The Indie Books & Authors Newsletter #8
New indie releases, news round-up and book reviews! Share and subscribe to spread the word about amazing indie authors!
Editor’s Note
Hello, authors / bloggers / editors! Would you like get your books, website or services into the Featured Promotions and reach hundreds of readers? Then please consider the (low-cost) paid subscription option, which helps to support this Newsletter. For more information, check out the About and T&Cs sections. For all enquiries and submissions, please contact the Editor.
New Releases
Courting Fate: Book 1 of The Courtship Saga by A R Kaufer
When she’s not working at the bank or playing video games with her best friend, Ana’s nose is in a book. She is comfortable with her simple life until one night, on her way home from work, she is mugged and left for dead. Fate or luck, army medic Rafe was passing by and saves her life.
Grateful as she is, she can't shake the feeling she knows him from somewhere. Their lives become intertwined as she learns more about him and more about herself.
Is she ready to face the truth? Will it answer her questions or break her in the process? Ana must find her strength and become who she was born to be, before it’s too late.
For fans of epic fantasy, Tolkien, and more, Courting Fate is part of a series that explores serious topics while using familiar tropes. Told in third person present tense, it will keep you immersed in the story up until the very end.
Zero Recall by P S Parker
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” William Faulkner might have been right. But what happens when you can’t remember the past?
Oliver Manner has woken up unable to remember the last twenty years. Trouble is, there are so many questions about his past he can’t answer. And those around him aren’t helping. He’s not even sure if he can trust them. Something wasn’t right about his life. But no one is telling him what was wrong.
Who should he believe? Who should he trust? Especially when events unravel and appear to lead him into danger? And then there are the nightmares. Or are they memories trying to resurface?
Will Oliver discover the truth about his life, before the past catches up with him?
No Titled Lady (Lords and Undefeated Ladies Book 6) by Judith Lynne
All of London knows Eleanor has a temper, and she's about to lose it. Her father expects her marriage to to be advantageous—for him. It's that or a French nunnery, complete with cold baths and spiders. She's desperate to convince the gentleman she prefers to propose first.
Jesper has no time to grieve the loss of his father. Face to face with his own mortality, the new baronet needs an heir. And the first step is to travel to London to find a nice, placid wife.
He crosses paths, and wits, with a viscount's daughter who's always ready to spit thorns. But Jesper soon realizes that Eleanor Henry is in more trouble than she knows. He might be a shaggy, shabby baronet, but he's cared for Roseford's people and its wild lands; how hard could it be to help one friendless woman?
It's not like they're in danger of falling in love.
Empress & Soldier by Marian L Thorpe
A boy of the night-time streets. A girl of libraries and learning.
Druisius, the son of a merchant, is sixteen when an order from his father that he can neither forgive nor forget drives him from home and into the danger and intrigue of the military.
Eudekia, a scholar’s daughter, educated and dutiful, is not meant to be a prince’s bride. In an empire at war, and in a city beset by famine and unrest, she must prove herself worthy of its throne.
A decade after a first, brief meeting, their lives intersect again. When a delegation arrives from the lost West, asking Eudekia for sanctuary for a princess and support for a desperate war, Druisius is assigned to guard them. In the span of a few weeks, a young captain will capture the hearts of both Empress and soldier in very different ways, offering a future neither could have foreseen.
A stand-alone novel that can also serve as a second entry point into the Empire's Legacy series.
A Narcissist Destroyed My Life: How Do I Rebuild? by Nicole Dake
This book is a how-to guide written to help those who are recovering from narcissistic abuse. There is a section on narcissistic parents, and a section on narcissistic relationships. I have experienced both of these in my personal life. I also have a degree in Psychology, so I understand the psychological underpinnings of narcissistic personality disorder.
