Shadows From The Basement by Jay Bower

 "This collection is a nightmarish descent into a basement filled with madness and despair, where the only certainty is the fear lurking in the shadows."

I am a Jay Bower stan! Not only is he an incredibly talented writer with a fascinating brain filled with the coolest of ideas, but he's a fabulous person, and I like to read books written by fabulous people! I've never read anything by Jay that disappointed me, and I just know Shadows From The Basement is going to keep that streak going. Early reviews are fantastic, as expected. This seems like the perfect book for anyone who is new to Jay's work and wants to get a feel for his writing or anyone who likes a collection that has a little taste of everything. 

Here's the synopsis:

A Collection of Tales to Haunt Your Nightmares

From the dusty, cobwebbed corners of the basement emerges a collection of blood-soaked horror stories. Long forgotten, these tales rise from the shadows to once again see the light.

Each story pulses with a life of its own, unraveling the deepest threads of human fear. Reality fractures under psychotic breaks, merciless killers stalk their prey, and ancient demonic entities rise to roam the Earth.

These pages drip with terror, each story unique and gripping, drawing readers into the shadows from which there is no escape.

This collection is a nightmarish descent into a basement filled with madness and despair, where the only certainty is the fear lurking in the shadows.

Come on! If that doesn't have you curious, I don't know what to tell you. Even just the description is chef's kiss!

Jay was kind enough to do a short Q&A with me about his newest collection and his writing.

Q: Do you have a preference for writing novels versus short stories? What is it that made you decide to put together this collection?

A: I used to write a lot of short stories. Like most horror authors, I cut my teeth on shorter fiction. As I grew more comfortable with them, I challenged myself to write longer stories. Ever since then, I do prefer writing novels because I can explore more of the characters. I'll still write short stories on occasion, but I've grown to love novels more. It's kind of funny because in my collections, the stories that tend to be reader favorites are the longer ones.

I wanted to put this collection together because I had a lot of stories without a home. Readers loved my first collection, Hanging Corpses, so I hope they'll enjoy this one as well.

Q: It's common for short story collections to have an overarching theme, but there's a little bit of everything in Shadows From The Basement! Could you share where you got the inspiration for some of the stories within the collection?

A: Sure! About 2/3 of the stories that make up Shadows From The Basement were previously released in one way or another. In anthologies, online, in different collections, but the rights have all reverted back to me. The rest of the stories are all brand new and have never been released before. I'll give inspiration for a couple of the stories.

From Dust to Dust is quickly becoming a favorite among early readers. It was originally written for a themed anthology. The anthology fizzled out before I ever turned it in, so I changed a few things and made it my own. The piece is set in the 1930s because that was my decade for the anthology. I didn't want to change it once it became solely mine and thought the period piece worked well for the story. The location was also somewhat dictated by the anthology, though I did make some changes to better suit the story and mark a clear break from the anthology.

Necrotic Sanitation is gross! It was written to be performed at the Gross Out contest at AuthorCon earlier in the spring of 2024, but I chickened out and didn't sign up for it. I'm kind of glad I didn't go through with it because I had never been to a Gross Out contest before and I got to experience my first one. My inspiration was to just go for something super gross to make the reader squirm. It's not something I normally write and thought it would be fun to give it a shot. Readers seem to respond how I had hoped, which is disgusted. I guess I did it right!

Q: I was lucky enough to hear a little about your writing process from you at a recent signing, and it seems like your brain is always brimming with ideas and pulling inspiration from everywhere! What was your process for choosing these particular stories, and how does your writing process differ with a collection versus a novel?

A: Short stories are inspired by all kinds of things. For example, four years ago I went on a family trip to the Grand Canyon and we stayed at an amazing cabin. The setting of The Forever Cabin is the place where we stayed. The story The Night I Was Born was written as an origin story for my character the Dreamwraith, from the novel of the same name. The girls in the story are also part of the novel, though as adults. The story Achievement Unlocked was inspired by my son and his friends and how they were totally engrossed in gaming. I thought what it would be like if they couldn't separate reality from the game.

