In a realm ravaged by war, The Brotherhood of Shadow and The Children of Light will stop at nothing to destroy each other.
The warrior known as Chaos fights in the name of honor and glory. Arrogant and headstrong, he considers himself the strongest in the land, until fate puts him at the mercy of the demon Anathema.
The two strike up an intense rivalry, but their obsession to defeat one another only leads them closer together.
When the forces of Light and Darkness collide, where will their loyalties lie?
★★★★★ – “Outstanding. Strongly recommended to anyone who likes young adult fantasy.”
★★★★★ – “A unique and different approach to the old themes of angels and demons.”
★★★★★ – “Amazing and entertaining, this book explores many themes and delves deep into the question of what is right.”
★★★★★ – “I was captivated as the story unfolded. Battles, adventures and feelings of being an outcast intermingled with love and affection. A must-read for fantasy fans.”
★★★★★ – “A heartrending tale of brutality, love, compassion and destiny.”
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.
The beginning of a fantasy epic. Learn where it all began in this prequel novella from The Light and Shadow Chronicles.
★★★★★ –WOW! Read the whole book in one sitting. Just couldn’t put it down. Would love to know how you manage to keep coming up with these terrific books. Personally I think this is the best one yet – Anne Harris, Avid Reader
Fantasy novella Origin of Shadow by D.M. Cain is FREE for four days, starting today!
The voice broke into his thoughts, everywhere and nowhere at once, deafening, yet somehow a whisper. “Are you ready to learn the truth?”
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 knew nothing about, is he really up to the challenge?
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.
Origin of Shadow is the latest installment of the Light and Shadow Chronicles – an epic fantasy series by D.M. Cain. This novella details the beginnings of Vincent Wilder and the nefarious Brotherhood of Shadow.
Vincent and his cronies start off in a Mafia-esque crime syndicate. Take a look at this visual map of the Wilders’ power structure:
Origin of Shadow by D.M. Cain
The voice broke into his thoughts, everywhere and nowhere at once, deafening, yet somehow a whisper. “Are you ready to learn the truth?”
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 knew nothing about, is he really up to the challenge?
Praise:
★★★★★ – “I have not seen this type of book writing before, and it looks very promising. I found it very interesting and cannot wait for more.”
★★★★★ – “A gripping and intriguing short story, and a great introduction to this series.”
My latest book to be released, Origin of Shadow, is a dark exploration into madness, destiny, honour and brutality. Follow Vincent Wilder’s descent into the murky recesses of ultimate power in this new novella from The Light and Shadow Chronicles.
Not sure if it’s your thing? Get Chapters 1 & 2 of Origin of Shadow for FREE here and take a look. If you love it, great! If you don’t, no harm done.
As part of the research and planning for Origin of Shadow, I had to get into the head of main character and anti-hero Vincent Wilder. It was fun to give him quirks, neuroses and talents. As an inside peek, here is the first ever mind map I doodled when I was getting to know the man himself:
As part of the lead up to the release of Origin of Shadow, I will be putting together a video interview, in which I will answer fan questions about the book, the series, myself as an author, or even what my favourite flavour of ice cream is. The beauty is, the questions come from YOU. So, please comment on this page, or send me an email to dmcain84@gmail.com with your questions. Thank you!
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):
“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.
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).
Not much time for sitting down with a book? Why not let somebody else read to you while you drive, cook dinner, or walk the dog? I am delighted to announce that my epic fantasy novella, Genesis of Light, is now available as an audiobook. It can be purchased via Audible, Amazon and iTunes.
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.
The beginning of a fantasy epic. Learn where it all began in this prequel novella from The Light and Shadow Chronicles.
In a world ravaged by war, the paths of two warriors are about to cross with world-shattering consequences.
Chaos is a soldier of The Children of the Light, and fights in the name of destiny, honor and glory. Arrogant and headstrong, he believes he is the strongest warrior in the land, until a fateful coincidence puts him at the mercy of the demon Anathema.
The two strike up an intense rivalry, but their obsession to destroy one another only leads them closer together. When the forces of light and dark collide, where will their loyalties lie?
