Bloodfire, Baby
A maternal gothic tale of new motherhood and the torment of a centuries old haunting
Before the shadow appeared, Sofia thought mothering would be all sun-drenched natural light and white linen sheets, as seen advertised by the momfluencers of Instagram. In her gorgeous home anchored in a posh suburb, far removed from her origins, Sofia revels in her success. Motherhood seems like the natural next step, but when her husband travels for a work trip leaving Sofia all alone with their unnamed three-week-old baby, she can’t quite square how mothering falls solely in her lap. Nobody seems able or willing to help her: not her husband, not her best friend, and certainly not the zealot mother she cut off long ago.
Her postpartum reality is filled with an ominous figure, and her sleep-deprived paranoia collides with a darkness that creeps in and begins to spread, threatening to consume her entirely. As her grip on reality slips away, Sofia learns of an insidious haunting that has plagued the eldest daughters in her family for generations. With her baby’s safety on the line, Sofia realizes she must confront her murky history or risk losing more than just the veneer of perfection.
Release February 17, 2026 - Pre-order links and cover coming soon!
“A haunting, honest work of art, Carson has made a wonder. In her debut novel, scapel-sharp sentences cut into life in ways you can't forget. Here we are reminded of motherhood as the nexus of history and legacy and the psychological weight required to exist in a body. An absolutely beautiful novel.”
—N A N A K W A M E A D J E I-B R E N Y A H, author of Chain-Gang All-Stars
“A ferocious, hypnotic descent that burrows under your skin and refuses to let go. A fever dream, a psychological thriller, and a whip-smart commentary on modern motherhood, Bloodfire, Baby is destined to be a novel people press into each other’s hands, whispering, ‘You have to read this.’”
—C H E L S E A B I E K E R, author of Madwoman
“The most nuanced examination of postpartum I have ever read, Bloodfire, Baby is a novel as propulsive as it is illuminating. The expert pacing—along with the novel’s exquisite language, depth, and scope—announces Eirinie Carson as a refreshing and essential new voice in contemporary fiction.”
—M A R G A R E T W I L K E R S O N S E X T O N, author of On the Rooftop
“A stunning feat of artistry—Bloodfire, Baby is a searing meditation on contemporary motherhood, written with the precision of a surgeon. Carson writes with unflinching honesty, capturing both the beauty and the burden of memory and the delicate unraveling of family myth.”
—D I O N N E I R V I N G, author of The Islands
“Bloodfire, Baby is a novel of crackling honesty, daring, and vigor—a transformative ride written in neon from the first page to the last. Yes, only a mother could create this haunting, mighty book, but everyone must read it.”
—S A V A L A N O L A N, author of Don’t Let It Get You Down: Essays on Race, Gender, and the Body
“Eirinie Carson’s Bloodfire, Baby arrives kicking and screaming with flames in its hair and lightning in its hands as it heralds a new powerful literary voice being born. Raw, honest, mysterious, and ultimately courageous, Bloodfire, Baby is the book that will peel away your misconceptions and lay bare the power and the beauty of the feminine mystique. Not to be missed.”
—S . A . C O S B Y, author of King of Ashes