Welcome to Episode Eight of Turn the Page: The Indie Book Podcast!
In this jam-packed episode, Kay discusses the release of her first book 'Spellbound,' shares bookish highlights from a recent trip to York, and digs into an exciting indie book haul. Plus, find out about some amazing online indie bookstores and book boxes, get reading recommendations, and find out which indie author will be coming along to chat about their books next week! Tune in for all of this and more! Listen Here:Show Notes:
Here are all the links included in this episode.
Read the transcript:
Welcome to episode eight of Turn the Page: The Indie Book Podcast.
A lot has happened since our last episode, between the release of my first book, a very bookish trip to York, a big indie book haul, and writing projects in full swing, there's lots for us to chat about today. Plus, I'll be revealing a special indie author guest who'll be coming along to chat next week. So, whether you're here for new indie book recommendations, a quick list of bookstores and book boxes for indie authored books, or just a cosy chat about indie books, you're in the right place. Before we dive into this month's episode, I do want to say a big thank you for tuning in and supporting the podcast. If you're enjoying the show, please do share it with your friends and subscribe. It's a big help for a little podcast. So, first up, I want to talk really quickly about Spellbound, my fantasy short story collection, and I promise I'll keep it short. Spellbound officially launched on Halloween, and it's been a lot of fun and mildly terrifying to see people buying it and reading it. Despite being comfortable doing this podcast, I am extremely introverted. I hate being on camera and don't like putting myself out there. So, despite being really excited to release this book, it's also been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, as I tend to shy away from any sort of fuss when it comes to things that I've done. But it has been really amazing to hear from people who've read it and enjoyed the book so far, and I'm really feeling good about it being out in the world. It's available as an eBook on Amazon and Kobo for just 99p, and it's free if you have Kobo Plus as well. If you haven't checked it out yet, I'd love to hear your thoughts if you do, so please do consider leaving a review if you enjoy it. For now I'm putting the paperback version of Spellbound on hold. I just didn't feel like it was big enough to justify a paperback at the moment. I'm thinking of maybe getting some illustrations done to sort of pack it out and make it a little bit better in future, but for now, it's just an eBook. And I'm focusing instead on something that I'm really excited about, which is my paranormal romance novel. I'm hoping to release it in early 2025. I'll keep you updated as things progress, but we're in the final stages now, and I have everything crossed that it'll all come together soon. I also took a really fun trip to York this month. If you're a reader, or a writer, or just someone who loves cool places, York is an absolute dream destination. We went for the weekend and didn't want to leave on Monday. The city itself is gorgeous, with its medieval walls, cobblestone streets, and really interesting old buildings, and then with the Minster just towering over everything else. Sitting on the steps of the Minster and listening to the bells on Sunday, or to the opera singer who was performing on the Saturday, was really lovely, and I could have stayed there for hours. To get to the Minster, we walked through the Shambles, which felt a little bit like being on a fantasy movie set. The shops there were like full of magic and we had lots of fun taking potions classes and magical walking tours. One of my favorite shops though was the Society of Alchemists where you're greeted by a giant dragon that looks like Falcor from The NeverEnding Story as soon as you walk through the door. It made me think of like a magical apothecary; that was loads of fun. My other favourite shop wasn't in the Shambles but was on Stonegate. It was such a bizarrely wonderful shop, it's called Rookscroft and Company, and basically the entire shop is designed around a series of books that were created by an author who's also an artist. The shop sells the books themselves but then also all sorts of other bits and bobs like art prints, coasters and cards featuring characters from the stories. My favourite thing though were the displays, both inside and outside the shop. It was what drew me inside, and they really bring the author's fictional world to life. I've never seen anything like this shop before, but it was a real joy to step inside, and I kind of hope there are more things like that about. While York is home to lots of bookshops as well, we didn't really find time to visit as many as I would have liked. But, I did manage to go inside The Portal Bookshop, which was full of amazing queer books. While I'm not reading much traditionally published