THE WELL OF SECRETS - available now on Amazon Kindle!

THE WELL OF SECRETS is now available (in Kindle format) on Amazon. I am currently in the process of formatting the paperback version, which should be available in a couple of days.

THE WELL OF SECRETS marks the end of a seven year journey, as it completes the Palâdnith Chronicles - an epic fantasy trilogy about three brothers and the destiny that binds them.

I began this the first draft of what would eventually become the first two books of the series, during 2009, and finished the first draft a year later. That story was huge, and so I split it into two novels, and fleshed out the plot to create JOURNEY OF SHADOWS and THE CITADEL OF LIES. If the end of JOURNEY OF SHADOWS appears a bit of a cliff-hanger, that’s why – it was initially part one of a much bigger book!

THE WELL OF SECRETS was the hardest of the three novels to write. There were so many subplots to bring together, so many loose ends to tie up. As I began the draft of the third part of the series, I also began writing a bit of backstory. This eventually became a tale in its own right and in 2014 I published DEEP-SPIRE, the prequel novella to the series. 

DEEP-SPIRE takes place forty years before Seth, Eni and Val’s adventures, and tells the story of their mother Belythna. Writing DEEP-SPIRE was a bit of a detour, and slowed down the writing and publication of THE WELL OF SECRETS – however, I think the series is better for it.

So, seven years after I started work on JOURNEY OF SHADOWS, my own journey is now complete. It has been sad saying goodbye to the characters and world I have grown to love, but at the same time I’m looking forward to embarking on new adventures. 

What's this novel about?

The last chapter in an epic fantasy adventure begins… 

The Well of Secrets (Book Three of the Palâdnith Chronicles) is a tale of adventure, discovery, fear and courage. It's the story of three men, and the legacy that binds them. 

Seth, Eni and Val Falkyn stand at a crossroads. The Citadel of Lies now lies behind them and the Collar of Jade is lost. 

Floriana DeSanith convinces the brothers that in order to gain the skills they need to rescue their mother from Moden, they must first become Sentorân. Reluctantly, the brothers return home to Barrowthorne, to begin their training – a decision that they eventually come to regret. 

Meanwhile, an ambitious young realmlord travels to Deep-Spire with hopes of power and glory. At the same time, Edessa Delfen – who has escaped the Malwagen – begins a hunt for the man she deems responsible for the death of her lover: Seth Falkyn. 

When a new discovery comes to light, the brothers’ focus changes once more. Instead of continuing their training, they set of on another quest – this time in search of the mythical 'Well of Secrets'. 

However, there is far more at stake than the brothers realise… 

The first two installments of the Palâdnith Chronicles are both available on Amazon (Kindle and paperback editions). 

Journey of Shadows (Book One of the Palâdnith Chronicles) 
The Citadel of Lies (Book Two of the Palâdnith Chronicles) 

Excerpt from JOURNEY OF SHADOWS - countdown to the launch of The Palâdnith Chronicles Book #3

THE WELL OF SECRETS is just a couple of days away from having its publication date announced!

To kick-off the upcoming launch of Book #3 of the Palâdnith Chronicles, here's an excerpt from Book #1 in the series: JOURNEY OF SHADOWS. There will also be both a Goodreads Giveaway, and an Amazon promotion coming up for Book #1 - so keep an eye out on this blog for updates.

The following scene is from Chapter Four of JOURNEY OF SHADOWS when Seth Falkyn realises that his life is about to change...

***

They were still two hours from Weatherbay when the light faded completely.

Garth lit the lanterns and hung two on the carriage while Darin, who led the group, carried one aloft. It was the first clear night in weeks and the air was crisp and rich with the scent of wet earth and leaves. The stars sparkled overhead and a crescent moon rose into the inky sky. The temperature dropped sharply and the breaths of man and beast alike steamed in the chilled air.

At the rear of the group, Seth’s stomach rumbled. His back ached from the cold and he longed for a plate of hot food and a steaming bath. Home was another couple of hours away and they would all be exhausted by the time they reached Weatherbay.

They had reached the top of the last rise before the long incline towards the Wuthering River Valley. The shadows of trees rose up either side of the highway. A few feet from the lanterns’ glow, darkness swallowed the world.

