Victoria Collins, author

Ria would always sit on a branch or a table before a chair (even better if the branch had room for her to somersault round). Even when standing she would swing one leg then the other. When she was little they said she would be a performer like her mother, but what she wanted to be was a bird, like her brother.

Victoria Collins, author

Ria – a spirited loner, and the girl left behind – has waited 12 years for her brother and only friend to return after disappearing across the everstorm as kids. Now it seems her dream is about to come true, but their arrival will strip her of everything she thought her salvation depended on.

Even before Nathaniel and Thane were turned to moonbirds and flew away, Ria knew her destiny lay in faraway places. But the endless waters of the everstorm orphaned their tiny island. When the bodies of a moonbird and a foreign woman wash ashore, those foreign lands were never so close and real – and silent.

Ria’s last, desperate chance is to connect with Oren – the shadowy exile responsible for turning the boys. Little does she know, he’s already working on his gift to her. As he allows himself close again to his own power, Oren must battle his fear of it unleashing another catastrophe, or worse, succeeding – and granting Ria the very thing that will take her from him. Each lost in ways more profound than the bird-boys, Ria and Oren must now embark on an intensely private journey to find each other, to find themselves.

FEATHERFOOT is inspired by my own experience of two missing persons cases, plus research into the mystery of Easter Island and Pacific mariners. It explores what happens when a small town must come to terms with the loss of its youths; and the power of a single person’s unseen connection to all things.

FEATHERFOOT is a fantasy novel that appeals to all those who sense in their heart that they’re meant for a bigger life, but don’t know how to find it. It’s for those who have stared at the horizon, wishing for flight.

The manuscript is complete at 55,000 words. Click here to read the first chapter.

If you’re an agent or publisher interested in working with FEATHERFOOT, contact me at vicki_collins@bigpond.com.