Just sharing.
It was almost banned in my home country but at the end it won a national award. Today I was informed that it got banned by the Saudi government.
It’s not political. No sex. It just has some (unusual?) imagination. I like unusual imagination.
Edit: I didn’t expect to get this much support! Thanks everyone! :)
If the author say hunger / hungry one more time I am going to scream. That was my internal dialogue while reading this book. I am almost done and can’t form an opinion at the moment. Is this a sapphic or sapphic adjacent .What was your experience reading it?
One of my favorite parts of being an indie author is the flexibility it affords. If I want to try something, I don't need to run it by anyone. I just do it. That can be good, and it can be bad. Bad because I can be impulsive.
A couple of weeks ago, I was listening to a podcast, and another author was being interviewed. In it, she said more than 60% of her audiobook revenue comes from YouTube. That really surprised me, but also intrigued me. She said she put all of her audiobooks on YouTube for free, and it hasn't impacted her sales on other platforms like Audible. But she's gained more readers who have found her on YouTube. And YouTube pays her ad revenue.
I've decided to try it, but I need at least 1,000 subscribers. Currently, I have 446. Will you help me reach 1,000? I'll post a link to my channel in the comments. If you have a YouTube account, I'd really appreciate you subscribing and liking my videos. Thank you in advance! These are my books. I’m the author D.J. Maughan
Trust the System. Betray Yourself.
The most disturbing thing in my novel isn’t the AI sidekick. It’s that the protagonist becomes better at being someone else than he ever was at being himself. And he likes it.
Zero Trust is a near future thriller with plausible sci-fi and is available now on KindleUnlimited.
I've written my first novel that's garnered a positive Kirkus Review, won some minor awards, been well-reviewed in general across the web but nobody knows it exists. I've run some Facebook ad campaigns, am retired and living from savings so am not rich and trying to wrap my head around how to get the word out that my book exits.
Each option seems limited:
Go to conventions and "cons," rent a table, sit there and watch people walk past and hope one will look at my book and consider buying a copy. They cost alot to attend, are stressful to prep for and go to and carry large boxes around for after going through cancer and the one I went to was depressing since there were dozens of indie authors there with nobody selling one book at all.
Amazon Ads seem hit or miss and expensive
BookBub Ads, not sure
BookInfluencers dot come seems sketchy but I don't know.
One agency told me to just keep writing and after I have more books, then promote them, which to me seems like them saying "your budget is not big enough for us."
Toronto knew death was near when the final compile finished without a single error.
For three seconds, he stared at the green message on his laptop screen and felt nothing. No joy. No relief. Not even the tiny spark of pride that usually appeared after surviving another impossible deadline. Build succeeded.
His HRIS module worked. The login page accepted credentials. The dashboard loaded. The reports did not explode. Somewhere, in a kinder universe, that would have meant sleep.
In this universe, it meant his thesis adviser would ask for revisions in the morning. Toronto blinked once as the room tilted.
A cold cup of coffee sat beside a tangled mess of wires, bread wrappers, circuit boards, and printed diagrams marked with red pen. His running shoes were still wet from the morning marathon he had joined because some cruel part of him believed discipline built character.
He had no character left, only battery warning.
"Finally," he whispered, and let his forehead touch the keyboard. The laptop chimed.
Toronto died before he could close the lid.
When he opened his eyes again, people were chanting at him.
That was rude.
A circle of blue-white light burned beneath his back. Tall pillars rose around him, carved with unfamiliar symbols that looked suspiciously like someone had forced a medieval cathedral to run a user interface. Priests in silver robes knelt on both sides of the circle. Knights stood at attention. Nobles watched from a balcony with the hungry expression of people expecting free entertainment.
At the far end of the hall, a golden-haired king lifted both hands.
"Otherworlder Hero!" the king declared. "Almanos has answered our prayer!"
Toronto closed his eyes.
No.
Maggie Bloom never expected to inherit her aunt’s quirky lakeside nudist resort—let alone run it with nothing but a clipboard, a frazzled smile, and a lot of strategic eye contact. Sunny Bunz might be a haven of sunshine, body positivity, and questionable ukulele performances, but managing towel disputes and talent show rehearsals is hardly Maggie’s idea of paradise.
Then a high-profile guest turns up dead, and paradise turns perilous.
Between juggling eccentric regulars, nosy newcomers, and one very attractive handyman with a mysterious past, Maggie suddenly finds herself at the center of an investigation that threatens both the resort’s reputation and her own sense of belonging. To save Sunny Bunz, she’ll need more than a clipboard—she’ll need courage, quick thinking, and the nerve to confront a killer hiding in plain sight.
Lighthearted, witty, and full of sunshine and suspense, Murder in the Buff is a cozy mystery that proves community—and truth—shine brightest when nothing is left to hide.
