Today is the official start of the Self Published Fantasy Blog Off.  As with previous years I have divided my 30 books into five batches of six books (selected using a random sequence generator).  Each month I will highlight that month’s selection at the start of the month, providing details about the books and the authors.  As the month progresses I hope to have a clear favourite out of each batch – although things don’t always go to plan of course – I will provide mini reviews for each book and hopefully a full review for each semi finalist – which I’m thinking should be five books in total.  The aim being to then choose a finalist from those semi finalists.

I’d like to wish everyone the best of luck and I hope you all enjoy the competition.

On a separate note, if any of my authors wish to pay me a visit for either an interview, a guest post, or anything else then let me know.  Also, if any of my books have audio versions available then let me know – I’m happy to use audio too.

Without further ado here are my six books for July:

The Courier’s Code (The Kingdom of Bolaji #1) by T.S. Valmond

A rebellious teenage princess with a day job?

Rasha enjoys the independence that comes with being a professional courier with a perfect record in the Bolaji kingdoms, that is until she’s tasked to deliver a mysterious package from the tenth king to the prince of the first kingdom.

When the package is accidentally opened her hidden royal past could be exposed, and she might lose her precious freedom for good. Worse than that the troublesome package could ruin her entire life.

If you want to escape into a young adult fantasy adventure on a faraway world, you’ll love this one.

Author Info :

Website : http://tsvalmond.com

Dissident (Forbidden Things #1) by Nikki McCormack

Ascard power can strengthen, heal and create. It also has great potential to destroy, enough to topple entire governments. Indigo’s country places strict limitations on the use of ascard so she must channel her talents into the healing arts or risk severe punishment. An orphan from a disgraced family, trapped by her father’s treason, Indigo struggles to reclaim her place in a society that has driven her into an abusive engagement.

Then a mysterious stranger from a neighboring country contacts her using ascard. He needs help escaping his prison so he can bring an end to his emperor’s oppressive rule or die trying. His unshakable devotion to his cause and the passion hidden behind his cool arrogance move her to help him at the risk of being branded a traitor herself.

When the politics of society bring them together a second time, Indigo decides to use her growing powers to help him fight his war. If only she dared fight for her own future with such passion. Perhaps she can find the courage to do so by helping the man she has fallen for win his revolution. She might have exactly the power he needs to succeed.

Author Info :

Twitter : Author_NikkiMc

Cry Havoc (Jack Frey #1) by Mike Morris

They say when the demons come, you either fight or you die.

The Black Dogs know this all too well. For three hundred years, the warrior priests have sacrificed their lives to keep the island nation of Abios safe from the flesh-eating Nostros, while the rest of the world fell under the demons’ savagery. However, an armada now stands poised to invade mankind’s last bastion.

Child thief Jack Frey is saved from the gallows and joins the mysterious order. Trained with the bullet and the blade, Jack finds himself on the front-line of a centuries-old war.

Across the Angel Sea, Lin is fighting for her life. As a slave of the Nostros, she knows death can strike at any time, either at the hands of her masters or her fellow humans.
Little do they know mankind’s fate lies in both their hands.

Author Info :

Twitter :  scifimikemorris

Ghost by Jordan C. Robinson

Recently released from prison for a crime he didn’t commit, Paul is working a dead-end job with little hope for the future. But then he meets Lindsey, a girl that has the potential to change his world.

Their two seemingly incompatible worlds meet a third when a dangerous trio emerge to bring magic and devastation to Portland. Fortunately Paul’s powers are revealed to him, giving him a way to fight back.

Paul must find a way to win the perfect girl with a less than perfect situation while using his developing powers to save Portland from the trio that bring nothing but trouble.

Author Info :

Website : https://www.jcrbooks.com

Children of the Different by S.C. Flynn

Nineteen years ago, a brain disease known as the Great Madness killed most of the world’s population. The survivors all had something different about their minds. Now, at the start of adolescence, their children enter a trance-like state known as the Changeland and emerge either with special mental powers or as cannibalistic Ferals.

In the great forest of South West Western Australia, thirteen-year-old Arika and her twin brother Narrah go through the Changeland. They encounter an enemy known as the Anteater who feeds on human life. He exists both in the Changeland and in the outside world, and he wants the twins dead.

After their Changings, the twins have powers that let them fight their enemy and face their destiny on a long journey to an abandoned American military base on the north-west coast of Australia…if they can reach it before time runs out.

Children of the Different is a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel set among the varied landscapes and wildlife of Western Australia.

Author Info :

Twitter : leftblank

The Narrows by Travis M. Riddle

“I can show you how to enter the Narrows to find what you seek.”

Oliver and his friends have returned to their hometown of Shumard, Texas for the funeral of their close friend Noah. They each grapple with the loss in their own ways, trying to understand the strange circumstances of their friend’s unexpected death.

While visiting the site where the body was found, Oliver stumbles across a chilling discovery that he knows must be related to what happened to Noah. Wanting to protect his friends from these newfound horrors, Oliver takes it upon himself to venture into the grotesque otherworld known as the Narrows to learn what happened to his friend and find a way to bring him back.

Entering the Narrows is one thing, but will whatever he finds there allow him to leave?

Author Info :

Twitter : traviswanteat

My Process

My 3 covers for the cover competition