#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 100: Five Books, Five Winners

Today is the 100th #HorrorForLibraries Giveaway. To celebrate, I have 5 ARCs to giveaway to five winners. Details on this week's giveaway below, but first, the weekly reminder on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #99. Our winner was Jamie from Boyle County [KY] Public Library. Now on to this week's giveaway.

Today's giveaway is courtesy of my HWA Library Committee Co-Chair, Konrad Stump, pictured here with the 5 books I have chosen for today's giveaway.

"Chosen," because Konrad organized dozens of titles, for all ages of readers, across every genre, for the Missouri Library Association Conference attendees, where I am with him right now [details on my presentations at this conference here].

Thanks to a variety of publishers there are many Horrors title here at the conference, titles that will be given out during our Horror RA presentation this morning. Konrad gracious allowed me to pick 5 books to share with all of you. 

The books are:

• Jackal by Erin E. Adams
• Gothic by Philip Fracassi
• Don't Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones
• Lute by Jennifer Marie Thorne
• White Horse by Erika T. Wurth

I will pick 5 winners in that order above. So the first number I draw gets Jackal and the second. Gothic and so on.

Good Luck!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 99: Wayward by Chuck Wendig

99th giveaway! Hard to believe even for me, the one who visits the post office every week to send the winners.

Well if there was every a time to start start celebrating it is as I inch toward my 100th giveaway here on the Horror blog. It all started back on April 30, 2020 with this giveaway of a book that would go on to win the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection. And here we are today, 29 months later on the cusp of my 100th giveaway [more on that giveaway at the end of this post] AND with October and my annual 31 Days of Horror just over a week away.

It seems the right time to go BIG and I am doing just that today with a giveaway of one of the "biggest" titles coming this Fall, big in both high anticipation and actual size. Details on this week's giveaway below, but first, the weekly reminder on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #98. Our winner was Christy from San Diego [CA] Public Library. Now on to this week's giveaway.

Wayward by Chuck Wendig is the highly anticipated sequel to Wanderers. Click here for my review of Wanderers. 

I read Wayward back in August and my GLOWING review will be in the October 2022 issue of LJ, but if you use this link you can get a preview. Spoiler alert....it is good. And it moves briskly even at 800+ pages. Here is one thing I really loved about the book from those review notes:

There was a heartbreakingly beautiful ending that not only tied up the world and the story but also was a nice payoff for those who were reading every word along the way. [Not going to spoil].

I am a sucker for a heartbreakingly beautiful ending but I also love when an author takes the time to make every detail matter. In an 800+ page book that is hard, but in my opinion, Wendig did that extremely well. Not just in the ending, across all 800+ pages this holds true. As a reader, that is very satisfying. 

I also want to use this time, as I have your attention, to tease an event I am moderating featuring Chuck Wendig, Gabino Iglesias, Linda Addison, Cynthia Pelayo, Hailey Piper, and Lisa Morton. It will be for the Book and Author Society on Monday, October 17th from 7-8:15 Eastern. More information soon, but it is virtual and FREE. I am super excited to talk Horror with this amazing range of authors.

ENTER NOW!

And now, as promised, we end today with news about next week. To celebrate giveaway 100 I will have at least 5 winners. I am considering more. And the giveaway is courtesy of my HWA Libraries Co-Chair Konrad Stump and his work for the Missouri Library Association Annual Conference. I will be there LIVE to grab some of the books he solicited for attendees and I will even be participating in a Horror Book Buzz [more on that on the general blog next week]. You don't want to miss that give away or this one for that matter.

Get on it. Follow the directions above and enter yourself. Again, once you are entered you stay entered until you win. And it is not just next week you want to be in for. I have another copy of Wayward to give away, at least 2 copies of Stephen Graham Jones' newest, a bound galley of the upcoming V. Castro's Big 5 release, books by Zoje Stage, Daniel Kraus, and so much more. 

And don't forget, 31 Days of Horror is coming October 1. You will want to visiting the Horror blog every day next month for all of your Spooky RA needs.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 98: Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

This week I have an ARC of one of he hottest books of the Spooky Season, by an author who just made the Library Reads Hall of Fame today with her third book. Let me remind you, the third time is the first time you are eligible for the HoF, so this is a BIG DEAL. Details and access to a star review of this title below, but  first, how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #97. Our winner was James from Clark County [KY] Public Library. Now on to this week's giveaway.

