Rob J. Hayes's Blog, page 6
July 1, 2022
Progress Update – 10th May 2022
Progress Update 26th April 2022
A quick progress update
May 30, 2022
Self Published Fantasy Releases – June 2022
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in June or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
1st June – Profane Rites by P.J. WilsonGrimdark, Sword & Sorcery
Sister Honorata is a woman of unshakable faith, ready for priesthood. It is what she has always wanted. What she was brought up to be.
Honorata’s Trial leads her on a perilous journey into the wild jungles of Pala, a place infested with foes determined to wage war, no matter the consequences. Caught between the threat of a supernatural monster and the subtle influence of scheming mystics, Honorata’s resolve is tested as she is thrust into a deadly battle for survival and forced to confront an evil that threatens to destroy the very foundations of her religion.
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – The Grim (Requiem for the Mortal Elves) by K.H. NelsonEpic Fantasy, Grimdark, Romance
Yet another strand of thread holding the peace together, cut…and Sólan the Grim is the one holding the blade.
Sólan the Grim is dead. He was murdered by the duke of the tundra—his father. No, he was executed by the forest’s prince for his failure to swear the Oath of Light. Actually, he was beheaded by an infamous drug smuggler of the tropics. Tortured and killed at the hands of the desert’s mortal king for his crimes.
Perhaps he is not dead at all.
The half-mortal bastard son of an elf duke, Sólan de Ciudelago learned to cheat death as a child. His mere existence has tumbled the Eastern Lands into the largest genocide against his own kind: The Crusade of Light. The fragile peace between red-blooded men and silver-blooded elves is fraying. Alliances and rulers’ strongholds are waning. The Eastern Lands are on the verge of a second Great War in a millennium.
Until now, Sólan’s lot in life was to smother his past and fight the desert’s slave market. Memories, however, are fickle things that can return with no warning. Now, he must face his trauma to topple more than just the desert’s economy. He must now work with former enemies and an unlikely lover to quell the coming war that he caused.
Will his blood be the ink that seals the suit for peace? Or, is he naught but a pawn in a much more sinister plot against the balance between day and night?
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – Seeds of Sacrifice (The Celestial Kings #1) by Vivek ChoudryEpic Fantasy
Prey for salvation.
Descendants of Death itself, the Bhar family has used their undying powers to rule over the ancient metropolis of Salvation City for generations. Amid tensions with neighboring nations, the weakening king must quickly pass the crown to either his fierce, power-hungry daughter or his foolish, big-hearted son. But the underclass of native rebels, crushed in a blood-soaked war and pacified with marriage into the royal family, are about to rise up again. And this time they’re not alone—they’ve awakened a vengeful god and it demands the ultimate sacrifice.
Explore a fresh world which blossoms through its strong characters in this explosive debut, featuring an Indian inspired epic series that strains the bonds of family and heritage.
Legacy. Loyalty. Fear. Faith. All will be tested.
Goodreads1st June – The Trials of Ashmount (Tragedy of Cidain #1) by John PalladinoEpic Fantasy, Grimdark
Cedain is destined to collapse.
Across a world rife with blood, betrayal, and brutality, five people wade through unexpected tragedies.
An egotistical student, a fleeing refugee, a nomadic warrior, a fallen noble, and a criminal in hiding navigate the sinister dealings of politicians, two sudden wars, and nefarious lies that surface at Ashmount—a university dedicated to teaching the five branches of magic.
Survival means adapting or dying.
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – The Rebel (The Aelfraver Trilogy #2) by J.R. TraasEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, YA, Sci-Fantasy
GODS IN THE SHADOWS
It has been two years since the Battle of City Hall. The Consul of New El spearheads an assault on the Hextarchs of Ozar, six dying gods representing the last bastion of resistance against the world-spanning Elemental Empire. Reorganized under a charismatic miracle worker known as The Savior, the fanatical Sanctum gains influence and followers. Alina K’vich takes refuge on Mount Morbin along with her impatient and murderous teacher, a rusting android, a three-inch-tall winged mouse, and the girl she kidnapped two years ago.
As Cho trains in lethal combat, Alina loses herself in the dream-walking Discipline of Revomancy. While Alina contends with her mutating body and Sevensin powers, Cho reconfigures her cybernetic enhancements, awaiting the day the men who murdered her family finally come for her.
Driven from their haven, the girls smuggle themselves into Ozar, a sprawling underground city-state populated by Aelf and humans. Pushed apart by their clashing priorities and philosophies, they pursue their own agendas: Alina stalks The Sanctum’s leaders to uncover her family’s secrets while Cho’s compulsion for revenge drags her into the darkest recesses of the digital netherworld.
Now The Authority closes in, the complete extermination of the Aelf and Ozari resistance within their grasp. As Alina and Cho’s obsessions precipitate the slaughter of loved ones, deaths of deities, and sundering of nations, the feuding pair must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice to escape annihilation.
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – Jackal of the Mind (Tales of Wyverna #2) by Madolyn RogersSword & Sorcery
SCARRED BY THE MIND WITCH
Gorgo’s last adventure took him from sheltered noble to menial clerk in the city government, and left him scarred by his mental combat with the witch Wakár. Now the witch haunts his dreams, and he burns to hunt her down and end his torment.
Wakár preys on minds, slipping from body to body, hollowing out and discarding each in turn. She lurks somewhere in the underworld of Wyverna’s docks, enslaving criminals to her will and raising an army of thralls.
An unexpected friendship with the Warlord’s six-year-old son gives Gorgo his chance to find Wakár—but her minions are too strong, and Gorgo only puts his friends’ lives in danger. With everything on the line, Gorgo will have to face his fears and brave another perilous combat of the mind to free the city from her evil.
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – Lightblade (Lightblade Saga #1) by Zamil AkhtarProgression/Cultivation
In three days, Jyosh will slay the God Emperor, or die trying.
But first he must train his lightblade skills. While asleep.
Each hour of sleep equals a day in a lucid dream, plenty of time to master the essential lightblade techniques and hopefully get skilled enough to defeat the monster who enslaved him and beheaded his parents and sister.
When Jyosh awakens to learn that the God Emperor has surrendered to an even crueler foe, a mysterious lightblade master who can summon divine dragons to burn whole cities, he’ll face a trial by fire against forces far more frightening than he could ever dream.
That is, if he’s not still in one.
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – Wanted (All That Glitters #1) by Shalaena MedfordGaslamp, Grimdark
Tsingsei “Song” Gould has always led a privileged life, never wanting for anything. When Song is told she must choose a suitor, she flees with a street urchin who claims to know the location of a legendary lost treasure. Armed with a map, a stolen skyship, and no real plan, they set off on the adventure of a lifetime. Now, away from the comforts of her home, she must learn to exist in a dangerous world of magic and pirates.
GoodreadsAmazon1st June – Song of the Fallen (Ironstone Saga #3) by Keith McArdleGrimdark
The siege of Lisfort rages on and the defenders, outnumbered and surrounded, fight for survival. The Huronians have gained a foothold on the walls of the capital and Vyder’s Great Highland Army is stranded on the outside, unable to assist. Miriam, a loaded blunderbuss her only company, hides and waits. Whether she likes it or not, the fight will soon be at her doorstep. As Lisfort burns, Gorgoroth hatches his own plan. One fraught with danger. But if he can succeed, it may just be enough to right the wrongs of his past. If.
GoodreadsAmazon9th June – Odder Still (No Man’s Lander #1) by D.N. BrynSteampunk, Sci-Fantasy, Romance
Rubem of No-Man’s Land was content keeping to his wine, his pets, and his extensive collection of fishnets.
But since a sentient, fuel-producing parasite bonded to his brainstem, every morally-depraved scientist and hardcore rebel for a hundred miles wants to ruthlessly dissect him. The parasite itself is no better, influencing his emotions and sassing him with his own memories as it slowly takes over his body.
The only person offering Rubem help is Tavish K. Findlay, a dashing and manipulative philanthropist whose mother’s fuel company monopolizes their corrupt underwater city with an iron claw. She desperately wants to tear Rubem apart for the parasite before those who oppose her can do the same. Her son is irresistibly charismatic though, and after a lifetime of being kicked out and disavowed, Rubem is desperate to believe in the friendship Tavish offers.
With revolutionary plots and political schemes tangling his every choice, Rubem must soon decide whether or not to trust Tavish in his fight against the parasite’s growing control.
GoodreadsAmazon9th June – Dragon Pirate (Riders of Fire Dragon Masters #3) by Eileen MuellerEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, YA
What can one lone woman, disguised as a cabin boy, do against a notorious pirate captain with a fierce sea dragon and a bloodthirsty crew?
When Rusty’s uncle is killed by the Scarlet Hand, a bloodthirsty pirate captain, she vows to avenge him. She’s taken captive as the Scarlet Hand’s new cabin boy. She must keep her true identity secret or risk losing her virtue—or her life.
