She Made Herself A Monster

Brimming with folklore, superstitions and a dark gothic backdrop, this is a fantastic read for anyone seeking a character-driven story in a moody setting * Daily Express and Mirror *
This exciting, gorgeous novel reminded me why I love vampire stories. Rooted in folklore and peopled with characters who are hauntingly real, She Made Herself a Monster never looks away from the consequences of burying humanity’s evils too shallow and too near. I still have chills. – Kate Heartfield, author of THE EMBROIDERED BOOK
With this tale of dark secrets, unnatural lusts and hidden violence, Anna Kovatcheva confirms that the most fearsome monsters lie not beyond our thresholds but within our homes and communities. Sometimes the place of greatest safety is out there in the dark unknown. – Annie Garthwaite, author of CECILY
Poetic, visceral, dark, Kovatcheva captures the monstrous in both the mythical and the mundane. A terrifying read that will leave you looking over your shoulder long after you finish reading – Isabelle Schuler, author of LADY MACBETHAD
Exquisite: atmospheric, startling, and beautiful. An enthralling story, with brilliantly complex characters and a fabulously claustrophobic setting – Naomi Kelsey, author of THE BURNINGS
Gorgeous and gruesome, pulses with folklore and reads like the best literary fiction – Julia Fine
As a longtime fan of Anna Kovatcheva’s shorter fiction, this deliciously dark debut novel delivers the same dreamlike prose I’ve come to admire, but digs far deeper into labyrinths of belief, desperation, and illusions of necessity. By turns horrific, atmospheric, and tender, this is a spell book that practices the best kind of magic—revealing the monsters embedded within and around us – Sequoia Nagamatsu
She Made Herself A Monster is a chilling examination of what it means to be a monster, expertly blending Bulgarian folklore with very modern fears and sensibilities, particularly concerning society’s insistence on protecting the monsters while ignoring the suffering of those most vulnerable. A gothic yet topical read – Laura Shepperson, author of THE HEROINES
A poetic exploration of the power of stories. Inspired by Slavic folklore, the novel uses lyrical prose, realistically drawn characters, and multiple points of view to expose the monsters created to make sense of the shadows * Library Journal *
As a longtime fan of Anna Kovatcheva’s shorter fiction, this deliciously dark debut novel delivers the same dreamlike prose I’ve come to admire, but digs far deeper into labyrinths of belief, desperation, and illusions of necessity. By turns horrific, atmospheric, and tender, this is a spell book that practices the best kind of magic—revealing the monsters embedded within and around us – Sequoia Nagamatsu

Anna Kovatcheva was born in Bulgaria and holds an MFA in fiction from New York University. Her chapbook, The White Swallow, was selected by Aimee Bender as the winner of the Gold Line Press Chapbook Competition and published in 2015. Her short fiction has been anthologized in Best American Nonrequired Reading and has appeared in The Kenyon Review and The Iowa Review. She Made Herself a Monster is her debut novel. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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