#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: 2 winners of Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao, Edited by Aaron J. French

Today I have two finished copies for two winners of a volume featuring many authors whose work you have on your sleeves, presented by a trusted editor, and part of a series of books which I have reviewed titles from in the past. Details below but first, here are the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American 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.

Last week's winner was Jessica from IN. Now on to this week's giveaway.

Today I want to talk about author and editor, Aaron J. French, specially his work taking Lovecraftian Gods and asking a diverse group of today's authors to write new and original to him stories for his anthologies.

I have read and reviewed (for Booklist) The Gods of H.P Lovecraft and The Demons of King Solomon. Click through to read my reviews of each anthology and to see the impressive contributors.

This Fall, French released Azathoth: Ordo ab Chao. From the publisher description:

The first in a series of anthologies devoted to the Lovecraftian gods, Ordo ab Chao follows the highly successful The Gods of HP Lovecraft (published in 2015 by JournalStone Publishing). We begin our series with the primal origins and the god Azathoth, who represents primordial chaos in the Lovecraftian Mythos. H.P. Lovecraft described Azathoth as a demon king ruling from a dark throne in the middle of the fiery cosmic void, out of which all created things emanated. Surrounding this orbiting spiral of infinite chaos and creation sounded the repetitive notes of an incessant flute, a reference to the Greek god Pan and the symbol of chaos behind the orderliness of nature. Taking this as our departure, the stories in this volume approach Azathoth through the concept of "order out of chaos" (or Ordo ab Chao in Latin). Ordo ab Chao includes new work from some of the most talented and respected authors in horror and dark fantasy, featuring stories from T. Kingfisher, Ruthanna Emrys, Adam L. G. Nevill, Kaaron Warren, Brian Evenson, Donald Tyson, Richard Thomas, Richard Gavin, Matthew Cheney, Erica Ruppert, Jamieson Ridenhour, Maxwell I. Gold, Lena Ng, Nathan Carson, Samuel Marzioli, Lauri Taneli Lassila, Akis Linardos, and R. B. Payne.

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

• ORDO AB CHAO: TOWARD THAT ENDLESSNESS by Maxwell Ian Gold
• “Agent of Chaos” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
• AGENT OF CHAOS by T. Kingfisher
• “Expatriate” illustrated by Yves Tourigny
• EXPATRIATE by Jamieson Ridenhour 
• “...And Peer Aloft to Glimpse Some Fragment” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar .
• ..AND PEER ALOFT TO GLIMPSE SOME FRAGMENT by Ruthanna Emrys
• “Making a Difference” illustrated by Ayham Jabr
• MAKING A DIFFERENCE by Brian Evenson
• “The Recreationist” illustrated by Ayham Jabr 
• THE RECREATIONIST by Kaaron Warren
• “The Blind God’s Game” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
• THE BLIND GOD’S GAME by Matthew Cheney
• “In the Grove” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
• IN THE GROVE by Erica Ruppert
• “Church of the Void” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
• CHURCH OF THE VOID by Donald Tyson
• “Upon an Iron Bed, Under the Eyes of Chaos” illustrated by Sofiya
• UPON AN IRON BED, UNDER THE EYES OF CHAOS by Richard Gavin
• “The Root King” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
• THE ROOT KING by Lauri Taneli Lassila
• “The Infinite Beat” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
• THE INFINITE BEAT by Nathan Carson
• “The Door at 21 Bis Rue Xavier Privas” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
• THE DOOR AT 21 BIS RUE XAVIER PRIVAS by R. B. Payne
• “An Unusual Pedigree” illustrated by Andrej Kapcar
• AN UNUSUAL PEDIGREE by Richard Thomas
• “Dust-Clotted Eyes” illustrated by Ayham Jabr
• DUST-CLOTTED EYES by Samuel Marzioli
• “The Revelations of Azathoth” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
• THE REVELATIONS OF AZATHOTH by Lena Ng
• “Primordial Jack” illustrated by Sofiya Kruglikova
• PRIMORDIAL JACK by Akis Linardos
• “Respect Your Elders” illustrated by Yves Tourigny
• RESPECT YOUR ELDERS by Adam L. G. Nevill

Look at the TOC! These are names you know, some of your most popular horror voices, and plenty that will be new to you and your patrons.

While that TOC alone is enough for you to add this book, what I really love about all of the anthologies French has edited is that he introduces today's horror readers to the Lovecraftian Gods, allowing us all to see why they are enduringly terrifying, and making sure their horrible human of a creator is paired with a diverse group of today's voices (which I hope is making Lovecraft roll over in his grave).

It is the responsible way to present this man and his work. We cannot ignore that Lovecraft is responsible for creating some of the best horror of the 20th Century. We cannot also ignore that his work has inspired and continues to inspire many of today's authors-- especially many who come from he marginalized communities who Lovecraft actively and publicly expressed his hate for. Take The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle and House of Bone and Rain by Gabino Iglesias for example. These are two works that have been nominated for major awards and both actively grapple with Lovecraft's racism in their works.