Blurb:
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A man seeking enlightenment, crashing into the immovable wall of silly intrigue.
Ding dong. Knock knock. An idea impregnates Adam’s head like… well, you get the idea. No?
Tired of his everyday distractions, Adam convinces his friends Joe and Mary to enroll at university in pursuit of knowledge. There, they meet people – and people are bastards – so naturally, politics, intrigue, death, and destruction follow, escalating far beyond anyone’s expectations.
Eventually, Adam is persuaded by a wise old janitor to attempt something daring: steal the legendary tree of knowledge from the violent university president. But he’s far from the only one with designs on the tree. A smooth-talking Cardinal shows up, and soon the university is spiraling into chaos, torn apart by silly intrigue and minor philosophical disagreements.
Absurd, pseudo-philosophical, pseudo-religious, pseudo-modern, pseudo-medieval, darkly comic, and wildly entertaining, Curiosity Lost is a satirical tale of ambition, idealism, and the unpredictable consequences of trying to do anything meaningful.
The author, who is definitely a different person from the person writing this blurb, advertises the book as “Dark academia meets Life of Brian”
Now… Can you really just take his word for that? Yes! Of course you can. I believe in you.
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If you like satire, quirky dialogue, silly plots, and occasional deep philosophical sparring, then you may like this book.
It's a strange book, but I'm a firm believer in trying to do something different with your book regardless of what style is currently in vogue (In other words: I don't sell very well).
The book is mainly driven forth by plot and by dialogue. The plot goes fast while the dialogue takes its time. It has two main intersecting storylines and multiple POVs according to what is most relevant for each chapter.
What the book is about is perhaps the hardest thing to describe about the book, especially without spoiling it, but it is about a man seeking enlightenment, crashing into the immovable wall of silly intrigue, you could say. I once wrote the following: "The novel is a tragicomic take on the idealistic pursuit of enlightenment against the need to conform to a world where such enlightenment is neither necessary nor even desired."
How far can such a book escalate, you ask? Quite far. Very far.
This book is the second book I wrote, but the first book I finished editing and published.
As far as getting people to read this type of book, the hardest part is really trust. Can you actually trust that it will be worth your time? No. But wait! Can you trust that it will be funny? I mean, that depends on your humor... Can you trust that it's theoretically hilarious and big-brain compliant? Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. Big brained man wrote it for others of similar brain size, but can you know that for sure? Can you??
Basically, what I am trying to communicate, is... well, what I want to say is just... Trust me, bro. Trust me hard. Trust me timbers.
Epic Fantasy. A bit of Grimdark. A touch of romance. Deep characters, big plots, and sword & sorcery. Welcome to the Freebooters.
The Witch and the Blade follows the journey of Eruch, the Twilight Blade, as he struggles to rebuild his shattered life in the wake of costly mistakes during the Libertan War (at the conclusion of the Espa Chronicle). Seeking redemption and purpose, Eruch joins the Freebooters, a millennia-old mercenary company that thrives on unorthodox methods and loyalty.
Parallel to Eruch's story is that of his estranged wife, Varilla, the Witch of the Wastes. Rising to prominence within the Bulvi’s court, she shapes a new destiny of power and rebuilding for the wastes. Their paths, once bound by love and tragedy, are destined to cross again.
Meet the unforgettable Freebooters: Captain Urskine, the steadfast leader; Lincoln Headcleaver, the congenial enforcer; Sammy, the sly mouth; Hammer Red, Tonkes, Danni Singlehand; and the brash youth, Piss. Together, they navigate the treacherous waters of the Freeport of Braid, tying together lingering threads from the wider Espa Chronicle while introducing a vibrant new land beyond Raakonia and the Val E Naa Wastes.
The Witch and the Blade offers a gripping blend of action, intrigue, and heartfelt moments as it weaves together the lives of warriors, witches, and mercenaries in an epic tale of love, loss, and redemption.
FREE TODAY.
My first book was published January of this year, and I am trying to push sales a little, I posted this video on social media, tell me what you think please.
My book is available on Amazon
The Fire-Heart
By: T.T. Manning
Hi! Just released 'Mythopocracy: Scales'. It’s an urban fantasy that centres around a couple and their efforts to solve the mystery of their missing memories. There’s a whole host of characters around them, helping them and getting in their way, and they might actually be gods!
Here's the Royal Road link, feel free to check it out: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/165750/mythopocracy-scales
This is our first series as a new author. Feedback and comments are most welcome! :)
Hello everyone!
Next week marks the finale of arc two and I am entering the finishing line for my first standalone story (60k words out of 100k)! There is a nice handmade cover which I did my best to create (don't be very harsh about it) and I have embraced my cute logo (it got its own backstory but this is not the time and place)! With that being said, I am a new author starting a series of novels set in the same universe (think of the Cosmere by Brandon Sanderson as the magic system varies between books).
