Adopted

Adopted is a cozy horror story that follows the journey of Kavya, a ten-year-old Indian-origin girl, from an orphanage in Ohio to the lavish mansion of Hans, her new home in Seattle.

At the Marigold House, Kavya had learned what rejection looked like: couples who smiled, promised to call, and never did. So when the Hans finally said yes, she let herself feel something she had long avoided: hope.

The Hans seemed gentle, even kind. But their house came with rules, and the rules grew stranger with time. For one, the kimchi was not optional.

The lavish mansion that was meant to shelter her began, slowly, to feel like a prison. Its silences felt deliberate. The smiles always arrived a moment too late, and dreams carried memories that weren’t hers.

Beneath the house lay a basement she had never been told about, yet somehow knew. Its shelves were heavy with occult manuals, and its floor was thick with dust. One book lay overturned there, and on its page, in faded ink and old Hanja, someone had left a warning:

Beware the house that keeps its mourning by lamplight, for its grief is a window, and every window looks both ways. Where fear is left to fester, the veil frays like old silk, and what waits behind it will find its way through: the Eodukshini.

If you have enjoyed the contemplative dark fantasy works of V. E. Schwab or deep character focus in the horror novels of Nick Cutter, this book will likely appeal to you. It is scheduled to release on 1st December, and digital ARCs will be available soon. If this seems like something you’d enjoy and can spare a few hours over the next couple of months, please do apply for an advance copy.

Any help spreading the word on social media is also much appreciated. Here are the announcement posts on Bluesky, Threads, Instagram, and X (Twitter) for your convenience.

These novellas, disconnected from my primary long-running works, are avenues for me to explore new territories beyond familiar grounds. This work in particular is a first for me in many ways. For one, it is a cozy horror; it features no gore, bloodshed, or themes that may be uncomfortable for children. You can read it with your family and gift it to your loved ones who like a bit of spooky ambiance.

Secondly, it is my first work of fiction not set in an alternative world and that borrows elements from Korean folklore. I have had much fun exploring the mythology behind this.

Next plans

Nothing is set in stone, but work continues on the next book in the Nightwyrms’ Resurrection. I know the wait has been long for this one, but it is progressing well. More news to come on The Grandmaster’s Resurrection in the next couple months. A new standalone prequel novel is also being planned; more on that early next year.

That concludes things for now. Please do get a cup of cocoa (or your favorite beverage) and cozy up with some dark speculative fiction. If your tastes run towards the grim and the esoteric, I have plenty of options to choose from there as well.

The first book of Revenge of the Wraith Paladin, The Wraith Returns, is participating in the Narratess Indie Sale along with many talented indie authors.

So if you are interested in themes that are unflinchingly dark, plots that aren’t dumbed down, world-building that doesn’t shy away from the unfamiliar, and mysteries that unravel over centuries, you can get the first book of this dark science fantasy completely free of cost. And do check out the many other great titles available free or at deeply discounted prices.

Grab your copy today: mybook.to/rowp-i

Greetings, denizens of the void.

I am delighted to introduce you to my latest book: Inquisitors: A Tale of Love and Damnation Ebooks are available through Ko-fi, itch.io and Amazon. More stores and paperbacks will follow soon.

Since writing The Moribund Monarch’s Masterpiece, I have found novellas to be a sweet spot for exploring new ideas, styles, and less-familiar themes. Long books are time-consuming and require a level of commitment that I can only afford to tales that are truly close to my heart. On the other hand, short stories or micro-fiction style works don’t work so well for me, because the length of a single chapter or article just doesn’t have enough space for the kind of plots my heart yearns for. And well, I firmly believe no author should write fiction that doesn’t satisfy themselves first and foremost. So, more novellas it is.

Inquisitors was an unplanned work that emerged (quite literally) from a dream. Or a nightmare, depending on how you may want to look at it. If you see the appeal in exploring seaside gothic ambiance, dark and unsettling grimdark themes, and some very creepy body horror, this book is written for you.

It is also an exploration in writing more character-driven fiction. Irrespective of how the book may be received, I am happy with how Vorain’s portrayal turned out. Whether that signals a change for my future books remains to be seen. The Nightwyrms’ Resurgence will continue with the approach established in the first two books.

If the above description leaves you on the fence, I share with you a review from a kind stranger on Goodreads that perfectly captures the soul of the book, in all its praise and criticism.

This is a rough one. Inquisitors is a great story but not for everyone. You have to be a big fan of these fantasy subgenres.

For a novella, the plot develops and finishes perfectly well rounded. We follow Vorain, a veteran inquisitor with a lot of experiences, feelings and other things to unpack, who is a very dark main character, and I loved it. It plays with your expectatives and it even has great plot twists that caught me off guard.

The worldbuilding and the horror elements, the descriptions, were the best part for me. I adore this kind of worldbuilding/eldritch things to pieces and I would read a 10 book series exploring this world. It is fascinating, very VERY dark and half of me loved the ending. It was perfect for the story, strong and heartfelt…But.

But, the other half of me feels it like a personal affront, because the character involved, for such a short time “on-screen”, became my favorite, I rooted for them since the start and their ending was underwhelming, a full on injustice, and I would expand on why I feel like that, but spoilers. As I said before, the ending was fitting, and while I was hoping for another route, I can both love and hate passionately something. In the end, it is an exploration on grief, on trauma response and a view on both sides of human nature. As the story itself establishes: injustice and unfairness all around.

I would definitely read more of the author’s works without a doubt, and I recommend this novella to fans of dark and grimdark fantasy. And, the release date is on July 1st!!! So, happy release day and thank you so much to Paul G. Zareith for the ARC!!!

by Fer B.

And, as an alternative, here is a drawing I spent several hours on for no fathomable reason: a ship heading into a storm with its sails still furled. A symbolism for submission, if you will.

When the Goddess of the Deep beckons you, there is no point in putting up a resistance.

Much ink has been spilled on themes of bravery and fortitude against unsurmountable odds. But sometimes the odds are just that—insurmountable. And there is peace in submitting to grief, in surrendering oneself to fate’s cruelty. Sometimes you just have to do what needs to be done. Or nothing at all.

You are, of course, welcome to disagree. In fact, you can prove me wrong right away by helping out some of the people in Palestine, Sudan, Lebanon, Ukraine, and other oppressed parts of the world, who are living a hellish life that they have no hope of overcoming.

The grief and suffering faced by my characters is entirely a figment of my imagination. Theirs is very much real.

(All illustrations are self-drawn, crafted using Infinite Painter on Samsung Galaxy S and edited using Photopea on Linux.)

A free standalone dark fantasy novella

Excited to announce that my new standalone dark fantasy novella—The Moribund Monarch’s Masterpiece, is now out.

This action-packed grimdark story follows the final leg of a warrior prince’s quest to avenge the death of his father and to rid the world of the cruel monarch who has ruled over the lands viciously for centuries.

Raurkein has seen the barbarous empire repeatedly justify all its atrocities in the name of the Predator God, the prehistoric monster worshiped by the monarchy. However, he has also realized that to crush the empire from within, he will have to embrace not just its weapons but also its faith.

In this quest, he will have to face treachery, deceit, and hideous mythical monsters. For the last ten years, he has relentlessly honed one skill—the art of killing. But will it be enough? The monarch may be old, but he is undoubtedly powerful, and his mastery of sorcerous arts links back to secrets that have stayed hidden for centuries.

You can read it online or grab an ebook from my itch.io store.