Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week

Say what you want about self-publishing, but this week bloggers and reviewers have been celebrating great self-published books over on Twitter! Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week or simply SPAAW was started by book blogger Jodie of Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub in 2021 and has been growing bigger and better over the years. Check out the 2024 hub for this year's content!

Some people might still turn up their noses on self-published books, but they're missing out. Authors have upped their game and have been delivering quality books that can go toe to toe with traditionally published ones... if only given the chance.

That said, here are some of my recommendations, as well as recs from other readers and bloggers!

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A Slice of Mars by Guerric Haché

Mars is a strange place these days. Corporate overlords, capitalism, and even aging are things of the past on a planet increasingly brimming with biodiversity - yet pizzerias are in short supply!

Siblings Hett and San set out to change that. But a roboticist and a bureaucrat can't run a restaurant alone, so they bring on some help - a bioengineer, a communications scientist, and an unlikely grad student from Earth. Together, this gang of geeks will brave the fires of small business.

But work is just a small part of life. People are complicated. Different brains, different wounds, different values, and one questionably tame wildcat will all collide as they try to grow and succeed together. What comes out of the oven, in the end, is anyone's guess.

Death's Disciple by Emma L. Adams

Seven years ago, Captain Yala Palathar was a hero. She and her squad of close-knit dragon-riding warriors were Laria’s elite, fighting for their nation alongside the monarch and his magic-wielding Disciples. Seizing control of an unmanned island should have been a simple mission, but Yala’s squad was little prepared for the horror and tragedy that awaited. Instead of triumph, all Yala and her allies found was death.

Years on, Yala lives in seclusion in the deep jungle, ignoring the rumours of unrest in the capital following the end of the war. She little expects assassins to find her hideout - nor does she anticipate the mission that ended her career to have given rise to rumours that see her targeted by mercenaries vying to claim a price on her head. With the other survivors from her squad being picked off one by one, she has little choice but to return to the capital in the hopes of finding answers.

Whether the truth lies with the Disciples of the Flame - who refused to believe her stories of the monstrous beasts that haunted the island - or with the long-dead king who sent her squad to their doom, one thing is clear. Yala must finish the battle she started all those years ago… even if it brings her face to face with the god of death Himself.

Far Removed (The Apidecca Duology Book 1) by C B Lansdell

On the moon of Knyadrea, the sea yields intelligent life. For a species shaped by tides, change is the only constant.

Little can be hidden in the glare of a spotlight.

Charismatic and innovative, Oklas Sayve has risen to prominence in Apidecca, the moon's capital city. A politician and college director, he has the resources to effect the changes he envisions for the world. But the sovereigns he serves oppose him at every turn and his status cannot protect the low-strata students attending his college. After a young knyad is wrongly linked to insurgent activity, Oklas must find a way to smuggle her out of the city while hiding his involvement from the authorities.

A spark in the dank depths.

Below the grand Assembly Chambers, a knyad in a mask sculpts, grasping for scraps of beauty in her shrinking world. Years ago, Prismer made a costly mistake and now has only her job at the projection booth and a few special interests to fill her days. But it is not her sculptures that draw the attention of a powerful client, and she is soon met with a request to undertake a dangerous mission. Will she answer the call and risk losing the little she has left?

Mysteries surface. A supernatural substance is used in corrupt ways. As identities shift and predicaments are reshuffled, what alliances might be forged?

Fogbound (Echoes of Oniro Book 1) by N.J. Alexander

Brave the Fog. Embrace Another Self.

The nation of Entervia is on the brink of annihilation. But amidst the chaos in the capital city, one man stands as the key to Entervia's fate—Zercien Volnaire, a young history teacher with no love of war, haunted by the specter of a long-dead legendary hero who once saved the land.

Zercien's peaceful life is shattered as he is possessed by the hero, and thrust into the trenches of a battle far more sinister—one waged within his own mind. His newfound abilities earn him renown, but at a great cost: his own identity.

