Adult content has always been and always will be the euphemistic term used to go after queer art, especially art by trans creatives. It doesn't matter if the art or book or movie is about two ace women in a queer-platonic relationship going to adopt a cat or if it's seven men having a twenty-four hour orgy doing some of the most taboo acts known to humanity. It's the same thing to these Christofascists. And they want it gone. Any expression of queer people being unapologetically ourselves outside of the allo-cis-het-patriarchy is verboten and must be squashed. 

In 2024, trans women were leading the way in finding ways to get their art and stories into the world by putting their works on Itchio while other retailers were cracking down on queer content at the behest of investors and politicians. Following them, many other queer authors began using Itchio, finding great success in being able to authentically advertise their works and provide content notes and trigger warnings–something which often got people in trouble on Amazon and other retailers.

But in the last twenty four hours, the beautiful queer refuge that had been built fell apart. Collective Shout, an Australian “feminist” (TERF) organization, lobbied Mastercard to crack down on Itch and Steam over games it considered questionable. Beth at the Transfeminine Review has more details on how this all came to be and how it's shaking out, and I highly suggest you read everything else Beth has put together about preserving trans and queer literature in the face of mass censorship. 

Now, our works are shadow-banned, de-indexed, and even suspended and removed. We had built a wonderful haven and many of us were thriving in it, especially with themed bundles and generous tippers. 

Where do we go from here? I don't have a platform I can point to and say, “This one will work next.” Itch won't be the last place to cave to the Christofascists. As long as Visa and Mastercard get a say in what content you can purchase or sell on the internet, there won't really be a safe place we can say “This book is unapologetically queer and contains two trans ladies tying each other up and eating each other out after they are done slaying the dragon.”

But we can find ways to fly under the radar. A lot of creators got caught up in the de-indexing because they put content warnings on their listings. Content warnings are great ways to ensure readers know what they are getting, but they are usually also indexed in the metadata for a book and can therefore trigger automatic moderation. Removing the content notes and putting them on your own website, providing a link in the description saying “please see my site for a full list of content notes” is one way to go about it, but it's a stop-gap. Not a solution.

The long-term solution is to remove the censorial powers that Mastercard and Visa currently wield. I do not see that happening quickly enough for people affected by Itch's knee-bending to pay August's rent. We do need stop-gap solutions while we wait for the slow-gears of policy to happen. If they happen.

The solution I propose is direct stores. It does not have the discovery power of Itch and other retailers. You will have to figure out at least a little bit of information on collecting and remitting sales tax. There is some overhead. Itch was, in my opinion, a perfect mix of the pros of both direct sales and retailers–discovery, while giving you freedom to customize your listing pages and provide DRM-free files.

Direct sales may not be for everyone—I'm not proposing this as the solution, just one among many. If you think you might be interested in making your own store to sell your art, here are some of the ways you can do so while staying under the radar enough to not arouse the suspicions of Master Carde and Lady Visa. 

Major Options for Handling The Goods and Transactions

If you want to sell digital products, there are three that I have experience with and can provide details on. This list is not exhaustive; it's just the ones I have experience with. 

Brief tangent before we really get going. That is, sales tax and VAT. Sales tax and VAT aren’t as complicated as they sound, especially for smaller businesses making less than $100,000/mo. Many jurisdictions will not require businesses to collect and remit tax and VAT until they have a certain number of sales per month or make a certain monetary amount in sales per month. This means you would have to keep track of how many sales you have in each jurisdiction and track whether you've met “nexus” for that month. I know this is going to be a barrier to some people. I know that the cognitive load might be too much and might be overwhelming. Some of the payment solutions I will list here offer ways of handling it automatically for you, however. 

Lemonsqueezy

Stripe recently purchased Lemonsqueezy, but they are, for now, their own separate thing. They act as a Merchant of Record. Merchants of Record are the ones who are responsible for the purchase–it is their name that shows up on the credit card transaction. This means Lemonsqueezy is responsible for collecting sales tax and VAT, and remitting sales tax and VAT to the proper authorities / governments. You can basically act as if Lemonsqueezy is just another retailer but you have more power over your products and get a larger percentage of the revenue.

They are available in 130ish countries as of today; not everywhere, but they are in many places. They offer multiple types of payment and have a Pay What You Want Option, allowing you to set a minimum price but allowing customers to leave a tip, essentially.

Lemonsqueezy does not currently allow for the sale of physical products. So if you just want to sell ebooks and don't want to deal with the headache of VAT and tax, Lemonsqueezy might be your best option.

Lemonsqueezy does not have a subscription cost, instead, they take a percentage of the money from every transaction. There are no premium features hidden behind a paywall.

PayHip

Based in the EU, Payhip will handle VAT for you and has an option to track your sales tax if you need to remit taxes to somewhere in the US or elsewhere in the world. It won't remit the tax for you; you will still have to file taxes with the jurisdictions where you meet nexus, but it's not something you will have to track yourself.

PayHip allows digital and physical goods. If you're in the EU and wanting to sell signed copies as well as ebooks, PayHip will likely be the best option for you. Bonus: They integrate with BookVault if you want to sell physical copies direct.

PayHip has a free tier that has every feature available but a higher percentage of each transaction will be collected by PayHip. At the free tier, PayHip will take a 5% transaction fee. By subscribing to PayHip, your transaction fee is lowered. Until you make a certain volume of sales, I wouldn't suggest paying monthly.

Shopify

Shopify is a lot. It can be a bit overwhelming with all the bells and whistles and apps it has. It is considered “the” store to use if you are a “serious” business person. It can also be pricey, but it does have a “starter” plan that is $5/mo and will get you access to the “Buy Button” sales channel which is all you need to make a nice store for yourself. 

Shopify allows you to sell digital and physical goods (and has an integration with BookVault for selling physical books direct). You can access “Shopify Markets” which will handle VAT for you. It has a built-in tax feature that will collect taxes, but you will be responsible for figuring out if you meet nexus and then submitting the taxes yourself. There are apps you can install in your Shopify store that will handle collecting and remitting taxes for you. Many of them have monthly subscription fees, but it would take the load off of you.

None of these options are perfect. Again, they are dealing with Master Carde and Lady Visa and therefore subject to the puritanical bullshit. They've also all had at least one or two controversies or kerfuffles. There is no perfect solution here. There is no ethical selling of queer art in capitalism. Pick the one that you feel best meets your needs, make your money and survive.

Once you've chosen, you will want to set up your books. Set them up as products, but only provide the price, the cover (that is safe for work) and the title (that is also safe for work). Please note, that these store will ask you want you plan to sell. You do not need to tell them you plan to sell queer fiction, erotica, etc. You can simply say “works of fiction in the fantasy/scifi/horror/literary/mystery genre authored by me.”

We aren't actually going to be using the built-in store fronts that Shopify, PayHip, and Lemonsqueezy offer. This is so there is less information available to these platforms that can be used against you. We are doing it this way for the purposes of staying under the radar. You can use those storefronts if you want, but the strategy I am choosing to take here should mitigate a lot of the risk. It won't eliminate the risk, but it will lessen it.

Delivery of the Goods

All of these potential storefronts offer ways for you to host your files for your books on their servers and have them delivered to the user via email or via a download page after payment is complete. Hosting your queer works here is a potential way to get flagged, however. If it is a risk you want to take, one way you can further mitigate it is to put your epub/mobi/pdf into a zip folder first, and then host that. It's not perfect, but it is one more source of friction for the payment processors to determine if you are in violation of their policies by virtue of being queer. 

The method I am proposing involves hosting the files themselves on external sites / in external sources. The fewer bits of data about your offerings you provide the storefronts, the less they have to use against you. 

One of the easiest integrations is either BookFunnel or StoryOrigin. Both of these platforms were designed for secure and simple delivery of ebooks. These services do cost money for certain features, and I know that is a barrier for many authors. I am giving you the information on them so you can make the best decision about them for you and your situation.

BookFunnel 

BookFunnel has a $20/year (yes, per year) option that allows you to make a secure download page for your books. You store the files on BookFunnel and create a download landing page. In the “thank you” emails for Shopify/PayHip/Lemonsqueezy, you will link to this download page. This is not the most secure option—but it's better than putting the files directly on the store where the payment processors can find them.

BookFunnel has a $10/mo (or $100/year) plan that allows you to directly integrate with PayHip, Lemonsqueezy, and Shopify (as well as a few others). They have extensive documentation on how to set up these integrations. It will involve a little bit of legwork on your part, but once it is set up, BookFunnel will automatically send an email to the customer with a secure download link that only works for that buyer and you can even set it to watermark the pdfs and epubs with the buyers email address. The only way a payment processor could get ahold of your files to double check you aren't violating their ‘no queers’ policy would be to buy your books themselves and download them. 

StoryOrigin

Currently, StoryOrigin only integrates directly with Lemonsqueezy. On their $10/mo plan, they will also automatically email buyers and provide them with secure download links. They don't do watermarking or stamping, however. You can, however, use their FREE plan to create direct download links. Again, you would link to the direct download page in your “thank you for your purchase” email. If you have no cash to spare, Lemonsqueezy or PayHip with StoryOrigin direct download links is free.

Once more, just in case you missed it: if you cannot afford monthly fees and just want something set up quickly and don't want to worry about the headache of VAT: Lemonsqueezy and/or PayHip plus StoryOrigin will cost you $0/mo.

Another option is to set up a password protected box in something like ProtonDrive/OneDrive/DropBox if you already have those and linking to it and providing the password in the “thank you” email to the customers. But be aware of the ToS of those platforms. Google Drive has suspended the accounts of Romance authors for writing their Romance books in Google Docs and storing the epubs in Google Drive.

Promoting of the Goods

I said at the start of this that we won't be using the storefronts provided by these retailers. We will be building our own. We will be taking advantage of PayHip, Lemonsqueezy, and Shopify all having ways to embed code directly in other websites and put the checkout experience in a light box / overlay.

We will build our own sites where we will have the full description, content notes, and any other details about the book. And on that same page, we will be putting the embed codes. This will make it look like and act like a store but the actual incriminating details of the books are not directly touching the payment processors. This makes it easier for you to fly under the radar. 

You can set up your website on any platform that allows you to add your own code snippets or just build your own website (I build my website directly and host it for free on Netlify, but you can also use something like GitHub pages if you want to code your own website). Carrd Pro allows code embeds if you have a premium plan (which costs $19.99/year). Carrd might be the easiest way to go if you don't know how to code and want easy drag and drop stuff. I do not currently suggest WordPress due to some of the things the founder/owner has said in the past and the fact that the UI to make a website is just an utter mess. Ghost allows embeds and if you want to also create a Patreon-like experience with subscriptions, you can do that on Ghost, too. Ghost does cost money but their starter plan is $9/mo and if you have technical know-how, you can host your own Ghost instance much cheaper than that (or even for free on your own home server if you have one).

Once you've set up your site with all your books and their metadata, it's time to Add the Buttons.

For Lemonsqueezy

Go to the product you want to list on your website and in the sidebar at the top, there will be a button that says “share.” Click that button and then select the option “Checkout Overly.” Once you have done that, you will get a piece of html code. Copy it. Paste it into your site wherever you want the “Buy Now” button to show up on your website. 

Screenshot from Lemonsqueezy’s side panel for a product. In the upper right hand corner is a gray button that says “Share”

Screenshot from Lemonsqueezy showing the Share Product Options. The toggle is set to “Checkout Overlay” and shows options for showing the store logo, media, description, and discount code as well as a snippet of html code that can be added to any website.

For PayHip

Go to your Products listing. Each product should have a button that says “Share / Embed.” You will get a pop up with several options. Select “Embed Button.” This will let you customize the button and choose whether you want the book to be added to a cart or just purchase it directly. If you have the coding know-how and want to style the button with your own css, select “none” for the color. Once you've customized your button, you will get the bit of code that you need to add to your site for it to work!

Screenshot of the products page for PayHip. Several buttons are shown next to each product, including a large button that reads “Share / Embed.”


Screenshot of PayHip settings after one clicks on “Share / Embed.” At the top are three toggle options, this screenshot showing the second option: Embed button. There are options for changing button text, button theme, and button type.

_

Screenshot from PayHip showing the pop up displayed after clicking “Get Your Embed Code.” There are two lines of code you need to copy and paste to get the buttons to work, one going in the tag and one in the web page wherever you desire.

For Shopify

This one is a bit more complicated, but it has the greatest amount of customization. Under “Sales Channels” in your Shopify dashboard, select “Buy Button.” If “Buy Button” is not there, check the Shopify App Store, search for “Buy Button” and install it. Once you've opened it, it will ask you which product you want to make a buy button for. Choose the product you wish to do so for. It might give you a warning that the product isn't yet set up with the Buy Button channel. You can just click through and Shopify will do what it needs to do. 

