September has arrived and there’s some BIG trad releases this month… but we don’t care about those, do we? We care about the smaller releases, the ones that might otherwise slip under the radar. So here we go with the September Self Pubbed releases.
As always, this is not a comprehensive list, but only includes all the books I have heard about so far.
If you have a fantasy novel you are self publishing in September, let me know either in the comments, or by emailing me, and I shall add it to the page. There are but 3 requirements:
1) It must be a self published fantasy novel.
2) It must have a Goodreads page.
3) It must have a cover.
26th August – Song of Shadow (Ballad of Emerald and Iron #1) by Natalya Capello
They said she was out of her mind. The dark truth will shake the foundations of the fae realm…
Lorelei refuses to believe her wild visions mean she’s insane. But despite her royal sidhe heritage, she’s banished to a remote priory to prevent her causing trouble. So when a priestess of the Elemental Order urges her to join a risky pilgrimage, she flees her prison and sails headlong into danger.
Traveling to an ancient land imbued with volatile magic, she chokes back her disbelief after unearthing evil sorcery that shouldn’t exist. And now that Lorelei holds the forbidden secrets, she fears it’s only a matter of time before the powerful Elphyne Empire silences her permanently. If the fae church’s ruthless assassins don’t hunt her down first…
Can Lorelei expose the sinister conspiracy before darkness falls forever?
30th August – Crimson Eyes (Kouzlo Saga #1) by L.L. McNeil
Seila has been slaying demons for as long as she can remember.
A Phantom, she travels the length and breadth of England in a quest to reclaim her humanity—and her soul. With her Sieken Blade, she cuts down the demons in her path while inching closer to freedom from the endless hunt.
When an Elite Demon makes sport of London’s Kouzlo—a secret organisation of supernaturals dedicated to ridding the Earth of demons and sealing the portals they slink through—its leader, an Enchantress called Fallow, implores Seila to join their cause before they’re wiped out.
Desperate to save her Kouzlo and the people they protect, Fallow pledges to help Seila reclaim her soul in return for the Phantom’s formidable skills. The demon hunter is torn between her lone hunt and joining Fallow’s decimated forces—and perhaps the chance to stop the demons once and for all.
Thrown in with Damon, a fledgling half-Fire Elemental with limited control of his powers, and Tej, a reckless human with a penchant for crossbows, can Seila and her new allies keep it together long enough to save London?
1st September – A Not So Dead Man’s Journey by C.J. Jordan
Meet Alden. Adventurer, knight, and magic wielding family man.
When a long forgotten book finds its way into the hands of Mullentide’s most magical family, one man’s epic journey home begins. Separated by a pirate raid that burns their home to the ground by the will of a madman, he must forge a path back to his family even if it means risking their very lives and those of the innocent he is sworn to protect. As deaths mount as quickly as his failures Alden must decide if being a hero is worth the price.
1st September – Power to Hurt (Tomahawks and Dragon Fire #2) by Stanley Wheeler
Alex flees from the dark commander after the vicious battle with the young dragons, but his dragon-hunting friends question whether he can remain in their company. Cat, the wild Irish maid and leader of the hunters, must face some difficult questions concerning her relationship with Alex. The French patriot Lucette fights for a place among the gryphons, risking dangers no less destructive than the cannon’s mouth. The mysterious power of Jonathan’s hand may not avail her against gravity and gryphon’s claws. Lieutenant Roberts goes undercover and enlists the aid of Lucette’s countrymen against her. With the commander closing in upon his prey, the diminutive Iago and the strange islander Atu evaluate their loyalties, taking action with important consequences for Alex and for the future of the New World. While Alex continues to grow in his mastery of the essence, the smugglers Rip and Antonio accept a secret mission across the sea. The smugglers will have to find a ship before they can set sail against the might of two empires. The Japanese entrepreneur Akira and Near Eastern merchant Akram must consider whether their temporary union should be prolonged and expanded in order to increase their chances of taking a mature dragon. Bitter surprises await them all. A fiery rendezvous at Black Moon with the lives of his friends at stake will force Alex to confront the power to hurt before he can stand against the fury of the commander.