Accompanied by a ragtag band, Zercien is tasked with a desperate mission for reinforcements. But as the drums of war beat ever closer, he must make a choice. Embrace the power of the hero and save Entervia, or reject it and cling to his humanity, dooming his home to a bloody fate.

Hills of Heather and Bone by K.E. Andrews

The bones of the dead hold stories.

On the fringes of Errigal, Morana longs to exchange a life of hiding for a peaceful one with her husband, Percy. While Percy's bloodgift lets him grow plants and heal broken bodies, Morana's a boneweaver, despised and feared because she can hear bones and raise the dead. Morana doesn't want to be seen as a villain from the old stories and instead spends her time gardening, writing the stories of the dead, and fending off a spiteful chicken.

Morana and Percy's lives are shattered when a group of Failinis tasked with capturing boneweavers and rogue bloodgifted find them. On the run and battling the elements, ancient creatures, and the loss of all they called home, Morana and Percy search for any sanctuary left in Errigal. Morana must choose between the call in her blood or the family she holds so close to her heart if she and Percy are to survive.

Please be aware that this book contains some scenes of violence, death, depression, mentions of miscarriage, birthing scenes, suicidal thoughts, suicide, and cannibalism.

Kenai by Dave Dobson

A planet steeped in mystery...

Jess Amiko is long past her days as a space marine, with all the glory of that time tarnished beyond repair by what came after. Trying to rebuild from the ashes, she's taken a job as a security guard on Kenai, a lonely world far from the Council systems. It's supposed to be easy duty - quiet and peaceful, on a docile world with no real threats, watching over an archeological dig at a site built by a race long vanished.

Betrayed and attacked by forces unknown, and finding that nothing on Kenai makes sense, Jess is plunged into a desperate fight for survival that leads her deep into the mysteries of Kenai's past, and deep into the hardship and paradox the planet imposes on all who call it home.

No Heart for a Thief (Malitu Book 1) by James Lloyd Dulin

We are the stories we tell ourselves...even the lies.

The Thief, a great spirit, and her descendants have abused their ability to steal magic for centuries. When Kaylo starts to hear the song of other people’s magic, he must learn to hide from his people as well as the invaders. A gift or a curse, Kaylo may be able to save his people from the Gousht Empire that claimed their land with this stolen magic.

Eighteen years later, Kaylo still prays to the spirits, but not out of loyalty or love. He knows better than to rely on those selfish bastards for anything. While hiding in the forest from his foolish acts of rebellion, he encounters a girl, Tayen, being pursued by two soldiers of the empire. Against his better judgment, he risks facing the consequences of his past to intervene.

When Tayen attempts to run off seeking vengeance for her family, he offers to train her to wield her magic and a blade. If he can’t convince her to relinquish her need for vengeance and stave off the demons of his past, he’s going to get them both killed.

Oathbreaker (Keepers of the Elusive Mysteries Book 1) by Meghan Tomlinson

Her birth sparked a war. She’s vowed to end it.

Since she could hold a knife, eighteen-year-old Seren Moralis—bastard daughter of the enemy prince—has been fighting to prove her loyalty to the Primordian nobilis. After pledging to her uncle’s House, she overhears his war plans to send a “weapon” to infiltrate the hidden holds of the Felinae. He must mean her. A surprise betrothal, however, has her running into the arms of her enemies under the guise of being the one thing she despises—a traitor.

Under the scrutiny of Llion Llewyn—a ruthless Felinae mercenary—and his young recruits, Seren bides her time spying, waiting until she can take her revenge on Prince Alban, the last royal, for the dishonour his uncle did to her mother. But as the lines between enemies, friends, and lovers blur, Seren discovers a shocking secret: her new “friends” have been hiding otherworldly abilities that make them living weapons.

When her uncle captures one of Llion’s spies, Seren is forced to dance along the knife’s edge between two oaths of loyalty. Even one misstep will have grave consequences. Yet all her sacrifices to gain her enemies’ trust may be in vain for Llion harbours dark secrets of his own. And if the mercenary gets his way, Seren won’t live long enough to step near the hidden prince, let alone break her oaths ever again.

