Press Kit
Photo by Sylvie Rosokoff
Represented by
Victoria Marini at High Line Literary Collective
TOR Publicist
Peachtree Teen Publicist
Taylor Grothe Short Bio
Taylor is a writer of adult and young adult horror, horror romance, and dark fantasy. They are a scholar of medieval literature and Nordic Saga. Taylor lives with three cats, two kids, a very beleaguered dog, and their spouse, in New England. Taylor also writes adult dark fantasy romance under the pen name T.G. Laine.
Taylor Grothe Longer Bio
Taylor Grothe (AKA T.G. Laine) is a writer of adult and young adult horror, horror romance, and dark fantasy. They hold a nonfiction MFA from Fairfield University, acted as the graduate Assistant Managing Editor of Brevity, and their short works can be found in esteemed publications such as These Dreaming Spires (Titan Books), Brevity's craft blog, Haven Speculative, and Shortwave Magazine. They are a scholar of medieval literature and Nordic Saga. They live with their family in New England, and on the rare occasion they're not writing, they can be found playing: with the cats, on the cello, or in costume!
Taylor is the author of the YA books Hollow and Monstrous Beautiful Things (Peachtree Teen), as well as adult books Lethal Kiss (Tor Nightfire) and The Mage and the Liar Knight (Little, Brown).
Photo by Guillermo González Torres
Represented by
Victoria Marini at High Line Literary Collective
T. G. Laine Bio
T. G. Laine is an author of dark fantasy and fantasy romance. They hold a nonfiction MFA from Fairfield University and are a scholar of medieval literature and Nordic Saga. As Taylor Grothe, they are also the author of several horror novels, including Lethal Kiss, Monstrous Beautiful Things, and Hollow. Taylor lives with three cats, two kids, and their spouse, in New England. They love medieval manuscripts, haunting The Cloisters’ unicorn tapestries, and playing an impossibly loud cello when not writing.
Cover by Rachel Silva
Design by Jess Kiley
Book Stats
Genre: Adult Dark Academia Horror Romance
Publisher: TOR Nightfire
Publication Date: October 20, 2026
Lethal Kiss
Something ravenous lurks below the marble floors of Preston University…
When Marcella is hired at Preston University, she intends to lay low for a few semesters, enjoy the extensive library, and feed … discretely. She’s a monster, but she’s careful. Then a professor is found murdered and it isn’t her doing. Whatever is killing her colleagues is older, far less restrained, and ravenous.
Assistant professor Lacie is aware how ruthless the track to tenure is. But seeing the corpse of one of her colleagues is enough to make her suspect the professors that came before her didn’t just quit academia. There’s only one person she can trust enough to ask for help—the beautiful, aloof, and tantalizingly secretive Marcella.
The deeper into the mystery they dig, the more Marcella’s drawn to Lacie’s immovable bravery and quiet intelligence. And the closer they grow, the more Lacie is drawn to Marcella’s vicious nature.
The weight of spilled blood and stolen opportunity is too heavy to carry alone, but they’re both determined to get what they deserve—even if they have to kill for it.
…But desire has teeth of its own.
Book Stats
Genre: Adult Dark Romantasy
Publisher: Little, Brown
Publication Date: May 25, 2027
The Mage and the Liar Knight
A lady knight who despises magic must team up with a magician who lies about having powers, in this queer Arthurian romantasy for readers of The Second Death of Locke and The Everlasting.
Foul things are afoot in Cundrie, a village that sits on the border between humans and magical folk. For years, the two peoples have waged war, and Cecily, a nearly powerless magician, does her best to keep out of the fray. When humans pierce the veil and bring war to Cundrie, Cecily meets Merwyn, a lady knight in the occupying battalion whose dark humor and glittering armor riles something deep within her.
Merywn is many things: grave digger, foot soldier, and—above all—magic hater. But the magic folk might have the cure that she desperately seeks for her ailing father, and Merwyn is determined to drag a magic wielder back to her kingdom to help him.
When the human battalion unexpectedly sparks a larger battle, Cecily and Merwyn strike a deal and set off into the woods together. Beset by errant knights, sentient forests, and their own growing attraction to each other, the two women soon uncover whispers of a plot so foul they will need to decide whether to betray their morals and their kingdoms—or betray each other.
Book Stats
Genre: YA Horror Romance/Dark Fantasy
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Publication Date: February 9, 2027
Monstrous Beautiful Things
A darkly gothic sapphic body-horror fantasy steeped in medieval history. Perfect for fans of Ava Reid, Rachel Gillig, and The Starving Saints.
Plagued by sick headaches that are considered an ill portent in her superstitious village, Ediva has prayed to the Goddess Warmth for a cure. Too ill to marry and too weak to farm, she is desperate to contribute to her family’s survival.
When her prayers are finally answered, it isn’t by the Goddess, but by the Vivari—learned men from the North—who claim Ediva’s pain makes her special. They offer a cure in exchange for forsaking the Goddess Warmth and repaying them in lymph, allegedly the source of Ediva’s illness. Upon their orders, Ediva traverses the shimmering auras that appear with her sick headaches to the Otherworld—a strangely beautiful plane where Ediva is free of pain yet haunted by many-limbed beasts.
Pursued by horrors, Ediva is saved by a hard, fearsome girl named Brigid, who claims the Vivari aren’t trying to take away their pain but give it purpose. Ediva wants to believe her, but the more she explores the Otherworld, the more she suspects the Vivari’s promises of power will only be offered to the one who survives. To save the girl she loves, Ediva faces a choice: retreat to a world where her pain means nothing or become like the monsters she fears.
This gothic gem is perfect for readers who love clashes between decaying gods and upstart cults with a heartrending sapphic monster romance. A bloody brilliant reflection on power, pain, and the body’s inherent worthiness.