1st September – Defying Destiny (The War of Broken Mirrors #3) by Andrew Rowe
It’s been almost a year since the Trials of Unyielding Steel.
When Lydia gets a lead on the whereabouts of Jonathan Sterling, she concludes her training with a legendary immortal sorcerer and puts a plan in motion for his capture.
Near Selyr, Taelien reunites with an old friend — Wrynn Jaden, the legendary Witch of a Thousand Shadows — and meets with Jonan to make a deal.
Jonan, of course, has other concerns. His master, the legendary Lady of Thieves herself, has given him a new assignment — one that hints at world-shaping events, if he can survive the mission. He’ll partner with Velas, but she has her own problems to deal with, including a revelation that will test where her loyalties truly lie.
2nd September – Kicking Axe and Taking Gnomes by Steve Thomas
A bearded wrecking ball rampages his way through 16 hilarious adventures.
Monsters killed his parents, and Klondaeg is out for revenge. Wielding a talking battle-axe with a split personality, Klondaeg travels the world, teaming up with outlandish adventurers in search of new monsters to slay. He’ll battle lycanthropic garden gnomes, gold-devouring demons, aliens from a long-dead universe, the mighty maxotaur, an apocalyptically misguided wizard, and much, much more on his tireless quest to track down and bury every monster he can find. Klondaeg may be the world’s greatest monster hunter, but the world needs more than a monster hunter. It needs a hero.
3rd September – City of Whispers (The Famines Cycle #1) by J.D.L. Rosell
A peddler of rumors. A ruler’s untimely death. Whoever controls the secrets, controls the realm…
Oedija, Pearl of the Four Realms, is a city on the brink. Its wardens, those who can bend energy to their will, have been suppressed, killed, or driven into hiding. Its government is rife with corruption, and power has become concentrated in the hands of the ruthless. And the worst drought in a century scorches its fields and starves its people. So when Oedija’s symbolic ruler dies suspiciously, it is the spark to set the city on fire.
Hoping to make their fame and fortune, Airene the Finch and her unorthodox companions rush to solve the mystery of their ruler’s death. Sellers of rumor and scandal, they’re just scraping by, and need a big payout if they’re going to survive. And Airene has greater dreams: to be recognized as a Verifier of Truth whose calling is to root out corruption from the highest echelons of society. But the Despot’s death is only the beginning. Legends stir and rise from the past. The yokes of society begin to fray and are cast off. And an ancient threat, one that will shatter the Four Realms, is awakening…
3rd September – Shields in Shadow (The Silent Champions #1) by Andy Peloquin
Burdened with legend. Hardened by battle scars. Hellbent on bloody revenge.
As the son of a famous general, Aravon is proud to captain his own company against his people’s enemy. But the experienced veteran’s march toward glory dissolves into pain as ruthless barbarians massacre every last one of his soldiers. Burning for vengeance, he leaps at the chance to spearhead a specially-trained company and pay back his tragic defeat with blood.
Desperate to not repeat his tragic past, Aravon trains his new warriors relentlessly. But the captain fears that all the tactical drills in the world may not matter when they’re forced to defend a helpless village against overwhelming odds. As his quick raids sow chaos amongst the enemy, the bloodthirsty savages threaten to make Aravon’s nightmarish history repeat itself…
Can the captain take command of his fighting spirit before the kingdom falls to barbarous invaders?
3rd September – Jack of Thorns (Inheritance #1) by A.K. Faulkner
Can you change destiny? Laurence Riley has seen the future, and all his visions are coming true. Just as he can’t control the addiction that dominates his life, or the mindgames of his stalker ex-boyfriend, he also struggles with his untamed supernatural gifts.
Jack can help. His price is that Laurence keeps him fed with regular offerings of sex, but Laurence has fallen for someone way out of his league whose wild telekinesis keeps them even further apart, and his debt to Jack is piling up fast.
When he foresees the spread of a narcotic nectar that will leave a trail of death across San Diego, Laurence must find the courage to determine whether his visions are set in stone. The past has taught him that the future can’t be changed, but if Jack’s poison wins, there won’t be any future.
There’s no time to lose.
6th September – The Magelands Origins by Christopher Mitchell
The Trials of Daphne Holdfast. Her First Command. Will it be her last…?
