The Shout-Out
14 October 2026
Four indie books, each by an author featured for the first time. Every title links to its page here, and buying goes straight through the author's own retailer.
The Red Sea Promise: An Unfinished Voyage
by Nand Menon
Literary FictionA vow written in the stars. A voyage interrupted by the sea. A love that waitedthree centuries still to be continued. Kozhikode, 1678. In the "Emerald Serpent" of the Malabar Coast, where the scentof cardamom masks the rot of colonial power, two souls find a dangerous symmetry. Raghava, a brilliant Brahmin scholar-merchant, is more at home with ancient palm-leaf manuscripts and the occult science of the stars than the chaos of the market. Lalitha, a defiant Nair widow with a sharp intellect and a sharper wit, manages herfamily's herb trade with the precision of a seasoned bureaucrat. Their attraction is immediate-an "invisible thread" pulling across a heap of sun-dried ginger. But in the rigid world of the Zamorin's rule, they are the ultimate star-crossed lovers. As Raghava initiates Lalitha into the forbidden mysteries of Gūḍha-śāstram (thehidden sciences), they forge a bond that transcends social caste and physical law. But when a treacherous betrayal leads to a tragic maritime disaster at the SuheliReef, their "Unfinished Voyage" is swallowed by the Arabian Sea. Chennai, 2016. Centuries later, the "Humming" returns. Through a copper stylus and a jagged ring fragment, the past begins to bleed intothe present. The debt of 1678 must be settled. The romance that began in a 17th-century spice market is about to reach its final shore. If you love stories of eternal love, reincarnation, andthe maritime secrets of Ancient India, this voyage is for you.
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The Pinky Promise
by Elle Laine
RomanceThe Pinky Promise is a heartfelt friends-to-lovers romance that follows Hope and Nathan from an unexpected college friendship to a bond that neither time nor distance can break. A promise made on graduation night carries them through five years, two cities, countless Wednesday night phone calls on kitchen floors, and the beautiful, messy reality of growing up. As life tests their friendship in ways they never imagined, Hope and Nathan discover that some promises are meant to change everything.
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Beneath The Canopy
by Lynda Riggers
Historical FictionBeneath the Canopy, is a middle-grade historical novel inspired by true WWII experiences. Set in the Netherlands during Nazi occupation, Operation Market Garden, and the Hunger Winter, it follows two children living only miles apart whose vastly different experiences reveal the war through a child’s eyes—a story of survival, courage, and unexpected kindness.
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DEVIATION AT PAGE 31
by Festus Gitonga
RomanceShe was sent to seduce him. She went rogue on page 31. Intelligence operative Sasha Volkov is handed a forty-seven-page operational directive: get close to weapons analyst Julian North, earn his trust, extract his secrets, then disappear. Every conversation is planned. Every touch is calculated. Every outcome has already been predicted. Then she reaches page 31. Instead of following the script, Sasha makes a choice no intelligence officer is supposed to make. She falls in love. Five years later, Sasha is burned and on the run. Julian is hunting the people who engineered their relationship and carrying the document that proves their entire love story was orchestrated by ARCHITECT—a chilling AI designed to weaponize trust, desire, and human connection. When Sasha resurfaces in the shadowed streets of Tallinn with evidence capable of destroying the operation forever, the two former enemies are forced into an uneasy alliance. As assassins close in and a global conspiracy unravels, they must decide whether to trust the feelings the algorithm predicted—or destroy the machine before it scripts countless more lives. But one question refuses to stay buried: Was any of it real? From the icy streets of Tallinn to the sunlit coast of Croatia and the ghosts of Berlin, Deviation at Page 31 is a gripping romantic spy thriller filled with slow-burn chemistry, impossible choices, shocking twists, and heart-pounding suspense. Perfect for readers who love intelligent espionage, emotionally charged romance, and morally complex heroes. Some missions are written. Theirs became a deviation. Book One in The Rogue Script Series—where love is the most dangerous mission of all.
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Also in this issue
Blind date of the week
“Acquaintance As a young doctor, Carl Holman has experienced the horrors of World War I and the death of his lover, a fellow officer.”
Historical Fiction · Historical setting · Forbidden love · Romantic
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5 indie literary fiction books to start with
A mother who walks into the Otherworld, a New York studio with one room you can't rent, a girl who sees feelings as colours. Five literary novels to start with.
Read the listFree short story · 10 min read
I Found a Way to Keep My Dog When My New Texas Apartment Said No Pets
by David Meader
Read it freeA question from Ask · Marketing
How can I find readers for my mystery and psychological thriller books without spending money?
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