If it asks you if you want to create a product buy button or collection buy button, you want to select “Product.”

You will end up on a page where you can now customize your button. I suggest either choosing “Direct to Checkout” or “Add to cart” for the “Action when people click” since you aren't having any details stored in Shopify. But this page will let you choose everything from the font to the color for your button so you can make it match everything else in your website. 

Once you have the button the way you want it, it will give you several hundred lines of HTML code to embed. This is annoying, I know. I deal with it on my own site (made with a static site generator) using partials. But Carrd and other platforms won’t get angry with you if you past in the hundreds of lines of code into their embeds section.

Screenshot from Shopify. On the left is the dashboard menu. At the bottom of the “Sales Channel” section is “Buy Button.” Create a Buy Button by clicking “Create a Buy Button.”

Screenshot of the Buy Button Customization page. You can style your button by picking fonts, colors, and more. 

Screenshot of the Buy Button copy code page. Here you will get several hundreds of lines of code, but just copy it.

I’ve set up a demo site on Carrd with the embeds, starting with Lemonsqueezy on the left, PayHip in the middle, and Shopify on the right. I did some basic styling with the LemonSqueezy button by wrapping it in a in the “code” box for the embed, otherwise, it usually just looks like a link and you are left to style it yourself.

The element in the code here was not originally there. I added it after pasting in the lemonsqueezy code. The span element wraps around the lemonsqueezy button so that I can apply custom styling.

To add an embed in Carrd, just copy the code you get from PayHip, Lemonsqueezy, or Shopify into the “Code” section of the embed.

You can see the demo site live here: Revolutionary Fantasy (copy)

Wrap Up

By keeping as much metadata about your books (or other creative endeavors) out of the hands of the storefronts and payment processors, you can more successfully fly under the radar. If you do, for some reason, end up getting suspended from PayHip/LemonSqueezy/Shopify, your buy buttons won't work but you will still have your site and you can choose another processor (or create another account with a new email address on the one you were using...) and just add new buy buttons. Your site itself still works. Your info is still there. Your domain name, if you have one, is still there and people will still land on the page if they click your link.

The ultimate long-term solution is to have payment processors but out of what adults decide to buy and sell. This is just a stopgap, and not one that will work for everyone. Keep creating.

I commissioned May Barros to illustrate the cover with the two characters ar the heart of the this book.

And here is a quick look at May's process from start to finish!

You can currently preorder the book from several retailers!

• Itchio [30% off!]
• Direct Store [Use Promo Code PREORDER for 30% off]
• Kobo
• Smashwords
• Apple Books
• Amazon

And more to come!

You can commission May Barros to do your covers too if you want a dreamy and magical cover!

Also! Bonus! I also commissioned Liz Sauco to do character portraits for the main characters!

Sresca

Kiut Tshu

Petra Hohenov

A Priestess of Death or a Bringer of Life?

Sresca has lived her whole life in service of Dana—the Goddess of Death and Lady of Sorrow. Yet that is not enough; she hopes to join the goddess herself in the underworld. There, she can unravel the mystery of the strange, winged creature that teaches her shadow magic—a creature that has memories of Sresca that can't possibly be true, leaving her wondering if she is wrong about her past.

While Sresca prepares for her trials, a former duke notes her resemblance to the lost princess, thought to have perished in the revolution. With Sresca as his puppet-queen, he can conquer the fledgling democracy that stripped him of his lands and titles. But the full scope of his plan is darker still. Even with the powers of her goddess at her command, Sresca won’t be able to stop him.

But her strange companion offers her a clue; one hidden in a past she doesn’t remember. Sresca must uncover the truth of her identity before opposing forces meet on the battlefield; it might just be the key to foiling the duke's dark designs. Otherwise, the republic—and her future—will be destroyed.

Shackles and Shards: Shattered is perfect for fans of Gideon the Ninth and Priory of the Orange Tree, full of sapphic romance, shadowy magic, political intrigue, and ancient secrets.

The book shall release Fall 2025, with it going out to people who pre-ordered on Itchio and my direct store!

Preorder today!

The digital landscape is ever-shifting. When giants like Twitter can fall in the span of months after standing tall for over a decade as a mainstay of the internet, you can be certain that the only thing that is certain on the internet is change.

And this means changing all of your links. You’ve deleted your Twitter and Instragram, now happily ensconced on BlueSky and Mastodon, you’ve left Goodreads behind and can now be found on StoryGraph, you’ve deleted your Substack and now set up shop on Ghost.io! Your newsletter is now hosted on Buttondown after some steep price hikes at Mailchimp. Amazing! But…

You released that book in 2019 and it’s been sitting on someone’s shelf since then, waiting for that reader to make their way through the other 600 books ahead of yours on their to-be-read list. And finally, in March of The Year of Our Luigi 2025, they pick it up. With a fervency yet unseen in any reader, they devour it completely. They are obsessed. You are their new favorite author. They get to the last page, where you lovingly laid out all of your links complete with little social media icons. They type in your Twitter address, knowing that it’s now ‘X’ and making the URL substitution for you. But the account is gone. They try your instagram address. Vanished. Substack? Gone as if it never existed. Ok! But your newsletter MUST still be there! But the mailchimp address they type in brings up a 404. Your page is still there on Goodreads, at least. But it hasn’t had any updates since 2021…

Where, oh new favorite author, are you? They wonder. How will they get all the bonus content you promised them would be on you Substack? And you mentioned exclusive cover reveals on your insta but it’s gone! And how can they join your ARC team if they can’t even find your newsletter? All of those links you provided so you could stay connected and they are all dead, shiveled on the dying vine of tech companies abandoning their core users in favor of ads!

But what if those links didn’t have to die? What if you could do something so that those links in the back of your book were as fresh as a flower in the spring?

(These overly wrought pollen-laced metaphors brought to you by Cetirizine.)

No, this—unfortunately—does not involve seizing silicon valley for the people and nationalizing the tech industry to serve and benefit the people. This involves owning your own domain name.

Yes, this is another “expense” line in your indie author budget. Domain name prices vary, with ‘dot com’ being around $25 USD per year, and more niche top level domains like ‘dot ink’ being around $60 USD per year. A lot of domain registrars will have sales where some top level domains (TLDs) are discounted to something like $2.99 for the first year and $14 to renew every year after that. Not the largest expense when you consider that many services charge $20 per month for something. But it’s not insignificant if you are still operating in the black with your indie author business.

But that expense could save you hundreds of hours of labor on your part and save your readers endless frustration.

The reader discussed at the start has already spent money on your books once, and is likely to spend more money on you in the future. I would go so far as to say they actively want to find more ways to give you money! They wanna know when your next book comes out! They are looking for your Substack and might be inclined to pay you monthly for it! They are hoping to get that free novella you promised them if they join your newsletter! They are ready to be a member of your fan club.

What if, instead of seeing `twitter.com/authorname`in the back of your book, they saw `socialmedia.authorname.com`? What if instead of seeing `authorname.substack.com` they saw `extras.authorname.com`? What if instead of seeing `authorname.mailchimp.com` they saw `newsletter.authorname.com`?

When you own your own domain name, you can set up subdomains and use “forwards” or “redirects” to point those subdomains somewhere else. You don’t have to create a landing page that then has a button or anything so complicated. Just need to go into your registrar and do some tinkering. Some very simple tinkering, I promise.

Here is what the dashboard for my domain registrar for my main author website looks like if you check my “Forwards.” I have several subdomains set up and pointing to other websites. I use Hover as my registar and DNS service for daxmurray.com

The process of adding a redirect/forward in my DNS registrar is pretty straight forward. Select the forward type (I usually go with subdomain forwards) and then paste in the address you want it to point to! While this is the process in Hover, it isn’t that different in other services!

Once you have your forwards set up, you can change them at any time. Instead of going into the backmatter of all your books and removing the twitter link and adding your BlueSky Link, and then uploading the new versions of your books to IngramSpark and paying the revision fee or waiting for it to get approved on Draft2Digital, etc, you just have to log into your domain registrar and change the forwarding location.

Yesterday, `socialmedia.authorname.com` pointed to Twitter. Today, it points to Mastodon! Yesterday `newsletter.authorname.com` pointed to a mailchimp landing page! Today it points to a buttondown landing page!

But, there are other ways to do this to if you don’t like tinkering in your domain registrar. Both BookFunnel and StoryOrigin let you create custom links using subdirectories rather than subdomain. Subdomains come before your base URL, and subdirectories come after.

I use both BookFunnel and StoryOrigin and have them set up with their own subdomains. They kinda service different but similar purposes, but both easily allow you to create custom links via subdirectories based on your own subdomain.

I use BookFunnel’s custom links to brand my BookFunnel landing pages. I use StoryOrigin to basically do everything else.

After I set up my BookFunnel to use `books.daxmurray.com` as the domain, I could go into the domain manager in bookfunnel and create human-readable links for all of the links bookfunnel provides for their landing pages. Even if I change out landing pages later or update them, the link stays the same, so my promo graphics and links for “Also By…” list in my backmatter are always exactly what I want them to be, without having to update the link address itself.

You don’t have to use a subdomain with BookFunnel, you can create your subdirectories on your base URL if you want! But this is what it looks like either way. Add in what you want to come after the slash, and then where you want it to point!

StoryOrigin has a very similar set up! I use it for basically everything else, including, as shown here, the links to the BookFunnel sample pages. It makes sense in my head, I swear, since I use `read` subdomain on StoryOrigin!

You can create several types of custom links on StoryOrigin, and if you have it set up to have reader magnets, universal book links, and direct sales pages, you can create the custom links pointing to those, too!

StoryOrigin also has a very simple interface for creating custom links based on your own domain name. Enter the ‘path’ (subdirectory) and the destination! Voila!

Having your own domain allows you to keep a consistent brand across your web presence and update where the links are pointing to quicker than a billionaire can buy and ruin your favorite social media website.

This means that the links in the back of your books are always going to be up to date without you spending hours updating each one in the epub, mobi, and pdf and then uploading it to every retailer and storefront in which you have your book available. Readers will always be able to find you even if they bought your book 8 years ago and the entire internet landscape has changed since then.

A most recent example for me, personally, is when I changed the sign ups for QueerBooksWeekly from Calendly to TidyCal. Calendly was $12 per month and I found a special deal for TidyCal for a one-time payment of $40 and jumped on it like a bee to a flower. Plus, it had a lot more robust feature set. Luckily, I had set up booking.queerbooksweekly already. It was pointing to Calendly, but I just had to go in and swap that to TidyCal. I didn’t need to swap out my pinned post on QBW, didn’t need to go through and let all the people in all the discord servers I’m in know that the link was now TidyCal. I just swapped on the backend.

Voilá! I hope this article was helpful for you and that you are able to leverage your own URL to stake out your claim on the web, rather than being at the whims of billionaires suddenly making your favorite website into a one-letter mistake.

If this, or any of my other Marketing for Authors posts helped you out, consider buying some of my queer fantasy books or leaving me a tip! Thank you!

#MarketingForAuthors

But you, dear reader, have decided you do not want to purchase from Amazon. This is entirely your choice to make. You, as a consumer, buyer, and reader, have the right to choose where your money goes. You are not a bad person for refusing to buy any products on Amazon. You aren’t stealing food from someone’s table, you aren’t forcing someone into homelessness because you have decided your hard-earned money is better spent elsewhere. Only a third of indie authors have all of their eggs in the Amazon basket. The majority of independent authors have chosen to make some or all of their ebooks available elsewhere. And the authors who have chosen to divest themselves of Amazon are just as deserving of your support as those who have chosen to be Amazon-exclusive. Those authors also have tables that need food and physical bodies that require protection from the elements.

I know there has been a lot of unfair guilting, shaming, and name-calling from authors who are Amazon-exclusive, saying refusing to buy books on Amazon is tantamount to execution and accusing authors who are not Amazon-exclusive of being traitors, vultures, and opportunists. Some of those accustations landing directly in my inbox from an Amazon-exclusive author who told me I picked over the dead caracass’ of Amazon-exclusive careers when I pointed out my book and many other fantasy books are available in Kobo Plus. Yes, I am apparently a monster for believing readers should get to choose where they get their books. I am a demon for informing readers that they have a choice instead of offering my fealty to Amazon.

I might be running out of patience, but I let spite and anger fuel me and this spite and anger at being called a traitorous vulture for choosing to not put all my eggs in one basket is the kindling for this article.

But, if you want to support indie authors and not spend a penny at Amazon, here is how you can do it.

Directly

Purchasing Books Directly

While only about a quarter of independent authors currently offer their books directly, more and more are jumping on the trend. Check out an author’s website and see if they have a shop! Some sell their ebooks digitally, using Shopify or LemonSqueezy as a payment processor and integrating StoryOrigin or BookFunnel to handle the delivery. Some offer their books via Ko-Fi, Gumroad, or Itch.io.

