Today's Featured Books

LitNuts features books you may not find elsewhere. (Scroll down to see today's Featured Books.) What have you been missing? A lot of great indie books for one thing. Indie authors and small presses are the lifeblood of American literature, which is why we make them the stars of our newsletter. Learn more... 

Free online: Newberry Authors Panel at the Virginia Festival of Books. Andrea Beatriz Arango, a former schoolteacher and winner of a 2023 Newbery Honor for Iveliz Explains It All, sits down with Meg Medina, the National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, a Newbery Award medalist, and the NYT bestselling author of Merci Suárez Plays It Cool, to talk about what it means to write the books they wish were on the shelves during their middle school years. Saturday, March 25, 12:30 p.m. EDT. 

“When I write now, I pretend I'm holding hands with the old me. I try to make sense of all those questions for her.” ~Meg Medina

Flynn Barnes and his wife, Shannon, have had an idyllic marriage—until she discovers the dangerous secret he kept from her...one that threatens to ruin their marriage and the stability of a happy home for their two little girls. Flynn follows the advice of his siblings in an attempt to gain back Shannon's love and trust—but can he win back her love before it's too late? Along with their focus on Flynn, the family is also helping plan Cymbeline's wedding to Viktor. Join the Barnes family for this bonus novella in the bestselling Emerson Pass Historicals. 4.5 stars, 1300+ ratings. From $3.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

"Beautiful, romantic." -Foreword Reviews. As they track an enemy across a magical land, Helisent, a witch, and Samson, a wolf, uncover a series of troubling mysteries and a budding love that will change their lives forever. An adult "romantasy"...think Sex and the City meets The Witcher. "A playful twist on the fantasy genre...who knew witches like to party?" - Kirkus. Book 1 in the series. FREE - SHOP NOW / 

When you love a villain, do you become one too? In a world of black-and-white, the gray in between just got more inviting. Laws are easily broken when you are at the hands of these dangerous-as-sin men. Watch as the man before you destroys everything in his path to claim what is his: You. Villains are determined by the eyes of the beholder, and all we see is desire. Twenty-two brand-new and exclusive novellas, taking us on an anti-hero adventure, one stuttering breath at a time. 4.7 stars, 108 ratings. From $0.99 SHOP NOW / 

"An addictive, well-written story, with out-of-this-world romance and heartbreaking moments." -Amazon review. I’m fake-dating a real-life demigod with a perfect body to match his 10/10 face. His jilted ex-girlfriend wants him back, so I play new girlfriend. But pretend turns real with this big, fat plus sign. Will he stay or run, now that he’s my baby daddy? "The chemistry between Gavin and Paige is palpable and the steamy scenes are H-O-T. If you're looking for a book that will make you laugh, cry, and swoon, this is it!" -Amazon review. 4.6 stars, 99 ratings. From $0.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

Sean was just waiting for his best friend to show up at the bar so they could play some pool. It came as a shock when the tall blonde man accosted Sean. When the fight ended, Sean found himself in a meeting with Odin, Archangel Michael, Lucifer, and Morrigan, all vying for his soul. Sean choose to go with the goddess of Fate, Death, and Battle, and found himself with a new body and the chance to live a new life on a new world. But he learns quickly that words have power in this world, and that Agreements are binding. An eBookFairs "Best in Show" selection. Book 1 in the series. 4.6 stars, 2600+ ratings. From $4.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW / 

March 23 is National Puppy Day, a day to focus on the theme of "Love, Rescue, Adopt," and to celebrate the magic and unconditional love that puppies bring to our lives.

Another great way to celebrate? Catch up on The Adventures of Bruno and Grace from author Rachel Young! Middle grade readers will thoroughly enjoy following Bruno, a retired police dog, and his best friend, Grace, on their many adventures.