I chose all of these stories not because they were centered around a theme, but because they represented various tropes and themes that I wanted to write about at one time or another. Maybe they will in turn inspire me to write a novel about the subject of one of the short stories, something I've done before.

I think one day I'd like to do a collection based on a common theme, but Shadows From the Basement is not that collection. It is instead a weird, unique collection of stories that allowed me to explore different subjects to see how they felt to write them. My hope is that readers will appreciate the randomness and get a better feel of the kind of stories they can expect from me.

Jay is an absolute gem, and you can see it in his answers! His passion for his writing can be felt through the pages of his books, so whether you're wanting to check him out for the first time or you're a long-time fan, get a copy of Shadows From the Basement! You can order a signed copy here or get the book or ebook here.

In Those Fading Stars by Andrew Najberg

 Happy Release Day, Andrew Najberg!

"...the stories press humanity against the macro and the micro scales of the universe - but every one of them shines a light on a little piece of our souls at the core."

Andrew Najberg is easily one of my favorite indie authors, both to read and to talk to. An interview I did with him and Blaine Daigle earlier this year was one of my favorites. He's like that teacher you wish you had in high school for that one boring subject you thought you hated, but you really just didn't understand it. He has a way of talking about things that makes you want to know more. There's an air of excitement and passion in the way he both speaks and writes, and it's a really cool thing to observe. 

I have never considered myself a "fan" of two subgenres of horror in particular: cosmic horror and sci-fi horror. Two books changed that for me this past year. One was This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno. The other was Gollitok by Andrew Najberg. For that reason, I am so excited to read his newest release and first collection, In Those Fading Stars.

Here is a description of the collection:

A father whose son fades away every day unless he passes the boy a bit of his own life. Three robots holding a séance. A man who suffers the effects of an intergalactic portal opening in his stomach.

These stories exist at the intersection of science fiction, horror, and magic and explore both our humanity in the face of the weird as well as our most ordinary and fundamental relationships. Whether attempting to voyage to a distant star on a generational craft whose destination is so far no living passengers will reach it or whether a daughter’s new friend is teaching her to break the trendiest of dimensional boundaries, the stories press humanity against the macro and the micro scales of the universe – but everyone of them shines a light on a little piece of our souls at the core.

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

Andrew answered a few questions about In Those Fading Stars and his writing in general.

Q: You've been involved in a number of anthologies, but what was the impetus for putting together your first short story collection?

A: Well, I've had a lot of luck getting these stories out in magazines, including some that have really strong reputations, but it's tough to get readers to visit magazines consistently. At the same time, these stories definitely have a significant part of my voice and person in them, and I really want them to reach a broader relationship. I have a lot of confidence that readers will find many pieces in this set to be genuinely moving - and once I realized I had enough that I felt were thematically cohesive with each other, this juts seemed the best way to get the stories out there.

Q: I have to admit I've never considered myself much of a sci-fi girlie, but I love how you marry sci-fi and horror. Where did your love for both genres start, and what are some inspirations for you in your writing?

A: I find that both science fiction and horror deal with reflections of reality. They're places we go when we want to cast our views about the world into something while also creating a strong vehicle for engaging readers. I do have things I want to say with my writing. The Mobius Door tackles a lot of serious questions about families, about reality, about identity - Gollitok explores a lot of questions about the fargility of the world, the nature of evil - and much more. At the same time, neither of them makes those things the exclusive focus. They use their narratives to allow the exploration of significant questions while also presenting a framework we can invest in emotionally. The same for these stories. Some are personal expressions like Before You Fade Away and The Robots Inside Us, some explore broader cultural issues like Intersected Sky and Where We Leave Ourselves - but each one is a statement about something that matters with me - and presented, hopefully in a way, people will find much more emotionally engaging than if I just made a Facebook post!

