The ARC Party

I’m giving away 25 bookplates signed by Paul Tremblay. All you have to do is pre-order your copy of HORROR MOVIE using my bookshop.org affiliate link, and tell me about it!

Step 1: Pre-order using THIS LINK

Step 2: Email [email protected] and tell me your Bookshop order number, and your mailing address.

The first 25 orders using my affiliate link will have a bookplate signed by Paul sent to them. Yay free stuff!

*fine print: Because I’ll need to do some back and forth shipping with Paul, these will likely ship out to everyone closer to the release date of HORROR MOVIE. No personalizations.

The last time I talked to Paul was for the release of his book Survivor Song in 2020, and a lot of things have happened in the mean time. It was nice to get some time to catch up, talk about life, and dig into his amazing new book, HORROR MOVIE.

It’s almost 90 minutes. We talk about HORROR MOVIE, Eric Larocca, superfans, publishing way back in 2011, and a lot more. I know you’re going to enjoy the conversation, and you’ll love the book.

Coming soon: A special episode with Josh Malerman!

For the folks who prefer YouTube viewing:

FIRST LIGHT is coming out on April 23rd! It’s the much-anticipated sequel to Kerin’s debut novel NIGHT’S EDGE.

First thing’s first: Order FIRST LIGHT right now! And if you’re new to Liz, you can also order NIGHT’S EDGE at the same time, on my Liz Kerin list on Bookshop

Now that that’s taken care of. If you haven’t done so, go back and listen to my interview with Liz for NIGHT’S EDGE.

I don’t know if you know, but vampires are back, in a big way. Leading the charge is Liz Kerin, with her breakout duology about a young woman named Mia, who is navigating a world where vampires are among us, but they’re not welcome. And oh yeah her mom is one, but nobody knows, so she has to be mom’s source of food or she’ll go away. NIGHT’S EDGE established Mia and her struggles with her family secret, and FIRST LIGHT takes her out into the world. All Mia wants is to be a normal person, but she’s haunted by her a past she can’t let go of, and she wants answers.

I really loved these books, and in this episode I got to dig into some of the themes of FIRST LIGHT with Liz. We talked about love, forgiveness, rebellion, and a lot more. And I say “really cool” in this episode enough times that, looking back, I’m a little embarrassed. I need to be better with my choice of words.

Since it’s a duology, I’ll share links to both of the episodes on YouTube, for you visual types:

NIGHT’S EDGE

FIRST LIGHT

The trilogy is complete, so it’s time to bring you our third and final deep dive into the books in the Indian Lake trilogy: THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE. With this installment, that brings the deep dive talk time to about six and a half hours, and I must say that we could have talked so much more!

For the sake of ease, here’s all the YouTube versions of the episodes all together, so it’s easy to access:

MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW

DON’T FEAR THE REAPER

THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE (spoiler warning!)

Hey, while you’re here, why not but some of SGJ’s books!

Here’s a little treat, since I’m gathering a bunch of stuff together. I thought it would be cool to look back at all of my coverage of Stephen Graham Jones over the years. Turns out, it’s a lot!

Since July of 2011, I have interviewed Stephen four times. Additionally, I’ve done ten full book reviews of SGJ books. However, I know there were other episodes where we talked about Jones’ work, but it would take time to find those poorly-labeled episodes. Missing from the following list are conversations about THE ELVIS ROOM, THE NIGHT CYCLIST, ATTACK OF THE 50FT INDIAN, NIGHT OF THE MANNEQUINS, and probably others I’ve forgotten.

All the SGJ episodes I could come up with:

* Zombie Bake Off (2012)

* The Last Final Girl (2012)

* Zombie Sharks with Metal Teeth (2013)

* The Least of My Scars (2013)

* Not For Nothing (2014)

* Mongrels (2016)

* It Came From Del Rio (2019)

* The Only Good Indians (2020)

* All The Beautiful Sinners (2021)

* Demon Theory (2018)

* Interview 2011 (Booked.)

* Interview 2014 (Booked.)

