Tamara S. Harker

Dark text and a flowery border on an ivory background. The text reads "Shepherds of Leaving". In the background, slightly transparent, is an illustration of a fictional, purple-red, heart-shaped fruit.

Dark text and flowery border on an ivory background; the text reads: "Shepherds are a type of Aré (magic) practitioner under a House of Leavings, specializing in services to the deceased and their loved ones using empathic abilities; it is a highly-respected, widespread, secular profession. Shepherds act as coroners, funeral directors, spirit guides, grief counselors, and other roles associated with laying the deceased to rest. They are overseen by the Eyes, and also known as leaveguides or Honored Guests."

Ubiquitous throughout nearly the entirety of Ícalar are what are known as Shepherds of Leaving, an ancient caste composed of one of my favorite mythical entities – psychopomps!

#epicfantasy #fruitofwar #indiebooks #writesky #icalaranfieldguide

Well, today's writing session was sabotaged by what is hopefully not a burgeoning cold, and then the cat getting stung by a poor honeybee. Maybe tomorrow. 🥴

Dark text and a flowery border on an ivory background. The text reads "Fieron Eburos". In the background, slightly transparent, is an illustration of a fictional, purple-red, heart-shaped fruit.

Dark text and flowery border on an ivory background; the text reads: "It’s time to meet our main protagonist, Fîeron, a.k.a. the weariest undertaker-empath in all the land who’s about to become that much wearier – but this time with friends!"

It’s time to meet our main protagonist, Fîeron, a.k.a. the weariest undertaker-empath in all the land who’s about to become that much wearier – but this time with friends!

#epicfantasy #fruitofwar #indiebooks #writesky #icalaranfieldguide

While the weekend's #writevember / #novelnovember wasn't as productive as I'd have liked, I did at least make progress with rewriting CH1+2 material that needed to be updated because my B1 ending changed!

Hopefully I can finish that today, and move on to completely new CH4!

Dark text and a flowery border on an ivory background. The text reads "Icalaran Calendar". In the background, slightly transparent, is an illustration of a fictional, purple-red, heart-shaped fruit.

Dark text and flowery border on an ivory background; the text reads: "There are seventy-five days in a Season, and four Seasons in a year. The Seasons roughly equate to spring (the Season of Opening), summer (the Season of Ripening), autumn (the Season of Closing), and winter (the Season of Waiting). The new year begins on the first day of the Season of Opening, and there are many regional feast-days throughout."

To celebrate the days growing shorter, let’s talk quickly about Ícalar’s calendar system!
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#epicfantasy #fruitofwar #indiebooks #writesky #icalaranfieldguide

Dark text and a flowery border on an ivory background. The text reads "ikam". In the background, slightly transparent, is an illustration of a fictional, purple-red, heart-shaped fruit.

Dark text and flowery border on an ivory background; the text reads: "An evergreen stonefruit bush that mysteriously appeared in Ícalar, now extinct following the release of the Plague of the Bitter Hand in the War of the Six. Its fruit was notable for its ability to sometimes awaken channeling ability in non-practitioners and unreliably strengthen that of current practitioners, as well as possessing implications for soil fertilization and cloud-seeding projects or – contrastingly – volatile bioweapons. As such, control of the fruit and the grove became the subject of the war. Agüthsha Intoh was the discoverer and foremost researcher of the ìkam and used it to concoct the Bitter Hand."

November’s here! Let’s kick off this Fieldguide with the fateful fruit, the harbinger of war, the root of our plot – the ìkam!

#epicfantasy #fruitofwar #indiebooks #writesky #icalaranfieldguide

Hi! I'm an #indieauthor whose first book will come out next March, so I'm using #writevember to work on Book 2! #fruitofwar is a dark, #epicfantasy series following a psychopomp as he fulfills a mission given by the soul of a war hero. One magical fruit, lots of questions.

#novelnovember #novnov

🍂👻🎃 Happy Halloween, everyone! 🎃👻🍂

Stay safe as you celebrate!

Happy Thursday, friends! As a heads-up since I know we'll be busy tomorrow, I have some fun planned for November to introduce you to my novel!

And if you haven't signed up for Novel November (the successor to the ill-fated NaNoWriMo), you can do so here: prowritingaid.com/novel-november

Getting your first book club scam truly is a weird rite of passage in this business, isn't it?

(That makes three scam types, now! Gotta catch 'em all!)

First round of ARCs is on its way! Thank you to everyone who signed up -- it means the world. ❤️

ICYMI the big news last week, THE BOOK OF SPORES anthology is coming soon to Kickstarter!!! 🍄🍄‍🟫

Follow the KS pre-launch page HERE: www.kickstarter.com/projects/fan...

Time for a wild Monday night: jigsaw puzzle on my special adjustable puzzle table, and (BBC) Antiques Roadshow.

