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Natalie Kikić

@natkikicwrites

3.7K

followers

2012

following

🖤 Author of haunting and romantic stories
🪻 THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE (Oct. 2026)
📚 Rep: Elizabeth Pratt @trellisliterary

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Announcing the preorder campaign for THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE! 🪻🪻🪻

I am so excited and honored to partner with one of my favorite local independent bookstores, Copper Dog Books (@copperdogbooks) in Beverly, MA!

Preorder THOLH from Copper Dog by October 19th and receive:

🪻 a copy of The Haunting of Lavender House signed by yours truly

🪻 a lavender sachet (so you can feel like you're at Lavender House while reading)

🪻 ...and if you're one of the first 20 customers, you'll also receive the beautiful custom illustration featured here by Alessandra Berenato, (@brelight.art) depicting one of my favorite scenes from the book!

Copper Dog is such an amazing bookstore with passionate booksellers, an amazing space, and great community events that uplift books and authors. I would be so grateful if you considered supporting them (and me) through this campaign!

Link to preorder from Copper Dog in my bio and stories!

🪻 ABOUT THE BOOK 🪻

THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE by Natalie Kikić is a Gothic Horror-Romance set in Croatia that features...

🪻 Croatian folklore
🪻 Dual timelines - past and present
🪻 A sentient haunted house
🪻 Horror with kissing (and a lil spice)
🪻 Female rage
🪻 An immigrant daughter protagonist
🪻 A family curse
🪻 And a vengeful spirit

Coming October 20, 2026 from Park Row Books/HarperCollins.

@htpbooks @htp_hive @parkrowbooks by @natkikicwrites

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3 months ago

🪻COVER REVEAL🪻

I am so excited to finally share the gorgeous cover for my debut novel, THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE!!

Thank you so, so much to @alexandra_mercedes at @parkrowbooks for creating the Croatian gothic cover of my dreams. I especially love the embroidery details along the edges, which emulate Croatian embroidery. It means so much to me to have a cover that not only honors the haunting core of the story, but my roots.

If you’re interested in a gothic horror romance set in an unconventional setting (a Croatian island), this book is for you!

THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE publishes October 20, 2026 from Park Row Books/@harpercollins and it is now available for pre-order. You can also shelve it on Goodreads. 🔗 are in my stories and bio.

#gothicbooks #gothicromance #coverreveal #newbooks
#bookaesthetics by @natkikicwrites

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7 months ago

It's been awhile since I introduced myself, so I wanted to say hello 👋

I'm Natalie/Nat, a Croatian American writer based in New England. My debut novel, The Haunting of Lavender House, releases October 20th from Park Row Books/HarperCollins. It's a Gothic Horror-Romance set in Croatia and inspired by Croatian folklore and I'm so excited to share it with the world in a few months (eek!)

Some fun facts about me:

I am a dual Canadian-US citizen. I am also an honorary Newfoundlander, which I became after kissing a codfish and drinking Newfoundland "screech" (a dark Jamaican rum)

In addition to the US and Canada, I have lived in South Korea, China, and Vietnam.

I am learning to tap dance.

My BA is in Slavic Languages & Literatures with a focus on Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian.

I love trains and well-designed subway systems (one of the best things about living in Shanghai and Seoul).

In university, I had a student job conserving old maps, and I worked in the basement of a library.

I enjoy taking walks in my local cemetery.

Taylor Swift and Noah Kahan are my favorite singers.

I will be sharing some exciting updates soon concerning my debut, so i hope you stick around! by @natkikicwrites

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3 months ago

I don't know what's scarier, a haunted house or being perceived 😱

Enjoy these subtle takes on the haunted feelings you'll find in The Haunting of Lavender House, which publishes in 4 days!! (10/20). (My great grandparents are on slide 5!)

📖: The Haunting of Lavender House is a Gothic Horror-Romance about a young woman who travels to Croatia to meet her estranged grandmother, only to find her grandmother's home is haunted by a sinister spirit. Perfect for fans of Isabel Cañas, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and Sarah Penner.

Coming October 20th from Park Row/HarperCollins

#bookstagram #gothic by @natkikicwrites

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Want a glimpse of chapter 1 of THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE (which captures the protagonist's arrival on the island, and her not so cute meet-cute with a certain grumpy local)??

Then head over to @thenerdaily to read an excerpt! Link is in my bio and stories.

And if you'd like to read even more, then THOLH comes out on October 20th and can be preordered from most major retailers and indie bookstores. (Get a signed copy by preordering from Copper Dog Books, link in bio) 🪻

📖: The Haunting of Lavender House is a Gothic Horror-Romance inspired by Croatian folklore, about a young woman who travels to Croatia to meet her estranged grandmother, only to discover her family is cursed.

#bookstagram #gothicbook @2026debuts @htpbooks @htp_hive by @natkikicwrites

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2 days ago

Did you know THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE has a historical timeline?

I talk a lot about the Croatian American protagonist in the contemporary timeline (Petra), but THOLH also follows the story of Magdalena, a healer living on the Croatian island where the story is set in 1895. I added her timeline later in my drafting process, and once I did, the story started to come alive more. Her voice was surprisingly easy to write, and some of my favorite parts of the novel are from her perspective.

The dual timelines of Sarah Penner's The Lost Apothecary were a big inspiration for how I braided the two women's stories, so if you like that kind of contemporary/historical mix, then you'll probably like THOLH!

