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.