STORMRAVEN

Kelsea’s debut adult novel, a modern gothic horror, will be published by Gallery Books / Simon & Schuster (US) & Titan Books (UK) in March 2027! Learn more about the book or add it on Goodreads!

Mexican Gothic meets Get Out with this Rebecca-inspired gothic horror rooted in Chinese American history, as a gifted artist uncovers a haunted mansion’s chilling secrets that threaten to make her dream life a living nightmare.

Mixed media fine art photographer Lydia Chen dreams of gaining fame and fortune, even as she’s forced to do odd jobs to pay the bills—like running a gothic portrait photo booth for Seattle’s elite during a lavish charity event. But fate intervenes when she wins the event raffle for a once-in-a-lifetime retreat to Stormraven, a 19th-century estate owned by the Vandermeer family on a private island off Washington’s coast. There, she meets Henry Vandermeer, the enigmatic young scion of his clan. Charmed by Henry and drawn to his beautiful estate, Lydia joins his mysterious family and moves into Stormraven.

With her sudden change in fortune, Lydia leaves behind the daily grind to chase her artistic aspirations, settling into seemingly idyllic surroundings. But with each passing day, ominous nightmares come to the fore, as Lydia catches glimpses throughout the property of a ghostly woman who eerily resembles herself. The more she investigates the mansion’s chilling secrets, the more she feels her sanity slipping under the weight of its emerging terrors. For Lydia soon discovers she is not the first to be trapped in Stormraven’s hallowed halls—and if she fails to unearth its rotten truth, her new home may soon become her eternal prison….

BOOKSHOP | AMAZON (US) | BARNES & NOBLE | HUDSON | FORBIDDEN PLANET | Waterstones | MIGHTY APE | BOOKTOPIA | SIMON & SCHUSTER | TITAN BOOKS

More to come!

“Dreamy and thrilling, unsettling and atmospheric, and rooted in the horrific history of the Pacific Northwest, Stormraven is a haunting and necessary addition to the Gothic canon. This is Kelsea Yu's best work yet. I was completely enthralled!”

—Laura Cranehill, USA Today bestselling author of Wife Shaped Bodies

Learn more about stormraven

DEMON SONG

Kelsea’s second horror novella, published through Titan Books, is AVAILABLE NOW!!! Learn more about the book, read the article on The Bookseller, add it on Goodreads, or see below for links to order the book!

Read One Chapter of Demon Song on Fangoria button

An eerie and unsettling gothic horror about the heady and hungry price of fame, drawing on Chinese mythology. Perfect for fans of Shirley Jackson and Cassandra Khaw.

Places like this have a history. Desires. And this one is famished.

Megan and her mom are on the run after narrowly escaping the clutches of an abusive man who dragged them from Portland to Beijing. With few options, Megan’s mom turns to an old friend who offers them room and board in Huihuang Opera Theater in exchange for cleaning the ancient building.

Between her rusty Mandarin and constant reminders that she’s an outsider, Megan struggles with loneliness—until she meets Kristy, the glamorous young lead in the operatic adaptation of “The Monkey King and the White Bone Demon”. Soon, Megan’s free time is split between reading a battered copy of the Chinese classic that inspired the opera and her budding new friendship; Kristy’s love of singing brings out Megan’s long-buried ambitions.

But the opera house has its secrets. There are passages within the walls that shouldn’t be there, and the more Megan delves into that old book, the more the myths begin to bleed into real life. As Megan finds it increasingly difficult to separate reality from folklore, she must uncover a decades-old mystery to discover the true, horrifying secret of the opera house before it casts its hungry eyes on her.

Featured in: Spotify’s Editor’s Pick Audiobooks of 2025!

Featured in: Spotify’s Best Indie Audiobooks of 2025!

US: ALWAYS HERE | THE BOOK BIN | Ballast Book co | MYSTERIOUS GALAXY | UNDER THE UMBRELLA | NOWHERE BOOKSHOP | BRAVE + KIND | ELLIOTT BAY | THIRD PLACE BOOKS | POWELL’S | UNABRIDGED BOOKS | BOOKSHOP.ORG | BARNES & NOBLE | AMAZON | TARGET | Books-A-Million | HUDSON | Penguin randomhouse

UK: FORBIDDEN PLANET - SIGNED | FORBIDDEN PLANET | WATERSTONES | HATCHARDS | FOYLES | AMAZON UK

MORE COUNTRIES: BOOKTOPIA (AU) | MIGHTY APE (NZ)

AUDIOBOOK: SPOTIFY | LIBRO.FM | AUDIBLE

MORE TO COME!

