Practical, unassuming Jane Shoringfield has done the calculations, and decided that
the most secure path forward is this: a husband, in a marriage of convenience, who
will allow her to remain independent and occupied with meaningful work. Her first
choice, the dashing but reclusive doctor Augustine Lawrence, agrees to her proposal
with only one condition: that she must never visit Lindridge Hall, his crumbling
family manor outside of town.

Caitlin Starling's first novel, The Luminous Dead, won the LOHF Best Debut Award
and was nominated for both the Bram Stoker and Locus Awards. She has previously
published gothic tale Yellow Jessamine, along with a novella in the Vampire: The
Masquerade audio collection, Walk Among Us. Her nonfiction has appeared in
Nightmare and Uncanny. Caitlin also works in narrative design, and has been paid
to invent body parts. She's always on the lookout for new ways to inflict insomnia.