Today’s author spotlight features first time anthology contributor @dasstanzy.bsky.social with JUST LIKE OLD TIMES, a fast-paced and paranoia-inducing short! TORMENT: A GOTHIC ANTHOLOGY coming MARCH 10, 2026 ADD IT ON GOODREADS! #gothicfantasy #indiebook #anthology #bookstagram

Oh hey, it’s me! In addition to curating TORMENT, I’ve contributed my own story. A blend of visceral horror and buried hope, OMEN is inspired by the relentless resilience of the human spirit. TORMENT: A Gothic Anthology Coming March 10, 2026

🧛🏻‍♀️ Up next in TORMENT’s vampire stories is EMERGE by @bailswrites.bsky.social ! A unique take on the act and outcome of feeding off of humans, EMERGE explores the unintended consequences of hunger and desire. Want an ARC? There’s still time to sign up! - SIGN UP FORM IN BIO 🦇🦇

@thatwriterjess.bsky.social & I are currently collaborating on a Black Week sale specifically for indie authors. It includes editing bundles, design packages, and mixed bundles as well. We have both % sales and flat rates. All info can be found here: www.instagram.com/thelanguages...

OUT NOW Meet Nikolai, Viktor and all their friends in the Children of Lorcan book! Prior reading of Usurper is essential! #books #indieauthors #fantasy #darkfantasy #achilleanromance #childrenoflorcan #lorcanverse

@thatwriterjess.bsky.social and I are curating our first joint anthology - FUTURISTIC QUEER HORROR! Check our website for more info. We're looking forward to your submission!

Rainbow Wren Subscribe to get all the latest news about my queer fiction projects under the pen name Ezra Wren! thatwriterjessison.substack.com?r=55yq98&utm...

IT'S THE DAY! The Kickstarter for Remnants of Relics is officially live! Grab the Early Bird rewards and support the anthology early. Early support helps the project to become more visible on Kickstarter as well ❤️ Tinyurl.com/remnantsofrelics

Guess what day it is! You're right, the 27th! And that means the kickstarter for Remnants of Relics is live!! www.kickstarter.com/projects/jak... Support over 16 queer stories & poems about loss & gain today and become a backer! 💙📚

We're wrapping up #PrideBookFair with our long-awaited Promo Week! 🌈📚 Keep an eye out for sales, giveaways, bundles, and more! Check the PBF Carrd for a sampling of promoted books, including our new Itchio Bundles! 👉 pridebookfair.carrd.co#promos

So glad to meet you and share this world with you!

The Lorcanverse returns with Nikolai Petrov 📚Character-driven 🏳️‍🌈 Achillean Romance  🫶 Friend grp  👨‍🏫 Mentors  🏫🤫Academy setting & secret society  💕Cinnamon RollxBlack Cat 🗺 New culture  🙏 Ancient gods 🫶 Diverse rep  👑 Political intrigue  🖤 Dark fantasy Goodreads 🔗 in bi0 #fantasy #childrenoflorcan

If you like characters you love to love and love to hate, reads that make you want to throw your book at the wall (or even across a kingdom), books you’ll never forget, check out Usurper. According to this reader, it'll leave you eager for more. #Darkfantasy #vampires linktr.ee/thatwriterjess

Hello friends! It's a bit early, but I wanted to share the event schedule for Pride Book Fair so y'all can start thinking about it! Since we can't pin posts yet, I'll try to find a more accessible (& permanent) way to share PBF info here on bsky. For now, please share this around if you can! 🌈📚🌈🚀💫

One month! Ebook is lowered to 99c! Get your copy now! linktr.ee/thatwriterjess

I will celebrate my first birthday as a published author with a big promotion on Usurper! The ebook will cost 99c on itch, ko-fi and my site: 4-20 April. If you get a paperback from my site you'll have the option to get the ebook free. Offers: linktr.ee/thatwriterjess Comment your questions!

