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

A sudden silence descended upon the two young men and they stared at one another fearfully. So it was true after all; someone did come here in the dead of night ...but for what purpose? Was it really to look for supposed ancient relics or for a more sinister purpose?


'I know people make a living by finding old stuff and selling it abroad, to collectors and the like. It's been going on for years ...just like in Egypt and other places. It's gone on there for centuries though it's illegal and they get stiff sentences if they're caught. But I still can't believe there really is anything here,' said Petros, 'and what good would spades be on this bare rock? They say the Venetians dug over what little earth there is. If there is anything hidden, it's not to be found this way, is it?'


'No idea,' said David, 'and why pick this house out of all of the ones round here? There are others far more solid and more comfortable than this tumbledown place.'


Chapter 32: Manolis confronts them