Usually what you can expect, no matter how the author is selling directly, is to get the epub, mobi, and possibly the pdf of the book delivered to your email. You can then add this epub to your reading apps—either third party like Moon+ Reader (android), ReadEra (Android, Apple, AppGallery), etc, or directly into Kindle or Google Books apps. You can also use USB transfer to get these books onto an e-ink device. If you use Calibre Ebook Manager (free, open source, Windows, Linux, and MacOS), you can even use their server feature to sync your ebooks across devices.

Other authors may offer their physical books directly. These authors might use some sort of integration of Shopify or WooCommerce that allows you to purchase a hardcover or paperback directly from them and they will ship it to you. Others may integrate a printing service like BookVault where the book will be printed when you order it and shipped from the printer directly to you. Some authors may offer a combination of both so that you can also order signed books.

This is one of the best ways to support independent authors as they get the largest percentage of revenue per purchase. Many authors will also ask if you would like to join their newsletter at checkout and if it’s an author you plan to purchase from again, I suggest signing up! Many authors who sell direct will offer exclusive discounts to their newsletter subscribers that you won’t find elsewhere.

Other Forms of Direct Support

Many authors also have other means of supporting them either in a one-time tip or recurring support. Patreon, Ream, Ghost, and other platforms allow readers to provide recurring support to their favorite authors and get a lot of bonus content like short stories and lore or get more personal updates and behind-the-scenes looks into the life of their favorite authors. Ko-Fi and BuyMeACoffee allow readers to give one-time tips to their favorite authors. Platforms like BackerKit and Kickstarter allow readers to provide support for in-progress projects. I mentioned newsletters before, but if you subscribe to an author’s newsletter, you are more likely to learn about the projects they are trying to get off the ground and they will let you know the best way you can help them.

These other forms of direct support will let you support many authors, not just independent authors! And while Kindle Unlimited requires that ebooks be exclusive to Amazon, it doesn’t forbid those authors from having direct sales of their paperbacks or from offering bonus content on Patreon. Many Kindle Unlimited authors will offer their Patreons digital copies of their ebooks one week before release—when the book would enter exclusivity on KU.

Other Ebook Retailers & Subscription Services

No, you won’t be able to support Amazon-exclusive authors here. Amazon-exclusive authors are aware of this, they weighed the pros and cons of having their ebooks exclusive to Amazon, aware that some readers do not shop on Amazon. They decided it was more important to them to have their ebooks in Kindle Unlimited than it was for them to have their ebooks available in other stores. That was a business choice they made and it is a business choice they could change if they wanted to. But you have a right to not shop on Amazon—that is a purchasing choice you have the right to make even if you previously purchased on Amazon. They made that choice knowing this, and you can make the choice not to purchase on Amazon knowing this. Nearly sixty percent of indie authors have at least some of their books not exclusive to Amazon. You are not hurting “the majority” of indie authors by not purchasing on Amazon. The majority have some or all of their books widely available.

What about physical book stores? Of course, they are awesome. Bookshop dot org is great and it lets you support independent bookshops. You can always walk in and ask for indie books to be special ordered if the brick and mortar shop doesn’t carry them, too. But Amazon doesn’t ask for exclusivity for physical books, just ebooks. This is focused on ebooks for that reason. Yes, again, I love Bookshop dot org, too. I’m not forgetting about it. It just does not yet offer ebooks for indies. Right now, Bookshop dot org is only offering ebooks for traditionally published books. That will hopefully change.

Ebook Retailers

I am not going to get into every single ebook retailer in existence, but there are many. Here are a few of my favorite:

• Itchio – Yes, it’s originally for indie games. But they do have a book section, and a huge portion of it currently comprises of trans and lesbian books. It lets authors do group promotions where they bundle books together for 1 low price.
• Kobo – ebooks and audiobooks, has an awesome app, and their e-ink devices are all made of recycled plastic, has a built-in integration in their devices for Libby, also has an all-you-can-read-and-listen-to subscription service called Kobo Plus.
• Smashwords – ebooks, frequently has site-wide sales, gives one of the largest percentages of royalties to authors, only has indie books.
• Campfire – ebooks only (for now), has one of the largest percentages of royalties for authors, allows authors to sell bonus content that is integrated into the book, has a digital app that works on Android and iOS, also has a web browser app.
• Barnes and Noble – ebooks, physical books and audiobooks, has their own app and e-ink devices. And, as a side note, while they might not keep a huge stock of indie author books in-store, you can go in and ask them to special order an indie book for you and they will order it, and you can go and pick it up once it’s in.
• Vivlio – A French ebook marketplace with its own app and e-ink devices.
• Tolino – A German consortium of booksellers, including Thalia and Bol.de, to help physical stores offer ebooks, has an app, webapp, and line of e-ink devices.

Subscription Services

• Everand - Everand has ebooks and audiobooks for $11.99. Subscription to Everand also gets you complimentary access to Scribd, which has academic papers, sheet music, and more documents available. USD price is $11.99/mo.
• Kobo Plus - Kobo Plus has three tiers. Ebook only, Audiobook only, and both ebooks and audiobooks. US pricing has ebook only at $7.99, audiobook only at $7.99, and to get both combined is $9.99. Prices may vary on location. New subscribers get their first 30 days free.

Regardless of where you purchase your ebooks, I highly recommend creating backups of your books. We already know that Amazon will delete books from people’s libraries without warning. You can use the DeDRM plugin and Calibre Ebook Manager software (both are free and open source and work on Linux, Windows, and MacOS) to create these backups. Having such backups means that if you choose to switch to another e-ink device, you won’t lose the books you have purchased.

Libraries

I’ve said it before and I will say it again—libraries are not the solution to Amazon’s stranglehold on the book world. Many, MANY countries do not have free, public, uncensored libraries. Heck, even in the United States, there are whole regions of the country without access to a library, especially libraries that aren’t being censored and forced to remove books by authors of color, queer authors, and disabled authors. Libraries can be wonderful when they are free, public, and uncensored. But they can also be tools of oppressive regimes to put forth propaganda.

Regardless, if you have access to a public, free, and uncensored library, you can request physical books by any author that makes their books available to libraries and digital books from any author that has made their books available to libraries digitally. Authors still get paid when libraries buy their books. The more people request a book, the more likely it is that a library will end up adding that book to their collection.

If an indie author does not offer their book in physical format through a distributor that distributes to libraries, that was a choice they made. If an author decides to be in Kindle Unlimited, their ebooks cannot be available via Libby, Hoopla, BorrowBox, etc. That was a business choice they made. They decided it was more important to them and their business that they be in Kindle Unlimited than their books be accessible for free via libraries.

I am trying not to fill this article with a bunch of “this is how I, as an indie author, do this” because that isn’t the point. But I do want to assure you, as an indie author who has made their ebooks available to Libby, Hoopla, CloudLibrary, BorrowBox, etc, that I do get paid. I get paid per checkout on Hoopla, CloudLibrary, and BorrowBox, and for Libby, a library will pay me a royalty that is higher than the regular retail price for 20 consecutive checkouts. It was important to me that my books be available to libraries because “free via the library” is cheaper than “free via the $11.99 KU subscription price.” But that’s just me. Regardless, indie authors who have made their books available to libraries still do get paid. We aren’t losing money if you checkout our books via the library.

Conclusion

I am pretty vocal about my… dislike… of Amazon. My books are still available there but I have put in a ton of effort to make sure people know it’s not the only place they can find my books. You can find my books at all of the retailers listed in this article! And in the libraries! And directly! I have put together a three-part series specifically for authors who wish to leave KU and “go wide.” I support wide authors. I also understand that people make business choices and for some authors, KU might be the best business choice.

But, as Y’shtola Rhul says when calling down a devastating meteor, the gloves are off! I’ve been accused of being a traitor and vulture and an opportunist for mentioning that my books are not Amazon-exclusive. A KU author found my private, personal email in order to yell at me and accuse me of starving her children because if I keep telling readers they can find my books at Kobo Plus, one of her readers might find out about Kobo Plus!!!! And if they do that, then maybe they will cancel their KU subscription, and she and her family will be poor!!! She is mad because I told my readers they have a choice, and my business decision of being wide is hurting her because she made the business choice to be Kindle Exclusive.

That’s not how this works. You can’t guilt readers into shopping at Amazon if their conscience tells them they shouldn’t, and you can’t guilt your fellow authors into changing their marketing strategies because you put all your eggs in one basket.

If you want to leave the Amazon ecosystem, I suggest doing it slowly and taking your time. You don’t have to ditch your Kindle device right away, you can still side-load via USB and use the “Send to Kindle” email address feature to get books you purchased elsewhere on your Kindle. Check out the other stores and retailers I mentioned here and download their apps if they have them. Many of these retailers with apps do have plenty of free books available so you can snag some of the free books and see if you like the interface.

If your Kindle is at the end of its life and you are looking for something new, figure out what you want out of your next ereader. If you are doing a lot of reading across several reading apps, a device that runs Android, such as Onyx Boox devices or the PocketBook InkPads might be for you. If you mostly purchase books via European booksellers, the Tolino ereaders might be what you want. If you absolutely need to have physical page turn buttons, the Kobo Libra might be a good option.

If your favorite authors are Amazon-only in all regards and you absolutely cannot find their books—physical or digital—anywhere else, see if they have a Ream or Patreon or subscription service where they give free copies of their books to members before the books release on Amazon. If the book isn’t on Amazon yet, they aren’t breaking exclusivity by giving it away to their members/patrons. If they do not do that, you can email them and ask if you can be on their ARC team and let them know have left Amazon but still want to support them, and you will leave reviews for their books everywhere that you possibly can.

But as I’ve said several times, the data says that the majority of indie authors are not 100% Amazon-exclusive. You are still supporting indie authors massively if you purchase their books literally anywhere else. Those authors made a choice knowing that by being Amazon Exclusive, they would be missing out on sales from people who don’t use Amazon. That is a them problem, not a you problem, dear reader.

Addendum: Why are authors exclusive to Amazon in the first place?

Amazon is pretty exploitative—of it’s workers across the board, of the small shops that use it, and the authors the publish there. Kindle Unlimited is a program where readers pay $11.99/mo and can read any title in Kindle Unlimited for free. They can read a thousand books a month if they so choose! But, the only way to be in Kindle Unlimited is to sign an exclusivity agreement. This agreement lasts 90 days and is set up to renew automatically.

Kindle Unlimited books are given greater visibility in the Kindle store and are favored in the algorithm more than books that aren’t enrolled in Kindle Unlimited. Kindle Unlimited Books also get access to “Countdown Deals,” Which is a marketing feature where you can set your book to free for a certain number of days. If you are not in Kindle Unlimited, it is impossible within the Kindle Direct Publishing interface itself to set your book to free.

Because of how hard it is to set a book to free if you aren’t in KU (it involves uploading your book somewhere else, setting it to free on that storefront, then emailing Kindle Direct Publishing support to ask them to ‘price match’ the book and then waiting 72-96 hours for that to take place, and it involves praying that they will let you set it back to a paid book later, which isn’t guaranteed), books that are not KU-exclusive cannot participate in typical “Stuff Your Kindle” events that require the book to be free and on Amazon.

So it becomes this huge benefit to visibility and marketing to be in Kindle Unlimited. Most book influencers (BookTube, BookTok, BookSky, Bookstagram, etc, with Bookstadon being the huge exception) only read KU books. Most reviewers only review KU books. The entire book visibility system is set up around KU books. If you are subscribed to any author newsletter, you might see them promoting “KU Promotions” where they link to a landing page on StoryOrigin or BookFunnel with dozens of books in the same genre or theme that are also in Kindle Unlimited.

There is a huge incentive to be in Kindle Unlimited. But Kindle Unlimited also pays like crap. Basically, Amazon pools all of the subscription money they get from Kindle Unlimited readers. Then they take their cut. What is left over is divided among authors based on the pages read. They calculate that 1,002,133,735,804 pages were read this month, they got $X,000,000 in subscription fees in the pot (after they take their own cut). Do the division, and each page read is worth $0.004. Yes, it usually comes out to each page read being less than a penny. Last month, each page read was worth $0.0034. So a 500-page book that was read cover to cover would get the author $1.70. Meanwhile, if that same 500-page book was sold for $4.99, it would probably get around $3.40 (70% minus the ‘delivery fee’ that Amazon deducts based on file size… No other ebook retailer deducts this ‘delivery fee’ based on file size. For my longest book, that delivery fee eats about $0.15 of my royalty, and my shortest is about $0.05).

Amazon expects authors to take a massive hit in royalties on the promise of “exposure” via better weighting in the algorithm and access to Kindle Countdown Deals, while knowing that much of the book marketing ecosystem now revolves around Kindle Unlimited.

