Hag

At this, the Cailleach would release a single drop of indigo dye onto the topmost layer. See, she would tell her daughter. See? It bleeds through the topmost path and onto the next. In this way, so many things from the next world touch ours, and our world touches the layer beneath.

High above the sea, hidden in the rocky Scottish cliffs, something stirs. An ancient matriarchal power has set the wheels in motion for a long line of descendants. But to what end?

Spanning centuries of human history, these daughters of the lowland hag, the Cailleach, must navigate a world filled with superstition, hatred, violence, pestilence, and death to find their purpose. With pasts half remembered and destinies denied, the daughters of Cailleach are women with uncanny, and often feared, abilities to heal, to see the future and to cause great destruction and pain when threatened. With each passing generation, the waves crash against the shore, and the Cailleach awaits a homecoming that will bring everything full circle.

PRAISE FOR HAG  & KATHLEEN KAUFMAN

"I was intrigued with Hag by Kathleen Kaufman from the first sentences. Who was the Cailleach? What was her curse? Then, the book shifted into an ordinary child's viewpoint, though we learn later that Alice and her ancestors are a "confusing mixture of magical and ordinary." The answers to those questions come in enchanting puzzle pieces that kept me reading! The aspects of time, brought out through the lovely metaphor of the ink penetrating layers of cloth, as "reality happening alongside hers, and in the same breath was long past and nothing but a memory. The two worlds spun alongside each other, neither more nor less real than the other...." still has me thinking about concepts of time! I would recommend this book especially to readers intrigued with mythology and how time might work." 

-Geraldine Ann Marshall, author

"Kaufman's Hag shifts the paradigm of masculine historical into feminist horror. The Cailleach, a powerful and ancient sea hag, sends her descendants into the world of man, where they endure war and heartbreak, insult and malice. This magical matriarchy, distinguished by the eldritch mark they bear, teach and heal and protect others as women have quietly done for untold ages. Discover centuries of Scottish history, revisit decades of the modern era, and reclaim a feminine form of storytelling passed down from mother to daughter unseen since the chronicles of the Brothers Grimm." 

- Karen Bovenmyer, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Scholarship Awardee, Horror Writers Association

"Gorgeously written, Hag intricately weaves a story from past to present. Readers longing to be swept away into another world will devour this book." 

-Megan Hart, NYT Bestselling Author of All the Lies We Tell

"Kathleen Kaufman's rich characterization deftly makes all the magic, joy, and pain of Hag heartbreakingly real for the reader. Part incisive ethnography, part descent into the horrors of the past, this book has the binge-read-inducing feel of an honest and juicy memoir. Hag not only distinguishes itself from the crowd in contemporary dark and fantasy literature, but raises the bar. " 

-John Edward Lawson, author of Bibliophobia

"Hag by Kathleen Kaufman is an epic and chilling tale of Cailleach and her daughters set loose in world and destined to manifest their mother's magic in whatever era they land. Kaufman weaves a fascinating tale of feminine power. These are the stories women have been telling down through the ages. Finally, we can read them!" 

-Kate Jonez, Bram Stoker Award Winning Editor at Omnium Gatherum

"The women [in Hag] are timeless, and much wiser than the people, regardless of the era their story takes place...Kaufman paints old world witchery that comes off as much more genuine. Perfect if you enjoy folklore and witches." 

- Lolly K Dandeneau, Bookstalkerblog

"A mix of magical realism and historical fiction, this story swept me away. Kaufman's writing flows effortlessly, carrying the reader along on this magical journey. I read the book in one sitting...Recommended--a lovely read!" 

- Historical Novel Society

"Witches are a major part of horror folklore, and when a writer comes along and gives them a serious treatment beyond the usual stereotypical trappings, it's time to take notice. Hag appears to have the occult running deep in its veins." 

- Bob Pastorella, This is Horror

"...a superb novel of heritage and struggle that just happens to be a brilliant witch story... Kaufman's prose is elegant and light allowing her story to come to the fore with ease leaving readers feeling light but yet resonant with the pages' meaning. A masterly blend of mythology and modernity, Hag is a supremely satisfying novel." 

-Daniel Casey, Misanthropester.com

"I am the stuff of your nightmares . . . you have been writing my name on the walls of your fear your entire life."

When seven-year-old Jamie falls down a very long hill, he finds himself trapped in a world of strange creatures, harsh landscapes, and near-perpetual darkness. Lost and confused, Jamie is desperate to get home. The nightmares, fears, and all manner of what-ifs that inhabit this shadow world are unfamiliar to him--all except one: the Lairdbalor, Jamie's personal nightmare, once relegated to his dreams. In this fantastical land, however, the Lairdbalor and all the fears and nightmares of children are very real.

But Jamie's nightmare is different. It is the sum total of the anger and anxiety that imprisoned him in his former life, and it threatens to consume and rule the nightmare realm, a place where time passes differently. With each slumber, Jamie finds himself inexorably changed. The farther he travels through this terrifying world, the better he understands the one he left behind.

