Explore Top Historical Fiction Indie Books on SelfPubShelf

A captivating journey weaving together the horror of war and the power of love.Twenty-year-old Maya is given one hour to pack one suitcase and flee her home in war-torn Beirut, leaving behind everyone and everything she knows and loves.She rebuilds a new life in Los Angeles, and eventually launches a successful career in the aerospace industry. Despite professional opportunities and glamorous experiences in California, Maya is unable to escape her emotional attachment and sense of responsibility to her home country.She returns to Beirut where she meets a young surgeon, and together they believe they have a role to play in changing the trajectory of their war-torn nation.Glass Cedars, by Kath...

Amazon #1 Best Seller in its category for several weeksA painfully accurate description of the life of a combat infantryman serving in the jungles of Vietnam.For those who never served, it’s an eye-opener. For those who did, it serves as a reminder of that life long ago."Cherries" presents an unvarnished account, and upon completion, readers will gain a deeper appreciation for the trials these young men faced throughout the year.It's a narrative that grips the reader throughout.In 1970, John Kowalski was among many young, inexperienced soldiers sent to Vietnam to fight in a war that was already controversial. Referred to as “Cherries” by their veteran counterparts, these recruits were ...

Amazon #1 Best Seller in its category for several weeks.2020 Rave Review Book Club Awards: BOOK OF THE YEARJohn Podlaski tells a military story like few others can. He is a gifted writer and will make all of your senses come alive.Written with great attention to detail, putting the reader solidly in John’s shoes.Cleverly Written, Dynamic Story TellingAn amazing story that brought a night of terror into perspective.Step into the shadows of the Vietnam War and join two young soldiers, alone in a listening post (LP), in the pitch-black jungle of Vietnam. The night seems to go on forever, and when nothing is happening, John Kowalski’s mind wanders back to frightening memories of situations h...

Amazon #1 Best Seller in its category for several weeks2025 International Impact Book Award Winner.John writes powerful descriptions of people, places, and things.Gripping story that keeps you in the moment. The author paints a vivid picture that has you right in the middle of the action.Thrilling with a lurking sense of constant danger and death.In this page-turning story of bravery, fear, anger, and determination, the soldiers come to life.Realistic and gritty. The author is a great storyteller“When Can I Stop Running?” is the forerunner to this book.Only a couple of hours had passed since returning to the firebase. Now, the sleep-deprived and weary First Platoon soldiers must go back ...

Detail-rich story that keeps the reader engaged
Great introduction to the life of a young man heading to war
Thought-provoking memoir with smiles and tears

Mr. Podlaski is well known for his accounts of his service in the Vietnam War. However, this short story allows readers to see the beginning. He shares the emotions of being drafted into the U.S. Army on 2-27-70 and how it impacted not only him but also his family.

If you want to know what these ‘soon-to-be soldiers’ experienced at the Induction Center, then this book is a good place to start.

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Realistic and well-written
Great story written by an excellent writer.
Podlaski draws readers into the meat of his stories immediately.

John Kowalski makes it home from the Vietnam War in one piece, and his battles are finally over. Or so he thought. Home for less than a week, John must defend his family from a pair of unwelcomed thugs hell-bent on revenge.

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The author’s style of writing engages all the reader's senses
This evocative, descriptive micro-read will trigger memories
Author, you got me believing in the bogeyman again!

As a reward, two fourteen-year-old boys are offered a great first-time opportunity to sit up front in the open and watch a movie at a local drive-in theater. Little did they know the movie would affect them in ways neither had imagined nor would ever forget.

Pick up a copy to find out what happened.

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Dive into Darkness and Destiny with Michaela Riley's "Cauldron of Dagda: The Witch's Rebirth, Part II"Award-winning author Michaela Riley returns with the highly anticipated second installment in her "Witch's Rebirth" series, "Cauldron of Dagda: The Witch's Rebirth, Part II." Prepare to be swept away into a world where ancient myths clash with the harsh realities of a crumbling empire, where love battles against looming darkness, and where the fate of humanity hangs in the balance.Set in the year 540 A.D., Riley expertly crafts a historical backdrop teeming with political intrigue and the ever-present threat of a rising evil. As chaos descends upon the Eastern Roman Empire, threate...

