My mind is still reeling over Danica Nava's cowboy romance not being ordered by many Barnes and Nobles locations. Cowboy romances are currently seeing a surge in popularity, so why the lack of faith that an Indigenous cowboy romance won't fly off the shelves like its counterparts? Is there anything that we, in the book community, can do to help?

Yes. Preorder. Preoder. Preorder.

Preordering tells publishers that there is a demand for diverse voices. There is a readership. Quite a large one. And we want more diverse stories. NOW.

Preorder numbers can determine whether or not an author gets another book contract. If there is a demand early on, there is less of a gamble that future books will do well.

Preorder numbers boost first week sales. More preorders=help books hit best seller lists and gets them stocked in more stores and display tables. We want more visibility on these books!

Preorders help counter industry bias. We all know the reason why some of the stores haven't ordered Dancia's novel or why Kennedy Ryan's hardcover went out to readers with errors. Our responses inform the industry. We can take direct action to inform publishers what we want: our voices to be represented!

Preorders are also crucial for indie published books!

Indie authors build buzz with preorders! Preorders for indie published books help generate excitement and boost visibility on social media and sales sites! The more people talking the better!

Here are 5 Books That You Should Preorder Today!

1. Love is a War Song by Danica Nava

   Pop singer Avery Fox has become a national joke after posing scantily clad on the cover of Rolling Stonein a feather warbonnet. What was meant to be a statement of her success as a Native American singer has turned her into a social pariah and dubbed her a fake. With threats coming from every direction and her career at a standstill, she escapes to her estranged grandmother Lottie’s ranch in Oklahoma. Living on the rez is new to Avery—not only does she have to work in the blazing summer heat to earn her keep, but the man who runs Lottie’s horse ranch despises her and wants her gone.
   
   Red Fox Ranch has been home to Lucas Iron Eyes since he was sixteen years old. He has lived by three rules to keep himself out of trouble: 1) preserve the culture, 2) respect the horses, and 3) stick to himself. When he is tasked with picking up Lottie’s granddaughter at the bus station, the last person he expected to see is the Avery Fox. Lucas can’t stand what she represents, but when he’s forced to work with her on the ranch, he can’t get her out of his sight—or his head. He reminds himself to keep to his rules, especially after he finds out the ranch is under threat of being shut down.
   
   It’s clear Avery doesn’t belong here, but they form a tentative truce and make a deal: Avery will help raise funds to save the ranch, and in exchange, Lucas will show her what it really means to be an Indian. It’s purely transactional, absolutely no horsing around…but where’s the fun in that?

2. August Lane by Regina Black

   Every Thursday night, former country music heartthrob Luke Randall has to sing “Another Love Song.” God, he hates that song. But performing his lone hit at an interstate motel lounge is the only regular money he still has. Following another lackluster performance at the rock bottom of his career, Luke receives the opportunity of his dreams, opening for his childhood idol—90’s era Black country music star, JoJo Lane, who’s being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. But the concert is in Arcadia, Arkansas, the small hometown he swore he’d never see again. Going back means facing a painful past of abuse and neglect. It also means facing JoJo’s daughter, August Lane—the woman who wrote the lyrics he’s always claimed as his own. 
    
   August also hates that song. But she hates Luke Randall even more. When he shows up ten years too late to apologize for his betrayal, she isn’t interested in making amends. Instead, she threatens to expose his lies unless he co-writes a new song with her and performs it at the concert, something she hopes will launch her out of her mother's shadow and into a songwriting career of her own. Desperate to keep his secret, Luke agrees to put on the rogue performance, despite the risk of losing his shot at a new record deal.
    
   When Luke’s guitar reunites with August’s soulful alto, neither can deny that the passionate bond they formed as teenagers is still there. As the concert nears, August will have to choose between an overdue public reckoning with the boy who betrayed her, or trusting the man he’s become to write a different love song.

   3. Beyond the Glitter World: An Anthology of Indigenous Feminisms and Futurisms edited by Stacie Shannon Denetsosie, Kinsale Drake, and Dr. Darcie Littlebadger

      From adventures in Indigenous futurism to tales of first love, the stories and poems of Beyond the Glittering World proclaim and celebrate a rising generation of Native American storytellers.

      Beyond the Glittering World brings together twenty emerging and established Native women writers and writers of marginalized genders, including Moniquill Blackgoose, Heid E. Erdrich, A.J. Eversole, Chelesa Hicks, and D. Daye Hunter. Immersing readers in worlds as varied as their authors, this collection presents an array of singular voices at their genre-bending, boundary-breaking, devastating, and joyous best

   4. Cry, Voidbringer by Elaine Ho, Left Unread Books, first book published under Michael Laborn's Bindery imprint

      In a broken system, do you save yourself or fight for the people you love?

      With the godspower waning, the queen of Ashvi has had to find another way to bolster her fight against her imperialist oppressors. The solution: wrenching children of other cultures from their homes and conscripting them into service.

      Hammer was one of those children. Now, she’s a jaded soldier waging Ashvi’s perpetual war, thinking only of her own survival. But when she accidentally rescues Viridian, a child with rare and potentially devastating powers, her priorities shift. The girl appears to be the answer to the queen’s prayers—the perfect weapon to restore her kingdom’s ancient borders, even if the colonized cities they reconquer don’t want her version of liberation. Can Hammer protect Viridian from the system that broke her . . . before the girl’s power is unleashed on the world?

      Cry, Voidbringer is a gripping saga of how far one will go for freedom and control—and how easily it can all be taken away.

   5. The Bone Thief, by Vanessa Lillie

      When a Native teenager vanishes from her small town—a place with dark ties to an elite historical society—archaeologist Syd Walker is called to investigate...from bestselling author Vanessa Lillie.
      
      In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Syd Walker receives an alarming call: newly discovered skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a Native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family's fears.
      
      As Syd investigates both crimes, she's drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents—most of them members of the Founders Society, an exclusive club whose members trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights to the land, despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. And it's not the first time something—or someone—has gone missing from the camp.
      
      The deeper Syd digs, the more she realizes these aren't isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations, all leading to the Founders Society's doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town's most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried.
      
      From the national bestselling author of Blood Sisters (a Washington Post Best Mystery of the Year and Target Book Club pick) comes a new Syd Walker novel that proves the sins of the past are destined to repeat until the truth is finally unearthed

   6. Legendary Frybread Drive-in: Intertribal Stories edited Cynthia Leitich Smith

      Featuring the voices of both new and acclaimed Indigenous writers and edited by bestselling Muscogee author Cynthia Leitich Smith, this collection of interconnected stories serves up laughter, love, Native pride, and the world’s best frybread.

      The road to Sandy June's Legendary Frybread Drive-In slips through every rez and alongside every urban Native hangout. The menu offers a rotating feast, including traditional eats and tasty snacks. But Sandy June's serves up more than food: it hosts live music, movie nights, unexpected family reunions, love long lost, and love found again.

      That big green-and-gold neon sign beckons to teens of every tribal Nation, often when they need it most.

      
      

   Oops! That was six! Pre-order one (or all) of the books recommended in this post. Your support makes an impact! Yes, you can make an impact by shopping! Help support equity in publishing, one preorder at a time. Preordering is not just about ONE author. It's about COMMUNITY.

   P.S. If you purchase by clicking directly on the books here, I get a small commission so you'll be supporting me, too! If you're not yet a follower of this page, please subscribe for free. If you can afford to support at $5 or $12 a month, you will be directly supporting our publishing imprint (your subscription will have a direct impact on how many books we are able to publish.) Our mission is to uplift diverse voices and make an impact on an industry that seems determined to overlook us.