Quaint Folk

The Wicker Man meets The Twisted Ones in Bitter Karellas Quaint Folk-a queer folk horror novel that peels back the idyllic veneer of a perfectly quaint island town to reveal the rot beneath.

From the outside, it looks like Jessica has the perfect life. Shes a stay-at-home mom, married to a man with a respectable job, raising a son they adore. Her family is as wholesome as all-American pie. But deep down, Jessica knows theres something wrong with her; she knows she cant escape her past.

When her husbands job has them move abroad, Jessica thinks this is her chance for a fresh start. On the remote island of Hasenhurst, the modern world cant get in. The people there grow their own herbs, make their own jam, and mind their own business. They believe in folk tales and the power of dreams. They tell visitors, were a quaint, quiet people. The right sort of family would do well here. Jessica is determined to be the right kind of person for a family-and a life-like this. But as she tries to befriend the townsfolk and learn their ways, she soon realizes that beneath the towns cosy idyll, something sickly-sweet and rotten lays buried...

Quaint Folk must be experienced for oneself, in all of its folklorist, fever-dream glory . . . the vibes are immaculate, especially for readers looking for something thats equal parts quirky and creepy
Booklist

To experience Bitter Karellas cheerfully unhinged fiction is to surrender to a spectacularly fierce and uncompromising literary force. Quaint Folk astonished me with its charming, mythical weirdness threaded with genuine moments of pure tenderness. A bold, potent brew of all the best elements of folk and queer horror
Eric LaRocca, author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke