Announcing the Gorgeous Special Edition of WHY I LOVE HORROR

 Details on the general blog here. 

But before you click over, here are some pictures to get you excited.

Click here for details.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Books by Michael Wehunt and Hailey Piper for One winner

Today I have two high interested ARCs of September Horror titles. 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.

The last winner was from Jo from NY. Now on to this week's giveaway.

First up I have the second book by the winner of the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First novel, Michael Wehunt's Nightjars. From my Booklist review of this title: 

Following his award-winning debut, The October Film Haunt, Wehunt plunges readers deep into the mountains of Northern Georgia for an atmospheric, blood soaked, horror-crime hybrid. Luke and his ex-wife Kristin still care for each other; however, Luke’s addiction made their union no longer possible. When a date disappears on Luke, leaving behind a photo of him as a child, with a dead body and masked man in his bedroom, he is shaken, but then it gets worse, as the photos keep coming, more recent now, depicting a bloody Luke posing with murder victims. Simultaneously, exsanguinated bodies are also piling up in the area. Luke’s history of missing memories make him no longer able to trust himself. Told by Luke and Kristin as they fight to save what is left of Luke and protect their daughter from a similar fate, readers are led on a twisty, heart-wrenching, and discomfiting journey, one with plenty of surprises nesting in the woods where the nightjars live. For fans of Coffin Moon by Rosson and Devils Kill Devils by Compton.  

Three Words That Describe This Book: family secrets, extreme tension, horror-crime hybrid

Nightjars comes out on September 29th from St. Martin's Press who provided me with this ARC to give away to one of you.

And second, I have an ARC of one of two books Hailey Piper has out this Fall-- This Movie Doesn't End the Way We Want. From the book description: 

A woman, haunted by the disappearance of her sister and best friend thirty years ago uncovers the terrifying urban legend behind the last film they watched together, in this chilling riff on the cursed film subgenre by the Bram Stoker award-winning author of Queen of Teeth.

Perfect for fans of Gretchen Felker-Martin and Andrew Joseph White. I

n November 1994, three girls visit their local movie theater to see an obscure film. Only one of them is ever seen again.

Thirty years later, Val McQueen has never forgotten the day she lost her little sister and best friend, but she’s closed the curtain on it, certain she’s moved on despite her parents’ resentment and hounding by true crime enthusiasts.

That is until a stranger’s murder brings it all screaming back—a terror she’s tried to tell herself is only a movie. Enlisting the help of cinephile and former classmate Roxie de la Fontaine to find the film, Val soon realizes that hers is not the only pursuit. Someone, or something involved with the movie is on the hunt, too…

… For the girl who got away all those years ago.

Since Piper has 2 books coming out this Fall, I could not review both. I have the next Piper book read and the review turned in. (More soon including a giveaway.) I do not have a review for this one, but my colleague, Lila Denning, had this starred review which you all can read for free here.

This Movie Doesn't End the Way We Want comes out on September 15th from Titan books who provided me with this ARC to give away to one of you.

These two advanced copies are available this week to one winner.

Enter now and you are entered going forward. 

Good Luck!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: 4 Book Creature Publishing Prize Pack Including a NEW Gwendolyn Kiste Novella

Today I have a four book prize pack, for one winner, from Creature Publishing, including one book I reviewed for Booklist Online back in June and a new Gwendolyn Kiste for which I have turned in a review and have extensive notes for here. To learn more about Creature Publishing click here as they were my featured small press for 31 Days of Horror in 2025. [Side note: I am compiling the essays for this year's featured publisher right now.] 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.

The last winner was from Molly from GA. Now on to this week's giveaway. 

I have four ARCs for one winner from Creature Publishing. Again, to learn more about them, click here to see the feature I did on this small press last October, including Why I Love Horror essays by some of the authors included here.

Of the four books I am giving away, I have written Booklist reviews for two of them. As I mentioned  above, one is live already and the other is being published next month. 

