Lanarkshire author Claire Hastie will release the second instalment of her compelling Blackhill Manor series next month.
The Missing Grimoire is the much anticipated follow up to Claire's debut novel The Guardians of Athame and will be published on July 26.
Continuing the fantastical adventures of the main protagonists, this second outing for Luna Green and her classmates immerses the reader in a plot to save the world from mystical mayhem and offers readers a moment of respite from the challenging realities of today’s real world.
The Guardians of Athame told the story of 12-year-old Luna, who takes solace in the Calderglen woods in East Kilbride while skipping school.
Her widower father, Jack Green, discovers she is missing school as she’s being bullied. Jack decides to take the job he’s been offered in Aberdeen, and takes Luna to stay with her Nana Violet, who lives in Ballycastle in Northern Ireland.
In the summer she is taken to a private school hidden deep inside a mystical forest, named Blackhill Manor.
Luna discovers there are only 11 children including herself who attend the school and soon discovers the secrets of her family and friends.
The easy flowing prose, vivid characters and strong storyline of The Missing Grimoire will not only delight fans of this genre but further position Claire Hastie as a preeminent purveyor of YA fantasy.
Explaining the plot, East Kilbride mum Claire told Lanarkshire Live: "The children soon learn about a missing ancient grimoire, stolen many years ago, which is said to hold some of the most powerful spells known to the magical world.
"With a creature that thrives on children’s blood lurking in the Dead Forest, the children consider whether this grimoire may provide another means of closing the portal from which these evil beings are escaping.
"Meanwhile, a rogue clan of evil witches are roaming around the nearby forests in search of the athame and the next missing crystal, a ruby. They intend to use these to open the darker realms and claim power over our world.
"With both evil beings and rogue witches to contend with, the twelve children and their teachers must race to find the ruby crystal, and the grimoire, to save their world from the power of the darker realms."
Claire has loved reading and penning her own work since she was a youngster.
She says her creations from her "immature imagination" would have her conjuring up monsters from inside haunted castles, talking animals solving mysteries and more.
At eleven years old, her parents bought Claire her first typewriter, encouraging her to create miniature books for friends and family.
Later in life, she would continue to write novels as a hobby - mostly psychological thrillers - until 2013 when the Blackhill Manor came to fruition whilst visiting family in Ireland.
And now the second of what will be a series of five young adult fantasy books is available on Amazon and Apple Books.
In between book planning, Claire received a diploma in freelance journalism, and has written several articles for a local newspaper.
Claire added: "I still like to think of myself as a newbie, when really I have been writing since I was very young. My mum will often say, I wrote stories once I learnt to write with my left hand.
"Although I enjoy writing realism, I much prefer to escape into a non-fictional world of mystical characters and scenes of beauty and magic!"
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