Many authors, especially new ones, are afraid that readers won’t pay money for a “relatively unknown” and won’t take a chance on a brand-new series. So putting the book in Kindle Unlimited removes that one barrier for many readers and gives authors the sense that they are doing what they can to make their books look most attractive. ‘Free on Kindle Unlimited!’ sounds great! It has the word ‘free’ in it!

I am an author, but I was a reader first. I’ve been a reader since I was five. I used to be a book reviewer, too, writing long-form and in-depth reviews. But most of my books came from NetGalley and the library. I never got into Kindle Unlimited, despite how attractive it looked to me. As a reader, I can sympathize with indie authors who choose to keep their ebooks with Kindle Unlimited; they want to make their books as attractive to readers as possible and Amazon is, currently, the largest ebook retailer.

As an author, I can also sympathize. I had my books in Kindle Unlimited for awhile! It seemed easier than learning how to market on every other platform and hey, I could say it was free! But it’s a “house always wins” scenario, the house here being Amazon. But while I can sympathize with the plight—the rock and the hard place that Amazon forces authors into—I personally can’t make it make financial sense. I’ve taken a lot of time to figure out how to sell books without being exclusive to Amazon and it is slowly paying off. most of my income now comes from my direct sales and my itch.io sales.

I mentioned earlier that I put together a three-part series on how to “go wide” and leave Amazon KU (with a bonus ‘how to market when you don’t have a new book coming out’ post). Each author has to take stock of their own situation and decide what is best for them. And being KU-exclusive may have made a ton of sense financially in the past. But with more readers not just boycotting Amazon for one day or one week, but deleting their Amazon accounts entirely, it might not be the best decision anymore and I am absolutely here for helping authors find their footing after leaving KU! What I am not here for is authors choosing to remain in KU and then trying to browbeat readers into staying locked into the Kindle ecosystem when they don’t want to be anymore and chastizing other authors for mentioning that their books are not Amazon-exclsuive.

By the way, the author who called me a carrion-feeder was mad about me linking to a Kobo Plus promotion for fantasy books and mentioning two of the books in the promotion. Yes, this is what got the KU-excluslive author who was subscribed to my newsletter upset. Kobo Plus authors had the audacity to put together the same kinds of promotions the Kindle Unlimited authors put together. But Kobo Plus does not require exclusivity! (And it pays better since it does pay for re-reads, Kindle Unlimited does not pay for re-reads; authors only get paid the first time a reader reads a book.) It’s not “fair” that there are fantasy promotions they can’t take part in since they aren’t in Kobo Plus… But it is fair that they have a ton of promotions that non-exclusive authors can’t participate in. Anyway, Hunt Monsters, Do Magic, and Fall in Love and Riyati Rebirth are both great books you can read for free in Kobo Plus, which currently has a free 30-day trial.

Head over to Year of Queer Lit to see the FULL sale, or just chill here to find the best SFF books.

Stars and Soil – Dax Murray

Epic Fantasy

Die as a queen or live as a rebel?

Caitlin Peddigree faces a dire choice: accept a loveless marriage to the crown prince, or die as a traitor to the throne. While Caitlin still grieves the death of her wife, a rebellion simmers in Fayn, the streets filled with cries for the monarchy’s fall and the rise of democracy. When Caitlin unwittingly befriends a rebel leader, she believes she may have a way out of her unwanted relationship.

Marrying the prince would protect her family’s fortune, but can she also be an informant for the rebellion? Caught in a tangled web of political intrigue and court gossip, Caitlin treads a treacherous path, made more dangerous when a spirited new lady arrives at court and ignites a new fire in Caitlin’s heart.

But power in Fayn is ever-shifting. Whispers of magic and long-forgotten gods stir beneath the surface. Religious orders conspire against each other. New nobles scramble for power and old bloodlines seethe with resentment. The rebellion fractures into factions as they bicker over strategy. But underneath it all and unbeknown to most, dark and ancient forces are waiting, watching, and plotting. Surrounded on all sides, Caitlin finds herself a pawn in a deadly game.

But she must decide for herself: remain a prisoner of her circumstances—or reclaim her own life. And she must decide fast, otherwise the flames of revolution may be put out by a force far darker than a tyrannical king.

Amazon || Itchio || Kobo || Elsewhere

A Crimson Covenant – Aimee Donnellan

Romantasy

An adult sapphic romantasy filled with angst, obligation, and magic.

The vampires and werewolves of the town of Concord have for centuries worked to keep their home secret and safe. With the heirs of the founding houses paired from a young age to train together and complement each other, life is almost ideal. However:

Arche, lycan heir to the Warden Clan, is beginning to resent her best friend and partner, and can’t tell anyone.

Lenora, the vampiric heir to the House of the Arcane, is struggling with the expectations of an additional destiny she never wanted. Not to mention being in love with her partner, who is in love with someone else.

All of which matters much less when Concord is attacked by violent, vindictive cultists. In shock, on the run, and without the partners they’ve had for years, Arche and Lenora must venture far from home for the first time in search of something that will save their people. And, perhaps, consider that some partnerships are better forged in fire.

Amazon

A Sharper, More Lasting Pain – Alex Harvey- Rivas

Dark Fantasy / Academia

NINTH HOUSE and AN EDUCATION IN MALICE meets STRIXHAVEN in this claustrophobically tense sapphic fantasy dark academia novel...

After their girlfriend's best friend is wounded in a monster attack, Simone Allard stumbles across a plot much deeper than they anticipated. As they work to find a cure to their own forming illness and find out the truth, one question remains: how was Nadia involved in this?

Nadia DuPont doesn't know how much time she has or even what is ailing her, but it all gets more complex after meeting Simone on a field trip. As they both work to find a cure to her ailment, all Nadia is certain of is she's on the path to ruin.

Amazon

The Scales of Seduction – Rien Gray

Dark Fantasy / Mythological Romance

Seeking to change her body, Petra Kruos, a mercenary and the last living Basilisk, strikes a deal with the goddess Cybele in exchange for recovering Perseus’ divine armaments from his grave.

The hero’s corpse rests within the lair of the legendary Medusa, who lives in exile surrounded by a vicious and deadly gauntlet. Surviving to reach the gorgon is perilous enough, but the potent lure of a fellow serpent threatens to undo everything Petra holds dear.

The Scales of Seduction is a 33,000 word F/F romance novella between a butch trans woman and a feral cis femme, focused on lesbian desire and reclaiming one's body from those who would destroy it.

Amazon

Heart of the Wolf Goddess – Autumn Wolff

A Magical Lesbian romance about a girl whisked away to a new world and given a different life.

Lea Trello doesn't have a life outside of work. She was raised under strict circumstances to be a safe and restrained young woman. And at the age of 25, Lea is downright miserable. With no friends, no dating, and no hobbies, the accountant finds herself wishing for a different life. Little does she know, a goddess is nearby, listening to her words.

One night while scrubbing a bathroom, Lea suddenly finds herself in the presence of Ruka the Wolf Goddess. The divine being reveals she was slain by her greatest foe, the Bear God. Overhearing Lea's wish for a different life, Ruka offers her a chance to have just that.

With time running out before she fades away for good, Ruka tells Lea she can have a chance at a new life. All she has to do is agree to take Ruka's place in the land of Gyrelle, becoming its new Wolf Goddess. The catch? Lea's reincarnation will transform her into Ruka in more ways than she knows. And to regain the divine being's full power, she'll need to track down the four pieces of Ruka's severed heart.

Taking up the mantle of the Wolf Goddess means inheriting Ruka's enemies, her lovers, and her quest to recapture the faith of people in a world that's long forgotten about the immortal who was slain.

Being reborn in Gyrelle comes with countless risks, and it's definitely not the decision a woman who plays it safe would ever make. Of course, it could also be the adventure of a lifetime (or several), bringing Lea the chance to find love, family, and a sense of self-worth. That'd be enough to tempt anyone in her shoes.

Amazon

Of Socialites and Prizefights – Arden Powell

Historical Fantasy

She needs a woman's kiss to break her curse.

When Deepa Patel rejects the wrong man, he curses her: every night, she will transform into a wild animal until her curse is broken by true love’s kiss. The problem is twofold. One: Deepa needs her nights to seduce shallow men into spending money on her—money she desperately needs to buy herself and her mother a better life. Two: she doesn’t believe in love. She’s never met a man she wanted to keep longer than a week, never mind forever.

She never considered her true love might be a woman.

Roz is unlike any of Deepa’s past suitors. She’s working class, with a nose that’s been broken at least once, courtesy of an underground boxing club. And she makes Deepa feel lighter and softer than she ever thought possible. But Roz can’t afford to give Deepa the life of luxury she craves.

Meanwhile, Deepa is posing as a wealthy nobleman's fiancée. There’s no love between them, but his lifestyle is everything she’s ever wanted. Caught between a real relationship and a loveless fake one, Deepa has to choose: give up on her dreams for a chance at true love, or make her dreams come true but stay cursed forever.

Amazon

Uncharted – Alli Temple

Fantasy

In a world of arrogant nobles and their punishing laws, Georgina will be hanged if anyone discovers she is a spy. But when the wicked prince proposes marriage, Georgina must accept. Refusing would expose the secrets she has delivered to a hidden resistance and forfeit her life. With her wedding day looming ever closer, salvation comes from an unlikely source.

Pirate Captain Cinder is a terror on the open sea, striking fear into hearts wherever she sails. Now she has a new target. The vulnerable Princess Georgina should be an easy mark in Cinder’s kidnapping plot. But the legend of Captain Cinder is more intertwined with Georgina’s own history than either of them expect.

Treacherous storms. A mysterious pirate king. The prince’s unrelenting pursuit. Georgina and Cinder can only escape by following the uncharted course of their hearts. But just as a future together is within their grasp, Cinder’s past threatens to drag them both to the deep.

Amazon

The Fate of Stars – SD Simper

Fantasy Romance

A devout mermaid. A disgraced princess. A feud as ancient as the gods.

Worlds collide when Tallora is kidnapped from her ocean home and forced to be a pet to a tyrannical foreign empire. Her only hope for rescue lies with a sworn enemy—Princess Dauriel, infamous for her stone heart and conflicted past. But when Dauriel’s kingdom comes to the cusp of war, could their uneasy alliance be the key to defeating a common foe? Or will their growing feelings for each other lead them to ruin?

Amazon

Crowns & Swords – Jenna Meyrick

Fantasy Romance

A princess. A pirate. Two people who should never have met stuck together on the high seas.

Freddie, a runaway princess, is determined to elude her parents' attempt to sell her into a loveless marriage.

Grace, captain of the Sea Dragon, is trying to keep her crew out of trouble.

Suddenly immersed in an alternative way of life, Freddie must weigh whether she's ready to overhaul everything she was raised to expect. She's introduced to an entire community of people just as they're thrown into peril. Drawn into the war, she fought so hard to avoid.

When the tri-kingdom war reaches the shores of their little hideaway, Grace must lead her crew and her people against the dangerous villain invading the community.

Can they win against Valentine, or will their newfound romance be lost to the sea?

Amazon

A Flower’s Fatal Thorn – Jordan Dugdale

Fantasy Romance

The forest is rotting.

Róis, a young human with life magic coursing through her veins, discovers that her destiny is entwined with the ailing heart of the rotting woodland. Determined to unravel the mysteries behind the forest's demise, she ventures into the depths to seek its cure.

Neferíl, queen of the Unseelie faerie court, is adorned in shadows and intrigue. She is destined to kill the human girl with life magic in her blood. However, as they relunctantly join forces, an unforseen bond begins to blossom between them. Together, they embark on a perilous quest to reach the Eldertree where the elusive Forest Father resides: a god rumored to hold the power to heal the forest.

As Róis and Neferíl navigate the treacherous journey through the twisted roots and dark secrets of Elvira, their hearts become entangled in a forbidden romance, defying the very destiny that seeks to tear them apart. Will they unlock the secrets of the Sacred Grove in time to save the rotting forest, or will the shadows of fate consume them both in a tragic dance of love and destiny?

Amazon

When Flowers Wilt – G.E. Masters

Paranormal Romantasy

To keep her soul, she'll have to make a deal with the Devil.

The Dark Lady comes for a witch's soul on their eighteenth birthday. That's the way it's always been, but Vivian's instincts are telling her to run.

So she does.

Fleeing from home and denouncing all magic, she spends the next ten years with one foot out the door, terrified that the ruler of Hell will come knocking. But when her suppressed magic finally breaks free and the Dark Lady tracks her down, it's not to claim her soul. Covens have been disappearing under mysterious circumstances and she needs Vivian—and her magic—to stop it.

Using the Dark Lady's desperation, Vivian strikes a bargain: she will help, but only if she gets to keep her soul.

As her connection to both her magic and to the alluring ruler of Hell gets stronger, Vivian uncovers the horrifying truth: there is something far more dangerous than the Devil out there, and it's coming for her.

