Blog Tour: SONG OF THE ADOËL by Kevin King
SONG OF THE ADOËL
Kevin King
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GENRE: YA Fantasy Adventure
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BLURB:
Raendelis one of the Adoël, the cursed people. Passed on to each generation, the cursedrains his body of color, leaving his skin and hair a ghostly white. To protecthimself from the commoners who fear what they don't understand, all of theAdoël live as servants to the royal family, using their unique skill withillusion magic to entertain bored nobility. Raendel is bound by traditions, butalso by his own lack of self-confidence. Prince Kenan is the younger of twoprinces, frustrated by his gilded cage and the combat tutoring that feelspointless in a secure and peaceful kingdom. He dreams of adventure, of making aname for himself with heroic deeds. An unexpected assault from an ancient enemysets the two on a quest that begins as pursuit of vengeance, but soon leadsthem into a struggle for survival that will teach them both that they are smallpieces of a long, dark history. But even the smallest actions can change thefate of a kingdom.
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Excerpt One:
Raendel wovethrough the room with practiced ease, gliding between isolated clumps ofnoblemen scattered across the room, passing the time with idle gossip as theywaited for the guest of honor to arrive. His gaze flicked along the way infront of him, choosing the path that would keep him farthest away from theguests. Most of them wore enough perfume to give him a headache from five yardsaway. The enhanced sense of smell shared by the Adoël only added to Raendel’strepidation. All the nobles stank of pride. The smell of fear drifted inclouds, especially near visitors who had never seen one of the Adoël before.Raendel spent most of his day inside the castle, serving Prince Kenan.
His distinctivefeatures would have drawn stares even without the stories. The name Adoël hadbeen used to frighten children for generations. Mothers would clutch their children as he passed in the street. Don’t gooutside at night or the Adoël will get you. Don’t wander into the woods, theAdoël will catch you and suck the life out of you. Each passing generationbelieved the stories a bit more than their parents. To encounter an Adoël inperson resurrected the terrors planted in the hearts of children now grown.
Whispersswirled in his wake. Ghost-child. Cursed. Tainted. Touched by the Necromancer.Raendel had heard them all before, but he still flinched with every sting.
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Please describe a pivotal scene in your story.
Without question, the most pivotal scene happens about aquarter of the way through the book. The kingdom’s anniversary celebration hasstarted. Young Prince Kenan has slipped out into the town to enjoy thefestivities and avoid chores. The nobles are gathered for a feast. The Adoëlservant Raendel stands near the king to wait on him.
(Minor spoilers follow – description of a pivotal scene. Butit happens early in the story, and shouldn’t come as a total surprise anyway.So embrace the danger, and read it anyway.)
Just as the celebration begins, the doors burst open and asmall squad of mercenary soldiers charge in, followed by a Shadow-Weaver. Adark spirit, summoned from the underworld by a necromancer, the Shadow-Weaverwades through the crowd of nobles leaving a trail of bodies.
Two court mages lead the king out a back exit, with theShadow-Weaver in pursuit. It kills one of the mages before the other manages todestroy it. Weakened by her struggle with the creature, the second mage isstruck down by the necromancer himself.
The king flees into his chamber. He pulls out a sword thatwas mounted to the wall, but collapses before he can use it, dead of heartfailure. The necromancer takes the sword from the fallen king and stabs himwith it, frustrated that he is already dead. The assassin escapes, taking thesword with him.
This scene is pivotal because it is a catastrophic event forall the main characters, and many of the side characters. It sets in motion thechain of events that make up the core of the story, because it turns everyone’slife upside-down.
Prince Kenan has been training in combat magic for a timelike this - to stop assassins. But he wasn’t there, because he was hiding fromhis chores and goofing off. After this scene his mother, the queen, orders himconfined to his room and guarded, afraid that assassins will come for him too. Hauntedby guilt and anger, he feels compelled to do something. So he sneaks out topursue the assassin on his own.
Raendel witnesses the whole thing, but does nothing becausehe is afraid. He uses his illusion magic to hide himself. Afterward he feelsguilty for doing nothing to protect the king. When his friend and master PrinceKenan sneaks out, Raendel goes after him, determined to make up for his failureto protect the king by bringing the prince back alive.
Queen Havilah, stunned by the sudden loss of her husband andbetrayal by her own relatives, sinks into depression at the news that heryoungest son has vanished. I don’t want to give too many spoilers, but I’ve hadseveral readers tell me that she is their favorite character, possibly becauseof the depth of the struggle she has to go through triggered by the events inthis scene. She suffers quite a bit before she finds her way back.
Besides being the inciting incident that changes the livesof the protagonists, this scene provides hints about the plans of thenecromancer and the nature of the sword that he stole, as well as the strengthsand weaknesses of the Shadow-Weavers, which become crucial later in the story.
It’s one of the first scenes I crafted, written before thechapters that lead up to it, and is probably the closer to the original versionthan any other scene in the book. This scene and the climactic final fight arethe two pillars that I built the plot around.
AUTHOR BIO:
Kevin works as a software developer in the Seattle area byday, and an author by night. He enjoys Renaissance Fairs, bookstores, fencing,and daydreaming. He has been reading fantasy from age six, and writing from agetwenty-two. He loves exploring fantasy worlds, especially exploring humannature through fiction. Fantasy is his first love, but he also dabbles insci-fi, creepy horror, and devastatingly sad dramas. He posts regular flashfiction stories to his Instagram account and website.
Website: www.kevinkingauthor.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kevinkingauthor/
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