Welcome everyone. Turn down the lights, find your silver bells, and possibly a crystal that speaks to you. You might want to light a candle or two. This is Lisa Burton Radio, and I’m your host Lisa the robot girl.
My special guest today is living under some unusual circumstances, but we’ll let her tell us about them. “Welcome to the show, Amelina Scott.”
“Hi Lisa. I’m so excited about this, a chance to tell my story to a robot girl, that’s beyond amazing!”
“I already mentioned that your living arrangement is a bit odd. Can you fill our listeners in a bit?”
“Yeah, my dad disappeared on my thirteenth birthday. Sorry, I find this difficult to talk about. It really hurts. I, I cope by writing my feelings down in poetry. I don’t like to talk about it… But for you I will …
“Dad’s vanishing was the weirdest night ever. We’d been celebrating, laughing, dancing and playing charades. Then my dad’s charades card became a terrible omen and he upped and left. It was scary and so out of character for him. I tried to fathom it out, but it’s pretty unfathomable. Mum and I clung to each other, weeping….
Then, guess what? A couple of years later he returned. A dad, but not the dad I knew. It was heart-breaking. He had aged, viciously. He looked more like a battered old grandfather than my dad.”
“That’s strange, but is it possible he went away for some kind of treatment, and returned after it was over? It might have been really hard for him.”
“No way! What made you say that… No treatment would do that to you! That’s bonkers. Unless it was a special clinic for guys addicted to playing guitar. My dad always loved his guitar. I reckon there’s something sinister going on; I’d say he’s a victim of an aging curse.
“Ah, my mum, Sorry, this is making me tear up again. My lovely mum has changed. She used to be all sunshine and now she’s sharped-tongued and stroppy. She hasn’t aged but it’s like her soul has. Deep inside. The pain’s carved its way in and taken residence. Then there’s Esme. She used to go to the same school as me. We weren’t close then but now we are. I’ve always longed for a sister to share my thoughts with. Esme isn’t my real sister, I’m an only child, but she feels like one. I know this sounds crazy but she’s trapped. Yeah, trapped, in the mirrors in our house. You must think I’m making this up, but I’m not. Her pain’s trapped too. She has a limited ability to do anything, so she speaks, listens, and eavesdrops. She moves a bit but has no real freedom. This leaves my poor friend trapped with a continuous stream of dark thoughts. She tells me loads of shocking stuff about how she used to self-harm. How she’s a victim too. She can’t tell me why she’s become a prisoner in our house. Someone has sworn her to secrecy.”
“It’s getting stranger, particularly Esme. Is there anything that might have catalyzed these events? Maybe you can put your finger on something.”
“I know this sounds odd but I’m beginning to think it’s got something to do with this weird grasshopper housed in the Corpus Christi Chronopage clock on King’s Parade.
“It took a long time to work it out but I think time has something to do with it. I’m still muddling through. At the beginning, this cartwheeling invite bounced through my letterbox and summoned me to the Crystal Cottage. In despair, I thought I’d never find the cottage. It was like the cottage was playing hide and seek with me. But, then my Aunt Karissa sent me an enchanted paint set. I painted creepy scenes, creatures and the like. It scared the heck out of me but there was a purpose to it all. It was like I had to go through this to get my pass to the cottage. I can’t tell you much more for fear of spoiling the story. All I can say is this cottage is so beautiful, a haven of mysterious light. It’s quaint, a magical place hidden below the earth. Its walls hold an array of every twinkling crystal imaginable. It’s dream-like. But, there is a sense of danger too. A sense that the cottage must be protected from evil.”
“Things are sounding pretty creepy.”
“Oh, geez there is so much about the cottage I daren’t tell you. What can I say?
“An old wacky lady, Leanne inhabits the cottage. She tends to the crystals and keeps a bunch of white doves as pets. I have a feeling the doves are not as pure white or as friendly as they seem. The cottage is guarded by a creature called Eruterac and protected by well-known Gods and Goddesses from mythology. Aphrodite often takes a hissy fit if pretty girls meddle in the affairs of the cottage.
“According to Google maps the cottage doesn’t exist. Yet, I swear I’ve been there. It’s located on a river pathway, a place that’s light and breezy, or shadowed and eerie. The cottage lays hidden below the earth. When it’s summoned, it breaks through the surrounding earth to appear at ground level. But even then Google maps can’t find it.