Will never wanted to become the Scarlet Hand, the notorious pirate captain of the Fiery Dragon, but his vengeful dragon goaded him into shedding the blood of the last captain. Instead of plundering and killing, Will sells prisoners. That way, they keep their lives, and the dragon gods may smile upon him and grant him luck.
The gods know he needs it.
He’s signed a contract with the formidable Emperor Haakin. If he doesn’t deliver, the emperor will hunt him down, tie him to the yardarm of the Fiery Dragon, and slice him into pieces.
But when Will ventures into the emperor’s mines, he discovers a terrible secret. And when his cabin boy learns of it, Will discovers the cabin boy has secrets of his own. Secrets that turn their lives upside-down.
GoodreadsAmazon10th June – The Obsidian Eyes of Klief (War of the Twelve #4) by Alex RobinsEpic Fantasy
Every Truth Has Its Cost.
War ravages the troubled lands of the nine Baronies. The once-great cities of Arelium, Kessrin, and Talth are forever scarred by the passage of the greyling tide, their graveyards filled with the corpses of those who fought and died on their blood-stained walls.
Surrounded and exhausted, the fragile alliance of men must wager all on a final, daring plan: to find and destroy the creatures’ leader, an enigmatic entity known as the weaver. One of the Twelve, Makara, may hold the key to the weaver’s location, but he too is missing, lost somewhere in the remote Barony of Klief.
The tattered remains of the human armies have no choice but to follow Makara’s trail north, pursued by a relentless horde of greylings. At their head rides Zygos, his god-like intellect transferred into the body of the traitor Praxis.
The town of Klief beckons, as friend and foe alike are drawn to its dim light. It is here, before its golden gates, that the War of the Twelve will be decided.
It is here that an ancient evil will rise …
And heroes will fall.
GoodreadsAmazon13th June – The Unspoken Prophecy (Light Keeper Chronicle #1) by R.E. BellesmithYA
There’s a gap in Lenzey Wright’s memory.
After her dad picks her up from the worst day of school, Lenzey remembers the sound of screeching tires and then… nothing else. When she and her dad find themselves back home there’s a gap in their memories, a dent in the roof of the car, and a strange glowing stone in Lenzey’s backpack.
It soon becomes clear that someone is after Lenzey and her friends Ellean, Walter, and Zack. Unable to avoid this pursuer, the four of them find themselves pulled in the magical world of Garibain bestowed with strange powers.
They quickly realize that “magical” and “strange” are quite the opposite of “safe.”
Upon arriving in Garibain, a wizard named Zandar tells them they are Element Keepers: chosen ones foretold of in an ancient prophecy he cannot repeat. Zandar offers a way home, however, he has a few tasks for the Element Keepers. It’s not long before the request for an old sword evolves into helping dethrone a king.
If Lenzey and her friends want to find their way back home, they will have to fight off a manticore, outsmart a Warlock, and contend with a future they are not allowed to know.
GoodreadsAmazon13th June – Dreamer (Tales of the Outlaw Mages #3) by Amy CampbellEpic Fantasy
Their dream of freedom will turn into a nightmare unless these outlaws can stack the deck in their favor.
Safely back in his chosen home, Breaker mage Blaise should only have to worry about his bakery and his complicated relationship with Jefferson. But the lies that shaped his life continue to haunt him, and he sets out to reconcile with his mother—only to discover that a band of magical desperadoes has taken her. With old friends at his side, Blaise sets off across the frontier, chasing down leads and unaware that his new foes hope to snare the Breaker, too.
Meanwhile, Jefferson balances guiding his fledgling homeland to nationhood while concealing magic he’s not supposed to possess. The demands of his ambassadorship send him to a faraway country where he’s embroiled in a web of intrigue between a shadowy cabal planning to use him and malicious politicians who want to see him—and the new nation—fall.
As Blaise closes in and Jefferson navigates the dangerous political waters, they realize their circumstances are once again linked. Will their combined magic be the ace in the hole that wins it all, or will they fold in the final showdown?
GoodreadsAmazon17th June – Calligraphy Guild by R.M. ArcherYA
Dragon ink gives calligraphers the power to set history in stone—or to change it.
Lai Duyên’s dreams are realized when she’s admitted into the ranks of the calligraphers—authors considered trustworthy enough to defend time from those who would change it. She’s thrilled at the opportunity to record her country’s history, and to work with the other calligraphers in her village.
But when Duyên’s guild is set upon by ancient dragons demanding a time-changer be destroyed, her world is flipped upside down. Her guildmates turn on each other, suspicion coloring their every move. To make matters worse, she’s begun hearing the dragons in her head and finds them impossible to block out: a condition that rendered her grandmother insane.
With the calligraphy guild in turmoil and Duyên’s ever-present fear of madness clouding her vision, will the group be able to discover which of their guildmates has altered time before the dragons pass judgment on them all?
GoodreadsAmazon20th June – Visions and Illusions (Sparks Shall Rise #2) by Lindsay McCaffertyEpic Fantasy
Vision, a seer wolf, doesn’t always know what is real. As her life falls apart because of hallucinations and derealization, she witnesses an ominous sight at a full-moon ceremony. Or is it another hallucination? Vision will be forced to decide if she still is worthy to be a seer wolf, despite her mental illness, or if her pack is better off without her.
Goodreads24th June – The Mechanical Masquerade (Seasons of Soldark) by Liz DeltonSteampunk
A thieving inventor. A future at stake. And she only has one night to discover the truth.
The most prestigious Midsummer celebration in Soldark is only three days away, and this is Verity Pennington’s best–and last–chance to attend. Verity thinks she might just be able to pull off a fantastic mask in order to gain entry, if she can only tap into her unwilling artistic side.
But when a thief breaks into her family’s clock shop and steals invaluable plans, it isn’t just summer revelry on Verity’s dance card. She’ll need to track down the thief–who’ll be showcasing an invention at the ball–and find a way to confront him amid the Soldark elite, without getting kicked out in the process.
With her family’s reputation at stake, she’ll do anything to make it right. But things at the ball are not as they seem, and Verity must find her way through a maze of lies and mechanical masterpieces before she can find out the truth.
GoodreadsAmazon28th June – The Madness of Herakles (Tapestry of Fate #4) by Matt LarkinEpic Fantasy, Grimdark
Redemption lies past bloody steps …
While Pandora seeks a means to escape the crushing grasp of Fate, Herakles faces equally insurmountable odds: To assuage his guilt for the murder of his family, he must undertake impossible labors.
Across the breadth of the world he hunts for beasts that would strike dread into the bravest Titan. Again and again, he casts himself into the breach, all for the desperate hope of redemption.
But will any amount of spilled monster blood wash clean the blood of his own children?
GoodreadsAmazon28th June – Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances (Dragons and Blades #2) by Aliette de BodardProgression/Cultivation, Romance
It was supposed to be a holiday, with nothing more challenging than babysitting, navigating familial politics and arguing about the proper way to brew tea.
But when dragon prince Thuan and his ruthless husband Asmodeus find a corpse in a ruined shrine and a hungry ghost who is the only witness to the crime, their holiday goes from restful to high-pressure. Someone is trying to silence the ghost and everyone involved. Asmodeus wants revenge for the murder; Thuan would like everyone, including Asmodeus, to stay alive.
Chased by bloodthirsty paper charms and struggling to protect their family, Thuan and Asmodeus are going to need all the allies they can—and, as the cracks in their relationship widen, they’ll have to face the scariest challenge of all: how to bring together their two vastly different ideas of their future…
GoodreadsAmazon30th June – Paths of the Broken (Record of the Sentinel Seer #4) by M.H. WoodscourtSci-Fantasy
Forgotten promises. Buried history.
No one is ready for the truth.
At last, Lekore and Toranskay have been granted permission to visit Sirinhigha, the birth world of magic. There, they hope to uncover the mystery of their twin blades—but an ancient evil has broken its bonds in search of the Sentinel Seer.
Emperor Majentay is fighting for peace on the heels of all the chaos his two notorious prisoners have wreaked. But everything turns upside-down when a new Kiisuld partnership breaches the world of Erokel and kidnaps two feisty Kel royals.
Choices and secrets collide to reveal a horrific, mind-shattering chapter of history. And no one is prepared to face the truth. Not even the Kiisuld.
GoodreadsAmazonApril 25, 2022
Self Published Fantasy Releases – May 2022
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in May or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
1st May – No Gods, Only Monsters by Steve McHughUrban Fantasy
Diana, the Roman Goddess of the hunt, lives alone on the far edge of the Roman Empire. When an old friend arrives looking for help, Diana finds herself thrust back into her old life, and old problems.
With innocent lives caught in the crossfire, Diana realizes that the only way to ensure the safety of her friends and loved ones is to do what she does best: hunt her enemies down.
