The Indie Books & Authors Newsletter #15
The Indie Books & Authors Newsletter #15
Find your next indie read! Celebrating and promoting awesome indie authors!
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New Releases
The Trials of Ildarwood: Fall of the Forsaken by S C Selvin
"The Last Airbender meets Maze Runner" in a thrilling fantasy adventure for teens and adults alike!
In a magical world where every child is born with an elemental gift, Evalina Verdani was born a child of storms. Daelyn Preis grew up with a soul full of flames. And Tevaun and Mireia both had hearts bound to darkness itself.
They were told their gifts were just too different. Too dangerous to allow out into the world. And that is precisely why their families locked them away.
So for countless nights, they each dreamed endlessly of escaping into the Ildarwood. Only within the vast and mythic forest could they find some way to change their fates...
Embark on an inspirational journey filled with magic and wonder. Follow Evalina, Tevaun, and their friends as they explore a dark and ancient woodland filled with fascinating secrets and perilous threats. And discover your own elemental alignment as the adventure unfolds!
This edition includes a hand-drawn map, thirteen chapter illustrations, and an appendix full of lore.
The Glass Witch by Sara Raztresen
On a continent where the four seasons are tied to each country’s traveling rulers, a Summer tragedy causes the Winter King to withhold his season from his neighbors—but without Winter, the other seasons can’t turn.
Aveline, a half-Summer, half-Winter pariah, has no place in her country. She's mocked in Summer as The Glass Witch for her Wintry looks and magic, while Winter travelers always thought her a disturbing mutt. But when her emperor finds her barely surviving the endless Summer, he tells her that the mother she loves is dead—and it's Winter’s fault. Only Aveline, the Summer woman with a Winter face, can end the seasonal standstill.
Vengeful, Aveline sneaks into Winter as a fake contestant in the King’s bridal competition to kill him, only for a failed Winter assassin to shatter her plans. Aveline is stuck unarmed in the castle, and worse, to stay competing while finding her plan B, she has to court the King in earnest. But how long can she pretend before her identity is discovered—and the seasons’ fate thrown into question?
Barrenworld: Rise of the Red Sun by J Edwards Holt
After coming to the stark realization that they were deceived by a close and trusted ally, the surviving members of the Collective struggle to find purpose in the new apocalyptic, war-torn world around them. When their paths inevitably cross, they begin a new quest to discover the truth and secrets behind the Warlord’s Chalice. Their journey soon leads them into new and uncharted territory, where they must face trials unimagined with nothing to rely on but blind faith and the words of ancient texts.
Liberation Street: A Philip Ye Novel by Laurence Westwood
Chengdu, Sichuan Province, People’s Republic of China – a city beset by mid-summer heat, rainstorms, and murder.
Prosecutor Xu Ya of the People’s Procuratorate is summoned in the middle of the night to the disturbing death of a famous and politically-connected businessman in Plum Tree Pagodas, a luxury apartment complex owned by the influential family Fu – and ordered to investigate with the utmost secrecy.
Meanwhile, Philip Ye, a homicide detective with Chengdu Public Security Bureau, has just returned from an ill-tempered holiday in the U.K. to discover that his unhappy protégé, Constable Ma Meili, has, against his strict instructions, taken on the case of a vicious killing of a retired army general – a crime that intrigues Philip Ye so much that he adopts the investigation as his own.
Little do Philip Ye and Prosecutor Xu know that their respective investigations will yet again set them on a collision course – and that the assassins of both the businessman and retired army general are still stalking the rainswept streets of Chengdu.
Veni, Vidi, Vici: The Quest of the Traveling White Knight by Lorena 'SKETCH' Monroy
Disguised as a man to keep her father’s lands, Eve Bonel finds after death that she is not so mortal as she thought and is forced to add another secret to her life: her immortality. She is approached by a stranger who asks for one thing: for her to steal a dagger from the great King Oberon. He threatens to release the knowledge of her true gender to get her to comply. In anger, Eve’s powers emerge, and the stranger gives her another promise that if she does as he bids, she will find answers to her uniqueness. In denial, Eve taunts the stranger, and with a flick of his fingers, she is sent to the world known as the Underground. While there, she is thrust into fey's politics and inadvertently bleeds part of the mythical world into her own.
Pre-Order Now
River in the Galaxy (Inner Universe Book 1) by Natalie Kelda
When Merlon's parents disappeared, his world fell apart. When his best friend died, he lost the ability to enjoy life.
