Local Independent Author Releases Haunting Southern Gothic Novel Set in Rural Georgia

MANSFIELD, Texas - EntSun -- MANSFIELD, Texas — Indie author Chandra Martin announces the release of Wisteria Grove – Book One: Those Summer Days, a tender and unsettling Southern Gothic coming‑of‑age novel following nine‑year‑old Renate Vale through the first fracture of her childhood. Set against the heavy heat and superstitious mysteries of rural Georgia, the novel explores trauma, resilience, and the residual forces that refuse to stay buried.

In Those Summer Days, Renate spends the summer with her grandparents, Henry and Evelyn Moreau, expecting long days of play with her cousins. Instead, she enters a season of confusion and fear that reveals how unsafe and unkind the world can be. Surrounded by three older boy cousins and adults who twist truth into something sharp enough to wound, Renate begins to sense a presence moving beneath the ordinary life of Wisteria Grove — something that sees her, hears her, and refuses to let her stay small.

More on EntSun News

• Lineus Medical Elevates Leadership to Accelerate Growth After Breakthrough Clinical Results
• Creators' Rights Movement Names Phabian "S-Quire" Winfield Official Spokesperson
• Gateway Center Arena Announces Duane Curry as General Manger
• 7th Annual Palmer Lake Wine Festival Celebrates Colorado Wine to Meet Nonprofit Partner's Needs
• Ohio Gold Rush Days is Family Fun!

Martin writes from a lineage shaped by visionary storytellers who taught her how to bend reality around emotion. In Wisteria Grove, readers can feel the gravity of Octavia Butler, the intimate strangeness of Asumiko Nakamura, and the sweeping, character‑driven resonance of MXTX. Wisteria Grove is a novel of atmosphere, ache, and red clay — a sophomore release announcing a voice wholly original yet rooted in a rich cross‑cultural tradition.

"I wrote Wisteria Grove because Renate Vale's story has been living inside me for decades. At some point in our lives, every one of us has been Renate — unseen, unheard, misunderstood, left to fend for ourselves like something feral scrambling to survive. I wanted to explore that experience honestly and take a deep dive into generational trauma — how it begins, how it spreads, how it ends. Wisteria Grove is my attempt to answer those questions with honesty, compassion, and the kind of truth that settles into the bone."

More on EntSun News

• XRPPower Expands Platform Security With Enhanced Brand Protection and Official Verification Standards
• An Entirely New Kind of Musical
• Cuvo Health, the #1 White Label Telehealth Platform, Surpasses 300 Exclusive Providers Serving All 50 States
• Bolo the Assassin Surpasses 800 Original Songs
• Jacquees Celebrates Mood 2 with Exclusive Cover Conversations Event at Rolling Out Live in Atlanta

— Chandra Martin, author of Wisteria Grove

BOOK DETAILS

Title Wisteria Grove – Book One: Those Summer Days
Author Chandra Martin
Publisher Nitram Press
Publication Date July 22, 2026
Genre Literary Fiction / Southern Gothic
Format Hardcover, Trade Paperback, eBook
Pages 114
ISBN (Hardcover) 979-8188481667
ISBN (Paperback) 979-8235402607
Price Hardcover $19.99 | Paperback $9.99 | eBook $5.99
Available At Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Indie Bound, and other online book retailers

MEDIA CONTACT

Name: Chandra Martin
Location: Mansfield, Texas
Phone: (469) 290-4215
Email: nitrampress@authorchandramartin.me
Website: https://authorchandramartin.me