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
Contemporary
The World Outside | Rosalind Stanley | Women’s Fiction (N) (I) (F)
The World Outside follows Joanna through her teens and early twenties as she struggles to integrate her desires for love, family, community, sophistication, and art in a world that makes her feel like she has to choose.
Historical
The Second Queen of Hirta | David Finlay | Historical (NA) (I) (F)→($)
The first chapter is free. All others are available to paying subscribers.
The fictional memoir of a young woman living on the remote Hebridean archipelago of Saint Kilda in the mid to late 19th Century.
Speculative
Science Fiction
Arcanoforge: Midnight Metropolis | Caroline Barnard-Smith | Science Fiction (N) (I) (F)
Tattiana the Blood Seer plies her odious trade in Noctara, the wart on the blackened backside of a lightless planet revolving around a colossal, sentient head. Tattie just wants to break sky and leave Noctara behind forever, but the neon megacity has other plans for her. People are being husked for the slightest infraction, and now her one-time lover has reappeared to beg for help she refuses to give. When her co-worker makes a pact with a tentacle-armed daemon and the back alley club they work in is destroyed, Tattie begrudgingly accepts a gig from the mysterious Verna Shade in return for a hefty amount of credits. With that sort of capital, she could buy her own space bucket and carve out a future in the stars. The job should be easy—all she has to do is break into a government facility guarded by emotionless husks that feel no pain and steal Noctara’s most closely guarded secrets. It’s a near-impossible task that could get her exiled, husked, or killed, but Tattie possesses the dire blood magicks of the fabled Archanoforge. She’s tired of hiding, and shattering Noctara’s fragile hold on peace seems like a small price to pay for freedom.
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
The Obsidian Druid: The Age of Aikana Book One | Caroline Barnard-Smith | Fantasy (N)
Three monstrous tumari escaped the labyrinthine dungeon beneath the sea. One ripped apart the frozen homeland of the Asrai, staining the ice crimson with their blood. One blundered its way into the ancient forest of Nymed, and one rose in the city of Armoria, crushing buildings and bone beneath its great webbed feet. Only Dewer—ageless High Lord of the city—knows the truth behind the creatures’ wanton destruction, and he hasn’t trusted anyone with his secrets for over one hundred years. Gwin, a moon-blessed Asrai with the ability to freeze flesh, arrives in Armoria determined to raise an army against the man who slaughtered her family. When she discovers that city guard, Vanth, harbours magick of her own, she knows she would make a powerful ally, but Vanth would rather see Gwin hang than turn traitor. The twin moons of Joria are turning. For a century, the night has shone silver in Mamai’s cold light, but when Aikana comes to the fore, the world will dazzle beneath her violet glow. The Changing of the Moons heralds a time of unrest and upheaval, and Vanth has a devastating decision to make.
Contracts & Chaos | Joseph Wiess | Fantasy (N)
Book 2 of Tales from Crann Na Beatha
All Balgair wanted to do was get home. He didn't plan on meeting a broken woman and bonding with her or confronting a mad god who wanted to feed off of his bond. The last thing he wanted was to stay in Eola, but the town needed a Reeve, and Balgair was perfect for the job, whether he liked it or not. It all came down to Contracts and Chaos.
Young Readers
Faire Exchange | Alex Scott | Middle Grade Fantasy | $6.99 ebook, $12.99 paperback (N)
Tsarina "Rina" Algruent—that's Lady Rina to you—has been sent from the Realm of Faerie to a fifth grade class in our world as part of a new exchange program. But while kids at other schools are enchanted with their new guests, Rina's behavior is so cursed it threatens to cause an interdimensional incident. The teachers are powerless to stop her from terrorizing her classmates with her magic. Can fifth grade find a way to restore order?
Can readers buy your indie book from your author's website or favorite online bookseller? Provide us a link and some details about your book, and we’ll help get the word out!
From the Archive
Featuring a different, randomly-selected book every week
Through the Stars, Darkly | Alex S. Garcia | Space Opera (N) (I) ($)
The Imperium reigns over thousands of worlds, but it is crumbling under the weight of its own excess. Aliens watch, tensions mount, wars spread... Val would know, as her ship is sucked through a space rift into the heart of a battle. A battle she has no business being in. Meanwhile, a scientist, somewhere in the heart of the Imperium, discovers a source of energy ten times more powerful than any ever found before... What does it all mean?
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