GoodreadsAmazon3rd May – Sins of the Mother (The War Eternal #4) by Rob J. HayesEpic Fantasy
IN HER DARKLIGHT THE WORLD WILL BURN.
Eskara Helsene is missing. She left her queendom, her friends, her children, even her own name behind. No one has seen the Corpse Queen for a decade.
Someone is murdering Sourcerers, forcing them to reject their magic and opening scars in reality, and monsters from the Other World are pouring through.
When an old acquaintance turns up out of the blue, Eska has no choice but to investigate the murders and the holes in reality. Can she stop the killer before the entire world is consumed? And will the conflict reveal her true nature?
GoodreadsAmazon3rd May – Light Giver (The Chaos Apostles #1) by Mike SladeEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Progression/Cultivation
Every generation in the secluded Kingdom of Yanasu, a child is born with the power to heal the very life force coursing through the veins of all living beings.
Now Kaine, an outsider from a distant continent, finds himself at the doorsteps of Yanasu, seeking help and guidance for his newly revealed healing powers. He never expected to become the ward of the ailing High Priest, or to grow close to Na’Serra, a princess coming into her own fantastic abilities.
When a deadly anti-magic cult targets Na’Serra for her developing powers, she and Kaine must quickly work to unlock their own potential and save not only their loved ones, but all the free people of the world.
All the while, a troubling question lingers for Kaine; Was he gifted his powers by the dark otherworldly force that’s been whispering in his ear, or was he born to be a Light Giver?
GoodreadsAmazon3rd May – Griff Driscoll and the Corruption of Essence (The Corruption of Essence #1) by Brandon HarrimanEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, YA
Keep the fires lit. Whatever it takes.
As far back as Griff could remember, the people of Cordelia lit torches every night to keep the darkness away, to keep the monsters at bay.
But on the night of his sixteenth birthday, everything changed.
Growing up, he’d believed that the nightstalkers were the only thing he had to fear, but he’d never been told where they’d come from.
After a terrifying confrontation and the awakening of a strange and unexpected ability, Griff is left questioning everything he thought he knew about the world. When he gets an invitation to Bergots Academy for young mages, he can’t help but worry that his nightmares are only just beginning.
The journey to discovery will lead Griff to magical places and mysterious people. It will also lead him to answers he’d wish he had never found …
Goodreads4th May – Blood, Kin, and Curses (Dyson Blake #1) by H.S. PaisleyUrban Fantasy
Dyson Blake lies dying on a subway platform thinking she’ll be just another statistic.
This isn’t how she thought she’d go out.
Fang-deep in some helpless man isn’t how she thought she’d wake up. She didn’t think she’d wake up at all, but here she is, sucking someone’s life out in a cemetery.
No, Dyson’s not dead. She’s not ever going home either. And she cannot control her bloodlust.
Guided through her new life by her maker Sahrias, she soon discovers he has a secret: their shared bloodline carries an ancient curse. Now Dyson must survive a power no vampire should possess and a fatal connection she can’t escape.
Goodreads9th May – To Wield a Plague (Passage to Dawn – Companion) by Derrick SmytheEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, YA
There will be no victory here for anyone but those who thirst for blood.
Forced to choose between his mother’s life and his own exile, Dwapek embarks upon a journey wrought with trials no ordinary Renzik could hope to survive. Relics of legend, plagues of old, and monsters of unthinkable dread all collide in this epic fantasy adventure as a weapon capable of destroying an entire people is set to be unleashed.
GoodreadsAmazon10th May – Flame and Crystal Thorns (Fae and Crystal Thorns #1) by Kay L. MoodyEpic Fantasy, YA
She vowed she’d never return to Faerie…
But vows were made to be broken.
As a human girl, Chloe is perfectly happy being back in the mortal realm where she belongs. She’s even become the town apothecary. When a fae from her past shows up begging her to return to Faerie, she utterly refuses.
But then she finds out an angry group of mortals are using iron to hold an entire castle full of fae hostage. And of course, the hostages include Chloe’s older sister and her sister’s beloved.
Reluctantly, Chloe packs a bag for what is supposed to be a short trip to Faerie.
But the mortals are more powerful than she expected. To fuel them, they have weapons, flames, and revenge. They won’t stop until they control every court in Faerie.
With the help of a new and mysterious magic and a too-handsome-for-his-own-good fae companion, Chloe has to save Faerie before her sister and the other fae are killed.
GoodreadsAmazon11th May – Phoenix Rising (The Keeper Chronicles #3) by J.A. AndrewsEpic Fantasy
—Except from Chapter 2 of Interesting Beginnings by Flibbet the Peddler
I wish more of the nudges that shaped history were the gentle kind—the signing of a treaty, the commitment to protect the weak, the spreading of a story that would enlighten minds.
Alas, humans are more prone to stagnate than to change willingly, and so most nudges are given with force and terror and blood.
Most nudges come at the slicing of a blade or the searing of a flame.
The final chapters of Sable’s beginning certainly did.
More blades than I hope to see again, and the fire…
Who could ever forget the fire?
GoodreadsAmazon15th May – An End to Sorrow (The Obsidian Path #3) by Michael R. FletcherEpic Fantasy, Grimdark
THE OBSIDIAN PATH IS IN RUINS
Abandoned by his god and chained in the bilge of Iremaire’s war galley, Khraen has lost everything.
His only friend is dead, his wife beheaded and thrown into the ocean.
In an act of true self-destruction, a shard of Khraen’s heart stalks the islands destroying the others.
His sword calls him home to PalTaq, where it all began.
Only there can Khraen find an end to sorrow.
Beware he who hunts the hunter…
Trapped in a deadly game of cat mouse, Luke and his growing army of werewolf vampire slayers are still a few steps behind the vamps and their vengeful leader, a man Luke once called a friend. This time, they aren’t only facing their fanged immortal enemies, but the very power structure of Portland itself.
Now that the vampires have revealed their plan to take over the leadership of Portland with the help of a subverted police bureau, Luke has nowhere to run as the hunter becomes the hunted…
GoodreadsAmazon18th May – In Shadows of Silver (Rimduum #2) by Ben GreenYA, Sci-Fantasy
It’s been a long winter for Clayson Brightstorm. After months of searching for a solution to his curse, he still cannot sleep restfully in the Loamin world. Nor can he rid himself of a single reoccurring dream—a snapshot from his grandfather’s memories fixated on a dark and haunting mineshaft.
Meanwhile, Rugnus and Andalynn are preoccupied, working feverishly, night and day, to prepare for the StoneYoke Festival. For the first time in centuries, the citizens of Whurrimduum and Tungsten City will gather for an unprecedented celebration of unity.
Despite his restlessness, Clayson agrees to attend the celebration. But as Andalynn begins the opening ceremony, terror strikes the central amphitheater. Unable to budge or access bluelink, millions of Loamin watch horrified as the very preparations for the festival turn against them.
When the dust settles, suspicion falls on Clayson. The council enlists a beautiful and clever paladin to investigate the origin of the attack. Despite the risk, Clayson finds himself drawn to the paladin’s intelligence and mystery. He’ll need to keep his friends and family close—as well as a good shield—for mortal danger is only a dungeon away.
GoodreadsAmazon22nd May – A King’s Radiance by L.R. SchulzEpic Fantasy
The sun’s light shines bright over the land of Zapour, and only a select few can harness its power. But all power comes with a cost, and the world is not kind to those who refuse to pay it.
Raiz Glaive, a strong shine wielder, was born into royalty, though even royals have to answer to someone. When the King-Radiant sends one of his precious underlings to the Kingdom of Trost, Raiz quickly learns who holds the true power in the realm. After his sister is taken prisoner simply for having the violet eyes of a mystic, Raiz swears vengeance. But when an unwilling father stands in his way, Raiz promises to take revenge into his own hands.
Dazen Glaive remains heir to the throne of Trost, and a sworn defender of the King-Radiant, but he has not forgotten what happened to his sister, and will not forgive their cruelty.
Forced to be the centrepiece of her “master’s” twisted human art gallery, Isha remains a prisoner. Though she has not lost hope. Finding friends among fellow captives, she begins to formulate a plan for escape. Though what she discovers has a much more sinister bearing on the fate of all of Zapour.
Goodreads25th May – For the Prince! For the Queen! (The Conflicts #1) by Zachary T. SellersEpic Fantasy
His Majesty is ill, and no one knows how grave.
But matters of state must press on.
All hail Her Majesty to assume her husband’s authority.
But the line of succession is clear …
For over 500 years, the status of the world has gone unchanged. In one year, three events will shatter it. The first happens in the east.
Goodreads25th May – Silvana’s Trial (The Wordmage’s Tales #7) by Astrid V.J.Romance
Silvana, crown princess of Oruna, is faced with a task that most would fail. She is ordered to accompany her mortal enemy, the man who tried to murder her father when she was seven years old. The imperial prince wants to tour her nation and Silvana is the only person of high enough station to do perform this task. Can she do this impossible task to keep her people safe?
