. A bit of an outcast as a foreigner in South Africa, books were my safe place, my way to tune out the world. It still is. I get lost in the world of fantasy, see nothing, hear nothing and my pet irritation? Yes. ..being interrupted! I was strictly a historical and thriller reader, I loved Agatha Christie, Crichton and the like, and I have an unhealthy obsession with British history. 

My eldest daughter, who did her honours dissertation on fantasy, introduced me to the world of fantasy. I first rejected it, pfft, fantasy is for kids, right? WRONG! I finally cut my teeth on The Belagariad and I haven’t looked back since! Although, I’m not a one horse pony, I read all genres, enjoying them just as much. I wasn’t aware there were trad and Indie authors, a book was a book was a book! Joining a few Facebook groups, looking for recommendations, I soon realised the difference and that prompted and propelled me right into the world of Indie authors. But I had no idea just how much the Indie author world would change my life. 

I think my first ever Indie read was Glimmer of the Other by the incredible Heather G Harris. I was so impressed, I reached out to tell her just how much. Thus started our friendship and an understanding that surpasses mere author/reader dynamics. I’ve been very fortunate to have made made many genuine author friends over the years, not for just bookish chats, but like real family. A few have become very special to me, so much so, I’ve gained “adopted” daughters. Heather and Liz Cain were my first “adopted” daughters, so they are extra special to me. They’re also incredible, warm, caring ladies I’m fiercely proud of. Liz’s books blew me away too. Her Dealer’s Choice series, the spinoff, Star-Crossed and Portals of Science and magic are compelling, exciting reads. Becoming an Alpha reader for these 2 immensely talented authors, I’ve also learnt how much an author invests of themselves in a story, how brave they are to put their “babies” out into the world. Which is a very difficult market indeed. The thrill of being a part of the journey with “my authors”, as they propelled into the big leagues, is one of a very proud mama. As with not initially knowing about trad or Indie, I also wasn’t aware of genres, or tropes. Once again, a good book is a good book is a….you get it. But one trope I hold very dear in real life, that of found family. My “family” has extended to embrace Rosie Wylor-Owen, an amazing author with a few series under her belt, my first being Valkyrie Rogue, Brooke J Losee, who can make any genre exciting and she does… from fantasy, to Romcom, to Regency delight! Then the likes of JMD Reid, David Green, Tim Frankovich, are some of the authors that deserve sooooo much more attention, emotive, compelling, their brilliance is in their prose, their storytelling abilities, which, to me, is pure genius! 

Over the years, I’ve been privileged to be asked to ARC read for many authors and I’ve developed a very soft spot for lesser known authors, those that produce exceptional reads, yet struggle to reach the numbers. The effort, the love these authors put into their books, resonates with me. It’s ALL them. I love that Indie authors have complete control over their contents, I know what I’m reading is their own, no big publishing house decides what they should or shouldn’t put out, it’s all them. I get caught up in the books, they speak to my heart, the decimate me emotionally, make me laugh, make me swoon, they let me zone out the real world, and truly escape. I have been truly blessed to have discovered so many outstanding Indie authors. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. And best of all? When a reader buys a book based on my review, that’s the epitome of delight! 

Beba Andrić

You can connect with Beba Andrić through Instagram or Goodreads.