Q: Your writing style is so vivid and detailed. I know you have a map of Gollitok you'd drawn out, and it's amazing that you were able to put that landscape into words and paint it so clearly for readers. Do you typically use things like drawings, maps and other aids to flesh out your writing? What does your writing process looking like, and how did it differ for you when writing a collection versus a novel?

A: The truth is, I use very few tools. I keep almost zero notes. The Gollitok map was created because I specifically wanted to communicate a certain reality to a very real place that is Goli Otok, but none of my stories have outlines, character profiles, or anything like that. Instead, I run through things over and over in my head, re-read portions of the manuscripts I've already created. I do keep fragmentary notes about some planned upcoming scenes, but I delete those as I go, so I never have more than a few pages at any given time. Instead, the manuscript is alive to me. I shape it and adjust it as it grows, kind of like a bit of clay on a pottery wheel. The process mostly looks like me pacing around, talking to myself while I drive, typing and deleting on the computer and maybe just sitting back and staring at the ceiling.

Honestly, the more I learn about Andrew Najberg, the more fascinated I am. If you've read his work, the idea of him keeping virtually no notes or outlines and still having the ability to be as illustrative as he is with his writing is impressive. I will never stop touting the masterpiece that is Gollitok, and I hope to report back soon with similar feelings on In Those Fading Stars! Grab your copy today here or here.

Lore of the Jack-O'-Lantern by Brian Serven

 

Lore of the Jack-O'-Lantern by Brian Serven with art by Dan Blakeslee is a quick read perfect for the Halloween season. At just 56 pages, this novelette tells the tale of a ragtag group of kids who must fight the spirit of Stingy Jack, a frightening villain who steals children in exchange for avoiding the underworld. What I love most about this book is it's family friendly, it's fun for (almost) all ages, and it's reminiscent of the stories we may have told sitting in a circle with flashlights shining on our faces as kids. The nostalgia factor hits just as hard as the spooky factor. It's a classic little story that would be perfect to revisit yearly with the whole family. Not to mention, the cover and the artwork within the book are incredible! 

There's been a theme for me lately of reading stories or researching new releases that are based on urban legends or popular lore, and I have to admit, I am loving it! It's one of my favorite tropes. Halloween is the best time of year for a story that gives a new twist to an old tale! 

Brian Serven is definitely a name to watch in the indie horror scene. You'll from his Q&A he's an artist of many talents, creating not just stories on paper but full visual and audio productions for them. You HAVE to check this out!

Here's the synopsis:

It’s Halloween night and as seething sweets seekers troll the streets, a local gang of outcasts known as the Ferals desperately search for their missing friend. Grandma Collins’ old-country stories about Stingy Jack have come true. The veil between the living and dead is thin and children’s souls are irresistible. The Ferals must face the thing that lurks in the dark to rescue their friend before it’s too late.

Delving into the lore of the jack-o’-lantern, most people adorn their porches and steps with carved pumpkins to ward off evil spirits. However, what if the pumpkin lanterns aren’t warding evil, what if they are attracting it? In this reimagined tale of the Celtic lore, the Ferals must find an Underworld wandering entity that collects children to trade their souls to the Devil.

I asked Brian Serven a few questions about the book, and you can read the answers below!

Q: In a genre where it seems like everyone is trying to come up with a new twist or a new feel, what inspired you to take on the seemingly challenging task of writing such a classic Halloween story?

A: The inspiration for Lore of the Jack-O’-Lantern, in part, came from attending an event called Long Story Short: Dark Tales at an art space in Portsmouth, NH. Three presenters shared stories of haunted house experiences, UFO sightings, and an excerpt from a local author’s horror novel. I shared with my brother that I thought it would be fun to write a story that would fit into a short time slot at an event like this – so, the audience could hear a full story and not just a small part. 

A year later, I received an invitation to share a story, which I agreed to do, although I didn’t have anything written yet. With just a few short weeks to come up with something, I decided that in the spirit of the season, I wanted to write something definitively Halloween-themed. General horror has no season, so I started thinking about the roots of Halloween and its rituals. Pumpkins carved with leering faces really epitomizes Halloween, more than any other icon. 