The Erkenblood (Wielders of Sessara Book 1) by H. Ferry

Born to destroy, raised to love, condemned to choose.

For Panthea, every breath she draws in the Southern Kingdom is an act of repression. Her faith in her goddess keeps her from sin. Her guardian, Rassus, keeps her safe. And a powerful drug keeps her deadly power in check. Yet, none can change what she is: Panthea is an Erkenblood, and her power will always be one misstep away from turning her into a mindless killer.

But for now, her drugs are enough. Her guardian is enough. Her prayers are enough.

Until they aren't.

When the Queen's Inquisition raids her home in search of an ancient artifact, Rassus is hauled away, and Panthea finds herself thrust into the center of a bloody conflict with evil on both sides. Can she save the man who raised and protected her without becoming the monster the whole kingdom fears she is? Or will Panthea unleash her darkness... and sacrifice her soul in the process?

A Thorn Among Roses by Hayley Anderton

At seventeen, Alana single-handedly defeated the biggest army that Thornwood had ever seen. By sunrise the very next day, she'd been shunned by her own people, forced to become a recluse and reside in the castle where she was supposed to rule over them. Now, with both her parents gone, she suffers alone, bearing a curse bestowed upon her by the village witch, making her resentful heart as twisted as a vine.

But when she finds trespassers on her land, she seizes an opportunity to break the curse from a travelling sorceress. Alana was never looking for company, and she has little faith that the sorceress can change her fate, but years of loneliness have left her craving connection, and unfamiliar emotions begin to surface in the presence of her new companion.

But love isn't the only thing on her mind. The kingdom is plagued with whispers of dark forces creeping their way across Thornwood's borders. Jaded by her past, can Alana save her kingdom from evil once more...or will she become the monster her people believe her to be?

A sapphic retelling of Beauty & the Beast which explores body image, self acceptance and the magic of love.

The Weight of Stars and Suns (The Stars and Suns Trilogy Book 1) by Dawn Christine Jonckowski

One hundred years ago, the spaceship Genesis crashed on a planet ringed with thirty-six suns. And all hell broke loose.

Now the descendants of the marooned humans live enslaved to the natives. As the humans plan their latest rebellion, the suns of Tav begin to extinguish one by one. The ecological and political turmoil is Tavarian princess Dameia's chance to prove herself worthy of becoming the next Chieftain. When her well-ordered path collides with the humans' rebel leader Hyam, the unlikely allies find themselves reconsidering ingrained prejudices in order to protect the future of the planet and everyone on it.

Tav is facing imminent ruin. Hyam is caught between the freedom of his people and the princess he has come to love; Dameia battles the demands of her birthright and its condemnation of the human who has become her world.

Because if they each save their people, they cannot save each other.

Tales of Lunis Aquaria by Tessa Hastjarjanto

Lose yourself in the wondrous world of Lunis Aquaria.

Explore daunting deserts, treacherous mountains and the deep blue of the Morcain sea.

If you enjoy the fairy tales of old you will enjoy this collection of nine short adventure stories.

The Showstopper by Kyle Robertson

New York, 1922: the economy is booming, the days are short, and the nights are long and filled with every kind of entertainment imaginable. But all is not well in this dazzling, decadent world. A masked criminal is stalking the streets and haunting the theaters, leaving chaos in his wake. No stage production is safe from his deviously brilliant methods of sabotage.In the opinion of janitor Tom Wilkins, the snobbish actors and businessmen around him are getting exactly what they deserve at the hands of the mysterious vigilante. But a chance encounter will soon plunge him into a deadly game of cat and mouse against a madman bent on total destruction.Caught in the whirlwind along with a beautiful actress, a refined theater owner, and a rookie police officer, Wilkins will have to use all his skills to expose the mastermind behind the curtain pulling all of their strings, before the curtain falls on Broadway–and his own life–forever.