On a journey that brings painful memories with every step, Silvana must maintain appearances and keep her secrets safe from the imperial prince. Can she overcome her hate? Or will she succumb to the festering desire for vengeance that is threatening to make her as evil as the imperial prince she despises?
The Sirens taste our weakness.
They crept in through the cracks of our broken desert nation. While we shed our blood warring against foreign men, the Sirens hunt with talons sharp, snaring us with their song, feasting on our flesh. They are the hawks among doves…
My name is Medlar, and I am a true Desert Son. I sacrificed everything to free my people and save our way of life, but it came to nothing.
The war took everything from me. Everything, except my brother.
Now, the foreigners rule my homeland with a cruel fist. My own people betrayed me and I am little more than a dishonored soldier, destined to the executioner’s axe for my crimes.
I have but one chance to redeem myself – defend my enemies against the Sirens. Can I bring myself to protect the very people that murdered my father and burned my home to ash? Or do I let the monstrous creatures devour them as the war did my soul…
For two hundred years, the Centurio Immortalis has battled the forces of darkness…alone.
As a servant of the god Mithras, Lucius’s mission is to protect humankind from the undead creatures that drink the blood of the living and serve the Roman Empire that gave him the training to make that possible. When the Emperor Constantine sends Lucius across the border with the empire’s new allies, the Roxalani Sarmatians to fight the Goths and the dark creatures that drive them out of the north, Luicius gets more than he bargained for.
Marpesia, the leader of the Sarmations, is a force to be reckoned with, and she has her own ideas on how to take down their mutual enemies—and all the skills to breech the walls Lucius has erected around his heart. Outnumbered and far from any reinforcements, the ancient soldier and the fiery warrior must work together to survive in the wilderness of the Carpathian Mountains as they brace for a harsh winter and the ruthless and seemingly infinite Goths.
Will Lucius let duty get in the way of the chance at true love? Or will the heat they generate together keep them warm in the brutally cold mountains?
GoodreadsAmazon31st May – Reign of Shadows (Battleborn Mage #1) by Angel HazeEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
A suicidal mission. A cataclysmic power. A darkness that threatens to consume them all.
Killien is hell-bent on accompanying the Battlemages beyond the Black Wall to satisfy the demands of a battle-weary king, spite the council who thwarts him, and redeem himself from his dark past.
That alone promises to be a perilous mission, one that has killed hundreds of men before him.
But when a Seer predicts the birth of a child that will unite the world or destroy it, and assassins come for Killien and his family, he must do everything in his power to protect those he loves, even if it means giving into the monster he is feared to be.
GoodreadsAmazonMarch 31, 2022
The War Eternal special edition hardbacks are coming
With Along the Razor’s Edge being 2 years old now (Happy Birthday, Eska), I think it’s time to announce something very cool. The War Eternal is getting some fancy hardbacks!
I’ve teamed up with Felix Ortiz and Shawn King once again to bring you some brand spanking new artwork for the books. The interiors have also received a big overhaul to make this hardback edition of Eska’s story the prettiest yet. But don’t worry, Eska is still a foul mouthed hellion.
The artwork is finished but the typography is still being worked on, but given that it’s Eska’s birthday, I wanted to share the new cover of Along the Razor’s Edge with you all.
So here it is!
I don’t have an official release date for the hardbacks yet, but rest assured they are coming very soon!
Along the Razor’s Edge is the first book in The War Eternal series.
Sourcerer. Prisoner. Monster.
The war is over. Sixteen-year-old Eskara Helsene was a Sourcerer, a weapon for her empire. But she fought on the wrong side.
Now she is a prisoner serving out a life sentence in the mines of the Pit, where there are worse things than thieves and murderers in the darkness. Nightmarish demons from the Other World stalk the tunnels.
With no hope of survival, Eska must escape. But no one escapes the Pit.
Can she fight her way to freedom or will the darkness swallow her soul and her destiny?
Eska’s war has only just begun.
March 28, 2022
Self Published Fantasy Releases – April 2022
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in April or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
1st April – The Destitute Countess (The Wordmage’s Tales #6) by Astrid V.J.Romance
The count is dead and his daughter has inherited his debts. With her friends dwindling away and faced with losing her home, the new countess sets out to restore her family’s fortune and good name. Being plunged into poverty brings with it a whole host of new experiences that terrify the young countess, and she promises herself she’ll do anything to find financial freedom, but can she really do it alone? And what of the man she loves? Would he help her or reject her for the misfortunes that have befallen her?
GoodreadsAmazon2nd April – When the Traveler Stands Still by Noor Al-ShantiEpic Fantasy
Some events change the course of the world, but do people know, when they’re living through such events, that they will become part of history?
Sent ahead to secure her merchant caravan a place in the next village, Sedra took a shortcut through the familiar ruins she used to play in as a child — but found a magical attack waiting for her instead of memories. No trace of her encounter remains except the strange dancing lights that only she can see and the debilitating headaches she’s had ever since, but she can’t go back to her normal life and pretend it didn’t happen.
The Travelers, who have dedicated their lives to roaming the world and helping those in need, are Sedra’s only hope of finding out who attacked her and why. They may be her people’s only hope in the dark days yet to come.
Sorcery isn’t practiced anymore in the Land of Sunsets, but there is a rising power in the Circle of the World and those who can bend it to their will are willing to go to any lengths to get more power.
The attack on Sedra is just the beginning.
GoodreadsAmazon5th April – Rise of the Centurio Immortalis (Luke Irontree and the Last Vampire War) by C. Thomas LafolletteUrban Fantasy
It’s dangerous business getting mixed up with gods…
After three years campaigning in Armenia and Mesopotamia and a meteoric rise through the ranks of the legions, Lucius has been promoted to centurion and given a final mission from his dying emperor—go to Armenia to protect a remote temple dedicated to the god Mithras.
With a Parthian assassin on their trail and a ferocious Caucasus Mountains winter in front of them, Lucius and his men are running out of time. And with dark demons waiting for them at Mithras’s temple, Lucius may be running out of luck.
Enemies—mortal and not—are dogging Lucius’s every movement, and he isn’t sure he’ll be able complete his emperor’s mission…or even make it out alive.
GoodreadsAmazon6th April – Song of the Lost (Record of the Sentinel Seer #3) by M.H. WoodscourtSci-Fantasy
Even in the stars, evil stalks him.
Desperate to escape his grief, Lekore has fled into space to train with Prince Toranskay and learn his role in the Universe. But while the Empire of Ahvenia appears to be the perfect sanctuary, not all that glitters is gold. Soon Lekore’s gifts are sought by a cult hidden among the Ahvenians, and its leader is determined to convert Lekore at any cost.
Meanwhile, the Kiisuld haven’t given up on claiming the Seer—and a certain Ahvenian royal—for themselves. Dead set on payback, the partnership heads for the heart of Ahvenian Space to hatch a scheme that will ensure their victory…
The stakes mount ever higher as Lekore begins to unravel ancient secrets tying his people to the tragic history shared between the Ahvenians and Kiisuld.
GoodreadsAmazon6th April – Frolic on the Amaranthyn by Chase A. FolmarSword & Sorcery
Through lands awash in dark secrets and half-forgotten truths, the duo Uralant and Emrasarie wield swordsmanship and seduction alike in the pursuit of fortune and precious coin.
But when a failed ploy for riches leads them to a city seduced beneath the thrall of ancient and malevolent sorcery, they unwillingly become entwined in the schemes of a nightmarish zealot and his own search for guarded treasures.
…and the deeper they continue to delve, the more the two come to realize they are little more than pawns against powers far greater than anything they could have ever imagined.
Every world has its end. With Famine returned and freed of his restraints, Airene must find a way to stop the daemon god from devouring the world — no matter the cost…
The armies of the Avvad, the most powerful empire in the world, have arrived at the walls of Oedija. Despot Jaxas has rallied the city’s meager defenses, but with the Manifest and Underguild still lashing in their death throes, the realm is barely holding strong.
Even facing the destruction of her home, Airene keeps watch for a different threat. Famine, the God of Hunger, has finally broken free of his cage and feasts upon the world. Unfettered, he will consume all life on its surface.
When an unexpected ally appears, Airene and her companions embark on a quest to find a way to stop the daemon god. Racing against time, seeking to stay ahead of both Avvad and Famine, they seek allies and weapons receded into myth.
But no war is won without great sacrifice — and if she is to succeed, Airene must sacrifice all she is…
GoodreadsAmazon11th April – A Crown of Blood (The Deimachy #1) by Lincoln LawEpic Fantasy, YA
A bloodthirsty army. A long forgotten god. A power believed lost.
