Author Discussion + Signing Event: Taylor Grothe in Conversation with De Elizabeth
Featured Book
Lethal kiss
"A blood-soaked love story of rage, revenge, and belonging, Taylor Grothe's adult debut is a sapphic horror/romance that's as grotesque as it is beautiful. Something ravenous lurks below the marble floors of Preston University... Marcella might be a monster, but she's careful. After getting hired at Preston University, she intends to lay low and keep her meals discreet. Trapped in the rat race of academia, all Lacie wants is to finally hit tenure. She's determined to make this her year, and nothing is going to stand in her way. That is, until bodies start dropping. Marcella swears it isn't her doing-as if she'd be that sloppy. Whatever's killing their coworkers is older, and far less restrained. Lacie doesn't know who to trust, but better the monster you know... The deeper they dig, the more they're drawn to each other... and the more something else is drawn to them. After all, desire has teeth of its own"-- Provided by publisher.
About This Event
Jennifer's Body meets Ninth House: Taylor Grothe's adult debut novel is a sapphic horror/romance that's as grotesque and blood-soaked as it is beautiful.
Join Cupid's Bookshop & Thrillerdelphia for an exciting author evening with Taylor Grothe in conversation discussing the release of Lethal Kiss. Celebrate Nightfire's 5th anniversary with a spooky audiobook playlist before Taylor Grothe and De Elizabeth take the stage. Taylor will be in conversation with De Elizabeth for an engaging discussion about their work, followed by an audience Q+A and book signing.
Date: Friday, October 23, 2026
Time: 7:00 PM
Location: Cupid's Bookshop - 4347 Main Street. Philadelphia, PA 19127
Tickets: $25 per person — includes event entry, Nightfire Swag bag and one paperback copy of Lethal Kiss
This event is 18+; no one under the age of 18 will be permitted into the event.
EVENT DETAILS
6:45PM: Doors Open – Settle in, take some time to shop, pick up your copy of Lethal Kiss, and browse our collection of books by Taylor Grothe and De Elizabeth. A spooky listening party as everyone is getting seated.
7:00PM: Introduction
7:05PM: Discussion Begins – In Conversation with Taylor Grothe and De Elizabeth
~7:40 PM: Q&A Session – Your chance to ask the authors anything!
7:45 PM: Signing line – Meet the authors, get your books signed, and snap a photo. The line will be in order of seating row.
9:00 PM: Event Wraps Up – Thanks for joining us!
Limited copies of Taylor's backlist titles will be available for purchase at the event. If you would like to guarantee any back titles, please purchase online and select pickup. Please note in the order comments that this is for the event. An admission ticket is required in addition to a purchase of any add-ons.
Taylor will be signing a maximum of three books from home, but only the Lethal Kiss will be personalized. This is subject to change at any time at the author's discretion.
Tickets are limited, so grab yours soon!
ACCESSIBILITY & PARKING
Check-in will take place at Cupid's Bookshop.
Guests who would benefit from priority seating or any additional assistance are encouraged to reach out in advance. Email us at cupidsbookshopbookseller@gmail.com and we're more than happy to make arrangements!
Free and paid street and lot parking options are available throughout Manayunk.
BOOK PICKUP POLICY
If you can no longer make it to the event, please contact us ahead of time, and we can get your book personalized for you. In the event that you can no longer attend, and do not contact us, books will be signed but not personalized. If you can no longer attend the event, books will be held for up to 30 days after the event date. We will email you after the event with pickup or shipment details. If we have not heard from you within 30 days, we may donate or return to inventory. Thank you for your understanding!
We look forward to welcoming you to our event!
ABOUT THE BOOK:
When Marcella is hired at Preston University, she has her game plan already mapped out―lay low for a few semesters, enjoy the extensive library, and maybe feast on a couple of her coworkers. That is, until a professor is found murdered and it’s not her doing. She may be the newest monster on campus, but she definitely isn’t the most dangerous.
Assistant professor Lacie is aware how ruthless the track to tenure is. But seeing the corpse of one of her colleagues is enough to make her suspect the other professors that came before her didn’t just quit academia. Unfortunately, there’s only one person she can trust enough to ask for help―the beautiful, aloof, and tantalizingly secretive Marcella.
