Chloe Lauter with G.G. Silverman — 'The Flayed Man: A Novel'

Third Place Books welcomes author Chloe Lauter to our Ravenna store for a conversation about her new book, : a fresh, poignant, tastefully bloody tale of vampirism, sapphic love, and family obligation set against the backdrop of the Mojave Desert. G.G. Silverman, author of , joins in conversation.

This event is free and open to the public. For important updates, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will include a public signing and time for audience Q&A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured books!

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A complex mother-daughter relationship is taken to a new level in this fresh and propulsive novel of family curses, blood-thirsty ghouls, and budding romance set against the Mojave Desert and Las Vegas
Ellis Karsten spends nights working triage in the ER and days having the same conversation with her mom. The early onset dementia is exhausting, but the real challenge is their curse—Ellis’s family must feed daily on blood, or risk becoming mindless, skinless killing machines. When Ellis’s uncle, who supplies their blood, vanishes, she takes it upon herself to find a new source, aided by a prickly paramedic who’s equal parts unpredictable and intoxicating. But as Ellis fights to balance her bloodthirsty nature with a new relationship, her mom’s impossible demands transform into panicked warnings that a fabled monster, “The Flayed Man,” is stalking them.
As she traverses the desert in search of blood, Ellis risks her safety and her family’s secret, until it becomes clear that her mom is right: something ancient and hungry is hunting them, and it has come for her mom. Blood hunger begins to overtake Ellis, transforming her body into something ghoulish and frightening—exactly what The Flayed Man wants. In the end, she must decide who to trust, what she’s willing to sacrifice, and whether she is worthy of a life, and love, beyond her curse—or if she’s going to succumb to instinct and ravage the world.

Chloe Lauter is an entertainment publicist in Los Angeles.

G.G. Silverman is a first-generation Italian-American writer. She is also disabled and neurodivergent. Her short fiction has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize, Best American Short Fiction, and the O. Henry Prize, and has been adapted for short film with a Hollywood debut. Her work has also appeared in Bram Stoker Award-nominated Women in Horror anthologies, and has been a finalist for the Speculative Literature Foundation’s Diverse Writers Grant, as well as the Barbara Deming Memorial Fund Award for feminist writing. The Blood Year Daughter, a finalist for numerous awards, is her debut short story collection.

Founded in 1998 in Lake Forest Park, Washington, Third Place Books is dedicated to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. With locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park neighborhoods, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events.