C M Debell
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cmdebell.bsky.social
C M Debell
@cmdebell.bsky.social
880 followers 720 following 340 posts
She/her. Writer and reader of stories. Fantasy forever. Lymond ❤️. Freelancer by day. SPFBO9 semi-finalist.

Free book via my newsletter https://www.andeira.net/newsletter

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cmdebell.bsky.social
C M Debell @cmdebell.bsky.social · May 29
If you like any of these things, you might like The Many Shades of Midnight

- Political fantasy
- Character-focused
- Multi POV
- Standalone, 350 pages
- No romance

(Also anti-capitalist rage and people taking action, if anyone needs that in their lives right now)

books2read.com/u/brev8w
💙📚🪐
Front cover of The Many Shades of Midnight by CM Debell Quotes from reviewers: 'Some of the best character arcs in fantasy' 'Dark, gritty and impossible to put down' 'I was absolutely consumed by this book'
Reposted by C M Debell
blog.readindiefantasy.com
It's A Month of Rain & Reads

I've just pulled a ton of fallen leaves out of the drain, and it's time for another interview.

For this one, we've got @jessicaamcminn.bsky.social, author of dark fantasy series Gardens of War & Wasteland.

www.readindiefantasy.com/amorar-inter...

#BookSky #AMoRaR
Banner image for our interview with Jessica A. McMinn. The banner includes the book dragon, the ghost cat, and a photo of Jessica.
November 11, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Reposted by C M Debell
triempery.bsky.social
#WIPSnips The word for November 11 is BURGER

Seriously? The Triempery has yet to hear of "burgers" (though Hans might make a fortune should he start up chain).

Instead, people rave about meat pies! This bit is from THE RILL LORD (2026).
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Triempery
Screenshot of text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April 2026) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. This snip shows giant Tiflan, an affable man, taking care of an ill character and craving some delicious meat pies. “Let me take him now.” The big man rose and wrapped the thin blankets about Robdan’s unresisting form. “Now that we’ve tended the worst of his ills, we can move him—and the both of you—to the comforts of the Manor proper. This man should not sleep in a beggar’s bed, and he never will again if I have anything to say of it. You too, Master Ralfson.” Tiflan nodded to the cook. Having gathered the sleeping Robdan in his arms, he hunched and made his way back down the narrow stair. “You’re being assigned the kitchen and given full reign, including over the Manor’s cook. Dorilian has claimed to me in letters that you make the best meat pies in all the known domains—and I have a mind to eat one!”
November 11, 2025 at 12:25 PM
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blog.readindiefantasy.com
Morning everyone and welcome to week two of A Month of Rain and Reads! We've got EVEN MORE posts for you, but let's start with this fantastic review of Reflections of Lilje Damselfly by @nataliekelda.bsky.social as written by @desiheart.bsky.social:

www.readindiefantasy.com/amorar-book-...
A red banner for A Month of Rain and Reads featuring a dragon sitting in an armchair and reading a book in a cozy setting as a ghost cat plays with its tail. The text says Review: Reflections of Lilje Damselfly and shows the book cover by author Natalie Kelda.
November 10, 2025 at 10:04 AM
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blog.readindiefantasy.com
It's a Sunday morning in A Month of Rain & Reads, and we've got you something to read.

In today's Guest Post, B.S.H. Garcia @bshgarcia.bsky.social talks about the power of ideas and how they can be explored through fiction.

www.readindiefantasy.com/guest-posts-...

#BookSky #AMoRaR
Banner image for our guest post about the power of ideas. The banner is as usual the book dragon and the ghost cat, but the dragon is mostly covered by a photo of BSH Garcia, and the title of the post covers much of the rest of the image.
November 9, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
bjornlarssen.com
This is a really good write-up… and a chance to support an author in more ways than one.
timhardieauthor.bsky.social Tim Hardie @timhardieauthor.bsky.social · 2d
Want to know what you can do as a reader to support the work of your favourite authors? You might not realise it, but you can make a massive difference and this page has been written just for you!
www.timhardieauthor.co.uk/support-me
Support Me — Tim Hardie
www.timhardieauthor.co.uk
November 9, 2025 at 9:39 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
clhellisen.bsky.social
Hah yes this.

Some of the books I loved as a teen have really not held up, while others did and are clearly excellent.