* Interview 2020 (Booked.)

* Interview 2023 (The ARC Party)

There is so much more. I’ll probably do a follow up post on Substack just to make sure I’ve gathered all of my thoughts. But for now, that’s a lot to chew on!

Eric Larocca is a master of exploring the boundaries of horror, and often going beyond them. His upcoming collection THIS SKIN WAS ONCE MINE AND OTHER DISTURBANCES consists of two longer, novella length stories, and two shorter ones. If we’re talking overall theme, Eric says that this book is looking into the concept of human connection.

Along the way, we get some fetishes, some deaths in the family, visiting childhood trauma on others, and some elderly men doing unspeakable things. It’s a great collection, and I can’t wait for everyone to read it!

Until then, please enjoy my conversation with Eric. In addition to talking about big scary things, we talk about inspirational authors (including a whole lot of Paul Tremblay), Moms who support us, and a lot more.

For those who prefer video to audio, here’s the YouTubes:

Stephen Graham Jones has two books out this year. One of them is the third book in the Indian Lake trilogy, THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE. It’s the epic conclusion to an amazing story. What better way to celebrate its arrival, than to take a closer look at all three of the books. So, that’s what I decided to do.

Greg Greene - a noted Stephen Graham Jones scholar. He’s managed to collect all of Stephen’s published books (not an easy task), and is working his way through finding collections, etc. that Stephen has been published in. Greg has read about half of SGJ’s books.

Greg’s also the guy behind the Jade Daniels is my Final Girl shirt, which you can get at jadeshirt.com

Jesse Lawrence - Been reading SGJ since the early 2000s. In Jones’ own words, Jesse has probably read more of Stephen’s writing than almost anybody. Including things never published. Jesse has been enthusiastically championing SGJ for decades.

We love the book, we love Jade, and we hope you love our conversation/celebration of the book.

Stay tuned for our final deep dive! We will be recording a discussion of THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE closer to the release date. Be warned, this is a full discussion, with spoilers, so please don’t listen until you have read all of the books.

Cynthia Pelayo’s love for Chicago and its history and people is on full display in this sweet, creepy, sad, entertaining novel. As a Chicagoland native, it was so fulfilling to be able to picture the places she mentions, know the culture of the people that fill the book. But, that’s lucky me for knowing the area.

You don’t need to know Chicago to fall in love with this book. And I was lucky enough to get some time with Cynthia to talk about things it made me feel, some inspirations for the story, and how we need community, and family, and empathy, and love in our lives. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to have such a great conversation with someone I just met!

I encourage everyone to get their pre-orders in for this asap, because it’s a great book. While you’re at it, you may also enjoy her other novels which also incorporate elements of Chicago and fairy tales. I’ve got a nice convenient list for you to shop right here!

For the folks who like video over audio:

Chloe Spencer wrote a hell of a novella with MEWING. A young hopeful model and social media influencer finds her way into an influencer enclave, and will do anything to make her dreams come true.

It’s a commentary on ambition. It makes us think about what we sacrifice when we create our online personas. It turns our stomach - all while being an entertaining and fun story.

Chloe has had a hell of a couple years, publishing two novellas already in 2024, and a couple last year too. She’s one to look out for, and I’m especially looking forward to reading AN AFFINITY FOR FORMALDEHYDE.

Pre order MEWING and buy Chloe’s books here!

Watch the video version on YouTube:

Stephen Graham Jones has two books out this year. One of them is the third book in the Indian Lake trilogy, THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE. It’s the epic conclusion to an amazing story. What better way to celebrate its arrival, than to take a closer look at all three of the books. So, that’s what I decided to do.

Greg Greene - a noted Stephen Graham Jones scholar. He’s managed to collect all of Stephen’s published books (not an easy task), and is working his way through finding collections, etc. that Stephen has been published in. Greg has read about half of SGJ’s books.

