(Part 1 of 2) - Chapter 6 of The Crows by C. M. Rosens, 'Be Careful What You Wish For', in which Ricky Porter introduces himself and Carrie finds the priest hole.

Theme tune by Gemma Cartmell

This is part 1 of 2 so that the podcast episodes are all roughly an equal length. It's one of the longest chapters in the book otherwise! I'll be splitting all the long chapters up like this. I experimented with sound effects and I'm... not convinced, but this is my first ever time. I'm still learning

An interview with author Stefanie Simpson, discussing her cosmic horror/apocalyptic Gothic novel, WITWORTH DOOM BABY (2020). We also discussed #OwnVoices disabled protagonists in romance and erotic romance, kink and BDSM dynamics, and ways to reclaim positive disabled rep in the Gothic (and Romance!) through explorations of agency and power dynamics.

The fully formatted transcript with images and links is available at cmrosens.com.

Intro and Outro Music:

Netherworld Shanty Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Chapter 5 of The Crows, 'Something in the Attic', in which Carrie finds a music box and Guy brings a book.

THE CROWS has been reissued by Canelo Horror, 2024. GET YOUR COPY NOW!

Theme Tune by Gemma Cartmell

CWs: stalking, mild threat (can promise the dog doesn't die)

Chapter 4 of The Crows, The Grande Dame, in which Beverley returns the Green Man and Carrie gets suspicious.

THE CROWS has been reissued by Canelo Horror, 2024. GET YOUR COPY NOW!

Theme tune by Gemma Cartmell

CWs: (f) sexual arousal / mildly erotic dream

C. M. Rosens talks about two areas of town mentioned in Chapter 2 of The Crows: The 'new' estate, and Hangman's Walk. Featuring two short chapters from the 99p novel companion,Folklore of Pagham-on-Sea Vol. 1, 'The Meteorite' and 'The Punch and Judy Man of Hangman's Walk'.

Intro/Outro theme - Netherworld Shanty by Kevin MacLeod, CCBA3.0

CW for historic capital punishment (hanging/flaying), historic religious framing of plague/pestilence, and puppets [also the way the puppet show in question trivialised domestic violence for children's entertainment]. If you have a phobia of puppets but you don't know what Punch and Judy shows are, best not listen to the last section or Google it. Seriously.

Chapter 3 of The Crows, Meet The Locals, in which Carrie joins the History Society.

THE CROWS has been reissued by Canelo Horror, 2024. GET YOUR COPY NOW!

Theme tune by Gemma Cartmell.

CWs for body horror, grotesque taxidermy, maggots, and decomposition.

Chapter 2 of The Crows is A Town With Dark Secrets, in which Carrie gets a job.

THE CROWS has been reissued by Canelo Horror, 2024. GET YOUR COPY NOW!

Theme tune by Gemma Cartmell - find her on Soundcloud, bandcamp and YouTube.

Sound effects: Royalty Free on Spotify

CW for strong language, historic murder of a child, toxic abusive ex-partner, hints at off-page violence.

In this bonus episode, your basic local eldritch girl C. M. Rosens interviews author L. B. Shimaira (she/they) and reads an extract from her erotic horror novel, MY LORD, which was, at the time of this interview, published by Gurt Dog Press. After Gurt Dog Press closed, MY LORD was relaunched. You can now get your copy here: mylord.shimaira.com

The full interview transcript is available here.

MY LORD is a historical fantasy novel set in a fictional European country in 1239, featuring vampires, serfdom/medieval slavery, a castle full of dark secrets, a complex, blood-obsessed villain, and polyamorous relationships.

We chat about LGBTQ+ rep in our work, including bi/pan polyamorous and asexual/aromantic-spectrum representation, as well as mental health issues and writing sex scenes.

Bonus Episode Theme: Netherworld Shanty by Kevin MacLeod CCBA3.0

CW for mild eroticism (it's a tamer extract), blood and pain, and implied torture.

Chapter 1 of The Crows is read aloud by C. M. Rosens.

The Creepy Old House: in which Carrie Rickard has 33 days left to live.

THE CROWS has been reissued by Canelo Horror, 2024. GET YOUR COPY NOW!

CW: abusive relationship (emotional/psychological), mutilation and disembowelment, historic murder of a child.

Theme tune: Gemma Cartmell - find her on Soundcloud, Bandcamp and YouTube!

Sound Effects: Royalty Free on Spotify

A brief look at what's coming up in February, including the month's author interview with L. B. Shimaira, and some hints about the identity of the author (and their book) lined up for March. Can you guess who..?

Also - all the content warnings for The Crows (in case you missed them...)

Bonus Episodes and Trailers Intro/Outro music ~ 'The Netherworld Shanty' by Kevin MacLeod

Serialized Chapters of The Crows Into/Outro music

~ The Crows Theme by Gemma Cartmell

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit cmrosens.substack.com