You may have seen, but our second birthday is today! To celebrate, we’re not only running an amazing giveaway on our Instagram (closes 14.5.22), but we’re also going to recap all of our books for you!
We’ve had many of you amazing people ask us to recap so that you can keep up with purchases before we shoot into the rest of our 2022 releases (we have 8 coming out by the end of the year).
As you know, at SmashBear Publishing, we publish urban fantasy, fantasy, horror and paranormal romance! So if you love these amazing genres, this recap list is for you!
Storm’s Child was the first book we ever published! Having launched in September of 2020, the first book in the Rune Caster Chronicles has amassed hundreds of sales and fans! Storm’s Child is an urban fantasy thriller, set in Portland, Oregon. You follow Nathan and his fan favourite, sidekick Sabine, as Nathan investigates the murder of one of his employees.
The Abyss Within was the second book we published, but the first anthology. As you may know, it’s important for us at SmashBear that we’re active in our community but also that we’re helping those who need it most. The Abyss Within was not only our first anthology or our first horror, but marked the start of our fundraising for Women’s Aid. We’ve managed to raise over £500 for Women’s Aid since the launch of The Abyss Within! The authors in these anthologies are amazing, offering their stories free of charge to help us raise funds! If you love spooky stories, definitely get The Abyss Within.
The Wing Thief is one of my personal favourites that SmashBear has published. As soon as I read it, I knew we had to publish it. It was the third book we ever published and is still one of the best publishing experiences I’ve ever had. Sam manages to create such a magical atmosphere with her writing that draws you in and makes you forget that the real world exists! The Wing Thief is a high fantasy, ya novel and really reminds me of classic 80’s films like Labrynth and the Neverending Story. The Wing Thief has a classic aura but there are some dark scenes in the book which can be shocking.
The second book in the Rune Caster Chronicles, Death’s Edge continues on just after Storm’s Child. We see Nathan and co trying to move on and heal whilst maintaining their beautiful Inn. Of course, fate has other plans and Death’s Edge see Nathan being dragged into a millennia-old battle with a vengeful fae. Death’s Edge has higher stakes than Storm’s Child and really draws on the urban fantasy genre by pulling in more creatures than ever before. It’s a great sequel to Storm’s Child and Nathan has been compared to The Witcher in many reviews!
The second anthology in our catalog, Retelling Her World not only carries on our tradition of beautiful covers but also fundraising for Women’s Aid. Retelling Her World features a mix of fantasy and urban fantasy short stories focused on stories from the female perspective. It features one of my favourite stories, Alone, At Last by Courtney Pollman - Turner. Alone, At Last is a retelling and restructuring of Robin Hood from Maid Marian’s perspective. It’s got an amazing twist and really is a must-read. You can find out more about Women’s Aid and why we support them here.
One of the great things about SmashBear Publishing being 2 is that we have 7 books out so we’ve gained so much experience, but we’re still experiencing firsts. The Promis o Lightning, whilst our 6th book published, is our first paranormal romance! It’s also our first book with explicit sex and lgbt themes. The Promise of Lightning is for those of you who are tired of the traditional love triangles, which are more like love angles, where two people are interested in the same one. The Promise of Lightning breaks this mold and truly shows how a love triangle should work! Weatherwax beautifully incorporates greek mythology into her world and it makes you want to know what cult you would be in!
Our most recent release, but not the last of the year, is They Hung the Moon. This anthology is close to my heart if only for the fact that all of the stories were written by SmashBear staff! They Hung the Moon follows the moon cycle, from new moon, to full moon, and then to the waning moon. My own story, Heavy Heart, takes place under the full moon. They Hung the Moon is special to us, not only because it was written by SmashBear staff, but also because it marked us donating over £500 to Women’s Aid! It contains stories of urban fantasy, fantasy, paranormal romance, horror and sci-fi, with the connecting theme of the moon.
It’s been an amazing 2 years and I’m so excited to show you what we have coming out next! We have over 5 books coming out by the end of 2022 and 12 scheduled for 2023! We’ll probably announce the release schedule for the rest of the year soon but just to keep you intrigued, we have our first high fantasy novel and our first horror novel debuting new authors as well as sequels from some of the veteran authors on this list!
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