The Peddler Princess died three days ago.
Now her body must be collected, and her ghost will make sure the right people find her. The hauntings reveal a secret: that her friend, the narrator, is next. Can they find a way out before it is too late? The answer keeps pointing to a house with eye-like windows, an inverted closet, and a faceless woman in white.
The Peddler Princess is a haunting modern gothic novel filled with slow-burning dread. Sol Yu creates a dark and elegantly disturbing world that is difficult to put down and just as hard to forget.
ISBN-13: 979-8987556504
Publication date: March 15, 2023
Print Length: 200 pages
ISBN-13: 979-8987556511
Publication date: August 1, 2023
Print Length: 198 pages
The Peddler Princess died January of 2015. When she did, a blizzard washed its way through New York City.
Her world was abrasive, and she was punished by many who forced her to take on the pain of their own discomfort. She did not survive her coming of age, but tried her best to hold on to her belief that the world was a kind place. And so this book is a love letter and a ransom note.
Grief is a long gray twilight tunnel where time and space bleed into each other, and where the living and the deceased meet. I’ve written this book to mimic that tunnel. I hope you travel its entire length.
“Once upon a time, there was a girl who was very, very tired.”
“I must have fallen asleep somehow, pulled right through to that black lake. In that dark capillary forest. Frightened and embarrassed by the intimacy of living with my own murderer.”
“Now I knew other things lived in this fog too. Things with teeth. Soon, I would not just be able to hear them. I would see them, too.”
“The wind was rising all around me, and it wailed with the years and the absence and the words I could not speak.”
“I wondered if it felt like this for her, too, in the end. When I left her alone in the dark.”
“This has become one of my favorite reads! It’s heavy, but the story is incredible! Not for the light hearted, but it really keeps you wanting to know what is next. It takes you on a trip of emotions for sure. Amazing writing, really well done!”
– Erka Derka, Fable Reviewer
“sol yu does an amazing job of exploring heavy themes of grief, death, regret in a very relatable yet eye opening way […] keeps you on your toes but also makes you feel like you truly know the fabric of each person. i would 10/10 recommend.”
– Bria Metivier, Good Reads Reviewer
“A beautifully written story – every chapter gets deeper and deeper into the character’s psyche. It’s heartbreaking and emotional, but leaves space for hope as well. On the whole, I really enjoyed the dark tone and atmosphere. Well done!
– Daniel Warner, Amazon Reviewer
Do be aware of some heavy themes (suicide, domestic abuse).”
Cliff Warner’s figurative artwork, “The Peddler Princess”, contributed to cover art for this novel with the same name. Sol Yu selected this piece because it captured the soul of the story, mirroring the haunting loneliness, the ambiguity of identity, and density of emotions throughout the book.
Cliff Warner’s artworks can be found on cliffwarner.co.uk, and on his Instagram account (@cliff_warner_artist).