05/19/2025: Desperate Wishes
- Candace Nola
- May 19
- 3 min read
DESPERATE WISHES is a story that I am very proud of. It was first released by Thunderstorm Books in July of 2023 as part of Mary San Giovanni's Tempest Line. I was thrilled to be included in this line of superb stories from some of the best female authors in the industry.
In December, I did a full general release, and I really hope this one gets more eyes on it as we move through 2025. I believe it's an important story and I could not be more grateful for the support it has already received from Mary San Gionvanni and Brian Keene, from Thunderstorm books, from the incredible authors that blurbed it and everyone that has read it.
It is a relevant story, especially for our times today. It is about the collective rage of those considered 'less than' in the eyes of the powerful and callous. It is about empowerment, and identity, and finding your voice in order to become the change for yourself and for those around you. History often shows that it just takes one voice to start a revolution, and in Desperate Wishes, our lead character discovers the power of her voice.
Synopsis:
In the not distant future, civilization as we know it is unrecognizable. People are property, and names are stripped away, replaced by obligation.
Mackenna is treated as less than a person, as lesser than a beast. In her pain and rage, she opens herself to a voice that promises the fires of change.
ORDER HERE:
Praise for Desperate Wishes:
“With DESPERATE WISHES, Candace Nola offers a glimpse of the terrible through bright and beautiful prose. She shows that the worst of monsters is what lurks in their very human hearts, and that the line between justice and vengeance is uncomfortably thin. Be careful what you wish for.” - Mary SanGiovanni, author of THE HOLLOWER
“In Candace Nola’s DESPERATE WISHES, the main character, Mackenna, is used in the worst ways, in a not distant future where females are owned by powerful and abusive men. She meets an invisible spirit who offers to make any wish come true. Nola’s powerful writing in this beautifully raw book takes us through the journey of Mackenna’s obvious wish and how she has to embrace her shattered (but not completely broken) soul to use the rage released to help her wish come true, and become the change needed for others.”—Linda D. Addison, award-winning author, HWA Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and SFPA Grand Master.
“DESPERATE WISHES starts as a brutal tale of revenge but evolves into so much more. And it is all delivered by one of THE best writers working in horror today. A phenomenal story.” — Lee Mountford, author of THE HAUNTED COLLECTION and the DARKFALL series
“Nola’s ability to tell a story is unmatched. Each book proves she is well on her way to becoming a legend.” — Kristopher Rufty, author of OLD SCRATCH.
“In an apocalyptic world, women are nameless, viciously abused as slaves and breeders. In this almost allegorical novella, Makenna is an unforgettable beacon of female empowerment, leading the oppressed to an uprising. Beautifully written, the brutality within these pages sears into your mind, in a story so intense it makes THE HANDMAID’S TALE look like a Pixar production.” — Jill Giradi, author of HANTU MACABRE
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