The Cauldron’s Gift is out!

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The Cauldron’s Gift is out in ebook. Only 99 cents for a limited time, to celebrate the book’s launch, so grab your copy before the price goes up.

The paperback should be out any day now. That’s my first paperback proof there, looking so pretty! I love the covers for this series. They’re so dreamy, and they look stunning in real life. My cover designer is working on the cover for Book 3 at the moment, and it will be just as gorgeous.

I’m also working on Book 3, though I have a long way to go yet. I’ve only just started the first draft, so there will be more of a gap between the release of Book 2 and Book 3. All I can promise is that it will be out later this year. In the meantime, enjoy The Cauldron’s Gift!

The Cauldron’s Gift cover reveal

The wonderful Karri Klawiter of artbykarri has designed another beautiful cover for me. The Cauldron’s Gift is Book 2 in the Magic’s Return series, and will be out on July the 6th.

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Here is the blurb:

When Vi and her twin sister CJ started spitting frogs and diamonds with every word, they discovered their parents worked for a secret organisation dedicated to keeping the magical denizens of the world safely locked away. Vi thought life couldn’t get any weirder, but then Dad became a bear, and her world really fell apart. Because it’s starting to look like that’s one spell the warders can’t undo. They’re all too busy trying to unmask the traitor who is secretly aiding the Sidhe.

Vi managed to keep the Sidhe from breaking out of their magical prison, but she couldn’t stop the Morrigan from stealing back the great cauldron of the Dagda. And of course now CJ says the only way to save Dad is to get that cauldron back from fairyland. Talk about a suicide mission. Vi would have to be crazy to consider it, but as time runs out for Dad and the Morrigan threatens everyone Vi loves, craziness starts to look like the only sane option.

Exploring the world of The Fairytale Curse

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The Fairytale Curse is out at last, and can be yours for only 99 cents if you buy this week. You’re still reading? What are you waiting for—go buy it! I’ll wait.

Okay, you’re back? Excellent!

The Fairytale Curse, like The Proving series, is set in Sydney. What can I say? There are a hundred and eighty-three billion urban fantasy books set in American cities (or London, another big favourite). I’m just trying to redress the balance!

Sydney is a gorgeous city—the deep green waters of the harbour, the white sails of the Opera House against the blue backdrop of a sunny sky. Ornate old sandstone buildings glowing a honey-gold. Acres of the Botanic Gardens covering the foreshores with green.

Of course it’s also a modern city, full of skyscrapers of steel and glass, but it’s the older areas down near the water that I love most. The Rocks features again in this book, and the Art Gallery also makes an appearance.

This building too:

 

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That’s St Mary’s Cathedral, one of those old-fashioned long, narrow churches, with more spires and peaks than you can throw a stick at, built in that beautiful glowing sandstone.

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Look at the detail on the door!

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I’ve always had a soft spot for St Mary’s, because my mum and dad were married there. They took me there once when I was younger, and we went down to the crypt, which made a big impression. Dark and kind of creepy.

The cathedral and its crypt feature in the climactic scenes of The Fairytale Curse. Last year we visited it while we were staying in the city, because I couldn’t remember any of the details about the crypt, and I wanted to get it right for the book.

It was a lot different to how I remembered it, so just as well we went. Much, much bigger than I’d thought, big enough to accommodate a large gathering of people. (Though hard to photograph as the space is interrupted by a lot of arches supporting the cathedral overhead.) And beautifully decorated—solemn and dim, yes, but not at all creepy! I guess it was the mention of people being buried there that sent my young mind careering onto the creepy track.

 

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There is a stunning Celtic cross inlaid into the marble floor, 140 feet long, which features scenes from Genesis in large medallions.

 

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In the next book, The Cauldron’s Gift, I do take a couple of liberties with the interior. I needed something that isn’t actually there. Still, that’s the beauty of fiction—I’m allowed to make stuff up.

If you’re ever in Sydney, go have a look. It’s a beautiful church. You could go down into the crypt and pretend you’re Vi when all the—wait, can’t tell you that. You’ll have to read the book!