Send us a Text Message. I’m back, partially rested and with some romance lingering in my soul. Good timing, cos this week’s episode focuses on the heart as well as the blood that it pumps.    Isabel Cañas returns to the show to talk about her second novel, Vampires of El Norte – a sweeping historical love-story set against a backdrop of class tumult, war and … yeah… vampires. It’s not a spoiler guys – it’s in the title!   Isabel speaks so eloquently about the relationship between vampirism and cultural legacy, about how it isn’t only the undead who invade your space and drain your essence. She describes the intense, insane schedule of writing the book, how landscape invites the supernatural, Mexican boogeymen and boogeywomen, and historical fiction as feminist conundrum.   Enjoy. With heart, soul and viscera.    Vampires of El Norte was published on August 15hth by Berkley   Books mentioned:  The Hacienda(2022), by Isabel CañasMexican Gothic (2020), by Silvia Moreno GarciaLone Women (2023), by Victor LavalleIsland Witch (forthcoming 2024), by Amanda Jayatissa  Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

160 – Isabel Cañas & Many Types of Bloodsucker

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Send us a Text Message. Paul Tremblay returns to Talking Scared on a long orbit, like that fabled Planet X that’s going to kill us all.    He’s back after two years for another discussion of horror aesthetics, introspective terrors and mixed-media nightmares – this time in Horror Movie, his meta-take on cursed cinema and lethal creativity.    Horror Movie is about young filmmakers and the shoot that marks them all, even unto death. It’s also about the making of art, the machinery of fear and the cynicism of Hollywood. But beneath all that self-reflexive interrogation, it’s also just a damn creepy story. And Paul talks to me about all of it.   Note – there is jet lag aplenty in this episode. An arms race of confusion and forgetfulness. It makes for a good time. Bear with us.   Enjoy   Other books mentioned:The Pallbearer’s Club (2022), by Paul TremblayA Head Full of Ghosts (2015), by Paul Tremblay“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” (1966), by Joyce Carol OatesGreasy Lake and Other Stories (1985), by T. C. BoyleThe Stand (1978/1990), by Stephen KingA Better World (2024), by Sarah LanganCurdle Creek (2024), by Yvonne Battle-Felton  Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

198 – Paul Tremblay & The Book is Better

Send us a Text Message. Elle Nash’s Deliver Me ruined my week. In the best possible way.   This book, about a woman so desperate for a child that she does truly terrible, no-good things, contains some of the bleakest, most brutal scenes I’ve read in a while. And it’s not even really being treated as a horror novel.    Elle and I talk about that.   We also talk about the hot-button topics of the novel, the patriarchy, the toxic Christianity, the… insect erotica! But we also discuss her wandering heart and the empathy and provocation that drives her work.   It’s a lovely, laid back conversation about a challenging book.   Enjoy   Other books mentioned:   Geek Love (1989), by Katherine Dunn Violent Faculties (2024), by Charlene Elsby Frisk (1991), by Dennis Cooper   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

197 – Elle Nash & Insects in the Ozarks

Send us a Text Message. Todd Keisling can write the hell out of a short story. So well, in fact, that they may convince you to resist a bully, stop going to church, or tell your boss to f**k off!    Cold, Black and Infinite is full of liminal tales of the between-places. Cosmic “Otherness” that defies religion or belief. Corporate soul-hells that take everything you have…and more.   Weird then, that they are so fun.   Todd and I talk about all of that connective tissue between his stories. Plus, we map The Southland, this “pocket cosmos” of weird Appalachia that is destined to be the stage for the next era in his career.   It’s a blast. And this conversation is the anti-corporate, anti-fundamentalism, anti-bully screed you’ve been waiting for.   Enjoy.   Cold, Black and Infinite was released September 2023, By Cemetery Dance    Other books mentioned:Ugly Little Things: Collected Horrors (2017), by Todd KeislingThe Final Reconciliation (2018), by Todd KeislingDevil’s Creek (20200, by Todd KeislingIn the Lake of the Woods (1994), by Tim O’BrienThe Raw Shark Texts (2007), by Steven Hall‘Salem’s Lot (1975), by Stephen KingThe Bad Book (2021), ed. by John D. Taff (contains “Gethsemane”)The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters (2002), by Chip KiddThe Ceremonies (1984), by T. E. D. Klein  Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

196 – Todd Keisling & The Eras Tour: Horror Version

Send us a Text Message. Something new for me this week. A bold venture into uncharted territory.    The graphic novel!!   As is proper, I’ve started with one of the best. Emil Ferris joins me to talk through the creation of her landmark epic, My Favourite Thing is Monsters. Volume 1 came out in 2017 to rapturous acclaim, and now, Volume 2 picks up exactly where that story of cute werewolves and cherished monsters let off. This is an EVENT!!   Emil talks me through this alternative form of storytelling. She tells me about the laborious process behind the books, and how it saved her life (literally). Most of all though, we talk creativity, and how art and monsters are the things that will preserve humanity.   Enjoy.   My Favourite Thing is Monsters is released May 28thth from Fantagraphics    Other books mentioned:   Maus (1986), by Art Spiegelman The Talisman (1984), by Stephen King and Peter Straub The Shape of Water (2018), by Guillermo del Toro and Daniel Kraus Whalefall (2023), by Daniel Kraus   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

195 – Emil Ferris & The Patron Saints of our Imperfection

Send us a Text Message. Believe it or not, there is more to life than just books. Very little, granted… but there is more.   Talking Scared: Off Book is a chance for this show to spread its wings a little. To fly further, wider, deeper into the world of horror and come back carrying different kinds of guests in our bloody beak!    (ok, I may have stretched that metaphor too far).   Basically, I’ll be talking, now and then, to other kinds of horror creatives. Filmmakers, actors, musicians, podcasters, designers, comic book artists, whoever the hell takes my fancy. I hope you’ll enjoy it.    This first episode features Phil Nobile Jr. Editor-in-Chief of Fangoria, and a man with his finger on the bloody pulse of the genre. We talk about films, journalism, how to market horror and, yes, of course, a few books.   This is a good episode for the hopeful journalist.   Enjoy!   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

160 – Isabel Cañas & Many Types of Bloodsucker

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