Now here's a juxtaposition: 2 books, narrated by their protagonists, giving us the inside scoop on how they tick. And both men are, perhaps, involuntary murderers - I can't see them doing otherwise, anyhow. Yet William Colton Hughes and Tolly Driver couldn't be more different.
By @sgj.bsky.social.
Today is a GREAT day! Why? Because it's the birthday of @johnlangan.bsky.social, one of the greatest among contemporary writers of horror & the weird! He's also one of the best ambassadors for the #HorrorCommunity, universally loved & respected. Happy birthday, "Uncle" John!
In my recent chat with @kellylink.bsky.social, we talk about @lairdbarron.bsky.social & the late great Peter Straub. I'm new to Straub (shame on me!) so Kelly recommended "The Juniper Tree" and "Mr. Clubb and Mr. Cuff," both stories in Straub's collection INTERIOR DARKNESS.
youtu.be/bFWgGEx-GfI?...
In my interview with literary great @kellylink.bsky.social, she mentioned having an upcoming story in the Japanese/English magazine Monkey. I checked their site & found she wrote 12 tiny stories as horoscopes in 2016... that I hadn't read! I'm a hopeless completist😅
youtu.be/bFWgGEx-GfI?...
HORROR MOVIE by @paultremblay.bsky.social, in bookstores June 11
MAXXXINE by Ti West, in theaters July 5
LONGLEGS by Oz Perkins, in theaters July 12
I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER by @sgj.bsky.social, in bookstores July 16
Just take the summer off, you’ll need it ☀️🔪😱
Wondering where to start with horror great @lairdbarron.bsky.social? Join our read-along of Laird's first 4 collections & novel The Croning, leading up to the release of his new collection Not a Speck of Light on Sept 10! One post per story - here's the index:
www.reddit.com/r/LairdBarro...
I just realized the pub date for Brian Evenson's new horror collection GOOD NIGHT, SLEEP TIGHT (Coffee House Press) is also the pub date for @lairdbarron.bsky.social's new horror collection NOT A SPECK OF LIGHT (@badhandbooks.bsky.social) so basically the world ends September 10, 2024.😱💥
Thanks to Livia Llewellyn for the bibliography, and to the editors & publishers who've supported her work, including
Steve Berman, @lossrockhart.bsky.social, @johnjosephadams.com & especially the great Ellen Datlow. If you've read her, QT this & tell us about a Livia story you love! 10/10
Fierce, fearless, and criminally under-read. That's horror great LIVIA LLEWELLYN. I thought I'd read most of her work with her acclaimed collections ENGINES OF DESIRE (2011) and FURNACE (2016). In fact, they only contain *half* of her published stories. 1/10
I found ENGINES OF DESIRE (from Lethe Press) in the uncharted depths (read: horror section) of Chamblin Bookmine in Jacksonville and picked it up because @lairdbarron.bsky.social penned the introduction. Once I cracked open this gem, I'd never be the same. 2/10
"At the Edge of Ellensburg," "The Engine of Desire" & "Omphalos" are shocking standouts in this collection. Did I mention trigger warnings? Her stories come with *all* of them. (But seriously, the horrors of sexual abuse & assault are front & center in much of her work.) 3/10
In @npr.org's review of FURNACE (Word Horde), Jason Heller says, "Llewellyn isn't as interested in fleshing out her characters as she is in their flesh itself." Out of context that may seem a bit of a back-handed compliment but his point stands: Livia writes fiction of the flesh. 4/10
"Allochthon" is steeped in Lovecraftian macabre: a woman drowning in monotony spirals downward into madness and murder. And "The Last, Clean, Bright Summer" brings new dimensions to the coming-of-age story of a young girl. A horrific, unforgettable dark fantasy. (Again, CW.) 5/10
Her short novel THE ONE THAT COMES BEFORE (2017,
Independent Legions) places anti-heroine Alex in Livia's dystopian world, Obsidia. Alex must survive the oppressive streets of Becher District and face the transhumanist agenda of the Ministry of Obstetrics. Sign me up, buttercup! 6/10
The rest of Livia's oeuvre is spread over a dozen+ anthologies, magazines & websites. "One of These Nights," featured in Joyce Carol Oates's CUTTING EDGE, gets a special nod for winning the 2020 Edgar Award for Short Story, and for showing that sociopaths come in all sizes😳 7/10
I printed every piece that's not on physical media so if the bots drop an EMP on the internet, I got it all in paper. (Suck it, bots!)
"The Low, Dark Edge of Life," 1 of 2 stories free to read on Nightmare Magazine's site, gives new meaning to the word "wondyrechaun."😱 8/10
An informal THEY REMAIN watch party starts at 5:00pm EST (but watch when it's convenient for you). The film stars William Jackson Harper and Rebecca Henderson and is on Prime Video, Vudu & AppleTV. It's riveting wilderness paranoia and a slow, steady descent into madness!
I mentioned last week that horror great @lairdbarron.bsky.social is starting a Patreon... Well, it's on its way - and check out this programming note he just shared! I will be spending ample time there, skulking in the shadows...
(Art by Dave Kendall)
www.reddit.com/r/LairdBarro...
I've wanted an illustrated portrait of @lairdbarron.bsky.social to hang alongside SGJ & @kellylink.bsky.social in my library. I saw Laird compliment pieces by @thoughtographic.bsky.social & knew he was the one for the job. I ❤️ how it turned out! Commission real (not AI) artists like Justin McElroy⚡️
I can't hide my excitement... less than 3 years ago, the subreddit devoted to horror great @lairdbarron.bsky.social had 66 members. Today we hit 900! Readers are discovering/rediscovering Laird's peerless cosmic horror & weird tales. Join us for our read-along! reddit.com/r/LairdBarron/
All you @sgj.bsky.social fans bludgeoning your minds with THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE have exactly 112 days until I WAS A TEENAGE SLASHER drops, GET IN THERAPY NOW
Thrilled to get a rare print copy of suspense mag Mystery Tribune #19! It contains the slowly creepy "Lern to Dye" by
@lairdbarron.bsky.social, a 2023 tale he says he's quite proud of. It's the cover story, with moody art by Anna Zaretskaya. In ePub for only $8: mysterytribune.com/shop/magazin...
The PS Publishing anthology DISINTEGRATION, edited by Darren Speegle, has arrived! And why am I so excited?? Because it contains “Eyes Like Evil Prisms,” a new Antiquity tale by @lairdbarron.bsky.social! Captain Slango! Phil Wary! Secundus Rex!
There’s no day like a New Laird Barron Day⚡️
