Two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated author, V. Castro dims the lights in a collection where you might devour your next lover or meet your next meal.

Readers are invited to The Pink Agave Motel, where brutality and intimacy ooze across the pages, exploring the depths of the unhinged imagination and how human desire unlocks the impulse to bite. Castro’s voice, influenced by Mexican folklore and a feminist perspective, illuminates a deeper view of how unrequited love affects every type of being alike.

The titular story focuses on Valentina, the proclaimed leader of a creature cohort, who manages hotel guests, until she is enlightened to a carnivorous death on the property. To avoid exposure that threatens her existence, she partners with (the hauntingly handsome) grieving friend of the dearly departed to solve the murder. Further within these tales, discover a woman who is a fish out of water drinking at a seaside honky tonk, the trapped guests who undergo sexual liberation, and aliens who find the sexiest of disguises.

These short stories evoke an alluring voice, sure to make the reader shiver in arousal and horror, never quite knowing what could happen next. Castro pushes past the limits of gothic terror and fantasy to carve a dangerous path of lust and violence, all throughout the reader’s charming stay at The Pink Agave Motel.

Praise for V. Castro

“Castro is one of the most exciting genre authors on the scene right now, and this might be her most powerful book yet.” —Paste

“The provocative novel is haunting and packed with dark secrets.” —Today

“Creepy yet insightful.” —Culturess 

 “Speaking of Goddesses, Castro is the goddess of Indigenous Mexican Indigenous horror.” —Literary Hub

“[A] ravishing and provocative literary horror novel about motherhood, family legacy, and self-discovery.” —Jump Scares

V. Castro is a two time Bram Stoker Award nominated Mexican American writer from San Antonio, Texas now residing in the UK. She writes horror, erotic horror, and science fiction. Her books include The Haunting of Alejandra, Alien: Vasquez, Mestiza Blood, The Queen of the Cicadas, Out of Aztlan, Las Posadas, and Goddess of Filth. Her forthcoming novel is Immortal Pleasures from Del Rey. Connect with Violet via Instagram and Twitter @vlatinalondon or www.vcastrostories.com. She can also be found on Blue Sky, Goodreads and Amazon. TikTok@vcastrobooks

OFFICIAL RELEASE 2.11.2025

ISBN: 9781960988300