Our Price: AUD$25.95 (USD$)* ISBN: 978-1-921456-28-2 Subject: Science Fiction/Children's Publication Date: November 2009

Synopsis
Twelve-year-old Tyler Willmont wakes up one Saturday morning and discovers a glowing crystal on the floor beside her bed. Deciding to pick it up for a closer look, a hand suddenly reaches out from within and pulls her inside.

Finding herself aboard a strange and mysterious spacecraft, Tyler undergoes a series of tests and challenges and eventually becomes the leader of a team called The Great Ones, joining Hans, who lives in a castle in Austria, Eng-wah, who lives beside the Yellow River in China, and Umbooto, from deep within the African jungle.

Together, The Great Ones battle many enemies, discover six parts of a mysterious key, and ultimately save the Universe!

About The Author
Betty Anderson was born with a great imagination, according to her mother, who believed she could make up a story about anything. At school, Betty excelled in writing but never once thought about becoming a writer. Instead, she wanted to travel, and so one day she took off with a friend and a thirty-foot bus and worked her way around Australia.

Returning later to her passion for writing, Betty tried her hand at a romance novel, which didn't exactly set the world on fire. Deciding instead to follow her other passion of entertaining young children, she set about creating an adventure novel, and found that she couldn't stop.

Into The Crystal is the first in a planned series of children's science fiction and adventure novels.

From The Book
Tyler was instructed to go and stand in the bottom right corner of the room and wait. For what she had no idea. She had been standing there for about ten seconds when the room began to change. Grass with tiny pink and white flowers started growing everywhere, and then all of a sudden strange-looking animals appeared. They looked something like a lion except they were purple with large heads and they had long floppy ears and razor sharp, pointed teeth. The Seeker told Tyler the animals were called Berkers. Their favourite food was fresh meat, preferably still alive, but from time to time they would also eat grass and these flowers...

Her task, if she chose to accept it, was to get past them and go to the door at the other end of the room. She looked around the room and found nothing to hide behind...

She plucked up some courage and took two steps then stood perfectly still, listening for any sound whatsoever. Luck was on her side as the creatures continued grazing. She took another couple of steps and this time she was shaking so much she nearly fell over. She took one more step and the room was suddenly filled with a deafening noise. Tyler realized she had stepped on a twig. She was going to die for sure...