Ink Heist - A Podcast for Readers of Dark Fiction

This week, we bring you an exceptional holiday episode of Ink Heist. We're joined by Todd Keisling and Tracy Robinson in closing out the second season of the Ink Heist podcast. In typical Ink Heist fashion, this episode was filled with plenty of laughs and was a great way to close out 2020. It was a wide ranging conversation that covered a ton of topics and we think you'll find plenty of new artists to check out and some helpful writing tips. Just a few of the things we talked about this episode was the One of Us anthology and Frank Michaels Errington, the Monochrome series,  reading bad reviews, electrocution, snowstorms, and the Ladies of Horror Fiction #LadiesFirst 21 Challenge! To close out the episode, we each picked 5 of our favorite reads from 2020. There was so many great books released this year we could've done a whole episode just on that!

We had a blast recording this episode and it's always fun when all of us get together and just hang out. Also, thank you to all of our guests that have appeared on the show and for all of our listeners who have shown us an overwhelming amount of support since we started the show. We appreciate all of the kind words and shares more than we could ever put into words. Thanks for making Season 2 such a success and we have some great guests already lined up for 2021! We hope you enjoy the episode and maybe discover some new reads to ring in the New Year.

This week, we're excited to have the opportunity to welcome Hailey Piper back to the show to celebrate the release of her brand new novella, The Worm and His Kings, which is out now through Off Limits Press.  Hailey's work is highly imaginative, as she often takes familiar subgenres and crafts them into something completely her own with fresh, innovative twists. She has long been a favorite writer of everyone at Ink Heist and trust us when we say that whatever book you pick up first, you're going to want to carve out a few hours of spare time because her work is compulsively readable and grips you right from the front page. She's a master of both longer works and short stories and regardless of what sort of horror your into, Hailey has a story you're sure to fall in love with. We had a lot of fun talking to Hailey and as always, we take away some very valuable writing advice. One of our favorite takeaways was the inspiration for the title of this episode, the idea of not being afraid of trying new ideas.

Throughout the course of the episode, we talked about THE WORM AND HIS KINGS, Off Limits Press, creating a mythology, process, writing Monique, Cosmic Horror, cults, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy, Queen of Teeth, her love short fiction, book recommendations, and so much more. We had a lot of fun recording this episode and learned a lot from Hailey and we hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did.

This week we're excited to welcome Tim Waggoner to the show to discuss his latest book on the craft of writing, Writing in the Dark, which is out now through Raw Dog Screaming Press. Tim's a prolific author who is very familiar to horror fans and has published over 50 novels, 7 collections and numerous short stories in addition to teaching writing at the university level. This was an engaging conversation where we talk a lot about the writing process and some key moments in Tim's career as a writer and educator. All of us at Ink Heist have read Writing in the Dark and we agree that this is an absolute must-read for anyone interested in writing in the Horror genre or even if you just have an interest in the genre itself. It is loaded with great advice told in a conversational tone and exercises that will help you put these concepts into practice. Whether you're a new writer just getting started on their journey or a veteran author that's already been published, Writing in the Dark has something for everyone and is an essential addition to your shelves.

Throughout the course of the episode, we talked about the importance of reading, early influences, Tim's teaching career, finding your process, creativity, creating Writing in the Dark, writing in different styles, tie-ins, and so much more. We had a a lot of fun recording this episode and learned a lot from Tim and we hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did.

This week we're excited to welcome Christopher Golden to the show to discuss his latest book, Red Hands, which is out now through St. Martin's Press. Christopher is a familiar author to Horror fans and throughout his career has worked in a variety of different genres and mediums including video games, comics, and screenplays. Red Hands is his latest novel, which is the third book in the series of novels featuring the character Dr. Ben Walker, though all of them can be read as standalone novels. Red Hands is an unrelenting horror/thriller that's packed with action from start to finish, one hell of an opening emotional hook, and features a cast of characters that you can't help but be invested in. Trust us when we say this is a book you definitely want to add to your TBR and once you start, carve out a few hours because you won't want to put it down! Also, be sure to check out Christopher Golden's launch party for Red Hands with Alma Katsu on Dec. 8th at 7 pm EST courtesy of Belmont Books. Sign up for your spot here.

This week we're excited to welcome Steve Stred to the show to discuss his latest collection, Of Witches, as well as some of his other work. Steve's an indie author who is very active in the Horror scene whose works are compulsively readable and cover a wide variety of subgenres. We're relatively new to his work, but we've devoured everything we've gotten our hands on! If you're looking for a quick, action-packed read, definitely head on over to your bookstore of choice and check out some of his books. This was an engaging conversation where we talk a lot about his experience in writing and also his career as a bobsledder and trying out for the Olympics team. Throughout the course of the episode, we talked about the extremeness of Ritual, writing shorter fiction, the importance of direct criticism/reading negative reviews, how athletics prepared him for writing, his Andrew Pyper collection, chatting with Twitter bots and so much more. We had a a lot of fun recording this episode and we hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did.

This week we're excited to welcome Michael David Wilson and Bob Pastorella to discuss their latest novel, They're Watching, which is out now via This is Horror. Chances are if you're a fan of horror fiction, you're already well aware of both Michael and Bob as they host the podcast This Is Horror, which has run for 350 episodes and features interviews with some of the biggest names in the genre. It's a great podcast and one of the biggest influences on our show and if you aren't already a listener, head over and dive into some of their previous episodes. They also are accomplished writers, with Michael having recently released The Girl in the Video and Bob having released Mojo Rising via Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing. Throughout the course of the episode, we talked about They're Watching, dealing with negative reviews, the collaborative process, bourbon, Bob and Shane's Splatterpunk series, Knobrot and so much more. We had a a lot of fun recording this episode and we hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did.

This week we're excited to welcome Jason Brant to the show to discuss his work and all things Horror! This was the perfect follow-up to last week's episode with Hunter Shea as we had another hilarious conversation that had us all laughing until our stomachs hurt. Jason is the author of numerous books including the Asher Benson Series, The Hunger Series, and the West of Hell series. He's also the co-host of the Final Guys podcast, which is loaded with great recommendations and a must-listen for any horror fan. This was a great conversation that has a lot of great insight for any author who is looking to self-publish their work. Throughout the course of the episode, we talked about reading your own reviews, how Final Guys started, The Hunger 6, self-publishing, pressure from readers, meeting Kane Hodder, loving shitty movies, and so much more. We had a lot of fun recording this episode and we hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did. Now we've had 3/4 of the Final Guys on the show and it's only a matter of time before we get Jack Campisi on here!

This week we're excited to welcome Hunter Shea back to the show to discuss his latest novel, Misfits, which is out now through Flame Tree Press. Hunter was one of the first guests on the Ink Heist podcast back when we launched and we've been fans of his books for years. While Hunter has written a variety of different styles of horror novels, he is perhaps best known for cryptid and Creature Feature work and with Misfits, Hunter dials up one of his bloodiest and most extreme books yet. Hunter is a horror fanatic and he uses his encyclopedic knowledge of the genre to craft action-packed stories that are a blast to read and almost impossible to put down. He's also the co-host of the Monster Men and Final Guys podcasts, which are loaded with great recommendations and a must-listen for any horror fan. We've known Hunter for years and that led to an absolutely hilarious conversation that had us all laughing until stomachs hurt. Throughout the course of the episode, we talked about Misfits, Melonheads, ilk milk, his time playing in bands and so much more. We had a a lot of fun recording this episode and we hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did!

This week we're excited to welcome J. Daniel Stone to the show to discuss his latest novel, Stations of Shadow, which is out now through Lethe Press. We talk about his works, including Stations of Shadow, Blood Kiss, and The Absence of Light. Daniel is a must-read author and all three of those titles are must-read books.

Oh, and this is a must-listen episode. We had a blast with Daniel and, as usual, learned a ton of stuff along the way.

This week, we went a little off-script and decided to record an impromptu solo show, which was just what the three of us needed to unwind after a stressful week. In typical Ink Heist fashion, this episode was filled with plenty of laughs and I'm pretty sure the three of us had hurt stomachs from laughing so hard. It was a wide-ranging conversation that covered a ton of random topics and we think you'll find plenty of new artists to check out and some helpful writing tips. Just a few of the things we talked about this episode was the work of Kenneth Patchen, if we think about genre when we write, recommendations outside of the Horror genre, what type of fan-fiction we'd write, and more. We had a blast recording this episode and it's always fun when the three of us get together and just hang out. We hope you enjoy the episode and maybe discover some new artists.