Apex Publishing (The Apex Book Of World Sf and the Stoker Award-nominated Mama’s Boy) has announced the acquisition of Elizabeth Engstrom’s When Darkness Loves Us, a collection of two stories — a novella and a short novel — that exemplify Engstrom’s early style of soft-spoken but fierce speculative horror.
When Darkness Loves Us shows the inner strength and moral deterioration of a sixteen-year-old girl trapped alone in the underground darkness shortly after her wedding day. “Beauty Is…” follows the tragic life of Martha Mannes, a woman born without a nose, and the beauty and horror of the small town life that surrounds her as her mind works its way out of the trauma that has buried it for most of her life.
When Darkness Loves Us is scheduled for release in November 2009. Pre-orders begin summer 2009; watch the Apex website.
Elizabeth Engstrom holds a BA in English Literature and Writing from Marylhurst University and is currently pursuing a graduate degree in Applied Theology. A recluse at heart, she still emerges into public occasionally to speak at a writers conference or to teach a class on various aspects of writing the novel, essay, article or short story. She is the author or numerous novels, short stories, and collections, including Black Ambrosia, Lizard Wine, and The Northwoods Chronicles.