Happy Monday, friends! Last call to join my ARC Team! If you want to A) read it before anyone else, and B) give me an early birthday/Christmas present, now’s your chance!

eBooks are being sent by Nov 1st so you can cozy up with them over the weekend!

forms.gle/CGe6G5iZKrkL...

A graphic with a fantasy book cover on the left and a fictional nutrition label on the right. The book cover has white text that reads “The Fruit of War, Book 1: Stone and Flesh”, by Tamara S Harker. It shows a man’s hand holding a purple-red fruit cut open to reveal a small skull. In the background is a shadowed orchard with fallen soldiers lying on the ground. The nutrition label is dark text on a pale gray background that lists numerous features of the book, including a ragtag team, elemental and dark magic, and psychopomps.

Honestly, I probably had more fun than I should have, creating this!

If you like your fantasy books immersive, a little cerebral, a little dark, this might be for you! Free sample available via signing up for my newsletter at www.tamarasharker.com

#epicfantasy #fruitofwar #indiebooks #sff

A photo of two poached eggs on buttered English muffins, on a white plate. The eggs have been garnished with dried chives and salt and pepper, and both are sliced open to reveal the runny yolks.

Truly, is there anything more beautiful than a perfectly-poached egg? ❤️

Ace Pride Week itch.io mega bundle Oct 19 - 25 | 50+ books for $50! Book covers for the following books are listed top left to bottom right: Non-player Character - Veo Corva A Dragon’s Treasure - Elis Madsen The Blood Divide - Zan Lowell The Grand Duke’s Masseur Child of the Forest - Audrey Simmons Wherever the Stars Call - S. Jean How Six Saved the Grogs - Blaine D. Arden City of Strike - Claudie Arseneault In Spite of the Inevitable - Morgan Biscup Structural Integrity - Tabitha O’Connell Of Spells and Love - Odessa Silver Inarora’s Excursion - Astrid E. Abell Puppetry - Nina Waters Sidetracked - S. K. Kelley Lost Blades - Liz Sauco Claimed by the Undead - C. L. Carhart The Star-Crossed Empire - Maya Darjani Triple Strike Threads of Fate - G. M. Grey Curse of Souls - Niranjan Courtly Love - T. D. Cloud Song of the Wolf - T. C. Smith Blood - D. C. Hart Chai and Cat-tales - Lynn Strong The Thirteenth Key - Cara Nox The Dragon Next Door - Vanessa Ricci-Thode Walking the Knife’s Edge - Elise Carlson Yours Celestically - Al Hess Pet - H. S. Kallinger The One He Brought Home - Skye Kilaen Junk Junction - Sara Codair Secondhand Origin Storie - Lee Brontido Riyati Rebirth - Kai Zeal Bridges of Smoke - Julie March The Whisperer in White - Y. R. Liu In the Eye of the Beholder - Beverly Anne Michel Peace in the Sky - Caye Marsh A Spark in Space - Janina Franck Journey Home - May Barros Doce Drosera - Anita The Audacity - Carmen Loup Bloody Space - Brittany M. Willows Enemies to Enemies - Ash Kreider Devil’s Deal - Tessa Hastjarjanto Merchants of Knowledge and Magic - Erika McCorkle A Life in Too Many Margins - S. E. Thomson Where We Converge - A. E. Bross Lantern - Burgundy Athena Pendragon A Designer Magick - Fox N. Locke The Harmony of Falling Snow - Andora Brohaw The Thread That Binds - Cedar McCloud Towers of Nine - Alyssa Louttit All books by ace authors and/or ft. ace characters across a variety of genres! riyati.ink/acepride2025

Ace Pride Week itch.io bundle 1 Oct 19 - 25 | 25 books for $25! Book covers for the following books are listed top left to bottom right: Enemies to Enemies - Ash Kreider Devil’s Deal - Tessa Hastjarjanto A Spark in Space - Janina Franck Child of the Forest - Audrey Simmons A Dragon’s Treasure - Elis Madsen How Six Saved the Frogs - Blaine D. Arden City of Strife - Claudie Arseneault In Spite of the Inevitable - Morgan Biscup Peace in the Sky - Caye Marsh Bridges of Smoke - Julie March Where We Converge - A. E. Bross Sidetracked - S. K. Kelley Lost Blades - Liz Sauco Claimed by the Undead - C. L. Carhart Pet - H. S. Kallinger Chai and Cat-tales - Lynn Strong The One He Brought Home - Skye Kilean Puppetry - Nina Waters A Life in Too Many Margins - S. E. Thomson Doce Drosera - Anita Merchants of Knowledge and Magic - Erika McCorkle Secondhand Origin Storie - Lee Brontide The Harmony of Falling Snow - Audora Brokaw Riyati Rebirth - Kai Zeal The Whisperer in White - Y. R. Liu All books by ace authors and/or ft. ace characters across a variety of genres! riyati.ink/ace2025-1

