Mournenhile book now live at Amazon!

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

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

Shadewraiths...

Hey everyone,

Here's a bit of news for you. I am currently finishing up the cover artwork for my short story Shadewraiths over Pandaria. This story was originally published in the Skulldust Circle anthology book called A Gathering of Dust. Now it will be available on its own. The tale takes place roughly 40 years before Book 1 of In the Shadow of the Black Sun. Within this story we discover the truth behind the character Trune. Were all of his wild claims lies? Most think of him as the town drunk. Was that always the case? You'll never know unless you read it.

I highly recommend that you read A Dream of Storms before delving into Shadewraiths. The settings and circumstances of the story are developed within A Dream of Storms and many of the characters/places that are referred to assume that you have encountered them before. Most of all, I hope you enjoy this peek into the past and how I have fleshed out Trune's history. 

In regards to Book 3 of In the Shadow of the Black Sun (currently entitled Mournenhile), I have written 176 pages of the novel and it's moving along nicely. I can't really say how soon I will finish or how long the actual book will be, but it very well may complete the series. We shall see if  I can get everything in there that I want. 

If not......

Walk with the Wind,

William

An excerpt: In the Shadow of the Black Sun, Book 3

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For nearly three hours they descended. The touch of the ice tore the flesh from their feet on occasion, leaving smeared crimson prints behind them.

They felt nothing.

The chattering of unseen things sounded out around them, hiding in the dark recesses of the pit, watching the newcomers as they entered their world. The call of their father was so strong here in his home that it blinded their senses, pulled them along like a river's current.

At long last, the crystalline stairway came to an end, a wide translucent floor spreading out in all directions. The light from far above cast a circular shape at its center and at its edge the darkness began to deepen. All was silent, only the whistling of the frigid wind reaching them this far into the earth.

The boy hesitated, his eyes full of uncertainty as he studied the black areas around them. His sister grabbed his hand and moved ahead, skipping out of the light and sinking into the thick shadow. Their eyes adjusted immediately, an apparent gift from their father and all was clear to them. The way ahead led through countless pillars of ice, formed when the waterfalls had frozen. The bones and skulls of beast and man were embedded inside, their shapes distorted by the nature of their tomb.

Among these tall columns, thin figures stood watching, pale and fleshy wings hanging from their shoulders like a cloak of dead skin. There was death here. The smell of it filled the air like a long-slaughtered army of thousands. They soon noticed the shapes of unrecognizable things entombed within the walls of the place, mythic creatures only spoken of in fictional tales. They were preserved perfectly behind the transparent surface.

"Almost there," the girl encouraged, leading her brother down a narrow side passage. "Father is very close."

They passed scores of the Inquitis, the hissing breath of which emanated through the corridors. Their cancerous flesh was as grey-blue as the sky outside, yet the cold seemed to have no effect on them much like the siblings. Vaporous clouds hovered about their skeletal faces for, unlike the children, they breathed. Mournenhile had imbued them with the spark of life or a semblance of such.

The odor of decay grew much stronger and ahead they could see that the corridor opened up into an immense chamber. Then, the screams reached them, faint at first, thousands of voices shouting in agony. They glanced at one another, puzzled. The girl shrugged with an evil grin and pulled him along with a tug.

When they reached the end of the corridor, the floor dropped off and the roof rose to dizzying heights. At the edge, they carefully peered over, the overpowering smell and cacophonous noise sending them back a step. Far below, in the dim light, countless naked bodies thrashed, struggling to stay afloat in an icy underground sea of slush. Even from afar, it was apparent that they had been returned from death's veil, skin hanging like paper upon their bones. Sightless eyes looked to the ceiling of the chamber as they climbed upon each other in a futile attempt to escape the biting water.

They pulled and scratched with nails long rotten, intertwined hopelessly in a mass of broken limbs and ruptured organs.

Kripplemourn, the keep of their father, melted from below.

Thank you for stopping by,

William

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.

New fantasy novel

Time to write a new post!

How is everyone? March has proven to be the bestselling month for me since I started publishing my work. Thank you all for your support. I'm still a long way from where I would like to be. I'm still searching for better ways to reach readers. Twitter seams to be working out alright, I suppose, but I find that most of my followers are fellow writers. Nothing wrong with that, but I find that other writers will most likely not buy my books. Some will, don't get me wrong, but I need to connect with readers of my genres. Any ideas?

"Defiance" by William Kenney

I've been doing art for a few book covers as well. One for a collection of dark poetry by a friend and fellow writer named Stefain. I can't show the cover until he approves it, but it fits his stuff pretty well, I think. I'm also trying to put together the cover for the horror novel that David Woods and I are writing.

At this point, I am 28,000 words into a new fantasy novel. No, it is not part 3 of In the Shadow of the Black Sun. I felt that I needed to take a break from the story and work on something different. An epic fantasy series takes a lot of concentration, keeping your facts straight and avoiding contradiction. Don't worry, fans. The story will return with Book 3: Mournenhile. It's already bubbling and frothing in my brain.

This new book seems geared toward Young Adult readers, although that was not my original intent. It just came out that way.

In early posts, I put up some of my poetry/song lyrics. Should I continue to do so? Is that of interest to any of you?

Well, I appreciate all of you and thank you for stopping by my tiny corner of the internet.


William

The Horror on the Horizon

So, as you know, I am currently working on the follow-up to A Dream of Storms. Shards of S'Darin continues the story of Hagan, Vasparian, Gorin and the others and their efforts to stop the armies of Mournenhile. What will it take to defeat the dark lord? The Pith, the foul creatures brought into existence by Mournenhile, are destroying everything in their path.  New characters and places. More glimpses into the history of these characters. I wish I could publish it right now, but it's not even half complete.
What you may not know is that I am collaborating on a horror novel as well. A friend, David Woods (follow him on Twitter, if you like) and I are currently outlining the story, creating characters and their names, locations and events. I've always loved horror and have always wanted to try my hand at it. We'll see how well the story works once we're finished. I love it so far.
One thing that I hate about writing is that you can write for hours and only have 3 more pages. They keys are clacking away, non-stop. You look at the clock. You look at your page count. Huh? Oh well, every page counts. A few pages a day adds up to a finished story.
I truly hope that all of you out there that have read A Dream of Storms have enjoyed the characters (good and evil) and the plot. It only gets better from here on out. These characters belong to you now as well and I do feel a responsibility to treat them with respect. If you haven't left a review for the book, please do. It will help convince others to try it. Many thanks to those that have gone out of their way to contact me and send me their compliments. I appreciate it.
Until next time.

Walk with the Wind

William