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IFWG is very pleased to reveal the cover of Helena O’Connor’s upcoming short novel, Willow Close, a haunting horror piece. The wonderful artwork and design is by Greg Chapman.

Kess Hawkins just wants to play video games, eat pizza rolls, and hang out with her cat. But when a determined journalist comes asking about Kess’ past, she is drawn into a thirty-year old mystery. A childhood photo sparks Kess’s memories of an abandoned orphanage called Willow Close, as well as a brother she never knew she had and a boy she once shared a bond with despite his dark and troubled history. Meanwhile, a serial killer dubbed the Family Man is working his way down the coast and Kess’s home of New Haven lies directly in his path.

Willow Close is an old-school slasher with two kick-ass, contemporary heroines. A good old-fashioned mystery wrapped in a creepy old orphanage, with cosmic horror, a monstrous killer, and several lovely cats.

Willow Close will be globally released in print and ebook formats on 7 April 2025 (stock availability will be delayed several weeks in Australia and New Zealand).