In the Author Spotlight ...
Sabrina deSouza, Author of
The Catarbie Conspiracy

 

Author Sabrina deSouza has always had an extremely vivid imagination. In her new book, The Catarbie Conspiracy, she uses that imagination to take readers on a fascinating trip that combines a variety of genres. "Most of the books that I've read, only use one or two genres", Sabrina explains. "I wanted to see if I could blend a lot more into the one plot: Action, adventure, fantasy (they're the ones that usually go together), comedy, mystery and faith. Not a lot of fantasy novels include an element of mystery crime."

At times combining the various genres in The Catarbie Conspiracy was very difficult for Sabrina. "This was mostly because there was also 4 main plots happening simultaneously," she says. "The crime solving was one of them, but was more subtle than the others. The main plot is about the three Aussies who find themselves on the other world, so the reader is more focused on them."

Sabrina wanted to make sure that readers of The Catarbie Conspiracy reading about something that no one had come across before. This meant defining the characters boundaries and history. "Basically, the series is not a typical fantasy series," she explains. "The reader will experience elements of science and medical issues. There will be elements of teenager rebellion and re-discovered relationships. The action and adventure will look at animals and plants that do not behave the way we would normally think they behave. The readers will have to discover what's going on without knowing what the "bad guys" are thinking."

So why did Sabrina decide to become a writer? "I had too many ideas floating around in my head that I had to get it out just so that I could have some sanity," she laughs. "That was the first reason. The next reason was because the ideas that I had could be used together as a storyline. The crime solving plot was actually the first idea and the 'what would you do if you found yourself on another planet' was next."

Born in Dandenong, Victoria, Australia, Sabrina grew up in Darwin, Northern Territory, and currently resides in Canberra, in the Australian Capital Territory. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree, as well as an Honors Degree in Science. She spent nine years as an Australian Customers Officer, the last seven of which were spent as an intelligence analyst. After deciding to leave government and join private industry, she went to work as a consultant and the principal trainer with Visual Analysis in Canberra.

When not writing, Sabrina enjoys singing at church and dabbling with computer games, board games and card games. She is currently working on book 2 of the of the book series. "There will be 6 books in total to complete the entire story line. Readers could stop at book 3 to end the most immediate story, but they won't find out what really happens till the very end," Sabrina says.