The Dark Entry

by Debbie Jones

In the grounds of Norwich Cathedral a JCB driver pierces the lid of a coffin which has lain here for centuries, unleashing the dark spirit of its occupant, a necromancer and priest who died at the hands of the mob. Now his spirit will possess others in his quest to turn back the clock and once more gain magical power.
To Helen, Luke, Darren and Barnaby, four teenagers who meet in the cathedral grounds, something odd is happening. A strange mist swirls along the streets, followed by a plague of rats, illness and outbreaks of violence. Why is Darren’s father behaving oddly and why does Barnaby have dreams of a dark man performing magic in a room above the Cathedral’s Dark Entry?

Paperback

First published July 8, 2011

About the author

BIO

After Debbie Jones retired from teaching, her daughter, Rebecca, suggested what became after a year of work: TALES OF WONDER FROM THE GARDEN STATE. Jones is a produced playwright in New York City. Throughout her years in theatre, the beginnings of her short stories collected in the back of an old file cabinet. Writing these short stories gave Jones a freedom to explore place she hadn’t found in the dialogue of her plays. And it was a real pleasure to write about the place she knows best - New Jersey.
Jones work as writer/director and teacher has been offbeat and tenacious. In the pre- dawn hours where she wrote first on an old Royal typewriter then on a succession of computers, her characters came alive. Her craft grew in the rewrites accomplished in the afterschool hours and through her considered experience as a teacher of writing. Jones served in the playwrights’ unit at four established off-Broadway houses including Manhattan Class Company and Circle Rep. Her play, JEREMY RUDGE, was produced in New York at The Mint Theatre with Austin Pendleton and Becky Ann Baker. Her play, THE BREEZEWAY, was produced in New York at the American Theatre for Actors. She directed original work (her own and other artists) at innovative off-off houses including The HERE Arts Center, The Mint, and New Voice. Her collaboration with the brilliant solo performer, Samantha Jones, resulted in BUTTERFLY SUICIDE which was one of 12 shows selected for the prestigious SOLO Nova Arts Festival at PS 122. Jones co-wrote and directed the independent feature film, THE LAST CHRISTMAS PARTY for Dora Mae Productions.
In 2007, Jones was selected by The Dramatists' Guild as one of the "Top 50 to Watch." She is the recipient of the prestigious Berilla Kerr Award for her body of work in New York theatre. Jones wrote for the syndicated TV series HAPPINESS which was the recipient of both The Film Advisory Award for Excellence and the Dove Award. Jones is a founding partner of Dora Mae Productions, a member of The Dramatists’ Guild, the UFT, and Alpha Psi Omega. She attended Immaculata College for her BA in English and earned her Master’s Degree from Columbia University in English Education. She taught Latin and writing at The Center School, a public middle school in New York City, for 20 years.