Due out on August 12th, The Creeping is one of two upcoming novels from author Alexandra Sirowy (the other being The Telling, coming out on July 8th). Described as a "haunting modern-day folktale," this story revolves around seventeen-year-old Stella, whose repressed memories begin to resurface, leading to a terrible discovery. If you'd like a tease of the horrors that await readers this August, we have an excerpt that you can read right now!
Synopsis:
Twelve years ago, Stella and Jeanie vanished while picking strawberries. Stella returned minutes later with no memory of what happened. Jeanie was never seen or heard from again.
Now Stella is seventeen and ready for everyone to move on already. Yes, she’s the lucky survivor of her town’s ugly legacy, but she’s looking forward, not back. This coming summer, Stella has a great best friend, a hookup with an irresistibly crooked smile, and two months of beach days stretching out before her.
Then the body of a little girl washes up in an ancient cemetery after a mudslide, and she has red hair just like Jeanie did. Suddenly memories of that haunting day begin to return, and when Stella discovers that other red-headed girls have gone missing as well, she begins to suspect something sinister is at work.
Before the summer ends, Stella may learn the hard way that when you hunt for monsters, you might find them.
Excerpt 1 from The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy:
"I’m the lucky one; or at least that’s what they say. I’m here to squint up at Independence Day fireworks under an orange-hued moon; to fidget in the violet organza of my junior prom dress; to toast under the midwestern sun while sipping peach fizzies lakeside. But sometimes the luck is harder to see.
I was relieved when Jeanie’s parents moved to the opposite side of town; when they stopped going out in public. Finally, their sideways glances, forever sizing me up, would stop. Naturally, they wondered why I’d been spared and Jeanie hadn’t. Was I growing up to be something special? Was I worth it? By the way their faces always pinched together—mouths pursed, brows touching, eyes narrowed into slits— it was obvious they found me lacking. But who wouldn’t be? Remember that when you judge me too quickly.
Remember that I’m a product of something scary and mysterious. People who didn’t even know Jeanie won’t stop talking about it. I lived it. How else could I have turned out? There’s a burden to being the one left behind, even though I don’t remember a pinch of it. A weight always pressing down on me, like Jeanie’s lifeless body is forever hitching a piggyback, steering me with her sticky hands coiled in my hair. I can’t escape her, and I resent it. Because if I’m being honest, Jeanie probably would have grown up to be nothing more than average. While all the other kindergarteners were learning to read, she was scribbling with crayons in the corner. She was the alto with a lisp in a pack of singsongy chirping little girls, a step too slow in every game. I know you shouldn’t say nasty things about the dead, but since she never had the chance to become something, it’s unfair that everyone assumes that if she had, it would have been bright and shiny. At six Jeanie was one of those dull pennies forgotten on the sidewalk that everyone steps over but no one stoops to pick up; she wouldn’t have been a diamond at seventeen.
Even still, if I could remember her at all, I’m sure I would miss her. I’m told I loved her."
---
The Creeping is part of Barnes & Noble’s pre-order sale (Code: PREORDER25), taking place now through February 7th. If you order both The Creeping and The Telling by February 7th, 2025, you can receive a free copy of Alexandra Sirowy’s First We Were IV. To take part in this opportunity, email proof of purchase of both new releases to Alexandra.Sirowy@gmail.com. Note: It's only available for the first 500 proofs of purchase.
To learn more about The Creeping, visit: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-creeping-alexandra-sirowy/1120488414?ean=9781665973878
After spending more than 10 years as a consultant in the tech and entertainment industry, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his interest in horror and sci-fi. Since then, it has grown into an online magazine with a staff of writers that provide daily news, reviews, interviews, and special features.
As the Editor-in-Chief of Daily Dead, Jonathan is responsible for bringing the latest horror news to millions of readers from around the world. He is also consulted with as an expert on zombies in entertainment and pop culture, providing analyses of the zombie sub-genre to newspapers, radio stations, and convention attendees.
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