For Captain Merlon Ricosta, Lanier's death, two years prior, feels like yesterday. But when a map from his parents is discovered, he decides to push aside his grief to get closure and follow the route they vanished along eighteen years ago.
Despite political trouble, Merlon leads his crew into the unknowns of strange galaxies in his quest to find out why his parents never returned.
In River in the Galaxy Merlon fights to keep his crew alive and suppress his prolonged grief and depression. But he must face his own struggles in order to protect the ship and the people aboard.
*** New indie releases and pre-orders wanted! Send in details for the opportunity to be featured! ***
Featured Promotion
Lee Hall - bestselling author and supporter of creatives
Lee Hall has spent many years reading, writing, blogging and performing. The fruits of such are multiple indie published books crossing several genres and of course a loyal following. From occult thrillers with monsters, witches and vampires that eventually became known as the ‘Order of the Following Series’ to paranormal romance and even the tale of a drunken superhero looking for justice. All of his works carry a deeper meaning that tribute the events from real life, just with the names, places and details changed enough to avoid libel.
After spending many years on stage Lee is also resident playwright for his local drama club and has written five full length pantomime adaptations – his fresh take on the British stage tradition has been seen by hundreds of happy audience members and has even been performed by other drama societies.
Over the years thousands of readers have downloaded Lee’s works which you’ll find being promoted through an active social media presence but he prefers to talk about fellow authors’ works through reviews on his Hall of Information blog. You’ll also find an abundance of guides and tutorials from book marketing to blogging advice that is regularly viewed by many followers. Helping others has become a calling in recent times for Lee and he has even started a Patreon where many more future guides will be published.
His writing draws influence from Michael Crichton, Stephen King and Arthur Conan Doyle along with the many immersive television shows he’s a fan of from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad and Stranger Things.
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News Round-Up
Erro Press are inviting submissions for an anthology, All Women Are Werewolves. The deadline is 14th April.
Green Stories Project are running a superhero / climate change themed competition with a deadline of 15th April.
R&R Book Tours have recently toured The Divine Oblivion by Clare Archer, You Can Follow Me by Jo Brenner and Shadowed Seats by Marguerite Ashton.
***News wanted! Send in your positive news about indie books & authors!***
Book Reviews
Deep Down There by Oli Jacobs, reviewed by Kerry at Herding Cats
I have no idea where to start with my review so I’m going to start with a hole that randomly appears one day in Anton Court, an exclusive development. A hole that wasn’t there one day and was the next. A hole that seems resistant to any attempts to cover it or get rid. A hole that causes everyday suburban life to come crashing down around the lives of Anton Court residents. A hole that brings up secrets and nightmares. A hole that takes centre stage.
I’ve said it before but things that go bump in the night do not scare me. I love horror films, they make me jump but I am rarely scared by things I can see on camera. However, 2 things do freak me apart (apart from snakes) and they are;
1. Things that are unknown/cannot be seen.
2. Things that could really happen (Hostel falls into this category)
Deep Down There definitely falls into the first category and that’s what made the plot so tense and terrifying for me. I couldn’t explain what it was that scared me or why I felt uneasy but I did. The characters got under my skin and I couldn’t shake them off for days. I’d lay awake thinking about them and trying to figure out what was happening, but the worst (or best from a writer/reader’s perspective) was the feeling of dread that I felt for everyone through most of the book.
The hole is the main character and completely steals the show without doing very much at all. It’s malevolent and plays tricks on people and is certainly rebelling against any attempts to cover or fill it. I loved how things were revealed at a pace to keep my interest but slow enough to make the anticipation and intensity level high.
The biggest thing I can say about this book is read it! It’s clever, mind-blowing and intense and I loved every terrifying minute of it.
From He-Man to Pac-Man: An alternative guide to growing up in the 1980s by Peter Nuttall, reviewed by N S Ford
This is a funny, light-hearted book about 1980s culture from the perspective of a boy growing up in Britain. Focusing on food, TV, toys, school, adverts and arcade games, this easy-to-read volume takes a look at the best and worst of the era. The most amusing sections are probably about food, where the author often complains that it tasted like woodlice! It’s more of a personal selection however and is not comprehensive. It’s interesting to note that while the book is about the 80s, much of what is referred to was the same for the 90s too and also extends backwards into the 70s.
*** Book Reviews wanted! Send in a review of an indie book you enjoyed and get a FREE promotional ad for your books/website/services in an edition of the Newsletter! ***