Mental Heath: Social Media & Free Time

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Hi everyone. So I wanted to do another post talking about mental health and wellbeing. 

Something that I have noticed is that I gravitate towards clicking apps on my phone and scrolling, rather than doing my other hobbies in my spare time. Looking at the time I spend on social media is not great. Now I do a lot of book promotion on social media but there is a big portion of that time where I'm just scrolling and checking for threads to reply to. I find it difficult to do nice things, like reading or gaming because scrolling feels less mentally and physically intensive and it can become almost addicting. I've noticed that when I spend a long time on social media, my mental health really goes downhill- I feel anxious and down and become hyper-focused on things that don't really matter. 

Do you like History? Check out these books!

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Hello! In this post we will be looking at some historical fictions (or books with a historical feel) by indie authors! 

The Dacian Enigma (Vialegio Book 1)

The sly deceit and deception of the Dacian King unleashes an Emperor's revenge. A soldier learns the wily crafts of war and politics as he rises through the ranks of the legendary Legion of Gemina. Overreaching ambition lays the framework for fissures within the Roman Empire.

Free on Kindle Unlimited

The Arc of Dacicus (Vialegio Book 2)

Years of provocation and deception have incited the Emperor Trajan to restore the honour of Rome on the eastern frontiers of the empire.

Shameful memories of past humiliations from broken treaties and the dishonourable losses of Roman legions compel the emperor to subdue the frontier territories and to impose Roman hegemony.
Senior Tribune Cletus, steadily elevated by battlefield actions of bravery and courage through the Legion Gemina ranks, finds his allegiances tested as he climbs the ladder of power during the arc of the expansionary campaign.

Hell in High Heels: Villainous B*****s You Won't (BUT SHOULD) Find in the History Books (Very Sweary Histories)

Addressing women in history with a unique perspective and a bit of flair!

History textbooks haven’t changed in at least thirty years. Imagine the author's disappointment when she realized her children were learning the same misinformation she did in K-12. Where the f*** were the women who refused to conform? Who refused to live under a man’s boot? The villains? The criminals? Did they not exist?

A handful of badass women are mentioned, usually in passing, in mainstream history books as a sort of appeasement for the feminist crowd—Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, et cetera, et cetera—but the author, a feminist, was not appeased. Or amused.

You won’t recognize many of the names here, if any, but there are some familiar names who merit a more honest accounting than they’ve been given. These are women who broke the law; who committed murder; who stole; who got a bad rap; who defied convention; who were so f***ing fierce in their own time that contemporary historians exaggerated their villainy.

You ought to meet these badass—and sometimes really f***ing scary—b*****s. Some will make you cheer; some will make you laugh; and some will make you mad.

Author Interview: Denise O. Eaton, Fantasy Author

1) Please introduce yourself (who are you, what genre/s do you write in, what books do you have out)

For anyone who doesn’t know me, perhaps the first important thing to know is that fantasy, anime, and magic consume my life. I’ve always liked to escape from the norm, especially since I didn’t have the best childhood growing up. I would cling to any book or program with magic in it and then started to craft my own worlds and stories before I even picked up a pencil as a child. Fantasy is my passion. As an adult, DnD has fueled my imagination more than most other pastimes and has become the inspiration for my debut series, Arigale, whose first entry was released in August 2021.

2) What are your favourite books?

The Giver by Lois Lowry is something I think everyone should read. This book wasn’t required when I was in fifth grade for nothing. The Giver holds you and makes you question a lot of things, especially when read at that age. This book opened me up to a lot of new ideas and helped me form more of my sense of self. Don’t watch the movie. Read the book, no matter how many banned lists it may be on now.

Author Interview: Alan K. Dell, Science Fiction Author

1. Please introduce yourself (who are you, what genre/s do you write in, what books do you have out)

Hi there, my name’s Alan and I write sci-fi in a variety of subgenres. My current titles are all in my Augment Saga universe. There’s The Re-Emergence, which is a space opera and prequel novella. Then there’s From the Grave of the Gods, which is the first full-length novel in the series and is a contemporary/near-future hard sci-fi.

 
2. What are your favourite books?

I absolutely love the books of The Shadeward Saga by Drew Wagar, they’re a masterful blend of sci-fi and fantasy in a style that’s been likened to Anne McCaffrey. Fantastic concept and characters, and the whole thing runs very high emotionally. I could not recommend them enough! More recently, I have found a great love for Ursula K. Le Guin’s work as well, and A Wizard of Earthsea I think tops the list for me in an immense body of work. I also really enjoyed Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Children of Time. So I think those really represent my top three.

All of the Books on my TBR!

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Hi everyone! Today I wanted to go through all of the books that I currently own. I am hoping to mainly read these books before getting any new books! There are some self-published books, please check out my indie books page for a ton of recommendations. Some of these I am planning to read via audio as I recently got back into audiobooks and I'm really enjoying them. If you'd like to check out audiobooks, you can get a free trial of Audible with my affiliate link. You can also get 2 audiobooks for $14.99 and support indie bookshops with my Libro fm referral link! You can also get audiobooks (and ebooks) with a 60 free days trial of Scribd! I'm not including any Kindle Unlimited books in this post but if you see my TBR and have any recommendations, please do let me know as I'd like to use Kindle Unlimited more! So let's take a look at the books:

Book Spotlight: The General's Wrath : and other short stories by Laura M. Austin Ft. A Coupon Code!

