Top Ten 'New To Me in 2012' Authors (of non-contemporary YA)

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish.

My top ten new to me contemporary authors are over at YA Contemporary if you'd like to check them out as well. 

1. Elizabeth Wein - Like the contemporary list, this isn't in order. Also like the contemporary list, if it was in order, there'd only be one contender for number one. It's no secret that Wein's World War II novel Code Name Verity was my favourite of the year, a stunning, poignant, and absolutely heartbreaking book with two of the best main characters for years.

2. Natasha Farrant - On the subject of WWII books, Farrant’s The Things We Did For Love is also gorgeously written and again reduced me to tears.

3. HM Castor – Castor’s VIII, following the life of Henry VIII, is a brilliant portrayal of a historical figure which really brings out the man behind the king.

4. Scott Cramer – I’ve been pushing Cramer’s Night of the Purple Moon as hard as I can this year – it’s a brilliantly chilling sci-fi story which deserves to have a much wider readership.

5. Jillian Larkin – As a fan of the 1920s as a setting, I’ve been spoilt for choice by some of the brilliant books released this year. Larkin’s Flappers series is the best of them all, though.

6. Cora Harrison – If it’s the UK in the Twenties you want rather than Prohibition-era America, don’t miss Harrison’s superb Debutantes.

7. Will Hill – Yes, prior to this year I hadn’t bothered with Department 19, thinking I didn’t need to read another vampire book. How wrong can you be? Hill’s first book is stunning; the sequel The Rising surpasses it in every way. Twice the length of most YA books and Will Hill never wastes a word. Superb.

8. David Morgan - While the paranormal genre is filled with tales of werewolves, vampires, zombies, mermaids and fairies, there's still some really original stuff out there. Morgan's The Boo Hag, about a creature from South Carolina's Gullah culture is one of my favourite paranormals this year.

9. AC Gaughen - Despite the love triangle at the centre of Robin Hood retelling Scarlet annoying me somewhat, with Robin seeming like a control freak, Scarlet herself - not a boy but a girl, with a wonderful narrative voice and an incredibly well-plotted history with villain Guy of Gisbourne - won me over completely.

10. Laura Lam - I'm beyond confused whether people whose books come out next year belong on lists relating to 2012, but Laura Lam is too incredibly awesome not to make it onto this one. Her Pantomime is hands-down my favourite fantasy of the year, and deserves to be a massive success.