The Destiny of Minou Moonshine

GITA RALLEIGH

The beautiful queendom of Moonlally has fallen under a tyrant’s rule. Their queen is dead, worship of their goddess, the Dark Lady, is forbidden, and the precious black diamond that protects the city – a rare fragment of fallen star –has gone missing.

When fierce orphan girl Minou Moonshine’s life is unexpectedly shattered, she joins the ragtag band of rebels, the Green Orchids, who are plotting to overthrow the General.

Armed with a secret and a map, Minou sets off with her friends and a mechanical elephant, through the lush jungles of Indica, in search of the Dark Lady, a diamond and her destiny.

What inspired you to write your book?

Gita’s response:

As a bookish child, I loved adventures that took me out of my suburban home into fantasy worlds. At the time, I never expected to find a small brown girl within those stories. But when I began writing myself, a decade ago, I was astonished – and upset for my own children – that this remained largely unchanged.

Although I was born in Britain, my parents emigrated here from India. Our visits to family back home felt entirely magical: we would see elephants, monkeys and peacocks in the streets, while visits to palaces, temples and their goddesses were part of everyday life. I was determined that my fantasy adventure, The Destiny of Minou Moonshine, would be about a girl like me who discovers both her inheritance and her very own magic. I set my story in Indica, an alternate India, with a dynasty of queens and a goddess, the Dark Lady, who guides Minou towards her destiny. I cannot wait for young readers to meet her.