fiction at the moment, I did pick up and read Most Ardently by Gabe Cole Navoa, which is a trans Pride and Prejudice retelling. It was really great. It was a great read and I'd highly recommend it. As well as all of this, we also had a great time listening to spooky stories at the York Museum Gardens, visiting the Jorvik Centre, and just generally exploring the city and walking the walls. I'm honestly already itching to go back, I did not want to leave. So, if you've been to York or you have recommendations for other bookish destinations, please do let me know because I would love to find more places to visit in future. With everything going on, I've still managed to squeeze in some reading this month and I've had some really enjoyable reads so far. First up, I finished The Demon of Elderstay which felt like Dungeons and Dragons meets Terry Pratchett. The main character, Gerome, reminded me a lot of Rincewind, but if Rincewind was a gnome with a penchant for narcotics and had a bit more magic. The side characters added to the fun, especially as we only have Gerome's perspective and his funny inner monologue. There's no romance in this one, but we do have a queer main character in Gerome. Overall, it was a fun, light-hearted fantasy where I feel like you can really tell the author is a D&D player, which only added to my enjoyment of the whole thing. I also binge read The Bachelor's Valet by Arden Powell, which is an MM historical fantasy romance about a wealthy young gentleman whose mother is pressuring him to marry, but marriage isn't something he's thought about or wants. Alphonse is a bit naive, clueless, to be honest, and a lovable fool is probably a good way to describe him, but he couldn't function day to day without his valet, Jacobi, who Alphonse suspects is using magic to be so perfect. This was a really fun and sweet, queer, cosy read that I devoured in a couple of days. Some of the dialogue was a bit funny, but I understand that the author was playing on the type of speech stereotypical of the upper class in this era, so it really worked. If you're looking for a low angst, will they won't they, sort of, friends to lovers romance, this is definitely a good one. I'm also currently reading October Darlings by Wendolyn Baird. I spotted this book on Instagram as someone had ordered a copy and it looked and sounded really cool. So, I picked it up as part of my indie book haul this month and I'll come back to that in a minute. What I didn't realise though was that it's something of a horror. Even if it's mild, and I'm not sure yet as I'm not that far in, but I'm a huge scaredy cat and my sister who read this before me has already warned me not to read it before bed, so we'll have to see how I get on. If you've read any of these though or you have any similar recommendations, I'd love to hear from you. So, back to my indie book haul. This month, I decided to treat myself (and my fellow indie authors) by ordering a few indie books for my TBR. I picked up October Darlings, which I've already talked about. I also got the latest Indie Bites anthology, Forests and Familiars. although the newer edition is out now, I think, as well. I really wanted to read E. V. Belknap's new release, Stake Around and Find Out, since I loved The Tenfold Tenants so much. So, I got both of those as well, actually, because I didn't have The Tenfold Tenants on my shelf. I also ordered A Rival Most Vial and A Captured Cauldron by R. K. Ashwick. If you've been listening to the podcast, you'll know I really loved reading A Rival Most Vial earlier this year, so I couldn't resist getting the next book in this collection as well. Finally, I ordered Born to Rule by Kasey Ross, which is a debut fantasy with really great reviews. It sounds really promising, and one I'm looking forward to. I also downloaded a couple of eBooks from Kindle Unlimited, including Rust Kicker by Daniel M. Quilter, which is giving me Eragon vibes, and then the Bloodborne Dragon by JC. Rycroft, which my sister recommended to me as a queer, fun fantasy. So, as always, my TBR just keeps on growing. I also wanted to mention some amazing online indie bookstores and book boxes specializing in indie books that I've discovered recently, thanks in part to recommendations from the lovely folks on Threads. These can be fantastic ways of finding new indie books and also supporting small businesses. So, the ones that really caught my eyes were Salient Books, which looks like a great online bookstore that sells books, including exclusive editions. by indie authors. I've seen a lot of videos of people receiving books ordered here and everything looks so nice and well packaged, like they really go above and beyond with the packaging and include little extras and things like that. The only issue for me with Salient Books is the shipping. Since it's in the US and I'm in the UK, the shipping is a bit too expensive for me, but it's probably a great option if you're in the US. A shop that I was really excited