"I think someone broke into your car."
It was during a pit stop at a rural diner that we heard these words, and began the years-long terror that would change our lives forever. Someone had indeed broken into our car, but they had ignored the laptops and tablets and luggage.
All they took was our daughter's most prized possession: a folder full of her artwork.
We didn't know what to think when Katie's works started coming back to us, one slightly-amended piece of art at a time. But when this connoisseur of our six-year-old daughter's creations began bringing the subjects of our her drawings to life in twisted, disturbing ways, we knew that we were dealing with a danger worse than any of us could have ever imagined.
Based on the viral short story of the same name, Daughter's Drawings is the "surreal, methodical, and tormenting" (Felix Blackwell, Stolen Tongues) tale of a strange stalker's obsession and the horror of stolen innocence, a relentless onslaught of anxiety that dissects every parent's worst nightmare and confronts readers with the question, "How far would you go to protect the people you love?"
PRAISE FOR DAUGHTER'S DRAWINGS
"Daughter's Drawings is an eight-cylinder, 450 hp, high-octane thriller whose engine is already rumbling on page 1. From there, it's full scream ahead, as Nick Botic lays on the gas and roars into a story of steadily escalating tension and terror. A strong debut, Daughter's Drawings is one lean, mean machine. Strap in."
- John Langan, author of Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies
"Daughter's Drawings is a harrowing Hero's Journey through nightmare realms of profound grimness. The fact that Botic tells such a story in clean, measured prose while also knowing when to press the rocket fuel pedal is a testament to his skill, which is considerable. This novel is both a confident debut and a promise of more good things to come."
- Matt Cardin, author of To Rouse Leviathan
"When I close my eyes at night I no longer see soft memories, morning anxieties, or chronological sheep. No - my nights are now terrorized by the unspeakable things I saw in Nick Botic's debut novel, Daughter's Drawings. At first, I enjoyed the easy reading, the seamless way the prose relaxed me into a manageable and familiar universe. However, it wasn't long before the creeping, sinister nature of Botic's world was revealed - and the horrible things inside of it. Be wary, those who harken dire warnings, for this book made me feel something few other horror novels have managed: afraid."
- C.K. Walker, co-writer, Netflix's The Haunting of Hill House
"Surreal, methodical, and tormenting, Daughter's Drawings is the worst nightmare of parents everywhere and a relentless juggernaut of a thriller. Botic deftly weaves the horrors of stolen innocence and psychotic obsession across his debut novel, and the result is an onslaught of anxiety for all who have ever taught their children the phrase 'Stranger Danger.'"
- Felix Blackwell, author of Stolen Tongues
"A terrifying journey of paranoia. Nick Botic's Daughter's Drawings kept me up late into the night, dreading what I would find when I turned the page."
- C.B. Jones, author of The Rules of the Road