Welcome to Episode 14 of Turn the Page: The Indie Book Podcast.
In this episode, I chat about all sorts of bookish things like big indie fantasy book giveaways, the Indiverse Awards 2025, a new bookish social media platform, and big changes at Amazon that affect books for readers and authors. I also dive into some of the books I've been reading since our last episode, like Cancer Ships Aquarius by Anyta Sunday and Phantasma by Kaylie Smith, before sharing some of the indie reads I'm most looking forward to. Tune in for all of this, plus find out about a new bookish video game coming out next month! Listen Here:Show Notes:
I did experience a little microphone trouble this episode, so apologies for any sound inconsistencies.
Here are all the links included in this episode. Music Credit: SigmaMusicArt Read the transcript:
Kay M. Weston (she/her): Welcome to episode 14 of Turn the Page: The Indie Book Podcast. Today we're going to be chatting about all sorts of bookish things like big indie fantasy book giveaways, the Indieverse Awards 2025, a new bookish social media platform, and big changes at Amazon that affect books for readers and authors.
I'm also going to be chatting today about some of the books I've been reading since our last episode and sharing some of the books I've added to my TBR recently. I have a teeny amount of book news for you also from my own writing desk. But before we jump into all of that, if you haven't already, please do hit subscribe on whatever platform you're listening to this podcast on so that you never miss an episode, and don't be afraid to recommend Turn the Page to your book loving friends, especially if you feel they need more indie books in their lives and let's face it, who doesn't? So, pull up a comfy chair, grab your TBR journal or open your book tracking app and get ready for some new indie book recommendations. So, after reading pretty much nothing in January, I'm very pleased to report that in February I have read some books. Cue the Trumpets and Confetti Cannons. It may have had something to do with me resubscribing to Kindle Unlimited in a moment of weakness and reading into the wee hours every night when I should have been sleeping. But despite being really tired, I've dipped my toes into all sorts of books since our last episode and I'm really excited to chat with you about them today. So, the first book I've been reading this month is Living Legend by Allie Shante. This book arrived last month from the Butterfly Book Club, which is an indie book box based here in the UK. The book is a paranormal fantasy romance about a demon trained by Lilith herself who's called from purgatory to help angels find out why a demon was able to enter their domain. I'm not a huge amount of the way through this book, but I'm liking it so far. The main character is sort of snarky and kind of an unreliable narrator. Not really sure what her deal is yet. And then there's the angels who are actually not quite as clean cut as I thought they would have been. So, there's a bit of tension there and different things going on, but like I said, I'm not too far away into it, so I still need to figure out where this one's going. If you like choose your own adventure books though, or Dungeons and Dragons, or you have kids who might like those, you might enjoy some other books that I've been reading which are Matt Beighton's Pick Your Path adventure books. It's sort of a mix between the two. I picked up his free book to try with my ten-year-old and we both really loved it. You basically start by filling out a sort of character sheet which was free to download from the author's website, and then as you go through the book, choosing your path, you roll dice to try and do certain tasks and when you have monsters to fight or team up with allies. It was a really fun way of using our D&D dice collection and reading a book that was also a game but could be read or played multiple times with each time being slightly different depending on your choices and dice rolls. So, that was a lot of fun. My favourite book though that I read this month was Cancer Ships Aquarius by Anyta Sunday. Anyta Sunday is one of my favourite slow burn romance writers and this book is no exception. I have read this book before, but it's been a while, so it did feel sort of new and fresh as I had forgotten some things. It's not a closed-door romance and it does feature explicit scenes, but what I love most about this book, and all of Anyta's books, are just the character pairings and the sheer cluelessness of the main characters when they don't realize, sort of, what's staring them in the face. This one's a bit more emotional than some of the other books I've read by this author as it deals with the loss of a partner of one of the main characters and the loss of a parent of one of the secondary characters, so it's a very moving and touching story of loss and new beginnings. The other book I picked up this month was not indie, but I am enjoying it. I honestly only picked it up because I saw a reel on Instagram where someone said that the book and one of the characters in it was extremely Astarian-coded. For those who don't know, Astarian is a very morally grey character from Baldur's Gate 3, which is a Dungeons and Dragons video game. The book is called Phantasma by Kaylie Hart, and so far, it's almost exactly like Caraval in