to hear about, and big thanks to Kate Kenzie on Threads for the recommendation, is Moonlit Chapters Bookshop, which is online and based in the UK. They specialise in romance books and their site makes things a bit easier to find what you want by splitting it into romance sub genres. They stock books by both traditionally published and indie authors, and I'm looking forward to checking them out as they have a nice selection to choose from. Plus, like Salient Books, it's another small business. The Happily Ever After Bookshop was another recommendation from Kate, again based in the UK and specialising in romance. They also sell books that are signed, as well as bookish gifts, like crocheted kindle sleeves, annotation tabs, and things like that. They have a Facebook page for customers too and are running a romance event in Liverpool in February next year. That sounds like a really amazing time, so I'd encourage everyone to check that out, especially as it's the first time the event is being run, and I think tickets are only like £25 each, so it's not too expensive. Sadly, when I asked on Threads for some independent book box recommendations, I didn't get any replies, but I did a little online digging and I found a couple of interesting options. The first one, which I love the look of, is the very popular Butterfly Book Box. I'd not heard of this before. They're a UK based indie book box with some seriously gorgeous editions. They offer subscriptions for both fantasy and romance. At the moment, there aren't any open subscription spots, they're that popular. So, if you're interested you'd need to join the waiting list. But they do also have a shop where you can buy some individual books, and I think they have a restock sale coming up soon as well. I'm really hoping to get a chance to subscribe and try this box out because the editions look amazing and I love that it's indie authored books only. I'm really gutted, because they announce what each book will be each each month which is a great idea, and I desperately want the November edition. If you follow them on Instagram, they show you everything and it just looks amazing. The other one that I found was Your Paper Quest, which is based in both the US and the UK, according to the website. And again, it exclusively features books from indie authors. Now, each box has a different theme and contains at least two books, I think they're always paperbacks, alongside bookmarks and notes from the authors. There's also a virtual book club for subscribers, and the idea here, which I really like, focuses less on creating special editions of books, but instead offering a wider selection of books by indie authors to help readers discover more indie authors, which is always a good thing. They also keep the box theme a mystery for those who like fun surprises. So, these are just some of the online indie bookstores and book boxes that have caught my eye. If you have any recommendations, do let me know as I'd love to add a few more to my list. Fingers crossed also if I can get any of these in future, I will let you know my thoughts. I'm really excited to try them out. In very brief indie publishing news, we're only a few days away from the Indieverse Book Awards winners being announced on December 4th. I can't wait to see who takes home the awards, and I'll be keeping an eye out for some of my favorites. These awards have been so much fun this year and have really helped me to discover a bunch of new authors I hadn't heard of before. One of which is Sebastian Nothwell, author of Fiorenzo, an Indiverse Awards nominee in three categories. Sebastian writes MM historical and fantasy romance and will be our special guest next week. In our chat, Sebastian shares some of the inspiration behind his books and characters, reveals the three words that encapsulate his writing, and for those of you already familiar with Sebastian's writing, hurt/comfort does count as one, and we get a peek into Sebastian's current project inspired by Little Women as well. If that isn't enough though, Sebastian also shares three indie book recommendations for you to check out and tells me more about his podcast, Right Here, Write Queer. So, don't miss this episode which will be available everywhere on December 4th. Before I wrap up episode 8 of Turn the Page: The Indie Book Podcast, I just wanted to give you a quick preview of what's coming up in December. I'll be back just after the holidays with a winter reading wrap up episode, where I'll also share my favourite indie books of 2024, and what I'm looking forward to reading in 2025. Thank you all so much for tuning in and for your continued support. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen so that you never miss an episode. Until next time, I'd like to wish you all a very happy holiday season. Don't forget to tune in next week for my chat with Sebastian Nothwell, and as always, happy reading and keep turning the page.
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