Daphne Holdfast is responsible for two hundred souls deep within enemy territory. It should have been easy – invade and occupy Sanang, strip the forests bare, then withdraw until the following year, ready to do it all over again. But this year something has changed. The orders to retreat have not arrived and the great forest lies dark and silent around them. Somewhere within the shadows of the trees the enemy is waiting – and thirsting for revenge.
Daphne has a decision to make – order her company to pull back and risk being condemned as a traitor, or stay to the bitter end? Retreat of the Kell. A bitter struggle to the end… The Rahain invasion was unexpected, sweeping through northern Kell in less than a season. Holding the line at a narrow pass, Killop and his twin sister, Fire Mage Keira, stand shoulder-to-shoulder, ready to do anything to defend their homeland from the overwhelming legions of Rahain soldiers advancing towards them.
With the price of failure enslavement or death, only complete victory will save their people.
8th September – Last Heir of the North #1 by J.C. Kang
The mysterious ringleader of a deep-rooted conspiracy threatens peace and stability in the realm, and only the memories of a dead woman can unearth him.
Before her death at Jie’s hands, Lilian left clues to her many secrets. Among them, the identity of a rebellion’s leader.
13th September – Ojo and the Mermaid Queen (5th Compass #2.5) by E.L. Drayton
Ojo comes from a long line of pirates. His father was a pirate. His father’s father was a pirate. Therefore, it only makes sense that he should become a pirate too. But pillaging has not always been his ambition.
Believe it or not, Ojo has always wanted to sing! Entertain and receive adulation’s from a crowd. Yet, how can he if destiny has set him on a pirate’s path?
But every now and then destiny likes to take us on a journey we could never believe possible, to test our resolve and help us figure out what we really want. In Ojo’s case, destiny will take him where he’ll be faced with a life-changing decision: Enter an American Idol-type competition with the possibility of being an MC for a newly built coliseum or continue to live the life of a pirate?
13th September – The Lightning Conjurer: The Christening by Rachel Rener
It’s been two months since the Day of Enlightenment, the day a true Pentamancer emerged once more on the world stage after centuries of extinction.
Under the protective arm of the Magistrate, Aspen has agreed to cooperate with the Inner Circle in hopes that her radical visions for the Elementalist community can be realized. On the surface, things are going well: she’s been traveling the world, rescuing cities from Terramantic temper tantrums, attending Elementalist conferences, and meeting powerful Asterian Officials around the globe.
And yet, in spite of (or perhaps, because of) Aspen’s tenuous alliance with the Magistrate, political divisions are simmering among his Prelates. Not everyone shares Aspen’s Utopian vision, and the Magistrate’s grip on the Inner Circle is beginning to slip. Whether by destiny or by chance, the fate of the Community now rests on the shoulders of the so-called “Prophet”; it’s up to Aspen to decide whether to embrace her newfound status, or refuse it.
Whatever path she chooses – there’s no turning back.
13th September – Glaive: Broken Blade by Michael Guadiz
Zem’Alam is a violent world. Around eighteen years old, the power which sustains life matures within a person. It is called the e’lan, and when it runs out, the person dies. One may extend their life by killing another person and stealing their e’lan.
The Keen Blade Chronicle follows the adventures of Glaive Grimstone: mercenary, friend, father. After Book 1 (Blade of a Flower), Glaive had thought his troubles were over.
He had settled into a humdrum normal life at Cleaver’s Tavern. It was a place that Glaive had twice revived with sweat and blood. A place where drinks flowed, music played, stories were told, and laughs were frequently heard and had. A place he thought he could finally live comfortably.
Everything is turned upside down when he receives a letter that sends him on a journey across open seas and into foreign lands. He encounters monsters, both of man and beast, and discovers that the world of Zem’Alam is vastly different than what he had believed his entire life.
He’ll have to adapt quickly to these new truths to save his friends, his family, his country, and maybe even the entire world.
13th September – Smoke and Stone (City of Sacrifice #1) by Michael R. Fletcher
After a cataclysmic war of the gods, the last of humanity huddles in Bastion, a colossal ringed city. Beyond the outermost wall lies endless desert haunted by the souls of all the world’s dead.