“Utterly addicting and an immediate new obsession. This is the kind of story that consumes you more and more with each page and I couldn’t get enough of this darkly gothic, sharp-edged tale of wicked bargains, alluring demons, and desperate longing.”

—CG Drews, NYT Bestselling author of Don’t Let The Forest In

“Demon Song is a fast-paced exploration of the power of performance and the cost of desire by the queen of thrilling murder mysteries, twisty red herrings, and complex mother-daughter relationships.”

—Ai Jiang, Ignyte, Bram Stoker, and Nebula Award-winning author of Linghun and A Palace Near the Wind

"Magical and forlorn. Yu deftly blends the fantastical imagery of a classic tale with a modern story of having to grow up too fast, joining elegant theater with familial cycles of pain. Demon Song makes your heart ache right to the end."

—Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth

"Demon Song reaches such a high note, a blissful blend of Chinese folklore and Shirley Jackson, reading like The Haunting of Hill's Opera House, where phantoms flit on pitches no living organism can continue to read sanely."

—Clay McLeod Chapman, author of Wake Up and Open Your Eyes

“Fans of updated gothic horror will find much to enjoy in this gritty take on the sacrifices artists are willing to make for fame and fortune. Yu’s off to a promising start.”

—Publisher’s Weekly

“Rife with body horror and inspired by Chinese folklore, Demon Song is equally bone-chilling and entrancing…Between the captivating setting and formidable narrator, this audio is likely to garner attention from horror fans.”

—Booklist

“…vicious and dark, biting when you least expect it…clawing deep enough to draw blood…The gothic elements are rich and detailed, the horror gory and satisfying. It’s a book about hunger and ambition and it’s guaranteed to leave you only wanting more.”

—Scream Magazine

learn more about demon song

YE XIAN AND THE CELESTIAL FEAST

Kelsea’s romantic fantasy novelette audiobook, published by Spotify, is AVAILABLE NOW!! Learn more about the book or add it on Goodreads!

A Chinese folklore tale featuring a fox spirit, inspired by “Ye Xian” and “The Marriage of the Fox Daughter.”

A traditional Chinese-inspired fairytale following Ye Xian, a shy and artistic girl with a curious streak, who is the daughter of the village chief's First Wife. Her stepsister, Jun-Li, is sharp-edged but not cruel, unlike her mother, the chief's Second Wife, who harbors a deep bitterness towards Ye Xian even after the chief and her mother die.

To make matters more complicated, Ye Xian harbors a she is a húli jīng, a fox spirit, a nature she keeps hidden due to the persistent rumor that eating fox meat grants protection against evil, and the general hatred towards fox spirits in her time. To survive, Ye Xian secretly transforms into a fox at night to hunt for food. In her eighteenth year, Ye Xian's curiosity and hunger lead her to a purportedly haunted house where she discovers a golden staircase to the celestial realm. Will the world beyond the golden staircase be Ye Xian's salvation from her life of cruelty...or her undoing?

SPOTIFY (FREE for Premium memberS!) | AUDIBLE | LIBRO.FM

Learn more about Ye Xian and the Celestial Feast

IT’S ONLY A GAME

Kelsea’s debut novel is a young adult thriller published through Bloomsbury, is AVAILABLE NOW!! It is the winner of the 2025 Oregon Spirit Book Awards for Young Literature and a Children’s Book Council Award Winner for Young Adult Favorites. Learn more about the book here or see below for links to order the book and add it on Goodreads!

Add It's Only a Game on Goodreads button

Add It's Only a Game on Storygraph button

In this twisty, fast-paced YA thriller, a dangerous game becomes all too real when Marina and her friends are framed for murder.

When Marina Chan ran from her old life, she brought nothing with her-not even her real name. Now she lives in fear of her past being discovered. But when her online gaming team is offered a tour of their favorite game company, Marina can't resist accepting, even though she knows it might put her fake identity at risk.

Then the creator of the game is murdered during their tour. The killer plans to frame Marina and her friends for the murder unless they win four rounds of a dangerous game. A game that requires them to lie, trespass, and steal. A game that could destroy everything Marina's worked so hard to build…. A game that she might not survive.

This pulse-pounding YA thriller is perfect for fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder and Slay.

Winner: 2025 Oregon Spirit Book Award: Young Adult Literature!

Winner: Children’s Book Council 2025 Young Adult Favorites Award!

