The Spore Queen

“Such a beautiful and horrific and mysterious story.”
“Eerie atmosphere, detailed characters, and great storytelling.”
“I recommend this so wholeheartedly.”

A missing reporter. A haunted tech mogul. A forest that whispers of the supernatural. Something’s growing in Nils Forest, and it’s spreading into the complicated lives of Lori Chambers and Julian Cruz, estranged lovers who come together to solve a mystery buried deep in the heart of the woods. What they discover will change them forever, and may also change the world.

From the author of The Root Witch and A Dark and Rising Tide comes a haunting story of nature’s power and a mother’s love.

Debra Castaneda is an award-winning horror and dark fiction author based on the central coast of California.Her works include "The Spore Queen," "The Devil's Shallows," "The Root Witch," "The Copper Man," "Circus at Devil's Landing," and "A Dark and Rising Tide," which comprise the Dark Earth Rising series of standalone novels, and "The Monsters of Chavez Ravine," an International Latino Book Awards gold medal winner.Debra loves writing character-driven stories about people who experience scary things, and how they react when confronted with the unexpected. She's committed to representing Latinas and Latinos in her books.For inspiration, she draws from her experience as a TV and radio journalist, and as a third-generation Mexican American. Over the years, she's lived in Los Angeles, Dallas, Chicago, Salt Lake City, Portland, and the San Francisco Bay area.Debra now lives in Capitola, California with her husband. She enjoys rediscovering the Mexican dishes of her childhood and texting her two daughters about her latest binge-watch.