Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

Monday, October 14, 2019

Maidenjade Book 1



Maidenjade is a dark fantasy series that I am co-authoring with my good friend Stefain. This city is evil, inhabited by thieves, assassins and the most sinister of magics. The book can be purchased at this link on Amazon:

Buy Maidenjade.

I hope you give it a try and enjoy it. Book 2 will be released very soon. Stay tuned!


William



Saturday, September 28, 2013

The State of the Black Sun....

Man....I have a hard time killing characters in my stories. I plan it out way ahead of time, but when the time comes it's not easy. It doesn't matter if the character is a good guy or a villain. I just wrote the death of a character that has been present in the In the Shadow of the Black Sun series since Book 1. I found myself becoming emotional during the scene. Hopefully readers will have the same response upon reading it.
I started this series in the year 2000, so these characters have been with me for 13 years. I know them. I know how they feel, what their goals are, what shaped them in their past. To send one into the garden of the Wind, well it's a sad, sad day. And there are others that will join this dearly departed figure before the story concludes.
I'm sure George R. R. Martin doesn't have this issue. He seems to kill someone every other page, no? He's used to it by now.

I've been reading the Shannara series by Terry Brooks. I had read the original trilogy when I was a teenager, but got sidetracked and didn't continue. Now I'm into the second series of books and enjoying them quite a bit. His descriptions of the Four Lands just makes me wish I could explore the place. I've got many more books until I complete that series. What to read after that? Doctor Sleep by Stephen King? The Recluce Saga by Modessit? The Elric books? Philip K. Dick books? So many choices....

I also need to decide what to write next. I have several stories brewing in the cauldron....A new fantasy novel. A horror novel. A cyberpunk/urban fantasy-type story. And so on and so on.....

Thank you to all of the readers that contact me. I appreciate your support and feedback.


William


Monday, May 21, 2012

For your reading pleasure...

With all of this talk of cover art, I thought I would mention the books that I have written. These are all available on Amazon.com. Click the cover image and you will be taken to the product page. For those who love a great fantasy tale, I give you:

In the Shadow of the Black Sun 
Book One:
A Dream of Storms

Twelve years ago, The Battle of the Black Sun had left Hagan scarred inside. The scent of blood and the incessant ring of steel were etched in his mind. Though his sword had turned the tides, he had sworn off war and become a recluse, retiring to the hills above his hometown of Lauden and turning to drink. He had hoped to be forgotten. The world would not let him forget the oath that he had sworn in his youth, however, and an honorable Stone Troll named Gorin was sent to convince Hagan to honor it. Councilcrane, the ruling body of mages, had summoned him to the city of Harquinn and Hagan knew that the threat of war from across The Edge must have returned.

Gorin brought ill tidings. Autumn had never come to Elfwhere, but the leaves had begun to fall, foretelling the return of the dark lord Mournenhile, thought destroyed all those years ago. Like an ungodly pairing of bat and wolf, Mournenhile's army of Pith have swarmed into the Elven forest bent on their utter destruction.

Reluctantly, Hagan must once more step into the horrors of war and offer his blade to the cause. Joined by his inexperienced younger brother, D'Pharin and a small group of new companions (Vasparian, an Elf that served with Hagan under the Black Sun, Windenn, the Woodwarden and Shindire, the haughty Elf from across The Sleeping Sea) he sets off for the ancient city of Harquinn with a heavy heart.

What will the mages ask of him this time? Memories of atrocities committed in the name of Harquinn flooded back into his mind.

Can he become the hero that he once was, redeeming himself and driving back the horrific creatures within the armies of Mournenhile?

Book Two:
Shards of S'Darin

 Malhain and the forces of Mournenhile now occupy the west's most important stronghold. After narrowly escaping the battle, Davaris, possibly now the last living mage, pulls the others along on a seemingly impossible quest; to gather the remnants of S'Darin's staff, destroyed on the battlefield years ago. The only person that knows the location of S'Darin's staff is a madman, now locked away in Harrow Isle, an island asylum only accessible through Pahn Pirik, the underground kingdom of the Dwarves. The true nature of Shindire's visit to the mainland becomes apparent as they set off on their long journey into the barren south.

