C M Debell
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cmdebell.bsky.social
C M Debell
@cmdebell.bsky.social
940 followers 770 following 460 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

linktr.ee/cmdebell
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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
trudieskies.readindiefantasy.com
It has been a whole month since The Chosen One Con came out. It's sitting at 21 ratings at 4.6 stars on Goodreads and 10 ratings at 4.7 on Amazon! 💙

A big THANK YOU to everyone that has read and reviewed so far! It's available online and in paperback.

books2read.com/thechosenone...
A promo image for The Chosen One Con, out now on Kindle, Kobo, and Itch. It shows the book cover to the Chosen One Con (a young white man in a trench coat holding a glowing blue potion bottle as though trying to steal it) and the following text: Magic spoke to me, whispering promises of fortune and fame. It spoke when I switched on the old MV and the screen came alive with the blue glow of magic, the faint spark and pop of aether flowing through the cables.
October 1, 2026 at 3:50 PM
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jnevair.bsky.social
Bookbub deal on The Curse of Dragon Tail Island today. Yo Ho Ho 🏴‍☠️🏝️🦜

"The crew, the Salty Scoundrels, are a treat. Their interactions are hilarious and Nevair drops line after line of witty comebacks and barbed shots, all laced with heart..." -Bill Adams (FanFiaddict)

LINK: books2read.com/u/bMgWJ7
a book cover with fantasy characters dressed as pirates on a ship's deck, done in a playful style with the title, "the Curse of Dragon Tail Island" and the author name, Jonathan Nevair against a white background. Below it reads, "Now only .99c" with a small diagonal red Bookbub tab in the top left corner.
October 1, 2026 at 2:01 PM
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triempery.bsky.social
#WIPSnips The word for September 30 is GUARD

I used "unguarded" in this snip. It's a fun glimpse of early Kate vs. Oandah. Oandah has just abducted Kate and the two are in the earliest stage of their contentious alliance. Neither is happy about it.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #SFF
Text excerpt from NOMARA, a science fiction WIP by L.L. Stephens. Snip shows Terran Kate and Ibisian Oandah getting to know each other: “Fool of a Terran!” Oandah’s voice crashed down, breaking the pre-dawn stillness. “This is not Eshuun! You have landed us on the lowland plain!” Oandah’s warriors looked her way with sudden, fiercely watchful attention, but in her anger Kate vented every measure of pent-up rage she had stored since being abducted. “Look, sister—that shuttle had pre-compted cords. It landed exactly where it was supposed to land, even if I had to do all the coordinating to bring it down. And you may not have to abide by Concordat rules, but I do—and it is against Concordat directives to land any Class C exploration craft near a populated area! Unless invited, which you know damn well we have not been. We have standing orders to stay out of sight. I would be setting myself up for court martial if I went against those directives, as good as drum myself out of the space service—and I’m not about to ruin my career, everything I’ve worked for, for the likes of you. You told me to bring you down . . . well, you’re down! You can walk from here.” Oandah glared at her. “Terrans do not walk when they have their machines with them. Nor do queens walk into hostile lands unguarded and bearing their burdens on their backs.” She gestured to the shuttle. “You have a land vehicle. Use it.” Kate grasped her meaning immediately. “The sled?” she exclaimed. “You’re parafinned! I can’t give you the sled.” Even if Oandah had somehow learned how to fly a hover sled, PES would throw a hype if a piece of advanced tech fell into Ibisian hands. “And I will not return to Eshuun impoverished, without proof of the Terrans!” Oandah told her savagely. “If I must walk, you will walk with me. Indeed, it shall be my pleasure to make at least one Terran a bearer of burdens—” A sudden shriek curdled the pre-dawn quiet.
September 30, 2026 at 12:05 PM
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stevewestenra.bsky.social
The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle is ON SALE for Hallowe'en!

A failed actor turned cryptid-hunting YouTuber follows a video of his vanished mom to an isolated island in the Canadian wilderness

steve-westenra.itch.io/the-erstwhil...

#transauthor #indiehorror #horrorbooks #sale #booksale #queerhorror
October 1, 2026 at 9:30 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
frogandtoadbot.bsky.social
On Toad’s birthday Frog gave him a hat. Toad was delighted.

“Happy birthday,” said Frog. Toad put on the hat. It fell down over his eyes.
Toad puts on his new birthday hat, and it slides right down over his eyes. Frog looks on, thoughtfully. From "The Hat" In *Days with Frog and Toad*
October 1, 2026 at 10:37 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
bookspotlight.bsky.social
The Chills, Thrills and Kills October Itchio book sale is live!!!

