#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway #128: Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

This week I have a copy of one of the most surprising titles of the year and I gave it a STAR in Library Journal. Details below, but first, here is how you 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 #127. Our winner was Lauren from Carteret County [NC] Public Libraries. Now on to today's giveaway.

Chuck Tingle is famous for his small press and self published titles as much as he is for his anonymity. He has legions of fans. I highly suggest you visit his website because it is a work of art and will tell you so much about him. Here is a short version of is bio:

Chuck Tingle is a mysterious force of energy behind sunglasses and a pink mask. He is also an anonymous author of romance, horror, and fantasy. Chuck was born in Home of Truth, Utah, and now splits time between Billings, Montana and Los Angeles, California. Chuck writes to prove love is real, because love is the most important tool we have when resisting the endless cosmic void. Not everything people say about Chuck is true, but the important parts are.

From my Goodreads  review:

Three Words That Describe This Book: neurodiverse MC, cinematic, religious cults 

Draft review: Rose, a senior in high school, is a member of the Kingdom of the Pines, a church with deep ties to her local community and a national reputation for running Camp Demascus, a LGBTQ conversation camp with a 100% success rate. While hanging out with friends, Rose sees a decaying woman at the edge of the wood, wearing a red polo and nametag, as if she is at work, and she is staring straight at Rose. Engaging, curious, kind, and proudly neurodiverse, Rose carries the story as Tingle meticulously introduces distrust and confusion, even going so far as to sew unease with single word choices, building a discomfort so pervasive that readers feel it engulf Rose, layering on more and more pressure until it literally bursts, threatening to destroy everything Rose holds dear. Bonkers in all the right ways, Camp Demascus is highly entertaining, cinematic and filled with awesome monsters (both human and supernatural), all of which will lure Horror fans to its pages, but what holds it all together is the immense love at the heart of the novel.

Verdict: Tingle has a huge cult following, and his mainstream debut does not disappoint. Suggest to fans of Horror featuring religious cults and authors like V. Castro or Hailey Piper who take well worn tropes and explore them through their marginalized perspectives, creating something breathtaking and wholly new.

This book got a star because it blew me away. I had no idea what to expect from Tingle, who is so tongue in cheek all of the time, I wondered what would happen in his mainstream debut. Well I had no need to worry. 

First, he blew me away with his technical skill. Here is an example. Very early in the story the word "Eldritch" was used by the main character. It was quick and made sense in the sentence. You could have easily missed it, but I noted its use because I thought it was a mistake. And guess what. It was NOT a mistake. In fact, it was a brilliant foreshadowing of a plot twist. Bravo sir.

Second, the story is, as I said above, bonkers in all the right ways. The demons, the plot, the horror, the action, all of it great and just askew enough from what you normally read in Horror to feel breaktakinglly fresh.

Third, one of his tagline is "Love is real," and my goodness does he show this in the story. It is all centered on love and that was beautiful. But this is not to say this book doesn't have violent and visceral action sequences because it does and they are great. It also doesn't mean that there is not real terror and hate here. There is. But in the end, it is love for the win.

Thank you to Tor Nighfire for the ARC for me to give away. Camp Damascus comes out July 18th and you need to order it now!

Also, this is my final giveaway during Pride month and I think it is the perfect way to mark the end of this wonderful month.

Good luck. Remember, you enter once you are entered going forward.  

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway #127: What Kind Of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman

This week I have a copy of one of the most anticipated Horror titles of the Fall, by an author whose  mainstream popularity is about to explode. Details below, but first, here is how you 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 #126. Our winner was Hannah from Mid-Continent Public Library [KS]. Now on to today's giveaway.

I read What Kind of Mother by Clay McLeod Chapman for the June issue of Library Journal

Three Words That Describe this Book: body horror, psychological horror, viscerally terrifying

At StokerCon Emily Hughes called it "Old Bay Gothic" and I am going to agree.

Reader beware, you may not want to eat crabs for a while after this book, even if like you are a HUGE fan of them. I had a lot of fun writing this review, but you need to know that this the book is more serious than it will appear at first. The emotional toll it will take on anyone who is a parent is strong as well.

