31 Days of Horror: Day 1-- Here We Go Again for the 15th Year and the First Giveaway

Today is October 1st and here we are again with 31 Days of Horror.

Each year 31 Days of Horror grows in readership. While some of you are here all year long, even when this blog is limited to my weekly #HorrorForLibraries giveaways, each year I get many new people joining in on the spooky blog-a-thon fun.

And this year, with Why I Love Horror: Essays in Horror Literature out in the world, I will have even more, and probably many more non library staff. But don't fear (pun intended), the audience for this blog-a-thon is still (and always will be) you, the library worker.

First things first, if you have never encountered 31 Days of Horror before well, I have been doing this event since 2011.

[Side note, it all began inauspiciously with this post. Nothing special, just a basic post about  the appeal of Horror, but I htinkit is important to acknowledge that inauspicious beginning.]

The entire idea of 31 Days of Horror, began as a way to help library workers during the time of year when they need the most help with Horror. However, I did not want this series to become a list of lists either. 

From that desire to give you something original and useful was born a concurrent series entitled Why I Love Horror. In this series, that runs mostly, but not only, during October, I reach out to people in the Horror world and invite them to contribute essays written for you-- the general library worker. These invited people are told to share why they love horror as a creator and fan in 1500 words or less. Once again,  I have quite an exciting lineup planned.

My goal with the "Why I Love Horror" series has always been to expose you to people you should know about AND give you even more context for appeal. I can give you all the examples in the world of why people enjoy feeling scared when they read, but until you hear from actual fans, fans who also create Horror, it is hard to understand, especially for the vast majority of you who don't enjoy Horror for yourselves. 

Over the years I have had many people contribute to the Why I Love Horror series from up and comers [some of whom have gone on to become big names] to firmly established authors to folks who love horror in the library world. 

You can click here to see them all. "Why I Love Horror" is also a searchable tag any time, just like 31 Days of Horror.

"Why I Love Horror" is an excellent resource to help you help readers, and it is a Horror RA resource you cannot find anywhere else. 

Click here to learn more

And  as I said above, Why I Love Horror is now a book that you can buy and make available for your patrons as well. 

However, it even with me on tour for the book all this month, Why I Love Horror content is not the only way you can use this blog as a resource now and all year long.

In the past few years, I also started another new series within his 31 day series, and that was to feature a small Horror press. This year it will be Creature Publications and I will have much more to say about them and their authors the week of the 13th. 

A few other notes about what to expect here.:

• I am going to move my links roundups to every Sunday. Mostly you will not see lists and posts from other places here on 31 Days of Horror as I tend to focus on original content, but I don't want those awesome lists and articles to get lost either. Expect those on 10/5, 12, 19, and 26.
• Giveaways will not only happen on Thursdays. During this month, giveaways can be offered on any day of the week, but all winners are pulled Friday after 5pm. But, if you want to be eligible to win, enter now. Click here for the rules. In fact, this opening day post will end with a giveaway!

But let's not get too ahead of ourselves on Day 1. Remember, this blog is not just about my October content. It stands as a resource on Horror, both as a free update to my textbook, and as the most comprehensive resource for working with Horror readers in libraries all year long.

I have more than tags for you to use to access content. If you look in the right gutter of the blog, under the cover of my book, there is a list of pages you can find on here. That list is on EVERY page, so you don't have to worry about a huge link tree to find them. Access is easy, intuitive, and FREE

The pages with their direct links are:

• Summer Scares Resources and FAQ
• Third Edition Bonus Content: More Subgenre Annotations
• Horror Resources 
• Best Independent Horror Publishers for Libraries
• Horror Awards
• Archive of Becky's Lists Articles and Presentations
• Summer Scares Archive [direct link but it is also on the FAQ page linked above]
• Horror Reviews Index

In the spirit of being THE Horror for Libraries resource, I make sure each page lists the last time it was updated in the title. I curate all of this information and stand behind it.

So while this October you may be more focused on my 31 Days of Horror daily posts and Why I love Horror content, please know those pages with links are there all year long to help you find, display, and promote horror.

This blog should be the first place you go for all of your Horror RA, Collection Development, and Programming needs. I get no extra money from you visiting here. I keep this blog up for me as much as all of you. It is a record of all of the information I am using to stay up to date too. However, if you want to support my efforts to keep doing this work for another, please consider buying a copy of my book for your library and/or hiring me to train your library staff on a variety of topics. 

So poke around the site today, later this month, in a few months, whenever you need it. We will have a lot of fun for the rest of October, but  just remember, I am always here for all of your Horror for Libraries needs

And remember.... your Horror loving patrons are not monsters; they just like to read about them.

Let me hold your hand as we explore the scariest genre together.

As promised, we begin with a giveaway. Actually it's 2 books for 2 winners. Both are finished copies of titles I was not able to review but they are both titles I want to make sure to let you know about so you can add them to your collections. 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.

Click here to see last week's giveaway. Our winners were Stacey from NE and Rachel from TX.

Now on to this week's giveaway:

First up is If You Knew Me by S.P. Minkowski. From Goodreads:

In this twisted psychological thriller from acclaimed horror author S.P. Miskowski, a novice reporter walks a perilous tightrope between ambition and obsession.

