#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 110: Mothered by Zoje Stage

Today I am offering a an ARC of a highly anticipated psychological suspense-horror hybrid by a rising star author. I reviewed this title in the January 2023 issue of Library Journal. 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 #109. Our winner was Aaron from Altadena Library [CA] District. Now on today's giveaway.

I have enjoyed everything Zoje Stage has written since her debut, Baby Teeth (and as you see below I think this book is especially good for fans of that title). Her last novel-- Getaway-- catapulted her into the mainstream. (Side note: for the record Wonderland is my favorite of hers.)

I read her upcoming novel Mothered (out 3/1) for my January 2023 Library Journal Horror Review column and greatly enjoyed it. As you can see from the review, this is a book that you can easily hand out far and wide to a large swath of readers. 

Here is that draft review with extra reading notes: 

Three Words That Describe This Book: claustrophobic, escalating dread, almost unbearable tension. 

Draft Review: What turns a person into a monster? That question is at the heart of Stage’s latest claustrophobic novel. When the Covid-19 pandemic begins, hairdresser Grace is laid off and her widowed mother, Jackie, moves in to help pay the bills. Grace and Jackie’s relationship is strained, dating back to childhood when Grace’s twin sister, born with cerebral palsy, was still alive. Told from Grace’s clearly flawed but sympathetic perspective and fueled by the disorientation of Covid isolation and frequent flashback dream sequences, readers watch helplessly as Grace’s mind completely unravels, leading to shocking violence. Opening with an ominous prologue, where a criminal psychologist is about to meet his newest patient, and closing with the same doctor, in an epilogue, whose observations terrifyingly hammer home the supernatural aspects of the story, Stage thrusts dread upon readers from the first sentences and continue to escalate the tension with every turn of the page to near busting proportions. 

Verdict: Stage latest feels like a nice bookend to her popular debut, Babyteeth. A great choice for fans of intense psychological horror, where nothing can be trusted, and where no one can look away from the emerging nightmare, such as in Now You’re One of Us by Nonami or The Unsuitable by Pohlig

Reading Notes: A pandemic novel with serious psychological horror. Unreliable narrator but also very sympathetic. The supernatural touches are just enough to add fear beyond the unraveling of Grace's mind. Lots of dreams and flashbacks that disorient Grace and the reader very well. Super ominous prologue and epilogue [but ominous for different reasons]

General comment: If you have read Baby Teeth, this novel feels like a parallel story. It is not a sequel in anyway, but they bookend each other well.

You gotta be in it to win it. Enter now and you stay entered in perpetuity.

StokerCon Librarians' Day Tickets Up For Sale NOW!!!

 I am happy to report that Konrad Stump and I have gotten the schedule-- with panel details-- up for StokerCon 2023's Librarians' Day. 

It is Friday, June 16, 2023 in Pittsburgh and it is only $75 if you sign up before March 1. That price includes lunch. We are also working to get all PA library workers CE credit if they would like. 

Also, as we do every year, we will have mountain for ARCs and SWAG for all attendees to take for FREE.

We would love to see anyone who can make the drive in for the day there. We can have up to 100 people. We have programming for all types of public and academic library workers. 

If you are a library person and you already registered for StokerCon, we have a $35 add-on ticket to cover the cost of lunch. 

Please forward this far and wide. We would love to see all of you there. Details below or go directly to the official webpage.

Sheraton Pittsburgh Hotel at Station Square

June 16, 2023

Pricing:

$75 by April 1 

$85 by May 15

$35 to add-on Librarians’ Day to your StokerCon 2023 registration

Click here to register 

8:30-9: Check-in 

9 - 9:50 a.m.: Buzzing About Horror Books, Moderated by Emily Vinci: Join members of the HWA’s Library Advisory Council as they share the buzz about a slew of exciting new and upcoming horror titles. Come for the booktalks; stay for the free books and swag!

10 - 10:50 a.m.: How to Feature Horror at Your Library, Moderated by Konrad Stump: Hear librarians from across the country share their experiences featuring horror at their libraries, from book discussions to writing groups to author events and more.

11 - 11:50 a.m.: Why I Love Horror, Moderated by Lila Denning: Join some of StokerCon 2023’s Guests of Honor for a lively discussion about why readers of all ages enjoy a good scare, from fictional frights to all-too-true terrors. Appearances by: Cynthia Pelayo, Alma Katsu, Daniel Kraus, Owl Goingback, Jewelle Gomez 

Noon - 1:20 p.m.: LUNCH: Grab a plate of delicious food and join your fellow attendees and presenters in casual conversation.

1:30 - 2:20 p.m.: Brains! Brains! Brainstorming Ways to Engage Your Community: Join HWA Library Advisory Council members in small group discussions to meet some of your fellow librarians, share experiences, and gather ideas for how to engage your community with the horror community.

2:30 - 3:30 p.m.: The Rising Popularity of Extreme and Erotic Horror, Moderated by Ben Rubin: Extreme horror is no longer lurking on the fringes of the genre. Some of the bestselling and most critically acclaimed Horror authors today inflict their scares through this lens. It's a subgenre libraries MUST carry on their shelves. It even has its own award. Appearances by Splatterpunk Award founders Brian Keene and Guest of Honor, Wrath James White, along with Eric LaRocca, V. Castro and Hailey Piper.