With that being said, the first arc, Trails of a Raven, is already out (about 35k words) and we are going strong with the second one named Game of Turbulence (one more chapters to go)! I would love to see you at my lil tale to discuss the plot, my effort in creating a cover and my beautiful commissioned penguin! It's really beautiful, come have a look!
For anyone interested, the blurb:
The world is in ruins, and in the last stronghold of civilization a deadly curse strikes down the young and steals their lives. For generations, the cure has been out of their grasp. The Lords must now forge from steel the new generation to rise up against the menace. Welcome to the Game of Life.
Faoros, a prodigious science student at the Academy, is baffled by its suffocating leadership. Eager to fulfill his dream of eradicating the Curse and freeing himself from the Lords, he enters the Game. However, he is woefully unprepared when a sentient simulation approaches him, offering him the power to bring his imagination to life and to reveal the truth about the Lords' ultimate purpose.
And the link of course:
https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/153401/a-ravens-game-of-change-progression-fantasy-sci-fi
PS I have managed to add it to Goodreads for anyone wishing to include this tale on his reading challenge 😊
Actually I'm writing a novel and just completed 6 chapters but no one is supporting me , 0 supporters 😔
I think my story isn't that good
Here is the elevator pitch
A boy is reborn again and again in a world that never truly changes. In every life, he recovers most of his past memories—but never all of them. Just before he can uncover the truth, he dies… every time.
Haunted by fragments of lives where he was someone else, and watched by a mysterious girl who may be controlling everything, he begins to question reality itself—is this a simulation, a battlefield, or something far worse?
This time, with incomplete memories and time running out, he must uncover the truth before the cycle resets again… or accept that he was never meant to remember everything.
Do you think too ??
Here is the link
https://m.webnovel.com/book/the-last-reset-end-of-the-loop\_35732387500401605
So this is my new project that im working on
Like title says a different genre and different story here i have no one to give feedback about that
Read my story on webnovel and let me know your tbh opinions on that
Synopsis of my story :
Every night at midnight, the world resets.
For everyone else, it’s just another day.
For Magnus Fero, it isn’t.
As small changes begin to carry over between resets,
Magnus realizes the loop isn’t perfect and something is reacting to what he does.
The more he pushes, the more unstable everything becomes.
Now, he’s no longer just trying to understand what’s happening.
He’s trying to survive it.
It will be a professional mind-bending story and i promise you it'll keep you thrilled throughout the time
Do visit and read this, i dont need views i need honest readers and their perspectives of my story
See ya
The Revealing, on Amazon. https://a.co/d/0dCq8K5s
Book overview: Imagine for a moment that your secrets are revealed to everyone in your phone contact list. The Revealing is an original story of sin and the shadow side that you hide from the people you love. Eve ate the apple to know the truth about Adam. What she unleashed can't be stopped. Now four modern sinners walk the same path: a housewife borrowing more than sugar from a neighbor; a priest worshipping his secret god; a straight-A student hiding his drug dealing empire from his parents; and a gambler starving the poor to cover his bets. When the truth is revealed to their loved ones with the press of a button, no secret survives and lives are changed forever.
My husband crowned another woman while I watched… and my wolf finally told me to run.
Before I’d even drawn my first breath, my fate was decided. I was to be Kade Thorne’s bride. And the Luna of Silvercrest.
For the last ten years, I carried that title with pride. I gave the Alpha my counsel, my strength, and two children. I thought that was enough. But then, I lost everything.
I lost my mate’s love. I lost my children’s voices calling me Mama.
And tonight, I stand in my own house as a ghost, while another woman takes my place.
My pack members surround me, among other guests, who have arrived for this year’s Masquerade ball, laughing and drinking, adorned in silks and masks. I stand apart in a corner with a stiff smile, my hands becoming colder by the second.
My husband rises on the dais. His mask is black as night, carved with silver edges to match the onyx robe he’s chosen for tonight. As he speaks, the laughter and gossip fade into silence.
“Tonight, on the occasion of the annual Masquerade Ball, in honor of Silvercrest’s founding and another year of strength, I present to you the lady who has stood beside me.”
His hand finds Izel’s. Her ivory gown, heavy with pearls, has an unnatural shine. She steps forward, her chin lifted, face adorned with a cloying smile.
“Lady Izel,” Kade says, “from this day, you are the lady of this house.”
The crowd gasps first, then someone begins to applaud, and the others follow. Wolves howl in approval, trembling the very earth beneath us. I stand still. My nails dig into my palms, drawing blood.
A councilman near me leans close. “At last,” he mutters, pretending to be subtle, and yet his voice is loud and clear enough for me to hear. “The Alpha makes it official.”
Another nods. “She carries herself well. Such grace! And that divine smile… The pack will accept her.”
