Check out the projects coming soon from Lori Ravenford. From paranormal romance, mythology retellings and stories inspired by Japanese art and culture. The worlds of Lori Ravenford have tropes you love and twists that will keep you guessing.

Rivershade

This serialized story begins on April 2, 2025. It’s exclusive to Ream. 

A woman with her back to the viewer stands in front of a forest river with a full moon in the background. Fireflies a in the foreground.
"Rivershade" is in white text in the middle, just below the moon.

Here’s the blurbification:

People love Rivershade for two things: the wellness industry built around their famous “magical” hot springs and the urban legends of mysterious local creatures. Come for a facial, meet a siren!, drink the “magical” springwater… watch out for the Squirrel Man! What people don’t know is that Rivershade is a hot spot for disappearances. It’s a tourist town, they say. People come and go all the time.

But do they? Go I mean.

I’d leave this creepy burg in a heartbeat, but I’m scraping by at my dead-end job at the Shay-D-Mart. I’ve got no family to rely on. I’m not an orphan but I might as well be. Mom left years ago and dad only cares about his new family.

Finding out the secrets in Rivershade might be my ticket out of here. Let’s call it investigative reporting. A book, or a podcast? I could make a mint if I could figure out the secrets here. What I really need is to get close to the elite society that rules Rivershade.

Then one day, my tickets walk through the door. Two hot guys telling me I’m the missing heir to a magical legacy? Right… and I own prime some swampland to sell you.

But they seem connected to Rivershade’s high society. I might not be the heir they’re looking for, but I can play the role long enough to get the access I need to find out what’s really going on here. Then I’m out of here, off to fame and a bank account with actual savings in it.

Magical heir? Pffft… How hard can it be to fake that?

Tropes you’ll love:

  • Fake magical heir but real supernatural trouble
  • Small town secrets
  • Frenemies
  • Paranormal investigations meets dead-end job
  • Reluctant, brooding mentors
  • Dangerous men with hidden agendas
  • Cinderella gets her moment
  • Family secrets
  • Cryptids and folklore
black and white logo variation for Lori Ravenford. A raven sits on the letter L of the LR initials. A circle surrounds most of the initials and the raven. Three stars are next to the raven.

Shiroki Sand Dunes

Ukiyoe Print by Utagawa Hiroshi titled "New Year's Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Oji." The images shows several white foxes, many with fox fire above a front paw, gathered around a skeletal tree at late night. This image is the inspiration for a short story.
New Year’s Eve Foxfires
at the Changing Tree, Ōji
by Utagawa Hiroshige ca. 1857

Lena thinks she’s found the perfect partner—until Masa takes her camping to the Shiroki Sand Dunes for the worst New Year’s celebration ever.

Suddenly, Mr. Perfect is mysterious, withdrawn and mumbling about sacrifice. She’s listened too many true-crime podcasts not to be suspicious.

Masa’s about to ask her to make the ultimate choice. One that will change her life and what it means to be human. Is love enough reason to make such a leap?

“Shiroki Sand Dunes” is a magical realism/ paranormal story coming in 2025.

This story is inspired by the ukiyo-e print New Year’s Eve Foxfires at the Changing Tree, Ōji by Utagawa Hiroshige. Read more about ukiyo-e and the inspiration of this story here.

Tropes you’ll love:

  • Japanese mythology
  • Multicultural romance
black and white logo variation for Lori Ravenford. A raven sits on the letter L of the LR initials. A circle surrounds most of the initials and the raven. Three stars are next to the raven.