Posted By David Shepherd on December 31, 2013
Well, we didn’t quite make it in time to fill your Christmas stocking, but a fine wind prevailing, book three of the Song of the Elves should be sailing towards your kindle early in 2014. I hope you will think it worth the wait. I am very proud of Book 3, which completes the first cycle of the SOTE saga. There will be a time shift of a few years between the action that closes in Book 3 and the opening scens of Book 4, The Lost, the Lonely and the Damned. I will begin work on this book in the spring.
Currently I am putting the finishing touches to The Wolves of Winter, set in the same world as SOTE, but in a time before the elves invaded Rhoderica. Three tales of the legendary Wolves are bound together and told as a narrative to young Thomas by his enigmatic grandfather Mallakai. At the end of the third tale, Thomas will be forced embrace his own destiny, one that will tear his family apart and reveal some of the mysteries found in Song of the Elves.
Before the year slips away, I must make mention of a project by my cousin, Chris Bailey – he plays rhythm guitar and performs lead vocals with Field Studies, an alternative rock band who have been working on their own original material since 2012. They have just released their debut EP Celestial, out now from i-tunes. If you like your rock atmospheric with guitars that float and soar, overlaid with the wind-blown vocals of Chris, then check this out. Highly recommended. Good luck for 2014, lads. I’m a convert!
Finally, thank you for all who have visited this website and who have shown belief in this project in 2013. Its been a slow year of activity, but with upgrades of Books 1 & 2, the release of Book 3 and the debut of Wolves on Winter all to come, 2014 is set to be our biggest year yet.
Up the elves!
Peace and Love.
Shep x
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Posted By David Shepherd on November 25, 2013
Sins of the Father
Book Three of Song of the Elves
Coming this Christmas to a Kindle near you!
‘Nuff said!
Hold your list to Santa there’s a vital addition you need to make.
Sins of the Father, Book Three of Song of the Elves will be released in good time to fill your Christmas Stocking.
More details to follow soon…
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Posted By David Shepherd on August 27, 2013
There is something magical about the narrow plain that rests between Snowdonia’s soaring peaks and the freezing waters of the Irish Sea. Morfa Bychan has a beach known as Black Rock Sands, which stretches for two miles from the eastern end of the Ynys Cyngar on the River Glaslyn estuary along Tremadog Bay to Criccieth beach. Its a place where dragons could sleep, longships could beach and warriors stalk over the undulating dunes.
In reality, this bay has also seen much war – Harlech Castle stands dominant across the bay, a reminder of English subjugation of the Welsh. To the West, a defiant riposte in the shape of the castle ruins at Criccieth is a reminder of welsh defiance. To this place I have returned for the last four years, and again this summer I came away with my mind brimming with possibilities, a dozen scenarios imagined for my forthcoming volumes of Song of the Elves.
I also had time to pen a couple of chapters of my side project – To the Ends of the Earth – a fantasy adventure inspired by the John Ford/John Wayne western, The Searchers. I will reveal more of the plot in coming weeks.
Until next time, up the elves!
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Posted By David Shepherd on July 31, 2013
An hours slog up the eastern fells from Patterdale, the determined walker is rewarded with the alluring sight of Angle Tarn. This remote lake, hardly a secret as it is much loved with Lakeland walkers, nevertheless evokes all the mystique and magical calm that make it the perfect inspiration for Winart Castle, a key location in Book 4 of the Song of the Elves.
Walking up from the shores of Ullswater, the majesty of the secluded lake had not diminished from my first memories of it. I have to mention here my co-walkers, my beloved fellows of the Narlas Cipple Walking Club (NCWC). Ascending in baking heat, picnicking in idyllic English summer conditions and bathing aching toes in the icy waters were a sideshow to the ideas leaping around in my head.
In my book, Winart Castle resides on an island much larger than Angle Tarn’s biggest outcrop, in a lake that is a far greater body of water than its Lakeland inspiration. Yet the essence of the location is the same. Catch Angle Tarn wreathed in low cloud and you get a glimpse of the ancient castle of the Northwatch, wreathed in a mist hiding hideous monsters.
My annual NCWC visit to the lake brought more than just inspiring locations. The camaraderie amongst the team, the dinner-time banter, the collegiate encouragement on the steepest slopes, the sense of fun and belonging – they all fed into a wonderful melting pot of creativity. I have to salute the team of NCWC 15 as one of the greatest yet. Here’s to many more such trips, chaps! I only hope I can do our memories proud in the forthcoming The Lost, the Lonely and the Damned.
Up the Elves!
Shep x
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Posted By David Shepherd on July 14, 2013
Summer’s here – at least for a few days – and as the action works its way towards its climax in Wolves of Winter III, Torbad is about to enter the were-wood in search of an answer to who is trying to assassinate the king. He will need all of his guile and fighting skills to come out of this one unscathed – mentally and physically!
Were-woods have an interesting history in mythology – sometimes they are mere enchanted woods to host creatures of faerie; in other examples they are places of dark magic, where the roots of a tree can throttle and maim. In WOW III it is the latter example that will cause Torbad’s nightmares.
