Shouting Out Indie Authors: A Purposeful Prose Summer Reading List

Purposeful Prose loves uplifting libraries, independent authors, and organizations supporting literature, writing, and the arts. 

On May 17, 2025,  the annual Gaithersburg Book Festival was held under sunny skies. Local and visiting authors, nonprofits, and other amazing independent organizations came together for crowds of bookworms, myself included! 

We were so happy to speak to authors whose books sold out within the first hour, who had just released their books this year, who have started or are continuing a series, and we want to extend our heartfelt congratulations. For everything you have done to bind your work into a book and for everything that you have done to get to where you are today, thank you for writing, and thank you for sharing your stories to the world!

Purposeful Prose would like to compile the authors we had the pleasure of speaking with that day into a summer reading list. If you are not on this list, and you attended the Gaithersburg Book Festival, please contact us with the name of your book. The list will be amended accordingly. Please note the following: This list is in no particular order, and all links to purchase will either be from Bookshop.Org or the author’s personal website/social media. 

We also met children’s book authors, but we will be keeping this list to YA and adult. We plan to cover children’s books in the future! All links to BookShop are through Purposeful Prose’s affiliate link. If you buy from BookShop, you will be helping out these authors, local independent bookstores, and us!

1. Amber L. Werner
   

If you are a fan of magic, monsters, and the paranormal, her work is for you! Amber L. Werner is a fantasy author whose works include the Palisade Trilogy and the Blood Song Trilogy. Bloodfeather Lullaby, the first in the Blood Song Trilogy, follows Violet, Nox, and Ryon on a journey to save their world, their family, and themselves from forces they’ve yet to understand. 

To learn more about this book and to sign up for Amber’s mailing list and to get a free ebook, visit her website! 

2. Brian Paone

Brian Paone is a Virginia author and vocalist who, primarily, writes speculative fiction. However, he covers a wide range of subjects and genres. Selective Listening is a short story collection inspired by music, depicting “when the macabre & humanity clash”, and The Post-War Dream is a 2022 historical romance that follows a veteran of the Falklands War. 

Find out more about his books, his music, and his Delorean (I know!) on his website!

3. Lou Wilham
   

Lou Wilham is an LGBT+ fantasy author from Chesapeake Bay with a clear passion for both craft and readership. If you are a lover of magic and fairy tales, Lou Wilham will have something for you! The Curse of Flour and Feeling is a tale of the cost of a wish come true. The Hex Next Door is the first in a cozy, witchy urban fantasy series about a love returned. 

Lou has new magical titles in the works. Learn more here!

4. K.R. Raye
   

Book of the Year Award Finalist, K.R. Raye, is the author of The Colors Trilogy. Directly from her website, “Throughout her diverse career working as a mechanical engineer, adjunct professor, and in sales, she continues to weave her love of marketing, computer information systems, and operations together with her passion for writing.” The Colors Trilogy, beginning with The Colors of Friendship follows the development of a friendship over time. 

This journey navigates deep emotions and life lessons, and we look forward to seeing what comes next for K.R. Raye! 

5. Sarah Birnbach
   

Memoirist Sarah Birnbach was a family therapist who began writing nonfiction in 2016. While she has successfully published in the past, Sarah came to the Gaithersburg Book Festival with her memoir, A Daughter’s Kaddish, on a journey that she took to honor the memory of her father.

At this time, she is working on a new memoir entitled, In My Father’s Footsteps. If you would like to learn more about Sarah Birnbach and her journey, and subscribe to her newsletter, you can do so here!

6. Dana Fraedrich
   

Dana Fraedrich is a steampunk fantasy author who both advocates for and educates other authors. Dana has been writing for over a decade, and her works include the Broken Gears series and Skateboards, Magic, and Shamrocks. Out of the Shadows is the first in the YA Broken Gears series following Lenore Crowley, who hides her true identity while navigating the high society life she’s found herself a part of. 

To find out more about Dana’s works and to subscribe to her VIP newsletter, click here!

7. Constance Hays Matsumoto and Kent Matsumoto

Constance Hays Matsumoto and Kent Matsumoto are also writers’ advocates, believers in advancing stories that make positive differences in the world. The two of them co-authored the novel, Of White Ashes, based on true stories of people in their family. This novel is set in WWII, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and it tells a story of trauma, love, and resilience. 

To keep up with Matsumoto Books and to learn more about this amazing novel, visit their website.

8. Kathryn Hoff
   

For those who are fans of Ted Chiang and Ray Bradbury, Kathryn Hoff is a literary science fiction author. From her website, “Kathryn Hoff has studied anthropology, manned the trenches on archeological digs, penetrated the mysteries of financial statements, and negotiated billion-dollar investments into developing countries.” Her newest work, Panda Imperfect, follows a mission to save pandas from extinction…through gene manipulation. 

To order this thrilling work and to read more from Kathryn Hoff, visit her website!

9. Anjum Choudhary

Poet Anjum Choudhary writes about creativity, love, strength, and questions she asks herself about life. She finds inspiration everywhere and in everything. The Silent Hummingbird is a three-part poetry volume that explores the spectrum, impact, and questions about human emotion. 

To read more of her works and to follow her blog, click here!

10. Laurel Wanrow
    

Laurel Wanrow is a nature fantasy author. Nature has been a large part of her life, and she found a way to communicate that love and the importance of maintaining our environment through stories. Keepers of the Sea Cliffs is a YA fantasy that follows the journey of Salm and Luna in protecting the seas and those who both live in and navigate it. Will a family secret keep them from following their chosen paths in life?

To read more about Laurel and her books (which are available in large print), visit her website. 

Purposeful Prose celebrates indie authors, and we love hearing and reading their stories! To those who are navigating the journey of authorship, wherever you may be, we want to be your cheerleaders. Contact us for book recommendations, some advice, or just say hi! 

Are you an indie author or are you cheering one on? Let us know!