I thought I’d tell this story in a different way. Here are some childhood photos. In the days before digital, there just weren’t as many photos taken, so these are some of the few I still have. There are so many things that haunt. The past, the present. 

When I wrote In the Dark of the Grove in 2019, it was a pretty dark time that set my head spinning. Grappling with feelings of betrayal from people I loved, a country I barely recognized. I looked to the past and the present trying to understand. I decided to write my first horror novel after mostly focusing sci-fi before that.

The book was picked up by a publisher. In 2021, the book came out. Things were looking up. I’d hoped maybe that darkness was left there. Yet, here we are four short years later. That publisher folded, and in some ways it feels like we’re back in a darker version of the place I was when I wrote my first horror novel. 

Re-releasing In the Dark of the Grove made sense to me. I’d been wanting to design a new cover to replace the last, rushed one. I wanted something designed that didn’t feel AI fake. It’s all me. As an indie publisher, I realized I had the advantage of doing things exactly as I’d want them. So why not with this? What feel beholden to… anything.

First and foremost my hope is this is just a good creepy thriller horror. A slow burn with an ending that ramps it up. Beyond that, it’s another shout into the void from a gay man that has to use an emoji sometimes instead of a word because his existence and that of those like him is still being litigated by the “society” he’s a contributing member of.

There’s less fear as I release this book again into the world. And a lot more anger. But channeled anger. If you haven’t picked it up, it’s available most places you can buy a book as of today, four years after its original publication with a new cover and slightly redesigned interior for readability.

I have no idea if the book will make more of an impact this time. At this point, I’m kind of beyond being worried about that. Because this is a thing I made, and it’s as perfect as I can make it now.

So grateful to all who tried it before, and all who will continue too.

Where to Buy: https://jonwesleyhuff.com/pages/fiction