IT WILL ONLY HURT FOR A MOMENT

A woman trying to reinvent herself at a secluded artists' colony is drawn into its dark past in this atmospheric feminist horror.

Sarah Carpenter is starting over. She drives across the countryleaving behind her unsupportive, narcissistic ex-boyfriend and alcoholic, abusive motherto head for Tranquil Falls, a secluded artists' colony. There, with no cell signal or internet to distract her, she hopes to rediscover her love for pottery and put back together the broken pieces of her life. But when Sarah finds human remains while digging a hole for a pit kiln, things start falling apart. Her fellow artists begin acting strangely: The fiber artist seems to be knitting an endless scarf. The violinist sounds like he's battling the devil himself every night. The calligrapher scrawls strange words and grins at everyone with ink-stained teeth. When Sarah discovers glass shards in her clay, she begins to wonder if someone is out to get her or if she's losing her grip out here in the wilds, where the pounding of the waterfall never, ever fades. As she investigates the beautiful grounds and talks with the other artists, she unearths a chillingly dark past that can no longer remain buried... ACCOLADES FOR THE VIOLENCE (2/1/22): Delilah's previous adult novel with Del Rey, The Violence, was a finalist for the ITW Thriller Awards, named a Best Book of the Year by The New York Times, received multiple starred reviews and author blurbs, and was lauded by national media including The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, and The New York Times Book Review. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR FILM OPTION FOR THE VIOLENCE: The Violence has been optioned by eOne with Frieda Pinto's Freedbird Films attached. TIMELY FEMINIST HORROR NOVEL: Delilah uses atmospheric horror to explore issues of abuse, self-discovery, and bodily autonomy in this feminist novel. In a post-MeToo and post-Roe world, these themes have never been more timely. SETTING EVOKES ELEMENTS OF THE POPULAR, LOCKED-ROOM MYSTERY GENRE: Thanks to its heavily atmospheric, off-the-grid setting, this book has the addictive, page-turnability of a more commercial thriller paired with the sharply feminist themes from Delilah's previous work Delilah S. Dawson is the author of the New York Times bestseller Star Wars: Phasma, Hit, Servants of the Storm, the Blud series, the creator-owned comics Ladycastle and Sparrowhawk, and the Shadow series (written as Lila Bowen). She lives in Florida with her family and a fat mutt named Merle. More information on her books is listed at her website: www.whimsydark.com.