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

It was still siesta time in the village and a heavy quiet pervaded the place. The shops were shut up, the streets empty, a roaming dog barked at Emily as she walked along the dusty street. As always, her senses lingered on tiny details. Little sprigs of thyme or rosemary jutting from a rock, a little green lizard darting across her path, the sweet scent of crushed chamomile beneath her feet, aromatic in the hot afternoon air. She always liked to be around when others were not. It gave her a wonderful sense of spaciousness as if the whole place belonged to her alone. No one to stare or speak to her. Peaceful.


As she approached Areti's house, she saw her sitting in a basket chair on her porch, occupied with some sewing. 


Areti looked up and smiled at her as she approached.


Chapter 22: Reading the crystal ball