Z.B. Steele - The Irresponsible Reader

I had a longer intro written for this series of posts, but it ended up too long. (If you’re curious, it makes up a couple of paragraphs in my Welcome to Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week post). Here’s the compressed version:

One of the things that’s impressed me over the years is seeing the way that Self-Published Authors all tend to support each other. They don’t come across as competitors, you’re colleagues—teammates, almost. Once again this year for SPAAW, I’m exploiting that.

As an expression of that, I’ve asked some authors to promote 1-3 self-published works by someone else—to just give me a quick elevator pitch for them to help get the word out. Several of them replied with those lists (a few have resisted the call for particular titles and have just talked about some other authors–which is close enough for me). Naturally, I’ve asked them all for a quick bit about one of their books/series, too—they should get some attention as well, don’t you think?

An image of a pair of speech bubbles. The upper one reads 'Z.B. Steele Engages in:' and the lower reads Shameless Other-Promotion' with the Self-Published Author Appreciation raven circle in the upper left corner, and the Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow Icon in the lower left corner.

Other-Promotion:

The Price of Power

by Michael Michel
Fantastic character work, gorgeous imagery and a setting where ASOIAF meets x-men, Price of Power has it all. For fans of multi-pov works with an emphasis on character building, this one is for you

Website ~ Twitter ~ Buy the Book on Bookshop.org

The Price of Fear

by Miles Lyon
A stunningly powerful voice, this grimdark framed narrative doles out raunchy humor, visceral action, and scintillating dialogue in equal measures. For fans of EOTV & First Law.

Website

The Whisper that Replaced God

by Timothy Wolff
One of the best–if not the best–novellas I’ve ever read, this unreliable narrative features a semi-insane assassin in love with a prostitute who hates him and marked by a god hated by all. Not for the faint of heart, but anyone who can digd unreliable narrators will love this.

Twitter ~ Buy the Book on Bookshop.org

A Bit of Self-Promotion by Z.B. Steele

Whispers of the Storm

My flagship series is Song of the Damned with Whispers of the Storm being the first entry.
A framed narrative where Abercrombie meets Rothfuss, Whispers of the Storm centers on Redlin, an infamous hero-turned-villain on the way to his execution. As he travels to the noose, he chronicles his life as a boy sold to a military academy, his rise to fame, and his fall to infamy

Website ~ Linktree

Be sure to check out these books and show these Self-Published Authors some appreciation! They’re available at the links above or at the retailer of your choice!

Feel free to head over to my Bookshop.org page to see all the books I’m featuring this week (this may spoil some of the other lists, you’ve been warned). At least as many of them that Bookshop.org sells, anyway.

Visit the SPAAW 2026 Hub to see what other Self-Published Appreciation Posts are out there.

Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week circle logo and the Irresponsible Reader Pilcrow in front of an open book

Image by OpenIcons from Pixabay
The 2026 Self-Published Authors Appreciation Week Logo was made by Witty and Sarcastic Book Club

I’m very pleased today to pitch in with the Cover Reveal for the new covers of Z.B. Steele’s upcoming Rising Gales and its predecessor, Whispers of the Storm. Steele’s book has received love for multiple years in my Spreading the Self-Pub Love series. And these covers are going to help get more people to pick them up and become fans. These covers are eye-grabbers.

Before we get to the reveals, let’s learn a bit more about the books and the author, shall we? It’ll just take a moment.

About the Books:

Whispers of the Storm

CREDLIN OF THE WOLVES
VANGUARD, LEGEND, ASSASSIN, REAPER

Listen to my story:

I wasn’t always the monster they see me as. Half of the songs they sing are stories of my grandeur. The other half are tales of my misdeeds.

The sad truth is that they’re all true.

So, listen to my tale and learn why it all happened. Learn the reason for the war, the reason for all the death.

Listen to my tale and listen well. I won’t be alive long enough to tell it again.

If you’re buying an e-Book, the cover will update sometime today–and the physical copies will switch soon. So if you want to get a classic, collector’s edition of the original cover–buy now!

Rising Gale

My execution draws near…

The noose beckons. My days dwindle. And still, my story is unfinished.

Tears are left to be shed. Blood has yet to be spilled. Lend me your ear once more to hear of sins and failures. Of swords and shadows. Of violet lightning and black blood.

For it was I who began the war of the gods.

Releases on June 16.

About the Author

Z.B. Steele, a Peachtree City, GA, native, now lives in the Birmingham area with his wife, Gabrielle, and their daughter. When not writing or reading, he can be found drinking, crying, staring into the abyss, or some combination of the three.