Kate Alice Marshall started writing before she could hold a pen properly, and never stopped. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with a chaotic menagerie of pets and family members, and ventures out in the summer to kayak and camp along Puget Sound. I Am Still Alive was her YA debut, followed by Rules for Vanishing.
In the faux-documentary style of The Blair Witch Project comes the campfire story of a missing girl, a vengeful ghost, and the girl who is determined to find her sister—at all costs.
Once a year, a road appears in the forest. And at the end of it, the ghost of Lucy Gallows beckons. Lucy’s game isn’t for the faint of heart. If you win, you escape with your life. But if you lose….
Sara’s sister disappeared one year ago—and only Sara knows where she is. Becca went to find the ghost of Lucy Gallows and is trapped on the road that leads to her. In the sleepy town of Briar Glen, Lucy’s road is nothing more than local lore. But Sara knows it’s real, and she’s going to find it.
When Sara and her skeptical friends meet in the forest to search for Becca, the mysterious road unfurls before them. All they have to do is walk down it. But the path to Lucy is not of this world, and it has its own rules. Every mistake summons new horrors. Vengeful spirits and broken, angry creatures are waiting for them to slip, and no one is guaranteed safe passage. The only certainty is this: the road has a toll and it will be paid.
Sara knows that if she steps onto the road, she might not come back. But Becca needs her.
And Lucy is waiting.
BREAKOUT AUTHOR: We saw tremendous success with Kate’s YA debut, I Am Still Alive with rave reviews from The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as two starred reviews. All agreed that Kate is a rising star to watch, and tremendous early sales indicate her new fans will be eagerly awaiting her next book.
A TASTE FOR SOMETHING DARKER: With books like The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert as well as shows like Riverdale and Sharp Objects making headlines, audiences are eager for darker content with an engaging, relatable cast and plotlines that linger with them.
COMMERCIAL READ: Kate’s literary chops won over reviewers like the NYT, but with Rules for Vanishing we feel she’s found an even more commercial corner of the market.
SUPERNATURAL TWIST: High school drama gets a supernatural update. While the complicated friend group dynamic is pure high school gossip fodder, local ghost legend Lucy Gallows makes this story anything but business as usual.
ROMANCE: With I Am Still Alive, Kate wrote a searing tale of a girl relying on no one but herself to survive. In Rules for Vanishing, she takes the stakes up a notch with a full cast of characters, complete with romance that will have you racing to the end to find out if every lover makes it out alive….
SISTER STORY: It’s the protagonist Sara’s love for her sister that draws her deep into the woods. While also juggling an enthralling ghost story and a full cast of characters, Kate once again displays her skill at writing touching, if complicated, family stories.
SEASONAL TIE-IN: The mile-a-minute pacing ensures this read will deliver at any time of the year, but the totally terrifying, totally thrilling ghost story makes this a natural Halloween-season pick.
Publication details:
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781406390599
Published: 03 Oct 2019 – Walker Books