Amazon

The Helion Band – AJ Mason

Fantasy Sci-Fi

Rose is a fugitive, fleeing from Queen Penthesilea, aided only by the mysterious bracelet that was a scornful gift from her merciless ruler. Rose lives in uncomfortable symbiosis with it, ignorant of its origins and potential. All she knows is that if Penthesilea catches her, she’s as good as dead.

Relentlessly pursued across the galaxy by an increasingly desperate Pentesilea, will Rose find the strength to take a stand or will she fall to the queen and lose everything?

Amazon

Tarnished – Erica Eberhart

High Fantasy

In the struggling city of Braewick, a determined 20-year-old gate guard named Ailith MacCree longs for a chance at financial stability and adventure. Little does she know, her wish is about to come true. She accepts a mission from Princess Greer that promises both: escort Princess Caitriona to the Endless Mountains to meet the enigmatic hermit for a great financial reward. Ailith jumps at the opportunity and bids goodbye to all she’s ever known. But as they journey together, Ailith discovers that Caitriona holds a dangerous secret—she possesses powerful magic in a kingdom where magic is outlawed.

Ailith and Caitriona face mysterious attacks and supernatural challenges. But as they delve deeper into the treacherous landscape, Ailith learns of Caitriona's tragic past and the dark curse that threatens her very existence.

With rebellion brewing in Braewick, and the oppressive king hot on their trail, Ailith must not only navigate her growing feelings for Caitriona, but also fight against relentless foes. As they race against time to stop the curse, Ailith and Caitriona uncover shocking truths about their kingdom, their families, and themselves.

Amazon

In the Pines – Mariah Stillbrook

Urban Fantasy

Two witches, two secrets, and a curse that could tear a family apart.

Olivia and Ellie have lived their lives knowing a dark entity is stalking their family, determined to kill them all. After the death of Olivia’s son, she abandons her magic and her family, leaving Ellie in a nightmare of heartbreak, her marriage crumbling and her sister gone. Determined to save their mother Arianna from a spell that left her comatose, the two sisters must come together to unravel the riddle of the curse that has haunted their family for generations.

But as they delve into the past, the truth they uncover is more twisted and treacherous than they ever could have imagined. Will they be able to break the curse, or will it consume them all?

Amazon

JASYN AND THE ASTRONAUTS – Gwenhyver

Fantasy / Sci-Fi

The explorer with the power of ice… The best friend who melts it…

Jasyn is an explorer with a talent for reaching for the stars and upending weather systems with her emotions. Atalanta is an archer and a recluse with a skill for making Jasyn’s heart glow as bright as a filament-fruit. When their world is upturned, a journey across their homeworld and towards the stars begins.

Amazon

A Sin So Pure – G.B. Bancroft

Fantasy Romance

Death is a wicked kind of magic to wield.

Nora is a soul-stealer, one of the few fae who can kill with just a touch. Taken in by the leader of House Pride after her parents' murder, Nora’s been groomed into the perfect weapon: a killer who can lead.

And when the opportunity to seize power from her manipulative adoptive father arises… well, she’s not one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

A year later, Nora and her Second, Josie, are ready to expand House Pride’s influence in both the Unseelie Court and the Human Realm. Nothing will stand in their way—except for the person attacking their House. Nora is no stranger to bloodshed, but this isn’t a run-of-the-mill raid by exiled fae; this attack is personal, mirroring the tragic night her parents died.

Nora vows to find the fae responsible, but soon realizes that the closer she gets to the culprit, the more she risks revealing a secret that could ruin everything she’s built: her House, her title, and the love she’s been cultivating with the leader of House Lust, Imogen.

But the thing about Nora is that no one threatens her family and lives—and there’s no sin quite as sweet as revenge.

Amazon

The Stage is Set: A Sapphic Romantasy Novella – Liliana Pisarka

Fantasy Romance

A detective with secrets. A thief in the spotlight.

Thrown into an emergency case, Detective Zosia Novak finds herself up against The Star: a notorious thief with an eye for the unattainable. The clock is ticking and Zosia quickly finds herself in the spotlight of a dangerous game. As she is pulled in by the alluring enigma of her thief, Zosia must deduce which rewards are most worth winning—or lose it all.

The Stage is Set is a sapphic romance novella featuring a thief x detective pairing. Readers can look forward to medium spice with a dash of action and a sprinkle of coziness in a low fantasy setting. This story will appeal to fans of Arcane, Priory of the Orange Tree, and Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea.

Amazon

Farzana’s Spite – Felix Graves

Dark Fantasy

Dark Fantasy

Life is about as good as it gets for an anxious and depressed bastard stripped of any social benefits of her caste. Farzana has a cushy job, a wonderful best friend, and a mother and younger brother who love her to bits. Then the faerie who abandoned her mother before she was born—the father she always hoped to meet—returns, brutally murders the royal family, and seizes the crown for himself. That comfortable life? Shattered.

Slowly but inevitably, both the country and Farzana’s life are dragged into a terrifying and lethal storm of chaos. If someone doesn’t step up soon to set things right, there won’t be much left worth saving.

Amazon

The Sorceror’s Lament – Sam Dogra

Fantasy

A talented young Magician must choose between power or love as she investigates a dark conspiracy that could unravel magic itself.

Ever since the restoration of magic, Magicians and Enchanters have been in an uneasy alliance. The Magicians’ power maintains peace, while the Enchanters’ potions prevent magic’s dangerous side effects.

But the Enchanters have become increasingly evasive, and the High Magician suspects foul play. Thus eighteen-year-old Jessie Balthanders, a Magician prodigy, is recruited to investigate. If she can expose their possible treason, she'll be hailed a hero.

She finds herself apprenticed to Lahara Redford, a powerful but jaded Enchanter who deeply mistrusts Magicians. With tensions running high, the two must learn to work together as they are dragged into a dark conspiracy.

But Jessie needs to find answers soon, and if Lahara discovers her true nature, she’ll have far more than the High Magician's wrath to fear.

The cost of success, however, may be far greater than failure.

Amazon

Born of Flame and Fury – Hannah Danielle

Romantasy

A shattered source. A broken realm. A false king.

It’s all her fault.

Ten years after Elea wakes with no memories in a realm that forbids solar and lunar magics, she is faced with a choice that will alter her life forever.

She must decide whether to use her unusual, emotionally charged flame to survive or be taken by the murderous king’s men and sent to the capital for execution.

With the help of rouge lunar fae twins, Callista and Atlas, the fire fae narrowly escapes her brutal fate, only to be subjected to a new world of unknown trials.

Elea must learn to control her powerful abilities, cope with overwhelming grief, and navigate the unusual pull she feels toward the frustratingly standoffish Callista.

If the fire fae can learn to tame her wild fire, she could be the key the resistance needs to restore the balance of power in Celvaria and free the citizens of the realm from the king’s reign of terror.

Amazon

BONUS:

This book isn’t technically part of the sale, but the author is making her book FREE on Itchio in honor of the day—be quick about this one, it’s just for today!!

Name Her Holy – Aubrey Ennis

Dark Fantasy

Where the weave between worlds thins, a long buried shadow rises from its grave among the stars and seeks vengeance on the Vale.

A Herald has been named to mark its ascension— a woman resurrected by The Seeker’s hand and placed in the pious care of the Vigil Order. A once disgraced daughter of her noble house, Kye Liatris is crowned a living saint, one tasked with stopping the coming cataclysm. Kye has lived on borrowed time since, aiding the Vigil while quietly enduring worsening ailments.

When a strange blight brings death to the valley of Jude Arendell’s home village, she finds herself swept up in the Vigil’s fight. But in taking up her mother’s sword, Jude learns that her family legacy was not as it seemed.

As stars extinguish and the threads that bind the Vale swiftly unravel, so do the long trusted stories of history past. Now Kye and Jude must decide whether to follow their divine callings or scorn the gods and place their trust in each other.

Name Her Holy by AubreyEnnis on Itchio

I can’t seem to sit still. Earlier this week, I launched the Queer Book Weekly newsletter/blog to promote queer books across the genre spectrum. But today, I’m getting back to my spec-fic roots. There are two reading challenges taking place this year that I am participating in: Jae’s Sapphic Book Bingo and IHeartSapphFic’s Sapphic Reading Challenge.

Both are awesome, and Jae and IHS both do fantastic work promoting sapphic fiction. But the tropes/categories in both are very, very specific to contemporary romance, leaving speculative fiction authors squinting if they want their books to count in them. After seeing so many of my fellow sapphic spec fic authors bemoan how little room there is in either challenge for our sci-fi and fantasy books, I decided to do something about it. I plan on kicking things off on March 1st! Yet, I’ll be missing 2 months of the year, but c’est le vie. I’d rather not put this off until 2026 just to be able to say it ran “all year.”

I have no clue exactly what that will be. Will it be a bingo challenge? Will it be a “collect as many books in as many categories as possible” challenge? Will it look something like Sapphic September? I don’t know yet. But I have opened up submissions. If you have a science fiction or fantasy book strongly featuring an F/F, F/X, or any variation on the number of X’s and F’s, please submit it!

This reading challenge is TRANS INCLUSIVE. No transphobes allowed.

No genAI.

No ‘M/F-for-90%-of-the-book-the-last-minute-lesbians.’ No ‘but-the-protagonist-dated-a-woman-in-the-past-but-this-book-is-all-about-her-and-a-brooding-manly-fae-lord.’ The focus of this challenge is books featuring lesbian relationships. The F/F or F/X relationship must involve a protagonist, no 'This-book-is-primarily-M/M-but-there-are-lesbian-side-characters.’ Your F/F & F/X relationships can include bi women, pan women, non-binary women, etc, but for the duration of the book, they should be in a relationship with or pursuing a relationship with another woman, woman-adjacent, or non-binary character. Romance doesn’t have to be the focus, though.

All spice levels are allowed.

If you want to enter your book to be featured in this blog, please submit it here.

I am very excited to kick this off! Please help spread the world, fellow fans of F/F SFF.

I have set up a dedicated subdomain for this challenge! You can find everything you need to know and follow along at sapphicsff.daxmurray.com! It’s not pretty yet, but I’m working on it! You can also find bingo cards in this google folder.

#LesSFFChallenge

Here is my recommendation for the books you MUST check out! Most of them are fantasy books that include LGBTQIA characters, but I couldn't help but include a few standouts in other genres! In no particular order. I've also included links to purchase physical copies on Bookshop.org or the author's direct store; while I can't guarantee that the paperbacks of these books will be discounted, I know some of y'all want those paperbacks no matter what! By shopping at Bookshop.org, you are supporting independent bookshops everywhere.

If you want to see all 600 books on sale, you can visit the spreadsheet, the reddit post, or, my choice, this website created by Y. R. Liu that has all of the books with their covers and links for every Amazon regional store and links to the author's direct stores if they have them. (Seriously, this is the best browsing experience for this sale.)

Stars and Soil

by Dax Murray

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org Paperback

The Goddess of Nothing At All

by Cat Rector

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org Paperback

Coal Gets in Your Veins

by Cat Rector

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org Paperback

City of Strife

by Claudie Arseneault

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

Stake Sauce

by Roanna Sylver

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

Chameleon Moon

by Roanna Sylver

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

The Rosewood Penny

J. S. Fields

Amazon

Bookshop.org

Lost Blades

by Liz Sauco

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

The Fealty of Monsters

by Ladz

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

The Cradle of Eternal Night

by Ladz

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

Ice Upon a Pier

by Ladz

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

The Lightless Prophecy – Darkhaven

by Kel E Fox

Amazon

Kobo

Signed or unsigned copies at Kel E Fox's Direct Store

The Blood-Born Dragon

by J.C. Rycroft

Amazon

Bookshop.org

The Phoenix and the Sword

by J.C. Snow

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

Riyati Rebirth

by Kalani Shimizu

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

Hallowed

by Y. R. Liu

Amazon

Kobo

Whisperer in White

by Y. R. Liu

Amazon

Kobo

Ancient as the Stars

by Maya Darjani

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

The Star-Crossed Empire

by Maya Darjani

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

Tales of Lunis Aquaria

by Tessa Hastjarjanto

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

Undine's Blessing

by Tessa Hastjarjanto

Amazon

Kobo

The Final Keeper Trilogy: Keeper's Reign

by Eliza Leone

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

Digital Extremities

by Adam Bassett

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

The Wings of Ashtaroth

by Steve Hugh Westenra

Amazon

Kobo

Unworthy

by J.A. Vodvarka

Amazon

Bookshop.org

The Seeds of Dissolution

by William C. Tracy

Amazon

Bookshop.org

What I Purchased

Of course, I'm not gonna walk away from this sale without acquiring a few new books, too! Here's what I purchased (so far...)

