Cecilia Dart-Thornton
Cecilia Dart-Thornton was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, graduating from Monash University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology.
She became a schoolteacher before working as an editor, bookseller, illustrator and book designer.
She started and ran her own business, but became a full-time writer in 2000 after her work was 'discovered' on the Internet and published by Time Warner (New York).
A keen supporter of animal rights and wilderness conservation, she has also branched out into such diverse industries as clay sculpting, performing in folk music bands, and digital media.
Her books are published around the world and have been translated into several languages.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
THE BITTERBYNDE TRILOGY
'This series follows the journey of a mute, amnesiac foundling through a world of beauty and peril, teeming with faerie creatures.'
The Ill-Made Mute (2001)
The Lady of the Sorrows (2002)
The Battle of Evernight (2003)
THE CROWTHISTLE CHRONICLES
'A four-part epic fantasy describing the adventures that befall a cursed and gifted family.'
The Iron Tree (2004)
The Well of Tears (2005)
Weatherwitch (2006)
Fallowblade (2007)
THE MIDNIGHT GAME - A young-adult fantasy novel published in a fine limited edition. (2012)
SHORT STORIES
Long the Clouds are Over me Tonight (Published in the anthology Emerald Magic: Great Tales of Irish Fantasy; Tor Books, 2004)
The Stolen Swanmaiden (Published in Australian Women's Weekly September 2005)
The Lanes of Camberwell (Published by Harper Collins in the anthology DREAMING AGAIN, 2008)
The Enchanted (Published by Harper Collins in the anthology LEGENDS OF AUSTRALIAN FANTASY, 2010)
“speechless, castaway and wrya spellbound oddity am Imy feet are locked upon the claymy gaze is locked upon the sky”
“Riding upon the back of a waterhorse - what mortal had ever stayed in such a seat for so long? On a horse made of cold currents and liquid convergences, jests and trickery - pressed against a hide like the burnished sea of midnight, thing look different to the rider.”
“Should they be thanked or does thanks drive them away?"You honor us," she stammered. "We request your help.”
“Mindful of not thanking their benefactors, in case, like wights, they took offense, she added, "Your kindness is gratefully acknowledged. May your trees be forever fruitful.”
“She had seen what it cost him and her heart quickened with compassion. For that alone, she might have loved him almost.”
“Down the violet wind slid syrinx melodies, wild as foxes, mad as love, strange as wakening.”
“Careful, even now, not to thank the wights, she added, "You have all been most kind.”
“The raven spread out its glossy wings and departed like hope.”
“If you are the lantern, I am the flame;If you are the lake, then I am the rain;If you are the desert, I am the sea;If you are the blossom, I am the bee;If you are the fruit, then I am the core;If you are the rock, then I am the ore;If you are the ballad, I am the word;If you are the sheath, then I am the sword.”
“I want youand it will be so,While I have life.”
“We love, while knowing that someday our love might be lost forever. We laugh as we stride along, even while recognising that doom lies at the end of the road. We give, while comprehending that in the end 'twill all be taken away. we are nothing less then heroes.”
“True friendship is worth more than can be measured, a quality forever to be treasured.True friends will staunchly stand beside each other,as loyally brother shieldeth brother,remaining firm in spite of war and strife,in poverty or sickness, throughout life.True friendship doth endure while comrades agefrom boy to youth, from warrior to sage.”
“Time was spinning numerous threads for its tapestry, some to be woven together, some to entangle or fray, others merely to perish and pass away.”
“she was aware of his love - how could she not? She perceived it every time he looked at her. He was not demonstrative, but his ardour was all the more evident for the reins with which he restrained it, the mask of steel behind which he imprisoned it, his detached demeanour and deliberate gestures that, far from parading a lack of interest, displayed the strength of his self-discipline, that he could so tightly curb the intensity of his passion.”
“Nay, it ain't got fleas, and 'tis a girl.”
“Eating be eating, b'ain't it, Birdie?''Nay, Uncle Bear: In Caermelor, at the Royal Court, they be so-oh, so much more advanced than anywhere else. 'Tis not done to wipe your fingers on your hair or the tablecloth, or belch, or speak with your mouth full of food, or scratch, or pick your teeth at table. Ye have to use little forks to pick up the food. Ye not allowed to pour wine for your betters or for yourself, but to wait for them to deign to pour it for ye, if they be feeling generous. And the carving of the meats must be done a certain way, and as for the toasts-it would take ye a whole day just to learn the complications.'Takes the fun out of eating,' observed Sianadh.”
“The measure of happiness is merely the difference between expectations and outcomes. It is not concerned with what one possesses – it is concerned with how content one is with what one possesses.”