But there were books I was also just not ready to read, and my opinions on them were a waste of space.
Text of a social media post. Carys-the-ninth: "Was this book good or was I deeply 19 when I read it" an investigative journalism series. not-your-lawyer: "was this book bad or was I simply lacking enough life experience to appreciate the narrative when I read it" : an award winning followup
November 8, 2025 at 6:39 AM
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bookspotlight.bsky.social
📝 400+ pages
🥀 urban fantasy
🌃 set in washington state
🔥 slow burn
🤍 romance and angst
🗡️ demons and vampires
📕 first in a duology

🔖 universal link: mybook.to/D3rL5
💌 itch.io link: rebecca-crunden.itch.io/the-wish-and...
📖 goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/23...
Cover for The Wish and the Demon, book one in the Half Swallowed by Shadows duology, by Rebecca Crunden. Cover shows three men's silhouettes standing in the middle of a road in winter. There's dark red trees and snow on the ground. One figure is approaching the other two, surrounded by shadows.
November 8, 2025 at 4:59 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
blog.readindiefantasy.com
We're kicking off the weekend with a spotlight for Memories of Sorcery and Sand by @authorjmac.bsky.social, a standalone portal fantasy with an intriguing character-driven plot where everyone has secrets or tell lies, or both!

www.readindiefantasy.com/a-spotlight-...
A yellow banner for A Month of Rain and Reads featuring a dragon sitting in an armchair and reading a book in a cozy setting as a ghost cat plays with its tail. The text says A Spotlight On... and features the book cover to Memories of Sorcery and Sand by Joanna Maciejewska.
November 8, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
triempery.bsky.social
#WIPSnips The word for November 7th is MOVEMENT

There's lots of "movement" in THE RILL LORD! I particularly like this bit in a conversation between Hans and the Dog Man Cortogh, which makes its point simply and sharply.

#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Triempery
Screenshot of text excerpt from THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book (April 2026) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. This snip shows a conversation between Hans and the Dog Man Cortogh, in which Hans probes the Dog Man's unique understanding of the enemy. “I knew before I ever asked for your service that I could trust you,” he assured Cortogh. “What I need to know now is the lore of your kind. Is there some means we can use to defend ourselves against this man and the artifact he wields?” Understanding, Cortogh grunted, then leaned his weight on the table. His lips parted to display curved ivory teeth, clean and polished, that so unnerved other men. Hans noted them, but what he saw most was the somber expression of intelligence being lent to his cause. “The Aryati device will shield his flesh. It hunted long to find that host and it will not readily yield the advantages it possesses through him.” “Advantages?” Hans sought clarity. Arne pulled up a chair and sat, looking up at them, drinking in every word. “Movement. It is not itself an animal.” Yes, of course. Nammuor was the Diadem’s vehicle, an interface through which the vestigial core of Vllyr could access the physical world. Hans had known all along, however, that to destroy the Diadem he must destroy Nammuor. Dorilian had known it too.
November 7, 2025 at 12:22 PM
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trudieskies.readindiefantasy.com
With just FIVE DAYS to go, if you're following The Chosen One Con on Backerkit, you can now vote for which of the three POV's characters you're most excited to meet!

www.backerkit.com/c/projects/t...
November 6, 2025 at 6:45 PM
Reposted by C M Debell
blog.readindiefantasy.com
Daily Challenge 7: The Long Haul - Share a series you enjoyed.

Reply or repost with your answer to enter, and remember to include the tag #AMoRaR
A picture showing today's challenge with the text: The Long Haul - Share a series you enjoyed.
November 7, 2025 at 9:46 AM
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blog.readindiefantasy.com
Today we've got a new review for you, this time of Unfortunate, a fast-paced urban fantasy novella by @ayrtonmsilva.bsky.social as written by @kittensyay.bsky.social:

www.readindiefantasy.com/amorar-book-...
A red banner for A Month of Rain and Reads featuring a dragon sitting in an armchair and reading a book in a cozy setting as a ghost cat plays with its tail. The text says Review: Unfortunate and shows the book cover by Ayrton Silva.
November 7, 2025 at 10:07 AM
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jamreads.com
ICYMI, an excellent epic fantasy standalone!
jamreads.com Jamedi @jamreads.com · 4d
The Tower of the Tyrant, by @jeremyteg.bsky.social, (pub by @gollancz.bsky.social) is a brilliant novel that mixes together the epic and the philosophical elements, featuring a cast of nuanced characters, and leaving much to think after.

Full thoughts:
jamreads.com/reviews/the-...

💙📚
JamReads - Making your TBR closer to infinite
In JamReads you will find content about books, and why you should read them more. This content may include reviews, interviews and occasionally, some news of the literary world
jamreads.com
November 7, 2025 at 9:29 AM
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blog.readindiefantasy.com
We're starting the day with a fantastic guest post by @angelaboord.bsky.social on the subject of how reading books can help with author burn out, and why we should be reading more:

www.readindiefantasy.com/guest-post-h...

