Indie Bites

An image of a fantasy crown on a black background. Text reads: “Elysia tries to adjust the crown so that it will sit right, but she can’t even articulate what “right” means. All she knows is that it feels wrong, and if the crown feels wrong, how is she ever going to fulfill her role as queen? ~ Queen of Nerves by Claire Olivia Golden FREE in the Dragons & Darkness issue of Indie Bites”

A stack of paperback copies of Indie Bites 19 with a dragon on the cover illustrated by Arden Powell. The top copy is open to Claire’s story

Queen of Nerves by Claire Olivia Golden is available to download FREE in the latest issue of Indie Bites (Dragons & Darkness)

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

An image of an angel headstone in a graveyard. Text reads: “In every room they visited, Jenny counted the faces of a dozen peculiar children. They were often hard to spot, but Jenny knew the signs well. She knew when their teeth were too sharp, when they had too many fingers, or the tell-tale signs of a tail tucked into a pair of breeches. ~ An Angel of the Lord by Ash Parker FREE in the Dragons & Darkness issue of Indie Bites”

A stack of paperback copies of Indie Bites 19 with a dragon on the cover illustrated by Arden Powell. The top copy is open to the title page of Ash’s story.

An Angel of the Lord by Ash Parker is available to download FREE in the latest issue of Indie Bites (Dragons & Darkness)

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

So many great stories in this issue - hope you enjoy!

An illustration of a person with a sword and a lantern approaching the head of an enormous dragon in the dark. Text reads: “The worst part of dealing with dragons is that they’re immortal, capricious, and persnickety. ~ A Beloved Once Bound by Ceril N. Domace Free in the Dragons & Darkness issue of Indie Bites”

A stack of paperback copies of Indie Bites with a dragon on the cover illustrated by Arden Powell. The top copy is open to the title page of Ceril’s story.

A Beloved Once Bound by Ceril N. Domace @cerilndomace.bsky.social is available to download FREE in the latest issue of Indie Bites (Dragons & Darkness)

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

A picture of a spooky forest. Text reads: She grabbed the door handle. The other girls screamed. They begged her not to open the door, not to go out into the dark, and to definitely not do all of that on Halloween after midnight. ~ Girl in Darkness by Riley E. Smith FREE in the Dragons & Darkness issue of Indie Bites

A stack of paperback copies of Indie Bites 19 with a cover illustrated by Arden Powell featuring a dragon. The top copy is open to the title page of Riley’s story.

Girl in Darkness by Riley E. Smith @rileyisyelling.bsky.social is available to download FREE in the latest issue of Indie Bites (Dragons & Darkness)

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

😂

Deadline is 28 February 2026!!!
Apologies. It’s been a long Monday 🤦‍♀️

Oh no typo! 🤦‍♀️
28 February 2026!!!

an orange and white cat is reading a book called the lore Alt: An orange and white cat reading a book called The Lore

Submissions are now closed for our POTIONS & PARAMOURS issue!

Your editors are now hard at work reading through everything - our editorial meeting is on the 15th and we’ll be in touch with all submitters shortly after that.

For details of our open issues, head to silversunbooks.com

An image of a man on a beach looking at a giant ruined statue with glowing eyes. Text reads: “submissions open for our May issue on the themes of Ruins & Rituals, deadline 28 February 2026”

🏛️Submissions are now open for our May issue on the themes of RUINS & RITUALS!🧙‍♂️
We are looking for fantasy short fiction up to 7.5k words and cover illustrations. Deadline 28 February 2025.
For details visit our website at www.silversunbooks.com

It’s (really very) true!

An illustration of a man with a spear in the foreground, with a castle and a dragon flying in the sunset in the background. Text reads: “The new man wasn’t even a bit dead, which was really very surprising to me. ~ A Really Very True Story by Molly Daw FREE in the Dragons & Darkness issue of Indie Bites

A stack of paperback copies of Indie Bites 19 with a dragon cover illustrated by Arden Powell. The top copy is open to the title page of Molly’s story.

A Really Very True Story by Molly Daw is available to download FREE in the latest issue of Indie Bites (Dragons & Darkness)

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

In image of soldiers in chainmail with swords and axes rushing toward the viewer. Text reads: ““Simple job, lads. An inconsequential conglomeration of goblins. We go in there, kill the gobbos, get some evidence – a head or two – and get out. Any questions?” ~ Job Interview or An Inconsequential Conglomeration of Goblins by Luke Tarassenko FREE in the Dragons & Darkness issue of Indie Bites”

A pile of paperbacks of Indie Bites 19 with a dragon on the cover, illustrated by Arden Powell. The top copy is open to the title page of Luke’s story.

Job Interview or An Inconsequential Conglomeration of Goblins by Luke Tarassenko is available to download FREE in the latest issue of Indie Bites (Dragons & Darkness)

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

It's me! In another collection of indie fantasy stories! Mine has medieval dragons and agender angels and melancholic knights. Free to read, or a few dollars for a paperback with my dragon on the cover.

An illustration of an angel reflected in water with clouds behind it on a red background. Text reads: “Sir Percivale couldn’t be sure how long he spent inside the dragon’s belly before his angel came to find him. ~ Sir Percivale Is Swallowed by a Dragon and Learns the Truth of God by Arden Powell” “Free in the Dragons & Darkness issue of indie bites”

A stack of paperback copies of Indie Bites 19 featuring a dragon illustrated by Arden Powell. The top copy is open to the title page of Arden’s story.

