In the Valley, Where Belladonna Grows by Welsh author Tim Lebbon (
ISFDB,
Wikipedia,
SFE), a recipient of multiple British Fantasy Awards, is his standalone horror-ish novella with sfnal elements, exploring an isolated woman's chilling mental vision of the dangers outside which threaten to encroach upon her idyllic existence, free for a limited time courtesy of publisher Endeavour Press' Venture imprint.
This was originally published in 2005 by Cemetary Dance as part of the
Fourbodings anthology edited by Peter Crowther, and this edition contains a bonus short story,
The Rain God. NB: apparently this one is a little Twilight Zone-esque and on the borderline between psychological horror and dystopian fantasy, according to some of the customer reviews which praised its atmospheric lyricism while being otherwise disappointed in their genre expectations.
Currently free @
Amazon (available to Canadians & in the UK and pretty much everywhere else Amazon sells worldwide, since this is being done via their KDP Select exclusive-or-else program)
Description
Today is the day the world changes … or ends.
Mary exists alone in a valley, happy, surviving, but all too aware that the terrible dangers beyond her home must one day come home to roost.
And that day is now.
An apocalyptic vision from one woman’s damaged mind, this story is for anyone who has ever felt alone. A dark nightmare of solitude and rejection, pride and guilt, love found and lost.
In The Valley, Where Belladonna Grows is a gripping dystopian novella that blends prescient elements of science fiction with spine-chilling horror.