Discover Indie Romantasy Authors

The Romantasy / Fantasy Romance section of Arcane Tomes highlights independent fantasy authors whose stories place character relationships at the heart of magical, dangerous, and emotionally charged worlds. Below is a curated selection of romantasy titles currently featured on Arcane Tomes.

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Imbued

A dark fantasy romance centered on forbidden magic and moral conflict. When Calla’s latent powers awaken, she becomes entangled with Gray, a magehunter whose duty places him directly in opposition to her existence. The story leans into slow-burn tension, secrecy, and the cost of survival in a world hostile to magic.

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That Time I Was Kidnapped by the Fae King

A romantasy built around fae politics and reluctant proximity. The narrative blends captivity, court intrigue, and shifting power dynamics as a human protagonist navigates the dangerous expectations of the fae realm and the ruler who controls her fate.

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Fragmented Fates

A fantasy romance driven by destiny, divided loyalties, and emotional fallout. As characters struggle against forces shaping their futures, romance develops under pressure, shaped by betrayal, sacrifice, and difficult choices rather than idealized circumstance.

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Chai and Cat Tales

A softer, cozier entry in the romantasy category. This story emphasizes comfort, warmth, and gentle magical elements, pairing low-stakes fantasy with character-focused relationships and a quieter emotional arc.

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By Wingéd Chair

A whimsical fantasy romance that blends imaginative worldbuilding with introspective character moments. The romantic elements unfold gradually, rooted in shared experiences and personal growth rather than dramatic spectacle.

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Additional Romantasy Titles Featured on Arcane Tomes

The Romantasy section also includes a growing number of indie titles that explore romance through different fantasy lenses, including:

• Stories involving magical bonds and unintended consequences
• Character-driven tales that prioritize emotional realism over tropes
• Fae-centered romances with political and cultural tension
• Fantasy settings where romance develops alongside survival narratives

Each book listed on Arcane Tomes is independently published and selected to highlight voices outside mainstream fantasy romance pipelines.

"City of Roses" by Kip Manley

City of Roses is a serialized epic very firmly set in Portland, Oregon—an urban fantasy mixing magical realism with gonzo noirish prose, where sinister high-rise riverfront condos are fought by a sprawling tea-house constructed from scrap lumber and old windows, and ancient sea-gods retire to close-in Southeast apartments with lovely views.

The overall story is told in novelette-sized installments, published as paper zines and online, available at https://thecityofroses.com. The novelettes are then collected in volumes, available in paperback and ebook editions, which would be ideal for your bookshelf. Four have been collected and published to date, and are available direct from the publisher (https://thecityofroses.com/books) or from Bookshop.org (https://bookshop.org/shop/thecityofroses) or just about anywhere else that books might be found.

Vol. 1: “Wake up…”

Jo Maguire, a highly strung, underemployed telemarketer, meets Ysabel, a princess of unspecified pedigree. Jo rather unexpectedly becomes Ysabel's guardian and caretaker, and now must make a place for herself among Ysabel’s decidedly unusual family and friends—which involves rather more sword-play than most of us are used to. Collects chapters 1 - 11.

Vol. 2: The Dazzle of Day

Jo Maguire, a highly strung, underemployed telemarketer, has been knighted in the mysterious Court of Roses. Her roommate, Ysabel, is a Princess of the Court, and the intended Bride of the King Come Back (whomever that turns out to be). Together they must face the threats of bad dreams, changelings, surly exes, jealous lovers, intemperate peers, shabby magicians in ill-fitting suits, abstruse oracles, unemployment, eviction, and the nothing-time of three in the morning, when dawn seems so far off. Collects chapters 12 - 22.

Vol. 3 In the Reign of Good Queen Dick

Ysabel rules the City of Roses with her brother, Lymond, the King, and Jo Maguire, formerly a telemarketer, is now the Duchess of Southeast—but happily ever after doesn't go as far as it used to. New peers have been raised up, and new factions vie to bring them down, from disgruntled knights to shadowy government operatives, from Lake Barons over the hills to Gloria Monday's art commune, and from enemies out of the past to apocalyptic nightmares of the future, drowned and forgotten. Can they possibly live up to the responsibility that power demands? Collects chapters 23 – 33.

