Many people have asked me about the meaning of the shield and symbols on the front of the books in the Light and Shadow Chronicles, so I thought I’d take some time out to explain the significance of the artwork.
Each of the symbols on the shield represents a different faction in the war which rages across the land in the Light and Shadow Chronicles series. Some of the symbols are linked to the Children of Light, some the Brotherhood of Shadow and some entirely different groups of people (or creatures!) altogether.
Each book features the shield (or a representative symbol from the shield) and a themed background which is related to the book’s setting or tone.
I’m
so excited to share with you the cover for my upcoming release, Origin of Shadow! This novella is part
of my epic, immersive fantasy series The Light and
Shadow Chronicles. The series is centered upon a centuries-long
war between two armies and each book focuses upon a character within the
timeline. This novella gives the origin story of one of the armies – The Brotherhood
of Shadow. The complementary novella entitled Genesis of Light is already available in ebook, paperback and audiobook.
The official release date for the book is
23rd Novmber. In the meantime, if you haven’t read the others in the
series yet you can get them here (though reading these first isn’t required to
understand Origin of Shadow):
“Vincent
Wilder.” The voice broke into his thoughts, everywhere and nowhere at once,
deafening, yet somehow a whisper. “Are you ready to learn the truth?”
As heir
to a notorious crime syndicate, sixteen-year-old Vincent Wilder is determined
to live up to his father’s intimidating legacy, and expand his violent empire.
The Wilders have terrorised the city of Pabell for decades and Vincent knows
the business inside and out (and has dirtied his own hands more times than he dares
to count.)
But no
matter how ready he thinks he is, nothing could have prepared him for life at
the helm. His father was a man of many things, but secrets wasn’t one of them,
or so Vincent had thought. The deeper Vincent gets into his leadership role,
the more terrifying and inexplicable skeletons he uncovers.
With the
threat of a revolution, a mysterious and intrusive voice in his head, and a
long-lost history he had known nothing about, is he really up to the challenge?
You’ve read the Children of Light’s origin story, now experience the same events from a different perspective with this prequel novella from The Light and Shadow Chronicles.
Origin of Shadow EXCERPT
The ticking of the
timepiece was far louder than it should have been. Every innocuous click of the
hands reverberated around the room. Sixteen-year-old Vincent Wilder stood
perfectly still, making sure his chin was raised and his expression stony. He
tried to hide the fact that his fingers twitched nervously behind his back. This
meeting needs to go off without a hitch. There’s so much resting on it. He
made an effort to narrow his eyes and puff out his chest, hoping his young
frame was imposing.
A single drop of sweat
trickled down his forehead, running a sticky trail across his skin. He wanted
to reach up and wipe it away, but didn’t dare draw attention to the fact he was
perspiring. If they saw it, would they take it as a sign of weakness? So
he did nothing and let the salty drop work its way down his forehead, running
into his dark eyes. He blinked to clear the drop, but his vision blurred and
his eyes itched. He could hold off no longer and was forced to swipe at his
eyes with a hurried hand.
His eyesight cleared and he
took the opportunity to glance down at the table and the people sat around it.
A couple in their early forties sat on one side, close together, huddling for
comfort. Their eyes were strong and defiant, the woman’s in particular. Her
hands were flat on the tabletop, and she leaned forwards, speaking with
determination.
The ashen-faced man beside
her was silent. Despite the stony expression on his face, Vincent could see the
man’s hands trembling.
Across from them sat Franco
Wilder, Vincent’s father. Once, he had a thick shock of dark hair, long and
wild, draped across his shoulders. That was how Vincent always pictured his
father, but the figure that sat before him had changed drastically in the past
few years. As soon as Franco’s hair had started thinning, he had shaved the
lot, and the bald head made the most terrifying man Vincent had ever met even
more intimidating.
Franco’s posture was rigid
and unmoving, a coiled snake waiting to lunge. The dark eyes that had chastised
Vincent since childhood were now zeroed in on the couple before him. His
father’s fingers were locked together tightly, but Vincent knew that it would
only take a split second for Franco to wrench the knife from his concealed
thigh pouch. Vincent’s muscles too were primed, ready to propel him into a
fight. Never relax around Franco Wilder. He’d learned that very young.
