Left Unread Books | Tavern

Tavern

Deston Munden

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Xelnath of the Gnarled Root—a tavern owner, information broker, healer, and guildmaster of the Blackwind Company—has found a place, far better than the forest from which he came in the magical metropolis and city-state of Lladad in the Magiian Empire.

When a simple act of kindness draws the ire of a troubled assassin, his love-stricken Archmage father, and an army of magically constructed golems, Xel must scheme with vipers of the high court, mingle with royalty at the castle, blackmail drug dealers in the slums, and fight assassins and mercenaries in the streets.

He needs to lean on the support of his motley crew of a dark elf assassin, a dragon pirate, a high elf royal, and a talking dog artificer to keep him from his own inner demons and doubts.

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Posts about this title from Left Unread Books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Dec 3 2025

Is disruption really revolutionary?

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • May 18 2025

Is Disruption Actually Revolutionary?

In this politically charged world, a lot of the conversations we are having are about recognizing the systemic issues around us and figuring out a way to bring them down. Let's talk about what that actually means.

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Feb 17 2025

Black Authors Who I Think History Will Remember

I started this post as a Bluesky thread a few days ago, but I realized I needed more space than a social media post would allow. So here are some of my favorite Black authors! Enjoy!!!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Dec 10 2024

Come Meet author Deston Munden TONIGHT!

If you are free tonight at 7PM CST, come hang out with author Deston Munden! He is an incredible fantasy and sci-fi author and I can't wait for his upcoming Bindery release next year!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Dec 5 2024

Meet author Deston Munden TONIGHT

Come hang out with author Deston Munden tonight! It’s going to be a great time!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Sep 23 2024

Here is the Ad that will hang in Time Square!

As you guys know, I will have an ad in Time Square next month, which I will be using to advertise for this community! Here is the finished ad!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Aug 21 2024

BLACK indie author day!

Today is BLACK indie author day and I want you to spend today fighting for Black authors! Here are some ways you can do just that! (1) go buy at least one of the books I am linking to this post (2) promote a Black author on your social media or recommend a Black author to a fiend and (3) invite a friend to subscribe to this Bindery so they can join the fight for authors in the margins! The work we are doing MATTERS and it can’t happen without a thriving community. So help me build it! Love you all!

19 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Aug 19 2024

Books by Black Men

We had an event the other day where we invited the Black men of BookTok to come and share their experiences in bookish spaces with us! And it was an enjoyable experience in my opinion! Well, here is a list of their books! Feel free to go check them out!

