Empty Heaven

"Lush and atmospheric, this grungy YA folk horror is layered with themes of queer found family, fierce friendship and recovery from trauma." Guardian

You are safe, my child. You are loved, my child. You are surrounded by the good earth.

Darian Sabine Arden loves her family’s summer home in the picturesque Massachusetts village of Kesuquosh. It’s where her three best friends live, and it’s the only place in her life where she isn’t haunted by reminders of the worst thing that ever happened to her. The villager's belief in a godlike, benevolent scarecrow who protects the town only adds to the charming local colour. But when Darian’s magnetic, mercurial crush KJ is chosen during a bizarre ritual on Halloween, Darian is forced to admit that Good Arcturus is more than just a quaint, folksy superstition – he’s terrifyingly real.

Something ancient and sinister lurks behind the autumnal fields and warmly glowing windows of Kesuquosh. Something that doesn’t take kindly to its paradise being threatened by a group of scrappy, weird teenagers. To save KJ – and themselves – Darian and her friends will have to follow a tangled trail of clues and question everything they thought they knew about their home. And Darian will have to finally face up to her own ghosts…

EMPTY HEAVEN is a YA-crossover horror novel about queer found family, redemptive romance, overcoming trauma, and the dark sides of beautiful places. Full of cinematic prose, and late-90s grunge music, it asks: who pays the price for perfection? And what if the real monsters don’t always look like monsters?

About the Author

Freddie Kolsch is a connoisseur and crafter of frightful fiction (with a dash of hope) for teens and former teens. She lives in Salem, New England with her high school sweetheart-turned-wife, a handful of cats, a houseful of art, and a mind's eye full of ghosts. Now, Conjurers is her first novel.