When I first thought of Tully, I saw this girl who had to wear a cloak, so I started asking questions about who she was and why. Where did she come from? etc… She was a girl who lived a lie, been told a lie and wasn’t allowed to believe any different.

Been there?

I think we all have at some point in our lives. We grow believing things are the way they are because our parents, teachers, friends, society, etc tells us so and we don’t always question it because it’s normal. This is Tully at the beginning of the story–The diseased ward of Mistress Glenna.

As the story unfolds, she learns there’s so much more to her, the stories she’s been led to believe about her identity and the barrier around the Kellan Lowlands. I don’t want to give away any spoilers, so I won’t go into the story too deeply. But in her journey of discovery, she finds her strength and learns that everything she thought was wrong about her, actually had purpose and intent.

Sound familiar?

How often have we thought a piece of ourselves was ‘wrong’ simply because it didn’t seem to fit in with the rest of society? Yet as we’ve grown and matured, we see our uniqueness is a gift that make us who we are. It is something we alone bring that adds to whatever circumstance we face.

As I wrote Tully, this aspect of her shone through.

As this is the last of my ‘behind the scenes’ look at the major players in Hidden, I wanted to end with a quote from Tully. It’s said near the end of the story when life for everyone, but her, has moved forward.

How am I ever going to go back to normal? I don’t even know what normal is anymore.

Tully Hidden © K. M. Wray

I read this line in December of 2020 when I received my first print copy of the book and tears came to my eyes after all we had faced with Covid19 and the changes that 2020 brought to our world.

In the end, Tully finds her normal and it’s better than she ever imagined! She started the story as a young woman wanting to find a corner of the Kellan Lowlands to hide away. She transforms into a young woman who finds love, purpose and is at peace with her new self and world.

I hope you fall in love with Tully like I have and I hope, like her, you find your wings. And as you search for your new normal in the midst of whatever changes Covid19 has brought to your life, may it be better than before. Believe it my dear adventure seekers!

(Picture created with Canva)

Mistress Glenna was a bit of an enigma to write. When I wrote the first draft, she seemed cold and aloof, and it wasn’t until the second round of major revisions that I realized she needed to be a POV character. She held too many secrets for them to be contained through most of the story only to be revealed at the end. As readers discovering the story, we needed an inside peek at what was going on with her.

Without giving away any spoilers, Mistress Glenna remains a pivotal character in Tully’s life and the overall story. Like Bain, she held key secrets around the barrier that was raised around the Kellan Lowlands and she had a deep regret of her own. She lived separate from her husband and son who were on the other side of the barrier and she longed to be united with them.

However, unlike Bain, she had nothing to do with the barrier. She’d simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong child. In her own way, she wanted to right wrongs that had been done to her people, the Kellans, but had gone about it the wrong way.

As the story progresses, we see her deeply care for Tully, a small view of what Tully’s life might have been like if she’d been raised by her parents, and a change from a woman who once manipulated circumstances, to one who played an important role in setting things right.

As I wrote this character, I felt she was a very strong woman. She held to her beliefs and loved others even when treated wrong–that takes character. She learned from her mistakes but didn’t roll over and do nothing. She took an active role in taking positive action. She became a character I admired and I loved her line:

“We didn’t create this mess, but we have a responsibility to deal with it.”

Mistress Glenna Hidden © K. M. Wray

If you’ve read about Mistress Glenna. Please share your thoughts below.

(Picture created with Canva)