The Revenge of Captain Vessia

by Leslie Allen

Amazon

Kobo

Bookshop.org

These Violent Nights

by Rebecca Crunden

Amazon

Looking for a post-holiday gift for yourself? The Kobo Clara is my favorite e-reader and you deserve an awesome reading experience! Waterproof and made with recycled and ocean-bound plastic, the new Kobo Clara 2E is the more eco-conscious way to read and listen. If you are looking for an ereader that comes with physical buttons, stylus support, and perhaps even color, the Kobo Libra Colo(u)r might be for you.

While you're at it, you can sign up for Kobo Plus for $7.99 USD and read as many ebooks as you desire! For $11.99/mo, you can also have unlimited audiobooks! Try 30 days of unlimited reading and listening for FREE.

• Note: This list contains affiliate links. I get a small commission when you purchase through these links, which allows me to continue to pay hosting fees and domain costs. Thank you.

2024 was an interesting year for me. I had a great start to the year, but chronic illness bit me in the butt for the last quarter of it. But no worries! It meant I had plenty of time to read!

I read a lot more this year than I did last year, where I had spent a lot of the year in a reading slump or unable to read due to migraines. Thank goodness my local library has Libby and carries both ebooks and audiobooks!

I re-read some old favorites like the Demons of the House of Hua (Amazon, Kobo, Itchio) and I always read Howl’s Moving Castle (Amazon, Kobo), The Ghost Bride (Amazon, Kobo), and Uprooted (Amazon, Kobo). It wouldn’t be a year ending in a number if I didn’t re-read at least a few of my favorites.

But I want to take a moment to shout out some of my favorite new-to-me reads!

As I was putting together this list, I realized it’s got a lot of darker fantasy books on it, as well as a lot of vampires (I actually read three other vampire books that didn’t make this list)! Maybe next year, I will try the cozy fantasy speed-run just because the year itself is looking pretty dark, and I might need something a little lighter. Who knows!

Some of these are part of a series, and if I read more than one book in that series, I picked my favorite of the books I read! So, some of these are first in series and some of these are second or third! I also tried not to repeat authors, so I picked my favorite if I read multiple stand-alone books by the same author! Most of these came out late 2023 or throughout 2024, so there is definitely a recency bias in my reading this year. Except for The Dragon and the Pearl. I forget how it even ended up on my TBR but wow am I glad it did!

Because I have so many books I want to highlight, I have to do it in two different posts. This post will cover Epic Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, and Dark Fantasy. Part 2 will have Vampires, Romantasy, Paranormal Romance, Science Fiction, and Historical Romance!

Without any further ado and in no particular order, here is my list of favorite reads!

Epic Fantasy

The Sorceror's Lament.

Sam Dogra

Amazon

Series: Chronicles of Azaria #1

Length: 475 Pages

What I Liked About It:

The main character had a solid character growth arc as the story progresses and she begins to question herself and her place in the world. Jessie starts out believing she knows all there is to know about magic, but the more time she spends in the company of Lahara, another magic wielder from a different field, the more she has to confront her preconceived notions. While I picked this up for the magic and the sapphics, I stayed because I am a sucker for watching an unlikeable MC grow and change.

This Book Is For You If:

You like sapphics, you like enemies/rivals-to-lovers, you love interesting interpretations of magic.

A talented young Magician must choose between power or love as she investigates a dark conspiracy that could unravel magic itself.

Ever since the restoration of magic, Magicians and Enchanters have been in an uneasy alliance. The Magicians’ power maintains peace, while the Enchanters’ potions prevent magic’s dangerous side effects.

But the Enchanters have become increasingly evasive, and the High Magician suspects foul play. Thus eighteen-year-old Jessie Balthanders, a Magician prodigy, is recruited to investigate. If she can expose their possible treason, she'll be hailed a hero.

She finds herself apprenticed to Lahara Redford, a powerful but jaded Enchanter who deeply mistrusts Magicians. With tensions running high, the two must learn to work together as they are dragged into a dark conspiracy.

But Jessie needs to find answers soon, and if Lahara discovers her true nature, she’ll have far more than the High Magician's wrath to fear.

The cost of success, however, may be far greater than failure.

The Prince with Six Faces.

Anna Holmes

Amazon, Kobo

Length: 377 Pages What I Liked About It:

I could write an essay on the way this book presents a magical form of medical gaslighting. That’s really one of the books strong points: portraying the subtle ways people can use manipulation to wear people down and make them question reality. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any form of gaslighting portrayed so achingly true-to-life as in this book both with the various people who try to “help” Max and the ways Max’s mother is manipulated by those around her.

Not to mention, I loved the way this ended with Max and Cormac! What a sweet relationship. This book did not feel as long as it is, once the plot gets going, it’s going!

This Book Is For You If:

You like epic fantasy with stakes that are big-for-the-hero but small-for-the-world / intimate, personal, and character driven narratives, found family, insta-love but slow-burn, novel takes on gender, disability, and fantasy interpretations of medicine.

When a mysterious visitor comes to call, Prince Maximillian finds himself the recipient of an unusual curse. Exiled by his mother the Queen until it is broken, Max sets out for the city of Clockbridge in hopes of finding answers.

Instead, he fumbles his way into trouble with the ruling Guild and into the arms of one of its enforcers.

Cormac leads a busy life— a woodworker, a barman, and a Guild heavy—but he’s never met anyone who changes shape every dawn. As he works to help Max and protect him from the Guild that controls Cormac’s life, Max captures more than just his interest.

As Max and Cormac fall deeper in love and into intrigue, questions arise that draw Max back home. Was his exile truly his mother’s own decision? Can he reach her and repair their strained relationship?

And is his curse truly a curse after all?

The Hatchling.

Vyria Durav

Amazon, Kobo, Itchio

Length: 92 Pages

What I Liked About It: First off, I immediately loved the play on words that is the title. If you know, you know. I heavily identified with the whole “dreaming of dragons all my life,” because that was me with unicorns. I enjoyed the worldbuilding in this book—a lot is done in such little time! The book goes to some dark and violent places, but the ending was perfect.

This Book is for You If:

You are an egg and don’t know it. You are an egg and do know it. You have ever dreamed of dragons.

Sarric dreamed of dragons all his life; such flights of fancy captured his imagination at a young age and sustained him through the cruelty of the hunters that ruled the isolated mountain town of Rivermist. One day, a real dragon appears before him, dazzling him with her beauty and an answer to the unease that's afflicted him for as long as he remembers. He's eager to take what she offers—but the greedy hunters, driven by tales of treasure hoards, will do everything in their power to destroy her.

The Hatchling is a fantasy about a trans woman's journey of accepting her identity and her newfound family.

Ps: I didn’t know what order these posts would release in but I wrote a full review of Vyria Durav’s latest release, **The Dragon and Her Princess, **which you should also read. I know I said I would only do one book per author but I’m sorry, I couldn’t help it.

Journey Home.

May Barros

Amazon, Kobo, Itchio

Length: 23 pages

What I Liked About It: This story is very matter of fact and upfront about Amara and Luiza’s QPR and plops you into the middle of their life seamlessly. The world is both familiar and “new,” mixing space-faring and galaxy hoping with dragons but also the mundane like rent and bills. I really enjoyed the little details in the worldbuilding like memory-transmission-spells and the fact that magical outposts exist in orbit around Jupiter and Pluto. The only thing I didn’t like is how short it is! I’d love to see more of this world and Luiza and Amara.

This Book is for You If:

You like science-fantasy/space fantasy, witches, magic, and strong platonic relationships, and adventure.

Amara and Luiza are two witches that live in a queerplatonic relationship. When Luiza decides to embark on a journey through the galaxy in a quest for the lost fortress of Laura, the Dragon Queen, she ends up finding more than expected, while Amara follows her footsteps, hoping it's not too late.

Wrath Goddess Sing.

Maya Deane

Amazon, Kobo

Length: 456 pages

What I Liked About It: While this book very closely follows the Illiad, the way it is told and the how of the story is utterly beautiful. Achilles is still proud, but instead of it being a fault, it’s a source of strength in a world that wants her to feel shame and guilt. I loved the prose, I loved the portrayal of the gods, I loved Meryapi (maybe a little too much). And the dolphins.

This Book is for You If:

You love retellings that make you completely rethink the original, epic gods and goddesses being absolutely toxic, defiance and wrath as virtues, and trans women getting to be the heroines of their own stories.

The gods wanted blood. She fought for love.

Achilles has fled her home and her vicious Myrmidon clan to live as a woman with the kallai, the transgender priestesses of Great Mother Aphrodite. When Odysseus comes to recruit the “prince” Achilles for a war against the Hittites, she prepares to die rather than fight as a man. However, her divine mother, Athena, intervenes, transforming her body into the woman’s body she always longed for, and promises her everything: glory, power, fame, victory in war, and, most importantly, a child born of her own body. Reunited with her beloved cousin, Patroklos, and his brilliant wife, the sorceress Meryapi, Achilles sets out to war with a vengeance.

But the gods—a dysfunctional family of abusive immortals that have glutted on human sacrifices for centuries—have woven ancient schemes more blood-soaked and nightmarish than Achilles can imagine. At the center of it all is the cruel, immortal Helen, who sees Achilles as a worthy enemy after millennia of ennui and emptiness. In love with her newfound nemesis, Helen sets out to destroy everything and everyone Achilles cherishes, seeking a battle to the death.

An innovative spin on a familiar tale, this is the Trojan War unlike anything ever told, and an Achilles whose vulnerability is revealed by the people she chooses to fight…and chooses to trust.

She Who Brought the Storm.

Vaela Denarr & Micah Iannandrea

Amazon, Kobo, Itchio

Series: Stars, Hearts, and Dreams #1

Length: 460 pages

What I Liked About It:

As someone with a chronic condition and disability, I really liked the portrayal of Rhi’s magic as something that hinders more than it helps. I really related to then pushing themself past their limits even to their own detriment, even while knowing it’s to their own detriment. I’m not gonna pretend that the other major reason I enjoyed this book was the sapphic owner/pet dynamic going on throughout it. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and all the components of it that eschew Euro-centric / Western tropes.

This Book is for You If:

You like unapologetically LGBTQIA+ worlds, dragons, complex magic systems, dark plots, slow-burns, disability representation, and characters in complex relationships finding ways to support each other in the darkness.

Dragons rule in secret, known only to a few chosen humans—and Rhi, who strikes a deal with a dragon: Servitude for protection.

Rhi is small, anxious, and gifted with magic that disables them more than it helps—Powerful magic, which many would stop at nothing to obtain. In their desperate search for safety, Rhi turns to none other than one of the secret dragon masters of Habitat Seventeen, Laura, Lady of Ash.

Exposing Rhi’s forbidden knowledge could garner Laura the recognition and allies she needs. Instead she offers them a choice: She will shield them from their pursuers, and they’ll be her hunting dog. Loyal, obedient, and exactly what she needs to deal with a pervasive monster situation in her territory before the other Starborn catch wind of it.

Rhi tentatively agrees, but the plan is complicated by the watchful eye of Calia, a bloodthirsty dragon with much to gain from their failure. And Rhi, grappling with their magic and desperately angling for control, doesn’t realize that being with Laura will put them closer to danger than ever before until it’s too late.

Flooded Secrets.

Claudie Arseneault

Amazon, Kobo, Itchio

Series: Chronicles of Nerezia # 2

Length: 112 pages

What I Liked About It: Keza. I loved Keza. I have been the Keza of many a D&D campaigns. Each novella so far in the Chronicles of Nerezia does a great job of following an over-arching plot while weaving in a side quest that just may be the next clue Horace, Rumi, and Aliyah need. This has just as much of a cozy feel as the first novella, and the relationships between the characters continue to evolve.

This Book is for You If:

You like D&D and often get sidetracked on tertiary quests, queer-normative worlds, and a focus on platonic bonds, a diverse world, and persnickety maybe-allies.

Fate and friendship brought Horace, Rumi, and Aliyah together in Rumi’s Wandering Wagon of Wonderful Wares, a sentient self-propelling wagon. They seek the forest haunting Aliyah’s dream, hoping for answers about their past and their unique abilities—but for that, they need to traverse a world haunted by Fragments, dangerous shards that can possess travellers.

With the Fragments in the wilderness, banditry was the last danger Horace had expected on the road—but not even that could stop Keza Nesmit. Swift and deadly with a staff, Keza drops on the Wagon crew, claiming most of their provisions before vanishing back into the Tesrima Ridge. As if to compound their bad luck, the tunnel that serves as the only pass through the mountain is flooded and impassable.

Keza reappears, and she’s willing to show them the source of the flooding, a waterway blocked by Fragments, in the hopes that they can unblock it—and just like with the stolen food, she won’t answer any questions about her motives, no matter how friendly. Abrasive, confident, and eager to bicker, Keza makes for a thorny companion, but they’ll need to work together to free the pass and continue their travel.

