It is May 1977, a quiet house in the English Cotswolds. Emily,an emotionally fragile,gentle, nature-loving girl, is approaching her eighteenth birthday. Her father, Martin, has become worried about her since the death of her mother, as she has begun to walk in her sleep and says she sees her mother’s ghost. When Martin gets the chance to join his friend Barnaby on an archaeological dig on Crete, he welcomes Emily’s suggestion that she and her older brother David join him out there. Staying with their father’s Greek friends, Emily and David are introduced to the thoughtful young son of the family, Petros, who is prepared to go along with David’s constant quest for fun and girls but who falls in love with the shy, distant Emily. When the siblings notice a mysterious island in the bay, now deserted and a source of superstitious fear among the local villagers, David is eager to explore it, despite Petros’ warnings, but Emily feels afraid and troubled. Eventually the island draws them in, and soon Manolis, a local fisherman who is obsessed with the island for his own reasons, leads them all into a terrifying adventure. The story winds its way through Cretan labyrinths to a strange and surprising conclusion. 
Suitable for age 16+ Some mild sexual scenes and one violent scene

The Glass Madonna is created by Loretta Proctor, an eGlobal Creative Publishing Signed Author



The Glass Madonna

'Come and see me, you know where my shop is,' said Manolis as Emily prepared to leave the beach. 


She was still shaken by his odd request. It had actually been more of a command, and he had unnerved her. She made no reply but scrambled up the rocks, her clothes tied in a bundle about her waist. 


She looked down at him, feeling the pull of his strange, sad personality. She shook her head.


Walking on, Emily felt a sudden freedom from something heavy and dark. That man troubled her. No, she wouldn't go to see him; why should she expose herself to more of his oddness?


People were astir now and the main road busier. With the rising sun, the heat was already palpitating, shimmering in watery looking waves across the ground. She began to climb back up the stony road to the villa and saw Petros sprinting towards her, jumping over rocks and clumps of grass like some crazy goat.


Chapter 15: A trip to the Palace of Knossos