Sir Percivale Is Swallowed by a Dragon and Learns the Truth of God by Arden Powell @ardenpowell.bsky.social is available to download FREE in the latest issue of Indie Bites (Dragons & Darkness), and they illustrated the amazing cover too!

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

An image of a woman in a long gown walking down a corridor with creepy branches growing from all sides. Text reads: “Kaiden thought he was marrying a princess, but the creature walking down the aisle towards him is a dragon. ~ Dragon Ageless by Josie Jaffrey” “Free in the dragons & darkness issue of Indie Bites”

A photo of a stack of paperback copies of Indie Bites 19 with a dragon on the cover illustrated by Arden Powell. The top copy is open to the title page of Dragon Ageless.

Dragon Ageless by Josie Jaffrey @josiejaffrey.bsky.social is available to download FREE in the latest issue of Indie Bites (Dragons & Darkness)

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

An image of old brick steps leading up to a bright spot of sky. Text reads: “The Sun God loves all his children equally. That’s why he never answers when they call. There can’t be favoritism, after all. ~ For the Love of Blood and Gold by Linked Soul Free in the dragons & darkness issue of Indie Bites”

A paperback copy of Indie Bites 19 open to Linked Soul’s story, resting on a stack of copies showing a cover with a dragon illustrated by Arden Powell

For the Love of Blood and Gold by Linked Soul is available to download FREE in the latest issue of Indie Bites (Dragons & Darkness)

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

The Carnelian King and Other Stories by Arden Powell, featuring a long snakelike orange dragon with wings, koi scales, and catfish whiskers. Painterly style.

Indie Bites Magazine 19: Dragons and Darkness. A dark green medieval style dragon with numerous coils and horns, breathing fire. Its wings have red butterly patterns.

Foolish Hopes and Spilled Entrails: Retellings by Devan Barlow, featuring a small medieval style green western dragon with a pale underbelly, wings, and fins on its back.

Wings in the Valley by Aud Connelly, with a navy blue dragon silhouette in the sky, a legless coiled body and spines along its back.

Smaugust is almost over, so let me post my dragons while I still can. Four book covers I drew!

An image of a girl walking with a lantern through a dark forest. Text reads: “I’ll tell you, then, the thing that goes unsaid: every year, in October, one girl from our town vanishes without a trace. October Girls by Jillian Maria” And: “free in the Dragons & Darkness issue of Indie Bites”

A copy of Indie Bites 19 turned to the title page of October Girls by Jillian Maria, sitting on a pile of Indie Bites 19 with a dragon on the cover illustrated by Arden Powell

October Girls by Jillian Maria is available to download FREE in the latest issue of Indie Bites (Dragons & Darkness)

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

An illustration of a magical knight fighting a dragon. Superimposed text reads: “Ten minutes ago I was standing in front of the king getting knighted for my services to entertainment – and let me say that was weird enough – and now you’re telling me I’ve inadvertently caused a dragon to wake up and rampage across the country? The Order of the Wyrm by Adie Hart” And “FREE in the Dragons & Darkness issue of Indie Bites”

A photo of the first page of Adie’s story in the paperback edition of Indie Bites, resting on a pile of issues showing their front cover (a dragon illustrated by Arden Powell)

The Order of the Wyrm by Adie Hart @adiehartauthor.bsky.social is available to download FREE in the latest issue of Indie Bites (Dragons & Darkness!

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

A photo of Heather K Carson sitting on a deck and smiling in the sunshine

The featured author in our latest issue, Dragons & Darkness, is Heather K Carson. Read the interview on our website!

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

The next Clarkfowler short(and a bunch more fantastic stories!) is finally here!

A Beloved Once Bound is out today!

Out today! ✨

Including my short story “The Order of the Wyrm”, which asks the important question, “what if Tom Hiddleston and Patrick Stewart were magical girls and had to fight a dragon in Buckingham Palace?” 😂

🥳

SIR PERCIVALE IS SWALLOWED BY A DRAGON AND LEARNS THE TRUTH OF GOD is here! It's got all the good stuff: a medieval knight having a crisis of faith, an androgynous they/them angel with secrets, a queerplatonic relationship, and, of course, a dragon. Free to read, or get it in paperback!

Submit | Indie Bites Submit your work to the Indie Bites magazine!

Subs are open for short fiction up to 7.5k words for our quarterly fantasy magazine!

www.silversunbooks.com/submit

The cover of Indie Bites 19: Dragons & Darkness, illustrated by Arden Powell, featuring a medieval-style dragon etched on a dark green background, with the following authors listed as contributors: Adie Hart, Jillian Maria, Linked Soul, Josie Jaffrey, Arden Powell, Luke Tarassenko, Molly Daw, Riley E Smith, Ceril N Domace, Ash Parker and Claire Olivia Golden

Indie Bites 19: Dragons & Darkness is out TODAY!
Edited by @adiehartauthor.bsky.social and @josiejaffrey.bsky.social, with an incredible cover by @ardenpowell.bsky.social

www.silversunbooks.com/post/dragons...

🥳

This is coming soon from Indie Bites Magazine (@indiebites.bsky.social) in their Dragons & Darkness issue, free to read. I also did the cover art for this one! There will be a paperback too for readers who like collecting dragon books for their shelves.