SONG OF THE ADOËL

March 15, 2024

SONG OF THE ADOËL

Kevin King

GENRE: YA Fantasy Adventure

Raendel is one of the Adoël, the cursed people. Passed on to each generation, the curse drains his body of color, leaving his skin and hair a ghostly white. To protect himself from the commoners who fear what they don't understand, all of the Adoël live as servants to the royal family, using their unique skill with illusion magic to entertain bored nobility. Raendel is bound by traditions, but also by his own lack of self-confidence. Prince Kenan is the younger of two princes, frustrated by his gilded cage and the combat tutoring that feels pointless in a secure and peaceful kingdom. He dreams of adventure, of making a name for himself with heroic deeds. An unexpected assault from an ancient enemy sets the two on a quest that begins as pursuit of vengeance, but soon leads them into a struggle for survival that will teach them both that they are small pieces of a long, dark history. But even the smallest actions can change the fate of a kingdom.

Enjoy an Excerpt:

Kenan shifted his energy, a little for speed and a little for strength. He rolled just far enough to get clear of Peristra and his blankets, jumped to his feet and sprinted headlong into the approaching figure. He ran at an angle across the clearing to get between the stranger and Timothy, who had wakened but still fought to get free of his bedding.

Kenan grabbed the man’s knife hand and twisted. His extra strength had no effect. A normal man would either have dropped the knife and fallen back or suffered a broken arm. The knife arm barely turned at all, and the man didn’t stop moving forward in his vacant-eyed march toward Timothy.

More strength, Kenan thought. The Art would allow that. But at what cost? He would either have to give up his speed or drain his mental energy, and there wasn’t time to think about the utter exhaustion that would result. He had to act now.

Again, Master Jabal’s training saved him. He left one small part of his brain to handle automatic bodily functions and focused the rest of his energy into strength. At last, the attacker responded, turning the knife toward Kenan and grabbing at him with his free arm. Kenan’s arms flexed and stopped the knife inches from impact with his chest.

About the Author:

Kevin works as a software developer in the Seattle area by day, and an author by night. He enjoys Renaissance Fairs, bookstores, fencing, and daydreaming. He has been reading fantasy from age six, and writing from age twenty-two. He loves exploring fantasy worlds, especially exploring human nature through fiction. Fantasy is his first love, but he also dabbles in sci-fi, creepy horror, and devastatingly sad dramas. He posts regular flash fiction stories to his Instagram account and website.

Q&A With the Author:

What was your inspiration for writing this book?
My inspiration for writing this book started with a love of stories. My mother read to me as a child, since before I could even understand what she was reading. Listening to her read while looking at the words on the page, I figured out how to read before I started school. Growing up, reading was my favorite pastime. Every moment I could get alone I would have my head in a book. In the rare cases when I had free time but no book, I started making up my own stories. One day I had an idea that grew into a story that I fell in love with, and I had to write it. So I did.

What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I enjoyed seeing my characters come to life. I started with plot ideas, and my characters grew along the way. It was so fun watching them develop into distinct and interesting people. And of course, when writing the story, I saw so much more of it in my head than ever made it into the text. I know the world, and the characters, better than anyone else ever could.

Do you have any other books you are working on that you can tell us about?
I have an Anthology of flash fiction (stories under a thousand words) that is set to come out in May. I’m releasing it only as an eBook, at a great price, partly because all my flash fiction has already been put on my Instagram and my website for free, so nobody should have to pay much for a collection of it. And partly because I just want to share my stories with as many people as possible.
I’m also just getting started on another novel, set in a completely different world with no magic in it (not yet, anyway. I am just barely getting started on it.) It’s a dual POV where one main character is an assassin who works as the Court Apothecary making antidotes to save nobles who have been poisoned (unless he did it himself, and then he tragically arrives too late to save them.) The other is a young woman who becomes his apprentice Apothecary, but she soon discovers his secret assassin work, and wants to learn that too. But she falls in love with her first target, and things get … complicated.

Can you tell us about what you have planned for the future?
You never know how what will happen in the future. I figure I’ll keep working my current job as long as I need to, and I’ll keep writing when I can. I’d like to sell a million books, or make a million in stocks, but until that happens I’ll just go on doing what I can each day.

Anything more you would like to say to your readers and fans?
Check out my flash fiction. You can read it free on my website (or on Insta, but there you have to scroll to find it and there are some typos that I can’t correct.)
Whenever you read something and enjoy it, leave a like, a comment, a follow, or a review. It will make the author smile – and that’s motivation to keep on writing.