10 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Aug 4 2024

TAVERN by Deston Munden: This book follows Xel, a tavern owner and leader of a notorious mercenary group. He is an ORC, but unlike the Orcs that are typically portrayed in fantasy, he is not a violent, savage brute. Munden works to unravel decades of anti-Black stereotypes that are attached to this fantasy race by giving us an Orc who is soft, loveable, and kind while still being every bit as powerful as every other member of his race we've met. In this story, Xel heals a group of people who are suffering, which puts him on the radar of a group of assassins who are working to destabalize Xel's city. In order to survive, he must get to the bottom of their evil plan and unite his community in standing against them. This book is classic high fantasy with a strong pro-Black undertone. I knew I wanted to be a part of this project the moment I read it, and so, together with the author, I helped to get the book a new cover and to relaunch it with a strong media campaign. I am very proud of this project and would love to see it grow even bigger with the next two books in the already finished series!\ _**Devil of the Deep by Falencia Jean-Francois: **_This book is a high-fantasy queer pirate mermaid story that follows a young mermaid who is forced to flee from an underwater cult that has taken firm control of her community. She flees to the above sea world with an artifact her uncle entrusts to her and ends up partnering with a notorious pirate and a navy-captian who is struggling to deconstruct the colonial religion that has a grip on his organization in order to protect the artifact and hopefully save the world from utter destruction. I did not have a part in publishing this book but I have spent the last few months strongly championing this book and fighting to get Falencia's name into every corner of BookTok. And I think I have been pretty successful in helping to make sure everyone heard about this book. It is one of the best books I have ever read, and if you haven't read it...fix that, friend.\ \ MAY A DIVINE AWAKEN by Michael Tinsley: This book is another fantasy. It is about a young boy who is struggling to find his place in the world. Due to a skin condition (vitiligo), he has been partially ostracized from his community. And on top of that, he lives in a world that is devastatingly divided by things like gender, class, and power, which further isolates him. In his world, an order of people with supernatural power work together to protect eight sacred keys. If those keys are combined they can be used to unleash an unbelievable power. And of course, our main character finds himself caught right in the middle as the world's major players decide its time to make their bid for that power. After a team of mercenaries destroy his town, he ends up on the run, fighting to find answers and to unleash a power he has always dreamed of so that he can save his people from unfit rulers and powerful tyrants. I did not help publish this, but I have been taking a very special interest in promoting it as far and wide as I possibly can and have played a huge role in getting this book into hundreds of hands. And I fully intent to continue championing it until Tinsley is a household name.\ \ Why am I telling you this?\ \ Two reasons... first, because I want you to be aware of these books adn to buy them if they speak to you. And two, because I want you to see that our goals are acheivable! Fighting for indies is not hopeless. Here are three examples of authors I have been able to partner with to bring ACTUAL change to people's careers. And TOGETHER as a community, we can do that same thing for soooo many more authors.\ \ This community is giving me so much hope. This work has been so lonely! And I am so thrilled by the chance to do all of this at a much larger level, and it is all thanks to you!\ \ Thank you for being here!!\ \ (Also, if you want to be a part of choosing and championing whatever book we will publish together as Left Unread Books, make sure you are subscribed at the $5 tier or higher so you have access to the publishing content!)\ \

Here are some indie books I have helped with in the past!

Our Bindery community may be new, but this vision is not new. I have been in this work, and here are just a few projects that I have helped to either publish or market in the past year or two! Check them out and give them some love if they sound interesting to you!

4 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Jul 28 2024

[**Amanda Weaver: **Amanda writes a range of Fantasy and Horror. I have read two of her books:\ \