First up, Witches of the Wheel by Lindsay Merbaum. Click here to access my review and detailed notes. But to give you a quick taste, here are my three words that describe this book: conversational storytelling, atmospheric, lesbians/goddesses/ witches

Next up, In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts by Gwendolyn Kiste. I have turned in the review but it is not live yet. However, you can still access my detailed notes here. And, one the review is live, I will link to it on the blog in that Goodreads review. Here are my three words that describe this book: book about a book, immersive and visceral, reclaiming forgotten women (especially discarded daughters). 

The other two books for which I am giving ARCs away to this one lucky reader are The Patron Saint of White Menageries by Lauren T. Davila and Woodfeast by Meg Ripley. I highly recommend all 4 titles.

And in my October column for LJ I will have one more Creature title to highlight and give away. Here is a preview of that.

But for now, 4 books for one winner. 

Thank you to Creature for the ARCs.

Coming up in a few weeks I have a finished, hard cover copy of Ellen Datlow's latest anthology (to be paired with 2 other anthology ARCs) and so much more. 

Enter now and you are entered going forward. 

Good luck!

#Horror For Libraries Giveaway: Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones Plus a Bonus Book

Today I have two books for 1 winner. In fact, I will be offering two books for one winner for the foreseeable future. This week I am featuring a huge title which I gave a starred review in Booklist last month, and another title I am super excited about but did not have time to review. 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.

The last winner was from Lisa from PA. Now on to this week's giveaway. 

I am just going to start with the first book because you all want to read it and there are NOT a lot of paper ARCs circulating.

STAR

Off the Reservation

Stephen Graham Jones

Oct. 2026. 416p. Saga, $32 (9781668225127).

First published July 2026 (Booklist).

When digging into the darkest corners of history, no one is spared from the monsters unearthed. Set five years after the action of The Only Good Indians, Jones’ companion novel begins with one of its only survivors, Nate Yellow Tail, severely injured after robbing the home of a wealthy “Summer Indian.” While in the hospital, Nurse Seine recruits Nate to join a rag-tag group of Indians, herself, a mute young man dressed like a priest, and the RV owner, actively grieving the death of her husband and sons, on a quest from their Montana reservation to Pennsylvania’s infamous Carlisle Indian School to repatriate the bones of a murdered Blackfeet boy. However, gathering the bones is only half the story, as something evil is determined to follow them home, unless Nate can make his own last stand. A hilarious road trip novel, a fresh, non-religious take on the possession trope, a visceral and vulnerable character study, laying bare a 360 degree view of the horrors of being Native in America. More than the sum of its perfectly constructed parts, this is a horror novel where every detail works together, deepening the emotional impact for all. For fans of Iglesias’ The Devil Takes You Home and the possession trope as reimagined by Cordova in Monstrilio. 

Three Words That Describe This Book: immersive, non-Christian possession, visceral/venerable/hilarious

Click here to read a lot more by me about this book. Off the Reservation by Stephen Graham Jones comes out on October 13th from Saga Press (also my publisher) who sent me this copy to give away to one of you.

Since I have your attention I wanted to alert you to another book coming out this October, The Porcelain Sisters by Daryl Gregory. From the publisher's website:

A shy young woman and her deeply unpleasant—and literally porcelain—sister fight for their inheritance, taking on an impossible array of enemies, including a chain-smoking demon crow, an unkillable assassin, and a secret clan of French sorceresses. In his newest adventure, World Fantasy and Shirley Jackson Award-winner Daryl Gregory (We Are All Completely Fine) delivers a dizzying, darkly funny, and surprisingly poignant romp through the horrors of sisterhood.

“The Porcelain Sisters will grip you from the first page and stay with you long after the brilliant finale.” —Stephanie Feldman, author of Saturnalia 

Ruth Winslow is trying to save up enough money to finish college while looking after her sister, Isabel—who happens to be a haunted doll. When an accident severely damages Isabel’s porcelain body, the sisters have to find the only woman who can fix her, the fearsome witch known as La Fabricante: the Dollmaker.  

The sisters head to Marseille, where they take on Le Clan: Chiffon, a red-headed, unkillable assassin; a collection of angry, haunted dolls; plus a pair of demons—one a cigarette-smoking crow, the other a black cat—and their human familiars. Along the way, the sisters learn that they’ve been lied to their entire lives. Their mother wasn’t just a homemaker who died in a car accident, she was a legendary enforcer in the Le Clan des Sorcières.