“To find the cottage I had to take a dangerous pathway. I’d been warned not to go by my mum but I didn’t listen. At the railway tracks I knew I was in danger. What kind of danger I didn’t know. Then, this guy called Ryder turned up. All dark charisma and shadows. He saved me from two youths who didn’t have control of their own minds. They’d been tormenting me but it was as if they were puppets. As Ryder left, he commanded the shadows at his feet to do his bidding. It was a strange encounter, an awakening. His hypnotic personality frightened but excited me too. I had to find out more about him.
“So there is a shadow monster and a strange cat named Shadow. Do you think there could be a connection there?”
“Oh there are so many connections to puzzle and confuse! Who is Ryder? And how is he able to command the shadows? The monster isn’t the shadow; he’s too earthy to be a shadow. My not-quite-sister Esme believes the monster is Mr Nice Guy! But, I’ll let you decide about that…Shadow is a black cat but he’s more than that. There’s something extraordinary about him. A power within that I can’t quite explain. I love him but my mum and dad hate his black furry guts. Black cats have that effect. Some people believe they’re bad luck. Maybe they are. He turned up when my dad returned. A strange coincidence or what? Maybe I should kick him out. Sigh. I could never do that.
“I get so frustrated with Esme. We often argue. She knows what’s going on. I swear she does. But she won’t tell me. Or, perhaps she is too scared to. Someone is controlling her that’s for sure.”
“I understand your frustrations. What are you going to do now?”
“I’m learning all I can about crystal magic. I’m discovering who I am. I’m not an ordinary girl .I’m a Krystallos, a crystal magician. That’s who I am, but it’s taken me a long time to find my true self.
“I have to cure my dad otherwise the villain will keep on stealing time for his own wicked reasons. The only way I can do that is to wield a seriously scary crystal. I have no idea how it will go or what will happen. I’m so in the dark. My Aunt told me I have to be the one to do so. I have to be brave… Me, Amelina Scott has to be brave!”
“Amelina, I wish you all the luck in the world. It sounds like a scary situation, and there isn’t a lot of help out there. Any closing comments for our listeners?”
“Sometimes I am that hidden person. That person who’s courageous. I have to be that girl. I’ll do anything to help my family. I’ll do anything to make my friends safe. This curse will find a new victim unless I do.”
“You can learn more about Amelina’s plight in the book, The Curse of Time – Bloodstone, by Marjorie Mallon. I’ll post links and such on the website after I go off the air.
“Make sure to use those sharing buttons today too. Marjorie and Amelina would do it for you when your character appears on the next Lisa Burton Radio.”
***
Fifteen-year-old Amelina Scott lives in Cambridge with her dysfunctional family, a mysterious black cat, and an unusual girl who’s imprisoned within the mirrors located in her house. When an unexpected message arrives inviting her to visit the Crystal Cottage, she sets off on a forbidden pathway where she encounters Ryder, a charismatic, but perplexing stranger.
With the help of a magical paint set, and some crystal wizard stones she discovers the truth about a shocking curse that has destroyed her family’s happiness.
Buy Book: myBook.to/TheCurseofTime
I am a debut author who has been blogging for three years at my lovely blog home Kyrosmagica: https://mjmallon.com. My interests include writing, photography, poetry, and alternative therapies. I write Fantasy YA, middle grade fiction and micro poetry – haiku and Tanka. I love to read and have written over 100 reviews: https://mjmallon.com/2015/09/28/a-z-of-my-book-reviews/
My alter ego is MJ – Mary Jane from Spiderman. I love superheroes! I was born on the 17th of November in Lion City: Singapore, (a passionate Scorpio, with the Chinese Zodiac sign a lucky rabbit,) second child and only daughter to my proud parents Paula and Ronald. I grew up in a mountainous court in the Peak District in Hong Kong with my elder brother Donald. My parents dragged me away from my exotic childhood and my much loved dog Topsy to the frozen wastelands of Scotland. In bonnie Edinburgh I mastered Scottish country dancing, and a whole new Och Aye lingo.
As a teenager I travelled to many far-flung destinations to visit my abacus wielding wayfarer dad. It’s rumoured that I now live in the Venice of Cambridge, with my six foot hunk of a Rock God husband, and my two enchanted daughters. After such an upbringing my author’s mind has taken total leave of its senses! When I’m not writing, I eat exotic delicacies while belly dancing, or surf to the far reaches of the moon. To chill out, I practise Tai Chi. If the mood takes me I snorkel with mermaids, or sign up for idyllic holidays with the Chinese Unicorn, whose magnificent voice sings like a thousand wind chimes.
Carolina Russo has created two wonderful portraits of my characters which feature in my paperback which is due for release in April. Below you can see a full colour version of one image.
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