Indies Today 2026 Second Runner Up Urban Fantasy They say the small survive by staying unseen. Jed is done being small. Grayhaven runs on smoke and sea-coal, on work songs hummed by the folk no one sees. Jed—kobold, runner, tool-hand—knows every crack in the city’s stone. When a Blackenguard purge turns his life to ash, he breaks the oldest rule: keep your head down. Names surface in the soot. One name burns brighter than the rest—Veynar. To reach him, Jed will have to live where the big folk hunt: alleys and gallows, markets that grind the small into feedstock. With quick hands, sharper tools, and the city’s shadows for cover, he begins to tip the balance. For Scales Alone is a grim, fast-moving fantasy about debt and justice—where the law weighs nothing, and scales can be forced. Perfect for readers of grimdark fantasy, kobold misfits, and anyone who wonders what happens when the smallest strike back. "This is a short, sharp book written in exciting prose and with a gripping narrative. Well worth your attention." - Jayne Sarasin, author of The Green Enclave Daniel Sheley has been telling stories since he was a teenager. Early on, stories were both refuge and apprenticeship, shaped by long hours with books, myth, and imagination. His first teachers were the stories themselves: the mythic weight of Thomas Malory, the human sharpness of Shakespeare, and the folkloric sense of wonder found in writers like Bruce Coville and Grace Chetwin. Those influences, combined with lived experience, formed a lasting fascination with people, belief, and consequence.He was born in Bradenton, Florida, on the rough side of the city, where each day brought its own challenges. Later, he moved to Westfield, New York, the first place he could truly call home. There he became involved in community and sports and discovered a love for music. That sense of rhythm and cadence would later find its way into his prose.After high school, Daniel attended college and joined the U.S. Navy, serving in both technical and leadership roles. Those years deepened his interest in systems, human behavior, and how pressure reveals character.He is the author of Heartcoil, Lux Mendacium, and For Scales Alone. His upcoming novel, The Soul-Sung, was named a finalist in the Writers' League of Texas Manuscript Contest and is the first book in The Vaeritas Saga.Daniel lives in Midland, Texas, with his wife and their blended family. When he is not writing, he is usually chasing children, managing four dogs, painting, or thinking about lakes and rivers. He continues to tell stories through words, art, and music, drawn to the space where myth, memory, and meaning meet.