HAUNTINGS OF A HOLLOW VESSEL

Working alongside my cousin, Mack DePaul—another versatile, upcoming author to watch—I’ve been struck not only by the story itself, but by how our different, complementary styles shape it. His approach carries its own edge and instinct, while mine leans into atmosphere

and inner tension; together, they sharpen the same blade from two angles.

What’s surprised me most is how the story transforms a personal, almost intimate paradox into a universal one: the tension between fantasy and reality, control and vulnerability, desire and conscience. The artificial and the human don’t just collide in the plot—they collide in the questions it raises about society, technology, and our deepest instincts.

What feels most haunting—and most necessary—is how the narrative nudges readers toward their own complicity in the illusions they help create.

Logline: When a reclusive man’s obsession with a hyper-realistic companion collides with a veteran detective’s unfinished arrest, a quiet family restaurant becomes the stage for a reckoning decades in the making—where predators finally face the consequences of believing themselves untouchable.

Genre: Psychological Horror / Thriller / Slasher

Comparable titles: Hidden Pictures, Jason Rekulak and Head Full of Ghosts, Paul Tremblay

Word count: 49,000

TRAILER