Shroud of Darkness has reached number 15 in the top 100 epic fantasy titles on Kobo and number 72 in the fantasy action suspense category! Priced at just £1.94, Shroud of Darkness is the fourth book in the Chronicles of Celadmore series and the first volume of the Shroud of Darkness trilogy.

Evil stirs, and she will answer

In the realm of Celadmore, evil is stirring. The war torn land has not recovered from the last conflict as evil rises and threatens to ensnare the world of light. Venetia, favourite daughter of Queen Annalia, must fight enemies and allies alike. She must uncover truth amidst deception to discover the source of this new threat to her world before the darkness engulfs it. 

Four years after the Dragonian Wars raged across the realm of Celadmore, leaving it ravaged and ruined; Venetia, Queen of one of the five Anaguran tribes has seen evil lurking once more. She led the Allied Spirit of Celadmore to victory against the tyrant, Dragonious, but the world has changed. Politics, deception and mistrust have separated the old alliances so now each nation stands alone. It is up to Venetia to unite not only the five tribes of Anagura, but all the peoples of Celadmore to fight against an unseen enemy that threatens to destroy the peace that she has fought so hard to achieve.

Shroud of Darkness follows the exploits of Venetia, Queen of one of the five tribes of Anagura and her quest to uncover the truth about what is happening to her beloved homeworld. Author C.S. Woolley was interviewed about Shroud of Darkness last year by Write a Revolution. You can read the full interview here, though we have included some extracts from it below.

Shroud of Darkness is a single installment from The Chronicles of Celadmore series. Can you tell us a bit more about the series and how Shroud fits in to it?

I started writing the Chronicles of Celadmore when I was about 12 and it has changed somewhat since then but one of the biggest changes that has come over the years is the scale of the world. The Chronicles of Celadmore follows lots of different races of people from the realm but they aren’t elves, dwarves or other fantastical beings, they are just different humans. Shroud of Darkness is the fourth book in the series that sees the start of the story arc that follows the Queen of the Order, Venetia Silvermoore. Though it is the fourth book in the series, it is the first one I wrote.

The story draws us into a world of myth and fantasy, where the balance between darkness and light is at stake and wars rage. The fantastic imagery you invoke with your writing is reminiscent of such tales as the Hobbit, Narnia and even elements of Game of Thrones. Which stories or writers helped inspire you to create such a remarkably vivid world?

I’ve not actually read the Game of Thrones books, but the Narnia books growing up were one of my favourite things to read as was the Hobbit. I have been influenced quite a bit by Tolkien and Lewis but also by the work of Raymond E. Feist, though that has been much more recent. I also have been heavily impacted by Wind in the Willows and the Swallows and Amazons series, I love the way that small events have huge impact in those books, and how in some of Arthur Ransome books you find that by the end, adventures you think have actually happened have just been stories being told. I love it when authors can lead you in the direction they want you to go and then are able to twist it on you in ways you didn’t see coming.

Where did the inspiration to create your lead character Venetia come from? Does she perhaps possess elements of your own personality?

Interestingly Venetia isn’t really very similar to me in personality; the character Cassandra is much closer to me. She was actually inspired by Arwen in Lord of the Rings, or rather the very small scene in the film, the Fellowship of the Ring, where Liv Tyler challenges the Ringwraiths to take Frodo from her. Before that Venetia was very much a passive character with the male characters having a much stronger presence.

Shroud of Darkness is available from a variety of online retailers as well as local bookstores. For more details about where you can purchase a copy visit the Shroud of Darkness site page.

But not to be out done by the novel that started it all, Lady of Fire and the recently released, End of Days are not far behind Shroud of Darkness, sharing number 28 on the epic fantasy best seller’s chart on kobo.

Traitors must be found, the world must be saved.

United they must stand for destruction is upon them. The realm of Celadmore faces it’s destruction as a war that none perceived is brought against them. Venetia, Queen of the Order of Anagura and Queteria, must forge a new alliance between the nations of Celadmore against the evil that Aksoth, Lord of Nether Roth, is set to unleash. The Allied Spirit of Celadmore must be raised and march once more

Venetia, Queen of Dark Fire, so sure of her victory in war may now suffer a defeat that will destroy her home realm of Celadmore. The dark forces are gathering, their mastermind, Aksoth, has revealed himself. No Oracle predicted his coming, no warrior was prepared. Venetia must gather her companions and ally the divided nations of the realm of light or face it’s utter destruction.

 Mistrust runs like a fever through the city.

The end is here. Aksoth’s forces roam unchecked across the plains of Celadmore; the people of Celadmore have been forced to retreat to the fallen city of Grashindorph.

Within the city there is trouble. Leaders of each of the countries of Celadmore seek to control the city.

Mistrust runs like a fever through the city. Scheming and corruption distract the people from preparing to stand against Aksoth in one final battle.

Revolution stirs amongst the poorest of the people; Venetia seeks to restore Gruagadon to his rightful place on the throne of Nesca and will sacrifice anything to get him there. In this final bastion, they must find victory.

Harmony is so far from their grasp that the thought of victory fades as forces, beyond the control of any mortal, clash and the future of Celadmore is decided.

In this final bastion, they must find victory or Aksoth will purge the realm of light of all life.

Shroud of Darkness, Lady of Fire and End of Days are all available from Kobo priced at between £1.91 and £1.94. If you don’t have a kobo e-reader, you can download the kobo reading app for free on Andriod and iOS devices.