That’s when I came upon the lore of Stingy Jack and carved turnips. Like many oral stories later written down, there were variances in the details of the stories, but the common thread was compelling. Naturally, I took some liberties with his story – one being that for Jack to encounter pumpkins, like we carve here, he had to be in the Northeast during the era of the story. The overall approach though was a nod to the timelessness of innocent children facing universal fears. 

 I read a much shorter version at the Dark Tales event and then was invited to read it on a radio show a month later. Once Halloween was over, I removed all time constraints and allowed myself to follow the characters and let the story grow and mature. Contrary to impressions, it wasn’t written for children, but because it was written to be read before a general audience, it is accessible to everyone. 

 After the book was published, I was able to perform the live reading with character actors reading dialogue, illustrations projected on a screen to be seen as the story is told, sound effects triggered, and I wrote seven original music interludes that were played live between chapters. The essence of the live performance was captured in the audiobook, which is more like a radio play. The live performance element was also the reason I chose to write it in present tense, which I know is unpopular, but I wanted listeners and readers to feel the urgency. 

 So, really, perhaps the deepest driving inspiration is wanting to create an immersive experience. I wanted adults (and children who would one day be adults) to feel nostalgic, to long for the place and time, to remember their childhoods, and to be able to come back to it because it's not about some mind-blowing plot twist, jolt or shock. This book tries to create a little world to lose yourself in as your shadows grow longer and Jack Frost gives you a chill at night. 

Q: What are some of your favorite urban legends and well-known scary stories? Did any of them serve as inspiration when you were writing Lore of the Jack-O-Lantern?

A: I trust that growing up in southeastern New Hampshire, really the center of New England, played a role in imbuing my psyche with tales of horror and the macabre. From the fears of the indigenous peoples who strived to live in harmony with the land and spirit world, to the migrating old-world fears of early Puritans and Protestants that were mixed with new world unknowns, to the unrelenting shore lines, dark valleys, towering mountains, and foreboding forests, and finally to authors like King and Lovecraft weaving tales of madness and ancient evils – it’s hard to pin down specific means of inspiration.

 I’ve always been fascinated with the origins of lore, myths, fables, and hymns. With these influences in mind, I composed an extension to the last song on the audiobook, He Just Keeps Coming, that features voices including my own, family members, friends, and children. 

One of the liberties I took with Stingy Jack is that as he wanders looking for prey, he whistles a somber tune. In the audiobook you can hear the melody (if you can call it that) throughout the story. There are two songs that feature the melody. The first is We Saw Jack, where in the middle of the building song, there’s a break, the melody is played on guitar before the drums kick in symbolizing the kids running. 

 The second song, He Just Keeps Coming, features the melody combined with the words, “Like the plague, he just keeps coming.” The idea behind this is that (in my own world of Stingy Jack) when Jack would come along to snatch children, townsfolk would hear the eerie melody in the air as he left. They remembered the melody and coupled it with the words, “Like the plague, he just keeps coming.” The parents of future generations sang those words, using his melody as a tale of warning. Hoping that if their children heard the melody, the words would leap into their minds, and they’d run home to safety. 

 Q: Are you working on anything new? Is there any intention to continue writing spooky tales that are fun for all ages, or can we expect to see different things from you?

 Before writing Lore of the Jack-O’-Lantern, I had taken a step back from a hardcore band I’d been in for a couple decades called BACKSTABBERS INC. The audiobook version of Lore of the Jack-O’-Lantern allowed me to bridge storytelling and music, which I’d really missed composing. I’m sort of swinging on a pendulum between storytelling and music composing. 

 Like most artists, I have an untold number of ideas and projects, but at the forefront, there are two literary projects I’m dividing my time between.

 One is a flash fiction / short story / lyrical prose collection named Nocturnum Malorum that will be home to stories like “Agora”, which is about an entity that secretly visits victims at night (Nocturnum Malorum translates to “Night Troubles”) and scrambles their minds creating what would be diagnosed as agoraphobia. It’s a lofty project that would require visual artistic talents beyond my skill set to capture the essence of the stories as well as many of the lyrical prose pieces would be accompanied by music, which I’ve been slowly working on. 