Parker Dillon can’t win. Just as she’s trying to start her journalism career, her aunt sells the website where she works, and the new owner is keen to replace employees with AI. But her luck seems to turn when she discovers an intriguing cold pitch buried in her aunt’s files.

Ann Mason claims she did something terrible and never got caught. She’s also weirdly infatuated with a long-forgotten TV star. Desperate for a spectacular feature, Parker tracks Ann from Seattle to her home in Arizona. But as she interviews neighbors, coworkers, and friends, her quarry grows increasingly elusive, and her story turns deadlier than she ever imagined.

Parker can’t shake the feeling that she’s the subject, not the author, of this macabre piece—the prey, not the hunter. The more she learns about Ann’s obsessions and drives, the more it’s like looking in a cracked mirror. And Parker’s not sure she likes what she sees…

Second  I have The Burial Tide by Neil Sharpton. From Goodreads:

Drawing on the creatures and horrors of Irish folklore, The Burial Tide unearths our darkest truths: how far we’d go to win our freedom, and how quickly our desires can become monstrous.

A woman who can’t remember her death.

On an eerily quiet island off the coast of Ireland, a woman with no memory claws her way out of her grave and back to life. But not everyone welcomes the return of Mara Fitch.

An island with a terrible secret.

Inishbannock. Where strange misshapen figures watch from the trees and the roads are covered in teeth. Where two brothers gamble for nothing, the doctor only treats the dead, and the pub owner speaks in riddles. Where a poet loses and finds his soul. And a husband without a wife claims to know everything about Mara.

A past that refuses to stay buried. As Mara returns to her life on this upside-down island, her memories begin to leech their way back to the surface. The more she remembers, the more the village will do anything to stop her . . . 

 But the sea remembers it all.

Thank you to the publishers for these finished paperbacks. You can add these titles to your libraries ASAP if you win, but everyone should order these books now. Both came out in September.  

Enter now and you are entered going forward.

The winners will be drawn in the order the books are listed here. Good luck!

Now let's do this-- 31 Days of Horror has begun.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: 2 Books for 2 Winners

This week I am offering two books for two winners. One is my review ARC of book that comes out next week; it is the novel I am pushing this year to give to any reader who wants to try Horror; a book I had this glowing review of in the the July issue of Booklist. The second is an ARC of an essential story collection by a legendary bestselling author, out 10/7. 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.

Click here for the previous giveaway. Our winners in order were, Catherine from IL and Sarah from NC.

Now on to this week's giveaway.

First up is a book that you need to give out to anyone who wants to try horror. It is The Thursday Murder Club meets Scream. Seriously. From my post back in July:

The Autumn Spring Retirement Home Massacre

By Philip Fracassi

Sept. 2025. 416p. Tor Nightfire, $28.99 (9781250879066); e-book (9781250879073). 

 First published July 2025 (Booklist). 

Step aside, teenagers. Make way for Rose DuBois, a final girl for the over 70 set. Quick witted and active, Rose enjoys her full life at Autumn Springs surrounded by so many friends, especially her best friend, Miller. However, when two residents end up dead in quick succession, Rose starts to suspect that they were murdered, and she may be the only person able to stop the killings. Like the best slashers, this is an emotionally resonant tale, more about its characters than the violence being perpetrated against them (of which there is plenty). But it is also a well-paced, age appropriate, kick-butt, final girl story led by Rose’s point of view with cinematic, darkly humorous glimpses into the residents’ lives as they are about to be murdered. But at the horror at the heart of this story is the terrifying reality of how disposable society views mature adults. In the tradition of the Scream films, this story will appeal to fans of Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club and Hendrix’s Final Girl Support Group.

Three Words That Describe This Book: Slasher, Mature protagonists, emotionally resonant

Click here for more of my thoughts about this book. As I said above, it comes out next week and you need to make sure you have it pre-ordered. 

Thank you to Tor Nightfire for the paper copy that I am giving away.

Next is a book from a smaller press that you might have missed but you need to get on it NOW. The Essential Horror of Joe R. Lansdale with an introduction by Joe Hill:

In this career horror retrospective, World Horror Grandmaster Joe R. Lansdale (Bubba Ho-tep; Hap and Leonard) tackles racism and human cruelty as de­ftly as he conjures demon nuns and Elder Gods.

Featuring an original introduction from Joe Hill, this much-anticipated volume showcases the best of Lansdale’s terrifying short stories—menacing, astute, and wildly inappropriate. Bestselling author Joe R. Lansdale is known for his gritty mysteries and his eccentric horror.

As an eleven-time Bram Stoker Award winner, Joe Lansdale cooks up an inimitable recipe of Southern Gothic and Southern fried chicken that continues to delight his many fans and influence generations of horror legends.

Lansdale mashes up crime, Gothic, mystery, fantasy, and science-fiction, filtered through a raw, violent world of dark humor and unique characters. Lansdale is one of the early American horror writers to portray racism not as abstract but as realistic, intimate, and impossible to ignore.

