#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 117: 2 Winners of the Hottest Debut Novel of 2023

This week I have 2 copies of the hottest but of the year courtesy of Clash Books. Details below, but first, here is 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 #116. Our winner was Nicole from Queens [NY] Library. Now to this week's giveaway.

My April 2023 Horror Review Column is now live [you  can access it all on the general blog here] and one of my STAR reviews is Eric LaRocca's debut novel, Everything the Darkness Eats. I LOVED this book. Clash Books sent me 2 ARCs, which means, we will have 2 winners this week.

Here is my draft review with 3 words from Goodreads:

Three words that describe this book: emotionally resonant, cosmic twist on small town horror, strong characters 

Draft Review: Adding a cosmic twist to the small town horror trope, LaRocca introduces readers to Henley’s Edge, where everyone knows each other, but also, a place where evil, both human and supernatural, has taken hold. Senior women have been disappearing without a trace. The local cop, Malik, is unable to find any leads, while simultaneously facing violent, homophobic attacks in his own home. Heart Crowley is a rich, funeral plot salesman who wants to help people find everything they are looking for in this life, if only they will go into his basement first. And then there is Ghost, an unlikely hero, a young man grieving a huge loss, literally stalked by guilt. Beginning with a terrifying prologue that makes the evil all are up against abundantly clear, and continuing to enhance the dread with scenes of palpable fear, deep-seated trauma, and visceral villainy, this remarkable debut will move readers through every possible emotion, with language that is in equal turns brutal and beautiful, and expertly built, messily realistic characters. Undeniably a tale filled with shock and disgust, but like the very best Horror, it is a story that seeks to elevate love and allow humanity to shine through. 

Verdict: LaRocca has seen viral success with his shorter works, but this novel demonstrates their growth as a writer. A perfect example of how the influx of writers from historical marginalized communities are actively mining the horror of their personal experiences to create terrifying, original and emotionally resonant works that speak loudly to all readers much like Hailey Piper, RJ. Joseph, and V. Castro.

Good luck. Remember if you enter once you are entered going forward, and there are a lot of good titles coming. Don't miss out. 

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 116: The Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror

Today in honor of the impending release of my friend and colleague, Robin Bradford's, Reader's' Advisory Guide to Romance, I am giving away a finished copy of my Horror book from the same series. Details below, but first, here is 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 #115. Our winner was Kelsey from the W. Anne Gibson-Esmond Station  Library [AZ]. Now to this week's giveaway.

Click on the image
for more info

As I mentioned on the general blog today, I am celebrating Robin's Romance book release by giving away a copy of my book from the series, The Readers' Advisory Guide to Horror, Third Edition,

There isn't much more to say here on about this book because this blog is literally the online home for this book, your free update to the print copy. I even have a page for the overflow titles I had to cut from the book here for free.

I believe that this book, and every book in the series (well the up dated ones at least), should be owned by every library in America. They are written to be used both as an equational tool for yourself AND as a go to resource to suggest books to readers on the fly. 

Enter today. This is a $65 value for FREE.

This giveaway is courtesy of me. But if you don't win, I highly suggest you order a copy of both my guide to Horror and Robin's guide to Romance. I promise you, they will help you to help your readers immediately.

And stay tuned because next week I will have 2 winners of one of the most anticipated books of the year, Eric LaRocca's debut novel. My STAR review will be appearing in the April 2023 issue of Library Journal. You don't want to miss  this one.

Good luck this week and every week going forward. 

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway This Week is Free to ALL

I am interrupting my weekly giveaway of a book to a single winner to offer you all something awesome.

The 2023 Summer Scares Programming Guide! You can click here to have full access to this beautiful, full color PDF courtesy of the Konrad Stump and his colleagues at the Springfield-Greene County Library District.

It is FREE. Every program idea, every book discussion question, each readalike, they are all FREE for you to use with your patrons all year long.

Click on the image below or here to enter the guide. You can also always find more information about Summer Scares at our Resource page here.

And finally, don't forget past year's program guides are just as awesome as this one. You can use any of them to promote Horror to all ages of readers today, tomorrow, this summer, next winter...all year long. We simply use summer as the hook, but these books and the programming ideas work any time of year. With 4 years of guides no available that is 36 titles, plus the 4 readalikes per title that gives you 144 titles vetted horror titles that you could use to build out a display tomorrow, one that will serve all ages of Horror fans. (And that doesn't even take into consideration other books by our chosen authors and the titles that are part of larger series). Links to past guides:

• 2022 Summer Scares programming Guide
• 2021 Summer Scares Programming Guide 
• 2020 Summer Scares Programming Guide

Horror is for all ages, anytime of year, and Summer Scares is here to help you suggest scary titles with confidence. Prepared book talks included.