the setup and the premise, except that the main character is a necromancer and that it's set in New Orleans. Like, honestly, it starts with two sisters, one shy and nervous, the other one a bit more outgoing and with her own secrets. Their mother dies, and so one sister disappears into Phantasma, which is like the Hunger Games but run by devils, and set in the house from The Shining, at least how it appears in the Ready Player One movie, as I haven't actually seen or read The Shining. The premise for Phantasma is: There are only two rules to the game, stay alive and don't fall in love. So, obviously the first person our main character meets is a mysterious, incredibly handsome guy, because of course. All of that being said, I am enjoying it so far. It's different enough now that things have kicked in that I'm very intrigued about what's going to happen next. Hopefully, it turns out to be very different to Caraval, which I'm sure it will given the ratings that it has, but we shall see. I have my fingers crossed. But yeah, so I've read a few things this month, not as much as I would have liked, but I have dipped my toes into, sort of, different things. Hopefully there'll be more next month. But what about you? As always, you can let me know what indie books you've been reading lately by writing to me at [email protected] or on Instagram and Threads @myendlessshelf. Moving on then, I wanted to share with you some of the indie books that I've recently added to my TBR and that you may want to add to your own. First up is The King's Man by Anyta Sunday. As I mentioned earlier, Anyta Sunday is one of my favourite MM romance authors because she just writes the most incredible slow burn with some of the best characters who are almost always oblivious to their feelings. So, when I found out that she has strayed from her usual contemporary romance to writing an entire epic romantasy series, I added it to my TBR so incredibly fast. The first book in the six-book series releases on May 13th and promises slow burn passion, courageous choices, and the relentless spirit of a healer determined to beat all odds. The latest Indie Bites magazine issue is also out now. It's called Pirates and Prophecies, and features eight exclusive short fantasy stories. According to the website, in this issue you will find foretold heroes and swashbuckling villains, cursed diadems and giant jellyfish, sibling bonds and budding love stories, and of course, a whole lot of treasure. I love getting these magazines, these collections, each time they release a new one. They're just really great ways to, sort of, discover a bunch of new fantasy authors and they're also the perfect length to read in a short sitting. So, I don't usually have a lot of time to read, so being able to read a story in like less than an hour is just perfect for me. So, these are great for that. A fun segue then from this also is that one of the co-editors and co-creators of the Indie Bites magazine, Josie Jaffrey, who we had on the podcast a few months ago, has a fun new podcast coming out based on her Seekers series, her Vampire series. So, this podcast is going to feature a full cast of voice actors, and the podcast itself will be a prequel to the Seekers series, which is really cool and something that I'm really looking forward to checking out because, as an indie author that's kind of a big deal, that's awesome. It's not something I've really heard of being done before, I mean anywhere traditionally or indie so that's something I'm really looking forward to. I'm also really excited for Tess Carletta's upcoming Kickstarter which she's using to launch her next book Goldheart. If you remember my obsession with her debut, Kit & Basie, last year, it'll come as no surprise that I'm very excited for Tess's next book. This is another mm romantasy featuring forbidden love, found family, and a plant-based magic system, which sounds really exciting. The Kickstarter launches on the 3rd of April and promises to be packed full of goodies for backers. A couple of other books that I've added to my TBR this month are the Flaws of Gravity by Stephanie Caye. This is a fae Urban fantasy about a prickly heroine. playing both sides of a supernatural cold war. And then also One Dark Spark by Heather Hildenbrand, which is about an intern at the world's only supernatural library, whose job it is to make sure nothing inside a book gets out, but of course, something does. This one's giving me The Library of the Unwritten Vibes, which is one of my favourites. So, I'm excited to check that one out. I've got high hopes for that. Last but not least, I received the February Fantasy Book Box from the Butterfly Book Club this month. It's another urban fantasy called Glimmer of the Other by Heather G. Harris. This book has seriously good reviews, so I'm hoping it lives up to the hype. The main character is Jinx. She's a private investigator who's trying to track down her parents’ killers while working other cases, when suddenly she's shoved into a realm where magic is real, and her dog is a hellhound. So, it promises to be a fast paced, laugh out loud story with heart, humour, and fade to black, slow burn romance, and it's the first book in the Other Realms series. The special edition's really cool. It has really nice digital sprayed edges, or digitally printed edges. It's got an exclusive dust