the grotto by u. cronin
DESCRIPTION
A statue of the Virgin Mary starts to move, drawing thousands to the Irish village of Loughermore, but something far from divine is behind the miracles. The locality is sickened by a series of animal mutilations and horrific murders at the heart of which is an ancient and malign Entity—an Aes Sídhe. Can Mac learn to harness the magic of stone circles to defeat It before It gains physical form?TRANSCRIPT
U. Cronin
THE GROTTO
U. Cronin
Is minic cuma aingeal ar an Diabhal féinThere is often the look of an angel on the Devil himself – old Irish expression
THE GROTTO
160,000 words 450 pages Supernatural suspense Available through
Amazon, Smashwords, iTunes, Barnes and Noble, Sony and many other ebookshops
THE GROTTO
The Grotto in a Nutshell
A statue of the Virgin Mary in a Lourdes grotto outside a small village in Ireland begins to move
Huge crowds flock to the village (Loughermore) Strange things begin to happen around Loughermore
Animal mutilations Abductions Ritualistic murders
Readers learn that An Entity inside the statue is behind everything A group of men calling themselves ‘The Guardians’
has come under the Entity’s control and are carrying out its commands
The Grotto in a Nutshell
Mac and his friends discover what’s going on They learn from the exiled Fr. Morrison:
The origin of the Entity An aes sídhe of the Tuatha Dé Danann
How to combat the Entity using the magic from stone circles
The Entity requires blood sacrifices to escape from the statue and assume physical from
As The Guardians strive to provide the Entity with human victims, an epic struggle between good and evil ensues
Background – Moving Statue Fever
Summer 1985 A statue of the Virgin
begins to move in Ballinspittle, Co. Cork
This very soon becomes a national and international sensation
Later in the year the phenomenon spreads all around Ireland Every town and village
has its own moving statue
Characters in The Grotto - Goodies
Mac – The hero Thirty-something environmental scientist Sceptical, honourable, brave
O’Malley – Mac’s best friend Loud, brash, big-hearted, incorrigible slagger
Rob and Katie – A couple, the other half of the ‘famous four’ Rob is the action hero, Katie the organiser
Sadhbh – Local girl that the ‘famous four’ befriend in the course of investigation Bubbly, funny, irreverent, fearless
More Goodies
Fr. Tola – Folklorist, wise man Fr. Morrison – Mystic, demonologist,
antiquarian Unique insight into moving statues and the
entities behind them Teaches Mac and co. how to master the
magic of stone circles Mossy McDonagh – Naturalist, Traveller
Resourceful, quick-witted Supt. Fergal Gallagher – Police
superintendent for Macroom district Rigorous, fair-minded, determined
Characters in The Grotto - Baddies
The Guardians Six men from Loughermore Ostensibly pillars of the community Led by the cruel and sinister Enda Bannon Fall under the Entity’s control at a very early
stage Graduate from animal mutilations to human
sacrifices Kitty Boyle
Loughermore parish priest’s housekeeper Pat Landy
Corrupt and disgraced former government minister and MEP
Places in The Grotto
Loughermore Fictitious village in
northwest Co. Cork, Ireland
Pop. 3-400, a couple of bars, a shop, a petrol station
A large Lourdes grotto just outside the village, set into a hill
Macroom Nearest big town to
Loughermore and home of Sadhbh
Lively, picturesque market town
Places in The Grotto
Ennis, Co. Clare, Ireland Home to Mac,
O’Malley, Rob and Katie
Charming, medieval town of laneways and pubs
Famed for its traditional music
Places in The Grotto
Vitoria Capital of the Spanish
Basque Country Extensive medieval
quarter of winding cobblestone streets, ancient plazas, palaces and chapels
Famed for its gastronomy
Close to the Rioja region
Home to Fr. Morrison
Places in The Grotto
Musheramore mountains Dark, mysterious
mountains north of Loughermore and Macroom
It is here among its deep, lonely woods that the Guardians operate
Also here that Mac stumbles into Knocknakilla stone circle and inadvertently learns how to harness its magic
Stone Circles
Knocknakilla Stone circle complex
west of Macroom It is here where Mac
discovers he has the power to channel stone circles
Mendiluze Sun-wheel stone circle
in province of Alava in Basque country
Fr. Morrison teaches the gang to channel here
Stone Circles
Reanerre Well-preserved five-stone
ring between Millstreet and Macroom
Carrigagulla Set in an elbow of the
River Laney Deep in the countryside
an Seisear Six stone alignment Legend says each stone
is a petrified wrong-doer
About the Author – U. Cronin
From Ennis, Co. Clare, Ireland Now lives in Madrid, Spain The Grotto is his first novel Is currently working on his
second novel
Blog: http://ucronin.wordpress.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/UPCronin
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/ultan.cronin
About me: http://about.me/ucronin