Book Stats
Genre: YA Aquatic Horror
Publisher: Page Street YA
Publication Date: April 20, 2027
These Ghastly Depths
Madeline Dyer, editor of Being Ace and These Bodies Ain't Broken, has created a new terrifying anthology centered on aquatic horror.
From haunted bayous and sunken towns to lake drownings and harrowing seafaring journeys, the world's water is host to all manner of dangers. This YA horror anthology showcases gothic horror with threads of supernatural, psychological, and body horror elements including doppelgängers emerging from the deep, sea creatures capsizing vessels, and lake monsters out for blood.
Contributors include bestselling and award-winning authors as well as emerging authors: Pintip Dunn, Taylor Grothe, Madeline Dyer, James Ramos, Whitney McShan, Manuia Heinrich, Nicole Zelniker, Anandi, S.J. Taylor, Dawn Kurtagich, Catherine Yu, S.E. Anderson, Desiree S. Evans, and JT Patten.
Cover by Chris Mrozik
Design by Lily Steele
Book Stats
352 pages
Genre: YA Folk Horror
Publisher: Peachtree Teen
Publication Date: September 30, 2025
Hollow
Don’t Let the Forest In meets The Whispering Dark in a queer YA cult horror following a recently diagnosed autistic teen who becomes enmeshed in a community of outcasts harboring sinister secrets.
After a meltdown in her school cafeteria prompts an unwanted autism diagnosis, Cassie Davis moves back to her hometown in upstate New York, where her mom hopes the familiarity will allow Cassie to feel normal again. Cassie’s never truly felt normal anywhere, but she does crave the ease she used to have with her old friends.
Problem is that her friends aren’t so eager to welcome her back into the fold. They extend an olive branch by inviting her on their backpacking trip to Hollow Ridge, in the upper reaches of the Adirondacks. But when a fight breaks out their first night, Cassie wakes to a barren campsite—her friends all gone.
With severe weather approaching and nearing sensory overload, Cassie is saved by a boy named Kaleb, who whisks her away to a compound of artists and outcasts he calls the Roost. As Kaleb tends to her injuries, Cassie begins to feel—for the first time in her life—that she can truly be herself. But as the days pass, strange happenings around the Roost make Cassie question her instincts. Noises in the trees grow louder, begging the question: Are the dangers in the forest, on the trail, or in the Roost itself?
In a world where autistic characters rarely get to be the hero of their own stories, Cassie Davis’s one-step-back, two-steps-forward journey to unmasking makes Hollow as much a love letter to neurodiversity as it is a haunting tale you’ll want to read with the lights on.
Accolades for Hollow
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard
Praise for Hollow
Folk horror meets survival thriller in Grothe’s harrowing debut…visceral third-person narration closely follows Cassie, rendering her complex emotions palpable, while a tender queer romance adds heart. Lush prose conjures vivid imagery that increasingly unsettles as Grothe’s tale tips from tense to terrifying.
—Publisher’s Weekly Starred Review
“Hollow is one of the best horror novels of the year, full stop. Haunting, heartfelt, and downright creepy, this book introduces imagery that will give you nightmares and an autistic protagonist in Cassie who will teach us all something new about standing up for each other and ourselves. This book punched me in the face and stole my lunch money and all I could say was thank you.”
—Kamilah Cole, Lodestar Award nominated and bestselling author of So Let Them Burn
"Wickedly creepy and unexpectedly tender—Hollow is a fresh spin on cult horror tropes, complete with a beating heart. Cassie’s journey is a fierce, fearless love letter to neurodivergent identity, queer belonging, and finding your people in the unlikeliest of places. As the parent of an AuDHD child, I saw my kid in Cassie—her strength, her struggles, her unique light. This book doesn’t just represent us; it understands us.”
—Sadie Hartmann, Bram Stoker Award Winning author of 101 Books to Read Before You’re Murdered
“An eerie and unsettlingly atmospheric debut, Taylor Grothe balances the tension of slow creeping horror with the distressing experience of unmasking, asking us to confront who we truly are when we strip away the weight of other’s expectations—no matter how painful.”
—K. M. Enright, Sunday Times bestselling author of Mistress of Lies
“Both heartfelt and haunting, Taylor Grothe strikes the perfect balance between an immersive coming-of-age story and a chilling horror. Cassie is a heroine who you cannot help but love, protect, and root for— and who I would definitely follow into the shadowy woods.”
—Lyndall Clipstone, author of Lakesedge and Tenderly, I am Devoured
"Bone-chilling, haunting, and hopeful, Hollow is the kind of book that will leave you wanting to sleep with the lights on while simultaneously holding your hand in the dark. Cassie Davis may not think she's a hero, but she will be one for teen readers for years to come."
—De Elizabeth, author of This Raging Sea and She Haunts Me Still
Book Stats
Genre: Adult Dark Academia Shorts
Publisher: Titan Books
Publication Date: September 2, 2025
These Dreaming Spires: A Dark Academia Anthology
A NEW SEMESTER BEGINS
A beguiling, sinister collection of 12 more dark academia short stories from masters of the genre, including Olivie Blake, Genevieve Cogman, MK Lobb and more!
Twelve original dark academia stories from bestselling thriller writers – imagine darkened libraries, exclusive elite schools, looming Gothic towers, charismatic professors, illicit affairs, the tang of autumn in the air… and the rivalries and obsessions that lead to murder.
Featuring stories
Olivie Blake
Genevieve Cogman
Ariel Djanikian
Elspeth Wilson
MK Lobb
Jamison Shea
Kate Alice Marshall
Erica Waters
De Elizabeth
Taylor Grothe
Kit Mayquist
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Edited by Marie O’Regan and Paul Kane.