jacket and hardcover underneath. Yeah, really pretty. One last thing that I'm really looking forward to next month, it's not a book, but it is book related, is a new video game called Split Fiction. If you haven't watched the trailer for this yet but you've enjoyed games like Baldur's Gate 3 and It Takes Two, I highly, highly recommend that you go and check it out. So, the premise of the game is that it's about two writers, who end up getting trapped in a simulation that brings their story ideas to life. Already it sounds incredibly cool, but then when you add in that the simulation is run by an evil tech company trying to steal their ideas, no parallels there whatsoever, and that due to a glitch they end up sharing a simulation that makes you jump between a fictional universe and a sci-fi universe, sorry, a fantasy universe and a sci-fi universe. Honestly, it just sounds amazing. It's been made by the same company that makes It Takes Two, which is in my opinion, the best co-op game. I mean, it's the best co-op game I've ever played. So, to say that I'm excited for this game would be an understatement. Anyway, it comes out in March, so if it sounds like your cup of tea, go and check out the trailer and let me know what you think because I am super excited. I mean, to play as a writer in a video game and to get to, sort of, explore those different worlds just, ah, it sounds so much fun. I also just wanted to quickly let you know that Spellbound, my fantasy short story collection, is now available in more eBook stores. As well as Amazon, Kobo, and Kobo Plus, you can now find it on Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, and Smashwords. So, if you'd like to check it out, it should be available to you in most eBook stores. More information about that can be found on my website kaymweston.com. From the writing cave, my cozy fantasy project is starting to take shape a little more now, and I'm making a bit more time to write each week. I've actually changed my process with this one, I'm usually sort of a pantser and just kind of write as I go. This one felt like it really needed some outlining, I kept writing myself into corners. So yeah, I've taken a step back with that, kind of plotted it out a bit more, and I'm much happier with the direction that I'm going with that now. I'm also writing some Dungeons & Dragons game stuff for a couple of games I run for friends and for my kiddo's friends, so that's a lot of fun and has really got my creative mind just flowing a bit more. My paranormal fantasy novel has undergone some changes. It's not going to be as much of a closed-door fantasy as previously planned, but we'll have a little bit more spice. I'm also changing some of the plot as there were certain elements and aspects that I just felt were missing. So, that's been pushed back just a little bit while I make it better. I do think it's worth the delay, but hopefully it won't be too much longer before it's off to the editor and then available to buy. I've also booked some bookish trips for this coming year, which I'm really excited about. So, first up, I'll be in London in a couple of weeks to attend the Alliance of Independent Authors member party at the London Book Fair. They are always a lot of fun. ALLi are running a few interesting panels for indie authors, so if any authors are listening, you might want to check those out. I'll be in London for just a day, so hoping to check out some bookish spots while I'm there too. Then later in March, I'm off to Keswick in the Lake District for a weekend of just soaking in the scenery while reading and writing, so I really can't wait for that. I last visited Keswick when I was at university, so it's been a while and I'm really excited to go back. I'm also hoping that there'll be a trip to Hay on Wye, which is the book village in Wales, before the end of spring as well. So, I definitely have lots to look forward to there. Speaking of things to look forward to, there's a big indie fantasy book giveaway that's launching on February 28th, so tomorrow, as of when this podcast goes out. The site to visit is stuffwithfantasy.com. You can find them on Instagram as well, at @stuffwithfantasy. This is the first time I've heard of this event, and to be clear, I'm not affiliated with it in any way. I'm not a participating author. I've not even downloaded a book from them before. It just looks like a great opportunity to discover a large range of fantasy books and authors, indie fantasy books and authors. Basically, it just runs for one day, and all of the books are either free or heavily discounted, so if you're looking to stuff your Kindle or other eReader, do go and check that out. It looks like a great way to just, you know, get a load of free books, basically. Speaking of Kindle though, Amazon have been in the news lately because they've changed their purchasing terms when it comes to buying eBooks, and it's a change that a lot of people are not happy about. So, basically Amazon have now removed the ability for readers to download eBooks that they've purchased from Amazon onto other devices, so i.e. to back them up elsewhere or to read them offline, or not on a Kindle. Coinciding with this, they've also changed their eBook licensing terms to make it clear that when you buy an eBook from Amazon, what you're actually doing is buying a license to that eBook