Rachel Harrison's third novel comes out in October. Her first two made the LibraryReads list, and when I saw her at ALA annual in DC this past June, I told her that I was predicting she would not only make the list again, but since it would be her third book on the list, she would enter the LibraryReads Hall of Fame.

She told me she had no idea there was a Hall of Fame and not to get her hopes up because being in a Library Hall of Fame for anything would be a dream come true. Well, I am happy to say I was right! And if you look at the October 2022 LibraryReads list you will see the proof!

In honor of this achievement, I am giving away my ARC of Such Sharp Teeth today. As if you needed more reasons to enter than this is a Rachel Harrison Werewolf novel, below is my colleague Jeremiah's Star review from Library Journal as well.

Thanks to Berkeley for providing the ARC at ALA Annual. 

 Harrison’s (Cackle) latest is a rip-roaring, bloody adventure that also explores the wounds trauma can leave on both the body and the psyche. Aurora has come home to help her pregnant sister when the unthinkable happens—Aurora is transformed into a werewolf. But that is just where the story begins. Through explorations of femininity, childhood, family, growth, and facing fears, Harrison crafts a compelling story that is extremely difficult to put down. Beyond the basic horror tenets that a werewolf story embodies, the novel also grasps the deeper consequences of transformation and trauma. The author’s style is gripping and will keep you reading way past your bedtime, although it instills enough gory goodness to make sure that your eventual sleep is troubled. 

VERDICT Any library looking to acquire a gut punch of a horror novel that will appeal to a broad audience would do well to add this to their collection. It will also appeal to fans of Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones and Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 97: Swedish Cults by Anders Fager

This week I have an ARC of the first English language translation of the author known as Swedish Lovecraft. I reviewed it in the most recent issue of Booklist. But first here are the details on how to enter: 

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #96. Our winners were Kim from Siouxland [SD] Libraries and Sara from Brandon Township [MI] Public Library. Now on to today.

This is an excellent release by one of my trusted publishers. 

Swedish Cults[stories]By Anders Fager

Translated by Ian Lemke and Henning KochSept. 2022. 232p. Valancourt, $29.99 (9781954321564); paper, $16.99 (9781954321571). First published September 1, 2022 (Booklist). 

With the success of their World Horror Anthologies, Valancourt continues their march to get the globe’s best Horror writers into more hands with the first English translation of the top Horror writer in Sweden. This story collection, first published in 2009, is best described as “Swedish Lovecraft.” The world he has created, while very much set in and influenced by his Nordic home, expertly draws off the established Lovecraftian universe, setting an atmosphere with each tale that steadily rises to existential terror as cosmic gods so pervasive and powerful, drawfs, even mock at times, the pitiful humans who hope to survive their wrath. A great example is the second story, “Grandma’s Journey,” an original tale of a journey across Europe, despite a tear in the universe that keeps getting wider. The repetition of the phrase “grandma’s going on a journey,” dozens of times, brilliantly adds another layer of unease. Also of note are the four “Fragments,” brief snapshots of atmospheric horror placed between each of the five longer stories. A must read for fans of 21st Century Lovecraftian Horror as written by those like Kiernan or Snyder.

Further Appeal: “Swedish Lovecraft.” – And that is not simply publisher marketing, Fager is the real deal. The Call of Cthulhu role playing game even uses Fager’s work for the Swedish edition of their popular game. So there's your book talk-- Swedish Lovecraft...'nuff said for a lot of readers.

But it is more that that though. It has an atmospheric tone that rises to the existential dread of the very best cosmic horror. It is also extremely grounded in its place-- Sweden. 

For those not as well versed in Cosmic Horror, here is a short snippet from my book, a piece of a quote from author and Cosmic Horror scholar, Mary SanGiovanni:

"In Cosmic Horror, there is a sense that the antagonistic force, whether evil or just utterly indifferent, is so pervasive and powerful, and of such a size and scope, that its very existence dwarfs the significance of humanity."

Three Words That Describe This Book: Lovecraftian, translation, strong sense of place

Readalikes: My book has an entire Lovecraftian/Cosmic Horror chapter. And I have a bonus list of titles that got cut from the book here. You have plenty of topics, but to the 2 readalikes included above I would also like to include The Gods of H.P. Lovecraft edited by Aaron French. 

Thanks to Valancourt for the ARC for this giveaway. And good luck! 

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 96: Sallow Bend by Alan Baxter...2 Copies!!!