_In The House of Transcendence, _which follows a necromancer who works as a burlesque dancer and helps her new boss solve the murder of her dead lover while cproving herself to the community of witches her boss oversees. This book has strong conversations about identity, found family, Blackness and belonging, and has plenty of Black and queer representation. Low spice, but plenty of romantic themes.\
_No One's Gonna Take Her Soul Away, _a book about a Black woman who is murdered and unjustly sent to the seventh level of Pandemonia (hell). Unwilling to spend eternity suffering, she partners with a werewolf and a vamp, who help her fight her way through all seven levels of Pandemonia so she can confront the pretentious goddess who condemned her in the first place. This story has moderate spice, an enemy to lovers storyline, and PLENTY of violence, gore and hard-to-stomach torture. It also has conversations about found family, redemption, Blackness and the Black woman's worth.\ \ Natalia Hernandez: Natalia is in the middle of a high fantasy series and a series of interconnected cozy fantasy stand-alones. I have read all four of her books, including her most recent, which releases in two months.\ \
Flowers of Prophesy Series is a high fantasy series about a young woman who is on a quest to find the rightful prince of her nation so that she can stop a war that has been raging for centuries and stop the bloodshed. The first book, _The Name Bearer, _introduces us to the Name Bearer, who was taken from her family as a baby and raised in the royal castle with no name or identity of her own. Her only purpose was to wait for the Queen to have a son and to then go to the flowers of prophesy to receive his name. Only, when the Queen finally has a son, she goes to the flowers...and they tell her that the Queen's son will not be the next King. Armed with that knowledge, she must go on a quest to find the Prince that was Promised and to bring him back for his naming ceremony. Which leads the Name Bearer on a decade long quest, where she is raised and trained in combat by a society of reveered warrior women. The following books follow her quest to discover her identity, carve out space for herself, and...well...FIND THE PRINCE. The third book in this series (of four planned books) comes out October 17th! This series is filled with magic, self-discovery, fighting, bloodshed, political intrigue, and a very slow burn romance.\
_Asiri and the Amaru _is the first in a five-book interconnected series of stand-alone romantasy stories. This one follows Asiri, a young Peruvian woman who has the rare ability to speak with animals. After a lifetime of her father exploiting her abilities to amplify his prestige in their community, she runs away from home and resettles in a beautiful seaside village, where she is determined not to tell anyone about her gift...until she runs into a Veterinarian who needs her help to nurse a mythical Amaru back to health. This one has a bit of spice, but only one scene.\ \ Falencia Jean Francois writes high fantasy better than almost anyone I know! I have read her debut, which was one of the best books I've ever written!!\ \
_Devil of the Deep _is a high fantasy following a pirate, a mermaid and an officer as their stories converge at the end of the world. When our main character realizes she is a part of an underwater cult, she must swim to the surface world to escape their clutches, only to find her path crossing with a notorious pirate who is at war with a navy that is secretly working toward the same aim as the cult she has just escaped from. This story has massive conversations about identity, found family, colonization and resisting colonial religion. It has plenty of Black, queer, trans and neurodivergent representation. And it is by far, one of the best books I have EVER read in my life. Couldn't recommend this story more highly! Very mild spice.\ \ Deston Munden writes high fantasy with the intention of representing Black people and challenging the racist notions that often exist in fantasy circles. I have read several of Deston's books and I loved them so much that I am currently working with him to republish them and hopefully push them to a wider market!\ \
_Dusk Mountain Blues _is a sci-fi story about a Black family that are the descendants of humans who were experiemented on by the government before developing powers and escaping to a mostly abandoned planet, where they now battle against the invading forces of the intergallactic government that captured them to begin with. This is a story that speaks to making space for Black people in every space, drawing inspiration from a lot of stories that often speak primarily to white audiences. Our main characters are deniably country, poor, uneducated and rough around the edges. But also...they are undeniably BLACK. We watch them navigate hard relationships, family fueds, tension with the native inhabitants of the planet they were forced onto, and incredible displays of power, love and solidarity against oppression. This is the first of a series. I honestly don't remember if there was any spice, but I don't believe there was.\
Tavern is also the first book in a series. It follows an Orc who owns a tavern and leads a group of mercenaries. When he helps heal the wrong people, he ends up on the wrong side of a group of assassins, who are determined to make him pay. This story sees him fight for his freedom, and fight to protect his home and city from an insurmountable threat. This book fights to combat many of the racist tropes that are often written into Orc characters in fantasy stories. And despite having no humans, this book reads as undeniably BLACK.\ \ Michael Tinsley put out his debut last year, which I read and LOVED.\ \
_May a Divine Awaken _is about a young Black boy who has been ostracized from his community because of a skin condition (vitiligo). His world takes the divisions that exist in our world to the extreme. So far that their eight nations are not only split by ethnic identity, but also by gender. Men and women are seperated as dramatically as possible, as are the rich from the poor and the powerful from the powerless. Our main character has always thought himself to be weak, not having supernatural power of his own, but when his town is attacked by assassins, and he ends up on a journey in search of help, he finds out that the power he SHOULD have has been locked away and if he wants to save the world from an attempted coup from two of their world's highest leaders, he will have to awaken his power and fight for everyone's lives. This book was one of my favorite reads of 2023, and I recently received a package from the author with a copy of the second edition, which has been released with an all new (and incredible) cover!](https://leftunreadbooks.binderybooks.com/item/QUSvW8OLyzenCMlxHfFl/)

Five Black/brown Authors You Should Know

If you like reading Black and brown books (which, if you don't...why are you here?), here are a list of five authors you should be intimately familiar with!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Jun 5 2024

