New this week
The latest additions to The Library's collection
If you have a complete or in-progress work you’d like added to The Library or an indie-published book to include in the Buy Indie section, follow this guide, and we’ll help spread the word.
And thanks again to everyone for helping us support indie authors!
In the stacks
Historical
The Shield of Locksley | Ben Woestenburg | Historical Fantasy | (N) (I) (F)
Join Locksley, a young bachelor Knight on his adventure during the end days of Camelot, as he sets off on a reluctant quest to help a princess, and in the meantime, helps restore a kingdom…This is not your father’s King Arthur that he used to read to you as a child. A new take on an old classic, made for a more mature audience.
Romance
Bertha's Tale: A Novel | Holly A Brown | Historical | (NA) (I) ($)
Over 1400 years ago, the real-life Bertha sailed across the ocean to marry a man she'd never met. This marriage would lead to fundamental change throughout the kingdom - and yet she gets only a footnote in the history books. It's time to change that. Explore a world that was vastly different to our own populated with people very much like us as we put flesh on the bones of this incredible woman - with a little creative sparkle.
Speculative
Dystopian
The Evolution Gene trilogy | Aaron Hodges | Dystopian Scifi/Genetic Engineering | (N) (C) (F)→($)
First 25% free/rest paid
Deep in the mountains of California, there is a hidden laboratory. Children are taken there, some criminals, others simply the disappeared. All are fodder for the mysterious experiments conducted in its halls. Their purpose: unlock the secrets of the human genome. None of the children have ever been seen again. Until now.
Fantasy
Descendants of the Fall | Aaron Hodges | Epic Fantasy | (N) (C) (F)→($)
First 25% free/rest paid
Centuries ago, the world fell. From the ashes rose a terrible new species—the Tangata. Now they wage war against the kingdoms of man. And humanity is losing.
The Knights of Alana trilogy | Aaron Hodges | Epic Fantasy | (N) (C) (F)→($)
First 30% free/rest paid
When Knights attack the temple of Skystead, seventeen-year-old Pela is the only one to escape. Her mother and the other villagers are taken, accused of worshiping the False Gods. They will pay the ultimate price – unless Pela can rescue them.
The Legend of the Gods trilogy | Aaron Hodges | Epic Fantasy | (N) (C) (F)→($)
First 30% free/rest paid
A century since the departure of the Gods, the Three Nations are now united beneath the Tsar. Magic has been outlawed, its power too dangerous to remain unchecked. All Magickers must surrender themselves to the crown, or face imprisonment and death.
The Sword of Light Trilogy | Aaron Hodges | Epic Fantasy | (N) (C) (F)→($)
First 30% free/rest paid
For five hundred years the Gods have united the Three Nations in harmony. Now that balance has been shattered, and chaos threatens.
Science Fiction
The Alfurian Chronicles | Aaron Hodges | SciFi: Alien invasion | (N) (C) (F)→($)
First 30% free/rest paid
On the wild planet of Talamh, humanity thrived... ...until the alien Alfur conquered their world. Now, defeated and broken, humanity serves their immortal overlords. And pleads to the stars for a hero.
Young Readers
Caladbohlg | Joe from Brothers Krynn | Fantasy, Horror | (NA) (C) (F)→($)
Free until Chapter 4 then paid
As a novice in a monastery by the sea, Bradán believed that just as his whole life had been passed by the sea, he would someday die there. But after rescuing, the most unfortunate widow in the locality from a failed suicide attempt, the two of them become unlikely friends and companions. Swept up in an adventure filled with violence, friendship, romance and wonder, the two will be faced by the dreaded Warlock-King of Amadan, who will stop at nothing to slay all those who resist him.
Are you publishing a book, comic, or story/poetry collection on Substack that you’d like to add to The Library? Send it our way!
Buy Indie
Speculative
From the Ashes | Laura R. Hepworth | Speculative; Fantasy, Fairy Tale Retelling, Young Adult/New Adult | (N)
A young artist desperate to be free. For nearly seven years, Lael Verane has lived under the ever watchful eye of her stepmother. Forbidden from leaving the grounds of the estate and locked away whenever visitors come to call, Lael's only solace is in her art. There's just one problem: due to another of her stepmother's strange restrictions, art is not welcome at Avarill. A prince on a mission. Agents of the Crown have been dying and elves are disappearing from across Rynn. Prince Nathyn Trysele is determined to find out why. His only clue? A letter from the deceased spymaster, but he's convinced that the answers he seeks are buried somewhere in the Caeth night-markets. But not everything is as it appears and, in a kingdom where art guilds and magic collide, deadly secrets lie buried that could tear the kingdom apart. From the Ashes is a Cinderella retelling and the first in a series of interconnected standalones. It is a story of adventure, mystery, and discovery in a high fantasy world of magic, creatures, princes, elves, and mysterious art guilds and filled with humour, intrigue, deception, and clean romance.
Miss Gemquist and the Pearl of Peking | Laura R. Hepworth | Speculative; Scifi/Fantasy, Steampunk, Young Adult/New Adult | (N)
One note, one pearl, and one family secret. Miss Loralai Gemquist, the 23-year-old daughter of famed gemologist Jacob Gemquist and granddaughter of Lord Bramwell Gemquist, The Baron of Aethleton, thought that her life couldn’t get more difficult than surviving the London Season and the schemes of her match-making aunts. But when she discovers an anonymous note, her life will never again be the same. Thrust into a world of shadows, secrets, and intrigue, she’ll be forced to use all her wits, intellect, and knowledge of gemstones as she tries to prevent a war when a priceless, Chinese pearl is stolen. Along the way, she’ll meet some unexpected allies and make some dangerous enemies as she learns who she can trust, but just one false step and it will be more than her life on the line. The first book in a late-Regency/pre-Victorian series where a jeweller finds herself swept up into a world of international espionage, secret societies, and, perhaps, even finds a hint of romance.
Can readers buy your indie book from your author's website or favorite online bookseller? Provide us a link and some details about your book, and we’ll help get the word out!
From the Stacks
Featuring a different, randomly-selected book every week. This week, we have three!
Black Market Heroine | Russell Nohelty | Fantasy | (CB) (C) ($)
Ollie wasn’t looking for trouble, but after she saved the Antichrist from being slaughtered, it came for her. Ollie lived by one rule. Never get involved with anyone for any reason; humans, demons, fae folk, it didn’t matter. They were all trouble. Keeping her distance was how she survived in the criminal underworld for so long. Keep your head down and don’t piss anyone off. That was her motto, especially since her clients all had access to powerful dark magic. She thought she had a flawless system for keeping her nose clean, so how did she wind up in a stolen car, with a  demon spawn in her back seat, driving away from her ex-lover and a gang of demons ready to skin her alive? And why did she agree to help save the demon girl’s life so she didn’t get sacrificed to open the gates of hell? Ollie had one rule. One stupid rule. And tonight it goes right down the toilet. Now, the only way for Ollie to get her life back is to save the girl, prevent the apocalypse, and track down the jerk who betrayed her. They will pay. Oh yes, they will all pay.
Thank you for including my serial! 🤩
This is so cool! Thank yoy for organizing this list!