Here is my draft review:

Draft Review: Madi is a palm reader in Brandywine, VA, deeply rooted in the Chesapeake Bay region. Having fled as a pregnant teenager, Madi returns so her 16 year-old daughter can connect with her birth father. While working at the local farmer’s market, Madi sees her high school boyfriend, Henry, a man who carries a heavy burden of grief. He has spent the last 5 years searching for his kidnaped infant while mourning the suicide of his wife. When Henry, still a person of interest in these cases, gives his palm to Madi, she experiences disturbing images of the water and the boy, visions that have physical manifestations. Chapman immediately introduces suspense, hooking readers with Madi’s engaging but increasingly unstable narration, confidently and deliberately steering the tone from uneasy to weird to absolute terror with a twist no one will see coming. A disorienting, immersive, and thought provoking contemplation of hope, grief, and guilt that traps readers in a net of visceral and palpable Horror from which they cannot look away no matter how much detritus bursts forth. But beware, readers may never look at a crab the same way again.

Verdict: With his 4th standout Horror novel, Chapman is becoming a not-to-miss author in the genre. Suggest this one to a varied audience of Horror fans from those who enjoy intense psychological tales like The Pallbearers Club by Tremblay, body horror like Frankenstein in Baghdad by Saadawi, and parental horror like Baby Teeth by Stage, but don’t forget fans of the pulp classic, Clickers series first written by JF Gonzales.

Thanks to Quirk for the ARC. I will be giving this one away to one person tomorrow, but if you are going to ALA Annual, there will be ARCs at the PRH booth. We had 100 at StokerCon and they went VERY fast. 

Best Horror of the Year So Far via Library Journal

Well lookie there, 9 of these 15 were my STAR reviews. Also, Chlorine, I gave that a STAR in Booklist. 

Glad to see Library Journal giving Horror their own list for mid-year to match the end of he year list as well. Order all of these for your libraries today!

Shining Stars | The Best Horror Books of the Year (So Far)

Castro, V. The Haunting of Alejandra. Del Rey: Ballantine. Apr. 2023. 272p. ISBN 9780593499696. $28.

Due, Tananarive. The Reformatory. Gallery/Saga. Oct. 2023. 576p. ISBN 9781982188344. $28.99.

Fracassi, Philip. Boys in the Valley. Tor Nightfire. Jul. 2023. 352p. ISBN 9781250879035. $26.99.

Fracassi, Philip. Gothic. Cemetery Dance. Feb. 2023. 408p. ISBN 9781587678400. pap. $18.99.

Kerin, Liz. Night’s Edge. Tor Nightfire. Jun. 2023. 288p. ISBN 9781250835673. $26.99.

Khaw, Cassandra. The Salt Grows Heavy. Tor Nightfire. May 2023. 112p. ISBN 9781250830913. $21.99.

Kingfisher, T. A House with Good Bones. Tor Nightfire. Mar. 2023. 256p. ISBN 9781250829795. $26.99.

LaRocca, Eric. Everything the Darkness Eats. CLASH Bks. Jun. 2023. 202p. ISBN 9781955904278. pap. $16.95.

McGill, C.E. Our Hideous Progeny. Harper. May 2023. 400p. ISBN 9780063256798. $32.

Pelayo, Cynthia. The Shoemaker’s Magician. Agora. (Chicago Saga, Bk. 2). Mar. 2023. 306p. ISBN 9781957957104. $27.99.

Song, Jade. Chlorine. Morrow. Mar. 2023. 256p. ISBN 9780063257603. $30.

Tingle, Chuck. Camp Damascus. Tor Nightfire. Jul. 2023. 256p. ISBN 9781250874627. $25.99.

Tremblay, Paul. The Beast You Are: Stories. Morrow. Jul. 2023. 368p. ISBN 9780063069961. $30.

Warren, Kaaron. Bitters. Cemetery Dance. May 2023. 80p. ISBN 9781587678707. pap. $10.99.

StokerCon Recap Up!

In the interest of time and after an exhausting but inspiring few day at StokerCon 2023, I posted the full recap on the main blog here. 

Please click through to read it. 

Eds Note 7/12/23: I added a link to my Bram Stoker Awards Wrap Up with readalikes for the Lineup.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 126: Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno Garcia

This week I have a copy of one of the most anticipated Horror titles of the summer, by a very popular author with wide appeal. Details below, but first, here is how you 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 #125. Our winner was Andy from Gail Borden [IL] Public Library District . Now on to today's giveaway.