If you have any questions or you want to book a Summer Scares author for a virtual visit to your library, email libraries at horror dot org.

Click here to access the guide

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 115: Novellas by Lee Mandelo and Carson Winter

After taking a break from the giveaway last week so that I could head to Disney World and watch my kid lead the marching band thought the Magic Kingdom, I am offering you all l2 books. 2 upcoming novellas, one from a major publisher and one from a smaller one, both good. Details below, 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 #114. Our winner was Crystal from Bear River [CA] Library. Now to this week's giveaway.

First up, a SF-Horror novella from Tor.Com by Lee Mandela whose novel, Summer Sons I really enjoyed in 2021. This new novella is entitled Feed Them Silence and it is chilling. From the cover copy:

Lee Mandelo dives into the minds of wolves in Feed Them Silence, a novella of the near future. 

What does it mean to "be-in-kind" with a nonhuman animal? Or in Dr. Sean Kell-Luddon’s case, to be in-kind with one of the last remaining wild wolves? Using a neurological interface to translate her animal subject’s perception through her own mind, Sean intends to chase both her scientific curiosity and her secret, lifelong desire to experience the intimacy and freedom of wolfishness. To see the world through animal eyes; smell the forest, thick with olfactory messages; even taste the blood and viscera of a fresh kill. And, above all, to feel the belonging of the pack.

Sean’s tireless research gives her a chance to fulfill that dream, but pursuing it has a terrible cost. Her obsession with work endangers her fraying relationship with her wife. Her research methods threaten her mind and body. And the attention of her VC funders could destroy her subject, the beautiful wild wolf whose mental world she’s invading.

My friend and colleague Anna Mickelsen reviewed Feed them Silence for Booklist here. From that review:

"Mandelo deftly illustrates the disintegration of a marriage while addressing serious questions: can a profit-driven company ever truly fund conservation? How much self-sabotage can a relationship sustain? Climate-fiction readers, Sarah Gailey fans, and folk-horror aficionados should all take note."

This is a great genre blend title by an upcoming author from the industry leader in speculative novellas. 

But wait, there's more.....

This past October, I featured a new and promising Horror Indie press during 31 Days of Horror, Tenebrous Press. You can click here to read more about them and their mission. 

They also have a SF-Horror novella coming later this month called Soft Targets by Carson Winter. This one is chilling both for the speculative aspects and because it feels way too real. Here is the cover copy:

You know that office bromance: two of a kind, always taking their lunch together, always wearing the same sly grin. Only ever a hair away from a cold joke about how spreadsheets are a living hell; about taking a bullet if it means going home early on Friday. Sometimes in these fantasies, they’re heroes being hauled out on a stretcher. 

Sometimes they’re the ones pulling the trigger. 

Now, say these guys discover a loophole that makes some days less real than others—less permanent—and start to act out their violent fantasies without fear of reprisal. Why shouldn’t they? Tomorrow, everything will go back to normal, with no one the wiser but them. 

They’ll always remember what it felt like to act on their basest impulses. They’ll know how it could feel to do it again. 

Maybe you don’t know these guys. Maybe you don’t want to. 

Soft Targets is a reality-bending novella about malignant malaise; the surrender to violence; and the addictive appeal of tragedy as entertainment. 

Contains graphic depictions of gun violence in the workplace; caution recommended.

Soft Targets is terrifying, a thought provoking title that takes our current reality and pushes it up just another notch to make it even more scary, which ultimately makes the world outside the book even more full of dread. You cannot read this book and not think about it. 

It has a Groundhog's Day feel, but more sinister. I would give this book to Blake Crouch fans without hesitation. That author readalike comp alone is why you should buy this book and have it for all of your Crouch fans. 

However, it's not just about the readalike, on its own this is a solid book. The direct narration makes the reader complicit in the story in a way that increases the terror, much like Anybody Home? by Michael Seidlinger (which I loved and am still thinking about the way it made me feel) or the upcoming Maeve Fly by CJ Leeds (for which I have a glowing review dropping in the April 2023 issue of LJ. 

Soft Targets is violent; the publisher has even included that content warning in the cover copy above. But it is also extremely thought-provoking. Like the very best SF-Horror combos, it keeps you hooked on the story while reading it, but then it makes you take a deeper look at your real present after.  

Get this book and Tenebrous Press on your radar. 

Enter to win this 2-Pack of SF-Horror novellas right now. And remember, you enter once and you are entered going forward. Good luck.