Lacie and Marcella team up to make a chilling discovery: there’s something festering under the marble floors of Preston University, and it’s hungry. Marcella might be a monster, but the deeper into the mystery they dig, the more she’s attracted to Lacie’s immovable bravery and quiet intelligence. And the closer they grow, the more Lacie is drawn to Marcella’s vicious nature.
The weight of spilled blood and stolen opportunity is too heavy to carry alone, but they’re both determined to get what they deserve―even if they have to kill for it.
ABOUT THE CONVERSATION PARTNER:
De Elizabeth is a dark fantasy and horror author, writing both YA and adult. She is passionate about creating emotionally resonant stories featuring bisexual representation, genre blends, unhinged villains, chaotic third acts, and characters with big feelings. Her debut YA novel, This Raging Sea, was published in 2025. Her upcoming books include an adult romantic horror novel titled She Haunts Me Still, and a forthcoming YA dark fantasy, A Death Kissed Song. You can follow her on Instagram @WordsByDe.
Featured Authors
Taylor Grothe
Taylor Grothe is a writer of adult and young adult horror, horror romance, and dark fantasy. They hold a nonfiction MFA from Fairfield University, acted as the graduate Assistant Managing Editor of Brevity, and their short works can be found in esteemed publications such as Titan Book’s These Dreaming Spires, Brevity’s craft blog, Haven Speculative, and Shortwave Magazine. They are a scholar of medieval literature and Nordic Saga. Taylor lives with three cats, two kids, and their spouse, in New England, and are the author of Lethal Kiss and Hollow.
De Elizabeth
De Elizabeth is a dark fantasy and horror author, writing both YA and adult. She is passionate about creating emotionally resonant stories featuring bisexual representation, genre blends, unhinged villains, chaotic third acts, and characters with big feelings. Her debut YA novel, This Raging Sea, was published in 2025. Her upcoming books include an adult romantic horror novel titled She Haunts Me Still, and a forthcoming YA dark fantasy, A Death Kissed Song. You can follow her on Instagram @WordsByDe.
About the Venue
Cupid's Bookshop
Cupid’s is more than a bookstore, it’s a judgment‑free zone where diverse love stories are celebrated openly. Tina envisioned a store where readers don’t have to hide their favorite tropes—be it aliens, faeries, dragons, or adventure romances—and where workshops, midnight release parties, and author signings are part of the romance culture. Community is at our core. We host monthly book clubs spanning romantasy, contemporary romance, dark romance, and LGBTQ+ titles—each one a welcoming space for readers to gush, cry, debate tropes, and bond over their favorite book boyfriends (and girlfriends, and morally gray magical beings). Whether you're new to romance or a lifelong lover of the genre, our book clubs are designed to make you feel seen, heard, and completely at home.
Visit store pageMore at Cupid's Bookshop
Author Signing Julian Winters + Erik J Brown
Join us at Cupid's Bookshop for author signings with Julian Winters and Erik J. Brown Date: Saturday, October 24, 2026 Time: 1-3pm Location: Cupid's Bookshop - 4347 Main Street. Philadelphia, PA 19127 Tickets: FREE. We recommend preordering your book to guarantee a copy and select PICKUP. If you would like to guarantee any back titles, please purchase online and select pickup. ACCESSIBILITY & PARKING: Event will take place at Cupid's Bookshop. Guests who would benefit from priority seating or any additional assistance are encouraged to reach out in advance. Email us at cupidsbookshopbookseller@gmail.com and we're more than happy to make arrangements! Free and paid street and lot parking options are available throughout Manayunk. BOOK PICKUP POLICY If you can no longer make it to the event, please contact us ahead of time, and we can get your book personalized for you. In the event that you can no longer attend, and do not contact us, books will be signed but not personalized. If you can no longer attend the event, books will be held for up to 30 days after the event date. We will email you after the event with pickup or shipment details. If we have not heard from you within 30 days, we may donate or return to inventory. Thank you for your understanding! We look forward to welcoming you to our event! ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Julian Winters Julian Winters is the bestselling author of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Gold Award-winning Running With Lions; the Georgia Peach Award nominated Right Where I Left You; Junior Library Guild Selections How to Be Remy Cameron, The Summer of Everything, and As You Walk On By, Prince of the Palisades and adult romances I Think They Love You and Last First Kiss, a USA Today Bestseller. A self-proclaimed comic book geek, Julian spent his adolescence in upstate New York before moving to his current home of Decatur, Georgia. He can usually be found reading, swooning over rom-coms, or watching the only two sports he can follow—volleyball and soccer. You can follow Julian on Instagram (@wintersjulian) or his website, julianwinters.com. Erik J. Brown Erik J. Brown is the internationally-bestselling author of All That's Left in the World and the sequel The Only Light Left Burning. His books have received starred reviews from Kirkus, The Bulletin of the Center of Children's Books, and ALA Booklist. His second novel, Lose You to Find Me, became a USA Today Bestseller. Erik is also the co-host of the YA Book Podcast YA-OK where he and Alyssa Ljub of Netflix's The Circle talk with new and established YA authors about writing, publishing, and all things YA! He lives in Philadelphia with his family.
