#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Celebrating Halfway to Halloween with Elizabeth Broadbent

Today I have a special giveaway to celebrate that we are Halfway to Halloween (give or take a few days). Author on the rise, Elizabeth Broadbent has offered 2 finished copies of her book, Ink Vine: A Gothic Sapphic Novella to 2 lucky winners. Not only will I have more about Broadbent and her book below, but I also asked her to be a part of my Why I Love Horror series to share her connection to the genre as well. More on that below, first here are the rules for the giveaway:

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 the previous giveaway. Our winner was Mike from North Canton [OH] Public Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

As I mentioned above, over on RA for All I am celebrating Halfway to Halloween with a Why I Love Horror essay by Elizabeth Broadbent author of Ink Vine: A Gothic Sapphic Novella. And here on the #HorrorForLibraries giveaway, I have 2, finished copies provided by the author that will be sent out to 2 winners!

First, more about this book from Goodreads:

Sometimes, you just pick your poison and pray. Bisexual stripper Emmy has lived her whole life in a small Southern town with a few Listen to your mama; don’t kiss girls; and stay the hell out of the swamp. Sick of all three, she sneaks under the dark tree-canopy behind her family trailer, where she meets Zara—mysterious, elusive, tattooed Zara, the first girl she dares to kiss. 

But the small-town South hates a woman who dares to dance instead of plucking chickens for minimum wage, and as Emmy’s life falls apart, her relationship with Zara grows more tangled and bizarre. Zara’s offering something beautiful. But while Emmy’s slowly strangling, its price may be more than she’s willing to pay.

Shifting between the green-bright cypress cathedral and the dreamland of a dance club, Broadbent’s unforgettably-voiced debut confronts the brutal realities of poverty in the South, with a sapphic tale both sultry and sinister, gritty and gothic.

"Elizabeth Broadbent combines a steamy love story with important observations about desperation, fear, and acceptance. Ink Vine, with its elements of dark fantasy and botanical horror, reminded me of True Blood!"-Christi Nogle, author of the Bram Stoker Award winning first novel Beulah

Three Words That Describe This Book: strong sense of place, atmospheric, strong first person narration

This is a great example of a 21st Century Southern Gothic that will appeal to a wide audience. It is scary, fast paced, and immersive, but ultimately, it is full of love.

Check out more from Broadbent and why she loves horror on the main blog. 

Thanks to the author for providing these copies for me to giveaway.

Enter now and you are entered going forward. Good luck!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Dead Girl, Driving and Other Devastations by Carina Bissett

Today I have a a finished copy of a new collection by an up and coming author, a woman who helped us with StokerCon when it was in Denver, a book I am happy to report is perfect for all library collections. More details below but first, 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 the previous giveaway. Our winner was Sonya from Ela Area [IL] Public Library. Now on to today's giveaway.

Dead Girl, Driving and Other Devasations by Carina Bissett is a great author to introduce to your patrons because this debut collection covers a wide swath of dark speculative fiction. From Goodreads:

“Ravishing flights of fantasy.”—Priya Sharma, Shirley Jackson Award-winning author of All the Fabulous Beasts and Ormeshadow"

Carina Bissett’s collection is a thing of wonder and beauty. It is a true representation of Carina whimsical, visceral, lovely, and fierce. You can hear women’s voices screaming while roses fall from their lips. Dead Girl, Driving and Other Devastations is a triumph.”—Mercedes M. Yardley, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Little Dead Red

In this powerful debut, Carina Bissett explores the liminal spaces between the magical and the mundane, horror and humor, fairy tales and fabulism. A young woman discovers apotheosis at the intersection of her cross-cultural heritage. A simulacrum rebels against her coding to create a new universe of her own making. A poison assassin tears the world apart in the relentless pursuit of her true love—the one person alive who can destroy her. Dead Girl, Driving and Other Devastations erases expectations, forging new trails on the map of contemporary fiction. Includes an introduction by Julie C. Day, author of Uncommon Miracles and The Rampant.

“Carina Bissett is one of my favorite speculative authors writing today—magic and myth, horror and revenge, wonder and hope. Her stories are original, lyrical, and haunting—Shirley Jackson mixed with Ursula LeGuin and a dash of Neil Gaiman. An amazing collection of stories.” —Richard Thomas, author of Spontaneous Human Combustion, a Bram Stoker Award finalist

This is a finished copy courtesy of the author. 

Enter now and you are entered going forward.

Good luck.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Midwestern Gothic by Scott Thomas

Today I have an ARC of a June release that I gave a STAR to in the April 2024 issue of Library Journal. Details below but first, 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 the previous giveaway. Our winner was Jennifer from Grand Prairie Library System [TX]. Jennifer had been in the giveaway pool since almost the beginning-- just shy of 4 years! Now on to today's giveaway.

Midwestern Gothic 

by Scott Thomas

Three Things That Describe This Book: strong sense of place, palpable dread, book within a book frame  

Draft Review: In this collection of 4 novellas, Thomas brilliant presents a volume that is not only dripping with overwhelming dread on every page, but also serves as a proof of concept for the Midwest Gothic itself. The novellas, all set in the fictional town of Blantonville, Kansas, are framed in some way by the works of his most famous characters, the authors from Kill Creek. The book within a book frame adds interest to the stories whether readers are familiar with the source material or not, while also allowing the author to explore different writing styles and subgenres across the volume. From Cosmic Horror to Folk Horror, a twist on the summer camp Slasher to a Hitchcockian psychological nightmare, each single sitting read stands alone as a fully realized, unnerving tale, expertly merging compelling storylines and fascinating characters.. However, it is the place that shines here, as Thomas presents the idea of the haunted land itself, the place of our American nightmares, illustrating that it is the vast, wide open prairie, not a crumbling mansion, which will turn against the characters and provoke terror in the reader. An immersive, chilling, and unsettling read that will put Blantonville on the Horror map right next to Castle Rock. 

Verdict: A must buy title that updates the enduringly popular Gothic from a new perspective, like Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia or The Hollow Kind by Andy Davidson while also adding depth to the horror uniting Thomas’ literary universe similar to Goblin and Spin a Black Yarn by Josh Malerman. 

Thank you to Inkshares for the ARC but please note, it says it will by out in April but it has been pushed to June so you still have time to order a copy for your shelves.

Remember, enter once and you are entered going forward. I have 2 copies of the upcoming Paul Tremblay, the July SGJ, and more, including some new voices and even a YA. All coming soon. You will want to be in it to win it!

Good luck this week!