Hello, world. I'm a published author today. #Books #Indieauthor #Releaseday #Author #Writer #Fantasy

If you like ❤️🤍Todoroki angst 💙Arcane char dynamics 🦌Farseer Trilogy type char dev 🌪️Twists & turns 🛡️0 plot armour 🖋️ Immersive prose w interiority 🔧Grumpy mentor w 🫶 of gold ☀️Sunshine bestie 🫂Found fam ⛓️‍💥Poisoned sibling bond 🤧Crying You’ll love Usurper 🔗 where 🔗s live. Pr30rd3r now!

Look at this absolutely stunning cover! I really couldn't be happier with how it turned out. @replica004.bsky.social did such a wonderful job, capturing Ambroz and Evergarden perfectly. FIRST ROSE is the 2nd book of the science fantasy trilogy Deity Chronicles, coming May 25th 2025.

First Rose by Jake Vanguard @jakevanguard.bsky.social , Book 2 in the Deity Chronicles comes out May 25th! Cover Art by the very talented @replica004.bsky.social ! eARC applications still open! Make sure to snag a copy of the first book First Snow to delve into this AMAZING world by May! #Books

🤩🤩🤩

Usurper feels like...

Excited and nervous! Happy reading!

Have you checked this out yet? Once you start reading Jake’s stuff and get to know his characters you’ll never look back!

Part II: If you like these specific things... 💓 Will-Tessa-BiJem ❤️‍🩹 S1 Vi/Jinx-Silco/Vander 💔 Fanfic feels 😤 Gruff mentor 💪 Strong smart women (can't fight) 🌈 Both Straight & Queer Rep 🙋Character driven books 🌀 Twists & Turns ... you might enjoy Usurper. Head over to IG for details

If you like these specific things... 😭 Anime-flavor feels and angst ❤️‍🩹 Todoroki family angst 🐍 Black brothers angst 🥐 Blond cinnamon rolls 💕 All kinds of romance (book is NOT a romance) 💀 Mortal characters 🗺 Fantasy worlds > Western cities 🥲 Bittersweetness you might enjoy Usurper. (Details on IG)

THANK YOU to those who've signed up. When you read and review books by indie authors, you help get those books in front of readers. Signups close Wed 8 Jan If you want to support me but don’t like ARC reading, you can still help by engaging with posts. If you have any questions, drop them below.

Would you like to learn more about the themes of Usurper? Head over to my *photo app* with the same username for a detailed post with a mini blurb for 6 out of 12 themes. Part 2 up tomorrow!

JJK X FANTASY X VAMPS Anyone in desperate need of a Megumi/Yuji friendship where Yuji is into Megumi and Megumi is the MC? And does anyone want Satosugu angst but they're brothers and Geto idolized Gojo so badly but they both feel betrayed by the other? 👀 You'd like Usurper... Comment ARC for 🔗

📣 CALLING FANTASY ARC READERS If you like: 📚Fantasy series w spinoffs ❤️‍🩹Anime & Fanfic flavored angst 💗Entangled found family and romance 🏳️‍🌈Straight & queer romance 👱‍♂️Cinnamon roll bestie 👑Political intrigue & prince to pauper 💔Idol-distance-hatred sibling angst Comment ARC for 🔗 #booksky📚💙

Who likes flawed characters w cinnamon roll best friends and a brother who once idolized them but now they're both so damaged their relationship is POISON? The Petrov brothers will *break* your heart with their almosts. ALMOST KING ALMOST TRAVELER ALMOST BROTHERS eARCs for Usurper are open.

📣📚ATTN: ARC READERS WHO *DON'T* HAVE A GOOGLE ACCOUNT If any of you are interested in applying for a Usurper eARC but can't fill in the form because of the sign-in, let me know and I can sign you up manually! (You can leave a comment or DM me ) Here's book info if you haven't caught it yet!

This week will be full of fun, family, gifts, and food for some people, but it’ll be a very dark time for others. Keep them in mind. Check on your friends. Feel awful or like the bad thoughts are taking over? Reach out. We’re here. You’re not alone.

