The Starfolk Trilogy

 

The Starfolk Trilogy

by Martha Dunlop

 

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GENRE:   Urban Fantasy/Paranormal

 

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BLURB:

 

Destiny calls. Soulmates draw closer. One woman stands in the way.

Beth trusts her psychic senses. So when her birthday visit to a daytime TV talk show takes a weird turn, she knows something is wrong. Amelia, the celebrity on stage, is oddly fixated on Beth and the man with the microphone is hauntingly familiar. Things become even stranger when she buys a tarot deck, and they are all pictured in the cards.  

Jonan has waited an eternity to be with the woman who haunts his dreams. When he finally sees her at the TV studio, he hopes life with his soulmate is within reach. But as Amelia refuses to let go of their past together, his hopes fade.

Amelia stands between Beth and Jonan. Spinning tales of supernatural threats to her adoring fan base, she builds a personality cult through fear of the paranormal. As her power grows, she does her best to scare Beth away from Jonan and plans to reclaim him for herself.

United by a destiny that spans lifetimes, Beth and Jonan are determined to stop Amelia’s fear-mongering. But Amelia has more than one card to play. Even though they are fated to be together, Amelia’s destructive nature may once again tear them apart.

 

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EXCERPT

 

Beth sighed and slouched down in her front row seat at the TV studio. If she’d known she was going to be subjected to this drivel, she wouldn’t have come. She’d been here for two hours already, and not one of the stories had been genuine. Her so-called friend and flatmate had a lot to answer for. She was pleased Laura loved her new job, and it had been obvious her friend’s enthusiasm about the chat show was overblown, but this was worse than she’d expected.

 

She caught a movement out of the corner of her eye and turned. Laura was standing off to the side of the set, waving her clipboard at Beth. She shifted on her mile-high spikes. Her feet must have been so uncomfortable, but Laura had been determined to make an impression today. Her eyes were bright as she scanned the set, drinking in her world. This job was her triumph. Beth couldn’t fault her enthusiasm, she just wished Laura had left her out of today’s charade.

 

Seated on the dais, Katherine Haversham waited for a moment, eyebrows raised, bright red lips pursed.

 

‘Thank you for staying with us over the break. I know this is the moment you’ve been waiting for. Model and It girl Amelia Faustus is here, live, on Deep and Dark to break her silence over the horrific out-of-body attack that took her from the media spotlight. After weeks of fear and soul-searching, she has decided to step back into the public eye. Amelia, welcome. Tell us what happened.’ Katherine leaned forward. ‘Start from the beginning.’

 

A Word With the Author

1.Did you always want to be an author?

 

Looking back, I have no idea why I didn’t know I wanted to be an author!  As a child I constantly told myself stories, imagining different realities and variations on the life I was living. Those stories were entertainment, company and more.  As a teenager I experimented with writing them down, but I felt I didn’t have enough life experience to do any of them justice, so I figured I’d come back to it later.  I started writing seriously in my late 20s.  As life became more challenging, writing became a way to explore what was happening from different angles. I still use writing that way.  Back then I would write on the train, on my way to work, and again at lunchtime in cafes.  It was a wonderful escape. I worked on that book for over ten years and wrote it in two different genres. It will never see the light of day, but it was a wonderful training ground for me.

 

2.Tell us about the publication of your first book.

 

The first book I published was The Starfolk Arcana, book 1 of my Starfolk Trilogy.  After years of dreaming of publishing, I actually put that first book into the world during Covid, in the run-up to a lockdown.  It wasn’t the start I’d imagined. I couldn’t go into bookshops or libraries, I couldn’t get out and speak to people. Thank goodness for the internet!  That way I was able to connect with people, get my book out there, and begin life as an author!  

 

Immersing myself in my books and my publication journey throughout the lockdowns was a wonderful escape.  And as I put the book out there, I saw the themes in the story come to life in ever more vivid ways. Beth and Jonan, my main characters, are dealing with a high profile celebrity who is spreading disinformation, and luring people to follow her by pushing fear and her protection organisation, Amelia’s Haven. She spreads scary stories of paranormal attack and warns people that their loved ones will be targetted. That’s a pretty powerful claim, if you believe it.  My protagonist, Beth, can see right through Amelia’s lies, and can’t understand why other people are sucked in. But the more involved she becomes, the more she discovers about her own destiny, her triggers, and the mysterious man with the violet eyes! 

 

3.Besides yourself, who is your favorite author in the genre you write in?

 

My favourite author changes continually, depending on what I’m reading at any given time!  But I love anything by P.M. Terrell, particularly her mystic books like A Thin Slice of Heaven, April in the Back of Beyond and The Tempest Murders books.  I also recently read a fabulous book called The Witch’s Tree by Elena Collins which is out this month, and I love Nora Roberts’ paranormal books.  

4.What's the best part of being an author? The worst?

 

The best part of being an author is simply making up stories and getting to know and fall in love with my characters!  I love writing the first draft and letting my imagination lead the way. I’m less delighted with the end stages of editing where I’ve read my manuscript a million times already, but every part of the process is so important, even if they’re not all equally fun! 

5.What are you working on now?

 

At the moment I’m writing the third book in The Starfolk Trilogy, which I hope will be out early next year.  I have it all mapped out and am working my way towards the final conclusion, which is very exciting! I’m also dreaming about my next trilogy and a standalone speculative thriller.  So we’ll see where those adventures take me. Please do watch this space!  

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AUTHOR Bio and Links:

 

Martha is a dreamer and lover of stories who likes nothing better than spending her days getting to know the characters in her head.

She is a tarot card reader and reiki master, and loves to chat reading, writing and all things mystical on social media, as well as posting pictures of her fellow pack-member, Bertie the Cavalier.

 

A fiddle player, Martha fell in love with traditional music, particularly Irish, and is also teaching herself to play the Irish Bouzouki. She played her way through her English degree at York and remembers that time as much for the music as the books.

 

Martha is the author of three books: The Starfolk Arcana, Starfolk Falling, and standalone Wild Shadow.  She is currently working on Book 3 of The Starfolk Trilogy, Starfolk Rising. 

 

You can keep up with Martha’s news, book releases and extra content at www.marthadunlop.com, or on her Amazon page, https://www.amazon.com/Martha-Dunlop/e/B08HN73S3D. 

 

You can also find her on social media at: 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarthaDunlop

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MarthaDunlopStories/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marthadunlop/

 

Head shot by Gene Genie Photography, www.genegenie.photography

 

The books will be $0.99 from May 19-26.

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GIVEAWAY INFORMATION 

 

Martha Dunlop will be awarding a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble GC to a randomly drawn winner via rafflecopter during the tour.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway