the Hollow Beneath Harbor: A Magical Realism Fantasy Novel

Wren Ashgrove kept a list of every promise anyone had ever broken to him, but the biggest lie of all was the one about how his grandfather died.Twelve-year-old Wren has lived by the restless waters of Grayharbor his whole life. Four years ago, his grandfather, Cassian, walked down to the breakwater's decommissioned lighthouse during the year's lowest tide and vanished, leaving behind nothing but neatly placed boots and an ocean of grief. But when Wren witnesses the harbor freeze into a terrifying, glass-like stillness-and discovers a cracked, glowing lens hidden in his mother's attic-he realizes his grandfather isn't dead at all. Cassian is trapped.Guided by his fearless best friend Marlow and accompanied by a strange, barnacle-patterned sea creature named Pip, Wren steps through the "held breath" of the tide and enters Ebbrun-a glowing, mist-shrouded world beneath the harbor. There, he discovers a desperate truth: Cassian has spent four years alone, holding a shattered boundary shut to protect their town from the Tallyman, a terrifying entity who collects on broken promises. Now, to save his family and mend a generational debt, Wren must learn the hardest lesson of all: true courage isn't carrying the weight of the world alone, but trusting the people you love to help you hold it.Welcome to Grayharbor-a coastal town where the sea holds its breath, memories are captured in tideglass, and the line between the surface and the shadows is razor-thin. The Hollow Beneath the Harbor is a breathtaking, emotional fantasy novel about grief, loyalty, and the incredible power of a promise honestly kept.