POV every year on Christmas Eve you watch the movie Klaus and every year without fail you both end up crying. 🥺🥺🥺

What's everyone doing tonight? I'll be watching my favorite Christmas Movie Klaus and eating a cheese board with my husband and our doggo Groot, and later our kitties Benny and Nebula (And trying not to refresh the signup form for the eARCs. Wouldn't mind a few surprise signups for Christmas 👀)

I have more...but here are the two brothers who make Usurper what it is. The work of the brilliant @kyuriart.bsky.social

LOL but can you imagine if Dabi and Shoto actually grew up super close and then they weren't so close anymore and THEN it got deadly? Yeah, if you'd like to read something like that, I suggest you check out Usurper. The Petrov brothers will have you bawling. eARC signups open. Comment ARC for 🔗.

📚CALLING FANTASY LOVERS: MAP ALERT📚 Have you seen the map of Denya? Denya is a completely fictitious world geographically inspired by our own with entirely made up cultures. 3 continents 7 bodies of water 57 countries Usurper comes out 11 March. eARC signups currently open. Comment ARC for 🔗

I can't resist a cute picrew, so... 1 - Zan & Caean (Deity Chronicles). Of course outside, and of course Caean's already taking off their clothes 2 - Raz & Nate (Angelverse). I'm so glad a red dress shirt is an option! 3 - Amroir & Seren (Dragon WIP). Working on their story currently 👀

You should sign up for a Usurper eARC if you like these oddly specific things: ❤️‍🩹 Todoroki family angst 🧑‍🦳 Dabi 💙💖 Vi/Jinx & Silco/Vander love/hate angst 🐍 Fanon Black brothers idol➡️rival arc 💗 Will/Tessa/Jem but Jem wants them both too 😭 Feels 🌈🏳️‍🌈 🗺️ Worldbuilding>Western cities Comment ARC for 🔗

FANTASY POLITICAL INTRIGUE X MORAL VAMPIRES X ANIME ANGST X FANFIC FEELS Usurper eARCs open Perfect for fans of: 📚 Long series that start out small& grow progressively larger 🔍 Foreshadowing/easter eggs 💔 Sibling idol to rival pipeline ♥️ Found Family entangled w Romance Comment ARC for link

📚LOOKING FOR FANTASY ARC READERS WHO REALLY REALLY LIKE TO CRY📚 COMMENT ARC FOR 🔗

eARC signups open for the first novel in a series (all vols written, story complete, in editing) 📚 Fantasy w mortal 🧛 📚 NA 📚 Straight & 🌈 Rep 📚 Anime & Fanfic level feels and angst 📚 Political intrigue 📚 Sibling dynamics 📚 Found family 📚 Romance forms.gle/nyZDbKHDzHy3... #ARCsky #Arcreaders

ARC READERS WANTED - First in a series - New Adult - Fantasy in a multigenerational series - CWs avaiable on website (childrenoflorcan.com) - eARCs to go out in January, Book comes out March forms.gle/fEKLSfpDgLjo...

eARC SIGNUP NOW OPEN! If you'd like to register your interest h head over to forms.gle/u2t4Vxtq5Rjq... to fill in the form! Content warnings are available on my website childrenoflorcan.com in the Books session.

Here is the second part of my introduction to the other notable characters of Usurper. If you haven’t caught the other posts yet, head over to my grid. Not all of these characters have the same importance or page time and all of them occupy different roles. Ask me anything in the comments.

Read the slides for a bit of background about other notable characters in Usurper aside from the main five. Something you'll notice is the mix of social backgrounds. The interaction between these different dynamics is a running theme in the Lorcanverse.

Added some new things to my Ko-Fi shop! Buttons are all handmade and available as different sets. They're big ones (58mm) and some even have a holo effect! Also added the Higanbana hardcover, if you prefer to buy it from somewhere else than 'zon (Europe only) ✨ ko-fi.com/jakevanguard/shop ✨

Let's take a look at the full illustration by the incredible @vitkovskayaart.bsky.social. For a breakdown of the different settings, you can head over to my IG where I've just posted with a description of all the landmarks. The Petrov Palace is *key* in Usurper as well as a lot of the other books!

Caius is my black cat with a heart of gold, brought to life in his official portrait by my incredibly talented illustrator @kyuriart.bsky.social For lovers of touch them and die, side characters who steal the show, and queer romance. For the wallflowers. Intrigued? Caius has his own spinoff.