Friday, September 5, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Skylight Books, Los Angeles
 CLICK HERE TO RSVP _**RSVP is recommended but not required. Entry and seating are first-come, first-served. RSVPs do not guarantee entry to a full event.**_ **_It's a Midsommar night's Scream in this blood-soaked thriller set at a remote healing retreat from horror author Brian McAuley._** Hannah has been running from her demons ever since she emerged from a harrowing wilderness trip without her fiancé. No one knows exactly what happened the day Ben died, and Hannah would like to keep it that way... even if his ghost still haunts her with vivid waking nightmares that are ruining her life. So when her friend group gets an exclusive invitation to a restorative spiritual retreat in Joshua Tree, Hannah reluctantly agrees in search of a fresh start. Despite her skepticism of the strange Guru Pax and his belief in the supernatural world, Hannah soon finds healing through all the yoga, sound baths, and hot springs offered at the tech-free haven. But this peaceful journey of self-discovery quickly descends into a violent fight for self-preservation when a mysterious killer starts picking off retreat attendees in increasingly gruesome ways. As the body count rises and Hannah's sanity frays, she'll have to confront her dark past and uncover the true nature of a ruthless monster hellbent on killing her vibe for good. **BRIAN MCAULEY’S** debut novel Curse of the Reaper was named one of the Best Horror Books of 2022 by Esquire and is currently in development for a film adaptation. His 2023 holiday slasher novella Candy Cain Kills earned praise from Booklist, Library Journal, and Kirkus Reviews, leading to the 2024 sequel, Candy Cain Kills Again: The Second Slaying. His next novel Breathe In, Bleed Out will publish on September 2nd, 2025 from Poisoned Pen Press. Brian is also a WGA screenwriter who has written everything from family sitcoms (Fuller House) to psychological thriller films (Dismissed). He teaches as a Clinical Assistant Professor of Screenwriting at ASU’s Sidney Poitier New American Film School. Connect with him on social media @BrianMcWriter **LIZ KERIN** is the author of the NIGHT’S EDGE duology (Tor Nightfire, 2023-2024) and dark fantasy adventure THE PHANTOM FOREST (2019). In addition to her work in literary fiction, Liz is also a screenwriter and award-winning playwright. Her play STOP-MOTION was awarded the 2018 Parity Commission and received a production at Theater for the New City in NYC in 2021, and her work has received multiple honors from The Road Theatre, Theatricum Botanicum, and the Kennedy Center. She is a graduate of the Rita and Burton Goldberg Department of Dramatic Writing at NYU Tisch and has numerous film/TV projects in active development. Her short fiction has appeared in Reactor Magazine, in the PUNK GOES HORROR anthology (Truborn, 2025), and in Brink Literary (Forthcoming Spring 2025). She lives in Southern California where you can find her working in her garden or hiking in the hills with her Corgi, Clementine.