Vol. 4 —or Betty Martin

Jo Maguire, Duchess of Southeast, Hawk's Widow and Huntsman to the Court of Roses, has denied her Queen a second time, setting aside her office, her title, and her sword. Ysabel Perry, Sun-clad, Mountain-shod, the Rose arisen from the bitterest of tears, has crossed the river and thrown open her treasury; any and all might take what they need-so long as they do not serve the Viscount Agravante. The court is on the brink of civil war, and whether in a junk-shop or a rooftop garden, a riverside carnival or a hillside mansion, a dilapidated houseboat or a caravan, out by the airport-sides must be chosen, once and for all. Collects chapters 34 - 44.

 

Author Biography

Kip Manley lives in Portland, Oregon, with a cartoonist, an aspiring veterinarian, and (at last count) three cats and (now) two dogs.

"Chosen of the Dark Realm" by David Cornford

"Chosen of the Dark Realm" is Book One of the Great Plan series:

It has been over a thousand years since the seals between this reality and the dark realm of Kur were broken and the wraith-like gallus invaded the continent of Dannum.

When the former priest of An, Adaru, escapes from the tower where the restored seals lay that prevent the gallus from crossing realms, war consumes the land with Adaru's machinations. A kingdom falls, ancient powers awaken and the power of Kur is unleashed again.

The guardian Nanaya and her companions barely stopped the gallus last time, but the Darisam civilisation was annihilated those 1000 years ago, and the land reduced to a poisoned desert, but for one ancient tower. Nanaya is forced to confront the terrors of her past, terrors that took everyone she ever cared for. Nanaya, now advisor to the present king of Southcastle. fears the past will repeat itself.

Elsewhere, Baraka, a desperate treasure hunter from the arid Fringe States that border the vast desert of The Territory, discovers secrets that irrevocably change him; and Samuel, a young man working on his family's farm in the western kingdom of Royaume d'Occident, realises his dreams of adventure, but in doing so loses his innocence.

Kur corrupts the land as Adaru moves closer to realising his terrible ambition of breaking the seals again and Nanaya, now the last guardian in Dannum, knows she is not strong enough to stand against him alone.

Author Biography

David Cornford has been writing ever since David Gemmell invited him into his home, made him a cup of tea and tried to explain that Rocky was the best movie ever made. Holding Snaga The Sender, looking up at a wall of pistols from the John Shannow novels, he knew he had found his calling.

Born in Canada, raised in England and then let loose on the world, David has lived in India, America and now calls Western Australia home.

When he is not lost to his writing, David enjoys trying to grow every sort of fruit and vegetable and watching anything apocalyptic. He is supported by his wife of unfathomable patience and his bemused daughter who is a pixie-mermaid-fairy.

 

 

"Out of Dark Waters" by Jason Stigliano

The hunter waits in silent waters, biding its time to rise and feed.

 

A band of companions, not so different from those you’ve met before. The stoic warrior, seeking vengeance. The priestess, struggling to believe. The elderly gnome, stumbling on spells from an ageless tome. And Vander, a failed soldier and a broken man, waking from nightmares of dragonfire.

 

Once it has your scent, it never stops hunting you.

 

Petty adventurers, in truth, bent on gold and good ale, barely hoping to make something of themselves. Until they find a danger crueler than their memories, an ancient and devouring spirit. With more luck than skill, they escape its hunger. But the hunter does not give up its prey so easily.

 

They will win battles. Sometimes, they will find happiness. Still, a pitiless and ravenous darkness follows them, and it knows their fears.

 

It knows you, and it will not rest until it consumes you.

Available via:

 

• Amazon - Out of Dark Waters
• Kobo - Out of Dark Waters

 

Author Biography

 

Jason grew up in coastal New England, which was a wonderful place to nourish the imagination. If you watch the waves long enough, they can start to look like sea serpents, and there are, of course, green dragons in the woods. When not writing stories, he enjoys woodworking, brewing beer, and tabletop games. He still lives in New England, now with his wife and daughter.

 

Wulfric the Wanderer Treasury

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

January 1st 2026. 

Heroic Fantasy / Sword and Sorcery author Charles Moffat has released a new anthology of his Wulfric the Wanderer short stories, novelettes and novellas.

The treasury is only available as a Trade Paperback or Hardcover.

Wulfric the Wanderer Treasury

LARGE PRINT EDITION

From icy snowbound peaks to harsh deserts...
From the Stone Age to the Korovian Dark Age...
From gladiator pits to ancient forgotten roads...

