Release date: May 30, 2018
Subgenre: Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy
About Cruelty: Unmasked:
Henry used to be a god. Now, he’s just the gardener.
Nearly twenty-five years have passed since the ancient Faroust fell in love with Eliza MacTir. Stripped of his powers and forced to work for the family he used to rule, he can’t avoid the woman who ruined him. But when a chance encounter brings him into contact with Eliza’s daughter Áine, a twenty-one year old student looking for a chance to explore herself, he sees a chance to exact revenge. The affair is sweet and Henry knows that when he finally reveals it to Eliza, it will be even sweeter.
But Henry and Áine aren’t the only ones keeping secrets.
Áine’s brother Caolán, sixteen and rebellious, has his share of demons
and not all is well with Eliza and Cornelius. The veneer of the perfect
family has cracks and once the truths start to spill, everything Eliza
fought for will start to unravel.
Secrets cannot be buried forever and the Veil won’t stay shut. Darker forces are watching and waiting…
Excerpt:
“Caolán got into a fight today,” Cornelius said quietly, easing
himself down onto the kitchen chair. “He put three boys in the
hospital.”
“But Dad…”
“I didn’t say you could speak,” her husband barked, making them
both jump.
“Honey,” Eliza tried softly. “I think we just need to calm down and
listen.”
“He broke one kid’s nose, possibly ruined another’s chance at ever
being a parent and left one unconscious with cracked ribs, a broken
ankle and missing his front teeth.”
Eliza’s world span and she grabbed hold of the breakfast bar.
Caolán looked at her, his blue eyes wide and frightened.
“Mum, I can explain…”
“Be quiet,” Cornelius snarled.
Caolán winced and looked down at his hands. This wasn’t fair;
they’d always said they’d listen, no matter how bad it was, they
would listen to what the kids had to say.
“Cornelius…”
“Eliza, I am dealing with this.” He leaned over the coffee table.
“Give me your bag.” Caolán hesitated. Cornelius brought his fist
crashing down on the table. “Give me your fucking bag!”
Cay’s hands shook as he handed it over. His dad snatched it,
standing up, and rooted around in all the pockets.
“What are you doing?” Eliza asked.
“The one kid left conscious was babbling about weed and trying to
get Caolán to pay protection money.”
“You’re searching his bag?” Eliza snapped. “Cornelius, he’s your
son. Not a fucking suspect.” Her hand flew up to her head, pain
threatening. Cornelius ignored her and continued looking through
the bag. Finding nothing, he threw it down. He held out his hand.
“Phone.”
“Dad, please listen to me…”
“Phone.”
Caolán handed it over, bottom lip wobbling. Cornelius looked at the
phone, turning it over. He put it in his pocket. Then, he seemed to
change his mind. He pulled it back out again and pressed his thumb
against it until it snapped in half.
“Dad, what the fuck?” Caolán screeched.
“Ah Cornelius, for feck’s sake,” Eliza growled.
Caolán kicked the table, hard, and it knocked Cornelius back.
“That isn’t fair. This isn’t fucking fair. You said you were on my
side and you aren’t even listening to me!”
“Lower you voice,” Cornelius ordered.
“Fuck you! You don’t even care that I was being chased. Look at my
face! Those three did this to me! They smacked my head off the
concrete. I’ve got cracked ribs. I didn’t do that to myself!”
“What you did was beyond self-defence! This is going to be on your
record for college. Your future is fucked!”
“I don’t care about the future! All I care about is that my dad is
a fucking psycho-bully, who never has my back! You never fucking
listen. You never take my side!”
“Stop it!” Eliza called, but they were too involved in their fight
to hear her.
“Oh really? How many times have I been up to that school, digging
you out of trouble? How many times have been called out of work
because my son is a fucking embarrassment who can’t behave
himself?”
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About Ellen Crosháin:
Ellen Crosháin grew up in Northern Ireland but despite the fact she
has a proper Irish Mammy hailing from Dublin and a Northern Irish
father, her accent is so slight, it can only be caught in snatches.
She says it makes her work as a spy much easier as no one actually
knows where she’s from.
Her love for story telling was cultivated by both her parents as
they would spend hours most days reading to her and her three
younger siblings. She would spend hours herself entertaining them
on the long trips they had to take when her father joined the army
and they moved from place to place. She doesn’t remember a time
when she wasn’t writing or telling stories. She always has a
notepad on her and takes every opportunity to scribble down an idea
or work on a chapter.
In her non-writing life, she is a teacher of English, a job she
absolutely adores. She lives in Wales, land of dragons, with her
husband and her hoard of loyal guinea pig minions.
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