Sailing to Atlantis

Cynthia Lee Mariner is an ace windsurfer. Nobody can keep up with her – until she meets the geni, who appears out of a strange bottle with the promise of three wishes. When Cynthia summons him again, she forgets all the sensible things she had planned to ask for and announces that her first wish is ‘to sail the seven seas’. The geni, who turns out to be King Sinbad of Baghdad, is intrigued by her wish and offers to be her companion. On their travels they free a grumpy magic carpet that becomes Cynthia’s constant companion. It is while skimming low over the ocean on the carpet that Sinbad and Cynthia meet up with the lady Alessa, who invites Cynthia to visit Atlantis.
The trip to Atlantis becomes Cynthia’s second wish and once again she sails with Sinbad. When they eventually locate Atlantis, a huge air bubble takes them to the city beneath the waves, where Cynthia is an honoured guest. The third wish takes Cynthia to the fabled land of Xanadu, where they discover the labyrinth of Kubla Khan. Sinbad is searching for a book that contains the secret of immortality, which Cynthia finds in the ancient monastery in the mountains of Kubla Khan.
*Honourable Mention, Children’s Aurealis Awards, 2001.
Ages 10+