Dark Waters

We're joined by the awesome Alexander James to go on many nerdy tangents and get a sneak preview of his debut novel The Woodkin. We also talk about complex timelines in writing, relative degrees of horror, and Nate's appalling lack of bookshelves.

Alexander spent most of his childhood in southern Germany, and then went to culinary school in South Louisiana. He’s worked as a chef in everything from atrocious mall restaurants to a northern Italian farm-to-fork joint with Michelin dreams. He started writing because he’s only got another ten years or so left in his knees. When he’s not sweating through a crushing dinner service, he’s either drinking Scotch whisky in front of his computer keyboard or backpacking...also with Scotch whisky. He is also the creator of the Critically Stupid Podcast, a comedy dungeons and dragons real play podcast, and the author of The Woodkin, which is scheduled for release in August 2023. 

You can find him on twitter or at his website, and preorder The Woodkin at Amazon or Barnes & Noble

Want to submit your writing or be a guest editor? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

We're re-joined by the amazing Jack Moody to discuss the ins and outs of the writing process, from editing to submitting, marketing, and dealing with rejection in a "nose to tail" look at the parts of writing beyond getting words on a page.

Want to submit your writing or be a guest editor? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

We're joined by Peter Farris to discuss finding inspiration in unique places, transitioning from horror to thriller writing, and rural noir stories. We also get a snippet of The Devil Himself, and discuss both the French and US publishing worlds, the relevance of luck, and the importance of perseverance.

Called a “serious new talent” by Barnes & Noble, Peter Farris is the award-winning author of Last Call for the Living, The Clay Eaters and The Devil Himself. Published in France to critical acclaim, The Devil Himself won Le Prix 813, Best Foreign Novel at the Beaune International Film Festival, was an official selection for the prestigious Grand Prix de Littérature Policière and named a finalist for Le Prix SNCF du Polar. Among other accolades the novel received starred reviews in Rolling Stone, Hebdo and Le Parisien, and was picked one of the best mysteries of the year by ELLE and L'OBS Magazine. Also published in France by Éditions Gallmeister, The Clay Eaters was praised in Le Monde, debuted on the Palmarès Livres Hebdo des libraires Bestseller List, selected a Bookseller Best of the Year by Palmarès Livres Hebdo, was shortlisted for le prix Libr'à Nous 2020 and was a finalist for the 2021 Le Prix Lire En Poche. In 2022, Arcade Crimewise published The Devil Himself in English worldwide and the novel will see an Italian translation courtesy Milan-based publisher NN Editore. The French translation of a new novel The Bone Omen ("Le Presage") was released this year by Éditions Gallmeister. Peter lives with his family in Georgia.

You can find him on Twitter.

Want to submit your writing or be a guest editor? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

We're joined by fellow Midwesterner Scott Mitchel May to discuss the categorization of Ohio, the twisted origins of some Arthurian legends, allowing readers to feel uncomfortable, and finding out twists as readers do. We also get a sneak preview of his debut novel Breakneck: or, it happened once in America, discuss the pros and cons of trying to plot map and how expectations within the publishing industry have changed from decades past to the 2020s.

Scott Mitchel May is a writer living in Madison, WI. His short fiction has been published in many literary journals including The Maryland Literary Review, HAD, W&S, Maudlin House, Bending Genres, and Rejection Letters. He was the winner of the 2019 UW-Madison Writers' Institute Poem or Page Competition in the category of literary fiction, and his unpublished novel, Bridgeport Nowhere, was shortlisted for the 2022 Santa Fe Writers' Project Literary Award. His debut novel, Breakneck: or, it happened once in America, was published by Anxiety Press in late April 2023. He is also the author of the novelette, All Burn Down, forthcoming in October 2023 from Emerge Press, and his second novel Awful People: a ghost story is coming in early 2024 from Death of Print Books. He holds a GED from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and a BS in English Literature from Edgewood College. He tweets @smitchelmay.

Want to submit your writing or be a guest editor? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

In which we discuss After The Lights Go Out by John Vercher, mental health, the toll that contact sports take, and one-star reviews. Also the cost of entertainment, conflicting character motivations, and balancing multiple issues within a story.

If you want to hear from the author himself, check out his appearance on NPR's Fresh Air.

Trigger warning:

This episode contains discussions of mental health, including self-harm and suicide. If you are struggling, please know help is available.