Crossing genres of folklore, horror, fantasy, and magical realism, The Lairdbalor is a story for anyone who lives with anxiety and fear and has ever wondered "what if?" It is the story of a child not meant for children and a darkly imaginative meditation on life, death, fear, and the nature of reality.

PRAISE FOR THE LAIRDBALOR & KATHLEEN KAUFMAN

Named one of the top three spooky novels to read this Halloween by Brit + Co: 

"The Lairdbalor might just have you checking in your closet and under your bed for some things that go bump in the night."

-Ilana Lucas

"The Babadook meets The Hobbit in this nightmare-riddled fantasy. Kaufman's subtle horror will pull readers along with a creeping sense of unease, though the Lairdbalor's scenes are genuinely chilling."

-Booklist

"Mythic, haunting, and imaginative, The Lairdbalor is a beautifully-written nightmare where the tumultuous anxieties and emotions of childhood are given life and then skinned raw."

-Jake Marley, Winner of the 2017 Golden Pen Award

"Sweeping, lyrical, and darkly philosophical, The Lairdbalor succeeds in mapping not only a new world, but also a new voice ready to confront and explore our deepest, darkest fears."

-Bram Stoker Award-winning author John Palisano

"Imagine a harrowing coming-of-age quest in a world that is literally your worst nightmare. Kathleen Kaufman has already imagined it for you. The Lairdbalor is wondrous, strange and horrifying. You won't want to sleep again after reading it."

-Bill Bridges, author of The Song of Unmaking

"A powerful story of myth, legend, and lore this lyrical nightmare come true is chilling and unsettling, but not without hope and heart."

-Richard Thomas, author of the Thriller Award-nominated Breaker

"With The LairdbalorR, Kathleen Kaufman has written a novel that re-imagines the traditions of Lewis Carroll, J.R.R. Tolkien, and C.S. Lewis for the twenty-first century. In its pages, Kaufman takes us on a journey with Jamie, her young hero, cast from our world into another, fantastic one. There, he must traverse strange landscapes and treat with weird creatures, all in the shadow of the figure he fears the most, the Lairdbalor. Kathleen Kaufman has produced a fine debut, one whose roots in the literature of the fantastic rise into bizarre, memorable fruit."

-John Langan, author of The Fisherman

"Kathleen Kaufman's debut is a dark, twisted fairytale of the best kind. The Lairdbalor is haunting, evocative, page-turning. Couldn't read it fast enough! The ending will stay with you long after you've put it down."

-Jennifer Brody, award-winning author of The 13th Continuum

"Kaufman conjures terrifying scenarios, from the creepily unsettling to the graphically horrific, with crisp, elegant prose."

-Kirkus Reviews

"A unique, deftly crafted, impressively engaging read from cover to cover, The Lairdbalor showcases author Kathleen Kauman's extraordinary flair for imaginative and entertaining storytelling. Unreservedly recommended."

-Midwest Book Review

Diabhal (Devil) is the story of cults, exorcisms and the devil in 1980's era Los Angeles. Ceit Robertson, age ten, is the next Matrarc to the Society, a cultish, matriarchal group living in an inconspicuous cul-de-sac in Venice Beach. When Ceit's mother is attacked by spirits from the old world, a failed exorcism results in Ceit's exile into the foster care system in Los Angeles. She eventually lands in the infamous MacLaren Hall, a very real and historically auspicious center for disturbed and abandoned children in El Monte, CA. Diabhal is the sympathetic story of the devil in Los Angeles. 

The exploration of the true nature of evil and how intention colors what our definition of wickedness truly is. Ceit grows into a force of nature, as she contains the potential and mythology of the darkest degree, but discovers that perhaps the devil is not what we should truly fear.

PRAISE FOR DIABHAL & KATHLEEN KAUFMAN

"Spine-chilling tale of ancient rituals and restless spirits" 

- Fresh Fiction on Diabhal

"A great choice for readers drawn in to the folk horror of the movie Midsommar, fans of dark fantasy authors like Seanan McGuire, or horror featuring strong, female, teen protagonists like M. R. Carey's Someone Like Me (2018)."

-Booklist

"Imagine a world of old magic that exists beside our own, but one that is darker, grittier, and more dangerous than you ever imagined. Kathleen Kaufman's Diabhal rings with ominous truths." 

-Alma Katsu, author of The Hunger

"A potent tale of mythos, superstition, and the power of little girls, Diabhal is told with rigor and surety. Kaufman is magnificent."

- Lee Murray, two-time Bram Stoker nominee and author of Into the Mist.

"...an engrossing tale of magic, darkness, and natural order" 

- Publishers Weekly

"Atmospheric and creepy as hell. Diabhal will get under your skin." 

-Kaaron Warren, Australian Shadow Award Winner and Peter McNamara Lifetime Achievement Recipient, Author of Tide of Stone.

"Vivid, evocative, brimming with themes of classic horror and ancient magic juxtaposed against modern life, Kaufman's new novel shines with twisty plotting and an appealing young heroine who must juggle the past, present and future as she strives to discover her birthright as a powerful sorceress."

-Denise Hamilton, bestselling author of the Eve Diamond crime novels, shortlisted for the Edgar, Macavity, Anthony, and Willa Cather Awards