This week I have 2 copies of a MUST buy title by one of Australia's most popular speculative fiction authors. It came out this week from Cemetery Dance. To celebrate, they are offering a copy to 2 lucky library workers. Details below, but first a reminder on how to enter: 

1. You need to be affiliated with an American public library. My rationale behind that is that I will be encouraging you to read these books and share them with patrons. While many of them are advanced reader copies that you cannot add to your collections, if you get the chance to read them, my hope is that you will consider ordering a copy for your library and give away the ARC away as a prize or pass it on to a fellow staff member.
2. If you are interested in being included in any giveaway at any time, you must email me at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com with the subject line "#HorrorForLibraries." In the body of the email all you have to say is that you want to be entered and the name of your library.
3. Each entry will be considered for EVERY giveaway. Meaning you enter once, and you are entered until you win. I will randomly draw a winner on Fridays sometime after 5pm central. But only entries received by 5pm each week will be considered for that week. I use Random.org and have a member of my family witness the "draw"based off your number in the Google Sheet.
4. If you win, you are ineligible to win again for 4 weeks; you will have to re-enter after that time to be considered [I have a list of who has won, when, and what title]. However, if you do not win, you carry over into the next week. There is NO NEED to reenter.

Click here to see giveaway #95. Our winner was Jen from Jupiter [FL] Branch Library. Now on to today.

The July issue of Booklist magazine carried my GLOWING review of Sallow Bend by Alan Baxter. It rated it 4.5 out of 5: 

School is out for summer, the Carnival has just set up, but the town of Sallow Bend awakens to darkness. Two girls from the high school have gone missing. When they return a couple of days later, they are now three, and yet no one but Caleb, the well-meaning, if socially awkward school janitor, thinks this is odd. Everyone claims they have always known the third girl, Hester, but no one can remember any details about her. Told from many points of view, but with a focus on Caleb and Tricia, a mother whose son went missing last year, Sallow Bend is an immersive, page-turner, where details about the characters, the place, and its eerie history, are effortlessly fleshed out, but paired with the unceasingly intensifying dread, quickly escalating from unsettling to terrifying and Baxter, already an award winning Horror author in his native Australia, seems poised to take over America as well. Suggest to readers who enjoyed other original entries into the small town Horror trope like Hex by Olde Heuvelt or Daphne by Malerman.

Further Appeal:  An excellent small town horror, page turner with folk horror elements. The sense of place is strong, and is huge part of what makes this book so immersive and awesome.

Multiple points of view add character development and increases the pacing. History of the town is VERY important. A Carnival in town as well-- for me personally this is a frame I LOVE!!!!

The tone begins very uneasily-- kids are missing but it escalates steadily and intensely to terror.

Missing children is the overall frame and there is harm to children, but it is not gratuitous.

Baxter wins awards and is very popular in his native Australia and this should be his coming out party in America. Buy this one. Your horror readers will love it.

This book was excellent-- 4.5 out of 5. The only things keeping it from 5 stars are-- I thought it took place in Australia because there were some words that are used in their version of English rather than American English, which was fine, but then somewhere in the middle Atlanta was mentioned and that threw me off. I was fine thinking it was Australia. This is editing, bit Baxter's issue and a very  minor detail because this could take place anywhere in any small town.

And this-- I don't want to spoil but there is a character from the Carnival workers who becomes important and I wish there was more time about who he really is and what power he holds. I'dd read a whole book about him. Maybe that is a good thing that I want more.

Three Words That Describe This Book: multiple points of view, small town horror, intensifying terror

Readalikes: This was Hex by Olde Heuvelt meets Daphne by Malerman. If you smooshed them together and added a carnival. Old school Stephen King fans will like it as well.

The focus here is on the adults, not the kids, and how they address the horror and come to terms with their own mistakes and choices. So while on the surface books like Something Wicked This Way Comes by Bradbury or even Children of the Dark by Janz may seem like comp titles, they might not be. For me they are, but those titles give the pov to the teens. This does not. I liked that and found it refreshing.

A must buy for every library. Just the Hex comp alone will draw in readers immediately.

This book is a PERFECT read for this weekend as well. It is set during those wanting days of summer, just as the carnival is making one its final stops of the year, and school is just going back into session.

Now a finished copy of this book could be yours, to add to your library collection immediately. I will be picking 2 winners Friday evening and Cemetery Dance will send the book directly to the winners. 

Good luck.