Trapped in a rigid caste system, Nuru, a young street sorcerer, lives in the outer ring. She dreams of escape and freedom. When something contacts her from beyond the wall, she risks everything and leaps at the opportunity. Mother Death, a banished god seeking to reclaim her place in Bastion’s patchwork pantheon, has found her way back into the city.
Akachi, born to the wealth and splendour of Bastion’s inner rings, is a priest of Cloud Serpent, Lord of the Hunt. A temple-trained sorcerer, he is tasked with bringing peace to the troublesome outer ring. Drawn into a dark and violent world of assassins, gangs, and street sorcerers, he battles the spreading influence of Mother Death in a desperate attempt to save Bastion.
The gods are once again at war.
14th September – Shoreseeker (The Farshores Saga #1) by Brandon M. Lindsay
It was supposed to keep them safe.
For six hundred years, Andrin’s Wall protected the remnants of humanity from a scourge that devastated them: beastly monsters called the sheggam. But centuries of relative peace have relegated the sheggam to myth and superstition.
Tharadis, the Warden of the independent city Naruvieth, must protect his people and their homes from threats more immediate than ancient legends. The Council of the Wall aims to finish building the Runeway, a magical construct spanning the whole of the Sutherlands, no matter who gets in their way.
But after a knight with sheggam magic flowing through his veins seeks protection in Naruvieth, Tharadis uncovers a menacing secret: the Runeway itself is built from sheggam magic, magic that isn’t supposed to exist on this side of Andrin’s Wall.
Not only must Tharadis confront scheming politicians, rogue knights, and ominous prophecy, he must draw his blade for the greatest battle humanity has ever faced.
For the sheggam are already here.
18th September – Ioth, City of Lights (The Wildfire Cycle #2) AUDIOBOOK by D.P. Woolliscroft
Be careful what you strive for.
The people won and now Mareth is Lord Protector of Edland. But winning an election is a lot different than governing a country, especially when the empire of Pyrfew is expanding into the Sapphire Sea. In the interests of peace, Mareth must dispatch Alana to Ioth, city of a thousand lights, to convince the ruling merchants to turn their back on the empire. Neenahwi, armed with the knowledge revealed to her in her coming of age ceremony, desperately wants to determine Pyrfew’s plans and to take the fight to the emperor. But Llewdon, ancient elven emperor of Pyrfew, has had decades to develop his schemes and his agents are embedded in the least expected places. Everything seems to revolve around the disappearance of Jyuth’s master a millennia ago.
Will the heroes of Kingshold be able to survive fire belching ships, strange slimes, sinister doppelgängers, demon dogs, greedy merchants and past vices to lead Edland to safety?
24th September – Afterlife III by Matt Moss
John Crussel lost. And his family paid the price. He’s through with Alterlife. That is until Deakins convinces him to meet Giovisi – a strange and meticulous man who owns a cleaning business. It also happens that he’s the Guildmaster of the Saviors – a mysterious guild in an even more mysterious place.
Giovisi convinces John that the threat still remains; the virus is still in Afterlife. He warns that soon, the Gamemasters will raise Thal, the God of War, and when they do, the virus will be unleashed upon all of Alterlife and the real world as well, ushering in the extinction of the human race.
The countdown to the Blood Moon has begun; the gods’ rite will bring mankind’s doom. And they’ve got the aid of the Soldiers of Justice and the King’s Blood – the two largest guilds in Alterlife. With tremendous odds stacked against them, it’s up to John Crussel and the Saviors to stop the gods before it’s too late.
Game on.
25th September – The Dragon’s Banker by Scott Warren
Finance: The lifeblood of any country’s beating heart and the life’s work of Sailor Kelstern — Merchant Banker. While wizards brood in their towers and great warriors charge into battle Sailor is more interested in the price of ore, herbs, and alchemicals carried by the trade ships.
But when a spell of bad fortune and bitter rivalry leaves him scrambling to turn a profit on little more than winds and whispers, one such whisper catches Sailor’s ear— a dragon has been seen in the west.
