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

Manolis was angry and Areti got the brunt of it when he came to see her that evening. He slammed into the house and Rex set up a fierce barking but soon subsided when he got a kick in the muzzle for his pains. 


'What is it? Why are you so mad?' she asked. 


Despite his roughness she was never afraid of him. She had a hold on him just as he had a hold on her and this meant that they had to be mutually civil to each other. Besides, she loved him, had shared his moods, torments and sadness since they were both children. He was like a brother as well as a lover. 


'Those damned brats, they're poking their noses into everything; they won't let things alone. Like a fool, Emilia has told them my story and now they are all keen to go and pry with stupid curiosity, no understanding. I'm disappointed in her. I thought she was wiser. She's just a stupid foreigner. I shall go over there tonight and see just what they have been up to, what they've discovered.'


Chapter 33: Areti has a heavy heart