Tag: Speculative Fiction

Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Vervain Hollow by Catriona Silvey: A haunting cult novel about addiction, belonging, and the price of escape

Mandy Webster

Sometimes the most unsettling horror novels aren’t about monsters lurking in the dark—they’re about the things we desperately want, even when we know they’ll destroy us. In Vervain Hollow by Catriona Silvey, a burned-out cult, a charismatic leader who may never have been human, and a young woman unable to let go of the power she once possessed combine to create one of the most compelling and emotionally complex horror novels I’ve read this year.

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Two years ago, Laura escaped Vervain Hollow after the sprawling house burned to the ground with its enigmatic leader trapped inside. Since then, she’s returned to a normal life, but “normal” isn’t the same thing as healing. She still longs for Vervain and the extraordinary power he shared with his followers. When her former friend Aliyah contacts her with shocking news—that another former acolyte has returned to the hollow after receiving a message from Vervain himself—Laura sees only one possibility. Somehow, he’s still alive.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer is a chilling cult thriller that feels uncomfortably plausible

Mandy Webster

Some dystopian novels rely on elaborate worldbuilding to make their horrors believable. Obstetrix by Naomi Kritzer doesn’t need to. Its premise is terrifying precisely because it feels only a few steps removed from reality, taking current political and religious extremism to their logical, ugly conclusion. The result is a tense, claustrophobic thriller about bodily autonomy, fanaticism, and survival that never overstays its welcome.

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I’m a sucker for a good cult novel, so this one was right up my alley. There’s something endlessly fascinating about the power dynamics inside insular religious communities, especially the relationships among women forced to survive within those systems. Kritzer taps into that fascination immediately. The novel is brief and concise, but it uses every page effectively, building constant tension as Doctor Liz navigates a nightmare situation with no safe options.

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Author Interview

Inside the imagination of Laura Holt: Mythology, magic, and writing without limits

Mandy Webster

From gothic horror and tragic romance to epic fantasy and southern folklore, Laura Holt writes with a deep love for stories that blur the line between myth and reality. Holt is also featured in Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny with her short story “After Alice,” a fitting addition to a collection shaped by eerie beauty and unsettling imagination. In this interview, Holt reflects on the authors who shaped her creativity, the unexpected lessons she’s learned about storytelling and publishing, and the themes she returns to again and again in her work. She also discusses writing authentic stories in a trend-driven world, finding inspiration in mythology and folklore, and why coffee, cookies, and carefully curated playlists remain essential parts of her creative process.

Author Laura Holt discusses mythology, horror, storytelling, and her short story “After Alice,” featured in Beautiful and Terrifying.

Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today?
A: Some of my earliest literary influences were authors like Roald Dahl, Edgar Allan Poe, William Shakespeare, R. L. Stine, and J.R.R. Tolkien. For me, Dahl’s book The Witches was my gateway read to the fantasy genre, likeable villains, and morally gray characters, so he will always hold a special place in my heart. Poe and Shakespeare introduced me to poetry and short stories, as well as tragic love and darker subject matter, both of which play a big part in my writing today. And there is one author who has cracked the code on how to write the perfect story every time, it is Stine, so along with reading his books for a good scare, I study his writing style a lot.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

The Jellyfish Problem by Tessa Yang is a haunting debut about grief, isolation, and the strange pull of belonging

Mandy Webster

Some novels hook readers with plot. Others cast a quieter spell, slowly wrapping themselves around your imagination until you realize you’ve been completely pulled under. The Jellyfish Problem blends magical realism, sea monster folklore, grief narrative, and literary mystery into an ambitious debut that will strongly appeal to readers who enjoy atmospheric, character-driven speculative fiction.

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Dr. Jo Ness is a marine biologist who has spent the last seven months barely existing after the death of her closest friend and collaborator, Aldo. Hidden away at a struggling aquarium, she immerses herself in jellyfish research and the unfinished field guide the two of them had been writing together. Aldo still exists in the margins of those pages through handwritten notes and observations, and Jo clings to them because she doesn’t know how to move forward without him. When Nadia—a woman Jo once loved during college—contacts her with stories about a giant glowing jellyfish off the coast of Maine, Jo seizes on the opportunity. Officially, she goes because of the creature. Emotionally, she goes because Nadia gives her a reason to leave her grief-stricken isolation behind, even if only temporarily.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Our Sister’s Keeper by Jasmine Holmes is a haunting Southern Gothic that demands to be felt

Mandy Webster

Some horror novels rely on monsters lurking in the shadows. Others understand that the most terrifying things are the systems people willingly protect. Our Sister’s Keeper by Jasmine Holmes, releasing June 9, 2026, is a Southern Gothic horror novel that understands this completely. Beneath its ghostly atmosphere and supernatural elements lies a brutal examination of generational trauma, misogyny, power, and the impossible expectations placed upon women to absorb suffering quietly so that everyone else can remain comfortable.

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Recently, I’ve seen discussions online asking readers to name books they’ve loved that were written by authors of color. Inevitably, there are always people who respond with things like, “I don’t pay attention to the race of the authors I read,” as though being “colorblind” is somehow the ideal approach to literature. But stories like Our Sister’s Keeper are exactly why intentionally seeking out voices different from our own matters. This is a novel that forces readers to confront lived experiences they may never have otherwise considered. It explores generational trauma, gendered expectations, institutional abuse, and the long shadow of racism in ways that feel both deeply personal and horrifyingly systemic. It’s impossible to walk away from this novel unchanged if you are willing to truly engage with what it is saying.

