The Twilight Gods

by Hayden Thorne

London during the Great Exhibition of 1851 is a new world of technological advances, eye-popping inventions, and glimpses of exotic treasures from the East. For fifteen-year-old Norris Woodhead it’s a time of spectral figures mingling with London’s daily crowds, and an old rectory in a far corner of the English countryside, a great house literally caught in time, where answers to curious little mysteries await him. Confined by his family’s financial woes, Norris suffers a lonely and unsatisfying time till the day he (and only he) notices “shadow-folks” in the streets. Then a strange widow appears, rents a vacant room in the house, and takes him under her wing. She becomes his guardian, slowly revealing those shadows’ secrets, Norris’ connection with them, and the life-altering choices he has to face in the end.

The Twilight Gods is a retelling of Native American folktale called “The Girl Who Married a Ghost.” Set in Victorian England, it’s an alternative perspective on a gay teen’s coming-out process, with Norris’ journey of self-discovery couched in magical and supernatural terms and imagery.

Sample

He didn’t wait for Mr. Garland to say anything else. He stepped out the door and hurried to his room, where he deposited his books. Without telling anyone where he was going and what he was up to, Norris left the house to wander through the streets, his gaze restless and moving as he scoured the immediate vicinity. Whenever he caught sight of a shadowy figure, he’d hurry up to it, reaching out a hand, but he felt nothing but air every time.

What were these shadows doing, anyway? Norris stepped aside and pretended to look at a milliner’s display, idly noting that his sisters would likely tear each other’s throats out in a mad fight to lay claim to the garish creations being offered for sale. Then he turned around and observed the street, clasping his hands behind him.

The shadowy forms were definitely more pronounced, or, rather, more visible, when Norris was out there, standing nearly in the middle of the pavement. As he watched, he realized that these curious forms seemed to behave no differently from everyone else. Like the clerks, the street vendors, and the servants hurrying about, these spectral figures appeared to go about their business as well, weaving in and out of the crowds or crossing the streets. They functioned independently of their corporeal counterparts, who cast their own identifiable shadows on the ground. What Norris saw were vague figures in the air, not on the streets or the walls.

He couldn’t think of any other word to call them. “I’m seeing ghosts, aren’t I?” he breathed. “Nonsense! Ghosts only appear at night!”

Read A Sample

Genre: Historical / Supernatural
Age Range: 16 and up
ISBN: 978-1-60370-815-9, 1-60370-815-4
232 pages / 58000 words / 5x8 trade paperback

Booksellers and librarians, please contact Lorna Hinson at ldoone@torquerepress.com for discount and distribution information.