SYNOPSIS
From acclaimed author Mia Dalia comes a propulsive, character-driven horror novel that’s a chilling blend of high-tech utopia, isolation, and catastrophic consequences.
When a controversial tech billionaire retreats from society, he constructs a private island designed to be the ultimate controlled experiment: a hand-selected population, sustainable systems, and a flawless model for humanity’s future. A paradise engineered to perfection.
But perfection breeds boredom.
Seeking recognition—and perhaps validation—he sends a message into the cosmos, broadcasting The Island’s triumph to the universe. One day, he gets a reply… and all hell breaks loose.)
Within hours, the community fractures. Neighbors turn on neighbors. A savage, insatiable hunger spreads. Civilization unravels.
Told through three gripping perspectives—the billionaire’s loyal assistant, an island mechanic, and a visiting investigative reporter—Beautiful, Once explores survival, psychological collapse, unchecked ambition, and the terrifying consequences of playing god.
Set in a near-future island enclave, this intense dystopian horror novel will appeal to fans of isolated community thrillers, outbreak fiction, and cinematically propulsive, speculative survival stories in the vein of The Island and The Crazies.
When paradise falls, who gets to live?
EXCERPT
Olivia pushed on, but she could see her words failing, falling to the ground like weakly shot arrows.
She had to go with the ace up her sleeve: violating the institution’s policy.
“I’ve brought someone here to see you.”
No reaction. But did Olivia see a flicker of interest?
The dog had no tag, no name. He was found along with the person, both survivors of the same ordeal. The dog was in much better shape, and after a brief recuperation, seemed strong and lively. He was staying with one of the people who found him, likely to be permanently adopted if the person he’d been found with continued to show no signs of recovery.
The dog, nicknamed Spark by one of the rescuers—aspirationally at first but now living up to it—came in tentatively, his eyes on the person in the chair. He didn’t approach and instead stayed by the door. Slowly, softly he began to growl, pawing at the floor.
“Spark, come on,” said the orderly under his breath. “Behave.”
Olivia watched the face of the person across from her. Watched their head turn toward the dog—an eerily robotic motion.
The dog barked sharply. It served as a slap, a bucket of ice water in the face. Suddenly, the survivor’s eyes sprung wide open, animating with something Olivia couldn’t quite read. It sent a stirring of alarm dragging a nail down her spine.
When those eyes locked on hers, Olivia thought she could see the flames flickering there. But surely, that was merely a trick of the light, only the sun pouring through the uncurtained window.
“There you are,” Olivia said gently. “How are you? How do you feel?”
The person opened their mouth, licked their lips, and closed it again, as if they had forgotten how to speak.
Finally, in a voice rusted out from disuse they croaked a single word: “Hungry.” Then, suddenly, with alarming speed and agility, the survivor lunged across the table at Olivia.
The dog began barking in earnest.
“Hungry,” the terrible voice repeated so closely to Olivia’s ear so that she felt the fiery heat of it. And then the feeding began.
About the author
Mia Dalia is an internationally published, Crime Writers’ Association–nominated author of all things fantastic, thrilling, frightening, and strange. Her short fiction appears widely online and in print anthologies and magazines, and has been featured in multiple narrative podcasts.
Mia's stories were selected as one of Tales to Terrify’s Top Ten Stories of 2023 and shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association’s 2024 Dagger Award. Her work has been acclaimed by Library Journal, which “highly recommended it for gothic fiction readers and fans of Shirley Jackson,” praised by Kirkus Reviews for its “imaginative directness reminiscent of Stephen King,” and lauded by Booklist for its “beautifully detailed characters and a subtle slide into dread.”
Mia is the author of the novels Estate Sale, Haven, and Beautiful, Once, novellas Alakazam, Tell Me a Story, Discordant, Arrokoth, and Do You Know the Muffin Man? and collection Smile So Red and Other Tales of Madness.
Mia Dalia is represented by the John Jarrold Literary Agency.
Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing— Where Stories Come Alive!
Find Mia online:
https://daliaverse.wixsite.com/author
https://linktr.ee/daliaverse
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