Lee Allen Howard’s The Covenant Sacrifice melds cult horror with gay romance, examining conservative family values from an LGBTQ perspective.
JAMESTOWN, NY, USA, June 5, 2023 — Lee Allen Howard, MFA, announces pre-order availability for The Covenant Sacrifice (on sale date: July 14, 2023). Howard’s sixth novel from Three First Names examines religious homophobia, spotlighting one LGBTQ individual’s struggle to accept their orientation because of family and society’s religious persecution.
In The Covenant Sacrifice, Howard weaves a story both horrifying and heartwarming about 34-year-old Jarod Huntingdon, who wants more than anything to start a family. He returns to the remote rural community of Annastasis Creek for a season of soul-searching and finds he still harbors feelings for his childhood best friend, Scotty.
But overnight, a violent rainstorm traps everyone in the valley, blocking roads and severing communication with the outside world. And one by one, local residents go missing. During the search, Jarod learns of a mysterious curse, one that defrocked Pentecostal pastor Uriah Zalmon plans to appease by finding a sinner to sacrifice…
In order to break the curse for good and defend the innocent, Jarod must first confront his past and accept himself as a gay man before he can challenge the homophobic Covenant Trustees—and vanquish the evil the screaming cicadas have awoken.
Readers thrilled with the horror of toxic religion in Stephen King’s Carrie will enjoy The Covenant Sacrifice.
Howard, who earned a master’s degree in biblical studies, says, “I hope The Covenant Sacrifice encourages LGBTQ folks who’ve endured hardship and persecution from family, friends, and community to come out and be true to themselves.”
To learn more about Lee Allen Howard, his new novel The Covenant Sacrifice, and his previous works of dark fiction, visit his official website. For updates, follow Howard’s social media and subscribe to his monthly email newsletter here.
“Lee Allen Howard’s prose crackles with an energy that is rare and refreshing in the genre. Highly recommended for fans of truly dark fiction.”
—BestThrillers.com
“Lee Allen Howard is an imaginative writer with slick, vivid prose and high-octane pacing. He writes like no one else, and I mean this in a very good way.”
—Trent Zelazny
For the official press release with author information, download the PDF.
