Et tu, Catfish? Writing with Integrity

catfish books are rampant on amazon.com fish-216132_640Recently I’ve learned about a new (to me) term: catfishing. It means someone pretending to be what they are not. In terms of selling books on the Internet, this basically boils down to someone posing as an expert in a given field, then writing short, pithy eBooks using information easily and freely accessible on the Internet (think Wikipedia) and then passing it off as a definitive guide on Amazon.

The Washington Post recently ran a very thorough article on the phenomenon. The upshot is that (1) this is nothing new; there have always been people gaming every system ever devised and (2) most of these catfishers operate at least nominally within Amazon’s guidelines with the exception of paid reviews, the thing that Amazon is really cracking down on lately. Continue reading “Et tu, Catfish? Writing with Integrity”

Indie Reads – November 2015

Indies Unlimited does not review books, but we do have a couple of renowned reviewers on staff. We thought a great way to celebrate indie writing would be to ask those reviewers for their top indie picks of the month. Here are this month’s top picks from our experts:


pilgrim wheels by Neil HansonPilgrim Wheels by Neil Hanson

“As a reader, we can hitchhike with him and share in those insights without a single turn of the pedal.”

Read the rest of the review by BigAl.

Pilgrim Wheels is available through Amazon.com.


Larry the Horrible Time TravelerLarry the Horrible Time Traveler by Andrew Coltirn

“…The plot moves fast, I had trouble putting the book down to sleep.”

Read the rest of the review by Sam Waite.

Larry the Horrible Time Traveler is available through Amazon.com.


The Sun SingerThe Sun Singer by Malcolm R. Campbell

“All ages of readers who enjoy mystical adventures, alternate universes, or epic tales will love this story.”

Read the rest of the review by ?wazithinkin.

The Sun Singer is available through Amazon.com.


Behind the Eight Ball by Craig Furchtenicht

” If you enjoy hard hitting, no nonsense crime, this would be right up your street.”

Read the rest of the review by Keith Nixon.

Behind the Eight Ball is available on Amazon.com..


What Do Authors Want from a Review/Reviewer?

why do authors behave badlyI’ve had to ask myself a question recently:  why on earth do I bother reviewing books?  Actually, I know why I started to … it coincided with the purchase of my Kindle. I fancied an anthology of my opinions and what I thought of all the books I read on it because I thought the advent of digital books was quite a Big Thing. So, wait … let me rephrase that: the behaviour of authors has made me ask myself the question. Continue reading “What Do Authors Want from a Review/Reviewer?”