Ace Pride Week itch.io bundle 2 Oct 19 - 25 | 26 books for $26! Book covers for the following books are listed top left to bottom right: Non-player Character - Veo Corva The Blood Divide - Zan Lowell The Grand Duke’s Masseur Wherever the Stars Call - S. Jean Structural Integrity - Tabitha O’Connell Inarora’s Excursion - Astrid E. Abell The Star-Crossed Empire - Maya Darjani Triple Strike Threads of Fate - G. M. Grey Curse of Souls - Niranjan Courtly Love - T. D. Cloud The Thirteenth Key - Cara Nox Of Spells and Love - Odessa Silver The Thread That Binds - Cedar McCloud Yours Celestially - Al Hess Walking the Knife’s Edge - Elise Carlson Junk Junction - Sara Codair Song of the Wolf - T. C. Smith In the Eye of the Beholder - Beverly Anne Michel Journey Home - Mary Barros Towers of Nine - Alyssa Louttit The Audacity - Carmen Loup Bloody Spade - Brittany M. Willows Lantern - Burgundy Athena Pendragon Blood - D. C. Hart The Dragon Next Door - Vanessa Ricci-Thode A Designer Magick - Fox N. Locke All books by ace authors and/or ft. ace characters across a variety of genres! riyati.ink/ace2025-2

📚🌈♠️ Ace Pride Week ♠️🌈📚

Last chance to pick up some books to celebrate Ace Pride Week at a huge discount on itch!

riyati.ink/acepride2025
riyati.ink/ace2025-1
riyati.ink/ace2025-2

🌈🚀💫 💙📚👀 📢📚 🌈📚🪐

Happy Friday, friends! Three days until the application period for my illustrious ARC Team closes. While I may open it again, I can’t guarantee it, so if you want to be one of the first to read the whole novel, now’s your chance!

Apply here by Monday 27th: forms.gle/CGe6G5iZKrkL...

#epicfantasy

So my fella and I are finishing up Memory of Light (WoT), and I'm reading aloud (he's already read the books; this is my first time): I've decided to turn reading the longest single chapter in the world -- The Last Battle -- into a day-long event!

Any recommendations for an ambient soundtrack? 😀

So my fella and I are finishing up Memory of Light (WoT), and I'm reading aloud (he's already read the books; this is my first time): I've decided to turn reading the longest single chapter in the world -- The Last Battle -- into a day-long event!

Any recommendations for an ambient soundtrack? 😀

Happy 96th birthday to the brilliant Ursula K. Le Guin! 🌟 Her worlds inspire us to explore the depths of imagination. "The only thing that makes me feel alive is writing." 💖 #UrsulaKLeGuin #

I've just learnt that #selfiesaturday is a thing! So, stepping away from the formal author bio: I'm Tamara! My resident creatures are Molly, an anxious Shepinois; Penny, aka Miss Fluffybritches; and Magnus, who is obsessed with swizzle sticks. Yesterday we all got very excited about a puzzle table.

It's time! Looking for ARC readers to sink their teeth into an immersive, dark, epic fantasy. It's even got a little gothic horror to go with the Halloween season! To find out more and sign up, go here: forms.gle/CGe6G5iZKrkL...

#epicfantasy, #fruitofwar, #arcreaders, #indiebooks, #sff

#epicfantasy writers, what would you say has been your biggest challenge writing in the genre? I think for me it was knowing where my stopping-points were, both in terms of literally where the book would end (as part of a series) and figuratively, in things like worldbuilding saturation.

It's time! Looking for ARC readers to sink their teeth into an immersive, dark, epic fantasy. It's even got a little gothic horror to go with the Halloween season! To find out more and sign up, go here: forms.gle/CGe6G5iZKrkL...

#epicfantasy, #fruitofwar, #arcreaders, #indieauthor

No need to thank! I'm enjoying myself! <3

What I'm up to lately!

+ Book 1 Preparations: finalizing formatting for upload; ARC survey will be ready soon!

+ Writing: B1 prequel novelette, separate epistolary project

+ Reading: ARC of @adamcbassett.com's Copper Skin, Oaken Lungs (and loving it); A Memory of Light

#epicfantasy #fruitofwar

Happy Indigenous People's Day

In case you saw earlier and forgot about it (looking at you, fellow ADHDers), there's still plenty of time to grab the ADHD bundle! 22 books featuring ADHD rep by mostly ADHD authors! You know you want it:

itch.io/b/3300/adhd-...

#BookSky 🩵📚 📢📚 📦📚

Printing presses kept their letters in cases.

Capital letters went in the upper case.
Smaller letters went in the lower case.

This is why we say ‘UPPER CASE’ and ‘lower case.’

Ok, but what did we call them before the invention of the printing press?

MAJUSCULE and minuscule.