3:30 - 4:20 p.m.: Summer Scares: A Thrilling Summer Reading Program, Moderated by Becky Spratford: Join Summer Scares current and past selected authors, spokespeople, and partners to learn more about the HWA’s popular summer reading program, how to get involved, and how to use Summer Scares resources to better serve your patrons. Appearances by Daniel Kraus, Stephanie from Books in the Freezer, and more.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 109: The Shoemaker's Apprentice by Cynthia Pelayo

Today I am offering a copy of one of the books I gave a STAR review to in the January 2023 issue of Library Journal. 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 #108. Our winner was Merrilee from the Buffalo and Erie County (NY) County Library.

Now on today's giveaway.

I gave The Shoemaker's Apprentice by Cynthia Pelayo an unequivocal star in the January issue of LJ. Not only is this a compelling, gripping and haunting supernatural thriller, it is also filled with historical details about Chicago and its film industry history, AND it is a love letter to the genre of Horror itself.

Here is a link to my star review. It is free to access because it is a STAR.

But also, here is the text of my draft review:

The Shoemaker’s Magician by Cynthia Pelayo 

Bass, a homicide detective in Chicago, is called to a brutal murder on the stage of the Chicago Theater. The body was laid out with a poster for a famous occult film, one of the first horror movies ever made, a film with a dangerous mythology. Bass’ wife Polly, a horror film expert, is writing her dissertation on Chicago’s most elusive and famous horror host, Grand. Polly, the child of immigrants and a survivor of child abuse, has always found comfort in horror movies and magick and she has passed he love on to her autistic son Bela. But someone else is sharing dark stories with Bela, ominous fables that seem to connect the murder to his family, the history of horror films, and Chicago’s deteriorating movies palaces. The second in her planned series of connected novels, Pelayo employs the same enchanting mix of Chicago history, folklore, and haunting atmosphere, anchored by a strong female protagonist, as she takes readers by the hand, crafting a tale that fascinates and frightens, as awe and wonder battle darkness and evil, with an outcome foretold but still unexpected. Verdict: A gripping story filled with ghosts, mystery, and history that is a celebration of Horror itself, this novel has many excellent entry points of a wide range of readers, but especially those who enjoy creepy retellings of western folklore as written by authors like Helen Oyoyemi and books about occult movies such as Experimental Film by Files.

Pelayo also did an interview with me and I think it is one of the best I have offered to you all. Here is the link.

Enter now for your chance to win this ARC. The book comes out in February. Place your orders now, if you haven't already. And thanks to Polis Books for sending me a copy.

Over the next few weeks I will be offering many of the titles from my January LJ Horror Review column, so stay tuned.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 108: The Spite House by Johnny Compton

After a holiday hiatus, the #HorrorForLibraries giveaway is back in earnest. I have MANY great books to giveaway an we are beginning with a February 2023 debut that is getting a lot of buzz. Details below, but first, here are the rules 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 #107. Our winner was Jess from the La Crosse [WI] County Library.

Now on to today's giveaway which is The Spite House, a debut novel by Johnny Compton, coming out from Nightfire on 2/7, who provided this giveaway copy for all of you.

The Spite House got excellent reviews in both Booklist and Library Journal. Here are some excerpts.

From Booklist: 

"...the constant racial tensions, coupled with supernatural conflicts and a shocking twist near the end, make for a suspenseful page-turner. Great for fans of Tananarive Due, LaTanya McQueen, and Eden Royce."

From Library Journal: 

"VERDICT: One part road trip, one part family relationships, and one part haunted house, serve this update on genre staples to showcase the voice of a rising new writer to an audience that adores the classics."

Click here to read more about The Spite House, make sure you have ordered it for your patrons, and use the rules above to enter to win an ARC of your own. Remember, enter once, and you are entered going forward.

Good luck!

My 2022 Horror Book Highlights via The Lineup and News About More To Come

For the last two years, I have been hired to do a look back from the Horror fiction perspective by The Lineup. Here is a link to my 2022 Horror Book Highlights. It is organized into 4 major trends with 4 books in each category. Click here for the full article with annotations for each title, but for your immediate purposes, here are the 4 trends:

1. Short Scares Are Going Strong
2. Retellings: Everything Old is New Again
3. Verisimilitude is Terrifying
4. The Most Breathtaking Debuts are By Women

For context, here is 2021's Horror Book Highlights where the trends I presented were:

1. Queer Horror Moves Front and Center
2. Horror Fiction Framed as True Crime
3. Final Girls Fight Back
4. Marginalized Voices Reclaim the Troops of Old

Just like with awards and best lists, it always important to include a peek further into the past than just the immediate year in order to see larger trends emerging. Yes, I am talking once again about the backlist because the backlist is ALWAYS key to everything we do. It is not a shiny and sparkly as the new books, bit it is key to serving readers.

I have another announcement that involves The Lineup. As you can see here, I have written a column for The Lineup sporadically over the last year. But as of yesterday, I have agreed to a formal contract to write 4 pieces for them in 2023 as part of my "From the Haunted Stacks" column. The agreed upon topics for 2023 are:

• Middle Grade Horror for Adult (March)
• Stoker Awards Wrap-Up (June)
• Horror Cover Artists (September)
• 2023 Horror Trends and Highlights (December)

We are also still discussing another series of posts which focus on.....you guessed it....backlist titles!

I am very excited about  my formal arrangement to be a part of what editor Lisa Quigley is doing with this website. It is reader focused, and they love promoting the backlist, so the content is extremely useful for you as you help patrons. The Lineup covers True Crime, Horror, and the Paranormal, so the reach is broad and popular.

Please consider signing up for their newsletter as well.

Until Thursday when the #HorrorForLibraries giveaway returns with a chance to win a hotly anticipated 2023 title from Nightfire.