The other major project is a novel that I had shelved to prioritize Lore of the Jack-O’-Lantern and the subsequent audiobook production. I’ve been ruminating on the potential of it being part of a series that addresses my views of the afterlife, told through three novels. The other two novels have been outlined and parts written, but I really need to nail down the first. I will be seeking BETA readers for the first novel in early 2025. The content is undoubtedly more mature than Lore of the Jack-O’-Lantern, though I trust if categorized, these books would be considered Quiet Horror, a subgenre often considered accessible, which was also the approach to Lore of the Jack-O’-Lantern.

You can purchase the book, along with a physical CD of the audiobook, on Brian Serven's Etsy shop here. You can also find the audiobook digitally on Bandcamp and other vendor sites.

Baba Yaga by CS Jones

 Happy Release Day, CS Jones!

Baba Yaga is CS Jones' third book (he's also featured in the Bloody Hell Anthology), and he's a name you're going to want to get familiar with. Jones, an indie author from Wales, is a newer addition to the indie horror scene, publishing his first work (Colours) in March of this year. His books all currently stand at 4.5-star ratings and above, which is no easy feat. Readers applaud his ability to draw you in and force you to keep reading, creating an atmosphere of dread that's impossible to turn away from. He's just getting started, so get in on the ground floor and see for yourself why readers can't put his books down.

The synopsis for Baba Yaga is as follows:

From C S Jones comes Baba Yaga, a new novelette just in time for Halloween.

Deep within the darkest recesses of an old Slavic forest, a band of German deserters are on the run. Disillusioned and scared witless, they have fled the Eastern Front, their goal to return to their families and start anew.

Unfortunately for them, the tales of the local witch, the Baba Yaga are more than just backwoods superstition used to scare children. She is elemental, an evil so ancient, to cross paths will bring about a terrible price. Soon, their goal will not be about escape, but about survival, and the Baba Yaga is watching every step.

Here's a short Q&A with Jones:

Q: What was it about the lore of Baba Yaga specifically that made you want to write a story inspired by it?

A: I've always loved tales grounded in this world. Okay, maybe it is just that, a tale. But there's a familiarity to it all. People recognize the world and its rules. Also, I'm new to all this, and while I have also added my own creations to my work, I felt having my own spin on something familiar was a great way to showcase what I'm about.

Q: This isn't your first book centered around an urban legend/popular myth. Have you always been interesting in these types of stories? 

A: I love lore and the darker aspects to this world. It makes me curious as to how these old tales and beliefs might be interpreted if encountered in the modern age. Also, there's a certain terror in its uncertainty. With the world at your fingertips with phones these days, it's a reminder that there used to be a lot more mystery in the world. 

Q: Are you currently working on any other projects? Is there any other lore our there that you're keeping in mind as inspiration for future books?

A: There's a novel done that's looking at early next year release and also a folk horror tale I'm hoping to have out in time for Christmas. We'll see, I suppose! Those aside, there's certainly a handful of stories I want to tell. I may or may not have jumped the gun and got the covers already!

I love a unique twist that offers something new based on stories we know. Urban legends and lore are beloved for a reason; they're the tales that kept us up at night, peeking through the covers at our closet, ready to leap up and run to mom and dad at the slightest creak of the floorboards or groan of the pipes. If you're after that same feeling, check out CS Jones' books. You can grab yourself a copy of Baba Yaga today by clicking here.

Incantations of Blood by S.R. Fischer

"Welcome to Shady Grove: a ton where horrifying family secrets and coming of age just might be the end of you."

Debut novelist S.R. Fischer has caused a stir in the indie horror community with the release of her book, Incantations of Blood. Having released on September 27th, early reviews are absolutely outstanding, and readers are blown away by the storytelling talent Fischer exhibits. It seems as though she's set the bar quite high, and something tells me she'll be pushing that bar a little bit higher with each work we see from her in the future.