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Title: The General's Wrath : and other short stories

Author: Laura M. Austin

Available on: Amazon - Smashwords - Barnes & Noble

See my review here

Get the book for 0.99 on Smashwords with my exclusive discount code: FW62Q (just add the book to your cart, go to your cart and add the coupon code!)

Synopsis

This book features five short stories. 

Is reading really effective at improving your mental health?

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Hi everyone! So I wanted to do a quick post on reading as a strategy to deal with anxiety and low mood. I like to talk about mental health on my blog and Twitter and I'd be really interested to hear your own experience with reading and anything you find particularly helpful for your mental health.

Books that Play with Time: Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Dystopian Book Recommendations

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Do you like reading books that play with time? Whether set in the future or another time? Here are some science fiction, fantasy and dystopian books that you should check out!

These Violent Nights

Once upon a time, inhabitants of another world tore a hole through the universe and came to Earth. They called themselves Suriias, and rivalled humans in knowledge and skill with one great exception: they had magic.

War followed. Humanity lost. And three hundred years later, humans are on the brink of extinction.

Orphans Thorn and Thistle live in hiding. They are the last of their families, the last of their friends. They scrape by, stealing to survive and living on the streets or hiding in sheds. But even under the brutal regime of the Suriias, there are places where humans can mingle in secret with magical sympathisers, and one night Thistle gets an unexpected offer of marriage from a Suriia with high standing and friends in all the right places. For Thistle, it’s a chance at safety and comfort; for Thorn, it’s a chance to find the ones who killed her parents.

And so the pair move into the capital city of Courtenz. An urban monstrosity of magic and might, false friends and flying cars, drones and death tolls, the new city promises a fresh start – and new love – for both.

But if there’s one thing Thorn knows for certain, it’s that dreams can swiftly turn into nightmares.

Free on Kindle Unlimited

A Touch of Death (The Outlands Pentalogy Book 1)

A thousand years in the future, the last of humanity live inside the walls of the totalitarian Kingdom of Cutta. The rich live in Anais, the capital city of Cutta, sheltered from the famine and disease which ravage the rest of the Kingdom. Yet riches and power only go so far, and even Anaitians can be executed. It is only by the will of the King that Nate Anteros, son of the King’s favourite, is spared from the gallows after openly dissenting. But when he’s released from prison, Nate disappears.

A stark contrast, Catherine Taenia has spent her entire life comfortable and content. The daughter of the King’s Hangman and in love with Thom, Nate’s younger brother, her life has always been easy, ordered and comfortable. That is, where it doesn’t concern Nate. His actions sullied not only his future, but theirs. And unlike Thom, Catherine has never forgiven him.

Two years pass without a word, and then one night Nate returns. But things with Nate are never simple, and when one wrong move turns their lives upside down, the only thing left to do is run where the King’s guards cannot find them – the Outlands. Those wild, untamed lands which stretch around the great walls of the Kingdom, filled with mutants and rabids.

Free on Kindle Unlimited

7 Horror Books to Read by Indie Authors!

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Hi everyone! In this post we are going to look at some horror books written by indie authors!

Beth Mac: Part One (GRIM Book 1)

Whether it's the battlefield or the football field, Beth Mac is relentless.

Adored as much as she's feared, Corporal Elizabeth Mackenzie is nothing short of a full-blown enigma. Once awarded the Medal of Honour for her bold and arguably reckless efforts as a soldier, she eventually finds herself inching toward a different type of pedestal — one at Saint Judah's College.

With her eyes on the prize, she's on a mission to take the captaincy, whatever the cost. And one by one her competition violently fall.

Luckily, for Beth Mac, a doting boyfriend and a band of followers are far too easily manipulated for her to have to get her hands dirty. The school has its bets on the Grim Reaper being responsible. After all, that's who carried out the murderous rampage at the school just the year before.

Full of all your classic sorority debauchery, Part One will take you on a journey of mysterious happenings with a down-under twist and a whole lot of slaughter. Bloody, witty and outrageously mad, it's Macbeth like you've never seen it before.

Who knew football could be this deadly?

Free on Kindle Unlimited

5 YA Fantasy Books to Read by Indie Authors!

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Hello everyone! In this post I am going to share some YA fantasy books that you should check out! 

Treasures and Trinkets: A Dragon's Brood Tale (The Dragon's Brood Cycle)

Before she was a prisoner in Marianne's crystal mines or just another face among the multitudes in the city of Seven Skies, Maddy had a different name and everything she could want—governesses, gowns, and gold to fill her pockets. And though she wasn't the son her father had wanted, it was inevitable that one day she would inherit his title.

But Maddy's predictable world is turned upside down when an extraordinary servant girl challenges everything she's ever known; there's a wider world beyond the comfortable confines of her castle, full of wonder and magic, and Maddy finds that the one thing she doesn't have is the only thing she really needs.

99p/cents, audiobook available