It was at that moment that Seth felt a chill feather across the back of his neck. He twisted in the saddle and peered back into the dark. Had he heard something? The blackness was unfathomable, and Seth could see nothing beyond the glow of the carriage’s lanterns. He strained his ears, listening, but only silence greeted him. 

It’s just the darkness, he told himself, there’s no one out there.

Still, the sensation caused Seth to quit ruminating about his empty stomach and aching back. The marshal had hired the three of them to protect him, and if there were outlaws or undesirables lurking in the darkness, Seth’s job was to keep his master safe.

They rode on a little further and Seth scanned the roadside carefully, his eyes straining to make out his surroundings. He was just beginning to relax, and to think that fatigue had caused his mind to play tricks on him when the sensation – a cold whisper – breathed down his nape and once more caused the hair on the back of his neck to prickle. This time, Seth did not dismiss it. His heart quickened and his skin broke out in a cold sweat. Seth’s instincts were now razor-sharp.

Something was wrong.

Seth cursed the marshal’s decision to leave Dunethport so late in the day. There could be half a dozen men out there in the trees, watching them, and he, Darin and Kal would have no idea. Osforth’s stubbornness had put them all in danger.

Seth’s body tensed and his horse sidestepped in response. Within him, from a place he had never before known existed, a warning screamed.

Run now!

That was all it took. As a soldier, he knew that if he did not heed instinct, he was a fool. Seth drew his sword and dug his heels into his horse’s flanks. Then he shouted.

“Bandits!”

It was the one word sure to elicit the same response from the others. The forests in the Realm of Omagen were rife with outlaws. It was for this reason the marshal took his tower guards with him when he left home, for no rich man travelled alone in these parts. Seth heard his master’s shout from inside the carriage.

“Ride!” the marshal screamed, “ride!”

Garth shouted, lashed his whip, and the two horses pulling the carriage bolted into the darkness. Kal and Darin took off ahead of him with Seth bringing up the rear.

A scream split the night behind them. Fear clamped down on Seth’s ribcage at the chilling sound. He had never heard a man scream like that – the sound was enraged, feral.

***

Want to read more?

Download the Kindle edition of JOURNEY OF SHADOWS for US$2.99 from Amazon!

Another World

In memory of Terry Pratchett, Inkitt are running a contest, in which fantasy writers can showcase the fantasy world of their stories. I'm introducing readers to the world of Palâdnith.

Here's what the contest is about:

"Echo of another world." In honor of the stupendous Terry Pratchett and his classic Discworld novels, we’re asking writers to take us to different worlds with their stories. Pratchett inspired billions of genre writers to expand their minds and their imaginations, and with this contest we’ll be carrying on this tradition.

Fiction in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, up to 15,000 words. Novel excerpts are encourage; fanfiction is not eligible to win. Entry is free! Authors will collect community votes, and the first, second, and third winners will be chosen by the Inkitt staff from the top 10% of entries.

Read the first two chapters of Journey of Shadows on Inkitt - and, if you love the world of Palâdnith, please vote - click the heart to help me win this contest!

Read about Journey of Shadows on Amazon.

  _________________________________

Sign up to Sam's monthly newsletter and receive a FREE copy of DEEP-SPIRE (PDF format). Newsletter subscribers will also get sneak previews of upcoming novels, behind the scenes 'extras', epic fantasy book reviews & recommendations, and podcasts from Sam!

Email Address

____________________________________

DEEP-SPIRE is about to launch...

After months of hard work, DEEP-SPIRE (the prequel novella to the Palâdnith Chronicles) is very close to publication! For those of you who have been awaiting its release, here is the Prologue from the novella. Watch this space for more details on when DEEP-SPIRE will be available on Amazon.

“Only the dead have seen the end of war.”

― Plato

We guide the hearts, heads and hands of those who rule, but do not covet such power for ourselves.

― Sentorân creed

Prologue

A Mid-winter’s Dawn

Deep-Spire, Central Omagen

It was a bleak day to die.

The cold air bit hard against skin and penetrated deep into the bone, even through layers of clothing. A freezing mist hung over the land and the stillness, except for the lonely cry of a raven, was absolute.