Get this amazing deal of October-themed reads that'll last you until next year! 80+ books for just $69! Less than a dollar a book and all the jokes you can make about the price!

itch.io/b/3904/chill...
Graphic 2 for the Chills, Thrills & Kills October Itchio Sale. 93 books for $69. A VERY BIG AND SPOOKY BUNDLE of creepy and cosy reads perfect for this year’s Hallowe’en Season! Hosted by Indie Book Spotlight.
October 1, 2026 at 6:00 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
bookspotlight.bsky.social
He’s had many names, lived many lives, worn many disguises.

🎭 a magician’s last act
💖 a burgeoning romance
🗡️ brothers at odds
📓 21 pages

🔖 universal link: mybook.to/H6oGDdB
💌 itch.io link: rebecca-crunden.itch.io/the-final-ac...
📖 goodreads: www.goodreads.com/book/show/12...

[ #booksky ]
cover for the final act of jonas black by rebecca crunden; shows a faceless figure in a hat with glasses, black and white colour scheme
September 29, 2026 at 12:51 PM
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triempery.bsky.social
#WIPSnips The word for September 29 is WELL

In NOMARA, human captive Kharys is very, very good at being what he needs to be to survive.
#WritingCommunity #WriteSky #SFF
Text excerpt from NOMARA, a science fiction WIP by L.L. Stephens. Snip reveals the thoughts of Arasend, a nomari Queen, about her captive lover Kharys: “No, not those,” she said when he chose one of the several garments offered by the attendants. “The gold. It suits you better.” She saw him hesitate, then obey. Settling into her chair, she watched as he dressed. Every movement was graceful, deliberate, even his stance, the angle of his limbs, executed to be pleasing. Nothing in Kharys ever jarred. Not even his lapses. From the very first moment when Oandah had brought Kharys to Eshuun, Arasend had marked his differentness. Kharys’s coloring, with his skin of pearl and his hair like red honey, had been too rare. His innocence was not that of barbarians, but of people more refined: his body showed few signs of having been reared in harshness, he embraced cleanliness eagerly and captivity too well. Even his speech, when he did speak, lacked barbarian inflections. The Nogshari’im had never raised Kharys. He knew nothing of the nomari, not even so much as was known to the youngest child of the ri’im. For a time Arasend had thought Kharys unintelligent, an exquisitely beautiful idiot, possibly a slave-trader’s prize the Nogsha had captured from the caravans, for he had looks even the ri’im might sell for pleasure. But within passings she knew otherwise. Her exquisite boy’s hesitancy and quiet concealed an alert mind. The speech of the nomari came quickly to his lips once he had chance to hear it; he recognized his duties without fail and soon performed even the most complex of social functions in a manner as beautiful and flawless as his person—he could and would be the consort of a Queen. Arasend had not known, when she had first taken him from Oandah, that he would so suit her purposes.
September 29, 2026 at 11:21 AM
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helynalc.bsky.social
#WIPSnips from Untwined
It's the meme with three wells (or maybe well-shaped plant-holder?) on green grass. "Well well well, what do we have here?" is written under them. “It doesn’t have to get any more complicated than this,” Vesper said. “Do your best, and we both get out of here quickly. You can protect everyone. Save them. You want that, don’t you?” Did I? It was hard to remember. I’d wanted things, yes. After not daring to want for such a long time, there had suddenly been careful wishes, urges, hopes. But I was stuck at the bottom of a well now, and I couldn’t see any of it. I couldn’t see anything but her.
September 29, 2026 at 11:47 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
stevewestenra.bsky.social
#WIPSnips - "Well."

"Well" is one of those crutch words I kept in TETK because it's very much part of Tyler's speech and how he narrates.

A dark moment. D :

If you're looking for a Hallowe'en read, find it here!: steve-westenra.itch.io/the-erstwhil...

Or: books2read.com/u/boB9YL

#transhorror
"You never think of yourself as that person. You think you’re way too clever and self-aware not to shut someone down as soon as red flags start popping up like China just won the showjumping gold. And you can see exactly how you got here. You trace each and every cord to its socket and pinpoint all the singular moments when you should have stopped it, walked away, said something. And didn’t. Every. Single. Time. And you hate yourself for that, too. You start to wonder, well, if you let it happen, maybe you wanted to be broken. A glass lamp standing an inch over the lip of the table—so hard not to push. Some part of you must’ve thought you deserved it. You made this happen. You summoned [redacted] like Mephistopheles. The Cavale to your Slim. [Redacted] didn’t even have to hold a .45 to my head." - The Erstwhile Tyler Kyle Image is a red theatre curtain at an angle. Text is coloured neon pink and blue.
September 29, 2026 at 12:56 PM
cmdebell.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 29 September 'well'

My favourite thing about this novella is these two characters trying to outmanoeuvre each other.

