ALIEN WIZARDRY

© Antoinette Conolly

Alien Wizardry - the sequel to the Cauchemar Trilogy was written because many of my readers emailed me and wanted to know what happened after the end of Book 3, Mactavish’s Destiny.

Zachary travels again to the magical world of Cauchemar at the request of his friend Mactavish. The boy has made three previous journeys there but on the last occasion the ginger cat did not return with him to Earth.

Cauchemar is threatened with extinction if an ancient prophecy is not satisfied. Alien assistance is required to complete the task and many difficulties have to be overcome. Zachary and his companion, Taffy, have many friends who help – Magenta the witch, Bijou the dragon and Ulysses the unicorn (to name a few).

Can they succeed in defeating the black magic of Malfactorius and save Cauchemar?

I am a self-publisher and the illustrator of my cover is Michael Smetham who now lives in London. My books are printed by Ligare Pty Ltd in Sydney.

Alien Wizardry was published on December 20 2013, but was not made available for sale until the end of January 2014.

The book is about 70,000 words and there are no illustrations. It is suitable for competent readers aged from 7 to 13. Many adults also enjoy the story.

My book will soon be reviewed in “Buzzwords” and on “Writers Web”.

I have been writing for about eight years.

My books are the Cauchemar Trilogy     Zachary’s Odyssey

                                                                 Perilous Journey

                                                                 Mactavish’s Destiny

and A Key to Time published in 2012.

So far, I have sold over 1500 copies of my books.

The trilogy was reprinted in 2009. Initially I sold my books through a number of bookshops in Sydney, but in the last four years as the bookshops have disappeared, I now sell my books from my website: http://www.antoinetteconolly.com  or by email a.conolly@optusnet.com.au.

I also have visited many primary schools and libraries. As I am a retired high school teacher, I have no difficulty speaking to large groups of children and find that I am in demand (particularly in Book Week and Education Week) as an example of “a real-live author”!

My presentation describes the process of writing a novel and also involves the students in discussion of text types, different techniques for characterisation, plot etc and the extent of their reading/writing knowledge. Of course, I also talk about my books and usually read an excerpt from one of them. The most enjoyable part for me is the question time at the end. Children never cease to surprise and delight me!

My books can now only be purchased from me or from Writers Web.

They are also advertised on the SCIS site (school librarians access this)

Alien Wizardry costs $25 which includes postage and packaging.

You can read reviews of my other books on “Writers Web”.