Back in the real world I’m still enjoying Sabbath’s 13 – the occasion of its release has caused me to enter into a reflective phase of playing my old LPs of 70s & 80s classic rock. Fave at the moment on Shep’s deck is a classic from the Dio version of Sabbath – Mob Rules. What a corker!
Until next time, up the elves!
Shep x
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Posted By David Shepherd on June 21, 2013
Like many thousands of rock lovers out there, I am currently basking in the glow of the new Black Sabbath long player. LP seems an outdated term for album these days, yet entirely appropriate for the nature of release here. ’13‘ chugs out of the speakers on a veritable river of riffs, Iommi toiling over his strings like a magician weaving a mesmerising spell. Osbourne never sounded so assured, back where he belongs, whilst Butler and Wilks power the engine room with guile, subtlety and a craft that presents a multi layered facet to some awe inspiring songs. I can’t weigh up which track I like the best and it seems churlish to single one out when the whole experience is so sumptuous. A feast for even the weariest of metal-lovers ears, and a confirmation that there is a god after all, even if it is a dark overlord of molten doom. Fantastiche!
Back on planet earth, I’ve been continuing the final tale of the Wolves of Winter. The pack are now separated in their search for the would-be assassin of King Stephen. Torbad heads for the dales, whilst Rulnik and Yanuk chase down leads in the capital. Will they be able to uncover the plot of regicide before the King’s wedding day? All this and more will be answered when The Wolves of Winter hits your kindle later this year.
Up the elves!
Shep
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Posted By David Shepherd on May 30, 2013
Its true – I’ve fallen in love with ‘The Dwarves’ – not only the band leading the way in The Hobbit, but Tungdil and his companions from the remarkable series by Markus Heitz. I am just reaching the climax of book 1, a rip-roaring page turner that manages to combine humour with pathos. Markus has created a breed of dwarf fiction distinctive for its cultural depth and inventive study of how the little fellows might actually have lived and died. I heartily recommend this read and I have the next three volumes lined up on my bookshelf to keep me happy through this endless British winter!
Also, who doesn’t love Tyrion, Game of Thrones’ diminutive hero. By far and away he is my favourite character of the series, if not of the fantasy genre ever.
June will see the completion of the third instalment of The Wolves of Winter – a bold statement but an event that needs to happen.
Until next time, up the elves!
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Posted By David Shepherd on May 13, 2013
Not much to report on the writing front this week – my day job has kept the Wolf from the pen, to adapt an old metaphor. Instead I’ve taken comfort in the wealth of creative material emerging from favourite musical influences. Ozzy’s return to Sabbath is well documented, but I didn’t realise Zeppelin sound-a-likes Kingdom Come had emerged from the rock wilderness. I spent many a happy hour at university listening to their first album in particular. On the goth front, the announcement of a new Mission album has rasied the pulse – can’t wait to see them with the Nephilim in December.
My schedule over the summer months is to finalise WOW III andd to promote and push the first three books of Song of the Elves. I will bring you world on the e-release of Sins of the Father as soon as there is something to tell. I have a strong idea on how book 4 begins and I am looking forward to gettibng back to Kirik and Eidur in the autumn.
Until next time, up the elves!
Shep x
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Posted By David Shepherd on May 4, 2013
It could be the fact that out of the sun, the wind bites with bitter intent, or maybe its down to the proliferation of gloom from the doom-sayers that proclaim we will have to get used to English winters that last for 7 months – whatever the root cause, I am definitely in the right mood to accompany Captain Rulnik and his wolves on the final stages of The Wolves Of Winter 3.
In the second half of this third adventure – entitled Kill the King, Rulnik will have to uncover the secrets of a terrible fate for a village beyond the northern hills in order to combat the supernatural forces working to undermine the King in Sunamor.
On a different note, is it just me or are there others of you out there continually frustrated by the lack of recording activity from the Sisters of Mercy. Tantalising glimpses on You Tube of live footage demonstrate a plethora of new material just waiting to be released. Listen to Suzanne and tell me that Eldritch cannot write a killer tune. Come on lads, put us out of our misery and send us another Merciful Release!
Good to hear that the Mission will have a new album in the autumn – can’t wait to see them and the Neph in Leeds in December. Got new releases by The Eden House and NFD on my wish list too.
Until next time, up the elves!
Shep x
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Posted By David Shepherd on April 28, 2013
Those of you familiar with the first two tales of the Wolves, set in the deep heart of Winterland, will know that the various adventures of Captain Rulnik and his band of men are tied together by a more recent narrative. The tales unfold through the voice of Mallakai, who regales his grandson Thomas with legendary tales of daring-do.
Yet Mallakai has a hidden purpose, and at the end of the third tale of the Wolves of Winter it is young Thomas that takes centre stage. His heroic deeds take place in a landscape that will be increasingly important for the fourth instalment of the Song of the Elves, The Lost, The Lonely and the Damned.
On another note, if you grew up listening to 80′s Goth bands like The Sisters of Mercy or Fields of the Nephilim, or indeed The Mission, check out Elusive, a fabulously dark Norwegian outfit, sadly now defunct after the death of their lead singer, who nevertheless produced three sterling albums in the last decade. First of these, Destination Zero – in my view the best album of its sort since the Sisters released First and Last and Always – is a permanent feature in my CD player at the moment.
Up the elves!
Shep
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