Here to kick off 2026, John Fram joins me in chatting about his two novels, The Bright Lands and The Midnight Knock! We chat about queer small town horror, the places these kinds of stories can take us, and how unique they feel within the landscape of The Bright Lands. We also venture into themes of claustrophobia, the uncanny, and breaking conventional rules when we discuss The Midnight Knock. I absolutely love the places John’s writing goes and the deeper examinations it offers about our own human horrors while still feeling grounded in compelling mystery. To keep up with John or to order a copy of his books, check out these links:

* John’s Website: https://www.johnfram.com/

* John’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john.fram

* To order The Midnight Knock: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Midnight-Knock/John-Fram/9781668069424

* To order The Bright Lands: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-bright-lands-john-fram?variant=39307413454882

A very, very big thanks to John once again for his time!

Welcome to the Anna Rose Reads mega-episode of the year! A very good friend, Trevor Williamson of the Sley House Presents Podcast, joins me to unpack 2025 in FULL. This is a big episode folks - we go off on some very fun tangents and talk about our biggest bookish influence these past twelve months. From Stars Wars to splatterpunk, we have lots of thoughts, and I do hope you all enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed having this conversation. Trevor is such a wonderful conversation partner, and I am oh-so thankful he joined me for this episode. To keep up with Trevor, check out the links below that were mentioned during our chat:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sleyhousepresents?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==

* Threads: https://www.threads.com/@sleyhousepresents

* Website: https://www.sleyhouse.com/sleyhousepresentspodcast

* Trevor’s Phenomenal Interview with Chuck Tingle:

This week, I’m sharing my conversation with Kristi DeMeester, author of Such a Pretty Smile and Dark Sisters which is hitting shelves today. We talk about how the novel came to be, Kristi’s decision to focus on distinct time periods within the novel, the plights her female characters face, and how they feel oh-so cyclical when looking back through history. I absolutely adore this book, and I am so thankful for Kristi’s time. If you’d like to order a copy of Dark Sisters or keep up with Kristi on social media, check out the links below:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristimdemeester/

* Website: https://www.kristidemeester.com/

* To Order Dark Sisters: https://read.macmillan.com/lp/dark-sisters-9781250286819/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQMMjU2MjgxMDQwNTU4AAGnZ4bSRLg4XhdU1Aw2be-rSmprL9tK8kNPzJt_CvOdcPreVNAhUdlxkY5xOu8_aem_rTiFL1UqiC9mGGtmzwCISw

The alpha and omega, Clay McLeod Chapman returns to the podcast to chat about his 2025 releases, Acquired Taste, Shiny Happy People, and more. While we kicked off the year chatting about Wake Up and Open Your Eyes, it’s a real delight to begin to bring this year to a close talking about first loves, tragedy, maintaining self, healing, Dave Matthews, REM, and axolotls. And then some. As always, getting to chat with Clay is a treat, and if you wanna keep up with him on socials/order his books, check out the links below:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/claymcleod/

* Threads: https://www.threads.com/@claymcleod

* BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/claymcleod.bsky.social

* Website: https://www.claymcleodchapman.com/books/

* To order Acquired Taste: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/790250/acquired-taste-by-clay-mcleod-chapman/

* To order Shiny Happy People: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/769642/shiny-happy-people-by-clay-mcleod-chapman/

Get your movie snacks ready and put the car in park at the drive-in. Haley Newlin joins me to chat about her latest release, The Film You Are About To See, horror in ever era, and where we hope to see the genre grow. Haley has an incredible voice, and I am so stoked I got the chance to talk to her about this story in particular. If you wan to order your own copy of The Film You Are About To See or keep up with Haley on socials, check out the links below:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/haleynewlin_author/

* Threads: https://www.threads.com/@haleynewlin_author

* BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/haleynewlin.bsky.social

* Haley’s Website: https://www.haleynewlinauthor.com/

* To Order The Film You Are About To See: https://madaxemedia.square.site/product/the-film-you-are-about-to-see-paperback-preorder-exclusive-packaging-/IRY2Y5PFMGBTDSQSM47YJZMZ?cs=true&cst=custom