While Ruth has to come out of her shell and deal with her own latent powers, Isabel has to grow up in a body that can’t grow. Together they’ll have to outwit and outfight everyone to claim their birthright.

The Porcelain Sisters comes out on October 27th from Tachyon Publications who sent me this copy for me to give away to one of you.

Two books, one winner. Enter now and you are entered going forward.

Good luck!

#HorrorForLIbrariesGiveaway: ARCs of Eric LaRocca and Alma Katsu for 1 Lucky Winner

Today I have two books for 1 winner. In fact, I will be offering two books for one winner for the foreseeable future. This week I am featuring 2 titles are featured in the July issue of Library Journal which contains my Genre Preview article. And which I reviewed in Booklist here and here. 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 from Lisa from PA. Now on to this week's giveaway. 

Today, I am offering 1 lucky winner two high demand ARCs. First up a novel to which I gave a starred review in the July 2026 issue of Booklist.

STAR

We Turn Gruesome At Night Burnt Sparrow Book 2

By Eric LaRocca

Ten years after the events of We Are Always Tender With Our Dead readers return to the blighted, rotten town of Burnt Sparrow, NH. Rupert and Gladys are still trapped within the walls of End House, unable to even poke a finger over the threshold without their skin unraveling. The claustrophobia and anxiety are already intense, when one day their regular grocery delivery comes with an anonymous confession letter addressed to Rupert. The details of that letter are shocking, but they also provide the spark that blows the story wide open, allowing Rupert and Gladys the chance to taste freedom. However, once they cross this threshold, they can never go back to the way things were and the horror of this both discomfiting and titillating. LaRocca holds readers rapt, engrossing them in a tale of layered depravities, confident they will be unable to look away. An exemplary middle book of a trilogy; a strong stand-alone story that plants the seed of the finale to come; a tale that honors the history of the Gothic but gives it new life by injecting it with the alluring catharsis of transgressive horror; for fans of Shirley Jackson, Clive Barker, and Poppy Z. Brite. 

Three Words That Describe This Book: crossing thresholds, extreme horror meets Gothic, engrossing

Please use this link to read all of my thoughts on this book. We Turn Gruesome at Night by Eric LaRocca comes out on 9/8/26 from Titan Books who provided this ARC for me to give away to one of you.

Next up, a great book by a high demand author:

Incarnate

By Alma Katsu 

Katsu (Fiend) returns with a modern retelling of The Picture of Dorian Gray that hits very close to home. Dorothy lands her dream job with an AI meets motion capture effects company, but her destructive need to be popular rears its head when she illegally accesses their servers to create the gorgeous influencer, Isabella, passing her off as a real person. Her work gets a few likes before attracting the attention of someone offering to make all of her dreams come true, for an unnamed price. Dorothy agrees and her life changes overnight, as her world quickly goes to unimaginable heights before spiraling out of control leading to horrors that pile upon horrors. Uncomfortable at every turn (including gnarly body horror), the real terror here comes when readers inevitably interrogate their own social media choices. Think the film The Substance, but with more substance. For readers who enjoy Faustian bargains like All's Well by Awad or We Sold Our Souls by Hendrix as well as the AI implications explored by Tingle in Bury Your Gays. 

 

Three Words That Describe This Book: retelling, squirm inducing, deal with the devil

Please use this link to read all of my thoughts on this book. Incarnate by Alma Katsu comes out on 9/22/26 from GP Putnam and Son's who provided this ARC for me to give away to one of you.

Enter now and you are entered going forward.

Both books, one winner.

Good luck.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway is Off This Week

I have been giving away 2 books a week for over a month, but this week, the giveaway is on pause. Back next week with 2 HUGE titles for 1 winner and then 2 books a week for the foreseeable future.

2026 Horror Genre Preview is Live

Click on over to RA for All to read it and get all the links. Or click on the image below.

Also, always head over to my Archive of Becky's Lists, Articles, and Presentations for a great cache of article and more. It is always in the right gutter, page list.