Unholy destructive power? A girl making her way in a suddenly strange world? Join folks worldwide who are watching both movies and reading Bride of the Tornado all in one day!

Yes, it’s happening at last: my “Lynchian fever dream” of a horror novel comes out next week on August 15. Thanks to all of you who pre-ordered it. If you want to get a copy, it’s available at all the usual places (Bookshop, B&N, Amazon, etc.) but I recommend you get a signed copy from Chicago’s independent bookstore Exile in Bookville.

Speaking of Exile in Bookville, we’re having a book release party there on Tuesday, August 15 at 7 pm to kick off my 8-city tour! I will be in conversation with Chicago horror novelist Cynthia Pelayo (The Shoemaker’s Magician and much more). There will be tornado cocktails! I might be in a tornado costume! There will be various tornado-themed surprises! AND I WILL REVEAL TO YOU THE HOLY AND UNHOLY TRUTHS ABOUT TORNADOES.

So if you’re in Chicago, please come next Tuesday. It’s an excuse for us to hang out in person! You can register for the event here (it’s free, of course).

I’ve also got a tour planned out that not only has several events in Chicago, but also in Milwaukee, Seattle, Grand Rapids, Petoskey, Ann Arbor, Portland, and San Francisco . . . with more cities to be added soon! The complete schedule is on my events page.

Good reviews are already rolling in: Bride of the Tornado is one of Powell’s Bookstore’s “Picks of the Month,” it’s one of New Scientist magazine’s Best New Science Fiction Books of August 2023, it’s one of Bookriot’s 10 New Don’t Miss Horror Novels of August 2023, and it’s one of SciFiNow’s Best Science Fiction Books of August 2023.

Publishers Weekly called i “an eerie, surrealist twist on the American Midwest, highlighting everything unusual about small-town living . . . Horror fans who value ambiance over jump scares will want to check this out.”

Booklist praised it as “a genre-bending horror thriller that grapples with adolescent desire and existential dread . . . Gooey, gory, and frightening, Kennedy’s latest will appeal to fans of coming-of-age horror.”

Seattle’s Elliott Bay Book Company said “What I loved most about this book is how freaking weird it is. The experience of letting go of trying to figure out any practical explanations and just enjoying the ride was fantastic.”

And across the pond, the Daily Mail said “Strap yourselves in for a super-storm of psycho-sexual intensity: American gothic, full-blown horror, wrapped up in an adolescent coming-of-age tale . . . Don’t try to understand, just get swept up and enjoy the ride.”

Again, if you’re in Chicago, let’s hang out at Exile in Bookville on August 15 (details here). And if not, I’ve got a whole tour planned.