A CURSE CARVED IN INK
Adult Romantasy
All Zhenya has ever wanted is to run away with her best friend, Shuhua. Yet duty binds her to her family’s antiquarian bookstore and to caring for the only family she has left. With the sudden passing of her delirious grandmother, the truth is revealed: she was never mad; she was cursed.
A vampiric affliction known as the Jiangshi’s Claw plagues her bloodline, driving its hosts to drain everything they love. Freed at last, it takes Zhenya for its own, whispering in her thoughts, guiding her hands, leaving messages she does not remember writing. Ancient, ravenous, and bound for blood, it demands she commit the unthinkable: kill the person she loves most.​
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Zhenya cannot resist as the curse uses her to destroy the one soul she cannot live without, condemning Shuhua to an eternity of torment. But death is not the end. It is only the beginning.
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Dragged into the underworld by two legendary immortals — Kaijun, brooding judge of hell, and Yaori, dangerously charming goddess of death — Zhenya is offered a single chance at redemption: descend through the layers of Diyu, survive the deadly Five Poisons trials, and she might reclaim Shuhua’s soul along with her own.
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But hell is full of secrets, and not all of them want to stay buried.
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A Curse Carved in Ink is a gothic romantasy inspired by Chinese vampire lore. Featuring a bisexual love triangle and a journey through grief, legacy, and longing, this devastating debut is a story of the hell we endure for the ones we love, and the ghosts that never truly leave us.
Kamilah Cole
Lodestar Award finalist and bestselling author of An Arcane Inheritance
"Every element of the story was expertly woven together into an unforgettable narrative about the glorious pain and undeniable power of loving and being loved."
Vanessa Len
Internationally bestselling author of Only a Monster
"A Curse Carved in Ink is a devastatingly beautiful journey into an underworld of deadly curses, blood-drenched secrets and eternal love."
Lili Wilkinson
Award-winning author of Unhallowed Halls and A Hunger of Thorns
"Epic as poetry, dark as ink, sexy as hell. A stunningly intricate fantasy - A Curse Carved in Ink will take you to hell and back."
In the Press
This standalone romantasy debut features a bisexual love triangle, and explores generational trauma through the hauntingly beautiful lens of Chinese mythology. For fans of Shelley Parker-Chan’s She Who Became the Sun and Sue Lynn Tan’s Daughter of the Moon Goddess, this novel will satisfy fantasy and romantasy readers alike.
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A Curse Carved in Ink will be published by Atria Books Australia and Simon & Schuster UK in January 2027. Since acquisition, global excitement has led to auctions in several territories, with rights sold into Germany (Heyne), Italy (Newton Compton), Spain (Minotauro/Planeta) Hungary (General Press/Lira) and Poland (Uroboros/Foksal).