Belythna Arran watched her breath billow like steam as she exhaled. Then, she cast one last glance back at Deep-Spire, shadowed in mist. Two delicate, notched spires outlined against the grey sky, appeared like twin mountain peaks, one dwarfing the other, framed by the skeleton limbs of black trees.

My home. My prison.

She turned away from the fortress and focused her attention on those surrounding her – one hundred and fifty men and women dressed in black: black tunics, leggings, calf-length leather boots, and thick hooded cloaks. The only splashes of colour were the gold circlets about their necks. Around their waists, some of her companions carried swords. Belythna was not one of them – her skills lay elsewhere.

At the back of the group trailed a band of around twenty figures cloaked in grey. These were the apprentices; the youngest was barely thirteen years old. The apprentices should have been spared. It pained Belythna to see the terror on their faces; the same fear she felt but hid from sight. It would have been better to have sent them away, to have kept them safe – but Lady Serina would not have it.

Belythna’s gaze travelled to where their leader stood at the front of the group. Lady Serina stood ramrod straight, her gaze scanning the mist before them, her strong face impassive. She was waiting – they all were.

Where were they?

They would come. Belythna had no doubt of that. They would have seen the Sentorân empty out of Deep-Spire, ready to do battle. Riadamor was just biding her time.

Belythna inhaled deeply and tried to calm her roiling stomach. This felt wrong, all of it; her palms were slippery and she felt nauseous.

Still, the enemy did not emerge from the mist. The Sentorân waited with the silence of a mid-winter’s morning echoing around them. Winter was cold here, in the depths of Central Omagen, far from the mild coast. The land had gone into hibernation. Belythna’s fingers were turning numb and her feet ached from the chill. She stamped them in an effort to restore the circulation. If Riadamor did not make an appearance soon they would all be too stiff to move.

Belythna glanced once more at Lady Serina, searching for any sign that their leader was losing her nerve. The woman’s face had gone hard. She had grown so still that Belythna could barely notice the rise and fall of her chest. She was summoning her powers, and Belythna looked away, knowing she should do the same.

She closed her eyes and struggled to slow down her breathing. It was an effort to clear her mind and summon her flame – a slender column of silver – that would calm her thoughts and channel her talent. Her thoughts tangled themselves in knots and she struggled to unravel them.

It took brute-force, but, eventually, Belythna managed to reach the place where nothing in the world existing but the flickering flame before her. For what was to come she would need to reach deep. Using her abilities in this way would hurt; it would rub her soul raw.

The flame guttered, threatening to go out as Belythna’s fear resurfaced.

This is wrong – it can only end badly.

Beside her, she heard a hiss from Serina – a warning. When Belythna tore her attention back to the swirling mist before them, she realised why.

The Esquill approached; shadowy figures gliding towards the waiting Sentorân.

Belythna watched them draw near. They were many; at least three times the Sentorân’s number. How had Riadamor managed to find and train so many sorcerers so quickly? No wonder they had begun to make their presence felt all over the five realms. In just a few years, Riadamor had worked the impossible. She was more powerful than any of them. They had all underestimated her from the beginning.

Now it had come to this – two armies of sorcerers facing each other across a misty field on a mid-winter’s morning.

One of the figures stepped forward from the ranks. She was dressed in grey; a tall, slim woman with a plain face and lank blonde hair.

Belythna’s gaze fixed upon the woman’s face. She had not seen Riadamor in seven years, and life in the interim had not been kind to her. Gathering and training her followers had drained her. She looked older than her thirty years; her face was haggard and pale. Yet her eyes, dark pools, were luminous and ageless. This was not the Riadamor she had known at Deep-Spire. Before her stood a stranger, a terrifying one.

Were we ever friends?

Seeing Riadamor’s face once more brought it all back – all the memories of the last seventeen years. They had arrived at Deep-Spire within three days of each other. They had both been thirteen winters old and eager to learn. Both girls had been desperate to cast off their old identities and assume new ones. However, Riadamor had gone further than Belythna – further than any of them.

Belythna remembered the day she had witnessed another side to her friend. It was a day as searing hot, as this one was bone-numbingly cold.

Looking back, the events of that day had been a clear sign of what was to come.

But, who was to know? Her gaze never left Riadamor’s face. We are only wise in hindsight – even if it means the ruin of us all.