In 1551 Ottoman pirates abducted the population of a Mediterranean island and sold them as slaves or took the better looking to harems. Those souls needed revenge.

I helped their cause in Vengeance Island assisted by an ancient spirit of Gozo and by the puzzled descendants in modern France.

THINK: JOHN WICK MEETS ELIZABETH BENNET

Sir David La Roche, Knight Templar, is a renowned warrior who hires his services out to weary travelers wishing to visit the Holy Lands, in the Year of Our Lord, 1229 A.D.

He is bored with such endeavors and determined to wed Lady Beatrice, a wealthy heiress whose lands Sir David will inherit upon her father's death, of course.

The Templar has it all planned out, until a wistful, energetic young woman enters his life.

His word is his bond. He has given it, which means it is set in stone. Why then, does his thoughts turn to Isabella Kingsley at night, why is his dreams haunted by that pretty face, that sensual body.

Hailed by Reedsy Discovery and the onlinebookclub as a 5-star "must read "  and slated for review by the prestigious Historical Novel Society, The Peacock's Legacy is a captivating masterpiece, which one reviewer has suggested should become a movie.Can a 19th-century Irish woman overcome the shadows of her past? The narrative follows the life of Brigid Power,  a woman whose resilience and determination defy fate to forge her path. Born to a struggling tenant farmer, Btigid survives the devastating Irish Famine of the 1840s, which shatters her family and destroys her youth, Faced with an unwanted marriage, Brigid flees to Dublin, where she finds love and purpose in the Fen...

SHE HOLDS A TROUBLING SECRET FROM HER PASTGrace Morgan has done well for herself during the turbulent times of WWII, but longs for something more intriguing in life than the mundane.HE’S HER PROTECTORHer long-time friend and confidant, J.D. McGinnis, is finally back in Chicago, where both have landed positions at WLS Radio Station. Riddled with guilt regarding his haunting history, the now dishonorably discharged Vet is recruited to run covert operations for the government.HOT OFF THE WIREBrigadier General Thomas J. Ellis is a master at concealing his many classified projects and dodging nosey reporters. What he doesn’t expect is fighting an attraction to a beguiling and determined red-h...

Sgt. Sean Patrick McAroy is a hard-bitten, no-nonsense war-weary veteran who is well accustomed to difficult assignments. This latest, given over by Lt. James Lafferty, is one for the record books, however.Charged with escorting a lovely red headed woman who just happens to be a brilliant scientist, is one he would rather his squad not have to undertake.Females in a war zone spells more than trouble…it could mean one of his men’s life, or maybe even his if something goes awry, which it invariably does where a woman is concerned, or at least, that is Sgt. McAroy’s belief from past experience.Only problem is, the Sgt did not expect to find himself somewhat attracted to this woman/child. ...

Named Best Military Thriller of 2023 by BestThrillers.Finalist, War & Military, 2023 Foreword Reviews Book AwardsFinalist, 2023 Hemingway Award for War FictionFinalist, 2023 Readers Favorite Award for Military FictionThe Spear of Destiny. The Roman Legionnaire's lance that pierced Christ's body as he hung on the cross.Legend claims whomever possesses it will become a great conqueror. But if they lose it, they will lose everything—including their lives.Shortly before WWII, Hitler stole the spear from a museum in Vienna. In the last weeks of the European war, he lost it. General George Patton orders an American OSS team to find the spear and recover it. Unknown to the Americans, both the...

Major Sally Honeychurch has spent two years as an agent behind enemy lines. Now the war is over, the women who risked their lives are no longer needed. Sally is back in civvy street, haunted by the French Resistance lover who died in her arms. When terrorists smuggle an atomic bomb into London, the Head of MI6 urgently summons her for one more mission. Sally has inside knowledge few possess. She was there when the first atom bomb was assembled and detonated. Sally is the only woman among hundreds of soldiers and intelligence agents hunting the terrorists. And she uncovers a clue to their identity that will rock the establishment to its foundations. To save London, she must not only track dow...