A Touch of Light (The Ashes of Avarin Book 1) by Thiago Abdalla

The worthy are immortal. To die is a sin. But in a tide of madness and ruin, life is a fragile thing.

Lynn, a rogue griffin rider, has uncovered a deadly madness that threatens to destroy the Domain. She can’t escape this enemy, but to fight it, Lynn must risk being found and branded a traitor by her old order.

Prince Adrian has never been pious or on good terms with his father. After losing those closest to him, however, he must either work with the king or convince the Church to deem his loved ones worthy if they are to have a chance at resurrection.

In the clanlands, where death is considered a necessity, Nasha fights to prove she belongs. A cursed hunter and a lifelong outcast, she has always struggled. But when the land itself begins to wither away, Nasha might be the only answer.

The Templar Sword by Sam Clarke

Noah is a typical teenager with a very atypical dream – becoming a modern-day Knight Templar. His estranged father, a senior commander within the Order, is dead set against it.

An ancient sword has been missing for centuries. Recovering it would prove Noah's worth to his father and earn him a place at the Clearview Templar Academy.

When he stumbles across a Renaissance painting that holds a clue to the sword’s location, Noah’s dream seems within reach. As the death toll quickly mounts, it becomes apparent that others are hunting the sword – for far more evil ends. The future of the Templars, very much like Noah’s, is at stake.

Together with his friend Viggo and mischievously attractive Isabelle, Noah embarks on the deadliest quest of his life. The sword’s dangerous trail will take them from the canals of Venice, to the spires of Seville, to a gripping showdown in the underwater caves of the Caribbean.

Can be read as a standalone novel or as the sequel to The Twelfth Ring.

Wrath of Olympus (Ships of Britannia Book 1) by E.M. Kkoulla

The Roman Empire never fell. The Gods are real. Ships are alive. In the Province of Britannia, ruled by descendants of King Arthur and on the brink of an industrial revolution, young Maia Abella is on the run. Something unseen has murdered her cruel mistress and she’s being blamed. The streets and factories of Portus are no place for a friendless girl, trapped in events beyond her control. The city authorities and the Royal Navy are both desperate to find her - one investigating a killer, the other to recruit her, while the deadly legacy of a tragic past stalks her every step. Aided by Raven, an ancient, blind Mage with a terrible secret and Milo, Crown Agent and spy, Maia must discover and overcome the fatal consequences of her birth. Meanwhile, the Gods are making their moves. And not all of them are friendly.

Blood of Midgard (The Army of One Book 1) by Baptiste Pinson Wu

The end is near. The war is just beginning.

Ragnarök’s shadow looms over Asgard. The gods grow fearful, and Odin, in a desperate attempt to fill the benches of Valhöll with more slain heroes, sends his elite warriors to Midgard to spark conflicts. Drake, their leader, would rather fight to prevent the end of the world before it began, for Muninn, Odin’s daughter, is fated to die during the last great battle.

But as Drake and his brothers strive to accomplish Odin’s will on Midgard, a plan born in the darkness of Loki’s cell—and acted upon by someone close to Drake—is set in motion. The snare tightens around Drake, and every step the warrior takes toward the woman he loves in secret brings Ragnarök closer.

Bailuchien by Rebecca Crunden

In the midst of a famine that’s orphaned her and her sister, young Saorlaith Baker goes to the cemetery and calls upon Bailuchien, a spirit of the forest, for protection. Bailuchien takes pity upon the young girl and agrees to protect her for a small price. But for her sister’s protection, Saorlaith must give something more. Something bloody.

Hunted by Laura Graves

IN A CITY FULL OF LIFE, DEATH CAN BE JUST AROUND THE CORNER.

When a 21-year-old girl is found dead in a skip with her throat slit, and her body mutilated, a tormented criminal profiler connects a series of sadistic crimes in Liverpool.

With insufficient evidence and a predator terrorising the streets, this is the most challenging and chilling case that Jo Linnet has ever faced.

