Short Bio
De Elizabeth (she/her) writes haunting, romantic books. She is the author of the YA dark fantasy novel, This Raging Sea. Her adult debut, She Haunts Me Still, will be published in 2026. Her short stories have been published with Titan Books, Voyage YA, and more. You can follow her on Instagram @WordsByDe.
Longer Bio
De Elizabeth (she/her) is a horror and dark fantasy author writing haunting, romantic books. She is passionate about telling emotionally resonant dark stories that feature messy main characters and bisexual representation. She is the author of the YA dark fantasy novel, This Raging Sea. Her adult debut, She Haunts Me Still, will be published in 2026. Her short stories have been published with Titan Books, Voyage YA, and more. You can follow her on Instagram @WordsByDe.
Representation
LITERARY
Samantha Fabien at Root Literary
FILM/TV
Randie Adler at Range Media Partners
This Raging Sea
Official Synopsis
18-year-old Briar Winters must untangle the horrifying eldritch secrets of her picture-perfect coastal town in order to save the boy she loves after he disappears from time itself in this YA dark fantasy for fans of Bly Manor.
Historic Loch Creek is a witchy New England tourist trap—but it’s just a trap for Briar, who’s convinced she’ll die there among the waves that devoured her twin brother thirteen years ago. But when her best friend who she’s loved since childhood, Finn, vanishes from the seaside carnival, there’s only one person who can help Briar find him: Morgan, her biggest enemy who knows her darkest secret.
As Briar uncovers hidden truths as deep and dark as the water that haunts her, it quickly becomes clear that Finn has gone much further than anyone could have imagined. He’s lost in time, and neither of them are safe. If Briar and Finn look too hard, they might find terrifying answers—not just about what’s buried beneath the shores, but also the threads tying them to each other. As past and future collide, the seductive yet evil underwater entity that intends to claim Briar still needs its sacrifice . . .
And it’s too hungry to go unsated.
Equal parts epic bisexual romance and pulse-pounding horror, This Raging Sea is a dual POV dark fantasy as sweepingly powerful as the ocean that threatens to consume everything and everyone Briar has ever loved—prepare to be devoured.
In the News
You Need to Read This Bisexual Dark Fantasy YA Novel With an Oceanic Vibe | Teen Vogue
Exclusive: De Elizabeth’s ‘This Raging Sea’ Excerpt Has Everyone Searching for The Truth | Cosmopolitan
YOU’RE HERE AND YOU EXIST: Exploring Bisexuality Representation in THIS RAGING SEA, a dark oceanic fantasy | School Library Journal
Q&A: De Elizabeth, Author of ‘The Raging Sea’ | The Nerd Daily
What Kids Should Read Next Based on Their Favorite TV Shows | Parents
Review: This Raging Sea | Starry Constellation Magazine
Most Anticipated LGBTQ+ Young Adult Fiction: July – December 2025 | LGBTQ Reads
Book Information
- 352 pages
- Genre: Upper YA Dark Fantasy
- Publisher: Holiday House
- Release Date: September 23, 2025
- ISBN: 9780823459384
Audiobook
- Produced by Recorded Books
- Narrated by Jesse Vilinsky & Max Meyers
International Editions & Translations
- Poland: Grupa Wydawniczej Foksal
- UK: Walker Books
- Germany: Vajona Verlag
- France: De Saxus / Eilean Books
– MORE COMING SOON-
Praise for This Raging Sea
“Threaded with mystery and elegantly haunting, This Raging Sea is impossible to put down and has the kind of epic love story that will take your breath away.” —CG Drews, New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Let the Forest In
“This Raging Sea is an ode to fiercely imperfect love and the fiercely imperfect people who feel it. Love that transcends time and space—and love that endures past the romantic into the innate. A phenomenal debut from an exciting new voice.”—Kamilah Cole, bestselling author of the Divine Traitors duology
“A hauntingly beautiful, deeply nostalgic story about friendship and the kind of love that defies even the laws of physics. This is a phenomenal debut.”—Pascale Lacelle, New York Times bestselling author of Curious Tides
“A treatise to the fierceness of love in all its forms, and to the complexity of girlhood. Prepare to lose your heart to Briar Winters: a dagger-edged heroine whose ambition and fury shimmers viscerally off the page.” —Lyndall Clipstone, author of Tenderly, I Am Devoured
“The lead-up to the climax will enthrall readers… seductive….” —Kirkus Reviews
“A stunning new debut” —Cosmopolitan Magazine
“[I]ntense and intriguing, great for fans of complex romance and sci-fi twists.” —Booklist
She Haunts Me Still
Official Synopsis
These violent delights have violent ends.
After surviving a shadowed childhood, Mallory Webb is ready to start fresh as a theater major at her mother’s alma mater, a sanitarium turned liberal arts university in Rhode Island. Landing the lead role in Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet feels like a dream—until the blood-soaked wraith that caused her mother’s death resurfaces after years of quiet. With nothing to go on but cryptic symbols in an old college notebook, Mallory hopes the reason behind her mother’s haunting lies somewhere on campus, and resolves to find answers before she meets the same fate.
She’s surprised to make an unexpected ally in Ezra Pierce, the magnetic fourth year directing the play, and takes solace in their undeniable chemistry. But Ezra is a master secret keeper, and it’s clear he knows more than he’s letting on about Saskia Garin, Mallory’s elusive understudy whose past eerily mirrors her own.
When an ancient, bloodthirsty evil calls to collect a bargain that dates back to the New England vampire panic, Mallory, Ezra, and Saskia will have to untangle the tragic ways in which their histories are linked—and face the devastating consequences of their own star-crossed love story.
Book Information
- 432 pages
- Publisher: Dutton/Penguin Books
- Release Date: August 11, 2026
- ISBN: 9798217046522
Praise for She Haunts Me Still
“A gripping tale of passion, panic, and generational curses. De Elizabeth deftly weaves the unsettling with the tantalizing, luring readers into a story that is darkly beautiful filled with characters who will haunt you for days.”
—Alysha Rameera, author of Her Soul for a Crown
“Riveting. A powerful story for haunted girls everywhere, Elizabeth crafted a rallying cry on power, autonomy, and grief with an inexorable thread of beauty and sparkling verve. By turns unsettling, seductive, and rageful, She Haunts Me Still is easily one of my favorite reads of the year—and is sure to become part of our collective canon on the enduring power of love and loss. I was left thinking about Mallory, Ezra, and Saskia long after they took their final bows. A must read.”
—Taylor Grothe, author of Lethal Kiss and Hollow
More coming soon
De Elizabeth 
You must be logged in to post a comment.