The Thomas Trew Series

A light fantasy series for younger readers,

Illustrated by Ted Dewan.

Publishers: Hodder Children's Books, UK. The series will also be
published by Hodder Australia (now known as Hachette Australia)

Book I:

Thomas Trew and the Hidden People

Everyone thinks ten year old Thomas Trew is weird: neighbours, kids at
school, even his own dad. The only person who didn't think he was weird
is his mother Mab, and she's been dead many years now. Thomas doesn't
really mind being thought weird. Ever since he can remember, he's seen
things that weren't there, and heard things that made no sound. All his
life, he's been waiting for something to happen..

And one day, it does!

/ -There's a dwarf in the hall,' Thomas Trew said to his father one
grey London afternoon,/ begins the first book.

And from that dwarf in the hall, whose name is Adverse Camber, and the
strange lady with him, Angelica Eyebright, who says she's Thomas'
godmother, comes the summons that will change Thomas' life-”and that of
his father-”forever. For Adverse Camber and Angelica Eyebright are from
the world of the Hidden People, the world that is now to be the Trews'
home.They have come to take them to live in Owlchurch, a lovely little
village on the River Riddle. In this magical, amazing and unusual world,
Thomas will discover not only his true talents-”the ancestral talents of
the Rymers-”but also find his place within that world, and also the human
world, which the Hidden People call the Obvious world. Thomas will have
many extraordinary, fun, exciting adventures in the world of the Hidden
People and will emerge as a fully-fledged Rymer, able to take his place
as a link between the worlds of imagination and magic and the everyday
world, the Obvious world. He will come to understand both, and his
-weirdness' becomes greatness indeed.

In the first book, Thomas Trew and the Hidden People, we are introduced
to the Hidden world. The world of the Hidden People is a world parallel
to ours. It runs on -pishogue', which is what the Hidden People call
magic, and it is responsible for such things as dreams, music,
imagination and much else in the Obvious World, as our world is called
by the Hidden People. There are different races in the world of the
Hidden People: the Seafolk, a nomadic people who include beings such as
mermaids, who are herders in the seas and oceans; the aristocratic
Ariels, who live in palaces and castles in the clouds; the Montaynards,
who live in mountains; the Middlers, who live on the surface of the
earth; and the Uncouthers, who live deep underground in a harsh military
dictatorship, are the creators of nightmares and terrors, and are often
in conflict with the other races of Hidden People. There are also
different ways of living: solitaries, who live by themselves or in small
family groups, often near or in woods; and troopies, who live in
settlements such as villages and towns.

Owlchurch is a Middler village. It competes fiercely with Aspire,
another Middler village, across the river, because while Owlchurch
believes in traditional ways of making -pishogue', Aspire favours modern
methods. The villages even look different because of this: Owlchurch is
traditional, higgledy-piggeldy, comfortable yet fantastical in a
fairytale like way; Aspire looks like something out of X-Men, all
glittering metal and glass. The people in Aspire are elegant, tall,
cool, sharply dressed and rather alike; the people of Owlchurch rather
messy, unfashionable but diverse. Thomas is caught in the middle of this
rivalry, which will have unpredictable and dangerous consequences for
him when he falls into the terrifying world of the Uncouthers, led by
the red-headed, blank-eyed giant, General Legion Morningstar...

But he has made good friends in Owlchurch, especially Pinch and Patch
Gull, the mischievous twin children of one of the solitaries, Old
Gal-”and they won't let him be held by the Uncouthers!

This light, fun and inventive fantasy series, for children from about
the age of eight, is based on a variety of folktale and folklore ideas
about the -hidden world', the world of enchantment and magic, but
especially on the ancient story of Thomas the Rhymer, who moved easily
between Elfland and our world. It features much fun modernisation,
adaptation and reinvention of traditional themes, and will be
illustrated by the wonderful British artist Ted Dewan. There are 6 books
in the series. They will be published at two-monthly intervals. In Britain, this will be from February 2007; in Australia, from April 2007.

Book 2:

Thomas Trew and the Horns of Pan)

A new solitary has come to live on the outskirts of Owlchurch, not far
from the road that leads to Aspire. She is the beautiful Frodite Peree,
and has two equally beautiful children, Silvan and Faunia. Soon, the
Peree family have set the village by its ears. For Frodite is an magical
ointment-maker, like the mother of twins Pinch and Patch Gull, but
unlike Old Gal, she has up on her wall a certificate saying she has
obtained -the Horns of Pan'-”the very highest honour any solitary of that
type can ever have, conferred by the great Pan himself, from his forest
home of Arkadia. This distinction, and the fact she is so lovely, and
her children so sweet, soon means that poor Old Gal, who is anything but
beautiful, and her children anything but sweet, begins to lose
business-¦Jealousies and conflicts erupt-”conflicts stirred too by the
reactions of the old rivals of Owlchurch, Aspire..

Pinch and Patch are furious, and try to disrupt Frodite Peree as much
as they can. But she has very strong pishogue, and they come off the
worst many times when they try to play tricks on her and her children.
Thomas himself is at first drawn to the family, then he begins to
suspect something is amiss. Where have the Perees come from? Why have
they come to settle there at that time? And how exactly did Frodite come
to hold the -Horns of Pan'? He, Pinch and Patch decide to go on a
dangerous trip through the forest, first of all to find the twins' wild
father, the Green Man, who knows the great Pan, and thence to Arkadia,
to see if they can get any answers..And so begins an exciting and
dangerous adventure!

Book 3

Thomas Trew and the Klint-King's Gold

A klint-king is a kind of Montaynard, the race of Hidden People who
live in the mountains. Somewhat similar to dwarves, they are very fond
of gold. In this adventure, Thomas Trew and his friends investigate the theft of an amazing golden prize given by the Klint-King for the grand Magicians' and Enchanters' Convention in Owlchurch. This will lead them into very great danger..

Book 4:

Thomas Trew and the Selkie's Curse

This will take Thomas into the wild and beautiful world of the
Seafolk, to try and undo a curse pronounced by a dying selkie, or
sealgirl, a curse which has grave consequences for the world of the
Hidden People.

Book 5:

Thomas Trew and the Flying Huntsman :

Thomas and his friends visit the ethereal world of the Ariels, up in the sky—but something terrible happens to Thomas there, something that puts him in the gravest possible danger. But is it from the terrifying Flying Huntsman, or someone else?

Book 6:

Thomas Trew and the Island of Ghosts :

The Island of Ghosts hasn't appeared in the river Riddle for
centuries, but one day, there it is..What does its appearance mean, for
Owlchurch but also for Thomas? In this haunting final adventure, Thomas
comes face to face with the ghost of his own mother, and to a painful choice. Will he have to leave the Hidden World forever?

Thomas Trew blog:
You can find this at http://thomastrew.blogspot.com Visit it to find out more about Thomas and the Hidden World, and about how the books were created! You can also comment, and ask questions.