This week I have the upcoming book from NYT Bestselling author Silvia Moreno-Garcia, entitled Silver Nitrate. Here is my draft Library Journal review from the June 2023 issue:

Three Words That Describe This Book: superlative world building, occult film, thought provoking. 

Draft Review: Montserrat is the only woman working as an audio editor in the old boys club of Mexico City’s b-film industry in the 1990s. Tristán is a former soap star whose life was turned upside down 10 years ago when he was disfigured in a car crash that killed his girlfriend and co-star. The two childhood best friends are barely getting by when they meet Tristán’s neighbor, one of their favorite cult directors, whose career was ruined when he was unable to complete a film for a Nazi occultist. The elderly director wants their help to finish the scene that holds the final spell that the occultist promised would bring them all great fortune. But once they agree, a dark magic is reawakened, revealing itself in terrifying ways, gaining a power that may be unstoppable. Told from both Montserrat and Tristán’s viewpoints, Moreno-Garcia effortlessly delivers the details of place and the friend’s complicated personal relationship without sacrificing the compelling pace and intriguing plot, one that comtemplates racism, sexism, and the allure of using magic to change your luck, even when you know it is the wrong choice.

Verdict: Moreno-Garcia has written both a love letter to Mexico City’s film industry and an excellent entry into the popular Horror subgenre of occult films. Suggest to fans of The Shoemaker’s Magician by Pelayo, Experimental Film by Files, and The Remaking by Chapman.

Good News, Bad News. Bad News first: the giveaway will be off next week because I will be at StokerCon. Good News: I will be coming home with dozen of ARCs all to give away to one of you.

Enter now and you are entered going forward. 

Good luck!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway 125: The Beast You Are by Paul Tremblay With Star Review Access

This week I have a copy of one of the most anticipated Horror titles of the summer, a book that is getting many STAR reviews [not just from me]. Details below, but first, here is how you 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 #124. Our winner was Keri from Somerville [MA] Public Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

Yesterday on the regular blog, I posted links to my June 2023 Library Journal Horror Review Column. I will have many of those titles to give away in the coming weeks, but today I want to start with one of my STAR reviews, The Beast You Are: Stories by Paul Tremblay. Here is my Goodreads posted review.

Star review in the June 2023 issue of Library Journal. 

Interview with Tremblay also included in that issue. [Link coming soon]

 Three Words That's Describe This Book: menacing. strong narrative voice, pervasively creepy 

 Draft Review: Tremblay returns with his second Horror collection, this time gathering 15 tales, some from award winning anthologies, others gems previously only available in smaller outlets, all of which will be enjoyed by long time fans and new readers alike. Showcasing his award winning brand of Psychological Horror, which, while never eschewing violence, derives its emotional terror from the characters, as he reveals a terrible truth and then makes readers watch as the characters must confront both the horror itself and their reactions to it. Every story, no matter the specific details, will break the reader's heart but ultimately leave them with hope. The new, titular novella which anchors this volume is a great example. Subtly nestled into his A Head Full of Ghosts universe, Tremblay presents an unsettling, anthropomorphic animal story, told in free verse, a captivating, visceral, and menacing tale that while fantastical is also clearly about humanity right at this moment. Readers will be unable to look away, even as they see themselves in the horror. 

 Verdict: Yet another not to miss release by the popular and critically acclaimed Tremblay, showcasing a discomfort that is reminiscent of Shirley Jackson, but also leading a new generation of authors who proudly work within Horror’s tropes while constantly striving to do something new and thought provoking with the genre such as Stephen Graham Jones, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Grady Hendrix, and Victor LaValle.

I am VERY tough on authors I know are excellent and this collection had to cross a high bar to get this STAR. It opens with one of my favorite Tremblay stories, the story that opened Ellen Datlow's amazing Echoes: The Saga Anthology of Ghost Stories, which I also gave a star too. There are also new to me stories in this collection, such as "Mean Time," which I am still thinking about. But it is the eponymous novella, original to the collection, which blew me away. Just read it. 

This collection has an excellent "Story Notes" section which are great for new fans of Tremblay but equally a treat for those of us who loves the connections between the stories in his universe. 

Remember, enter once and you are entered going forward, and going forward I have more titles from the column plus the ARCs I will be getting at StokerCon in 2 weeks. 

Good luck to all.