I’m thrilled to announce that my folk horror novel, The Others of Edenwell, will be published by Titan on the 4th of July 2023. As the two friends grow closer and grapple with their demons, they discover a body, and something terrifying stalking the woods. The dark halls of the spa are breached, haunted by the woodland beast, and the boys soon realise that they may be the only things standing between this monster and the whole of Edenwell.

When I was recovering from my heart surgery, she sent me a doll she’d sewn by hand: The Ghost of The Giant Squid. That was Betty’s brilliant mind – whimsical, spooky, deeply caring. In the interim, I made beautiful friendships through the fandom. We bonded over how good it was to finally have a fun little show where we didn’t have to be braced for the old tropes, like bury-your-gays. We shared art, dressed up, and bawled together at karaoke bars. Those of us who were neurodivergent, older, kind of crunchy and bad at fitting in – we found friends through this character. Preferring the company of birds – who talk to him as one of their own – over the eccentric characters who live in the spa, bathing in its healing waters, Freddie overhears their premonitions of murder. Eustace Moncrieff is a troublemaker, desperate to go to war and leave behind his wealthy family. Shipped to Edenwell by his mother to keep him safe from the horrors of the trenches, he strikes up a friendship with Freddie at the behest of Doctor Chalice, the American owner of the Hydropathic.Eustace Moncrieff is a troublemaker, desperate to go to war and leave behind his wealthy family. Shipped to Edenwell by his mother to keep him safe from the horrors of the trenches, he strikes up a friendship with Freddie at the behest of Doctor Chalice, the American owner of the Hydropathic. If you’re interested in the period or interested in wartime Britain during the First World War I have no doubt at all you’ll enjoy this. I think it was a great idea to make a historical drama with the added horror elements. If you’re ok with the historical fiction (that doesn’t actually feel like fiction because it’s so well written) being the majority of the book – the great character development, brilliantly brought to life setting and well researched history – with a side helping of creepy supernatural horror, you’ll find so much to love here and I’d really recommend it. I have to point out though that it was for completely different reasons than I had anticipated. This isn’t a criticism of the author as I think the book she’s written was a really cool idea and excellently executed; the marketing however may throw people off, likely something the author hasn’t had much control over.

I’ve grappled with this as someone who enjoys genre-blurring, who writes largely bittersweet endings. I enjoyed the clever rug-pulling moments of season one, and the melodrama of early season two, where we get to see the full horror of piracy, and a glimpse of where codependent relationships can lead. But we were promised, textually and in the press, a resolution where for once – just this once – the marginalised audience gets to win. Where mercy prevails. He is unsurpassed in the subtle manipulation of mood… You forget you’re just reading a story” – Publishers Weekly Oh, it’s sour grapes. I can accept main character death. What I can’t accept is sloppy storytelling. Earn your agonies. To lay out a romantic comedy, give us an explicit tragedy, and treat exceedingly serious issues so carelessly… that’s just poor. That’s a skill issue.

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The Others of Edenwell is pitched to potential readers as a high stakes horror in which our main characters are trying to protect the residents of Edenwell against this horror, a woodland beast. This supernatural creature is not a constant threat that we spend the book on edge about and as such I’d probably describe the genre as a historical fiction or historical drama first and foremost. Although the horror elements are very creepily written and imagined, they are too few and far between to be able to confidently label this book as a horror as the main genre. I hope in time most readers will know this before considering reading so they’re not disappointed, as this is a really good book. It also means the book may actually appeal to a wider audience and readers who don’t like pure horror novels! Freddie and Eustace are two young men, boys really, who develop a close friendship and it’s really enjoyable to witness this relationship develop and the struggles of the two characters. They and a number of different characters at the Edenwell retreat are ‘others’ – men who haven’t joined the war effort abroad. As we know from history and is showcased well here are the attitudes, guilt and atmosphere around everyone’s contribution to the war effort. People’s perceptions are impacted in a large part by this and the war permeates every part of life and conversation. In my second year of my history degree, I almost exclusively studied wartime Britain – society, culture, politics, propaganda, you name it – and I’m massively impressed with just how brilliantly Holloway has captured everything and can’t stress this enough. Verity M. Holloway obviously has a great deal of knowledge about wartime Britain during The First World War and this knowledge combined with a lovely, flowing writing style makes this book incredibly immersive. A huge amount of work and thought has gone into making it feel authentic and this shines through so strongly.

When you’re wading through circumstances beyond your control, having someone who truly understands is more valuable than anything. Even when there’s an ocean between you, it feels like wearing armour. We were promised something different. What we got was a mixture of inspiration porn, bury-your-cripples, and out-of-the-closet-into-the-fire. Found family, but disabled people need not apply. I also loved finding out that Edenwell was in fact a real place; it’s a real shame it was demolished. It’s made me wish I could explore the surrounding woods for sure!Norfolk, 1917. Unable to join the army due to a heart condition, Freddie lives and works with his father in the grounds of the Edenwell Hydropathic, a wellness retreat in the Norfolk broads. Preferring the company of birds – who talk to him as one of their own – over the eccentric characters who live in the spa, bathing in its healing waters, Freddie overhears their premonitions of murder. And yet. There’s cause to linger, to savour, to wallow. It’s a setting soaked in sepia, almost literally when the war photographer appears. And loss. The men who went to war, the men who remained, the women. Loss permeates everything here. And also a deep melancholy. I enjoyed this book immensely, despite it being quite different from what I expected. Though there are evil entities lurking in the margins, so much of the book is spent building atmosphere and tracing the growing bond between the two very central characters. This is done subtly and with great heart. The fans are stunned and betrayed in a way I haven’t seen in fandom for years. I’ve collected a few comments out of thousands: A young woman’ssecretive midwestern town is engulfed by a mysterious plague of tornadoes every generation–and she must escape it before it claims her.