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It's no secret that we are big Gwendolyn Kiste fans here at The Lineup. We've got a great introduction to her addictive catalog by Jena Brown as well as this fantastic interview by Leticia Lopez about Kiste's 2022 novel Reluctant Immortals (Saga Press), which just won a Lamda Award for Bisexual Fiction.
And of course, Kiste also regularly contributes many entertaining and thought-provoking articles for you to enjoy on the site.
So we are always thrilled when we hear this skillful and innovative author has a new book coming out!
The Haunting of Velkwood will be released from Saga Press in March 2024—and after the widespread acclaim of Reluctant Immortals, we are absolutely chomping at the bit to read it. But since that can't happen just yet (bummer!) we have the next best thing: an exclusive cover reveal.
Today we are delighted to reveal the cover of The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste.
The novel is available for pre-order. Pre-ordering is really good for the health of a new book and it really supports authors. So go ahead and smash that "buy" button—you won't regret it, and then by the time the book is released and it arrives in your mailbox, it will be like receiving a present from yourself in the future.
Without further ado, scroll down to see the chilling cover of The Haunting of Velkwood!
We asked Kiste to share a few words about her forthcoming novel, and here is what she had to say:
"First off, thank you so much to Lisa Quigley and The Lineup for putting together this cover reveal! I'm so excited to finally be able to talk about this book! Without a doubt, The Haunting of Velkwood is one of the most personal things I've ever written. It's queer, it's ghostly, and it's all about women pushing back against a world that does everything it can to destroy us."
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- Photo Credit: Gwendolyn Kiste
Kiste continued, "The title is of course an homage to Shirley Jackson, and throughout the writing process, I've been describing The Haunting of Velkwood as 'Shirley Jackson meets The Virgin Suicides,' because that's very much the vibe I intended to bring to it. This is all about creepy suburbia and the secrets rotting beneath the surface. It's beyond thrilling that this book is less than a year from its release, because I truly can't wait for everyone to meet the girls from Velkwood Street."
Read a bit more about The Haunting of Velkwood below—and then pre-order the book so there is NO WAITING once it is published!
The Haunting of Velkwood
From Bram Stoker Award–winning author Gwendolyn Kiste comes a chilling novel about three childhood friends who miraculously survive the night everyone in their suburban hometown turned into ghosts—perfect for fans of Yellowjackets.
The Velkwood Vicinity was the topic of occult theorists, tabloid one-hour documentaries, and even some pseudo-scientific investigations as the block of homes disappeared behind a near-impenetrable veil that only three survivors could enter—and only one has in the past twenty years, until now.
Talitha Velkwood has avoided anything to do with the tragedy that took her mother and eight-year-old sister, drifting from one job to another, never settling anywhere or with anyone, feeling as trapped by her past as if she was still there in the small town she so desperately wanted to escape from. When a new researcher tracks her down and offers to pay her to come back to enter the vicinity, Talitha claims she’s just doing it for the money. Of all the crackpot theories over the years, no one has discovered what happened the night Talitha, her estranged, former best friend Brett, and Grace, escaped their homes twenty years ago. Will she finally get the answers she’s been looking for all these years, or is this just another dead end?
Award-winning author Gwendolyn Kiste has created a suburban ghost story about a small town that trapped three young women who must confront the past if they’re going to have a future.
Pre-order at the buttons below!
