Souls Wax Fair

A young woman comes of age in the spaces where care and danger overlap.

'An expertly crafted masterpiece! An edgy and unpredictable rollercoaster of a ride.'
Byddi Lee (Rejuvenation trilogy)

'Beautifully written.'
Sarah Stewart Taylor (Maggie D'arcy mysteries)

'A compelling and brilliant read.'
Sharon Dempsey (Lainey and Stowe mysteries)

Mary Jane is eighteen and restless in a South Dakota town that has already decided what kind of girl she is. Beautiful enough to be watched. Young enough to be underestimated. Raised by a mother who drifts between men, money problems, and her own needs, MJ grows up learning early how attention works, and what it costs.

When she learns the truth about her father, MJ leaves home and heads south, chasing the promise of something better. What she finds instead is a version of America stripped of myth: intimacy edged with threat, generosity laced with control, men who mistake access for affection.

Souls Wax Fair is a coming-of-age novel about female desire, maternal damage, and the quiet negotiations women make to stay safe in a world that feels entitled to them. Set against the wide spaces of the American Midwest and South, it is a dark, intimate portrait of a young woman learning where power lies, and what it takes to keep hold of herself.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kelly Creighton is an arts facilitator, editor, and author of fourteen books, including the DI Harriet Sloane series set in Belfast, two story collections, and the critically acclaimed psychological thriller The Bones of It.