The Based Summer Booksale
The summer sale for Indie Authors
The Based Summer Booksale is here. Hans G. Shantz gathered Indie Writers together and posted a mile long article. I’ve picked writers I know that I think you’d like. All books are either free, .99 cents, or a dollar. I may need to send out several mails for this. So, buckle up.
The Black Swan’s Bond
by Joseph L. Wiess
Book1 in The Law Keepers Chronicles
In the frozen town of Eola, where silence hides old sins, mercenary Balgair finds more than refuge from war—he finds Heather, a broken woman haunted by loss and hunted by those who would see her bound again. When he defends her from a brutal enforcer, their fates entwine in a bond neither expected and both must learn to trust. But shadowed eyes watch from beyond the firelight, and the gods’ will stirs in mortal hearts. As darkness gathers over Crann Na Beatha, love and loyalty may prove the last bulwark against the rising storm.
The Sheriff’s Oath
by Joseph L. Wiess
Book 2 in The Law Keepers Chronicles
Eola was once a quiet frontier town. Now it stands on the edge of collapse. An unnatural winter has buried the settlement beneath endless snow, choking trade routes and isolating the town from its neighbors. With the sheriff murdered and the town’s leadership scattered, lawlessness spreads through the streets. Criminal guilds grow bolder by the day, preying on a population that has no one left to protect them. Captain Balgair Moeldr, a seasoned mercenary of the feared Black Swan company, never intended to remain in Eola. A simple stopover turns into an unexpected delay when relentless storms trap him in town.
At his side is Heather, a young woman he recently rescued from a brutal life and who is slowly learning to trust again. While attempting to contact his commander through a magical communication crystal kept in the county offices, Balgair discovers just how deeply the town’s leadership has failed. With the mayor, town mage, and captain of the guard gone, the responsibility of maintaining order has fallen to a handful of overwhelmed officials struggling to keep the system from collapsing entirely. As Balgair learns more about the situation, he faces a decision that could change the course of his life.
Accepting the vacant position of sheriff would mean abandoning the wandering life of a mercenary and committing himself to rebuilding a broken town. It would also give Heather-and others like her-a chance to live without fear. But restoring order to Eola will not be easy. The criminal guilds have grown powerful in the absence of leadership, and darker forces are beginning to stir beyond the town’s borders. An ancient god newly freed from imprisonment gathers followers in secret, while the unnatural winter hints that the struggle ahead may reach far beyond the frozen streets of a single frontier town. By taking the sheriff’s oath, Balgair places himself between the innocent and those who would prey upon them.
And in Eola, keeping that oath may prove more dangerous than any battlefield.
By Law & Flame (The Law Keepers Chronicles Book 3)
by Joseph L. Wiess
Book 3 in The Law Keepers Chronicles
In the frontier town of Eola, on the snow-blanketed plains of Saorsa, a former mercenary captain is finding that enforcing the law is only the beginning of his troubles. Balgair Moeldr - once the feared Chain-Maker of Ananke, now newly appointed Sheriff - has traded his soldier’s life for a desk, a badge, and a complicated household. When his long-absent bond-partners Amelie and Nell finally arrive by sky-transport, their reunion is everything he hoped for.
But peace in Eola is fragile. Beneath the warmth of hearth and family, something ancient and corrupt stirs beyond the gates. By Law and Flame is a character-driven fantasy set in a richly imagined world where elemental magic flows through the earth, polyamorous bond-families are woven together by spiritual oaths, and the gods occasionally descend into someone’s kitchen. Following Balgair and his growing family - including the quiet, steadfast Heather and the grief-haunted scribe Delilah - the story weaves together intimate domestic drama with mounting supernatural threat. Bandits on the roads, a deposed mayor rotting in the jail, a child orphaned by violence, and whispers of chaos-goddesses pulling strings in the dark: the Sheriff’s work is never done.
With a cast of fully realized characters navigating loyalty, desire, grief, and belonging, this novel blends the warmth of found-family romance with the tension of a world where law and chaos are locked in an older, more cosmic struggle. Drawing on Celtic and fantasy linguistics, a magic system built on elemental bonds, and a society shaped by goddess-worship and honor oaths, By Law and Flame delivers a story that is as tender as it is tense.
