Book 1: The Dead Shadow
After a magician vanishes, a shaman, a clairvoyant, and a Shadow team up with an Earthling girl. They want answers. She wants revenge. But someone is determined to stop them!
Release date: 19th August 2025
Publisher: Cranthorpe Millner
Demographic
The series
The Shadow of Phaedrus is a YA fantasy saga where an Earthling teen, a shaman, a clairvoyant with raging ADHD, and a magical Shadow collaborate to fix a broken world
Book 2 is currently in progress
The Authors
The series has been created and written by Celine Domenech and Paul Newman. You can read all about them here:
You can get in touch with either of them using the contact us page or the social media platforms at the bottom of the page (we’re quite friendly)
Book Signings, Interviews, Podcasts, etc
If you’d like us to attend a book signing event, a festival, or just talk to us about any of this then please get in touch. We do have busy working lives but we’ll always do our best to work something out – we are very passionate about the world we have created and are always happy to talk about it
For an idea of what you’re in for, here are some podcasts we’ve recently appeared on:
Teen Girl Talk
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1qjqXBOkc4JfQMGfNBB59Q?si=889c867bd61b4cc4
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/interview-with-celine-domenech-and-paul-newman/id1228086605?i=1000723431696
Nethersphere Book Club
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/25AJNi5PdbFpHuSkyQCGL6?si=f3c06f3f22714eb4
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/indie-friday-with-celine-domenech-and-paul-newman/id1812752322?i=1000750602120
What people are saying
Even before the official book release, we’ve been receiving positive indications from Advanced Readers. We wrote an article all about this recently but you can also read some details below
NetGalley
NetGalley is starting to show some nice feedback– so far rated 5/5 by readers
“Original and fun. I really enjoyed learning more about the characters and seeing it all unfold!”
Dan Batchelor, author of Jack Palmer: A New Order
“Hook line and sinker. This book gave me chaos vibes from the get go and I loved it. I didnt know what to expect when I jumped in but I enjoyed every minute of the ride.”
Reviewer 1385158
“The Dead Shadow by Celine Domenech and Paul Newman is a thrilling, witty, and delightfully chaotic fantasy adventure that you won’t want to miss. With magical disasters wreaking havoc across the globe and a suspicious cover-up by those in power, this story pulls you into a high-stakes mystery fueled by revenge, sharp banter, and unexpected alliances. The quirky, mismatched crew—a determined Earthling teen, a mysterious clairvoyant, and a hilariously boastful Shadow—bring heart and humor to a plot packed with twists. If you love magic, rebellion, and a good dose of sarcasm, this book should be your next read.”
shaolin d
We’re also seeing some nice feedback on Instagram, for example:
Goodreads
We’re also seeing 5/5 ratings on Goodreads
Related projects
Obviously, we’re passionate about the written word but are also aware that modern readers are diverse and interesting bunch, who’s interests point in all directions. With this in mind, we have two side projects running alongside the books
Artists
As authors, one of our jobs is to paint people and places with words. Creatives come in all shapes and sizes, however, and we were interested to see how others may imagine what we have created. We also didn’t want to limit this to a single view (you can read all about this here) and have been inviting different people to express our world however they see fit. You can view and listen to these on our artists page
Board game
We love board games and are busy developing our own game to go alongside the books. We’re not sure of the release date on this yet but you can read about our journey here
We describe it as competitive / co-operative game, where players are maze-building with a the common goal of reaching the crystal first; with plenty of saucepans and flowerpots on the way!
Co-operative, because you need to work together to build the maze
Competitive, because you are racing your fellow players to the crystal
If you’re interested in knowing more, collaborating, or publishing the game, then please get in touch, we’d love to talk to you
Photo is of a test game with homemade game tiles and meeples either 3d printed or pilfered from Pandemic