It’s one of the most enduring mysteries in American history: What became of the English colony off the Virginian coast on Roanoke Island? Why, and how, did they vanish so completely? No one suspected an ancient curse… Ananias Dare and his expectant wife are among the pioneers who have come to brave an uncharted frontier. But conditions are harsh, and hostile natives have already spilled English blood. Only the peaceful Croatan Indians welcome the settlers. But when friend and guide Manteo has a haunting encounter deep in the woods, Ananias fears the colony faces a threat much darker than mortal enemies. As a brutal winter and an Indian massacre loom, Manteo and Ananias—and the dreadful secret they share—may be the settlers’ only hope of survival. But for the salvation they desperately seek, there will be hell to pay. This Place Is Death is a short story revealing the chilling origins of New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Denise Grover Swank’s urban fantasy series, The Curse Keepers.

Ellie Dare Lancaster is only eight years old, but the secret she carries stretches back four hundred years, to the doomed pioneer colony of Roanoke Island—and the dark pact made by her ancestor, Ananias Dare. Though her father has told Ellie of her heritage, and she knows she will one day become a Curse Keeper, she never dreamed how soon that day would come…or how dear a sacrifice her grim duty will demand. After impulsively sharing the truth about her destiny with her best friend, Ellie fears she has summoned something dreadful, something that cannot be denied. But it’s her parents’ discovery of an eighteenth-century artifact—linked to the mystery of the vanished North Carolina settlers—that brings fear, and murder, into their once safe and happy home. Now, the unholy forces unleashed at the dawn of a new nation stir once more, to challenge another generation fated to wage the war between gods of good and evil. A short story, This Changes Everything delves deeper into the world of Ellie Lancaster and the Curse Keeper series!

Collin Dailey is a trapped man: struggling to make a living as a fisherman, deep in debt to the gangster he does business with…and shackled to his destiny as a Curse Keeper. Sworn to guard the sealed portal to hell, Collin yearns to escape the dark duty that binds him. But his dream of outrunning his tormented life may be an impossible one. After all, he can’t turn his back on centuries of sacred tradition—or ignore his iron-fisted conjurer grandmother and her dire prophecies of a terrifying enemy bent on destroying him. When the fearsome creator god Ahone reaches out with a tempting offer, Collin may not be able to resist. If he breaks the curse that barricades the demon realm, he’ll be liberated forever…as long as he can survive a confrontation with his deadly counterpart. In the new prequel to the Curse Keepers series by New York Times bestselling author Denise Grover Swank, a young man must decide between seizing his own coveted freedom and sealing humankind’s doom.