We Are Always Tender with Our Dead: (Burnt Sparrow, 1)

Michael McDowell's Blackwater meets Clive Barker's The Great and Secret Show in the disturbing first installment of a new trilogy of intense, visceral, beautifully written queer horror set in a small New England town.

"One of horror's brightest rising stars is on the other side of the threshold, ready to show us all his first epic in the genre. Step across with LaRocca, and you'll be rewarded, whether you're a newcomer or a longtime fan." --Fangoria  

A chilling supernatural tale of transgressive literary horror from the Bram Stoker Award(R) finalist and Splatterpunk Award-winning author of Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.

The lives of those residing in the isolated town of Burnt Sparrow, New Hampshire, are forever altered after three faceless entities arrive on Christmas morning to perform a brutal act of violence--a senseless tragedy that can never be undone. While the townspeople grieve their losses and grapple with the aftermath of the attack, a young teenage boy named Rupert Cromwell is forced to confront the painful realities of his family situation. Once relationships become intertwined and more carnage ensues as a result of the massacre, the town residents quickly learn that true retribution is futile, cruelty is earned, and certain thresholds must never be crossed no matter what.

Engrossing, atmospheric, and unsettling, this is a devastating story of a small New England community rocked by an unforgivable act of violence. Writing with visceral intensity and profound eloquence, LaRocca journeys deep into the dark heart of Burnt Sparrow, leaving you chilled to the bone and wanting more.

Eric LaRocca ( he/they) is a 3x Bram Stoker Award(R) finalist and Splatterpunk Award winner. He was named by Esquire as one of the "Writers Shaping Horror's Next Golden Age" and praised by Locus as "one of the strongest and most unique voices in contemporary horror fiction." LaRocca's notable works include Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke, Everything the Darkness Eats, At Dark, I Become Loathsome and Burnt Sparrow: We Are Always Tender with Our Dead. He currently resides in Boston, Massachusetts, with his partner.