Happy Friday, friends! Here’s a bonus episode I recorded with a very good friend of mine, Konrad Stump! He co-chairs HWA Libraries, including the Horror Writers Association’s summer reading program Summer Scares, and StokerCon Librarians’ Day, a full day of continuing education that connects authors and librarians and provides both with the necessary tools to engage communities with the horror genre. He also coordinates the Springfield-Greene County (MO) Library’s long-running “Oh, the Horror!” series, an annual celebration of the horror genre. His work has appeared in Library Journal, NoveList, and Booklist, and has been featured in Book Club Reboot: 71 Creative Twists (ALA) and The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Horror, third edition (ALA). We chat about his work with all of these programs, his own relationship with horror, and so much more. I’ve got links for you to check out below as well regarding a few things we mention during our chat! Huge thanks to Konrad for coming on the show!

* Follow Konrad on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/konradmstump/

* 2026 Summer Scares Press Release: https://raforall.blogspot.com/2025/10/hwa-announces-summer-scares-reading.html

* Oh, the Horror! Webpage and Newsletter Sign-Up: https://www.thelibrary.org/event/oh-the-horror

* Reach out to HWA Libraries Co-Chairs Konrad Stump and Becky Spratford via email at [email protected]

Guess who’s back?! Philip Fracassi returns to unpack The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre, a slasher set in a retirement community. We chat about portrayals of age in media and literature, the character work that absolutely makes this novel sing, and so much more. It’s a great hour and some change spent chatting with Phil about this really lovely book, and I hope you all enjoy it! If you want to order your own copy of The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre or keep up with Phil on social media, check out the links below:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/pfracassi/?hl=en

* Threads: https://www.threads.com/@pfracassi

* BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/pfracassi.bsky.social

* To Order The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250879066/theautumnspringsretirementhomemassacre/

2025 has been a year of stunning horror, and one of its major contributors with not one, but two releases is Sam Rebelein! He returns to the pod to chat about his novel, Galloway’s Gospel, unpacking the creativity around this very vibrant story. We also chat about how strange nostalgia can feel, Sam’s stunning characters in this book, and so much more. Getting to chat with Sam will make anyone’s day, and if you want to follow him on social media or order a copy of Galloway’s Gospel, you can do so here:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rebelsam94/

* Threads: https://www.threads.com/@rebelsam94

* BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/rebelsam94.bsky.social

* To Order Galloway’s Gospel:https://www.harpercollins.com/products/galloways-gospel-sam-rebelein?variant=43711485706274

If you think you saw that doll’s head turn a bit when you walked by, you’d probably be correct in the pages of Ally Malinenko’s latest novel, Broken Dolls. And I was fortunate enough to chat with Ally about the inspiration of the book, why dolls are so creepy, grief horror, writing to grab kids’ attention, and so much more. A HUGE thanks to Ally for her time, and if you’d like to pick up a copy of Broken Dolls or keep up with Ally on social media, check out the links below:

* Ally’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/allymalinenko/

* Ally’s Threads: https://www.threads.com/@allymalinenko

* Ally’s BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/allymalinenko.bsky.social

* To Order Broken Dolls: https://www.harpercollins.com/products/broken-dolls-ally-malinenko?variant=43406930804770

Happy Thursday, friends! Here’s a bonus episode on one of the most perfect books I have ever had the pleasure of reading, The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. While it’s taken me a minute to get around to reading this masterpiece, it is safe to say it’s stolen both my heart and mind. And accompanying me on this journey through the halls of Hill House is my good friend, Charlie Battison, or as you may know him on social media, barebonesbooks. A huge thanks to him for accompanying me on this twisty journey as we chat about both the novel and limited series adaptation by Mike Flanagan. To keep up with Charlie on socials, check out the links below:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barebonesbooks_/

* BlueSky: https://bsky.app/profile/barebonesbooks.bsky.social