Sailor soon finds that the dragons are very real, and not at all what he expected. And they practice a very different sort of economy — one of subterfuge and fire.
26th September – Uncrowned (Cradle #7) by Will Wight
The Monarchs, the most powerful sacred artists on Cradle, rule with unquestioned authority. They are mysterious and distant, and catching a glimpse of one is privilege enough for a lifetime.
Now, they have all gathered in one place, bringing their heirs and greatest students together for a competition to determine whose successor is the best in the world:
The Uncrowned King tournament.
27th September – Daughters of Fire & Sea #1 by Holly Karlsson
Abandoned by their mother, Elaina, at fifteen, twin sisters Lyric and Runa Graymorn are accustomed to living on their own. They’d always known there were secrets in their past, but when Elaina’s unexpected return threatens their lives, the sisters must flee from the only home they’ve ever known.
Embarking on an incredible journey deep into the Veil of the Underworld and out along the Tainted Shore, Lyric and Runa are shocked to learn myths are more real than they imagined and there is magic in their blood; magic they can use.
How will they respond to their new role as pawns at the heart of an age-old war? Will their bond survive their dangerous journey?
27th September – Crimson Bone (Kouzlo Saga #2) by L.L. McNeil
Demon hunting is all in a day’s work for Seila.
As a soulless Phantom and member of Fallow Caramond’s Kouzlo—a secret demon killing organisation based outside London—Seila is driven by little other than hunting demons.
Although she’s made new allies—Elementals, Enchantresses, and even a Djinni—and slaying demons has never been easier, working as part of a team goes against everything Seila has done before. It’s not easy to adjust to sharing her life with others, especially when she’s still no closer to reclaiming her soul and her humanity. She butts heads with Lady Tress Vitali, a demon assassin, and finds the edge of her tongue as sharp as her dragon axes.
After vanquishing Elite Demon Sekki, another has leapt in to take his place, and Seila cannot rest while London is under siege.
With Prowler Demons on the loose and half-fire Elemental Damon’s developing powers less than under control, Seila has her hands full not just coping with the growing Kouzlo, but the new Elite Demon wrecking havoc upon London.
28th September – The Fall of the Wizards Book 1: Bildungsroman by Paul Calhoun
The Fall of the Wizards follows the previously mythical adventures of the founder of modern magical society on his world, and the political fallout in the modern era of having someone so revered telling his story in his own words. Zunvect the Sunlord, god of organized magic, has been dead for 8,000 years. Unfinished business and a timely intervention by an ambitious demonologist lead to his revival. No matter what forces are arrayed against him, he must accomplish his goal. His autobiography is overdue and the book launch circuit awaits!
Volume 1 of his autobiography sees Zunvect grow up in a world where magic, music, and mathematics mix together. Dictated to the somewhat disgruntled demonologist, who insists she’s the one in control, the autobiography makes waves in the wider world. Ancient history gets political.
September – Timberwolf by Dominic Adler
TO SURVIVE, FIRST YOU MUST BETRAY
In Stassia, loyalty to the Party means survival. And Axel Geist – rogue, self-styled ladies’ man and accidental political prisoner – is determined to survive. Even if it means selling his soul to the Old God Bassarus, Lord of Deceit and Duke of Hell.
When Bassarus orders Axel to volunteer for Stassia’s warrior elite, the black-uniformed Timberwolves, he joins a labyrinthine security state. A traitor, deep inside the regime. A world of play or be played, kill or be killed… Stassia’s destiny turns on Axel’s treachery and lies.
Space for more books…
Hi Rob, I’ve got ‘Timberwolf’ out this month, exact date TBA. Would be great if you could add it
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47942156-timberwolf
Thanks Dominic. I’ve added it to the bottom of the list as you have no exact release.
Hi Rob, can you add my fantasy novel ‘Daughters of Fire & Sea (Daughters of Fire & Sea Book 1)’? It’s releasing September 27. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47539797-daughters-of-fire-sea
Hi Rob,
I’d be grateful if you could consider adding Jack of Thorns to the list. It comes out on September 3rd.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/47108907-jack-of-thorns
Many thanks, AK.
Hi there,
I’ve added your book to the list. Thank you for letting me know about it. 😀
Rob