Everything changes when the hunter becomes the hunted.

The Girl with Stars in Her Eyes by Dawn Ford

Eighteen-year-old servant girl Tambrynn is haunted by more than her unusual silver hair and the star-shaped pupils in her eyes. Her uncontrollable ability to call objects leads the wolves who savagely murdered her mother right to her door.

When she’s fired and outcast during a snowstorm, her carriage wrecks and she’s forced to find refuge in an abandoned cottage. There, her life is upended when the magpie who’s stalked her for eight years transforms into a man, Lucas. He’s her Watcher and they’re from a different kingdom. His job is to keep her safe from her father, an evil mage, who wants to steal her abilities, turn her into one of his undead beasts, and become immortal himself.

Can they make it to the magical passageway and get to their home kingdom in time for Tambrynn to thwart her father’s malicious plans? Or will Tambrynn’s unique magic doom them all?

Terra by Sofia Simpson

As one of Earth's Guardians, one girl finds herself in a bond that might be the death of her.

Elementals don’t mix. They fight over territories constantly and news of their battles is everywhere.

Vela, an Earth Elemental, wants two things: to one day run her very own flower shop and forget about a traumatizing fire from her youth set by Fire Elementals.

When Linc, a Fire Elemental, strolls into her life, she is immediately thrown into chaos when a bond flares up, connecting them forever. Linc pursues her relentlessly, for connections like this are rare, but Vela wants nothing to do with it or him.

With this news, Vela discovers she and Linc may be a part of an age-old prophecy that could change their world forever by uniting the warring clans. However, a powerful group does not want their pairing to exist, for if it does, the prophecy may come true.

Vela and Linc must keep their bond a secret, for their lives are at risk if it is made public.

Can Vela deny a bond that could unite the battling clans, finally providing peace after centuries of conflict? Will she allow herself to love an enemy?

To Fly Free: A Second Book Of Poems For My Muse by Mike Singleton

And over here for the rest of Mike's works!

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Hi! I'm Marie, a Filipino SFFH author and book reviewer currently based in the UK. I’m the co-author of The Prophecies of Ragnarok, a Norse myth new adult urban fantasy trilogy, and I also have several short stories published in anthologies and literary journals.

You can find more info about me and my books, and also subscribe to my newsletter for more content, here. And if you like what I do, please also consider supporting me on Ko-fi! 🩷 https://ko-fi.com/mariesinadjan

The ebook edition of latest release, Among Thorns and Stardust, an anthology of sci-fi fairytale retellings, is on sale this weekend for just 99c/99p! Available from your preferred retailer ✨

Ready for a spine-chilling roadtrip around the UK? Bloody Hell: An Anthology of UK Indie Horror releases this August 1st!

The United Kingdom is known for its breath-taking beauty, but even the most idyllic of places can harbour dark secrets. Experience twenty-seven brand new horror stories from British indie authors, each set in a unique location throughout the British Isles. Grab a cup of tea, a scone, and remember . . . they’re only stories.

This fully illustrated anthology is brought to you by indie horror author Sarah Jules, and illustrator Rachael Rose, and features veteran, and debut, British indie horror authors.

If you fancy a short read instead, I have a cozy reimagining of the Norse myths about Hel, but it's just under 70 pages and can be read in one sitting. ✨ Plus there's a swag kit coming soon! Includes a "membership card," a bookmark, a sticker, an origami dog, and an exclusive 500-word story 🫶🏼

All things end, and all must die.

But death is not always the end.

When Geiravor Lokisdottir was stripped of her name and cast out of Asgard, torn from her family and the life she had known, she thought she’d lost it all. But in the shadows of Niflheim she discovers the path to her destiny, and what it truly means to be queen.

This is a prequel short story to THE PROPHECIES OF RAGNAROK trilogy by Meri Benson and Marie Sinadjan, and a retelling of the myths involving Hel, the Norse goddess of death and the queen of the underworld.