Damien J. Coluccio is an Australian epic fantasy author from the South Coast, NSW. Inspired by the greats of Ancient Mediterranean literature and mythology, 2024 marked the debut of his The Wine-Dark series.
Graduate of the University of Sydney, when not lost in reading or writing, Damien can be found wandering a botanic garden, hunting through antiques, throwing ridiculous parties for his friends, and seeking out little adventures.
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The Wine-Dark Daughter
History is littered with the fates of mortals who rose too close to the gods.
Returning triumphant from the cursed city of Urruc — where even the divine dare not tread — Desma has brought wealth, power, and victory to her home kingdom of Apasa. Among the treasures is the revered Belt of Turan, said to have adorned the hips of the Goddess of Love herself.
Desma’s mother, the High Priestess Timothea, calls for a celebration in the temple to honour the priceless find. But when unwanted visitors attempt to lay claim to the treasure, the High Priestess is brutally slain. To save her distraught father from eternal shame, Desma commits an unforgivable sin that saves his soul — and damns hers.
Pronounced unclean by the King and banished from her home, Desma is forced to live by a punishing set of rules that set her apart from society. Her only hope of reclaiming her life is to be cleansed by a merciful kingdom.
But Desma’s path to redemption is littered with the dark truths of love and power…
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Announcements
The Wine-Dark Daughter is currently available on:
Amazon: Paperback and eBook
Kobo: eBook
Ingram Spark: Paperback
Upcoming events
Book Fair Australia 2024
Saturday 2nd November - Sunday 3rd November, Sydney
So excited to be attending my first event as an exhibitor!
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Book Reading Night
Society City, 274 Crown St Wollongong
Wednesday 9th October 6.30pm
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It has been a wandering journey, writing and publishing my first novel.
I started working on The Wine-Dark Daughter in February 2021 after visiting the Chau Chak Wing Museum’s Mediterranean Identities exhibit at USYD. I was inspired by an inscription with Homer’s famous epithet – ‘across the wine-dark sea’.
And thus Desma and her crew were born!
Cut to August 2023 when I reached out to the amazingly talented Danikka Taylor at Authors Own for an online coffee chat and the relationship bloomed from there!
Danikka has assembled such an incredible team of people to walk indie authors from taking the first steps into editing all the way to book launches.
I cannot recommend Authors Own highly enough – click the button below and see for yourself!