Perfect for readers who love low-violence epic fantasy with romantic depth, chosen-family dynamics, and worlds that reward close attention.
The Draoidh’s Cearcall
by Joseph L. Wiess
Book 1 in The Draoidh’s Cearcall
When Rhyslin, a white-haired draoidh of formidable but unstable power, leads a band of mercenaries to save a hin-i-balanath village, he expects another battle against raiders and beasts. Instead, he finds himself caught in the tangled designs of queens, goddesses, and ancient prophecies. His victory over an Orcan warband leaves him broken and unconscious, but it also awakens the interest of powers far greater than he imagined.
Amid shifting alliances, Rhyslin attracts those willing to risk everything for him: Flur, the fierce young heir of Clann na Coille; Ilyriatri, a queen weary of her crown; and Vuuroena, her spirited daughter with a destiny of her own. Together with elemental beings and a ship that sails the skies, they form a cearcall-a circle of bonds forged in love, loyalty, and sacrifice. Yet each bond deepens the dangers, for Rhyslin’s power grows with them, and so does the attention of the divine.
Across storm-swept plains of the Saor-shealbeahn nan Rointean Mora,, council chambers, and shadowed battlefields, the Draoidh’s Cearcall must face not only enemies of flesh and steel but also the haunting truth: that the gods themselves cannot see Rhyslin’s future. And what cannot be foreseen may yet change the fate of Saorsa.
Rich in myth, sensuality, and the clash between freedom and duty, The Draoidh’s Cearcall is the beginning of an epic tale where intimacy and law, passion and prophecy, stand side by side. It is a story of chosen family, dangerous love, and the forging of bonds strong enough to defy both death and destiny.
Praise for The Draoidh’s Cearcall
The prose is beautiful. It fits so well with the story. It reads like high fantasy in all the best ways.
— Jenny Homan - Bottled Embers
As always, the language is hypnotically good. It carries you away into another realm.
— Bill Hiatt - Author of The Spell Weaver Series
The Draoidh’s Gambit
by Joseph L. Wiess
Book 2 in The Draoidh’s Cearcall
The Draoidh’s Gambit follows Rhyslin Darkblade, a draoidh whose return home aboard the sky-galleon Dawn Breaker sets the stage for a sweeping tale of political upheaval, ancient magic, and the shifting balance of power across the Saorsa. Rhyslin, accompanied by his loyal companions Marcus and Ria, reenters a homeland threatened by forces both old and newly awakened. The land itself seems restless, and rumors of invaders, lost creatures, and gathering shadows push him quickly back into leadership.
As the Hin I-Balanath clans seek full citizenship within the Saorsa, Rhyslin becomes a key figure in easing tensions between freeholders, warriors, and long-estranged peoples. His role expands beyond draoidh and advisor; he becomes mediator, strategist, and the binding thread of a growing coalition. Through political trials, council debates, and delicate negotiations, he works to unify factions that historically distrust one another. The work is complicated by a resurfacing threat: the revelation that drakes and Drachen—long believed extinct—still live, and that invaders from beyond the realm have begun probing its borders.
Rhyslin’s household grows as well, both in responsibility and in love. His bonds with Ria, Flur, Rowena, and later Rana shape his emotional journey, grounding him amid rising turmoil. The story weaves these personal connections with mystical elements—dryads, magical bonds, ancient groves, and living land-spirits that acknowledge him as Mac Draoidheachd. Each encounter reveals more about the deep magics of the world and the role Rhyslin is destined to play in preserving its balance.
As political and supernatural conflicts mount, Rhyslin and his companions uncover layers of plots involving restless kingdoms, forgotten powers, and enemies who have been moving in silence for years. Threats emerge from across borders and between planes, forcing Rhyslin to confront dangers once thought myth. In council chambers, on the open plains, and within sacred groves, he must navigate treachery, shifting alliances, and revelations that shake the foundations of the Saorsa.
The tension culminates in the struggle to integrate the Hin I-Balanath clans while preparing for greater conflicts on the horizon. Rhyslin’s calm leadership, strategic clarity, and compassion prove essential as he guides both family and nation toward an uncertain future. The Draoidh’s Gambit blends character-driven storytelling, vivid magical realism, and sweeping political drama, all centered on a draoidh whose heart, wisdom, and power draw disparate peoples together against the coming storm.
