Ksenia Anske

Misunderstood and overmedicated, twelve-year-old Lilith Bloom finds the prospect of a grand family reunion decidedly dull... That is, until she discovers that the rose garden surrounding her grandfather's Berlin mansion is, well, completely and utterly carnivorous. Armed with Panther, her talking pet whippet, and the help of the mute boy next door, Lilith must unravel the secrets behind the mysterious estate, all while her family remains gloriously unaware that they are about to be devoured.

Rosehead

Irkadura

On a rainy September morning that just so happens to be her sixteenth birthday, Ailen Bright, a chicken-legged, straw-haired teenager, decides to commit suicide via drowning in the family bathtub. The ornate marble tub, adhering to her abusive father's love for anything expensive and Italian, is decorated by five sirens - who seemingly help her escape the house when her father breaks down the bathroom door. After an almost-successful suicide attempt number two, which lands her at the bottom of a lake, she learns that sirens are, in fact, real, and they want to turn her into one of them. An amazing, yet dark look into the mind and heart of a suicidal teenager, this urban fantasy follows Ailen's struggle to figure out the meaning of life, the unraveling of her confusing feelings for her theatrically goofy best friend Hunter, and her desperate battle for her father's love.

I Chose to Die (Siren Suicides, Book 1)

Of all of the naughty, mischievous, disrespectful, and downright horrible things that children can be, a badling is perhaps one of the worst. Badlings abandon books without finishing them, leaving their characters sad and lonely—not to mention angry. Meet Bells, Peacock, Rusty, and Grand, four ragtag friends convicted of this monstrous crime. As punishment, they get sucked into a book of unfinished stories, whose patchwork pages they must traverse...and read to the end this time.

The Badlings

Ailen Bright is more lost than ever. Her father has betrayed her yet again, but keeps her longing for his love alive with some almost-heartfelt confessions, though few and far between. She and Hunter can never be together without fighting the urge to strangle each other with their bare hands. And to top it off, two-faced Canosa won't leave her alone. Her resolve to do the right thing is wavering as she tries to protect the ones she loves, simultaneously searching for a reason to keep on living, and the final chapter of Siren Suicides comes to a tumultuous close, bringing death, life, and love.

The Afterlife (Siren Suicides, Book 3)

In the second installment of the Siren Suicides trilogy, Ailen Bright finds herself in a sticky situation. Her new supernatural abilities haven't solved anything - in fact, they've royally messed up her life. She can't be with the one person she loves (though her self-control is wavering by the second), her old, well-dressed dog of a father hasn't learned any new tricks, and her supposed siren sister doesn't seem to have her best interests at heart. A pawn in the game between her father and the Siren of Canosa, Ailen is constantly searching for her next move. Through all the hardships, however, Ailen's self-doubt begins to dissipate as she comes to accept her new identity.

My Sisters in Death (Siren Suicides, Book 2)

Second Edition

Siren Suicides

Blue Sparrow was born on Twitter. It's a compilation of my daily ramblings as a first time novelist encouraging myself and other writers to bite the bullet and do it despite the fear of blank paper, the insecurities, the angst every writer faces when left alone with the story and trying to bleed it out. My Twitter followers asked me to make it. They said they want to carry it around in their pockets and take it out each time they felt stuck, scared, or simply need to smile. Because people tell me my tweets are funny. You be the judge.

Blue Sparrow: Tweets on Writing, Reading, and Other Creative Nonsense

The original Blue Sparrow was born on Twitter. It's a compilation of my daily ramblings on writing and reading to encourage fellow writers to write. After it got published, my Twitter followers asked me to make the second book, with illustrations this time. So this is it. This book has 140 pages just like 140 characters in a tweet, each page adorned by an encouraging tweet like "There is no wrong way to write a novel. The only wrong way is not to write it." and an adorable drawing by illustrator Jeff Bergstrand. Happy writing!

Blue Sparrow 2: Tweets on Writing, Reading, and Other Creative Nonsense

From the prizewinning author of Rosehead and the resident writer of the 2015 Amtrak Residency Program, comes a disturbing ghost story about a toy train engine TUBE. Get your ticket ready. And beware. This is a ride not for the faint-hearted. In the winter of 1989 on the Moscow-Simferopol train, on the eve of her twenty-first birthday, Soviet ballerina Olesya Belaya attempts to get rid of her virginity with the help of her new boyfriend and dancing partner, Dima Rumyantsev. But when Dima gets undressed, and when between his legs Olesya sees her long-lost toy train engine TUBE, her reality cracks, and TUBE leads her to the car haunted by her forgotten memories of sick, violent secrets. As Olesya enters the car, she has only her sanity to hold on to, to believe what she sees, and only her five-year-old self, Little Olesya, to guide her along the “other” side of her family, stripped of pretense, and to steady her against the truth. Slowly, Olesya’s disbelief turns to acceptance, until she understands whom she has to face, to come out alive—an unexpected enemy who has a taste for the weak and whom she escaped as a child, only to call him back unwittingly, to finish the carnage… Perfect for fans of Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, and Margaret Atwood, TUBE is at once a surrealistic horror tale, a magical metaphor for overcoming past trauma, and an empowering novel about survival. Anske reminds us that the violent secrets of our childhood forever haunt us until we face them square in the face. Praise for TUBE from readers: “TUBE is a stark, cold, disturbing book of confronting the ghosts of our past. The taboo subject is handled unflinchingly, with vivid descriptions, evocative language, and raw honesty. I enjoyed the novel’s Russianness, the Soviet setting in the 1970s and 1980s is clearly described and detailed.” “This story was harsh, gritty, terrifying, and uncomfortable. But it was so, so beautiful. It brought down all the walls of abuse, it didn't romanticize or try to cover up or beautify the harsh realities. It splayed them out there, broken and bloody, for the world to see, and it showed that hidden memories and unacknowledged hurts only protect you for so long.” “Due to its surrealistic overtones, horror, and isolating nature, TUBE is the train ride no one wants to take but everyone has to experience.” “A powerful story about a woman’s struggle to regain lost memories of past trauma and in the process regain a part of herself that’s been lost as well.” “TUBE is like a giant train of weed while reading Stephen King and Darren Shan.”

Ksenia Anske

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