The Hidden People

Character sketches

See the animal in his cage that you built
Are you sure what side you’re on?
Better not look him too closely in the eye
Are you sure what side of the glass you are on?
See the safety of the life you have built
Everything where it belongs
Feel the hollowness inside of your heart

And it’s all
Right where it belongs
What if everything around you
Isn’t quite as it seems?

What if all the world you think you know
Is an elaborate dream?
And if you look at your reflection
Is it all you want it to be?

What if you could look right
Through the cracks?
Would you find yourself
Find yourself afraid to see?

What if all the world’s inside of your head
Just creations of your own?
Your devils and your gods
All the living and the dead…

‘Right Where It Belongs’, With Teeth, Trent Reznor, 2005

Writing fiction is very odd. I make marks on a page, and share the devils and the gods in my head with you.

Long time readers may recall that my original aim with this Substack was not to rant about academia or to tell you interest facts about legal cases. That happened accidentally.

My original aim was to get feedback on my second novel, The Hidden People, and hopefully find a publisher.

Alas, I suspect it’s not de rigueur these days to write a fantasy novel drawing from Celtic and Norse mythology, with quotes from Shakespeare sprinkled throughout. I ended up self-publishing it on Amazon. You can still read Chapter 1 and Chapter 2 on this Substack.

Joanna and her two brothers are doing their best to live a normal life, but it’s a challenge. When they were growing up, their Mama hid them from authorities and didn’t send them to school, until they were taken from her care in their teens.

However, when Henny, Jo’s oldest brother, disappears in the middle of the night, and Jo has to find him, she starts to wonder - what’s true and what isn’t? Has she really fallen into a different world? Or is this all just a dream? And if it’s real, can Jo really trust Annurin, the hunter who’s captured her, and who’s bringing her before a mysterious “King”?

My daughter’s friend “dexalyys” is a talented artist. Some time back I commissioned him to do sketches of some of the characters: Jo, her brothers Simon and Henny, Annurin, Méabh, and the Bone King. Below are the fruits of his labours.

I’m just so delighted: he really got the sense of the characters. I thoroughly recommend his work - you can commission him here. He understood the devils and the gods in my mind and gave them shape.