The Bone Orchard Pact

They say the Bone Orchard only blooms when something has died that shouldn't have.
In the forgotten village of Marrowfen, tradition runs deep — and nowhere deeper than the roots of the Bone Orchard. For generations, the local gravedigger has kept watch over the twisted trees, the crumbling gravestones, and the whispers of those who never truly passed on.
Lark Morwyn wants nothing to do with it.
After escaping to the city to build a life of her own, she's reluctantly drawn back when her grandfather — the last Bonekeeper — dies under strange and silent circumstances. With no one else left to tend the graves, the legacy falls to her... whether she likes it or not.
But the orchard isn't just a resting place. It's a boundary. And something is clawing at the other side.
As Lark uncovers cryptic journal entries, ghostly warnings, and a forgotten pact made in blood and bark, she realizes the price of neglecting the dead is steeper than she ever imagined. Aided by an outcast apothecary and a child who speaks to things no one else sees, she must learn the old rites before the orchard claims her, too.
Mysterious, lyrical, and steeped in dark folklore, The Bone Orchard Pact is a standalone fantasy perfect for fans of Katherine Arden, Ava Reid, and eerie village legends. It's not the monsters you bury that come back... it's the ones you forget to mourn.

A.F. Hollow is a writer of dark fantasy and folklore, inspired by the brooding beauty of coastal landscapes and the timeless power of myth. Their work explores themes of family, legacy, and the supernatural, often drawing inspiration from forgotten histories and ancient traditions. A.F. Hollow lives in a weathered cottage on the edge of a northern inlet and enjoys collecting regional ghost stories, wandering mist-shrouded moors, and tending to a garden of poisonous herbs. The Lanternman's Daughters is their second published novel, following The Bone Orchard Pact. Their third novel, The Root-Singer of Griefmoor, will be released soon.