Bella, Child of the Universe

Eight-year-old Bella is finding it hard to understand why her fond, caring mother has become so hurtful to her. Whilst ten-year-old brother Peter is happy with school, football and friends, Bella feels alone and frightened, and thinks the fairies have taken away her real mother, leaving her with a 'goblin' mother instead.When their mother is taken into hospital, Bella and Peter go to stay in Cornwall with their spinster aunt Joan, whom they've never met. Retired naval officer Joan is unfamiliar with young children and preoccupied with planning her first art exhibition.Following the news of her mother's death, Bella runs off to look for her 'real' mother on a local hilltop and surrounds, where she meets fascinating characters-the fairy king, witches and piskies. By the time Joan realises Bella is missing, the little girl is dangerously ill and in grave danger, and Joan must put her trust in her neighbours and the local police in order to find Bella before it is too late.This moving tale-heart-stopping at times and steeped in Cornish enchantment-takes the reader on Bella's journey, as the sensitive and loving yet resilient and determined youngster and her brother cope with tragedy and change, experience vividly the joys and excitement of childhood, and adapt to 'larger-than-life' adults. Elisabeth Douglas grew up in Stratford-on-Avon and went to school in Warwick. At age eleven, she was writing 'Dick Barton Special Agent' type adventures, which would be passed around the school bus and read with enthusiasm. The instalments always ended in a cliff-hanger and became so complicated that she 'lost the plot' and just stopped writing!She took up writing again at Lancaster University in 2006 while studying on a Creative Writing course, which led to her first novel, 'Bella, Child of the Universe', with a sequel in progress.Elisabeth has been a Nurse, Midwife (in Cornwall), District Nurse, Health Visitor, College Lecturer and Counsellor. She is married with three children and six grandchildren. Retired, she plays golf and does voluntary work for Samaritans and for Church.