#AMoRaR
A banner image featuring a yellow dragon reading a book and a photo of author Angela Boord with the text: guest post, how reading more helped cure my indie-author burnout.
November 6, 2025 at 10:13 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
nicksnapeauthor.bsky.social
Please find below my FanFiAddict book review for Legacy of the Brightwash by Krystle Matar a beautifully written dark gaslamp/flintlock fantasy. Brilliant, emotive, raw. fanfiaddict.com/review-legac... #booksky #fantasybooksky #fantasy 📚💙
November 6, 2025 at 3:26 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
angelaboord.bsky.social
Pinned post!

If you like your epic fantasy with deeply personal stakes...
If you need to read about the private lives of mercenaries...
If you like your worlds intricate and dark...

Check out my Eterean Empire series! 🦾

books2read.com/fortunesfool
books2read.com/foolspromise

#BookSky #booksky💙📚
On an epic fantasy book cover, a woman holds a sword in her metal hand and throws a deck of cards onto a table with a Renaissance still life of wine and fruit An epic fantasy book cover featuring a man, sitting beside a sleeping woman, who holds a dagger in one hand and clenches his other in a fist.
October 24, 2024 at 11:17 PM
Reposted by C M Debell
blog.readindiefantasy.com
We've got another review for you today, and this is a fun one by @edpool.bsky.social as he reviews Shadecursed: The Bestiary Book One by @chaoskirin.art!

www.readindiefantasy.com/amorar-book-...

#AMoRaR
A red banner for A Month of Rain and Reads featuring a dragon sitting in an armchair and reading a book in a cozy setting as a ghost cat plays with its tail. The text says Review: Shadecursed and shows the book cover by Aeryn E. Christie.
November 5, 2025 at 4:03 PM
cmdebell.bsky.social
Here's a quote from The Many Shades of Midnight for the #bookqw prompt 'colour'

A plague is turning people into monsters, and it's spreading.

#writingcommunity #writesky 📚🪐💙
Front cover of The Many Shades of Midnight and quote for Book Quote Wednesday prompt 'colour' “We were in Flaeres,” Cantrell said, surprising him again. “Chasing rumours. Did you know Ado has been cut off?” Brivar shook his head. Ado was far to the northeast, hugging the farthest edges of the vast Qido Empire. It was small, poor, and of little consequence to the rulers of Ellasia since its wealth in Isyrium had dried up a century ago. What it had to do with Flaeres he didn’t know, and he was sure from Cantrell’s tone that he didn’t want to. Cantrell stared through him. He was talking, Brivar suspected, for much the same reason as Brivar was pacing. “Qido has closed its borders with Ado. Nothing gets in or out. No one knows why, or if they do, no one will say.” He blinked, pressing his knuckles to his eyes. “They came out of nowhere. I have never seen their like. Blue from their heads to their feet, naked. The colour of midnight. There were beasts with them, and it was almost impossible to tell one from the other—which was human and which was not.” He lapsed into silence, his gaze drifting. Then he said, “They went straight for him. I don’t know why. We barely got him out of there. I still have nightmares about it.”
November 5, 2025 at 3:35 PM
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triempery.bsky.social
It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is COLOR.

Today's quote is from THE RILL LORD, my WIP, that does not yet have a cover. It will be published in April. Because of the scene's setting I'm using an image of Sordan.

Things are... not going well.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #bookqw
Image on left side of meme is an illustration of the City of Sordan from the Triempery series by L.L. Stephens. This snip takes place in Sordan. Text on the right is a snip from a scene of what is happening in Sordan during a great battle being fought far away, in Essera. The Rill had faltered. Frozen, silent, it loomed over Sordan like a wraith. A dead thing. But Levyathan sensed, in the unerring way a Sordaneon could, that the Entity—like Dorilian—remained alive. Tiflan ran up, his tall shape emerging from the Serat to approach along the Viridian River. He knelt before them, his golden gaze piercing. He laid a hand on each of their shoulders. “What do you feel?” he asked Levyathan. “Disaster.” Fahme rocked back on her heels and pointed overhead. “Look at the sky.” Above the City and its implausibly suspended Entity the cloudless sky had turned strange. Yellow. The color of ripe lemons.
November 5, 2025 at 1:04 PM
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beneatha1kskies.bsky.social
Today is a dual for review for the two stories in the Court of Furies series by Tessa Hastjarjanto - A Dress to Kill For and A Dress Save Me, to historical horror stories that really do give a new meaning to high-priced fashion and were a lot of fun to read.
Short Story Reviews: A Dress to Kill For / A Dress to Save Me (Court of Furies) Tessa Hastjarjanto
A Dress to Kill For How much are you willing to sacrifice to gain everything you ever wanted? Lady Claire Rosewood lives on the fringes of society, being pitied by people she once thought of as friends. Her husband isn't the suave businessman he used to be when he proposed marriage. Both frustrated with their situation and marriage, they long for more.
beneathathousandskies.co.uk
November 5, 2025 at 2:19 PM
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blog.readindiefantasy.com
It's A Month of Rain & Reads, and it's Tuesday, which means it's Interview Day.