#WriteSky #indiefantasy #WritingCommunity 💙🪐📚
Wipsnips 29 September prompt 'well' They matched stares over the diplomatic plateau of her second-best tea service. Eventually, Hailene asked, “Is that a threat, Ambassador? Because I can assure you, I’m perfectly capable of dealing with Alyas’s temper tantrums.” He shrugged elegantly. “He’s your nephew.” “Yes,” she agreed, setting down her cup. “He is. More to the point, all Cassana has done—all she will do—is attend Elidne-Sera’s garden parties, along with every other woman of consequence in Avarel. And if you have ever tried to prise the details of those parties from the ladies involved, you will know as well as I that what goes on there is not shared with their menfolk.” “And what exactly does go on?” “A different kind of powerbroking.” He quirked a polite eyebrow. She smiled. “Just so, Ambassador. So you see, there really is no need to scuff those pretty boots hiding in my flower beds.” He looked down and swore.
September 29, 2026 at 1:12 PM
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neaththepumpkin.bsky.social
It is never too early for spooky season, and today I am reviewing a book that is the perfect Halloween read. The House Where Halloween Sleeps by J.D. Harris, which was a delightfully spooky and fun read, with Hocus Pocus vibes and a haunted house with ATTITUDE.

📚💙
Book Review: The House Where Halloween Sleeps – J.D. Harris
Hello! Today I am reviewing 'The House Where Halloween Sleeps' by J.D. Harris, which was an absolute blast to read and I am very much looking forward to checking out some of the author's other autumnal/spooky books in the near future.
neaththepumpkinpatch.co.uk
September 15, 2026 at 12:30 PM
cmdebell.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 28 September - I don't have 'prime' so I have gone with 'first'.

Two of my favourite side characters have their own adventure in this novella in my Tales of Isyr series.

#WriteSky #indiefantasy #WritingCommunity 💙🪐📚
WIPSnips excerpt for 28 September - 'first' instead of 'prime' “Would your brother accept anything less?” “No,” Cassana admitted. “I don’t think he would. But why exclude him if we need his help? “Because, my dear, everyone knows that your brother is Diago’s spy. It has been useful from time to time—we have done each other the occasional favour—but do not mistake mutual advantage for mutual purpose. His first loyalty is to his king, and he will act in Flaeres’s interests. Should that conflict with ours, do you want to make him choose between his sister and his king?” “Why would we be in conflict? Melar is no friend to the syndicates. He would gladly help us set their plans back.” “Of course,” Hailene agreed calmly, “but in this case I believe it is Raffa who needs to learn the error of his ways, and blackmailing one’s own king should be a rather more private matter, don’t you think?”
September 28, 2026 at 8:27 AM
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triempery.bsky.social
It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is KNOW

This is from NOMARA, one of my science fiction novels. Action. Adventure. A loose tie to the Triempery novels. I've been putting snips up on another site but now I have cool art to share! Art by Mara, @hajima7.bsky.social
#bookqw #WritingCommunity
Left side of image is an illustration by Mara of two characters from the novel NOMARA. Novel by L.L. Stephens. Illustration shows a proud red clothed nomari queen in the background and a defiant, stubborn dark haired Terran woman in the foreground. Right side has a text excerpt from NOMARA, a science fiction novel by L.L. Stephens: “Do you know what you stand upon, Terran?” Oandah asked. As she stepped into the light, her face drew the glow. “Knowledge is gained more often by loss than acquisition. I spent seven years among your kind; I walked a hundred soaring cities and spinning metal wheels, I have seen a hundred suns, some natural, some made by Terrans, all real, and never once did I set foot upon true earth. Just spinning satellites in space, and cities rising from dead stones without air, and big ships such as that one up there, that brought you here.” Reflexively, Kate looked up. Clouds obscured the stars, cut her off from the familiar sights of space, as if she stood beneath, rather than upon, the surface of the planet. Layers of density, she reminded herself. She stood at the bottom of a gas sea.
September 23, 2026 at 12:15 PM
cmdebell.bsky.social
It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is KNEW/KNOW

Here's an excerpt from The Siege of Druine, which fills in some important backstory about the characters in The Many Shades of Midnight - it's also free to download on my newsletter.

