Tom Richards – författare

About Dolphin Song

Bostonian Dawn McCarthy''s life is shattered following a profound double tragedy. Michael, her Irish husband, drowns in a fiery boating accident off the southwest coast of Ireland. Their only child, Jason, who has witnessed his father''s death, is diagnosed with traumatic mutism and no longer speaks. Following a series of failed therapies, Dawn believes her son will never talk again.

Rejecting the doctor''s advice, Dawn returns with Jason to the remote Irish fishing village of Kilcastle where her husband had lived and died. There, along the rugged Irish Atlantic coastline, she hopes to find a cure for her son. But it is not an easy return for Dawn. She faces daily reminders of what might have been.

The sudden appearance of a wild dolphin delivers newfound hope. In the days that follow, Dawn witnesses a powerful bond grow between Jason and the dolphin as the boy takes his first small steps toward healing. It is only then that she suspects the enigmatic mammal is much more than she had at first supposed.

Dolphin Song is a tale of terrifying tragedy, magical Irish legends and eternal love. Dawn''s voyage takes readers on an unforgettable journey where those we have loved and lost are not gone forever. Instead, we need only take a leap of faith to find them again.

Grace Upendo (32) is a Sexually-abused Black Swahili African. Despite her strength of character, she is haunted by a dark past. Full of fear, and unable to reach out to those who could help heal her scarred heart, she is saved by the man of her dreams, Sean Hope. But when Sean understands how damaged she is due to past horrors of rape and abuse, and despite his great love for her, he comes to realize that to heal her he must leave her.

Years later, when Grace finally gains the courage to escape from Jester Jones, an abusive Australian sailing yacht owner, she begins a frightening voyage of discovery through stormy seas to an uncharted, magical island only 150 nautical miles from Brisbane, Australia. There, in this unearthly land of honey, filled with lakes, streams, stunning golden beeches, mysterious creatures, dark forests and tall mountains, she begins to find new hope.

On the island an adventure begins with a magical play, LOST LOVERS (yes, the stage play name is the same as the novel, but you''ll soon understand when you read it, and will find the play quite amusing and entertaining!), a raucous play based in part on Shakespeare''s A Midsummer Night''s Dream. Its cast of characters, all animals and insects and talking bees, too, even include a talking two-headed Kangaroo called Sue the Two-Headed Roo. But as the humans and animals begin rehearsals, Grace soon discovers she cannot understand its cast of misfit characters. Filled with confusion, she is taken into the depths of the sea, to Fish School, by a white-faced Common Dolphin. There, beneath the churning waves, she finally learns her lesson: she can talk to the magical animals and even the two-headed Roo. Having found the key, Grace is taken back to the magical island and dreams of a beach. Buried beneath it is a bright diamond engagement ring which Sean had tried to give her twice, years before, but which she had refused. And when she recognises the Roo as Sean, and he understands that Grace is his lost lover, then the magic ends and the reality of a loving future begins.

At last, the secrets of Ireland''s megalithic Newgrange Monument revealed! Not by an archaeologist but by an untidy Maths teacher, BARNABUS, and his two brave students, JONATHAN and CATHY.

      When this adventurous couple leave school on an April day to find their missing teacher, they did not know what lay in store for them. On the other side of the Centauri star system near the Andromeda Galaxy, they would experience adventure, excitement, a crash course in astrophysics, and a relentless and all-powerful ruler: PSORSIS, the master of the Universe.

 Tom Richards has written an utterly compelling science fiction novel for Young Adults; an unputdownable read for all those whose imaginations soar. This re-release, newly edited for contemporary times, allows a new generation to enjoy the wonders of the Universe and the mysteries of the Archaeological enigma of Newgrange. This book was selected by readers for the Young Adult Irish Times Top Five Bestseller List.