The King’s Fall – Novel

Hello everyone! My second book, an epic fantasy tale called The King’s Fall, has been published. A little glimpse of it follows…

There were always stories, legends, myths of great deeds and heroic acts or nightmarish beasts and brutal war. Gold and glory were the focus of many of stories, yet more so were extraordinary men, heroes and villains, who let nothing stand in their way. They had their eyes set on a specific goal – the end goal, the crowning achievement of their life. Nothing else mattered. Such man could overcome any difficulty, conquer insurmountable odds, and fight until … they won. No, not until death… for death doesn’t exist for such man.

Such a man is the focus of The King’s Fall.

It is his tale. He is crafting a legend.


The King’s Fall is an epic fantasy novel by Patrick Rain. It’s available for the Kindle and in paperback format. You can find it at the retailers below.

The Art of The King’s Fall

The book cover of my fantasy novel The King’s Fall went through many changes. What started as a lighthearted design, which you can see below, turned into something much more grounded in reality. You can follow the evolution of it below. All credit for the artwork goes to Andrzej Pyrchla.

The first idea idea came from a strict fantasy point of view, the sort of fantasy you think of when you imagine harmless magic and benevolent kingdoms. As you can see the esthetic of it is very friendly, with its clear sky and bright colors.

As you can see here, everything remained very much the same from the first image, it’s only the aesthetic of it that changed. The tower is still there, as well as the mountain range and the body of water. Yet we have a very different impression. The mist gives it an ominous look, while the washed-out colors, at least for me, seem to give it the look of a deserted kingdom.

The third attempt was something more fantastical. The light at the base of the tower almost looks like a force field or some sort of magical barrier, doesn’t it?

And here we are! The image that was use on the cover of The King’s Fall. I won’t say anything about it as I would like to hear your opinions. What do you think of the final cover or about any of the earlier designs? Was there one image that you liked the best? And of course for those of you who have read The King’s Fall, what do you think of the final choice?

For those of you who have just heard of The King’s Fall, it’s available on Amazon here for the Kindle and in paperback format. You can also read more about it here.

Lastly, Andrzej Pyrchla, the man behind creating the artwork, has been doing various computer graphics for some time. If you are interested in his other works, you can visit his website – here.

I hope you enjoyed the post. I wish you all the best of luck,
Patrick Rain

Within the Churning Sea – Poem

Among the churning sea a lone boat rocks in the powerful waves,
Helpless but free, it’s destined to sink for it’s small, fragile and old,
With many cracks, and a single larger tear through the hull.

Inside sat a lone traveler with a bottle of rum and water up to his ankles
His coat drenched, his hood up, and his head down in defeat and shame,
The overwhelming chills made him tremble, yet his forehead was hot,

Within he felt a profound empty void, where everything resides.
He looked inside it to find the Three: Despair, Anger and Fear,
They were strong, and he was weak; he succumbed to their power.

His heart was black like the dark sky of the night,
His fear was like the powerful roar of the sky,
His psyche was unsteady like the rocking boat,
Was there no hope?

Thank for reading. So what do you think: is there no hope for the traveler? Is there something, anything, he could do to find a glimmer of hope, or is he forever lost? I’d like to hear what you think so leave a comment below.
Patrick Rain

The Waterfall Whisper – Poem

The waterfall whisper like a glimmer of a revelation,
The light so shallow, fleeting but true,
It’s a view into the past, present – the future too,
A dark hollow of answers, where everything resides,

The mind made passive and still.
The eyes closed, body motionless, and the heart silenced,
Breathing slow and disconnected from the world,

The waterfall whisper like a glimmer of false hope,
An escape from everything – separate and cold,
Could it be a veneer of calmness, something amiss?
Things undone are waiting,

Thank you for reading. This piece is quite too-sided, so I’d like to hear your opinions. Is the waterfall a symbol of a positive state? Marvelous maybe? Or something completely different? Leave a comment below.

Cheers,
Patrick Rain

Unreal Castle Site Redesign

As you can all see the site design has changed. So yes, this will be a post where we touch base, and these are usually boring so I’d like to start with a question.

What are some things every castle needs? Think of this however you want, these can be things for a real castle or the website, the Unreal Castle. Unintended word play here. I’d like to see what people come up with so be creative.

In my previous post I mention there was some maintenance going on. It escalated into a complete site redesign and a few new features. The esthetic changed, but everything is still in the same spot it was, so let’s run over some of the new things. First, I hope you all find the site easy read as that was something I considered very important. I took some time to work on the mobile site, and it’s set now, but do let me know if you have any comments. Second, there is a revamped commenting system that looks cleaner and more modern. Lastly,  there is also a subscription option where you can receive all the creative flare in your mailbox, and become a real knight of the Unreal Castle. I might be adding something in the days to come, but those are the major additions.

Welcome to the new Unreal Castle and best of luck,
Patrick Rain

The Companion – Poem

Painting a world of your own,
Molding a statue – life,
Staring at the horizon,
Ready to take a dive,

The statue is small, withered,
It’s a fragile piece of art,
A vibrant reflection of a growing heart,

With time it grows into an imposing sight,
It overshadows all challenges,
Carries you with its power,
Protecting you like an undefeated tower.


Thanks for reading,
Patrick Rain

Book Publishing Reflection – Paperback Formatting Widows/Orphans

So I thought I’ll start this little series of posts right in the middle of things. This is a topic  I briefly brought up in my post about publishing my book, Noble Death. While formatting my book for paperback(I did this in Word), one thing that I had to do some research on was the idea of widows and orphans. Continue reading

Book Publishing Reflections – Intro to the Journey

Upon finishing my book, I had this idea. I would like to create a series of short posts about some things that I encounter while publishing my book. It won’t be an A-Z guide in any way, at least not yet. Rather it’ll be series of reflection on the challenges with possible solutions, or some helpful tips. I might also throw in a post or two about some interesting stuff I stumbled upon. Ideally, I would like people to ask questions that would spark ideas for future posts, so feel free to comment. Let’s see how it turns out. First one coming tomorrow. Continue reading

A Song of Lies – Poem

The wind is singing out about,
A song of glory – or maybe not!

The heroes of the tales,
A lie can swiftly replace,

The villain can be reborn,
With a heroic shield adorned,

His vulpine smile can be bent,
His wicked deeds lies will mend,

The noble actions we so seek,
May in truth awfully reek,

Of lies, deceit and greedy hands,
Singing of the heroes end,

The wind is singing out about,
A song of glory – or maybe not!


Thanks for reading.
Patrick Rain

Noble Death – Novel

It’s done. I have published my first novel, a supernatural mystery Noble Death. It’s available in ebook and paperback formats on Amazon. If you’d like to read more about it, below are the links.

Amazon: here
Unrealcastle.com: here

I must say that it was quite the journey. At every turn, there was something new to tackle, some new decision to make, or something new to learn. And it was a great learning experience! There is a lot of things that go into publishing a book – some are easier to deal with than others (I’m looking at you widows and orphans). It’s a huge package. From the cover, down to the actually interior design, and all the bureaucratic formalities, there is quite a lot of things to do. The good news is that once you go through the learning process you grow accustomed to all the problems and challenges, and the second time around it’s not as challenging, or so I hope. I can confirm that when I publish my second book in the future, but the thought is what kept me going many times.

Good luck to any and all writers out there with their publishing endeavors!
Poem incoming.

Patrick Rain