Send us a Text Message. I’m in literary hero territory again … at least this time it’s sunny!   My guest is Scarlett Thomas, the groundbreaking writer of PopCo, Oligarchy, The Seed Collectors and the (post)modern speculative classic, The End of Mr Y. She’s one of my favourite writers, who has never seen five or six separate genres she can’t mash together.   This time around we are talking “Hot Gothic” in The Sleepwalkers, a darkly playful tale of a vacation–and a marriage–gone horribly wrong.    We cover accidentally arriving at a structure, the many ways to build characters from scratch, the dark consequences of sex and desire taken too far – and we agree on how hotels are just inherently creepy.   Great book. Great guest.    Enjoy!   The Sleepwalkers was published on April 9th by Simon and Schuster   Other books mentioned:  The End of Mr Y (2006), by Scarlett ThomasThe Seed Collectors (2015), by Scarlett ThomasOligarchy (2019), by Scarlett ThomasOpen: An Autobiography (2009), by Andre AgassiThe Woman in White (1860), by Wilkie CollinsThe Moonstone (1868), by Wilkie CollinsGone Girl (2012), by Gillian FlynnThe Talented Mr Ripley (1955), by Patricia HighsmithHangsaman (1951), by Shirley Jackson  Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

188 – Scarlett Thomas & Hot Gothic

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Send us a Text Message. In the second Off Book episode we get out of our armchairs and go on a real adventure. Well, not really – but we talk to two people who do.   Danielle and Cassie are the hosts of National Park After Dark – a podcast catering to the “morbid outdoor enthusiast.” They have skyrocketed to success, with well-researches stories of murder, maulings and mad incidents out in the world’s national parks.    I’ve listened for years now and I’m delighted to finally get the chance to ask them all the questions… what is their favourite flavour of outdoor macabre? Is there a particular unsolved mystery that burns a hole in their brain? What’s the scariest thing they’ve encountered out there… and should we reintroduce wolves to the UK? (Yes!)   You don’t need to like the outdoors to enjoy this episode. Danielle and Cassie do the hard work for us.    Just enjoy!   Books mentioned:   Wolfish: Wolf, Self and the Stories we Tell About Fear, Ferocity and Freedom (2023), by Erica Berry A Bolt From the Blue: The Epic True Story of Danger, Daring ad Heroism at 15,000 Feet (2012), by Jennifer Woodlief The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (1999), by Stephen King Where the Dead Wait (2023), by Ally Wilkes Fire in the Sky: The Walton Experience (1997), by Travis Walton   Support Talking Scared on Patreon   Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com  Support the Show.

Off Book #2 – National Park After Dark

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.

188 – Scarlett Thomas & Hot Gothic

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