A girl with terrifying power.  A reluctant king.
One rising enemy.

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Iliana lives in Walker’s Fall, England and longs to escape her abusive adoptive parents to find her real family.

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When a fight breaks out between Iliana and her father, she knocks him unconscious due, to her surprise, to magick shooting out from her finger. Even worse, a dark creature then appears in her town and tries to kill her.

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With the help of a cast of fantastical characters, she is whisked away into the Otherworld. Where faeries guard gates to other domains, a mad queen reigns, wild bandits roam freely and people can do terrible magick.

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Iliana finds herself chased continuously by an unknown enemy in a foreign world, and is forced to trust no one, yet question everything she knows about herself. She embarks on a treacherous journey of discovery. But will she find her real family and learn the extent of her newfound gifts? Or will the dark creatures of the Otherworld destroy her first?

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Iliana may find her inheritance could cost more than anything she’s ever endured.

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Old Seamus rules the Otherworld like a blind man. Between investigating a prison break, and tracking a serial killer unleashed in his city while juggling social unrest, he gropes through the dark as he struggles to seek the truth. Haunted by the spectres of his past, he desperately tries to save his kingdom just as a trap is set to snap.

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Both of their fates alone may push the precariously balanced Otherworld over the precipice.

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Click here or leave a message below to contact us for a review copy of
Return of the Starchild

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About the Author

Catriona Murphy lives in Dublin, Ireland and works in digital marketing.

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She began writing as an adolescent, winning an award for a short story in 2008 from the Dublin Sports and Cultural Council, and hasn’t stopped writing since.

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Return of the Starchild is her first book, and the first part of the Divine Inheritance series.  She completed it while travelling the world.

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Visit her official website for more details: www.returnofthestarchild.com

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Excerpt

Terrence eased back into his chair and returned Iliana’s stare with practised composure.

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“OK.  You want me to be honest, I have no problem with that, but you seem to be… resistant with the truth so I’m not sure how to explain without you having another panic attack.” He replied in a similar tone.

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Iliana felt her eye twitch.

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“You know, I’m a little disappointed,” he said dismissively, studying his nails, “I’d expected you to be tougher and more understanding and logical about this.”

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Anger lashed inside her not for the first time that evening and she surprised herself and everyone else when she smacked her hands on the table.  She leaned forward to look more closely at Terrence.

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“There is nothing logical about any of this.  I don’t have to be logical.  You act as if you can tell me what to do, well you can’t, now why don’t you stop lying to me and tell me the truth cause I’m about this close to losing it again.”

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Zelda stopped pouring hot water in the mugs and threw a worried glance over.

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Iliana and Terrence glared each other down.

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Zelda said, “Look, Iliana, you can’t deny what happened in the bathroom, or Sires, or Terrence’s magickal ability.  Do you really think we would go through this trouble just to make you believe it if it weren’t true?  Think about it, why would I let them lie to you?  And what about your dad?  Remember what you did to him?  How much more will it take to convince you?”

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Iliana threw her an annoyed look.  She knew she had a point.  But was she really to believe all this?  The Otherworld?  Faeries?

“I’m just finding it hard to believe that it all exists, it’s just not possible,” she said.

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“Anything is possible, Iliana.”  Zelda corrected.

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Terrence asked fervently, “what did you do to your adoptive father?”

Zelda walked to the table and set down three mugs.  “Terrence, not now she’s been through enough.”  She pulled up a chair and sat down between them.

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Iliana picked up her mug and put it to her lips.  She inhaled the steam coming from the tea and tested a sip.  It stung her tongue so she put it back down on the table to let it cool.  “I got into a fight with my father.  I don’t really know what happened but some sort of fire came out of my fingers and shot into him.  He was unconscious when I left.”

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Terrence was silent for a while and stared at the tabletop contemplatively, tracing invisible symbols on it with his finger.

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Iliana was expecting a more drastic reaction.  To her surprise, he sat up straight in his chair and said, “What you did was a simple fire shot, not many can do it because fire is generally hard to conjure, and completely unheard of being performed from someone with little to no experience with magick.”

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Sires sat on a chair that was too high for him, his purple eyes went from one person to the other.

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Zelda’s aunt sat silently sipping her tea.

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Zelda traced the rim of her mug.  She said, “I think I know.  Her abilities were spurred by the fight; it was the emotion that triggered them off.”

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Iliana cocked her head at Zelda and asked, “What abilities are these now?”

Before Zelda could reply the kitchen window exploded.

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Click here or leave a message below to contact us for a review copy of
Return of the Starchild