If you preorder THOLH or request it at your local library, and submit proof via the form in my bio, I'll send you the art print shown on slide 4, featuring Magdalena (and the man that's surely trouble). Art by Alessandra Berenato @brelight.art 🪻

📖: The Haunting of Lavender House is a Gothic Horror-Romance set in Croatia about two women, past and present, looking for love and belonging within the same haunted house.

#bookstagram #gothic #croatia by @natkikicwrites

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3 days ago

One week!!!!

Suddenly time is moving too fast and I don't really have coherent thoughts right now... other than to say, if you were hoping to read THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE then now is the time to preorder.

And if you want a signed copy and free lavender sachet, preorder from @copperdogbooks! (lnk in bio). I will be going in on Thursday to sign copies!

Art on all slides by Alessandra Berenato / @brelight.art
(pssst if you want a free art print of the characters on the first slide, then submit proof of preorder or library request to the form in my bio, and I'll mail it to you!)

📖: The Haunting of Lavender House is a dual timeline gothic Horror-Romance about two women, past and present, connected by the same haunted house in Croatia. Perfect for fans of Isabel Cañas, Sarah Penner, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

#gothicbook #bookstagram @2026debuts @htp_hive @htpbooks by @natkikicwrites

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4 days ago

It's been quite the journey 🪻🪻🪻

It's hard to believe THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE publishes in 8 days!! If you would like to preorder, especially a signed copy, now is the time! All 🔗 in bio.

Thank you/hvala lijepa for the support 💜

📖: THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE is a Gothic Horror-Romance about a young woman who travels to her ancestral home in Croatia to meet her estranged grandmother, only to discover her family is cursed.

For readers who love:
🪻 Multigenerational family stories
🪻 Folklore and myth
🪻 Horror with kissing (and a lil spice)
🪻 Sarah Penner, Isabel Cañas, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia
🪻 A sentient haunted house
🪻 Haunting tales of love

Coming October 20th from @parkrowbooks @harpercollins

@htp_hive @2026debuts by @natkikicwrites

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5 days ago

I’ve been remiss in posting about my recent book mail and book acquisitions lately. This stack is a handsome one, though, and I’m excited to read everything here during cozy season:

From top to bottom:

✨ FEED THE TREE by @wendydalrymplewrites pubbed by @quillandcrowpublishinghouse

✨DAUGHTER OF THE TAROT by @claremarchantauthor (gifted to me by the lovely @booksandblather — thank you, Kalee!)

✨ WHAT FEEDS BELOW by @thebuffwriter acquired at her recent event at @skylightbooks

✨ #AUTHORLIFE by @zoje.stage_author writing as @joezagets.author (Thanks for sending me a copy, “Joe” 😉)

✨BED ROT BABY also by @wendydalrymplewrites — I took advantage of the recent BOGO sale by @quillandcrowpublishinghouse

✨THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE by @natkikicwrites which I had the pleasure of blurbing—thanks to @parkrowbooks and Natalie for sending the final version!

✨OMNIBOZ: TALES FROM THE LAND OF OZ anthology edited by @jendiagammon and @erniechiara of @starsandsabers

✨ OF DREAD, DECAY, AND DOOM: A HORROR ANTHOLOGY by @starsandsabers and edited by @jendiagammon @garethlpowell and @scarlettralgee

I had the honor of backing both of these anthologies, and I’m so impressed by all the work Jendia and crew are doing at Stars & Sabers. Look for short stories by me in some of their upcoming anthologies!

#bookmail #bookstagram #bookishlove #bookstack by @natkikicwrites

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7 days ago

For the horror AND romance fans... I got you. 🖤

🪻 ABOUT THE BOOK 🪻

THE HAUNTING OF LAVENDER HOUSE is a Gothic Horror-Romance about a young woman who travels to her ancestral home in Croatia to meet her estranged grandmother, only to discover her family is cursed.

For readers who love:
🪻 Multigenerational family stories
🪻 Folklore and myth
🪻 Horror with kissing (and a lil spice)
🪻 Sarah Penner, Isabel Cañas, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia
🪻 A sentient haunted house
🪻 Haunting tales of love

It comes out October 20th from @parkrowbooks @harpercollins and can be preordered now from wherever you get your books! All 🔗 in bi0.

#bookstagram #gothic #horrorbooks #romancebooks #horrorromance by @natkikicwrites

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9 days ago

The book is The Haunting of Lavender House, and it's a Gothic Horror-Romance about a Croatian American woman who travels to Croatia for the first time to meet her estranged grandmother, only to discover her family is cursed.

Coming October 20th from Park Row Books/HarperCollins, and now available for preorder (all 🔗 in bio).

For fans of:

🪻 Multigenerational family stories
🪻 Folklore and myth
🪻 Horror with kissing (and a lil spice)
🪻 Sarah Penner, Isabel Cañas, and Silvia Moreno-Garcia
🪻 Sentient haunted houses
🪻 Haunting tales of love

#bookstagram #gothicbook #croatia by @natkikicwrites

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10 days ago

All my upcoming events in one place 🪻

If you're in the Boston or North Shore area (or know someone who is), come check out these haunting events!

While my book release celebration with @midnight___books on Oct. 24th is sold out, you can also see me on...

🪻 October 28th @margeauxsupperparlor, Cambridge
Featuring a Croatian-inspired menu and wine

🪻 October 30th @jabberwockybooks.nbpt, Newburyport
Featuring authors Douglas Wynne, Christopher Golden, Jennifer Anne Gordon, and Bracken MacLeod as we discuss "Why Horror now"

I would love to see you there.

For more details, check out the events page on my website (link in bio and stories).

Photo credit on slide 1: Courtney Brooke @light_witch by @natkikicwrites

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