Selarial's Song by Laura Brewer

Ignorance is the greatest danger of all! Selarial ne Talmanor is wary of going on patrol with the mostly human crew of the Ventura. They have a good combat record, but human suspicions run deep. Will they be willing to trust the Sorthian crew of the Equinox? Alcar Trent, Captain of the Ventura, knows the captain of the Equinox. He’s skeptical of the Sorthians’ psychic talents, but he does trust them as strong allies to watch his back in a fight. Can he learn to rely on their abilities – and admit to his own? The Coalition of Free Worlds is on the verge of open war with the Thess’n Empire. As the incidents increase, Selarial and Alcar begin to see the Sorthians are high on the list of targets. When ancient weapons, long thought destroyed, begin to appear, Selarial must trace the source. On Sorth, the Singer Council searches equally ancient records for answers, but finds more questions – and an urgent warning.

Empire's Bard by Marian L Thorpe

Omnibus edition of Oraiáphon and Empire's Reckoning Courage comes in many forms. The northern invaders are defeated, but the price is high. The Eastern Empire, gone from these lands for generations, now rules. For Sorley, the young lord of Gundarstorp, the war and the treaty he signed have stripped him of both his lands and the chance to be a scáeli, a bard. Now it threatens to take Cillian, the man he loves. Reluctantly accepting a diplomatic role, desperate to stay at Cillian’s side, Sorley is torn between promises: to his country’s leader; to his oath as an envoy; to his closest friend. Taking refuge in his music and the arms of another man, he finds a fragile peace – only to have it shattered by secrets revealed. But there is more than one side to a story, more than one song to be sung – if Sorley is brave enough to listen to his heart.

The 716 by S J Pratt

Olivia is destined to be the future leader of Meliora. She’s smart, rich, and innovative, and she has a pink Identifeye light. Andy is destined to be a waiter and househusband. His blue Identifeye light prevents him from pursuing his dream of becoming an engineer. After all, who ever heard of a male engineer? But when Andy’s life becomes entangled with Olivia’s and he gets the chance to prove himself on the female stage, everything starts to change. In a society where men are second-class citizens and only binary gender norms are acceptable, Andy and Olivia must confront their own beliefs and decide what kind of world they want to live in. Will they do what is expected or what is right? And will the wrong choice spell disaster? Fans of Divergent, Legend and The Lunar Chronicles will enjoy this original and thought-provoking young adult sci-fi/dystopian adventure.

The Oracle Stone by Talli L. Morgan

SOME LEGENDS NEVER DIE. Jekku Aj’ere can see everything from the start of time to the end, and it’s an agonizing curse. His only chance to bargain for freedom is to find the Oracle Stone, a magic artifact that was split into four pieces and hidden centuries ago. Lilya Noor wants to forget her past and be immortal, so she agrees to a blood oath that will grant her eternal life if she delivers the Oracle Stone to her Master of Magic. Failure is not an option, but what if the stone offers a better deal than simple immortality? Vaeltaja Ievisin has one chance for redemption: the Second Savior. Presenting the Savior and the lost Oracle Stone to his gods will end his banishment, but the Savior isn’t at all what Taja expected, and neither is the stone. And how much is forgiveness worth, anyway, when the gods are never satisfied? There are higher powers at play, and Jekku, Lilya, and Taja must pull themselves together or risk losing their magic and their lives to the vengeful spirits trapped in the stone. But it’s hard to prevent a magical catastrophe when you can’t trust anyone, including yourself, and certainly not the gods.

Persuader by Amy Campbell

When the enemy comes calling, this outlaw spitfire will gamble her freedom to save her friends. Vixen Valerie dreads her past. After more than a decade of life on the run, she fears the charade is over. When an enemy nation threatens to attack the outlaw mage’s chosen homeland, she’s desperate to stop them. Teaming up with her friends, Vixen travels deep into Confederation territory on a dangerous mission. But with a clandestine foe doubling down on their every move, Vixen fears that she and her friends have been dealt a bad hand. Will Vixen’s magic be the royal flush needed to save her friends, or will they be doomed by a losing bet? Persuader is the exciting fourth book in the weird western fantasy series Tales of the Outlaw Mages. If you like LGBTQ representation, magical cowboys, pegasus, and found family then you’ll love Amy Campbell’s sweeping adventure. Buy Persuader and saddle up for a fantasy ride unlike any other today!

God of Small Affairs by Olga Werby

SPFBO6 SPSFC 2023

Time is made out of threads. Pull one and someplace somewhere things unravel. We know how to pull on the right thread because we see the whole tapestry of life’s possibilities. That’s why we are so good at finding a good path into a future. I say a future because there is no such thing as the future. We are made of time threads—thick bundles of knots that can pull and twist and change the course of history. It’s all about connections—pull one strand, and the others twist with it. Like Newton’s second law, for every action there is an equal an opposite reaction. But we are small in relation to civilized time, planetary time, cosmological time. To make a big change requires a course correction many many years prior. Like if you want to deflect a meteor hurtling toward Earth, you need to change its course far out in space where just a nudge would do it. To make a course correction close to the impact event, a lot of energy is required. Same with history… So we are great at little things, at manipulating tiny threads of life. We are the gods of small affairs…until we are not. “God of Small Affairs” is a creepy and slightly twisted mystery tale of a small mid-Western town, struggling to survive, told from the perspective of man who is culturally a stranger there and yet learns to find comfort and gives back love to people in need…his and those that reside in the town of Wilkins. It’s a bit of a horror story, a bit of fantastical science fiction, and a take on what the world would be if one could talk directly to a god…even a god who is only interested in micro-management of human species. Jon Uolan is the grandson of First Nation tribe elder. His assignment is to bring home a god. Not the omnipresent god or the god that set the weight of the proton and the rate of universal expansion, but rather an everyday kind of god, the god that lives among her people, the god of small affairs, Ay-Tal Blue. An easy assignment turns into a nightmare when Ay-Tal gets accidentally shot and Jon becomes a suspect in a murder investigation. And while Jon is in prison, a huge earthquake and tsunami wipe out his home village. His grandfather dies in the disaster. With his people scattered and living apart, the whole tribe might cease to exist. The new generation just is not interested in the old tribal ways. Ay-Tal is no longer there to help and guide them. What is Jon to do? How will a new path into the future shape the people who got mixed up with a god of small affairs?