#bookqw #writingcommunity #indiefantasy 💙🪐📚
Front cover and excerpt from The Siege of Druine for Book Quote Wednesday prompt KNEW/KNOW “I knew your father. Did you know that?” There was a knife in those words. Storn saw it in the way Alyas froze, colour leaving his face. Haki tilted his head, taking in the reaction the other man was too tired to hide, and he thrust that knife deeper. “I was there when he won from the emperor the right to claim any reward he could name. He named the Ado blades.” It was only because Storn was watching so closely that he caught the tiny twitch at those words. Haki was watching just as intently. He laughed. “Oh yes, your father asked for them. He never told you that, did he? We all expected the emperor to strike him down for his presumption. Those blades were the greatest prize in all of Qido. But do you know what he did? He begged your father to choose something else, anything else. He shamed us all that day, begging a foreigner, and he did it not to preserve a national heirloom, but because he said the blades were cursed.”
September 23, 2026 at 3:20 PM
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bokemonpie.bsky.social
One of my friends is on bed rest and do you know how much effort it is for me to not visit and just pull up a chair with a book and go:

"The Game of Kings. By Dorothy Dunnett. Opening Gambit. Lymond is back."

#LymondChronicles
September 22, 2026 at 6:16 PM
Reposted by C M Debell
triempery.bsky.social
I put up another blog post about one of my Triempery characters. Hans has been a fun character and he has quite a story in the series. He's also one of few characters who is in every book. There's a reason for that...
www.triempery.com/post/charact...
Character Note: Handurin Stauberg-Randolph
Hans was the first character I created for what became the Triempery Revelations and he appears in every book. From The Second Stone on he remains central to the series. He was created by a young teen...
www.triempery.com
September 15, 2026 at 3:23 PM
cmdebell.bsky.social
#WIPSnips 14 September 'month'

Taking a break from wrestling with my main WIP to revise the draft of a novella in my Tales of Isyr series that has been gathering dust for a couple of years - lots of tea drinking with a bit of blackmail on the side.

#WriteSky #indiefantasy #WritingCommunity 💙🪐📚
Wipsnips 14 September 'month' Marching into the salon where Cassana was drinking tea with her brother, Hailene tapped her cane against Melar’s ankle and told him to leave. The Flaeresian ambassador looked up at her with a bemused expression. “May I ask why?” “Because I have a matter of some urgency to discuss with your sister, concerning Alyas, and you have no need to hear it.” Cassana’s heart sped up. Had something happened? The company had been on an extended contract for months, working in the coastal kingdoms east of Flaeres. She’d had little news, but that was not unusual. There was no reason to think... “Now, there’s no need for that,” Hailene said briskly, seeing her face. “This is a political matter, and I would like it resolved before he ever hears about it. Off you go, Ambassador.” Melar hooked his elbow over the back of his chair and regarded Hailene with a quirked brow and quickened interest. “A Lankaran political matter? About Alyas? This I must hear. Perhaps,” he added with an innocent glance at Cassana, “I could help?” “I think not, Ambassador,” Hailene informed him, settling herself into a chair. “My nephew has more than enough problems without owing you a favour. Your sister and I are quite capable of handling the matter. You may go.”
September 14, 2026 at 8:27 AM
Reposted by C M Debell
neaththepumpkin.bsky.social
Sunday again, and summer tried to peek its head over the rampart this morning and I currently have my assistant snoring beside me, so it's the perfect time for a look back on the last week both on the pumpkin patch and beyond.
Weekly Roundup
Good afternoon! It's Sunday again and I am here with another roundup. It's been a long week, and I have been fighting with a flare up due to the weather changing as autumn well and truly gets into gear; but now I am enjoying a long weekend and getting to relax. I've been playing The Blood of the Dawnwalker and I am loving it so far, although I am absolutely terrible at the fighting so that will be a work in progress (I was exactly the same with Clair Obscur); but give me creepy, scary vampires and I am content.
neaththepumpkinpatch.co.uk
September 13, 2026 at 2:02 PM
Reposted by C M Debell
stevewestenra.bsky.social
Last chance to apply to judge for the SFINCS indie novella contest!:

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
SFINCS4 Judge Interest Form
Thank you for wanting to judge for the fourth year of SFINCS! Please know that as a judge you will be reading books from all speculative fiction genres. Authors who are submitting a novella cannot be ...
docs.google.com
September 12, 2026 at 4:48 PM
Reposted by C M Debell
fantasyfaction.bsky.social
Today Angela Boord asks the question: Is trope marketing ruining literature? - JI 🐉

"[This] is really a gripe about how books are being written to compete in a crowded marketplace...In other words, trope is sliding from “shared motif” to “cliché”."

fantasy-faction.com/2026/is-trop... #booksky 💙📚🪐
The image is a photo of the aisle in a bookstore. On the right half of the image is a shelf of books seen from the side. On the left half is the back end of the aisle. The image is done in browns, creams, and greens. Over the image are the words, "Is Trope Marketing Ruining Literature?" and "A Fantasy-Faction Article".
September 9, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Reposted by C M Debell
triempery.bsky.social
I can feel the rage. This book offers a beautifully woven tapestry of hard emotion.
cmdebell.bsky.social C M Debell @cmdebell.bsky.social · 23d
It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'drip'.

