"One of you is Esther Trier's daughter," said Anna quietly. "The other is a magical copy. She is flesh and blood, she lives, she thinks, she breathes - but when the star locket is rejoined or destroyed, she will simply cease to exist."

Identical in appearance, yet raised as strangers on opposite sides of the world, Estee Merton and Sally Taverner share a perilous inheritance: a broken half of a mysterious star-shaped locket, a magical talisman that could control the destiny of millions.

Aided by a renegade secret society and a young man who loves one of them too much, Sally and Estee are drawn into a terrifying struggle on the murky streets of nineteenth-century Starberg. As torn loyalties threaten everyone's safety, the star locket is fated to decide which twin will live and which will be lost. The problem is, there is no way of telling who is real and who is not.

Natalie Jane Prior worked as a librarian for several years before becoming a full-time writer in 1992. Her numerous books, mostly for children and teenagers, include novels, short stories, picture books and non-fiction, and she is particularly attracted to humorous and historical subjects. Her books have been shortlisted for numerous children's choice awards, as well as for the CBC awards. Her best-known books are the picture books The Paw and Bog Bodies, Mummies and Curious Corpses. She lives in Queensland.

Natalie was fun to interview, and I hope you enjoy it!

Interview by Stuart Beaton.