Wondering What The Shield On All My Book Covers Means? Find Out!

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.

A Chronicle of Chaos features demons and as such the background is fiery.

A Chronicle of Chaos - book cover

The Shield of Soren features angels and so the background is feathered.

The Shield of Soren- book cover

Genesis of Light features an important piece of jewellery in the shape of the Children of Light symbol.

Genesis of Light - book cover

Origin of Shadow is about the menacing shadowy creature behind the Brotherhood of Shadow.

Origin of Shadow - book cover

RELATED LINKS:

The Light and Shadow Chronicles – a unique immersive fantasy series

Worldbuilding – Meraxor

The power structure of the Wilders

A Chronicle of Chaos

The Shield of Soren

Genesis of Light

Origin of Shadow

The Sins of Silas

The Ballad of Benedict

The Hand of Honour

Origin of Shadow Cover Reveal

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):

A Chronicle of Chaos –  http://mybook.to/ChronicleofChaos

The Shield of Soren – http://mybook.to/ShieldofSoren

Genesis of Light – http://mybook.to/genesisoflight

Origin of Shadow BLURB

“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.  

D.M. CAIN BIO

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, The Shield of Soren andGenesis of Light.

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).  

LINKS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DMCainauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DMCain84

Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/dmcain

Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/XevZH

Website: www.dmcain84.com

Epic fantasy novella – Origin of Shadow

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.

DM Cain Genesis of Light multiple promotional formats image

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).

Origin of Shadow cover art sneak peek

A blurb and extract for Origin of Shadow will be coming soon. Stay tuned!

#mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own Mailchimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ #mc-embedded-subscribe-form input[type=checkbox]{display: inline; width: auto;margin-right: 10px;} #mergeRow-gdpr {margin-top: 20px;} #mergeRow-gdpr fieldset label {font-weight: normal;} #mc-embedded-subscribe-form .mc_fieldset{border:none;min-height: 0px;padding-bottom:0px;}

Subscribe to DM Cain’s mailing list

* indicates required
Email Address *
Name
Email Format
  • html
  • text
Marketing Permissions

D.M. Cain will use the information you provide on this form to be in touch with you and to provide updates and marketing. Please let us know all the ways you would like to hear from us:

Email Direct Mail

You can change your mind at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link in the footer of any email you receive from me, or by contacting me at dmcain84@gmail.com. I will treat your information with the utmost respect. By clicking below, you agree that we may process your information in accordance with these terms.

We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By clicking below to subscribe, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing. Learn more about Mailchimp’s privacy practices here.

//s3.amazonaws.com/downloads.mailchimp.com/js/mc-validate.js(function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]=’EMAIL’;ftypes[0]=’email’;fnames[3]=’MMERGE3′;ftypes[3]=’text’;}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true);

It’s here – the new cover for Genesis of Light!

Cover Reveal for Genesis of Light by D.M. Cain

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):

A Chronicle of Chaos –  http://mybook.to/ChronicleofChaos

The Shield of Soren – http://mybook.to/ShieldofSoren

Genesis of Light by D.M. Cain - a novella in the Light and Shadow Chronicles

Genesis of Light BLURB

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-Immersive-fantasy-fiction

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.

Genesis of Light full cover

D.M. CAIN BIOGRAPHY

epic-immersive-fantasy-fiction-author-D.M. Cain

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).

LINKS

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DMCainauthor

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DMCain84

Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/dmcain

Mailing List: http://eepurl.com/XevZH

Website: www.dmcain84.com

The Light and Shadow Chronicles - an epic immersive fantasy series by D.M. Cain


RELATED LINKS:

The Light and Shadow Chronicles – a unique immersive fantasy world

The Light and Shadow Chronicles

Wondering What The Shield On My Book Covers Means? Find Out!