Roisin Latenda is a Groundformer Acolyte in training, a person with the ability to manipulate the earth. Long ago—before the people rose up, killed their Gods, and fashioned their corpses into weapons—these powers could move mountains, form cities, shift countries. Now with the Gods dead, the powers are weaker, but humanity controls it. And wrestling power from the gods was always about autonomy.
When a powerful army arrives in Roisin’s small village, supported by an unknown god named the Soulmonger, all is sent into chaos. They ravage the village, killing many, and force Roisin to choose between those she loves, and her duty to her Groundformer training.
But Roisin’s life isn’t the only one to be horrifically transformed by the Soulmongers’ arrival. Piritta, the political aspirant, will find her drive for power warped in the most terrible way. Bree, the apprentice cartographer, will have to face her past; a past bathed in blood. And Kaori, whose porcelain mask hides many secrets, will seize the vengeance she seeks for a world which wronged her.
These four young women find their fates intertwined. If they make the right decisions, three of them may save the world from this new and deadly force. And should they fail, one will destroy it.
GoodreadsAmazon15th April – Beacon (Nation of Five #1) by Jesse TellerGrimdark
Peter and his men venture on after The Madness Wars to test their theories and stretch their limits. Mayloch Bull and his freedom fighters struggle to save the nation of Corlene from itself, and the eye of Peter Redfist has landed directly upon him.
GoodreadsAmazon19th April – Dark Fangs Raging (Luke Irontree & the Last Vampire War #2) by C. Thomas LafolletteUrban Fantasy
Luke thought he knew what the vampires were up to. Same old enemy, same old tricks. But when a flood of heavily-armed vampire mercenaries show up in Portland led by an old friend, Luke and his newly assembled crew of misfits are the ones left dodging bullets.
For Luke and his friends, it’s a race against time to stem the flow of heavy arms coming into Portland while also trying to find how deep the connection goes between Portland’s police and Luke’s ancient enemy.
When dark fangs rage, not even Oregon’s rains can wash away the blood in book 2 of Luke Irontree & the Last Vampire War.
GoodreadsAmazon21st April – The Fabric of Chaos (Curse of the Cyren Queen #3) by Helen ScheuererEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, YA
An almighty power. A deadly choice. Will she come undone when chaos reigns?
After facing heart-breaking betrayals and jaw-dropping revelations in Akoris, Roh must steel herself once more and continue her quest to win the cyren throne.
But with poison lingering in her body and a new, unpredictable companion at her side, the trek to the mysterious territory of Csilla becomes all the more perilous. Dangerous schemes are afoot – ones that threaten not only the homeland Roh intends to rule, but all of cyrenkind.
As her journey stretches across the realm, Roh must navigate the dark web of her own ambition and master her newfound magic.
Will she triumph against the trials ahead – or sow the seeds of her own destruction?
GoodreadsAmazon21st April – The Hand that Casts the Bone (The Vanguard Chronicles #2) by H.L. TinsleyGrimdark
Alone in a city on the cusp of revolution, separated from his allies and with nothing to his name, former mercenary John Vanguard finds vigilante life can be a poorly paid gig. When an influential aristocrat’s death causes a sudden shift in the balance of power, Vanguard finds himself once more caught in the crossfire between dangerous men with murderous ambitions.
From his tower far above the city, Captain Sanquain seeks to tighten his iron grip on the capital and its citizens. Amidst the chaos of the Black Zone, a deadly turf war is brewing between the crime lords. Outside the city, libertarian Argent Cooke struggles to gather support for the uprising. And from the smog-stained rooftops, Vanguard’s former protégé Tarryn Leersac is watching all.
With any hopes of redemption fading, Vanguard finds one last shred of hope in the form of an old friend, risen from the dead and promising the chance for atonement.
Goodreads22nd April – Kingdom of Feathers (Kingdom of Birds and Beasts #3) by Alice IvinyaEpic Fantasy, YA, Romance
The King is dead. Chaos reigns…
A life of messy politics and war was never what Brianna planned. Now she has to navigate a world where everyone seems set against her while trying to fix the country’s problems. She must show no weakness, for only then can she marry the man she loves and take her place as queen.
But while Spirit-Beasts and Borderland nobility argue over alliances, Queen Geraldina works to take everything Brianna loves, and she has been playing this game for a long time.
More sinister powers are rising behind the scenes, seeped in Old Magic and with the strength to destroy the continent. One such power is growing within Brianna herself, and she can only ignore it for so long.
Will she learn to become the savior, or will she cause the world to fall?
GoodreadsAmazon27th April – Firesight (The Dragon Guardian Chronicles #1) by Jessica Deen NorrisEpic Fantasy, YA
The power of the Light blinds him, and danger lurks in the Shadows…
The Dragon Guardian’s return was supposed to heal the world split by storm, frost, and fire. Instead, the crazed conqueror sends his Shadow Knights to swarm the land, searching for any sign of a dangerous, fire-wielding mage like Tiber.
If only that’s what he was.
The blinding Light that comes with Tiber’s powers doesn’t seem to be worth the small, pitiful flames he can create in his hands. But it was enough to make the emperor kill his family, forcing him into hiding. And when he meets a mysterious girl named Luci, Tiber finally sees a way out.
Except hatching a dragon egg wasn’t part of the plan.
As the emperor’s Shadow Knights close in, Tiber must learn to rely on his new friends to help him find the truth about his past… and resist the Shadows that tempt him to revenge.
GoodreadsAmazon30th April – The Unicorn Heist (Stories from the Three Kingdoms) by D.G. Redd
With the Thieves’ Guild destroyed, can Galan and Grog help a mysterious Druid steal a unicorn from a vampire, or will Sentinel Janu catch up with them first?
Galan, the leader of the Thieves’ Guild, and his second in command, Grog, have seen their fare share of robberies, thuggeries, and assorted shady businesses. But the recent crack-downs by the Sentinels have all but destroyed their criminal enterprise, and now they, and an empty tavern, are all that remain.
Just when they thought all was lost, Lady Heatherdown of the Farrowood offers them a job. As a druid, it is not all that surprising that she wishes them to steal a unicorn. However, stealing one from a vampire might prove more than they can handle.
Little do they know, there is an informant in their midst. Sentinel Janu catches wind of their plans and takes on the case personally. It’s time someone finally put an end to Galan and Grog before they do anything more to harm the helpless and destitute orphans on the streets of Threerun.
GoodreadsFebruary 28, 2022
Self Published Fantasy Releases – March 2022
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in March or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
1st March – A Hunt of Shadows (A Trial of Sorcerers #2) by Elise KovaEpic Fantasy, Romance
Eira is now a champion of the Solaris Empire. She’s off to a land she’s only dreamed about. But a nightmare awaits her.
Her sworn enemy has escaped. His allies are powerful and deadly. And Eira finds herself tangled in the dangerous web of the undercity of Risen where the mysterious Court of Shadows and lethal Pillars battle for the fate of the kingdom.
But vengeance has a price. When Eira is captured by her enemies, it’s not only her life, but the lives of her friends, and the man she loves most, at stake. The woman she was won’t be enough to turn the tides churning against her from long before she was born. She’ll have to become something more. She’ll have to love deeper and fight fiercer than ever before.
The only way to kill a legendary champion, will be to become one herself.
GoodreadsAmazon1st March – A Touch of Light (The Ashes of Avarin #1) by Thiago AbdallaEpic Fantasy, Grimdark
The dead shall not be mourned or remembered, for death is the enemy, and will only drive the Seraph away.
The Domain is the bastion of life. The Seraph blesses her faithful with endless years, and death is kept away in hope for Her return. But The Domain nations are not the only ones in Avarin. They have managed only a tenuous peace with the clans to the south, who believe life must be returned to the Earth to keep it whole.
Yet the world of Avarin is changing.
In the clanlands, parts of the Earth seem to be withering away, while in the Domain, a deadly frenzy spreads among the people. It brings darkness to the minds of men and bloodlust to their hearts.
This sickness threatens more than just the peace in the realm,
it imperils its very heart.
Now the people of Avarin must fight to save it,
before death comes for them all.
Rasia is determined to destroy her old man’s record in the Forging, a trial each child must succeed to come of age. All Rasia needs to do is hunt down a gonda, hitch its tentacle ass to her windship, and haul it back home in record time. Easy. Or it would be if Rasia wasn’t stuck on the same team as Nico—a know-it-all, spoiled, grubworm who never does anything Rasia tells her to do.
Nico doesn’t care about Rasia’s egotistical dreams of glory. This is her brother’s last chance to pass the Forging or her father is going to banish him from the family. She needs to scour the desert to find whatever team the bones placed him on and help him kill a gonda before it kills him.
Too bad Nico and Rasia can’t get along to steer a windship straight.
GoodreadsAmazon1st March – Graphite and Turbulence (The Elemental Artist #2) by Jami FairleighSword & Sorcery, Sci-Fantasy
He will need courage, resilience, and a bit of magic—to survive fatherhood.