Hey, everyone! I thought I would take some time to tell you a little about what I've been up to!\ \ READING UPDATE: I am currently reading two books. Well, three technically. I am reading through a friend's manuscript as they write, which is so much fun! But also, I am reading through The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters for an indigenous bookclub I am in over on Fable, with Naomi Darling (@fromthemixedupdesk). I just started that one and so far, I am enjoying it. From what I've heard, I'll likely be crying a lot as I read this one! And then I also just started Toxic Bloodlines by Emmanuel Ossai for my bookclub right here on Bindery! I will link both of those books in case you watch to check them out!\ \ WRITING UPDATE: I had a 10,000 word day yesterday!!!! Now, for my non-writers, you may not know how big of an accomplishment that is. But a 1,000 words a day is the norm for a full-time writer. So a 10,000 word day does not come around very often for most of us! I am feeling myself today! lol! I am working on two books. The first being Haliut, which is the sequel to Alfajiri. I was really stuck on that for quite a few months, but I FINALLY figured out where I want this story to go and I am flying through it now that the characters let me know where we are heading. The second book I am working on is the alien colonization story that I started right here with all of you! I have two and a half more chapters done, which I will be sharing with you in a few days. I want to finish the one I'm working on now and then I'll let you read them all!\ \ PUBLISHING UPDATE: Tavern is doing fairly well. That is the book I put out with Deston Munden a few months ago. I'd love it to do a little better, but we are both fairly happy with its numbers. I am looking forward to promoting that book more over the next few months and announcing the other projects that we have in the works! Because we've been BUSY, let me tell you!!!!\ \ PODCAST UPDATE: Laani and I just interviewed Neka Marie! Author of The Inevitability of! An incredible book, which I will link below. If you don't know Neka, you are truly missing out. She is BookTok's bestie!\ \ PERSONAL UPDATE: Today is always a little bit of a sad day on my end. It is the anniversary of my Mother's death, so like every year, I went to the park to take a walk in nature and think about her. It was delightful, and depressing, as it is each year. lol\ \ Hmmm, what else is there... that honestly might be it for now. But yeah, there's a peak into my world. Let me know a little bit about you and whether you want me to do more of these!!!\ \ \ \

Journal Entry

Just a little bit about what I've been up to lately! Enjoy! Also, tell me about your week in the comments!

4 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Apr 26 2024

Call to action: Tavern by Deston Munden

Tavern is DYB's first release. Help us make it successful so that we can continue to invest in Black and brown books. Thank you all!

1 book

Posts about this book from across Bindery

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Dec 3 2025

Is disruption really revolutionary?

10 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • May 18 2025

Is Disruption Actually Revolutionary?

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Feb 17 2025

Black Authors Who I Think History Will Remember

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Dec 10 2024

Come Meet author Deston Munden TONIGHT!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Dec 5 2024

Meet author Deston Munden TONIGHT

Come hang out with author Deston Munden tonight! It’s going to be a great time!

3 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Sep 23 2024

Here is the Ad that will hang in Time Square!

As you guys know, I will have an ad in Time Square next month, which I will be using to advertise for this community! Here is the finished ad!

5 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Aug 21 2024

BLACK indie author day!

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Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Aug 19 2024

Books by Black Men

10 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Aug 4 2024

Here are some indie books I have helped with in the past!

4 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Jul 28 2024

Five Black/brown Authors You Should Know

If you like reading Black and brown books (which, if you don't...why are you here?), here are a list of five authors you should be intimately familiar with!

11 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Jun 5 2024

Journal Entry

Just a little bit about what I've been up to lately! Enjoy! Also, tell me about your week in the comments!

4 books

Left Unread Books\ \ Michael LaBorn\ \ • Apr 26 2024

Call to action: Tavern by Deston Munden

Tavern is DYB's first release. Help us make it successful so that we can continue to invest in Black and brown books. Thank you all!

1 book