Here's the synopsis of the book:

Celia Dickenson finds herself alone in the forest, searching for a missing woman. Minerva Penderghast performs a seance at the behest of a grieving family, only to reap disastrous consequences. Maeve Baudelaire is reeling from the unexpected loss of her mother.

For these three women, all roads lead to Shady Grove.

But ancient demonic forces are stirring deep in the forest surrounding the small town, clamoring for sacrificed souls to slake their thirst. Armed with a cursed book and knowledge of the occult, can an unlikely group of friends save Shady Grove from a threat that's been festering for centuries? Welcome to Shady Grove: a town where horrifying family secrets and coming of age just might be the end of you.

And here's a short Q&A with S.R. Fischer about her book and what we can look forward to from her:

Q: Congratulations on your debut novel! Where did the idea come from for Incantations of Blood?

A: I've always wanted to be a writer since I was a kid. Incantations of Blood was born from a desire to flip the script on women in horror and really have a strong female protagonist as well as a female-centric storyline. There's also a couple fun nods to my friends, family, and my hometown thrown in.

Q: Occultism is a favorite subgenre of mine. Have you always been interested in the occult? 

A: Yes! I love all things dark and macabre, and the occult is one of my favorite subgenres. There's so much you can do within the genre without everything getting stale.

Q: What inspirations did you draw from for this book? First and foremost, I drew from my family. Mrs. Graham is modeled after my mother, and some of the recipes are real things that she cooks! I then drew from what I would want to read and figured out how to tie it all together.

Q: Incantations of Blood has been getting rave reviews all over various websites and social media. Can you describe what that feels like as a first-time novelist?

A: I have been absolutely blown away. Indie publishing is hard, and building your name and gaining visibility is one of the hardest parts. You can have the best story, but it doesn't matter if you don't find readers. Seeing the response to Incantations of Blood has been overwhelming and brings me such joy. It's now two weeks post-launch, and Incantations is sitting at a 4.9 on both Goodreads and Amazon, and I am just floored.

Q: What are you planning next?

A: I have a secret project coming out next year, and then two novels also hopefully coming out next year. The first is going to be a rework on my Vella, The Babydoll Killer, which wraps on 10/10, and I am hoping to launch that in the spring. I am also working on a third novel to hopefully debut late fall next year. I want to keep turning out quality stories for my readers and also write a short fiction piece for my Patreon followers each month.

Small-town horror really seems to be staking its claim as a top trope in indie horror right now. What's not to love about a town with terrible secrets where everything goes wrong and chaos ensues? Throw in a little occultism and a strong female character, and I can see why Incantations of Blood is making its rounds in the community. You're going to want to read this one and get familiar with S.R. Fischer's work. This isn't the last great story we're going to see from her. You can purchase it here. 

Skeletons by Chisto Healy

 

This post is going to look slightly different than the posts I normally do. I wasn't quite ready to post this book. Chisto Healy and I touched based back in August of this year when I was gathering a list of upcoming releases, and he had two set for September. Skeletons released on September 15, and Toxic Maternal with CA Baynam released on September 20. I had sent Chisto the Q&A questions for both books and received the ones for Skeletons, but he was going to work on the Toxic Maternal ones with his co-author and get back to me. That was before the hurricane.

Chisto and his family have endured complete devastation due to the recent hurricane. The power went out for a long period of time, cash in inaccessible, and the entire city was sent into a tailspin. Chisto is personally dealing with downed trees and damage to his home that will likely take some time to repair. Hearing this absolutely breaks my heart, as Chisto is one of the kindest people in the industry. He deserves all the support in the world, and I encourage everyone to go purchase his books.

So, without further ado, let me tell you about Skeletons.

When the police discover the body of a gay man locked in a closet, they call in help from PI Paulie Paisano (Price Slashers) and his new partner, Taylor Conroy (We're Still Here), because this is just the beginning. In this city, there are far more skeletons in the closet.