As they unravel the Fragments’ blockage, so, too, do they chip away at Keza’s walls. But the cost of breaking both is far higher than anticipated, and Horace is about to learn that some secrets are better left untouched.

The Blood-Born Dragon.

J. C. Rycroft

Amazon, Kobo

Series: Everlands Cycle #1

Length: 330 pages

What I Liked About It: The… whatever the heck it is…. going on between Des and Liv. Squid’s sass is endearing. There’s a lot of adventures as Des is flung from one crisis to the next.

This Book is for You If You Like:

Dragons. Sapphics. Toxic Lovers to Enemies to …. It’s Complicated. Dark stories in rich worlds.

Smart, sassy, and sanguine, Des Mildue is a traveling sellsword in Rescalin, a dry and dusty kingdom full of rogues, opportunists, and thieves. She keeps her nose clean, brazens it out with a blade when she can’t, and keeps others at arm’s length where they can’t mess up her plans.

That is, until a sword fight gone wrong leaves her tied by blood to the first dragon hatched in centuries. Suddenly, Des has to contend with a new voice in her head: haughty, willful Esquidamelion. Des wants to leave Squid by the roadside, but the blood bond has other ideas.

With half the world on their tail – including Liv, her beautiful, faithless ex who Des is definitely over – Des must search for answers for why so many are willing to kill, maim and torture to get their hands on Squid. But she’s beginning to suspect her blood bond has tied her not only to a dragon, but to a fight for Rescalin’s future…

…and no one else even knows it’s at risk.

Blades Reforged.

Liz Sauco

Amazon, Kobo, Itchio

Series: Blades of the Goddess #3

Length: 446 pages

What I Liked About It: I had no idea what I was getting into when I first picked up the Scions of Shanarra in middle school and I did not feel that kind of rush again until I picked up the first book in this series, Lost Blades, last year. These books are equal parts science fiction, epic fantasy, and urban fantasy and I honestly had no idea where to slot this book into this list because of that. But for as much worldbuilding happens, there is equal amounts of character building with Jamirh, Takeshi, Ander, Jeri, and Hades. No one ends this trilogy without serious development (and scars). But my favorite part of this is the ending… the slowest of slow burns I have ever endured…

This Book is for You If:

You like genre blending and genre bending, complex characters, agonizingly delicious slow burns, deep worldbuilding, and shocking twists.

The world is on the brink of ruin. The Goddess’ chosen must fight back, lest Abomination consume everything.

Everything is hurtling towards catastrophe.

The Blade is lost. People have died. Abomination is still out there. No one knows what to do… but they have to do something.

Without the Blade tying him to the situation, Jamirh feels adrift and forgotten about as the government of Romanii tries to brace itself for what’s coming. Takeshi is still trying to navigate whether or not he wants to be a priest of Hades, but the effects of his encounter with the Truth Seekers are making everything more difficult. Ander blames himself for not foreseeing the events at Tilden Base and has locked himself away in his lab. After centuries of being controlled by the Empire, the Seekers themselves have their own plans – which may or may not align with those of the goddess.

But what even is Abomination? What is magic? Why do these two forces find themselves in conflict cycle after cycle, and what does it mean for the mortals who find themselves caught between them?

As Abomination begins to gain ground, can anything be done to stop it? Or will the world finally end in ruin?

Fire Heart.

Joyce Ch’ng

Amazon, Itchio

Series: Fire Heart Duology #1

Length: 174 pages

What I Liked About It: The women in the City of Swords. It’s just women existing in community and supporting each other! It’s just beautiful! And it made me hungry… So many amazing meals in this book! This book has been previously released but was censored, with a sapphic component being removed. I’m so glad that it has been re-released the way it was intended (Wehia and Geri have my whole heart). There is a broader conflict that is hinted at throughout and I have the sequal on my 2025 TBR!

This Book is for You If You Like:

Women building community, sword-wielding and sword-making sapphics, fantasy that isn’t inpsired by medieval Europe,

Wehia t’Doniyat, the eldest daughter of a knifesmith’s holding that specializes in ornamental daggers, wishes with all her heart to make a longsword like the one created by her great-grandmother. She journeys to the City of Swords to be apprenticed under her kinswoman, Hadana t’Tolani, the head of a powerful swordsmith holding. Among strangers and missing her family, Wehia must learn to curb her impatient and reckless nature to endure the hardships that come with being a swordmaker’s apprentice. But despite making a true friend at the holding and being accepted by Hadana, Wehia’s impulsiveness threatens to destroy her dreams of Fire Heart, the sword that sings to her.

Urban Fantasy

Magica Riot.

Kara Buchanan

Amazon, Kobo, Itchio

Series: Maidensong Magica #1

What I Liked About It: MAGICAL GIRLS. If vampires was the #1 supernatural entity I read about this year, magical girls was a close second with at least 5 of my reads being in the magical girl genre. But Magica Riot peaked right at the top with the added “girl band” element. It’s clear the author knows a LOT about the music scene and the love for it shines through. And there isn’t just one trans woman, there’s two! Which I find much more realistic because queer people travel in packs. Where there is one of us, there are a dozen more.

This Book is for You If:

You love the indie music scene (specifically Portland), you love magical girls, you want a beautiful and authentic journey of self-discovery and acceptance. And also interdimensional monsters. What if Sailor Moon but she was a trans woman in a band?

The last night of Claire Ryland's old life in the closet was pretty normal, aside from the alley fight with interdimensional monsters. Fortunately, the drummer of her favorite local band transformed into a magical girl and saved her.

Then Claire became a magical girl as well. Things got a little complicated after that.

Now Claire is juggling two new lives: living as a girl and as a member of Portland's super-secret supernatural defense squad, the hard-rocking magical girls known as ... Magica Riot!

The story of a young transgender woman who's discovering herself at the same time she's learning how to be a magical girl, Magica Riot is an action-filled musical adventure inspired by classic magical girl anime, tokusatsu shows, and the vibe of the American Pacific Northwest. Featuring a cast of LGBTQ+ magical girls, mysterious monsters, and villains that are more than they appear to be, Magica Riot shows that finding your true self is the first step toward saving the world.

The debut work in the Maidensong Magica universe of magical girl stories!

Dark Fantasy

Born of Scourge.

S. Jean

Amazon, Kobo, Itchio

Length: 247 pages

What I Liked About It: NGL: I bought this book for the cover first and only bothered to read the description after it was loaded up on my ereader. I love fantasy stories that somehow incorporate the stars and their potential power. This is most obvious in Birthing Orion but just as present in the Araelta in the Scions and Shadows. The premise of this book—the sacrificee becoming the sacrificer—is as dark as a moonless night, but Sol, despite everything, can’t help but shine brightly. I love the slow transformation of Sol as he interacts with the humans he hated and resented as he builds relationships with them, especially Loren.

This Book is for You If You Like:

Unique worldbuilding, soft m/m romance, would-be-villains become heroes, deep character development, and crisp prose.

Legends say when the skies grow dark and scourge starves the land, a star will fall in order to save humanity. Only when the star is sacrificed at the end of their journey will light return. It's a cycle—one humanity refuses to break because stars are plentiful and their sacrifices easier than learning the true nature of the scourge.

When Sol finally falls, it's not because of humanity. It's because he's had enough of watching his brethren be sacrificed. He has one goal: end humanity and end the cycle.

Unfortunately, he has to pretend he cares before humans get wise. It doesn't matter how soft the princess who catches him is—Celena will be dead by the time his journey ends. Nor how kind his assigned companions are—the outgoing Mira with her ballads, the brave Nebora with her axe, and the hero Loren with his soft voice and friendly smile. For centuries, humanity has lied and their kindness is a ruse to bring about Sol's own destruction at the end of his tale. He will not be fooled.

No one cares about the cries of the stars they've destroyed over and over again and Sol will make sure this time, humanity is the one sacrificed.

At least, that's the plan until his traitorous heart begins to care for the humans he sought to eradicate.

Moonshadow's Guardian.

Dianna Gunn

Amazon, Kobo

Series: The Moonshadow Rising Duology #1

Length: 334 pages

What I Liked About It: Demons, capricious gods, and royal/political intrigue in a dark world and a hero only in it for themselves! I really enjoyed Riana and her struggle as she second-guesses herself, Loki, and considers how the past, present, and future are inter-linked. Another book I picked up purely for the cover and do not regret it! The pacing was great, interweaving several complicated plot threads and feeding readers background and worldbuilding facts in a way that felt natural.

This Book is for You If You Like:

Trickster gods, pet dragons, political intrigue, storylines that span centuries or longer, dark stories and long kept dark secrets!

All Riana has ever wanted is freedom. Unfortunately, that’s the one thing her kind cannot have.

Bound by the curse in her demonic blood for millennia, Riana has tried several times to bend the rules and live out her life in the mortal realm. Now her consistent rule-breaking has drawn the attention of Loki, God of Mischief, the main tormentor of Riana’s kind. But instead of punishing her, he offers her the escape she has always desired. All she has to do to is save the kingdom of Moonshadow from a mysterious magical plague. Armed only with the inherent power of her own blood and Loki’s pet dragon, Riana is determined to fight for the right to create her own destiny.

However, when her mission forces her to destroy the last remnants of an ancient culture, Riana must ask – what is freedom really worth?

Moonshadow’s Guardian is a dark fantasy novel about the meaning of belonging, and the struggle to create a future not defined by your past.

Bailuchien.

Rebecca Crunden

Amazon

Length: 19 pages

What I Liked About It: This story reads like one of the Grimm Brothers’ darker fairy tales. The shortest and most haunting story I read this year! There are many worldbuilding details left vague, and that somehow makes it all the more chilling—it doesn’t matter what started the war, who killed the royal family, or what caused the famine; now you have some humans doing utterly monstrous things and the only salvation might be some terrifying actual monsters from the woods… There is a scene around the 80% mark with a young woman named Hyacinth that was just so well done. This book is so chilling, and I don’t think I will ever be able to walk in the woods again without wondering about the trees. Read with your lights on if you’re gonna chance this after the sun goes down.

This Book is for You If You Like:

“Deals with the devil,” and the “only kill those who deserve it” tropes, body horror, creepy forests, entities best left undisturbed, and tales that expose the monsters at the hearts of some people, and spark a hunger for vengeance in your heart.

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.

Riyati Rebirth.

Kalani Shimizu

Amazon, Kobo, Itchio

Series: Riyati #1

Length: 251 pages

What I Liked About It: Where Magica Riot is Sailor Moon, Riyati Rebirth is Puella Magi Madoka Magica. This book pulls off the great feat of having each of its multiple points of view be absolutely clear. You always know who’s head you are in as each POV characters has a very distinct voice. Don’t let the magical girl aspect nor the fact that Kylie is in high school fool you: this is not a coming-of-age or young adult fantasy. I would put this firmly in “new adult” if I had to give it an age range. There are a lot of plot threads going on at once and I really can’t wait for the next book in this series.

This Book is for You If You Like:

Dark Magical Girls, timey-whimey narratives, interesting magical systems, characters with hidden motives, and ensemble cast.

With great power comes your past incarnations and future self playing chess with your existence.

Kylie Rae thought she was an average honors high school student but discovered during a life-threatening incident that she’s the reincarnation of an ancient magic kingdom’s crown princess. Now people she’s never met want her dead, and she must learn how to survive in this new world while maintaining the façade that nothing’s changed. Forget making A’s, how will Kylie survive to the end of the year when she’s constantly looking over her shoulder?

This Too Shall Burn.

Cat Rector

Amazon, Kobo, Itchio

Length: 267 pages

What I Liked About It: Even before Pastor Hixon of the local Methodist church got up at the pulpit on a sunny autumn Sunday and told the congregation ‘Dax Murray is a witch,’ I loved stories about witches and deeply identified with the old forest witch living unbothered in the woods. I really just need to write up a full huge review of this and all the ways it resonated so deeply with me, but I don’t have space for that here so I’ll just say that I loved how this book examined religion, power, gender, medicine, female rage, injustice, chronic pain—especially as it relates to menstruation, medical trauma and so much more, all of which are issues I’ve struggled with or endured. The prose was deeply moving and the relationship between Arden and Verity was comelling and deep. This is definitely in my ‘top 5’ for the year.

This Book is for You If You Like:

Women’s rights and women’s wrongs, witch-y stories, losing faith in humanity but finding faith in people, and haunting prose.

Arden has lived in the woods near the deeply religious town of Arrothburg all her life, practicing magic and keeping balance with nature. She heals the sick, as her mother did before her. No matter how deeply the people of the village hate witches, they still arrive at Arden’s cabin in the dead of night, looking for help that their pastor, mayor, and doctor would never provide.

Verity is trapped in a life she doesn’t want. Her mother was burned as a witch six years ago, forcing Verity into the role of caretaker for her father and her younger siblings. The Good Book asks her to serve, and so she does. But it also asks her to endure the ungodly, debilitating agony of her monthly bleeding. No medicine, no comfort, no protests. If God is kind, why is she so cursed?

