“Liar!” by Fern Michaels: Author’s recurrent character is said to have had imaginary playmates, which she’d insisted were not imaginary

“Luna Sage Bodman [previously featured in Hidden] (1) was bright and charming, with a hint of mischief in her eyes…she was a bit eccentric. At least that was what she preferred to be thought of instead of a weirdo. Now in her midthirties, she had possessed since childhood an innate ability to read people—a gift many found unnerving. Luna’s imaginary playmates, which she’d insisted were only invisible and not imaginary, were the cause of much teasing and mocking. That was until she scared the pants off someone by saying something only that particular person would know…” (2, p. 123).

Comment: To say that a person’s imaginary playmates are not imaginary is to say they are being experienced as real people. When imaginary persons are experienced as real persons, they are called “alternate personalities,” and the person is said to have multiple personality (a.k.a. dissociative identity disorder).

But the author ignores the issue of multiple personality.

Added same day: I finished Liar!. The narrator was the liar!

1. Fern Michaels. Hidden. New York, Zebra Books, 2021.

2. Fern Michaels. Liar!. New York, Zebra Books, 2023.