Thanks to JournalStone I have 2 finished copies that 2 winners will be able to add to their collections. But everyone should check out all three anthologies mentioned in this post and consider adding them to your horror collections.

Good luck!

The giveaway is off next week for Thanksgiving.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: 3 Finished Books You Probaly Missed For 1 Winner

After a month of 31 Days of Horror where I had giveaways scattered throughout the month, and then a week off last week so I could recover, the regularly scheduled Thursday giveaway is back and this time I am giving 1 winner, 3 finished books that I think are worth adding to your collection, titles you probably missed. Details below but first, here are the rules on how to enter:

1. You need to be affiliated with an American 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.

Now on to this week's giveaway.

I would like to highlight 3 very different books, all of them wroth adding to your libraries collection, all titles you probably missed during this busy Fall. And I said above, I have finished copies of all three. I am asking you to add them to your collections if you win. But I am also asking you to consider ordering them for your collections even if you do not.

Let's start with the one you might have already-- Psychopomp & Circumstance by Bram Stoker Award winner Eden Royce which was released by Tor on 10/21/25. From Goodreads:

Ignyte and Mythopoeic Award-winning author Eden Royce pens a Southern Gothic historical fantasy story of a contentious funeral in her adult fiction debut.

Phee St. Margaret is a daughter of the Reconstruction, born to a family of free Black business owners in New Charleston. Coddled to within an inch of her life by a mother who refuses to let her daughter live a life other than the one she dictates, Phee yearns to demonstrate she's capable of more than simply marrying well.

When word arrives that her Aunt Cleo, long estranged from the family, has passed away, Phee risks her mother's wrath to step up and accept the role of pomp―the highly honored duty of planning the funeral service. Traveling alone to the town of Horizon and her aunt's unsettling home, Phee soon discovers that visions and shadows beckon from every reflective surface, and that some secrets transcend the borders of life and death.

Next up a small press title by an author on the rise-- White Flight by Peter O'Keefe. It's a haunted house novella that tackles racism head on. From Goodreads:

Joel and Willow Ward are white. Their Black teenage daughter, adopted at birth, was just killed by the police. 

Now, their house is trying to kill them, and the grieving parents are trying to understand why. And survive the night.

Early Praise for White Flight!

“White Flight by Peter O’Keefe opened with a roar and then I couldn’t work my finger fast enough to keep up. A married couple attempts to navigate an unspoken tragedy haunting every corner of their dream house - and every layer of their dreams. But there’s an undercurrent of racial disquiet lingering in the air that kept me on edge, like I was waiting on the other shoe to drop. O’Keefe deftly sets the landscape and paints a picture of a home wrapped in overwhelming sadness and dysfunction, but he also builds an unsettling suspense that makes you clench your throat because you just know there’s something else there. And there is...something else.” — Kenya Moss-Dyme, author of SEED

“This is not your ordinary haunted house story. It’s the starkly beautiful, heart-wrenching tale of a white couple who lose their black daughter in a tragic accident. A display of love so well-meaning that it becomes caustic, and even with the best of intentions, every decision they make leads to something more horrific than they could ever imagine. Peter O’Keefe’s book will wreck your soul, and you will stand up and applaud him fiercely for doing so!” — Jill Girardi, Author and Owner of Kandisha Press

“A brutal look at the tensions of American racism, O’Keefe’s White Flight is a lightning-paced haunted house tale that asks hard questions. The novella holds up a mirror to white America. Those brave enough to look are in for a hell of a ride.” —Elizabeth Broadbent, author of BLOOD CYPRESS

And finally something completely different-- Hard Case Crime Comics #34. Minky Woodcock: The Girl Called Cthulhu a graphic novel by Cynthia von Buhler. From Goodreads:  

The plucky detective returns in her thrilling third graphic novel, this time with an occult horror twist!

Sensational artist Cynthia von Buhler melds her glorious illustrations with the eldritch elements of HP Lovecraft and Aleister Crowley.

Inspired by a true WWII maritime operation, shocking satanic events, monstrous men, and one salacious sea creature, this volume tells the tale of Minky’s encounter with legendary horror writer H.P. Lovecraft, creator of the dreaded Cthulhu. 

Following the death of Harry Houdini, Minky is approached by the occultist and writer Aleister Crowley to help vindicate him from an accusation of murder. This throws Minky into an occult underworld and leads to a much bigger investigation involving a missing man and Britain's secret service. Meanwhile, Lovecraftian horrors plague her dreams, and it’s up to Minky to discover the connections between the two writers and the mysterious death of her mother. Based on an actual WWII maritime operation inspired by a detective novel, Minky discovers how writers, including Ian Fleming, helped end WWII.

From the mind of lauded artist, author, and playwright, Cynthia von Buhler, this third installment in the gumshoe detective series takes the thrills and twists to new heights!

All three finished books for 1 winner!

Enter now and you are entered going forward.