Since her childhood, Beth Castrodale has been fascinated by ghost stories–in particular, tales of haunted spaces, and what happens to those who enter them, intentionally or by circumstance. From the start of her career as a novelist, she’d hoped to publish a book set in just such a space, one that aims to spark the darkest parts of readers’ imaginations. Beth will soon realize this dream with the publication of The Inhabitants, an upcoming release from Regal House.
The Inhabitants is Beth’s fourth novel, and an excerpt from it landed her an artist grant from the Mass Cultural Council. Her debut novel, Marion Hatley, was a finalist for a Nilsen Prize for a First Novel from Southeast Missouri State University Press, and an excerpt from her second novel, In This Ground, was a shortlist finalist for a William Faulkner – William Wisdom Creative Writing Award. Castrodale’s third novel was I Mean You No Harm.
Beth’s own story–and her love of ghost stories–began in a suburb of Pittsburgh, where she was born and where she began creating her own illustrated, staple-bound books about haunted houses and castles. Later, Beth and her family moved to Columbus, Ohio, where she received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the Ohio State University. After her graduation, she worked as a newspaper reporter until her love of books led her to the publishing field. She was a senior editor at Bedford/St. Martin’s and is the founding editor of the book-review website Small Press Picks. In addition to her novels, Beth’s short fiction and essays have appeared in such publications as Live Write Thrive, Printer’s Devil Review, the Smoky Blue Literary and Arts Magazine, and Writing and Wellness.
Beth lives in Boston with her husband and rescue greyhound. Currently, she’s working on her fifth novel, about a fourth-generation farmer who’s fighting to hold onto her land in the face of development pressures and far darker forces.
