Red Hollow Road is my third novel (the first two being collaborations with my husband, my equal in all things nerdy), but it’s the first one I’ve outlined, drafted, and completed on my own.
It’s about a teenage girl who grew up in the suburbs with an immortal red devil trapped in her basement that she and her mom have to routinely “kill” whenever it wakes up. Here’s the full blurb:
“Suburban teen Blythe was six years old the day her mother showed her the devilish monster locked in their basement’s rec room. The red-skinned creature, whom Blythe nicknames Rosie, cannot be killed, only put to sleep by stabbing him through the heart with a stake. But he never sleeps long. Invisible to everyone outside of Blythe’s bloodline, it has fallen to her mother and herself to keep Rosie asleep at any cost. After her mother’s sudden death, Blythe is the only one who can protect the world from her monster. Heartbroken and forced into a life of solitude, she pushes away everyone she loves, convinced that as long as she guards Rosie, she will never have the meaningful romantic relationship she’s always longed for.
Weeks before her 19th birthday, she receives a pre-recorded message from her mother that sends her to the picturesque town of Winchester, a place that may hold the key to Rosie’s permanent demise and Blythe's chance at a normal life. Blythe immediately falls in love with Winchester and its inhabitants, particularly Elsie Audley, the alluring owner of an oddities shop and the first person she’s met outside of her own family who can see Rosie, too. But in the moss cloaked forests and towering cypress swamps of Winchester, a new threat emerges that Blythe and Elsie must stop together. As Blythe’s connection with Elsie deepens and she learns the truth of Rosie’s past, she will have to face not only Winchester’s monsters, but her own demons. How much is Blythe willing to sacrifice for the woman she loves, including her very soul?”
Red Hollow Road is a southern gothic queer love story that combines the dark romantic flavor of Dana Schwartz’s Anatomy: A Love Story with the magic realism of The Witch Haven by Sasha Peyton Smith and would appeal to fans of First Kill, Supernatural, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Red Hollow Road was very self-indulgent to write. I loved exploring generational trauma, from how much Blythe willingly sacrifices to how much she longs to break the cycle, but just isn’t sure how. The setting is based on my memories growing up in the U.S. South and Elsie’s oddities shop would be my dream business if I ever decided to open my own storefront. This project is currently being queried. I look forward to continuing to make this story the best it can be with help from editors, beta readers, and anyone else who loves this book as much as I do.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more, you can reach me at hello@chloe-york.com