Crowdfunds Spotlights

The Book Bazaar 2026 Spotlight for Thistles & Thorns

Crowdfunds Spotlights16 hours ago3 min readAdd comment

The Book Bazaar 2026 is an exciting collaborative crowdfunding event on Backerkit of 39 indie authors who have come together to raise funds for their campaigns. In celebration, and to help promote these authors, we’ll be featuring spotlights through the fundraising period for you to check and out and support! Within The Book Bazaar, you’ll find a variety of genres, including fantasy, sci-fi, horror, queer, and romance, as well as a variety of formats such as novels, novellas, series, anthologies, and audiobooks. There’s something for everyone!

The fundraising period runs from October 29 – November 19. Back 3 or more projects to earn unique bookmarks, and 10 or more projects to receive an exclusive anthology. Want a taste of these projects? Check out the free sampler bundle on Itch.io!

Please welcome Thistles & Thorns by Kate Butler in the spotlight!

Thistles & Thorns is a dark sapphic fairy tale. In the Wildwoods, Adeline discovers Matilde, a princess whose existence unmakes everything the kingdom has built. Trusting her is dangerous. But it may be the only way to save the people she loves.

“Fear is keeping you at the threshold. Opportunities often disappear when we wait for certainty before acting.”

What would you do if everything you knew was a lie and the only person with answers is one who shouldn’t exist at all?

That’s the tale we dive into with Thistles & Thorns. A world wrought by betrayal, where noble daughters are sold to the richest suitor and kings will do anything to keep the crown on their head.

Inspired by gothic stories like Crimson Peak, and fairy tales like La Belle et la Bête (1740), Thistles & Thorns is a dark sapphic fairytale that explores what it challenge your notions of the world and rewrite the future after revisionist history. It’s a story where not all is as it seems, and the darkest shadows are the ones within our own hearts.

The author is raising funds for a limited edition hardcover with dust jacket, illustrated end papers, sprayed edges, and coloured illustrations, but you can also back the ebook and paperback versions. As a special (and unique!) add-on, you’ll also be able to own an Eyes of Elodie cad deck featuring beautifully fully illustrated art and a booklet interpreting the cards as they appear in the book.

Check out Thistles & Thorns on Backerkit

About the Author

Hi! I’m Kate Butler. (They/Them)

Author. Artist. Bad Poet.

All things you’ll see in this beautiful story!

I’ve been a dedicated writer since 2012, and finally gained the courage to start publishing my work in 2024. Since then, I’ve published 4 novels and 1 poetry book, with two more on the way (Saltwrought [Nov 2026] and Thistles & Thorns [April 2027]). And if you caught that, yes, I’m planning for Thistles & Thorns to start mailing out in April!

My debut novel, A Chance to Be Happy, was a finalist for the Next Generation Indie Book Awards.