“She is not the Luna,” I say with gritted teeth, unable to remain silent anymore.
The first man chuckles, taunting, “Perhaps not. But she looks the part, Freya.”
I force a smile. “Looks can lie.”
“And truth doesn’t take long to be rewritten.”
I bite back a curse. If the Alpha himself does not respect his wife and outright treats her like shit, why should others keep their bitter words hidden?
On the dais, Izel bows gracefully. When she rises, her gaze skims the hall until it reaches me. The sweet smile on her face takes on a venomous edge, her brown eyes sparking with open challenge—until something else takes her attention away.
“Finn! Ivy!” she calls out brightly and kneels, opening her arms.
My children break from the crowd. Their small feet patter across marble as they run to her, arms outstretched.
“Mama!” Ivy, my three-year-old daughter, cries.
Izel gathers them close. She kisses Ivy’s cheek, ruffles Finn’s hair. She acts like they have always belonged to her. They giggle softly, and she laughs with them. The sounds split my heart open and pokes it with glass shards at the same time. They’re my children, but they think Izel’s their mother.
When did that happen? Why did it happen? And why did I let it happen?
The guests stop pretending to be discreet.
“They call Izel Mama.”
“Poor Freya.”
“No wonder the Alpha chose differently.”
I sip my wine, but it tastes like ash.
“She holds them well,” a woman murmurs.
“Better than their own mother,” her companion replies with a snicker.
I grip my glass so hard I think it might break.
Kade wraps a hand around Izel’s waist and subtly pulls her closer. He has a smile on his face that I once believed was reserved only for me.
So, he thinks she is his true family now?
The shock grips me even though I saw this coming. Over the weeks and months that led up to this moment, I should’ve known he’d do something like this tonight. I just didn’t think he’d be bold enough to make a spectacle of his betrayal.
But he is the Alpha, and he has always done as he pleases.
No. Anger surges through me. This is it. I’ve had enough.
I slip out through the doors and rush to the adjoining stone terrace with quick strides, my breath coming out in sharp gasps. Cool night air rushes against my face, making me hiss. The dark sky is littered with stars but even the Moon hides from me. I grip the cold railing until my knuckles ache. My lips tremble from holding back a sob. For a moment, it is silent except for the gush of wind and the chirp of crickets in the garden below. Then I hear a voice.
‘Leave.’
My body turns to ice. The voice is very faint but familiar.
“Nyx?” I whisper, looking around.
‘It’s me.’
My knees nearly buckle.
My wolf, who has been silent for so long—six years, finally speaks. I can barely breathe right.
I’ve missed her guidance. I’ve missed her strength.
‘Leave,’ she says again, voice still faint in my mind. ‘You cannot stay. Thirty days. No more.’
A shiver cuts through me. Thirty days. What does Nyx mean? Why is she asking me to leave?
‘If you want to live, you must free yourself from this poison.’
Goddess help me. I’d forgotten just how obscure wolves could be.
The doors open behind me with a sudden jolt, and heavy, thudding footsteps greet my ears.
Kade. He pushes his black and silver mask up, revealing all the beauty in his charming, angled face. The mate bond vibrates the very air between us, and I feel drawn to his warmth—completely out of control of my own body. I have to steel my mind to remember all the shit he has dragged me through. His gaze sweeps over me. “You left the hall,” he says, clearly displeased.
I swallow the lump that has formed in my throat and tell him, “I needed some air. I didn’t know I wasn’t allowed even that.”
“You look pale.”
Does he care? “I’m fine, Alpha Kade.”
“Good.” He pauses, drawing in a deep breath. “You should come back soon. The guests will wonder.”
I force a smile. “Of course.” He turns to leave, but my hand reaches out and tugs at his sleeve. His gaze drops to it before meeting mine once again. “They called her Mama,” I say, my voice wavering with pain.
Kade stiffens. “They’re children,” he tries to explain, eyes narrowing. “They don’t know.”
“They know enough. And if they don’t, you should correct them.”
He exhales. “Freya. Don’t make a scene.”
My lips twist, heart wrenching in pain. “I never do. I’m the quiet one, remember?”
Kade glares at me, taking his sleeve out of my grip with a harsh pull and then leaves without another word.
As the doors open, the music swells momentarily. Izel’s laugh falls on my ear, clear and grating as bells.
Nyx’s voice coils through me. ‘Thirty days. Leave.’
I tilt my head to the clouded sky. My throat burns, but I don’t let the tears fall. “Thirty days,” I whisper. “Then I will be free.”
would you like to continue reading? book is available in Kindle Unlimited
book link: https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Rejected-Luna-Alphas-Betrayal-ebook/dp/B0G1D36W27
These are feelings that probably many of us anxious people feel on the most trivial of instances. I wanted to explore this feeling from an third-person perspective.
Also readers love yourself. You are kind and beautiful!