Amelia sits on the shore of New Plymouth, a quiet and uneventful seaside town in the north of New Zealand. Frozen in fear, she can’t go on; the neglect of a broken family, the violent beatings from her boyfriend and the escalating self-abuse to escape reality are all too much. She retreats to an abandoned house, swallowing the remains of a stolen pill bottle and for a moment, all noise fades to silence as the drugs numb Amelia’s senses.
The suicide attempt fails, and hours later, Amelia wakes to a blinding light coming from the wall across the room. She drags her feeble body to the illuminated brick, finding a locket with the picture of a young lady inside. Awed by the lady’s radiance and apparent innocence, Amelia is calm, no longer feeling suicidal but hopeful. She is everything Amelia desires to be…
A week after taking refuge in the house, a letter arrives from a man named Danny. It is not meant for Amelia, but for the lady in the locket, whom he wishes to marry. Immersing herself in Danny’s exotic life across the world in Tanzania, Amelia can't help but feel jealous. If only she could become more like this lady, maybe Danny would love her instead.
An obsession takes hold, and Amelia becomes determined to transform herself from the disgraced person she’s been to someone refined and elegant — someone worthy of Danny’s love. But when Danny finally appears, will he be the man she expects?
ANZEC Member - James McAlloon
James was born and raised in the surfing district of Australia's Sunshine Coast before moving to the Americas, where he studied Spanish literature and travelled extensively. Now back home, he draws on those experiences to engage his readers in stories of the human condition, and transports them to places he has come to know and love.