Here's a little Q&A about the book and Chisto's writing:

Q: I think it goes without saying that you write a TON! Your work is featured in numerous anthologies, and you often collaborate with other authors. What is it about Skeletons that made you decide to write this one as a solo novel?

A: The thing about this book is it's actually a collection of things I've previously published that create one big story when put together. I'm building my own universe (the Healyverse?) of hard-boiled gore, and maybe I'll eventually let other people write in that world, but first I want to establish it. The first novella is my part of the Price Slashers book (three different authors with the same prompt), and then the next story is my story from the anthology We're Still Here, which I would still urge people to pick up because all the proceeds go to the Trevor Project, and the other stories are amazing. Then the last novella I wrote for the Books of Horror LGBT book box as a limited edition release. I put them all together in one book, as they have common characters and themes. It ties to my book Two of a Kind, which is still my most popular and hopefully leaves people excited for the next one.

 Q: What’s your process for choosing which stories to collaborate on and which to keep for yourself? 

 A: Usually, I decide to collab with someone before we have a story. It's just about working with that person. Sometimes we have a cover that we are inspired by. Sometimes they come to me and ask if I can help with something, and I almost always say sure. When I have an idea of my own, I just dive in unless there's someone I really think would fit the particular story and I have to ask them. My son brings me his stuff to type up and embellish. I don't count those as collaborations though because he literally can't do it himself yet. I'm sure when he gets older and doesn't need me to do it, he'll run free. 

Q: The description for Skeletons tells us “this is just the beginning.” You’re also reintroducing some characters you’ve used in other stories. Can readers expect more books in the future taking place in this universe? 

A: Yes. Absolutely. I've discovered that this is a genre I absolutely love to write in and that's why I started making it a universe. I'm excited to get to the next book actually, but it won't be until next year. It will be the official sequel to Two of a Kind and directly connect to Skeletons.

Q: Your story ideas are incredibly unique, and your son has had some great ideas of his own! You have another child that is a talented artist as well, right? How do you foster that creativity and love of horror day-to-day in your family? Is that something that comes naturally to them?

 A: Yes. My son Elliot is an insanely good painter and illustrator. He wants to make movies. My oldest is a singer/songwriter and is extremely talented as well. Boe has an endless imagination and will be writing books for years to come. It definitely comes naturally to them. I don't need to foster creativity in them. They gravitate to it. As for horror, the only one in the whole family aside from me that likes horror is Boe. I definitely raised him on creativity and he came over to horror on his own. It's actually funny how much he loves spooky scary things. He said he can't wait to be grown up so he can watch and read all of it. I told him not to rush it!

As you can see, Chisto is a creative mind, a solid person, and a great dad. His family, along with many others, don't deserve what they're going through. Please consider purchasing Skeletons here, or take a look at his other titles on his Goodreads page here or in his Amazon author info here. You can also donate to the hurricane relief through a variety of organizations, including Beloved Asheville, or purchase from the Cajun Navy's Amazon wishlist. The more grassroots, the better.

Consequential By T.C. Parker

Happy Release Day, T.C. Parker!

"What do you think is worth killing for?"

Consequential is the third installment in T.C. Parker's Hummingbird Murder Mystery series. For those familiar with Hummingbird and To Coventry, you already know that Parker's writing style is witty, thoughtful, and pulls you right in. According to ARC reviews for Consequential, readers can expect more of the same. Consequential is a unique venture into the worlds of both true crime and mythology, bringing readers a story that they might find hard to compare to anything else, and that's truly exciting!

Here's the book's synopsis:

Fresh from her recent foray into crime-solving, demonic fallen god (and would-be detective) Sunny is back from Coventry - with a debt still owed to the murderous ghost, Lady Godiva, and now a giant mythical pig in need of babysitting on her to-do- list.

What she needs, more than anything, is a nice hot bath and an episode of Poirot.

Fate, unfortunately, has other plans. As does her newest human ally, Jonas.

