The Horties
an invisible novel
by David J. Keffer

Short Description: “The Horties” is a novel describing the exploits of a happy American family of four, average in every respect save that they are all invisible. Although this peculiarity is over-looked by their neighbors, it does bring them to the attention of a variety of strange creatures, including Poison Pie, Man of the Mushroom People; Seventeen, formerly a robot; Alton, a reluctant zombie; and Eugenia, a sorceress intent on casting the last, great spell to reduce the sum total of misery on planet Earth. Each is interested, in their own way, in understanding the relationship between invisibility and the suffering that pervades human existence.

Extended Description: In the future, when Darwin's laws of evolution are judged insufficient by the minds of the creatures they have produced, an artificial intelligence is assembled to seek out a new set of characteristic traits suitable for perpetuating human life. "The Horties" brings a happy American family of four, average in every respect save that they are all invisible, into the focus of this investigation. The members of this family, known only as Dad Hortie, Mom Hortie, Girl Hortie and Boy Hortie have their own ideas regarding the merits and drawbacks of invisibility. They are unwillingly drawn into a bizarre web of relationships involving Poison Pie, Man of the Mushroom People; Seventeen, formerly a robot; Alton, a reluctant zombie; and Eugenia, a sorceress intent on casting the last, great spell to reduce the sum total of misery on planet Earth. Each is interested, in their own way, in understanding the relationship between invisibility and the suffering that pervades human existence. However, some of these individuals view the well-being of the Hortie family as a necessary and acceptable sacrifice in pursuit of ambiguous goals that are only unveiled in fits and starts as the investigation unravels.

Chapter 16. Poison Pie vs. Hansel & Gretel in The Horties includes the short illustrated story, Eugenia and the Forest. In 2012, when the Poison Pie Publishing House chose to publish The Horties, it was using CreateSpace.com to provide a "print on demand" service for distribution of the paperback novel. This service was not able to print a set of "color plates" in the midst of a book of otherwise black and white text. Therefore, the most economical solution was to provide readers of The Horties access to Eugenia and the Forest either through a link to the website or to a paperback version of the story, according to the reader's preference. For this reason alone, Eugenia and the Forest is available for purchase as a stand alone illustrated story in paperback form. (The ebook version of The Horties contains Eugenia and the Forest.)

length: 75,000 words (212 pages in paperback)
written: February, 2009-December, 2010, Knoxville, Tennessee & Seoul, Korea
paperback size: 6 in x 9 in
paperback publication date: November 15, 2012
paperback ISBN-13: 978-1480245174
paperback ISBN: 1480245178
ebook publication date: November 13, 2012
ebook ISBN-13: 978-1301073689
poison pie publishing house catalog number: PP-008-N
This novel is Book I of The Hortie pentalogy.

Fingerpuppets: All of the major characters in "The Horties" have been rendered in felt fingerpuppet form and can be viewed here.

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