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In the highly atmospheric thriller It Will Only Hurt for a Moment, a young woman hopes to reinvent herself at an isolated artists’ colony . . . only to be drawn into its dark, twisted past.

About It Will Only Hurt for a Moment

Sarah Carpenter is starting over.

She’s on the run—leaving behind her unsupportive, narcissistic ex-boyfriend and alcoholic, abusive mother—and headed for a new beginning at Tranquil Falls, a secluded artists’ colony on the grounds of a closed hotel. There, with no cell signal or internet to distract her, she hopes to rediscover her love for pottery and put the broken pieces of her life back together.

But when Sarah uncovers the body of a young woman while digging a hole for a pit kiln, things start to fall apart. Her fellow artists begin to act in troubling ways. The eccentric fiber artist knits an endless scarf. The musician plays the same carousel song over and over until his fingers bleed. The calligrapher grins with ink-stained teeth. Not to mention the haunting dreams Sarah has night after night.

When she discovers glass shards in her clay, Sarah wonders if someone is out to get her—or if she’s losing her grip on reality out here in the wilds, where the pounding of the waterfall never, ever fades. As she investigates the beautiful valley and the crumbling resort looming over them all, she unearths a chilling past that refuses to remain buried . . .

Praise for It Will Only Hurt for a Moment

“Steadily mounting mysteries and disturbing revelations at an art commune in this story about a woman’s liberation from an abusive relationship make this another must-read in Dawson’s growing canon of work.”—Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of Black River Orchard

“If Delilah S. Dawson writes it, I will read it. My bones were chilled, my blood boiled, and all my feral feminine energy ignited into flame! It Will Only Hurt for a Moment is Gothicly delicious!”—Sadie Hartmann, Bram Stoker Award–winning author of 101 Horror Books to Read Before You’re Murdered

“It Will Only Hurt for a Moment is a gloriously creepy and atmospheric horror thriller that smashes the patriarchy from beyond the grave.”—Halley Sutton, USA Today bestselling author of The Hurricane Blonde

“No one does female rage quite like Delilah S. Dawson. It Will Only Hurt for a Moment is both a deft examination of creativity and a bone-chilling take on the asylum novel. It’s an absolute must-read.”—Ally Wilkes, Bram Stoker Award–nominated author of Where the Dead Wait

“It Will Only Hurt for a Moment is a glorious and compelling feminist thriller that presents a refreshing take on all-too-familiar territory for many women. Delilah S. Dawson will intrigue you, spook you, and disturb you—all while making you desperate to read more!”—Carissa Orlando, author of The September House

About Delilah S. Dawson, Author of It Will Only Hurt for a Moment

Delilah S. Dawson is the author of the New York Times bestseller Star Wars: Phasma, as well as Star Wars Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade, Star Wars Galaxy’s Edge: Black Spire, Guillotine, Bloom, The Violence, Camp Scare, Mine, Midnight at the Houdini, Disney Mirrorverse: Pure of Heart, the Minecraft Mob Squad series, the Hit series, the Blud series, the creator-owned comics Ladycastle, Sparrowhawk, and Star Pig, and the Shadow series (written as Lila Bowen). With Kevin Hearne, she co-writes the Tales of Pell series. She lives in Georgia with her family.

You can connect with Delilah Dawson on Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.

Titles by Delilah S. Dawson

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