Cain has released one stand-alone novel: The Phoenix Project, a psychological thriller set in a dystopian future. The Phoenix
Project was the winner of the 2016 Kindle Book Review Sci-Fi novel Award.
Cain lives in Leicestershire, UK with her partner and two young children,
and spends her time reading, writing, reviewing and indulging in geek culture
(Marvel, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Final Fantasy).
Origin of Shadow – Find out where the Brotherhood began
As many of you are aware, I released a novella last year called Genesis of Light. It told the story of the beginning of the Children of Light, and gave the start of Callista’s story in the war.
Well, now I am preparing to release the second half of that story.
Origin of Shadow covers the same time period as Genesis of Light, but from the perspective of Vincent Wilder. Vincent is the leader of the Brotherood of Shadow and this novella tells his beginnings in the seedy underworld of crime.
Creativia (my publisher) has accepted the manuscript and it is now going through final editing, with a view to being released later this year.
I can’t reveal the cover design just yet, as it is still being finalised. However, here is a sneak peek at some of the first art draft (credit again to Irina French).
A blurb and extract for Origin of Shadow will be coming soon. Stay tuned!
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I’m so excited to share with you the cover for my upcoming release, Genesis of Light! This novella is part of my epic, immersive fantasy series The Light and Shadow Chronicles. The series is centered upon a centuries-long war between two armies. Each book focuses upon a character within the timeline. This novella gives the origin story of one of the armies – The Children of Light. A complementary novella entitled Origin of Shadow will be released towards the end of 2018.
There is no official release date for the book yet but I am hoping it will be towards the end of July 2018. In the meantime, if you haven’t read the others in the series yet you can get them here (though reading these first isn’t required to understand Genesis of Light):
Warring countries, fantastical creatures, beings of terrible power and journeys of epic scale. The legendary Book of Alcherys tells wild and unimaginable stories. But they are not mere fairy tales. They are true, every word.
Callista Nienna is strong and independent, but nothing could have prepared her for civilisation being brought to a violent end. Now, she is forced to stay alive in a desolate wilderness with only her closest friend for support.
She has two choices: give up and die with the wilting world around her or seize her destiny and make it to the only sanctuary left unscathed. At the end of her journey, something awaits Callista, something both terrifying and unbelievable.
Genesis of Light EXCERPT
Everything happened in an instant. The sky tore open with a deafening crack and the ground beneath their feet shuddered. A deep boom and then fireballs were shooting through the air and plummeting down to the city. Callista gasped and jumped to her feet. Even from this distance, she swore she could hear the screams of terrified people as the city was obliterated. Buildings were flattened, reduced to smouldering rubble within seconds. It was as if the gods themselves were hurling rocks from the sky, decimating everywhere and everyone she loved. Tears welled in her eyes, her mouth wide with horror.
Between the crumbling buildings and blazing infernos, Callista caught a glimpse of something impossible and unimaginable. She shook her head but when she looked back again it was still there. An enormous creature of towering height, unlike anything she had ever seen before. Engulfed with dripping lava and leaving wafts of sulphuric smoke in its wake, it skulked through the burning city. It swiped indiscriminately with gigantic burning fists, smashing aside buildings and trees, and crushing the bones of any living thing in its path.
Slowly, as if recognising Callista’s presence, it turned to look at her. Sizzling eyes of such intense evil focused upon her petrified form. It held her gaze for a moment, then turned away. As quickly as it had emerged, it disappeared behind the remaining buildings and out of sight.
D.M. CAIN BIOGRAPHY
D.M. Cain is a dystopian and fantasy author working for Creativia Publishing. The Light and Shadow Chronicles series features a range of books which can be read in any order. The series instalments to date include A Chronicle of Chaos and The Shield of Soren.
Cain has released one stand-alone novel: The Phoenix Project, a psychological thriller set in a dystopian future. The Phoenix Project was the winner of the 2016 Kindle Book Review Sci-Fi novel Award.
Cain lives in Leicestershire, UK with her two young children, and spends her time reading, writing, reviewing and indulging in geek culture (Marvel, Game of Thrones, Star Wars, Harry Potter, Final Fantasy).
Immersive fantasy fiction 