The Draoidh’s Accord
by Joseph L. Wiess
Book 3 in The Draoidh’s Cearcall
In the world of Crann Na Beatha, where ancient gods still whisper and shadow magic bends the boundaries of life and death, alliances are forged not only by treaties—but by bonds of the heart.Ria, queen of the desert people, returns home carrying a secret that will change the fate of her nation. She has willingly given her bond to Rhyslin Darkblade, the mysterious and powerful Mac Draoidheachd, and with that choice she must surrender her throne. Her abdication forces long-divided peoples to confront an uncertain future, one in which tradition, love, and survival stand in fragile balance.At the same time, Flur—Rhyslin’s youngest bhanna—is sent through the shadows to find her mother, Allanagh, and the Mountain Queen Mayana. Her journey leads her to an ancient tomb and long-buried truths about kings, bloodlines, and the sacrifices made to hold the tribes together. As queens step down and new leaders rise, the long-delayed treaty meant to unite the free peoples of the land hangs in the balance.
But peace is threatened by forces far older than any mortal ruler. A disruption in divine bonds signals the escape of a dangerous trickster god from Skullcap, the prison of the gods. The goddess Astinmah herself comes to Rhyslin’s halls with warnings of chaos stirring unseen, and the presence of the legendary Ciad-fhir—guardians of the divine—confirms that something terrible is moving in the shadows.
While rulers and gods maneuver, Rana, a young warrior under Rhyslin’s protection, trains with the reclusive master Marcus to learn not how to win battles, but how to survive them. Through blade, magic, and cunning, she begins to understand that true strength lies not in brute force, but in adaptability and will.As old loves are revealed, secret bonds exposed, and ancient promises recalled, Rhyslin finds himself at the center of a web of loyalties that span mortals and immortals alike. With three bonded women at his side and the fate of several nations resting on his counsel, he must help reshape a treaty that could bring unity—or ignite war.
The Draoidh’s Accord is a tale of sacrifice and sovereignty, of love chosen over power, and of a world standing at the edge of divine upheaval. In a land where magic walks beside mortals and gods still laugh in the dark, the future of Crann Na Beatha will be decided not by crowns alone, but by the courage to trust, to change, and to stand together against the coming storm.
Politics Kills (White Ops Book 2)
by Declan Finn
Sean Patrick Ryan’s White Ops team has taken on impossible odds and walked away unscathed. But when Earth President Douglas Wills turns Earth into a prison camp, they will fight an entire planet to save their loved ones.
Along the way, they must unite hundreds of alien races against the looming threat from another galaxy and recruit allies that can only be reached through hyperspace filled with hostile space jihadis.
War may be Hell, but politics may kill them first.
Main Street D.O.A. (White Ops Book 3)
by Declan Finn
Sean Patrick Ryan’s White Ops team has survived two wars, pirates, a cannibalistic alien horde from another galaxy, space jihadis, and political maneuvering. Their boss thinks they deserve a break and sends them to the “happiest place in the galaxy.”
Luckily for Sean, terrorists take over the amusement planet before he can lose his mind.
To stop the terrorists, White Ops will have to battle a weaponized planet, including cloned dinosaurs, giant sharks, animatronic amusements and a doomsday device that will destroy the planet.
And when the deadliest assassin alive joins the fray, whose side will he be on?
Chase had it all planned out, do a little time in one of the emperor’s jails, say a four year stretch for getting rid of some trash that no one would miss, and when he got out, the path to the leadership would be wide open. It wasn’t enough to be one of the gang’s rising stars, or better lieutenants, he needed jail time, serious jail time — not that juvie crap or just going to county, to garner the respect he needed and deserved…Space Fleet Academy: Year One
Jon Del Arroz & Vox Day
Book 1 of 4: Biostellar
Humanity chose to suffer. The alternative was extinction.
When genetic engineering nearly doomed the species, humanity made a desperate bargain: let the frontier do what nature intended. Harsh colony worlds. Brutal selection. Children dying on planets designed to test them. Two centuries later, the Mandate has kept humanity alive, but at a price no one is allowed to question.