instead of buying the file itself. While to many this doesn't sound like a big change, and I've seen so many people ranting and raving about this in one way or another, and a lot of places already do this, like Audible for example. But what it means is that Amazon can remove a license to a book that you've purchased, meaning that one day you could open up your Kindle to read a book and find that it's suddenly disappeared. So, you know, imagine on Netflix, you've found a show that you wanted to watch, you've put it off for a while, you've gone back to watch it, it's no longer there, the license has expired. Now, I've had this happen to me before on Audible, I purchased a series of books on there, you know, I thought I'd purchased the actual books themselves, a year or so later I went back to read them, and they'd gone from my library. Even the purchase record for the titles had gone from my account, so I didn't have any proof that I'd purchased them in the first place, even though I'm a thousand percent certain that I did. In my opinion, this is a really shitty move, and as both reader and author, it doesn't feel like a good thing from Amazon. I'm actually wondering if it'll change how readers and authors buy and sell books moving forward. Maybe we'll see an increase in buying physical books instead of digital so you actually get to keep that copy on your shelf, or maybe readers will be more inclined to go direct to author websites where they can purchase the actual file, download it to whatever reader they want, and it will never go away. So, who knows? But yeah, it's not the best news from Amazon. I know it's something that a lot of places do already, and I think a lot of people thought that this was how Amazon were doing things anyway with eBooks. It wasn't, but it is now. But yeah, I'd love to know your opinions on this. I know the debate is rife right now. So, we'll see how things go. But in good news though for indie authors and readers, the Indieverse Book Awards are back for 2025, and the nominees have been announced for this year. Yay! I can't actually believe that it's already been a year since the awards were launched last year. Again, I'm not affiliated with them in any way, I just think that they're a fantastic way of showcasing indie authors, and a great way for readers to discover new indie books and to also get involved in the voting process. It feels very much like a community-focused awards program which isn't really a thing anywhere else, as far as I'm aware. If I'm wrong, please correct me. But I've never heard of an awards program like this before, where readers get to actually, other than the Goodreads Awards, sorry, where readers actually really get to get involved and choose, you know, nominate the titles that they want and then read the books and choose who they think should win. If you want to find out more about the awards, do go and check out last year's episode where I chatted with Indieverse Awards founder Kristina Carmela. She came along to talk about the awards and how readers can get involved. There are tons of nominations this year. They all sound equally fascinating with lots of great categories. You can find all of those at indiverseawards.com and start adding to your TBR. As well as things like Best Fantasy Book, Best Romance Book, etc, they also have categories for things like just plain old vibes, like Coziest Small Town and Book That Gives Me Goosebumps, so there's definitely lots to choose from. Voting for the 2025 awards will begin in November, so you have until then to read as many of the books as you like. Again, like I said, it's a great way to just pack your TBR full of new recommendations and to try and check out as many indie authors over the year as possible. They'll also be running giveaways, competitions, author talks, and lots of other cool things like that, so it's a fun thing to be involved in. In other news, I recently heard about a new bookish social media app called Tome. I have created an account there to see if it's any good. They don't have an app, as far as I'm aware, so that for me is a little bit annoying, because there's only a web page, but I haven't really had much time to play around and get familiar with it just yet. So, if you have any tips to help me get started or make the most of it, please do help an elder millennial out. Hopefully, they'll have an app soon if it gains some traction, if it becomes popular. Like I said, I don't know much about the functionality or how it works as to whether that will happen, but we definitely need some more social media options, I think, with the state of things. Yeah, it's becoming a bit sketchy out there, let's just say. So, yeah, anything new that provides us some alternatives is a good thing in my book. Before I wrap up this episode, I just wanted to let you know that, unfortunately, there won't be an Indie Author chat this month. Schedules just didn't allow for it, which is why this episode's a little bit longer than usual. But we will have a special guest next month, so do tune in for that. And that's all for this episode of Turn the Page, the Indie Book Podcast. Thank you so much for tuning in. I'll be back soon with more indie book recommendations and our next special Indie Author guest. Until then, happy reading and keep turning the page.
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