Today, we hear from British multi-genre author Julian M. Miles (@rafellin.bsky.social), about the life he's lived, the stories he's told, and tales yet to come: www.readindiefantasy.com/amorar-inter...

#AMoRaR #BookSky
Banner image for our interview with Julian M. Miles. The banner includes the book dragon, the ghost cat, and a photo of the author being interviewed.
November 4, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Reposted by C M Debell
triempery.bsky.social
#WIPSnips The word for November 4th is STEEL

I looked for a use with "steel" for "steel will" because so many of my characters have that. This snip from THE RILL LORD shows "steel" referring to the metal. And steel wills.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #Triempery
Screenshot of a text excerpt from THE RILL STONE, sixth and final book (April 2026) of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Snip shows Dorilian getting angry at a meeting before a battle. “Believe what you will.” Dorilian turned his back on the stunned, silent men waiting on his answer. His anger felt so cold it could only bring desolation. He faced Hans. “You wanted them, you have them. I don’t need them. I gave them the Rill for nothing. I must have been mad to think that between us we might forge a new path! The Stauberg-Randolphs were a death wish, and Stefan their finest hour. You came too late to save either—and you can’t save this collection of fools! I’m sure as hells not going to try. What you’re trying to give them, they don’t even want!” Picking up his cloak, Dorilian headed for the door, accompanied by the ringing of drawn steel and the seemingly sudden appearance of armed men throughout the room, keeping those within from interceding. Tutto must have signaled. “Dorilian, don’t—” Hans shouted, barely catching himself from openly pleading. But the Hierarch gave no indication that he had heard. His footsteps on the plank floor were the only sounds to punctuate his departure. Legon appeared in the passageway at his side, handing him his sword. “Dorilian!” But Hans knew the angry man would not look back. Just as he had not looked back when he had left Stefan on the Rill platform at Permephedon.
November 4, 2025 at 12:18 PM
cmdebell.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 4 November 'steel'

In The Many Shades of Midnight, Alyas has a matching sword and dagger made from Isyr steel, an extremely valuable metal. If weapons were characters, these blades could be my MC. They cause so much trouble.

#writingcommunity #writesky #writingfantasy
Quote from The Many Shades of Midnight for #WIPSnips prompt 'steel' for 4 November A yawn overtook him, and he turned to pace back across the cave. His gaze snagged on the paired blades hanging on the wall, the elegant hilts the unmistakable cool blue of Isyr steel. Unable to help himself, Brivar ran his fingers over the cold metal, feeling the legendary silkiness of the steel that never lost its edge. They were weapons fit for a king—rare, priceless treasures. Irreplaceable. It had been impossible to mine pure Isyrium for decades. The rough ore that was mined these days was processed by the syndicates and used to power Ellasia’s burgeoning new industries and the work of its temples, but the purity required for Isyr steel was lost to the past. Wars had been fought over it. Even now, possession of it dictated relations between nations. Cantrell, looking up, said bitterly, “Beautiful, aren’t they? Worth as much as the whole of Lankara. They were his father’s, a gift from the Emperor of Qido. Much good they did him.”
November 4, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Reposted by C M Debell
blog.readindiefantasy.com
Today we're hosting a recommendation of Hidden Indie SFF Gems, including underrated fantasy and sci-fi, written by @nicksnapeauthor.bsky.social

www.readindiefantasy.com/amorar-recom...
A banner image for A Month of Rain and Reads featuring a pink dragon reading a book and a ghost cat playing with his tail. The text reads Hidden Indie SFF Gems and more! There are three book covers on the banner, including The Ezekiel Factor, The Crimson Fire, and Icebreaker.
November 4, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
robjhayes.bsky.social
The November list of Self Published Fantasy is now live!

I can't lie, one of the covers really snagged my attention this month. Can you guess which?

robjhayes.co.uk/self-publish...
Self Published Fantasy Releases – November 2025
Visit the post for more.
robjhayes.co.uk
November 4, 2025 at 10:11 AM