When a chance encounter between them leaves both their skin charred at a single touch, Arden and Verity are left with questions that may get them killed.

Does something wicked live inside Verity?

If Arden is the only true witch for miles, who is burning on the pyres?

Will they be next?

The Cradle of Eternal Night.

Ladz (Author), Pom Poison (Illustrator)

Amazon, Kobo, Itchio

Length: 226 pages

What I Liked About It: I am comparing this story to Shadowbringers and if you know anything about me, you know that is high praise. And no, it’s not just because Shadowbringers is about restoring night and this book is about restoring day. It’s because both examine the difference between merely surviving and deciding to live, the difference between staying trapped in the past and looking toward the future. Also it has sapphic romance. Who can say no to sapphic romance? Another book that I need to do an in-depth review for, and it’s also another that is for certain in my ‘top 5’ for 2024.

This Book is for You If You Like:

Heroes that go up against the impossible, books that blend horror and fantasy, sapphic romance, and deep storytelling that starts off intimate but expands to make you question everything.

In a land lit only by the counterfeit warmth of magical technology, the Kler prays for the return of the sun, the moons, and the stars. Ceaseless night and the beasts lurking in the darkness keep the congregation within the Kolebka Wiecznej Nocy trapped in mirthless vigil. Their towns remain quiet as graveyards as they wait for day to come again. What no one knows about this ceaseless night is that the Kler themselves can end it. But they haven’t, and they won’t.

Long ago, the Kler banished the sun worshipers, but a heretical sect made the journey back to the land of darkness. Now, only one remains carrying their purpose heavy on her shoulders: a maverick technomancer named Basia. She alone will bring back the light, or no one will.

Armed with naught but her own cleverness and a sword imbued with sun-embraced charms, she searches for the Kler’s secrets and finds herself in Tawerna. With the Kler on her heels, she infiltrates a private feast and catches Hanka, a docile bard, in the middle of planning her own escape into the world beyond. Hanka wants nothing to do with the heretical outsider until she discovers that her purpose aligns with the darkness buried inside herself. Hanka knows the secrets the Kler keeps, and she knows just where to go to expose their lies.

With only each other and their heretical magic to rely on, Basia and Hanka face the eternal night and wonder, are they truly enough to bring light back to the world?

Whew! That's a lot of books and I still got over a dozen more to share with you so pleased stay tuned for part 2! Still to come is my entire section of sapphic vampire books (there were so many sapphic vampires this year...) and some amazing sci-fi stories as well as the much talked about Hades/Persephone retelling that's taking over BlueSky (IYKYK).

Thanks so much for reading and I hope you'll at least add a few of these books to your 2025 TBR!

Purchase: Itchio | Kobo | Amazon

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I don’t know if this post will go out before or after my post about my favorite reads of the year. I wrote that post and included The Hatchling also by Vyria Durav and I held myself to a promise that I would only include one book per author for the sake of my sanity and word count. But this book also deserves a huge shout out despite coming out after I had done my 2024 Favorite Books list.

As I mention in my 2024 Favorites Post, I spent much of my childhood waiting for a unicorn that would never come. I was obsessed with unicorns, waiting for one to show up and tell me that they were there to take me away—away from the crappy childhood and abusive and neglectful household. Sometimes, I would dream of the unicorn telling me that I wasn’t really the child of my parents, and they were there to collect me and take me to my real family. Sometimes, the unicorn would tell me that they had seen my true heart and knew I deserved better.

Either way, it was abduction via unicorn and on to a better, more wonderful life!

Between The Hatchling and The Dragon and Her Princess, I feel far less alone in harboring hope that Fantasy would save me.

Fair warning, there be spoilers ahead. I’ll try to keep them as vague as possible, but you’ve been warned.

“My father won’t pay a ransom, you know, he’ll probably thank you for taking me off his hands.”

When we meet Tres, she’s still very much an insecure egg who hasn’t quite figured out who she is, just who she thinks she should be and what she isn’t. Her father has all these ideas of what a prince should be, how a prince should behave, and so much of it is wrapped up in a toxic form of stoic and detached lack of emotions. Which Tres achieves though that one cool trick: being so depressed you dissociate.

I related to this way too much; the extreme disconnect only occasionally lifted long enough to realize what is happening but not long enough to put together the why or the how. Taking on the expectations of others and internalizing them despite only vaguely realizing those expectations aren’t something you want to live up to.

“No self-deprecation in my lair, treasure.”

The Dragon in question, Ianthe, has such a gentleness as she coaxes Tres out of the cage her father had tried to keep her in and into the person (dragon?) she always was deep inside.

And Ianthe does this both in and out of the bedroom. This story has a good amount of light teasing balanced out by light praise-kink during their ‘first time’ together that I really appreciated: it kept their negotiations and consent obtaining high-heat and playful without breaking immersion or seeming overly done. A lot of people who write sex scenes gloss over consent negotiations because they aren’t “hot” or are “boring” and while these authors may leave end notes or fore words saying, “Consent is good, don’t try this at home,” I think it’s a limiting point of view to believe that negotiations can’t be just as sexy as the action itself. Durav achieves this balance perfectly.

“The lust is like nothing I’ve ever felt. Like an inferno roaring within me.”

“You don’t need to apologize for your desires. I’d be a hypocrite if I held that against you, since I’ve desired you since the moment I’ve laid eyes on you.”

I really enjoyed this scene and hope to see more like it from Durav in her future works. As Tres grows in her understanding of herself and her place in the world, she utters the words that my little leftist heart longs to hear.

“No more kings, no more despots, no more passivity.”

As much as Tres undergoes a self-revolution, she decides to take action alongside her former girlfriends and bring down her father. I really hope Durav explores revolutions more in future books. If you’ve read any of my books, you’ll know I love a good revolution and want to end the misconception that rebellions are only found in science fiction or that the rebellions that take place in fantasy are merely replace-bad-kings-with-good-kings. I want to see what Durav does if given more narrative space to expand on what’s established in The Dragon and Her Princess. This story is romantasy, and it does Romantasy very well. I really believe Durav could write a riveting revolution from start to finish, though. It’s true Tres comes into the revolution at its last stage, so perhaps something from Marigold’s or Laurisa’s POVs as bonus material in the future? Hey, an enby can hope.

Overall, I give this novella 5 out of 5 stars and a hearty endorsement for anyone looking for a cozy romantasy with loads of trans joy, dragons, and revolutions—the big macro-political kinds and the internal and intimate kind.

“Put your trust in me, my lovely treasure, and I’ll show you a dragon’s appreciation.”

Purchase: Itchio | Kobo | Amazon

Last year, A LAKE OF FEATHERS AND MOONBEAMS and SHADES AND SILVER both made it to the final round. A LAKE OF FEATHERS AND MOONBEAMS was a finalist for the “Writing the Future We Need: Trans and Non-binary Representation” category and SHADES AND SILVER was a finalist in the “Writing the Future We Need: Disability Representation by a Disabled Author” category.

Here are all the nominations with links to the categories so you can vote! You can only vote for one book in each category, and I've highlighted which book of mine I believe deserves the vote the most, but please use your own opinions when casting your vote.

The Nominations 🌈✨

Best book cover and cover artist

Stars and Soil (Purchase Links)

Best morally gray character

Stars and Soil (Purchase Links) Smoke and Steel (My choice!) (Purchase Links)

Best setting

Stars and Soil (My choice!) (Purchase Links)

Smoke and Steel (Purchase Links)

Side Character MVP

Stars and Soil (Purchase Links)

Writing the Future We Need: Bisexual or Biromantic Representation

Stars and Soil (Purchase Links) Smoke and Steel (My choice!) (Purchase Links)

Writing the Future We Need: Disability Representation by a disabled author

Stars and Soil (My choice!) (Purchase Links)

Smoke and Steel (Purchase Links)

Writing the Future We Need: Gay or Lesbian Representation

Stars and Soil (Purchase Links)

Writing the Future We Need: LGBTQ+ Representation

Stars and Soil (My choice!) (Purchase Links)

Smoke and Steel (Purchase Links)

Writing the Future We Need: Mental Health Representation

Stars and Soil (Purchase Links) Smoke and Steel (My choice!) (Purchase Links)

Writing the Future We Need: Trans or Nonbinary Representation

Stars and Soil (Purchase Links)

✨Other Suggestions

Here are some other books I think you should consider in other categories! I've read all of the following books and believe they are all deserving of the award!

Best audio narration

The Handler's Gambit by Ingrid Moon ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire )

Best friendship

A New World for You by Ka'ua Lara ( Amazon | Itchio | Campfire ) Hallowed by Y. R. Liu ( Kobo | Amazon | Campfire ) The Handler's Gambit by Ingrid Moon ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire ) Once Upon a Dark October by Jessie Thomas ( Amazon ) Party of Fools by Cedar McCloud ( Kobo | Amazon ) The Fealty of Monsters by Ladz ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio ) The Reanimator's Remains by Kara Jorgensen ( Kobo | Amazon ) The Warrior's Shade by Ingrid Moon ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire ) Wherever the Stars Call by S. Jean ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio ) Who Will Hold the Universe by Kel E Fox ( Kobo | Amazon )

Best light read

Lost Blades by Liz Sauco ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire ) Broken Blades by Liz Sauco ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire) The Dictionary of Disillusionment by Kristen Gregg ( Campfire ) Party of Fools by Cedar McCloud ( Kobo | Amazon ) Yours Celestially by Al Hess ( Amazon | Itchio )

Best mentor character

Broken Blades by Liz Sauco ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire) Hallowed by Y. R. Liu ( Kobo | Amazon | Campfire ) How to Bare Your Neck and Save a Wreck by D. N. Bryn ( Amazon ) Riyati Rebirth by Kalani Shimizu ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire) The Warrior's Shade by Ingrid Moon ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire ) The Whisperer in White by Y. R. Liu ( Kobo | Amazon | Campfire)

Prettiest book interior

Colors of Magic by Liz Sauco ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire ) The Cradle of Eternal Night by Ladz ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio ) The Fealty of Monsters by Ladz ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio )

This Book Made Me Hungry/Thirsty

Lost Blades by Liz Sauco ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire ) A New World for You by Ka'ua Lara ( Amazon | Itchio | Campfire ) Darkhaven by Kel E Fox ( Kobo | Amazon | Campfire ) Once Upon a Dark October by Jessie Thomas ( Amazon ) Party of Fools by Cedar McCloud ( Kobo | Amazon ) The Biohunter by Ingrid Moon ( Kobo | Amazon | Campfire ) The Fealty of Monsters by Ladz ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio )

Wittiest character

Ancient as the Stars by Maya Darjani ( Kobo | Amazon | Campfire ) Coal Gets in Your Veins by Cat Rector ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio ) Darkheaven by Kel E Fox ( Kobo | Amazon | Campfire ) Riyati Rebirth by Kalani Shimizu ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire) The Whisperer in White by Y. R. Liu ( Kobo | Amazon | Campfire)

Writing the Future We Need: Asexual or Aromantic Representation

Riyati Rebirth by Kalani Shimizu ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire) Awakaenings by Claudie Arseneault ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire ) Wherever the Stars Call by S. Jean ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio )

Writing the Future We Need: Asian Representation by an Asian author

A New World for You by Ka'ua Lara ( Amazon | Itchio | Campfire )

Writing the Future We Need: Black Representation by a Black author

The Kimoni Legacy by Omar Richards ( Amazon ) There Ought to be Shadows by Krissie K. Williams ( Kobo | Amazon )

Writing the Future We Need: Indigenous Representation by an Indigenous author

Sordidez by E. G. Condé ( Kobo | Amazon )

Writing the Future We Need: Latinx/Latine Representation by a Latinx/Latine author

Sordidez by E. G. Condé ( Kobo | Amazon )

Writing the Future We Need: Neurodivergent Representation by a Neurodivergent author

Riyati Rebirth by Kalani Shimizu ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio | Campfire) A Sharper More Lasting Pain by Alex Harvey Rivas ( Kobo | Amazon | Itchio) Ancient as the Stars by Maya Darjani ( Kobo | Amazon | Campfire ) How to Bare Your Neck and Save a Wreck by D. N. Bryn ( Amazon ) Inarora's Excursion by Seraph Abell ( Amazon ) Party of Fools by Cedar McCloud ( Kobo | Amazon ) The Reanimator's Remains by Kara Jorgensen ( Kobo | Amazon ) Yours Celestially by Al Hess ( Amazon | Itchio )

Thank you so much for your support this past year. It's been full of ups and downs but it brings me joy knowing that so many people found STARS AND SOIL and SMOKE AND STEEL worthy of recognition.

Don't forget to vote! The last day is December 31st!