The Adventures of Bruno and Grace: Into the Wild

The adventures of Bruno and Grace continue in Into the Wild, Book 2 in the Series. Bruno, a retired police dog, and his best friend, Grace, continue to use their imagination on their many adventures. Now there is double the fun because Grace has a brother, Luke! Although Bruno misses police work, he keeps busy looking after these two kids. 

The Adventures of Bruno and Grace

Want to get in on the adventures of Bruno and Grace from the start? The e-book edition of Book 1 in the Series is currently free on Amazon (and always free via Kindle Unlimited). Meet Bruno as he retires from work as a police dog and begins a new life at home with baby Grace. A special friendship develops between the two of them as they begin to share many new adventures.

Today's line-up of Featured Books is indicative of the great work coming out of the indie publishing world. Scroll down to learn more. 

What's New in Historical Fiction: Tune in to this regular panel series featuring historical novelists. This week: Erika Robuck, author of Sisters of Night and Fog; Patricia Bernstein author of A Noble Cunning; Edie Cay author of A Viscount's Vengeance; and Stephanie Marie Thornton author of Her Lost Words. Thursday, March 23, 7 p.m. CDT.  

"People of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things." ~Leonardo da Vinci

Congratulations to Ben Nickol and Vine Leaves Press on the release of The Sea Lanterns, a novel in which future may mean not banishing ghosts, but living forever in their company.

“A wickedly funny examination of college sports, colliding egos, and the often inadvisable ways we go about the pursuit of our dreams.” ~Margaret Malone, author of People Like You

The Sea Lanterns by Ben Nickol

Marooned at a backwater college and hungry for more, Athletic Director Scott Darrow plots his ascent to a better job at a better school.

He has the talent, charm, and Machiavellian nerve to go far, but when he hires a famous coach to run his basketball program, the coach proves to be unstable and possibly insane.

To escape professional oblivion, Darrow must maneuver and manipulate this coach, and manage the town’s intensifying suspicions. No measure is too drastic. No tactic too cruel. But complicating Darrow’s work is his own unsettled history, and in wrestling with this history, Darrow begins to understand his frail coach with jarring personal clarity.

Perhaps the two men aren’t as dissimilar as they’d seemed. And perhaps Darrow’s future—even if it’s triumphant—will mean not banishing his ghosts, but living forever in their company.
 
Praise for The Sea Lanterns
“A poignant and uncompromising novel with gritty and luminous prose. Nickol demands the reader’s attention on every page as he explores the price of ambition at all costs.” ~Soon Wiley, When We Fell Apart

“Who knew a book about a mediocre JuCo basketball team in a gloomy Pacific Northwest town could be such a delight with so much heart.” ~Margaret Malone, People Like You

Celebrate great indie books today (and every day!) with the LitNuts Newsletter and LitNuts.com. And be sure to celebrate World Poetry Day tomorrow, March 21, by taking time to read the works of your favorite poets from around the globe. Learn more at Poets.org. 

“What cannot be said will be wept.” ~Sappho

“A tremendous book—sweeping but intimate, elegiac but urgent, subtle but intense." -Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series. A woman discovers her parents were not the people she thought. And why is someone trying to kill her? Set The Night on Fire travels back to the late Sixties to answer those questions. Part thriller, part historical novel, and part love story, Fire paints an unforgettable portrait of a group of young idealists who tried to change the world. “A top-rate thriller that taps into the 1960s… Hellman’s insightful, politically charged whodunit explores a fascinating period in American history.” -Publishers Weekly. From $0.99 SHOP NOW / 

Victor has cared for Cymbeline his whole life, but Cymbeline declared Viktor her arch-enemy when they were children. Now, she sees him as a hero, but she still can't let go of the idea that her destiny is waiting somewhere else in the world. Will Cymbeline come to terms with her life and wake up to the idea of love before it's too late? Book 4 in the Emerson Pass Historicals series. 4.6 stars, 2000+ ratings. From $5.99. Free via KU. SHOP NOW /