Order It's Only a Game header on red watercolor background

POWELL’S | ALWAYS HERE | Third Place Books | IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon (US) | TARGET | Bloomsbury | Books-a-Million | WALMART | Indigo | LIBRO FM | AUDIBLE

Praise for It's Only a Game header on red watercolor background

"A twisty, heart-pounding story of betrayal, buried secrets and a hidden past unraveling as a high-stakes and deadly game seeps into reality. Kelsea Yu deftly weaves in the exploration of found family, love, and the Asian diaspora experience between layers of action, suspense, and revelations in this propulsive thriller.”

—Amélie Wen Zhao, New York Times bestselling author of the Song of the Last Kingdom duology

“Kelsea Yu's gripping debut combines pulse-pounding, life or death stakes with fully-realized characters, an immersive setting, and the sweet, life-sustaining bonds of found family. Not to be missed!”

—Kit Frick, author of I Killed Zoe Spanos and The Reunion

“Yu anchors this whirlwind debut with a smart, courageous, loyal, and caring heroine who easily earns the trust of friends and readers alike.”

—Publisher’s Weekly

“More than a by-the-numbers thriller, this layered debut has propulsive momentum with effective cliffhangers and twists threaded throughout.”

—Kirkus Reviews

“Flashbacks from Marina's secluded past with her mother provide clues to the present situation, although any such clues are no match in complexity for Yu's plot twists and turns.”

—Booklist

“A page-turning thrill ride…Verdict: Unputdownable.”

—School Library Journal

Learn more about It's Only a Game

BOUND FEET

Kelsea’s debut Shirley Jackson Award-Nominated novella is published as part of Sadie Hartmann’s My Dark Library series through Cemetery Gates Media. AVAILABLE NOW!! Learn more about the book here or or see below for links to order the book and add it on Goodreads!

On the night of the Hungry Ghost Moon, when spirits can briefly return to the living world, Jodi Wu and her best friend sneak into Portland’s Chinese Garden and Ghost Museum. Kneeling before the pond where Jodi’s toddler drowned one year before, they leave food offerings and burn joss paper—and Jodi prays that Ella’s ghost will return for the night.

To distract Jodi from her grief, the two friends tell each other ghost stories as they explore the museum. They stop at the main display, a centuries-old pair of lotus slippers belonging to a woman whose toes were broken and bound during childhood. While reading the woman’s story, Jodi hears her daughter’s voice.

As Jodi desperately searches the garden, it becomes apparent that Ella isn’t the only ghost they’ve awakened. Something ancient with a slow, shuffling step lurks in the shadows…

This haunting, modern gothic novella is perfect for fans of Nothing But Blackened Teeth and Crossroads.

Finalist: 2022 Shirley Jackson Award!

Featured in: Spotify’s Best Horror Audiobooks of 2025!

Order Bound Feet header on yellow watercolor background

PAPERBACK/EBOOK: BOOKSHOP | AMAZON US | AMAZON INTL | POWELL’S | LITTLE GHOSTS | CEMETERY GATES MEDIA (bundle)

AUDIOBOOK: SPOTIFY | LIBRO FM | AUDIBLE | APPLE | GOOGLE PLAY | BARNES & NOBLE

Praise for Bound Feet header on yellow watercolor background

“Kelsea Yu’s Bound Feet about a mother’s fearlessness, where she reaches into darkness in hopes of grasping light, is a novella carefully plotted and executed without losing realism, heart, or voice of the story. Yu juxtaposes the ancient with the modern, an eerie and jarring inter-section of the past and present that makes everything more uncanny. Yu shows us how loss, grief, and the act of mourning might change you and drive you, taking your mind and body to places you would otherwise refuse to enter. A beautiful piece about haunting ghosts who only want their stories told, rather than hidden away, un-finished, untruthful—of friendship, betrayal, lies, and a sisterhood between the living and the dead.”

—Ai Jiang, author of Linghun

“Utilizing graceful twists and turns, Bound Feet tackles grief and rage passed down through generations. Yu reminds us that the need for not only justice but truth outlives the body.”

—J.A.W. McCarthy, author of Sometimes We’re Cruel and Other Stories

“Haunted by the specters of unimaginable loss, Kelsea Yu’s Bound Feet unearths the ways in which past and present can be bound together by the hungry ghosts of violence and betrayal. A story that demands to be heard in more ways than one, the rich reversals and revelations will keep readers on their toes until the very end of this exciting debut.”

—Gordon B. White, author of As Summer’s Mask Slips and Rookfield

learn more about bound feet

Photograph of a Chinese American woman with a wry expression wearing a dress and trench coat and standing in front of a red brick wall.

ABOUT KELSEA

Kelsea Yu is the author of Bound Feet, It’s Only a Game, Demon Song, and dozens of short stories and essays. Full bio here or press kit below.

Photo ©Katy Weaver