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Author Interview

Inside The Girl with a Thousand Faces: Sunyi Dean on Gothic horror, Chinese folklore, and morally complex characters

Mandy Webster

From the haunted corridors of Kowloon Walled City to the restless spirits woven through Chinese folklore, Sunyi Dean writes horror that unsettles as much as it mesmerizes. In this interview, Dean discusses the cultural history behind The Girl with a Thousand Faces, the challenges of balancing myth with historical inspiration, and why morally complicated characters fascinate her as a writer. She also reflects on grief, forgiveness, experimental narrative structure, and the Gothic and speculative authors who helped shape her distinct voice in contemporary horror fiction.

Sunyi Dean discusses Chinese folklore, Gothic horror, and the layered themes behind her haunting new novel, The Girl with a Thousand Faces.

Q: The Girl with a Thousand Faces blends Gothic horror with Chinese mythology and the real history of Kowloon Walled City. What drew you to that setting, and how did you approach balancing historical inspiration with the supernatural elements of the story?
A: Hong Kong is the place I grew up and learned Cantonese in (though I’ve since lost that language.) I have a complicated relationship with both the city itself, and my family ties there. It is a place of contrasts and contradictions, of extreme modernity and old traditions. I loved portraying it, and tried to keep the ‘important’ aspects of history as true as possible. A lot of trial and error was involved, and many rounds of edits. Whether the balance is right I will leave to the reader to decide!

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Salomé by Leslie Baird is a hypnotic literary thriller that turns a dreamy French escape into something far darker

Mandy Webster

There’s a particular kind of danger attached to reinvention, especially when it happens far from home. In Salomé by Leslie Baird, that danger arrives wrapped in heat-soaked French afternoons, magnetic attraction, conspiracy, and the seductive promise that maybe death itself can be outwitted. Releasing May 19, 2026, this gothic-tinged literary thriller moves like a fever dream, gradually tightening from atmospheric travel fantasy into something deeply unsettling.

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One of the novel’s greatest strengths is its setting. Baird captures northwestern France so vividly that even the oppressive heat and lack of air conditioning somehow feel intoxicating. The small-town atmosphere is lush, languid, and quietly claustrophobic, creating the perfect backdrop for Courtney’s growing obsession with Salomé and her family. The relationship between Courtney and Salomé mirrors that setting beautifully at first—warm, inviting, almost innocent in its intensity. Their connection feels youthful and sincere, the kind of intimacy that blooms quickly when you’re untethered from your ordinary life.

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Author Interview

Author interview: Emily J. Weisenberger on Beautiful and Terrifying, speculative fiction, and storytelling across worlds

Mandy Webster

In this contributor interview, speculative fiction author Emily J. Weisenberger discusses her short story “Marrying Age” in Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny, her early literary influences, and how anthropology shapes her approach to storytelling.

Emily J. Weisenberger writes speculative fiction that blends curiosity, humor, and sharp observation, creating stories that feel both imaginative and grounded in real human experience. Her short story, “Marrying Age,” featured in Beautiful and Terrifying, reflects her interest in exploring culture, identity, and the complexities of the worlds we build—both real and imagined. In this interview, she discusses the authors who shaped her early love of storytelling, how her background in anthropology informs her approach to character, and the balance of absurdity, heart, and insight that drives her work across genres for both children and adults.

Emily J. Weisenberger, speculative fiction author and contributor to Beautiful and Terrifying, whose story “Marrying Age” explores the complex boundaries between culture, identity, and imagination.

Q: What/who were your early literary influences, and how do you think their writing has shaped you as a storyteller today?
A: Eva Ibbotson (Which Witch?, Island of the Aunts, Journey to the River Sea) and Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket (A Series of Unfortunate Events) were authors I came back to again and again as a child and have continued to draw from as an adult. Their stories were so strange and so full of heart. Goodness persevered in Ibbotson’s books, while life was harsh but weatherable in Handler’s. Both gave me important and different ways to view the world, and lessons in how to capture young people’s sense of curiosity about life. These are still among my favorite books.

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Book Reviews, Find Your Next Read

Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey: A hypnotic look at belonging, control, and the cost of transformation

Mandy Webster

What would you give up to finally belong somewhere—and would you recognize the moment it stopped being your choice? Make Me Better is an unsettling, slow-burn descent into the seductive promise of community, where healing and control blur until they’re indistinguishable. Fans of Wife Shaped Bodies, The Unworthy, or Sorrowland will find something deeply familiar—and deeply disturbing—here.

Get your copy of Make Me Better from my independent online bookstore today!

At the center of the story is Celia, a woman whose longing for connection overrides her sense of self-preservation. She doesn’t just develop crushes—she builds entire imagined lives around men she barely knows. When she recognizes how precarious that pattern is, she redirects that intensity toward the idea of motherhood. A baby, after all, would be hers in a way no one else ever has been. That same vulnerability makes her the perfect target for something like Kindred Cove.

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Call for Submissions

Beautiful and Terrifying releases April 23, 2026: A new anthology from the edge of the uncanny

Mandy Webster

Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny, the newest anthology from Elderfly Press, will be released on April 23, 2026, bringing together haunting fiction, poetry, and black-and-white artwork that explore the strange space where beauty and fear collide.

The cover of Beautiful and Terrifying: Tales and Visions from the Edge of the Uncanny, Elderfly Press’s upcoming anthology of eerie fiction, dark poetry, and black-and-white art, releasing April 23, 2026.

I’m thrilled to finally share the release date for this collection, which has been such a meaningful project to bring into the world. From eerie woods and submerged cities to folklore retellings, grief-soaked landscapes, and intimate encounters with the supernatural, this anthology embraces the unsettling and the sublime in equal measure.

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