Cadet Constantine Ramsey questions it anyway.
As a frontier colonist at Earth’s Space Fleet Academy, Constantine keeps flinching at the hard calls, and finds himself being outperformed by the cadets who don’t. Then colonies start going dark. Whole worlds, no survivors, no explanation. With senior classes rushed to the frontier, Constantine is thrust onto an unprecedented first-year team at the Inter-Colonial Games, the highest-stakes competition in human space. When catastrophe threatens all four colonies at once, he faces the choice the Academy trained him to make, and makes the one they never expected.
Some officers are made to follow orders. Real leaders are made to give them.
Start the journey today! Grab your copy of Space Fleet Academy: Year One, the first book in a new military SF series perfect for fans of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Old Man’s War by John Scalzi, and Star Trek.
Space Fleet Academy: Year Three (Biostellar Book 3)
by Jon Del Arroz & Vox Day
Book 3 of 4: Biostellar
The deadliest lessons aren’t taught in class.
Third-year cadets don’t just take classes at Space Fleet Academy. They lead them.
Constantine Ramsey and his cohort are assigned to lead a first-year survival course in Earth’s most unforgiving wilderness, the first full-immersion program of its kind. No simulations. No instructors watching from a safe distance. Real terrain, real consequences, and a generation of raw recruits who don’t yet understand the difference between a mistake and a casualty.
Constantine knows the difference. He learned it the hard way.
But something is wrong in the backcountry. Equipment fails in ways it shouldn’t. First-years go missing on routes that should be clean. And when the threat stops looking like an accident, Constantine has to lead cadets who still trust authority against something that has already beaten the people who were supposed to protect them.
Year Three was supposed to be about preparation to become an officer. It turned into a test that no one expected.
The Mandate built the Academy to create leaders who make hard choices. In his third year as a cadet, Constantine is beginning to wonder if the hardest choice is deciding who the real enemy is.
Space Fleet Academy: Year Three is the fourth book in the BIOSTELLAR series and continues the military SF series perfect for fans of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlein, and The Expanse. The training wheels are gone. Now find out what these cadets are actually made of.Sign of the Black Lotus: Sword and Seventies: Vol. 3 (Sword & Seventies)
by Erik Waag
Book 3 of 3: Sword & Seventies
A Supernatural Action Thriller.
Heavy metal. Muscle cars. Battle-axes. Ancient evil.
Samuel just wanted a good breakfast and a day off with his best girl Teresa before seeing the heaviest band on the planet. Black Lotus.
Instead, Father Leo Sanguinetti, a member of the Ancient Order of Chandlers, drags him in to a high-octane war against Alban Alexandre Lésiner, a French existentialist and insane sorcerer. He and his cult of haute couture weirdoes are bent on tearing open reality itself in downtown Chicago.
It’s the end of the world, and the concert might be cancelled.
If you like fast-paced action, Lovecraftian horror, blue collar heroes, and cinematic car chases, Sign of the Black Lotus will grab you by the throat and not let go.
The show starts at 7:30.
And Hell is headlining.
Princess of the Shrouded Mountain: Skarde: The Wandering Sword
by Erik Waag (Author), Daniel P. Riley (Editor)
Book 3 of 3: Skarde: The Wandering Sword
Skarde, the wandering sell-sword with a fantastical past, rides into the unknown with his trusted companions; Belgeti, a cunning horselord, and the enigmatic Zlata. What begins as a rumor of hidden treasure leads them to a strange stronghold isolated from the world—an astonishing gateway to a true land of the lost.
There, a forgotten realm hidden by towering mountains is ruled by ancient forces. Stone-age tribes wage brutal war, monsters stalk the night, and dark sorcery twists the fates of those who dare enter. A scheming high priest plots from the shadows, kingdoms battle for dominance, and a sultry, hedonistic princess tempts Skarde… but for what purpose?
For the companions, survival calls for more than steel and strength; it demands wit, nerve, and uneasy alliances. Every path forward reveals new threats and deeper mysteries. Each step tightening the grip of this prison-realm with stone walls that pierce the sky.
Will they escape… or is this lost land determined to claim them forever?
Ah JW... I see what you did here. ;-)