The book combines science and research with personal experience and explains why people feel so abused and discarded after a relationship with a narcissist. The book includes:
Description of narcissistic personality traits
Possible consequences to victims
How to reduce or cut contact with a narcissist
Treatment and healing
Razzle Dazzle Wins the Race by Catherine Valente
This is the story of Razzle Dazzle - a racehorse who has never won a race. Her lifelong dream has always been to win one. With the help of her best friend, Buttercup the bird, they try to come up with a zany training plan for Razzle Dazzle to win. With several missteps along the way, it all comes together with Razzle Dazzle’s wacky idea to win!
Pre-Order Now
The Giza Protocol (Eden Black Archeological Thrillers Book 2) by Luke Richardson, publication date 23rd February
THE POWER TO RULE THE WORLD OR SET US ALL FREE.
When an undiscovered temple emerges from the waters of a drought-stricken lake, the world of archeology starts to pay attention.
On the discovery of a set of hieroglyphs suggesting the location of an ancient power source so abundant it could boil the world’s oceans dry, a lot more people start to listen.
Enter EDEN BLACK.
With forest fires, droughts, and famine worldwide, Eden and her band of unlikely heroes must move quickly to make sure this lifeline for humankind doesn’t become another asset for the super-rich.
From Lake Nasser to the labyrinthine tunnels beneath the Giza Plateau, Eden will find herself trapped in the cross-hairs of a tycoon on the make, an enigmatic secret society, and a foe who’s closer to home than she could ever imagine.
*** Calling all indie authors! Have you recently published a book? Have you got one available for pre-order? Send in a link for the opportunity to have your book included in the Newsletter! ***
News Round-Up
The winners of the 2022 Best Indie Book Awards (BIBA) have been announced.
Indie Book Spotlight, a Twitter account run by author Rebecca Crunden, has recently passed 29,000 followers!
TheWriteReads is to run blog tours for the top 15 winning books from the Book Bloggers Novel of the Year Award (BBNYA).
*** News wanted! Awards, interviews, sales milestones, blog tours, giveaways, etc. If you have indie book related news, send it in! ***
Book Reviews
Paramedic Chris by Tim Parsons, reviewed by N S Ford
A fiction book for young children which is both useful and a good story. It follows one day in the life of two paramedics in the UK, showing the kind of call-outs they get and how their priority is to help people. Written in a straightforward way, the story is enhanced with simple illustrations which show the paramedics smiling, keeping cheerful and efficient under pressure. Having paramedics as the main characters in the book makes a refreshing change from the firefighters who usually feature in children’s books about the emergency services. This book might prove a useful resource in educating children about the National Health Service (NHS), which is under immense pressure and a lot of scrutiny at the moment, although when is it not?!
The Awakening: The Commune’s Curse Book 1 by Lucy A McLaren, reviewed by Kerry at Herding Cats
My biggest surprise of this book is that it’s the author’s debut novel. It is so skillfully written and addictive and I cannot wait to read the next book.
Awakening is told from three perspectives but it works and comes together so well. We see things from the point of view of Evelyn, an abandoned child taken in by the local inn owner and forced to flee her home when they decide to shelter two children from being captured by commune soldiers. Some of the narrative is from Raif’s perspective, a young boy who rescued and protected by Evelyn and hides a dangerous secret about his sister Rose. Jonah Sulemon is the third narrator and it was his perspective I found the most intense. Sulemon works directly for the commander and is charged with hunting the children down. I found his character arc the most fascinating as he had a strong dichotomy happening he went through some big changes in mind and heart.
The plot moves quickly. The beginning of the book introduces the characters, situations and sets the scene for the series but in a way where there is never a dull moment and something is always happening. It’s intense at times and the last 25% had me glued to the pages. I let out a sound of annoyance when it ended and I know the next book isn’t due for a little while. This is such a brilliant novel and I am eagerly anticipating the next installment. It has great characters, a despicable bad guy and fabulous world building.
*** Book Reviews wanted! Send in a short review of an indie book you enjoyed and get a FREE promotional ad for your books/website/services in an edition of the Newsletter! ***
Thank you for featuring my review 🥰