Plans that will lead Sunny down a conspiracy-riddled rabbit-hole of murder, mutilation and moral philosophy - and give her a brand new reason to dust off her fedora and go chasing after the perp.

T.C. answered a few questions for me regarding Consequential and her writing.

Q: You blend a lot of elements into Consequential that we don't see together often, namely true crime and mythology. How did the idea for Consequential come about? Was there ever a concern that it wouldn't all come together the way it did? I imagine a mash-up like that takes some considerably creativity to do well, which you've managed.

A: I absolutely love crime fiction - the twister and more intricate, the better! Long before I wrote Hummingbird (not long after I finished Saltblood, my first book), I wrote a crime trilogy about a group of female con artists in '90s London, and one of the things I most enjoyed was plotting their elaborate heists, concocting the final reveals... and having them all change identities every few scenes as they moved between cons. So I had a sense after that that I'd come back to crime at some point.

It didn't occur to me when I was writing Hummingbird that there'd be spin-offs or sequels. Without going into spoilers, some aspects of the ending felt very much like the book was closed! But I really enjoyed writing Sunny, the stranded demigod who's simultaneously fascinated by everything she sees and doesn't give a fuck about any of it, and whose ethical compass is... quite different than you'd expect of most protagonists. Once I started thinking through the story that became To Coventry and I realized I wanted to write something about the Lady Godiva myth and this medieval folk legend coming back to seek revenge... Sunny felt like the right character to explore it with. Not least because she's thousands of years old, so would have a better handle than most on communicating with the ghost of an 11th century noblewoman!

I can't say I was every massively worried it wouldn't come together... but mostly because I'm a plotter, and pretty much every chapter I write (sometimes scene by scene, and beat by beat) is mapped out in great detail before I ever start writing! The thought of sitting down to write without a roadmap terrifies me.

Q: Consequential is the third book in the Hummingbird Murder Mystery series. For readers new to the series, can the books be read as standalones? If so, what elements do you maintain in each book to ensure they remain obviously in the same universe while also being their own unique stories?

A:To Coventry and Consequential can definitely be read apart f rom Hummingbird, I think. They're very different tonally. Hummingbird is absolutely a horror novel, whereas To Coventry and Consequential are kind of horror/murder mystery/comic fantasy hybrids with as much emphasis on the comedy as the horror.

The consistent thread is the characters, specifically Sunny and Jonas, who also survived the events of Hummingbird and, though mostly off-page in To Coventry, comes back with a bang in Consequential. I love those characters to death; as a writer, I'd follow them anywhere, through any genre (or genre mash-up). Hopefully at least a few readers will feel the same!

Q: Can we expect more from the Hummingbird universe? What other projects, if any, have you been working on?

A: You definitely can! I've already tacitly mapped out a fourth Hummingbird book, which - without giving too much away - is likely to explore a lot more of Sunny's past and some of her misadventures across the last six millennia from Mesopotamia to the court of Henry VIII (anyone who knows me knows I love Anne of Cleves, so I daresay she'll find her way in there somewhere too). 

Before that, though, I have a standalone crime novel out next year with Nefarious Bat, the small press I set up this year with my partner, Shauna McEleney (Awake the Night). It's called Tradwife, is a fictionalized true crime story in the Ghosts That Ate Us/Penance mold... and explores the aftermath of a mass murder in the UK's first (and completely fictional!) purpose-built Tradwife community. It's a little bit Stepford Wives, a little bit Handmaid's Tale, and while there are no supernatural elements in it per se, there's enough gore, hopefully, to satisfy horror lovers.

I'm also working on what I think will end up being a body horror/eco horror novelette, but I'm barely 3,000 words into it, so who knows where it'll end up? Most of my stories seem to take a detour along the way, no matter how many plans I make for them...

As a lover of both horror and mythology, this installment of the Hummingbird Murder Mystery series sounds perfect! With sky-high ratings on Goodreads, the entire series is worth the read. You can pick up Consequential here, and while you're at it, grab the other books too!