Indie author of the month: David Staniforth

This is my first book by this author. It's an intriguing story, aimed I think at teenagers / young adults. The main character, Clarissa, is grumpy and has a mysterious background (missing father, irate mother) as well as poor relationships with her peers at school. Magic and a parallel world are involved as well as teenage crushes and a good dose of both mystery and puzzle/problem solving. It's great stuff, exploring the power of books and plotting and the skill of setting words to do something specific, and as befits its subject, the book is beautifully written but not over-weighty, certainly something that would draw in a teenage reader with ease. Someone who grew up with Cornelia Funke’s Inkheart books would find this book a fascinating read.

Fantasy, in fact, is the main genre of Staniforth's books, though he writes for adults as well as for teenagers. His work includes the well-reviewed Fuel to the Fire trilogy and Void, a book that looks at loss of memory. He can be followed at www.davidstaniforth.co.uk. Well worth a look!