The time traveling barbarian warrior returns in an anthology collection featuring eight Wulfric the Wanderer short stories, novelettes and novellas, including:

• Portal of Destiny
• The Cult of the She-Bear
• Born of Blood and Ice
• The Scarlet Arena
• Shifting Shadows in Iztark
• Black Monoliths of Al-Kazar
• The Unbreakable Arrow
• The Raven's Feast

Written in true Robert E. Howard fashion, this epic Sword and Sorcery anthology brings together every Wulfric the Wanderer story published by Charles Moffat between 2009 and 2025.

Learn more by visiting fiction.charlesmoffat.com.

Also:

A brand new Wulfric the Wanderer story, Witch of the Brass Quarter, has just been released.

The paperback version was released today: January 1st 2026.

The ebook version is being released on March 1st 2026. 

With a sandstorm on the horizon, Wulfric the Wanderer has come to the Brass Quarter of the city of Iztark, seeking a way to find his beloved Tahira. Lured by the promises of a fortune teller, the barbarian from Korovia learns more than he bargained for...

Part One of the Assassin Cycle. Learn more about the Wulfric the Wanderer series by visiting fiction.charlesmoffat.com.

 

EXCERPT FROM WITCH OF THE BRASS QUARTER

I

To the south Wulfric wandered, in search of his elusive lover Tahira, taken from him by orc raiders who dealt in slaves in the Al-Kazarian desert. Every slave pit and every auction was an opportunity to find his missing love, but he knew in his heart that no orcs could tame his beloved, and though they might easily shackle her, she would just as easily strangle them with her chains…

A lone cat prowled from a flat rooftop, watching for mice in the alleyways below. The shadows grew longer as the sun fell beyond the western horizon, the sandy dunes that lay beyond the city bathed in the reddish glow. The dusty haze of a sandstorm above the dunes hung like a funeral shroud waiting to descend upon the city, covering everything in a thin layer of sand.

Men and mice would die tonight, for a sandstorm was the perfect time for cats to hunt their prey and for men to murder. Here in the city of Iztark, jewel of the desert, bastion between sand and sea, murder was as numerous as the minarets and domed rooftops that dotted the city’s horizon. Tiled rooftops and flat stucco were frequently painted pink, not because the residents particularly enjoyed the colour pink, but because it did a good job of hiding the ancient blood stains that dotted the architecture.

In the bleak and narrow streets below, amidst the sickly sweet incense smoke and the stink from offal pits, merchants were closing up their shops early for the sandstorm would soon be upon them. No more did merchants hawk their wares loudly, but they instead spoke urgently, sometimes in whispers, eager to safeguard their goods lest they be caught out in the storm.

For everyone knew that a sandstorm was the best time for thieves, and assassins, to do their dirty work.

The crowds of people, each heading home, were like sheep all heading in the same directions, but amongst them strode a barbarian from the north. A Korovian warrior, and he stood out harshly like a wolf amongst the flock.

His muscles and thews were chiseled hard as marble, laced with scars from many battles, and his face was covered in a thick black beard, framed by a mane of black hair with a tinge of grey. The greyness in his hair and black looked strangely premature, as if he was older or perhaps younger than he truly was, perhaps a sign that he had encountered some manner of witchcraft or sorcery and somehow survived.

His skin had become darkened by long days in the sun and his clothes were stained with road-grit and dust, but his height, lack of a helmet or hood, and the oddly black metal sword on his back made him stand out in contrast to the locals.

The Korovian’s gait was unbothered by the urgency of others, but he was no thief and certainly no assassin. He was a simple warrior, but if faced with a foe that could be best with a sword, he wasn’t against the idea.

His name was Wulfric. Wulfric the Wanderer.

Hemmed in by a sudden press of people trying to get home, and the first signs of the sandstorm, Wulfric halted in his stride, one hand on his coin purse. He had learned long ago that crowds like these were the perfect places for pickpockets to ply their trade. And some of the people he could see here were Bani al-Qat, commonly known as catfolk. The Bani al-Qat were excellent acrobats and hunters, as well as dancers and performers, but they were also notorious thieves and pickpockets.

Want to read more? Preorder the Witch of the Brass Quarter ebook so that you receive it on March 1st 2026 or you can purchase the paperback version of Witch of the Brass Quarter right now.