Greg’s also the guy behind the Jade Daniels is my Final Girl shirt, which you can get at jadeshirt.com

Jesse Lawrence - Been reading SGJ since the early 2000s. In Jones’ own words, Jesse has probably read more of Stephen’s writing than almost anybody. Including things never published. Jesse has been enthusiastically championing SGJ for decades. Jesse is in the acknowledgements for MY HEART IS A CHAINSAW.

We love the book, we love Jade, and we hope you love our conversation/celebration of the book.

Stay tuned for more deep dives!

The deep dive of DON’T FEAR THE REAPER will release in late February, and the deep dive for THE ANGEL OF INDIAN LAKE will release in March, in the lead up to the release.

2024 is here!

I know I’ve been planning my reading for the year for a while now. How about you? Are you in need of some recommendations? I have just the thing! It’s The ARC Party’s first ever Horror Preview episode!

The reason this episode exists is because Emily Hughes aggregates a ton of information about forthcoming horror books every year, and posts a comprehensive, and frankly amazing list of them for everyone to use! You can find it here:

Becky wanted to celebrate the launch of the list by diving into some of the titles we’re excited about, so the three of us got together and did a month by month round table, talking about books we’re looking forward to.

Don’t worry! I know you’re going to want to do some shopping, so I made it super easy to pre-order these books, by putting together a list on bookshop.org. You can find it here

Here are all the books mentioned, their authors, and their current publication dates. If you want to read more about them, go to Emily’s list. If you want to preorder these books, go to my list!

January

This Wretched Valley by Jenny Kiefer - Jan 16

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase - Jan 23

The Best Horror of the Year vol 15 edited by Ellen Datlow - Jan 16

Midnight on Beacon Street by Emily Ruth Verona - Jan 30

The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden - Jan 30

You, Me, and Ulysses S Grant by Brad Neely - Jan 23

February

Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine - Feb 6

Eynhallow by Tim McGregor - Feb 22

What Feasts at Night by T. Kingfisher - Feb 13

The Butcher of the Forest by Premee Mohamed - Feb 27

The Book of Love byKelly Link - Feb 13

Mewing by Chloe Spencer - Feb 27

March

The Haunting of Velkwood by Gwendolyn Kiste - Mar 5

Bury Your Gays: An Anthology of Tragic Queer Horror edited by Sofia Ajram - Mar 19

Forgotten Sisters by Cynthia Pelayo - Mar 19

Mouth by Joshua Hull - Mar

April

First Light by Liz Kerin - Apr 23

Bless Your Heart by Lindy Ryan - Apr 9

Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina - Apr 16

The Skin Was Once Mine and Other Disturbances by Eric LaRocca - Apr 2

May

The House That Horror Built by Christina Henry - May 14

The Z Word by Lindsay King-Miller - May 7

The Angel of Indian Lake by Stephen Graham Jones - Mar 26

Supplication by Nour Abi-Nakhoul - May 7

Ghostroots by ‘Pemi Aguda - May 7

June

Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman - Jun 25

Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay - Jun 11

The Eyes Are The Best Part by Monika Kim - Jun 25

Youthjuice by E.K. Sathue - Jun 4

Cuckoo by Gretchen Felker-Martin - Jun 11

hope you enjoy our discussion, and it gets you excited about some of the books coming in 2024. Pre-ordering is crucial to the success of new books, so I encourage you to do so generously.

Have a book you’re really excited about for the first half of 2024? Share it with me! I’d love to learn about more more more! You can reach out here, or I’m on all the social medias as @thearcparty

Here is the sixth, and final, LitReactor ARChive episode. In this one, I chat with the two head honchos of LitReactor about the genesis of the site, the goals of the site, and some of the highlights over the years. Peppered throughout are some call-in audio clips from contributors.

It’s a nice little tribute to the site, and a fitting goodbye. I appreciate everything it worked for and represented over the years, and hopefully people like having this peek behind the curtain.

You don’t want to miss the next episode! It’s the 2024 Horror Preview (Jan-June)!

Becky Spratford and Emily Hughes join me to look ahead to the first half of the year, and talk about some of the books we’re most looking forward to. It’s a great conversation.