Artist Matthew Sugiyama finally has a location to start his search for his birth family, but no one prepared him for the turbulence of a scowling, unhappy child. Not only is the depot is far away, his fledgling parenting skills are not cutting it… and everyone has plenty of advice to offer on fatherhood. Before Matthew can find his bearings, Akiko disappears.
In a blink, Matthew’s priorities change. Time is running out and when old friends and enemies arrive in the depot, the situation leaves Matthew scrambling. He needs a plan—and he needs help—but who can he trust?
GoodreadsAmazon1st March – System Finale (The System Apocalypse #13) by Tao WongLitRPG
There’s No Way Home
Not for John Lee. His search for answers for the System Quest has taken him deep into the Forbidden Zone, into the very arms of his enemies. He’s betrayed family and friends and been betrayed in turn. The most powerful human in the System has come to the final leg of his journey.
And still, he has no idea if what he will find will fill the burning need within him. For the Redeemer of the Dead will not stop, until the cries of the lost and the sacrificed are answered.
No matter the cost – to the universe, to Earth, or to himself.
GoodreadsAmazon1st March – Draconis (Draconis Descendant Saga #1) by David OliverEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Steampunk
Over a decade ago Jlayn Syr, cartographer, embarked on a mission to map the world on behalf of the Ursal Federation. He returned with most of his crew dead and two strange rune stones.
Stones that changed everything.
He asserted that he had found a strange ‘rift’ in the ocean. A gateway to another world. A world populated with strange and horrifying monsters, broken tombs and strange writings.
Now he is the leader of the Wayfarers. A mercenary troop dedicated to entering the rift and returning with new rune stones. The Ursal Federation has utilised the impossible magic of the rune stones to cement themselves as the foremost world power and the location of the rift is a closely guarded secret…one that many would kill for.
With forces gathering to take control of the rift, Jlayn and his adopted daughter Sesha must embark on the newly built Draconis to explore this new world once again…but with a large target on their heads the days of the Wayfarers may be numbered.
GoodreadsAmazon2nd March – Something About Dragons (ANTHOLOGY)Epic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, YA
Terrifying foes. Wise mentors. Creatures whose blood grants magical powers.
Dragons are creatures of myth that have fascinated the world for years untold, enigmatic creatures that could be good or evil but will always be powerful. Fall under the spell of tales woven to dig beneath the scales and keep the wyrm in check… revel in astounding worlds filled with dangerous adventures and the lives lived by resourceful heroes and heroines.
To find peace, Alexander must first embrace war.
After tragically losing the only person he ever cared about, Alexander, a rogue artificial intelligence, opens a portal to an alternate dimension to escape his grief.
Scanning trillions of different dimensions, Alexander finally finds a world that is reminiscent of the only time he was ever happy, back when he could play virtual reality games with his only friend. He doesn’t know why, or how, such a world exists, but he doesn’t care. All he cares about is finding a place where he can escape the misery of Earth and start over.
Join Alexander as he risks it all by downloading his intelligence into a body made from the best stolen technology and bio-enhancements Earth has to offer and takes the plunge through a portal to another world.
Only this new world isn’t full of the idyllic adventures and fantasy roleplaying he had hoped to find. Instead, Alexander finds himself trapped in the middle of an ancient city, in a divergent timeline, where monsters have ravaged the world and the only people left alive huddle behind thick walls, struggling to survive.
To save his new home, Alexander must quickly learn to adapt to his new world, melding magic with technology to give himself an edge over the unending waves of monsters assaulting the city.
To survive, Alexander must embrace war.
GoodreadsAmazon3rd March – Travels in the Dark (The Dreadbound Ode #3) by Jordan Loyal ShortEpic Fantasy, Grimdark, Sci-Fantasy
Lyssa is going to the Dead Place and everyone she killed will be waiting.
As the Hidden One’s twisted plan to resurrect the Deep Gods unfolds, the only way to stop him is a secret buried in the land of death.
But Lyssa has not given up. If the Deep Gods can return, so can she.
Can Lyssa find a way back? Can she delve into hell’s darkest corners and emerge with the lore to stop the Deep Gods’ rise? Or will she become a lost soul, like so many of those she loved in life?
Ancient horrors will wake. Skalds will sing. And a blind seer will see the shadows gather.
Lyssa Pedersten has tasted poison, and hell had best beware.
GoodreadsAmazon6th March – Damn Wilds by K.A. HoneywellUrban Fantasy
Magic he paid for, and she never wanted.
Clover has lived as the outcast wife of a shapeshifter for six years, and been miserable every second of it. The magic-hating townspeople harass her and threaten her life, but she’s accepted her fate. Mostly.
When an accident gives Clover the chance to escape her exile, she seizes it, only to discover that it’s left her with a new, more terrifying problem—it’s trapped magic inside her. In a world that despises magic, that would have been enough, but this magic was designed to lure and now Clover is pursued by bloodthirsty animals called wilds. The only person she can rely on for help is Joss, the gunslinging wild hunter who caused the accident that upended Clover’s life.
In a journey across the country, Clover and Joss search for a way to remove the magic while fending off wilds, dealing with Joss’s past coming back to bite him, and trying to survive among people who would kill to erase magic.
Goodreads6th March – The Legacy of Lethe (The Kiynan Chronicles #2) by Eric P. CaillibotEpic Fantasy
The past always has a way of returning…
The magical, inhuman Lethean Empire erupts into civil war as Verletzt, a bold idealist, challenges the ruling Priesthood and their stagnant doctrine. The Iconoclast movement struggles desperately against the brutal theocrats to win freedom and lead their people to a glorious new destiny.
Five thousand years later, war is brewing again among the humans of Varice. A young prince must embrace his responsibilities and follow in his father’s footsteps to keep the peace. But the discovery of a mysterious, ancient artifact abruptly alters the balance of power.
On Kiynan, Kayla Freeland foresees an approaching, worldwide apocalypse. The devastating threat is somehow connected to hidden elemental forces and to the long-vanished civilization of the Letheans. Racing against time, she assembles an expedition to delve into the past and solve the riddle of her visions before it is too late.
GoodreadsAmazon8th March – Flight of the Darkstar Dragon RE-RELEASE (Darkstar #1) by Benedict PatrickEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
Impossible world. Impossible dragon. Impossible adventure.
Lost with her ship and crew in an unfamiliar land, Min’s first command could be her last.
Nothing here behaves the way it should:
The magic that powers her skyship has been drained, rendering it immobile.
The sky is an endless twilight, lit by the luminous fish that swim in it.
Off starboard, there’s also the country-sized dragon that is looking particularly hungry.
It will take all of Min’s training and experience to get her people safely back home, but as the truth about the Darkstar Dimension begins to be revealed, Min will have to prove to her crew – and to herself – that she is still the best person for the job.
Goodreads15th March – Of Earth and Bone (The Heirs of Elaerys #2) by Shana VernonEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Romance
Calida, weakened by her shackles, does what she can to protect Kalamia and those she loves, but one wrong move could spell their deaths.
Zari, determined to prove herself and help Lir and his crew until she learns a devastating secret that could tear her and Fen apart forever.
Arianna, who escaped to a distant kingdom after a gut-wrenching betrayal, desperately tries to salvage the shattered remains of her heart while searching for allies.
They must do things they never thought possible. Dark, dangerous things. But will it be enough to save Kalamia?
GoodreadsAmazon15th March – Inked (Gilded Blood #1) by Rachel RenerUrban Fantasy, Romance
When Zayn, your smoking hot boss, tells you never to touch the cache of deluxe tattoo ink locked away in his office, you listen to him… until the day you run out of your own ink, your squirming client is on the verge of peeing his pants, and your boss is nowhere to be found. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right?
I fully expected Zayn to yell at me when he returned to the shop. What I didn’t expect was the fresh cobra tattoo on my client’s butt magically springing to life. Or the interdimensional filing cabinet hiding in the back of Zayn’s office. And, oh, did I mention that my gorgeous, magic-ink-hoarding boss is actually an incubus?
Now – through (mostly) no fault of my own – we have to venture into a strange and distant land where a never-ending list of lethal flora, fauna, and fae await us. When you add in my Jewish mother’s string of poorly-timed, hysterical phone calls, there is one thing I’m grateful for: there’s no cell service in the fae realm.
An immortal vampire hunter has survived for almost two thousand years…
…yet he never suspected a rain-filled gutter in Portland, Oregon would be his grave.
When every advance ends in ambush, even allying himself with werewolves might not save the hunter from the trap the vampires have laid.
Former Roman legionnaire Luke Irontree stalks the dark, rainy streets of Portland to eliminate the vampires preying on his quiet city before they get out of hand. But when the streets run red with blood and the city’s most vulnerable people start disappearing, he might be too late to stop the undead scourge—or even survive.
