Tuesday, August 19, 2014

New horror novel - Ingheist



A fatal accident befalls police officer Simon Heath while in pursuit of suspected criminals. A woman and her two children are killed and Simon is injured. After lawsuits and months of rehabilitation, he finds himself with his back against a wall. Now shunned by the police force and former friends, Simon is running out of options when a job opportunity suddenly falls into his lap.

Ingheist, a university located in mysterious Fallow's Down - a veritable magnet for the weird - calls him in for an interview and odd things begin to immediately transpire. Dark splotches of mold begin to appear in his home, spreading like mad and nearly impossible to remove, the odor barely tolerable.
The rules are different within the campus police force, each cop not quite normal. What unholy purpose does Ingheist have for him?

Pulled into a web of evil and losing his sanity, will Simon realize too late that he must run and run far?

Available for the Kindle in the next day or so.

Thanks!

William

Sunday, April 20, 2014

The Elves of Kirkaldin

In the Morning of the World, one great forest covered the northern reaches of Kirkaldin. Autumn never came to this place, the climate perpetually warm and tropical. Into this forest, the Wind, creator of life itself, sent the Elves. He bid them thrive and bring goodness unto the land. The Elves decreed that they would do no harm to the trees, cherishing the shelter and sustenance that the trees brought to them. Such was their bond with the forest, an almost symbiotic relationship, that a strong, sylvan magic began to develop. The Elves tended to the trees, nurturing them and keeping them strong, treating the sicknesses that would occasionally befall them. In turn, the massive trees bent to their will, allowing themselves to be molded and shaped according to the needs of their caretakers. Such was the magic that the Elves developed the ability to step into the ethereal essence of the trees, literally passing physically into the trunk, traveling through this wondrous plane of existence and reappearing elsewhere within the forest. This became known as the Woodwalk.

Soon the Elves had fashioned homes within the immense trees, carving vaulted rooms and spiraling staircases within the trunks. Flame was forbidden within the forest of the Elves, but a combination of the new magic and the amber sap that served as the lifeblood of the forest gave birth to the sunglobes, crystalline orbs that gave off a natural golden light.

The Elves were a strong and righteous race, honorable and true. They married for life, the bride and groom creating a necklace from thin woven strips of wood that they wore until death. As they were a long-lived race, some couples remained together for hundreds of years, bearing dozens of children. The worries of the Elves were taken from them in a daily ritual performed by their king. Each day, the Elves would bring a blossom to the king's courtyard and place it in the fountain to float upon the surface of the water. Their sorrow and stress they put into the flower and so it passed into the pool. Every morning, the King would drink of this water, the Kingsdraught, taking the worries of his people into himself and leaving them happy and carefree.

With the coming of Man, a disagreement arose among the Elves. The first weapons were fashioned in the forest, drawn from the bodies of the trees and shaped into gracefully curving blades. Soon Man had developed weapons of metal, first copper, then bronze and finally steel. The communities of Man began to war among themselves and some factions of Elves believed that soon Man would come to the forest. Man was greedy and selfish, destroying the natural environment around them, laying waste to the trees and polluting the water. They would want what the Elves had.

The Elves soon became a divided people, those who coveted metal for the defense of their lands and those who stood by their ancient ways, the way of the wood. There came no civil war, no violent separation of their people. A meeting was held and the decision was made. With the mountains as a dividing line, the Elves of the Old Way migrated to the eastern side and their brethren to the west. In the forest of the West, soon known as Greymander, the making of metal weapons began, swords and steel-tipped arrows. Chain mail armor and sweeping helms were created as the Elven smiths grew more proficient in their new skills.

It was discovered that the metal of Man prevented the magic of the Woodwalk and soon the Elves of the west stopped using the ability altogether. In time, the mountains were thrust higher and higher by the natural movement of the landscape and the great forest became two, the western forest now called Elfwhere. There were also those Elves that felt the call of the ocean and eventually left their homes in Elfwhere to set off across the Sleeping Sea and settle in the islands far to the west. They were labeled the High Elves and in many ways became superior to the others. They were great healers and developed new areas of magic, yet undiscovered by their kin. In the High Elves, the Woodwalk soon changed, allowing them to pass through water in much the same way that those of Elfwhere passed through wood.