Here's an excerpt from The Many Shades of Midnight, a fantasy book I wrote in a fit of rage at the state of the world in which I take corrupt corporations and spineless governments and subject them to my justice...

#bookqw #writingcommunity 💙🪐📚
Front cover and excerpt from The Many Shades of Midnight for Book Quote Wednesday 9 September - 'drip' Rumour was a deadly thing, and Alyas had proved himself extremely adept at seeding it. So adept, in fact, that the tiny snippets of gossip had done what she had not thought possible and shaken, ever so slightly, the regard of the rich for the hand that fed them. He was the reason she was cooped up here instead of out there, enjoying all the rewards she had earned. Because every time she stepped outside her door, those bloody kids with their placards were there to shout their complaints and their devastating truths, turning the people against her drip by drip. Gods, she hated him. So when he turned up on her doorstep one evening, she could not say she was overjoyed to see him.
September 9, 2026 at 12:44 PM
Reposted by C M Debell
triempery.bsky.social
It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is DRIP

I don't often provide quotes from THE RILL LORD, but this one provides a good example of "dripping." Things in that book get a little bloody.
#bookqw #WritingCommunity
Left side of image is the book cover of THE RILL LORD, sixth and final book of the Triempery Revelations series by L.L. Stephens. Cover is gray and stormy with a red-robed sorcerer facing off against a distant power. Right side is a text excerpt from THE RILL LORD. Excerpt shows a lone soldier appealing for help to a woman at a farm: “And they cannot stay here. Or don’t you see this man is armed? A soldier.” The mistress’s weasel-sharp eyes had discerned the sword Robdan wore strapped to his back, though he had wrapped it so that the jewels in the hilt would not catch light and so betray them. “Lady, I will bring you no harm. I promise it.” Robdan addressed the woman in his best Stauba. It was imperative to demonstrate he was not rabble, that he was educated, a civil man. “I am asking only for my friend. Can’t you even let me warm him in your house? Or help me send word?” “You will not demean my house with that filthy beggar, dripping blood all over our floors! Let the wolves have him—and you too!” The woman turned to Mellona, making her order clear. “See them gone or I’ll set the dogs on them.”
September 9, 2026 at 11:07 AM
cmdebell.bsky.social
It's Book Quote Wednesday and the word is 'drip'.

Here's an excerpt from The Many Shades of Midnight, a fantasy book I wrote in a fit of rage at the state of the world in which I take corrupt corporations and spineless governments and subject them to my justice...

#bookqw #writingcommunity 💙🪐📚
Front cover and excerpt from The Many Shades of Midnight for Book Quote Wednesday 9 September - 'drip' Rumour was a deadly thing, and Alyas had proved himself extremely adept at seeding it. So adept, in fact, that the tiny snippets of gossip had done what she had not thought possible and shaken, ever so slightly, the regard of the rich for the hand that fed them. He was the reason she was cooped up here instead of out there, enjoying all the rewards she had earned. Because every time she stepped outside her door, those bloody kids with their placards were there to shout their complaints and their devastating truths, turning the people against her drip by drip. Gods, she hated him. So when he turned up on her doorstep one evening, she could not say she was overjoyed to see him.
September 9, 2026 at 12:28 PM
Reposted by C M Debell
bookspotlight.bsky.social
🗡️ fantasy novella
⚰️ accidental reawakening of dead immortals
🏹 gallant knights
👑 evil kingdom 🤝 evil queendom
🌲 enchanted plants and forests
🥀 romance and friendship

🔖 link: mybook.to/mUVTmR
💌 itch.io: rebecca-crunden.itch.io/a-light-for-...
📖 gr: www.goodreads.com/book/show/23...

[ #booksky ]
Ebook cover for ‘A Light for the Dead to Follow’ by Rebecca Crunden. Cover image is of a skull surrounded by red-pink flowers. There are vines at the top beside the title. The title font is black and maroon, the name font is white.
September 7, 2026 at 5:52 PM