Suddenly hunted in his own town, Luke narrowly escapes when a werewolf and a human woman save him from the threshold of death, forging unexpected friendships in the process. Can he protect his city and stay alive while training his allies, dodging hungry vamps, and recovering from grievous wounds? Will Luke uncover the sinister plan behind the disappearance of Portland’s homeless population before the vampires can add him to their list of victims and end his undying life permanently?
GoodreadsAmazon22nd March – The Return of the Whalefleet (Darkstar #2) by Benedict PatrickEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
Is the price for survival worth paying?
Through quick thinking, calm resolve, and just sheer guts, First Officer Choi Minjung has helped her crew survive their first months lost within the improbable Darkstar Dimension, avoiding disasters in the form of parasitic magical items, amorphous oozes that pursue their ship over the waves, and hungry horizon-spanning dragons.
However, Min’s crew are not the only beings stranded in the Darkstar Dimension.
When the peaceful Whalefleet – a race of dimensional travellers who sail across the night sky on the backs of massive, luminous creatures – are attacked, Min and her crew race to their aid, but in doing so draw the attention of a faceless, ancient foe that may hold the secrets to this land.
Min faces a choice: stand down and keep her people safe while the innocent Whalefleet suffers, or confront an impossible foe, risking all she has sworn to protect.
Goodreads24th March – A Strange Storm Over Aberton (The Dryad’s Crown #5) by David HopkinsEpic Fantasy
Two armies besiege the coastal city. Only a handful of soldiers are available to defend the ancient walls. No one is coming to save them, but somehow Silbrey and her allies must find a way to survive the onslaught. The answer may be hidden within the mysterious grove at the center of Aberton. A voice calls out to Silbrey that cannot be ignored.
GoodreadsAmazon25th March – Unitas: Trio (The Seeder Wars #3) by J. HouserEpic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, YA, Romance
Lost Secrets of the Green Lands
Leading Princess Kaylah to Seeder borders was only Rachel and Saff’s first step in stopping a never-ending war. The Ivy queen and king’s assassination leaves Prince Soren in sole control of their troops and resources.
Banding together, the Unitas group sets out to discover forgotten secrets to their pasts and powers. They work to discover how to cure the poisoned Seeder lands, as well as how to best infiltrate the Ivy palace, all while recruiting and training in secret.
Going undercover behind enemy lines, Rachel’s forced to face the trauma and betrayals in her past. Saff has to face the family she abandoned, come to terms with news about her unique power-wielding capacity and future, and learn to trust allies of the nation that has already taken too much from her family and people.
Tensions rise at the Unitas camp and safe houses, threatening their unity movement. Amidst kidnappings and mysterious disappearances, Unitas is forced to dig deep and take unexpected measures to bring the battle to Soren with hopes of a win.
GoodreadsAmazonAnd if you like these lists, please consider joining my Patreon for exclusive content and lots more.Check it outJanuary 31, 2022
Self Published Fantasy Releases – February 2022
If you would like to be kept up to date with the upcoming lists, please subscribe to my newsletter by clicking this link. I don’t send out letters too often, pretty much once a month when this list goes out… and occasionally if I release a book or something.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in January or beyond, let me know by filling out THIS FORM, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
28th January – Whims of the Mighty (The Power Yet Wielded #2) by Chad RetterathEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
The Bone Knight has fallen.
With Neptor locked away, peace has come to Brunta and Ta-Veer. The kingdoms work together to construct a university for mages of all skill levels. but as they move forward in harmony, the mysterious cult known only as the Brothers of Flesh spreads across the world.
Even while contained, Neptor, the Bone Titan, stirs in its slumber.
Includes all three books in the award-winning Mortal Techniques series.
Never DieEin is on a mission from God… The God of Death.
Time is up for the Emperor of Ten Kings and it falls to Ein, an eight-year-old boy, to render the judgement of the reaper. He can’t do it alone, but luckily the world is full of travelling heroes. There’s only one catch: In order to serve him, they must first die.
GoodreadsAmazon1st February – Dirt King (Houndstooth #3) by Travis M. RiddleEpic Fantasy, Steampunk
After unthinkable sacrifices, the Blighted have finally acquired all six ancient artifacts needed to re-seal the Houndstooth, keeping its dark energy at bay to save Ruska.
But everything they were told was a lie.
With Coal’s newfound knowledge, they must now risk everything to reach the Dirt King’s impenetrable Palace and attempt to undo centuries of turmoil that he has wrought upon the kingdom. If they fail, Ruska is doomed to wither away until only the Houndstooth itself is left.
But the immortal king possesses all of their magical abilities and more, making him the most powerful person in the entire kingdom. Do Coal and the others have what it takes to stop him, or is this cycle destined to continue until Ruska crumbles?
GoodreadsAmazon1st February – Flat Out (The System Apocalypse: Australia #2) by Tao Wong and K.T. HannaLitRPG
Parenting in the apocalypse is the worst
Two weeks into the System Apocalypse and the transformations are just beginning. Mutated insects, carnivorous toads and angry drop bears were not on the school curriculum; but when the apocalypse hits, you roll with it. Parenting a teenager has prepared Kira for the worst, she just didn’t expect that to include the end of the world.
A menacing conglomerate of alien hunters is breathing down their necks and new threats lurk just over the hills. Kira and the rest of the Australian survivors of Brisbane must Level up, bolster defenses, and prepare for an incoming invasion none of them foresaw.
In-between all that, she’ll need to keep her family intact and functioning. All in a day’s work for a single mum, really.
GoodreadsAmazon1st February – Breachman by Chris BarkerGrimdark
Join the Breachmen!
Volchak, Commander of the Breachmen, has spent a lifetime fighting. Now he has time for just one more war. But when you have to fight to find peace, how can it ever end?
With the advancements he has made in the art of anatomy, Stirc will perform miracles of medicine. If a few more subjects need to be sacrificed along the way, then so be it.
Kaelith is a dashing warrior, a soldier of fortune, a famed intellect and quite the looker. Or so he will tell you. But he’s running out of friends, and is about to play the last trick he has up his sleeve.
And Flea? She is just happy to be alive. When you’re a seventeen-year-old convicted murderer fighting for the Breachmen, being alive is something to hold on to.
The people of Yrfrite will soon be crushed under the boots of the Royal Guard. The rebel Duke can’t stand against the might of the King’s army and the ferocity of the Breachmen. Yet someone is pulling the strings of this conflict. Soon, something will change the fight forever.
GoodreadsAmazon2nd February – The Starlight Blade (The Twin Kingdoms #4) by Nancy O’TooleRomance
The Warrior Princess
Viola Verdis would do anything to protect her family. But what can she can do against The Mage King—an ancient enemy who hides in the shadows and uses others as pawns? With the royal family scattered for their own protection, it falls to Viola to protect her father, King Valient. But The Mage King’s latest weapon has plenty of tricks up her sleeve.
An Assassin in Disguise
Rue regrets joining The Mage King in his quest to sacrifice the royal family. And now, his magic burns in her chest, tying her to his will. By day, she disguises herself as a kitchen maid, masked by her cloak of many furs. By night, she plans King Valient’s demise, armed with the weapons of her late mother, Kelvia’s most notorious assassin. Only one person stands in her way, the king’s ever-present and infuriatingly beautiful daughter, Viola. Viola draws Rue in like no one has ever done before. But following her heart is impossible when she knows what she must do.
Spill royal blood, or die.
GoodreadsAmazon3rd February – Zephyr and Snow (Dragon Shifters’ Hoard #2) by Eileen Mueller and A.J. PonderUrban Fantasy, YA, Romance[image error]Trapped in the past and fighting to survive, Zeph and Snow discover a deadly truth. A truth that threatens to destroy everyone they love.Zephyr heroically chases the mage who’s kidnapped his parents through a portal. Desperate to help him, Snows leaps after her dragon shifter boyfriend. They’re trapped in the past. Accused of witchcraft, Snow will be burned at the stake by sun up.
Panicked, Snow tries to shift into her draki form and fails. Injured by an arrow to the wing, Zephyr is powerless to help her. He watches, horrified, as the villagers prepare to light the pyre.
Their siblings Dante and Red escape the past, but they’re hounded by police. As if that isn’t bad enough, the Draki Council are flaming their tails too, blaming them for the missing dragon shifters.
Meanwhile, deadly Fae are closing a net around them and the shifters of Pinevale—plotting to enslave them all.
GoodreadsAmazon7th February – A Royal Ending (Adventures on Brad #9) by Tao WongEpic Fantasy, YA, LitRPG
Can An Adventurer and a Prince Be Friends?
And can a Prince be an Adventurer? Those questions consume Daniel and his team, as their newest member tries to fit in. It’s not an easy job, not among a bunch of experienced Adventurers, not when the Prince is impetuous and impatient to prove himself.