If you are in the US, call or text 988, or visit https://988lifeline.org/

If you are in the UK, call 0800 689 5652 or visit https://www.spuk.org.uk/national-suicide-prevention-helpline-uk/

Want to submit your writing or be a guest editor? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

We're joined by author Adam Godfrey to discuss his novella, Narcissus, crossing genres, being a panster vs a planner, and myth retellings. There are also several side tangents involving music, movies, and music in movies.

Adam Godfrey hails from Chesapeake, Virginia, where he lives with his wife and three daughters. He holds over twenty years of experience working for the United States Department of Defense in information technology and cybersecurity risk management. He holds a master’s degree in cybersecurity, and his professional contributions to the field have been internationally featured across a variety of media platforms.

In fiction, Adam is a novelist and author of short stories. His genre-crossing work ranges from the suspenseful to the horrific, frequently characterized by central threads of plausible science and technology gone awry.

Want to submit your writing or be a guest editor? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

We are joined by the a brilliant new name on the horror scene, Rae Knowles, to talk about narcissistic love interests, the tragedy of plot butterflies fluttering away the second you have the ability to write, and taco bell erotica. We also get a sneak preview of The Stradivarius, talk about her nonfiction piece in Nightmare Magazine, and more accurate definitions of the word "gaslighting."

Rae Knowles (she/her) is a queer woman with multiple works forthcoming from Brigids Gate Press. Her debut novel, The Stradivarius, debuted May ’23, her sapphic horror novella, Merciless Waters, is due out November ’23, and her collaboration with April Yates, Lies That Bind, in early ’24. A number of her short stories have been published or are forthcoming from publications like Dark Matter Ink, Nightmare, Seize the Press, Taco Bell Quarterly, and Nosetouch Press. Recent updates on her work can be found on her website and you can follow her on Twitter.

Want to submit your writing? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

We're joined by the wonderful James D.F. Hannah who regales us with tales of Mississippi tornado warnings, southern noir writers, if Falkner is a crime novelist, and his latest release Somewhere Outside Salvation (A Grifter's Song Book 32). We also get a sneak peek at the story and hear about the process of writing a piece in the Grifter's Song series (as well as a few other music references).

James D.F. Hannah is the Shamus Award-winning author of the Henry Malone series, including the novels Behind the Wall of Sleep and She Talks to Angels. His story "No Man's Land" was selected for Best American Mystery and Suspense 2022, edited by Steph Cha and Jess Walter. His short fiction has appeared in Playing Games, edited by Lawrence Block; Under the Thumb: Stories of Police Oppression, edited by S.A. Cosby; Trouble No More; Rock and a Hard Place; Shotgun Honey; Crossing Genres; and The Anthology of Appalachian Writers. He lives in Louisville, Kentucky, where all the bourbon is.

Want to submit your writing or be a guest editor? Email [email protected]

Intro/Outro music: www.bensound.com

Disclaimer: Any and all opinions expressed are the opinions of the participants and not of the organizations or institutions with which they are affiliated.

We're back to kick off a new season with the delightful Robert P. Ottone to discuss his new book, The Vile Thing We Created, friendships as they evolve over time, twisty or not-so-twisty endings, and supporting the indie writing community. We also get a sample of his new book and talk a lot about the decision to have children vs. being child-free.

Robert P. Ottone is the Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of THE TRIANGLE. His other works include HER INFERNAL NAME & OTHER NIGHTMARES (an honorable mention in THE BEST HORROR OF THE YEAR VOLUME 13) as well as the suburban folk horror novel, THE VILE THING WE CREATED.

His short stories have appeared in various anthologies as well as online. He’s also the publisher and owner of Spooky House Press.

He can be found online at SpookyHousePress.com or on Twitter/IG: @RobertOttone

He delights in the creepy and views bagels solely as a cream cheese delivery device.

We are joined by Scott Blackburn to discuss his novel It Dies With You, the dichotomy of characters from different backgrounds, the line of preaching vs. storytelling, and proper baby shower etiquette. We also get a snippet of It Dies With You, talk about the boundaries of adolescent characters in adult fiction, and staying true to personal experience. 

Scott Blackburn is an English instructor and a 2017 graduate of the Mountainview MFA program. He lives in High Point, North Carolina with his wife and two children. When he is not writing and teaching, Scott enjoys training in combat sports such as boxing, Muay Thai, and Ju-jitsu, in which he holds a black belt. His debut novel, It Dies With You, was released on June 7, 2022. Scott has also contributed to publications such as Crime Reads, Mystery Tribune, and Shotgun Honey.

You can follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

Want to submit your writing or be a guest editor? Email [email protected]