The forest of Elfwhere has nearly been destroyed. Vasparian and Gorin return to the forest of the Elves in the hopes of defending its capital and rescuing Vasparian's family. Can the Elves convince the mysterious Addrefae to fight, unleashing their ancient sorcery against their common enemy?

Thousands strong, a shambling column of diseased people travel mindlessly toward the north. What is Trune's role in Mournenhile's evil plan and will the true nature of the plague finally be revealed?

Tales of Embremere:
Book One:
Embremere

The majestic city of Embremere had been built on an immense platform high above the surface of the lake, with the poor and
criminal element creating their own society below it in a world they called The Under. Into this world, Grivvin Lo'Rynin is exiled. He is the last of the Wychan, Embremere's high order of wizards who have, over the generations, lost their power. And now he is an outcast.

As fate would have it, a young girl named Lyrica pulls him from the churning waves that night, saving his life and dragging him along on a dangerous adventure facing whirlpools, dragons and the grey-skinned fish-men called the Cuda, who cruelly rule The Under.

Can Grivvin survive in this strange land long enough to unlock the secrets of Wychan magic and seek revenge on the nobles that branded him useless?

What dark secrets lie at the bottom of Lake Embremere?


Tales of Embremere:
Book Two:
Return to Embremere

 Horrific creatures have begun to appear in The Under. Through the careless use of Wychan magic, Grivvin has unknowingly resurrected long dead monsters lying at the bottom of Lake Embremere. It is soon discovered that only magic can destroy them, physical weapons only stopping them temporarily. Even the vicious Cuda are threatened by the rising terror and through the kidnapping of a friend, force Grivvin to set about ridding The Under of this unholy horde.
Can Grivvin and his new friends find a way to destroy these creatures? Is his growing power strong enough? Will Modmargen, God of the Cuda live up to his end of their bargain?
Join a new cast of young characters in the latest installment in the Tales of Embremere series.


Undergrowth
A horror novella

A madness had hung over the Dinbury house for years. After his father commits suicide in front of him and on a public street, Chet sets about trying to unravel the mystery of his father's insanity. What secrets lie hidden in his father's study, full of odd artifacts and books of ancient lore. What is that sickly sound that he hears in the night and why can't his wife hear it? Are the demons of madness now coming for him?








The sequel to Embremere is in the final stages and will soon be release in paperback and for the Kindle. Then, it's on to the third book of In the Shadow of the Black Sun.


Thank you and happy reading,


William

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

I believe in Magic

In a sense. Not in the sense that I believe one can throw one's hand in the air and conjure fingers of lightning to vanquish one's foes, but in another sense entirely. I believe that words are magic. How else can you explain the wondrous ability for simple black letters on an off-white page to transport you to otherworldly places populated with the most amazing characters that you either love or despise? For a short time, your mind actually suspends its disbelief. For a time, you are there. You can hear the wind in the trees of Elfwhere, feel the soft earth under your feet as you pass beneath the great, twisting branches. You can actually feel the tremendous heat in the underground passages that lead to Harrow Isle as you travel with a group of Dwarves from the kingdom of Pahn Pirik.
Mike Haufe
For a time, the characters are alive. They become your companions as you join them on their quest or stand by their side in battle. Your mind assigns each character its own individual voice, because you want them to be alive. Can you hear the rough, gravelly voice of Gorin, the Stone Troll. I know you can. Can you hear the unnatural hiss of Mournenhile's servants, the Inquitis? It sends shivers up your spine, doesn't it?
I call that magic, my friends. For these are simple pieces of paper with letters on them. Put the letters, words, sentences and paragraphs in the right order and it's the same as that lightning spell that I spoke of. Great books create a new reality in your mind. The characters feel as if they belong to you and in a sense, they do.

Could anything be more magical?

William

A Dream of Storms available on Amazon for the Kindle or in paperback.