Grace Amann

Twisted Willows

Leonora's mother was pushed into insanity and was locked up as a lunatic—a fact Leonora's guardian, Aunt Helen, takes pains to mention at any opportunity. Helen has little interest or affection for her young charge, although she enjoys the luxurious life afforded by Leonora's inheritance and Twisted Willows, the dark, rambling mansion in which they live.

Leonora grows up a timid, easily frightened child. She sleeps in the same room where tragedy struck: A room where horrible murders took place, by a woman pushed over the edge of sanity. So it's no small wonder Leonora suffers from increasingly horrific night terrors.

Once she is sent off to boarding school, however, Leonora manages to escape the continuous mental degradation offered by her aunt. Even so, Leonora's nightmares continue to worsen and now involve a sinister, disfigured man who begins appearing in the waking world.

Is insanity hereditary or is Leonora driven by her own delusions?

Twisted Willows is a deliciously Gothic psychological thriller that proves the meek, even if they inherit the earth, risk losing everything if they succumb to the mind's dark places.

Published in 2015 by CreateSpace.