Many changes come with the telling of the In the Shadow of the Black Sun tale. This story is of course available at all ebook sellers. Find out what transpires by clicking the following link: The Complete Trilogy at Amazon US.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

In the Shadow of the Black Sun: The Complete Trilogy now available everywhere!

So here it is, my friends. All 3 books of the trilogy have been collected into 1 ebook and now include illustrations by yours truly. The fully painted covers are included at the beginning of each individual book. This has truly been a labor of love for me and it feels very satisfying to have finished the story (so far). Readers have already asked if the story would continue. It's always possible, however right now I'll be taking a break from the fantasy genre. I am finishing a horror novel at the moment. It's very close to complete, then we'll see what bubbles up from my mind. I've always had more ideas than I knew what to do with.

To download the complete trilogy for the Kindle, click here: In the Shadow of the Black Sun: The Complete Trilogy at Amazon US.

Amazon UK readers click here: In the Shadow of the Black Sun: The Complete Trilogy at Amazon UK.

Also available through Smashwords in all other formats: In the Shadow of the Black Sun: The Complete Trilogy at Smashwords.

I want to thank you all very much for your support as always. For now I return to Elfwhere and scribble notes for future tales.

Walk with the Wind,

William

Sunday, March 23, 2014

Mournenhile book now live at Amazon!

http://www.amazon.com/Mournenhile-Shadow-Black-William-Kenney-ebook/dp/B00J6OLIFM/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1395585919&sr=1-1&keywords=Mournenhile
Now available at Amazon.com. 

         The bitter cold of Mournenhile's power has gripped the land, his horrific armies sweeping into the west, intent on destroying all who oppose him. His most deadly creations, his twin children born of a mortal woman, lead his armies against the servants of the Wind. Malhain now has command of S'Darin's ghost and his immense power. If he can reunite the broken pieces of the mage's staff, none will be able to stand against him.
        Windenn has returned, changed and all-powerful, also coveting this sacred artifact, her twisted mind set on destroying Mournenhile. Hagan and his companions reluctantly assist her in her quest of destruction, realizing quickly that bringing an end to one devil only replaces him with another.
        Elfwhere is in ashes and the Dwarven kingdom of Pahn Pirik is locked in a civil war brought on by the death of their Queen. With the help of the Addrefae, Vasparian once again leaves his homeland in the hopes of stopping the eastern army.
        When a young and foolish prince takes it upon himself to wrest Harquinn from Malhain's control, a chain of events will be set in motion, bringing Men, Elves and even Dwarves into a climactic battle that will change the state of the world of Kirkaldin forever.
 
 
Here is the link: Mournenhile

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Mournenhile now available at Smashwords!

Hey,
I just published the third book of the In the Shadow of the Black Sun trilogy. It will take a day or two for it to go live on Amazon, but it is currently available on Smashwords. This book comes in at just under 500 pages. I hope you enjoy it.

Download from Smashwords HERE.

William

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Still more step by step on the Mournenhile cover

 Gorin's hand and tattoos complete. Face adjusted.
 First attempt at a background. Wasn't quite happy with it. Not enough depth, I thought. Start over.
 Ah, this gives more of a snowy feeling. More depth. It actually looks as if you could walk off into this environment.
Mostly complete now. Added the staff and the glowing light that comes from it reflected on the characters. Added a trail in the snow behind them.

More step by step on the Mournenhile cover

 Here I've thrown in some color for the cloak and a slight indication of her pants.
 Shirt, belt and sword detail going in.
 Nearly there with Windenn. A lot more work on the costuming.
 And she's pretty much complete.
 Where Gorin's face started.
Most of Gorin's anatomy complete and details on his belt, etc.