Book Bedazzling Night
Bedazzle your next favorite read at Cupid's Bookshop! This is a fun, crafty event where you can decorate a paperback with rhinestones, gems, and other sparkly embellishments, transforming them into the prettiest edition to display on your shelf! The event is $35 per person, which includes your choice of a paperback to bedazzle. A bedazzling kit will be available for use at this event.
Author Signing: Kate Fox
Join us at Cupid's Bookshop for an author signing with Kate Fox, celebrating her new paranormal romance, SUCCUBUS Date: Saturday, Oct 31, 2026 Time: 1-3pm Location: Cupid's Bookshop - 4347 Main Street. Philadelphia, PA 19127 Tickets: FREE. We recommend preordering your book to guarantee a copy and select PICKUP. If you would like to guarantee any back titles, please purchase online and select pickup. If you are unable to attend the event, but would like to receive a signed and personalize copy, please order online and note in the order that you would like it signed and/or personalized. Kate will be signing a maximum of three books from home, but at least 1 copy has to be purchased at Cupid's Bookshop. No exceptions. This is subject to change at any time at the author's discretion. ACCESSIBILITY & PARKING: Event will take place at Cupid's Bookshop. Guests who would benefit from priority seating or any additional assistance are encouraged to reach out in advance. Email us at cupidsbookshopbookseller@gmail.com and we're more than happy to make arrangements! Free and paid street and lot parking options are available throughout Manayunk. BOOK PICKUP POLICY If you can no longer make it to the event, please contact us ahead of time, and we can get your book personalized for you. In the event that you can no longer attend, and do not contact us, books will be signed but not personalized. If you can no longer attend the event, books will be held for up to 30 days after the event date. We will email you after the event with pickup or shipment details. If we have not heard from you within 30 days, we may donate or return to inventory. Thank you for your understanding! We look forward to welcoming you to our event! ABOUT THE BOOK: Her touch kills, his saves the dying. Are they fated, or forbidden? Tempest Dunlap loves romance novels, but she knows she’ll never have her own happily-ever-after. She is a sweatpants-wearing doula who homeschools her seven-year-old niece in suburban New Jersey. Unfortunately, she’s also a succubus: Every man she’s ever kissed has died. But Tempest is a good person who never intended to be a murderer, so she’s sworn off love forever. Then she meets Joel Tav, a gorgeous, gentle doctor who makes celibacy feel impossible. Tempest knows she can’t touch him—or tell him his brother was the last man she dated and accidentally killed. Meanwhile, a vigilante is hunting people with dark powers, and Tempest is next. Should she keep hiding in her safe, lonely life, or should she embrace the darkness she fears and risk the ultimate forbidden romance? Maybe Tempest will get her love story after all . . . or maybe she’ll become its villain. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: KATE FOX lives with her husband, daughters, and two fluffy cats in an old house in an old town in the universally admired state of New Jersey, where she looks for magic in mundane places. Her favorite trope is enemies to lovers, as long as they're really enemies.