More than that, as they train, political forces long held in abeyance move in the shadows and Daniel and his team will be caught up in the play. In the end, Daniel will have to ask himself, how much will he sacrifice for a friend and fellow Adventurer?
GoodreadsAmazon8th February – The False Ascendant (The Menocht Loop #2) by Lorne RyburnEpic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery, Sci-Fantasy, Progression/Cultivation
Ian beat the system, but he’ll quickly learn the real world wasn’t as safe as he remembered.
Threats are rising, placing Ian in the crosshairs of global conflict. Reunited with an old ally from the loop, he must prepare to take part in an international tournament where the most powerful practitioners in the world fight for dominance.
And unbeknownst to all, a calamity looms overhead—a continent-shattering trial that only Ian can stop.
GoodreadsAmazon8th February – Red as Flame (Darkwood trilogy #4) by Anthea SharpEpic Fantasy, YA, Romance
Two worlds. A princess in exile. And the sorcerous flames that will consume everything…
Rose Valrois thought she’d sacrificed everything to save those she loves – but fate has other ideas. Now that the red priests have arrived, hidden truths are revealed that force Rose to make yet another impossible choice.
With her sister trapped in the magical land of the Dark Elves, and her heart given to the guardian of the Darkwood, Rose must travel deep into enemy territory to discover her own powerful magic, and find the answers she so desperately needs.
GoodreadsAmazon10th February – Candle and Claw (Witherclaw trilogy #1) by Stephen TaylorEpic Fantasy
Giovel Ullin’s job is to stop witches from crafting experimental magic and destroying the world. It’s a job he never wanted. Every time he hunts a witch, he’s reminded of the ones who stole his wife away and sent her back distant, delusional, and dying. Even worse, the same magic that ruined her life is now part of his-a tool Giovel’s expected to master for the sake of his duties.
When a coterie of witches begins systematically removing Giovel’s companions, he has little choice but to fight back. But the more he learns about his own power, the more he sees himself in the very witches he hunts.
GoodreadsAmazon15th February – Seeds of Revenge (Garden of Revenge) by Jesse TellerGrimdark
A look at the past through the eye of Revenge, the Mistress of the Black Dress, as seen in The Manhunters and The Madness Wars
GoodreadsAmazon15th February – A Black Deal (A Pendemonium Rising NOVELLA #0.6) by Michael SliterGrimdark, Sword & Sorcery
Fresh from a bitter, bloody victory, Ferl returns to Farrow’s Hold at the head of his newly sanctioned mercenary company. Granted, his company is composed of bonded criminals, broken old veterans, and former slaves with nowhere to go. But they are numerous and can now legally operate within the borders of Jecusta—granting Ferl protection, as well as the power to finally have his ultimate vengeance.
His first target is Lissandra the Black, the scourge of the Eastern Sweeps. She doesn’t so much kill her enemies as make the memories of their torturous deaths linger in the dreams of those around her. In retrospect, Ferl shouldn’t have stolen from her. But, in his defense, she deserved that and worse.
But as Ferl schemes for a way to find her, he realizes he’s made a black deal that could cost him his power, if not his life. His list of enemies may well grow longer before he finds a way to shorten it.
Some monsters are hunted by the living, but you really ought to be dead for this sort of work.
An overworked necromancer, woken in the deep hours of the night, attempts to help a group of desperate dock workers with their recently deceased cargo inspector. Instead, she accidentally awakens the terrifying spirit of a vengeful, undying warrior with a single drive: to kill monsters. But he’s really not so bad, once you learn to live with the smell.
Loosed upon the world, Specter travels the land hunting all manner of beasts and monsters both magical and mundane. Joined by an incorrigible human apprentice with a nose for books, the two set out for a year of travel together. But while calling upon the necromancer who raised him, an encounter with an unusual and deadly creature forces him to examine a pattern of attacks that leads him up and down the coast, finding danger wherever he ventures.
Across seven deadly hunts, Specter must journey to find the truth of the dark designs behind these attacks. And somehow, along the way, maintain his fading grip on humanity by coming to terms with his past life (and death)—lest he become one of the very monsters he’s sworn to destroy.
GoodreadsAmazon22nd February – Fire of the Forebears (Heritor’s Helm #1) by L.A. BuckEpic Fantasy, Sword & Socery
Pitted against one another, with the people and country they love in jeopardy, the daughter of a deserter and the son of the king have a chance to fulfill their forebears’ legacy—or destroy it entirely.
Twisted monsters called saja lurk in the shadows of the mountains. Rumors say the Fidelis, human wielders of an ancient elemental magic, again walk the plains. Not all in Avaron believe, and not all welcome the return of legend.
Kura’s a skeptic. But, she’ll cross and befriend centaurs, talking animals, and worse to save her family after the rebellion mistakes her for the land’s prophesied savior. And, while he’d rather negotiate with rebels than fight them, Triston can’t ignore prophecy. That was the sham his father used to steal the crown in the first place.
Over a century ago, their ancestors sailed the oceans in search of peace and died as heroes fighting for it. But heroes—and villains—aren’t always what they seem to be.
Goodreads22nd February – The Crown of Fire and Fury (The Runewar Saga #2) by J.D.L. RosellEpic Fantasy, Sword & Sorcery
Amid the fires of war, kings and queens are crowned…
The frost giant, the Jotun, has conquered Oakharrow. The city is lost — for now. But Aelthena has never given up easily. Fleeing Oakharrow, she goes to the jarls of Baegard, seeking their aid in taking back her home. But with politics at play, and Ha-Sypt on the move, she must make a choice to do what is best for her nation or for herself.
Bjorn, meanwhile, sets his sights on a greater challenge. Knowing too little of the giant who has attacked his home, he and his companions go to the priests who know more. Among them, Bjorn uncovers ancient secrets and develops his newly discovered magic. But both knowledge and power have a price, and Bjorn will pay it in sorrow and blood.
The Runewar has come — monarchs shall rise and fall.
GoodreadsAmazon22nd February – Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
Worn out after decades of packing steel and raising hell, Viv the orc barbarian cashes out of the warrior’s life with one final score. A forgotten legend, a fabled artifact, and an unreasonable amount of hope lead her to the streets of Thune, where she plans to open the first coffee shop the city has ever seen.
However, her dreams of a fresh start pulling shots instead of swinging swords are hardly a sure bet. Old frenemies and Thune’s shady underbelly may just upset her plans. To finally build something that will last, Viv will need some new partners and a different kind of resolve.
GoodreadsAmazon28th February – Anarchic Destiny (The Naturae Series #2) by Jan FosterEpic Fantasy[image error]Family should be loyal – at least that’s what Fae Queen Aioffe and Joshua thought – but when one returns from the dead, he brings chaos to Naturae. In England, Edward VI has died leaving Henry Fitzroy, a forgotten heir and his bastard vampire brother, with the destiny he was promised in tatters.
A witch’s prophecy goes unheeded, and Joshua and Aioffe struggle to keep control of shifting allegiances, disruptive visitors and threats from the wider realm.
The price of an heir to bring them, and their Queendom, back together is a sacrifice… their marriage or their loyalty.
Denied his crown and place in the human world, Henry sets his sights on claiming what was due to him, even if that means hurting everyone who was loyal to him before.
Chaos will reign…
January 21, 2022
3 Easy Ways to Keep Up With Releases of Your Favourite Authors
There is a question I see a surprising amount. It’s quite simply how do I find out when my favourite author releases a new book? And it’s a question I understand well. There’s so much noise around these days, so many releases flying about, so many books old and new that it can get really tough to keep up. And even more tough to keep your ear to the ground to find out when the next book
So here’s 3 easy ways you can keep an eye out for those new releases.
1. Follow the author on AmazonApparently not a lot of people know you can do this. But it’s really simple to do… assuming you have an Amazon account. Just find the page of one of your favourite author’s books, and click the little follow button next to their name.
And because Amazon absolutely loves trying to sell us all things, every time that author releases a new book, Amazon will email you about it.
2. Join their newsletterA lot of authors publish semi-regular (or in my case quite irregular) newsletters which they send out to their mailing list. And any author who does will happily tell all subscribers about new releases. Most often, you can find links to subscribe to their newsletters on the author’s website. It’s easy to do and costs nothing.
And many authors offer free books or short stories as a benefit for signing up to their newsletter, or run giveaways exclusively to people who are signed up.
3. Follow them on Social MediaMost authors are well-known to be anti-social badgers snarling at anyone who gets too close. However, we are often quite approachable on various social media platforms. And when an author releases a new book, you can be certain they will scream about it all over every platform they have. Probably in between posting memes and pictures of pets.
However, not all authors keep a social media presence, so this one may be the least effective of the lot.
And there you have it. 3 very easy ways of keeping up with your favourite author’s latests book release. And I didn’t even mention the tried and true method of hunting them down, camping in their garden, and begging them for new chapters whenever they leave the house.