In Lansdale’s nightmarish visions, you’ll discover psychotic demon nuns, a psychopathic preacher, cannibals, 80-year-old Elvis, undead strippers, ­ flying ghost fish, Elder Gods, possessed cars, and the worst evil of all: mankind. 

 This is one you NEED to order. Thanks to Tachyon for the ARC.

I will pull 2 winners this week and give these books away in the order they are listed here.

Good Luck.

Enter now and you are entered going forward.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: 2 Books for 2 Winners

This week I am offering two books for two winners. One is my review ARC of book that came out 2 days ago which I reviewed in Booklist here and the second is a book which comes out at the end of the month, a book I wanted to review but just did not have time to get to. Both are a great choice for all libraries. 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.

Click here for the previous giveaway. Our winners were, in order, Kristin from MI, Andrea from NJ, and Ashley from CA.

Now on to this week's giveaway. I have two books that go together very well. Both lean in to dark humor without sacrificing the thought-provoking terror.

First up, Galloway’s Gospel by Sam Rebelein. From my draft Booklist review in the August 2025 issue: 

Rebelein’s (Edenville) third book in his Renfield County mythos (connected but can be read in any order) sets loose imaginative humour and unrelenting dread on a cult themed horror novel. Told in 2 timelines, narrated by 2 Rachels– Galloway and Durwood– readers know from the terror-inducing opening that something very dangerous has escaped through a previously collapsed tunnel. Teenager Galloway, bored in her history 2009 class, makes doodles about a lost American colony where a pig eats her teacher’s arm and poops out flowers. In 2019, Durwood, a member of the X-Files-esque Renfield County Guard, is trying to solve the mystery of what happened ten years ago when Galloway and her disciples sowed a path of death and destruction before sealing themselves off from the rest of the world. As the two timelines collide, Rebelein organically morphs the attention grabbing, comic aspects of the story into a nuanced, compelling, and thought-provoking tale of terror that will linger with readers. For fans of Kiste’s The Haunting of Velkwood and Khaw’s The Library at Hellebore.

Three Words That Describe This Book: cults, connected world, X Files vibes

Click here to read more from me about this fun read. 

Thanks to the Harper Collins Library Marketing Team for this ARC. The first name I pull this week will win this book.

The second name I pull will win and ARC of The Captive by Kit Burgoyne. From Goodreads:

A darkly comedic, cinematic horror about a revolutionary group who kidnap an heiress, only to discover she's pregnant with the antichrist, and she's about to give birth.

From Ned Beauman, the Man Booker Prize longlisted author of The Teleportation Accident and Clarke Award winning author of Venomous Lumpsucker. Perfect for fans of Grady Hendrix and Joe Hill. 

Underground revolutionary group, The Nail, and their newest member, Luke have kidnapped 23-year-old heiress Adeline Woolsaw, whose wealthy parents run the Woolsaw Group, a vast outsourcing company. They run everything from prisons and hospitals to military bases – quietly suffocating the country with the help of powerful friends in government.

The Nail's use the kidnapping to draw attention to the Woolsaw Group and their terrible practices. But with Adeline bundled into their van, The Nail discover two things. The first is that she's just about to give birth. And the second is that this isn't a normal baby. In fact, it has devastating supernatural powers. Because the father of this baby wasn't a man, it was… something else. Something that her parents make human sacrifices to on an altar in the basement of their Highgate mansion. And all this time the Woolsaw Group has been preparing the ground for the Woolsaws' real an infernal new kingdom that will rise with Adeline's son sitting on its throne.

Thank you to the Hell's Hundred (Soho Press) library marketing team for the ARC to giveaway to one of you.

Enter now and you are entered going forward. I have 2 more books for 2 winners next week as well. The number of entrants was inching up too high and I am trying to give away as many books to as many library workers as possible.

Good luck!

#HorrorForLIbraries Giveaway: 3 Books for 3 Winners (including a Signed HC of LaRocca's latest)

After the giveaway was off for 2 weeks while I was on vacation, it is back and bigger than ever, Seriously. I am making it all worth your wait because today I have a signed, finished hardcover of a book I starred in Booklist, an ARC of a LibraryReads title I loved, and a story collection I included in my LJ Horror Genre Preview that is out next week and I am so excited for the rest of you to read. But I am spreading the wealth here. 3 books for 3 winners. 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.

Click here for the previous giveaway. Our winner was Stephanie from CT. Now on to today's giveaway.

I am not going to bury the lead here. I have a signed Hard Cover finished copy of Eric LaRocca's just released We Are Always Tender with Our Dead, the first book in his epic Burnt Sparrow trilogy. It is signed because-- and this is BREAKING NEWS-- tomorrow night I am stepping in for Daniel Kraus to host Eric LaRocca's Chicago appearance at Exile in Bookville. Details are here.

I have a starred review of this book in the July 2025 issue of Booklist and when I tell you it was a star, understand that if I could have given it more than a single star I would have. Read the details of my feelings about this book here. My three words that describe this book: transgressive, engrossing, epic

Book 2 in the 3 book giveaway is  Breathe in, Bleed Out by Brian McAuley. It came out earlier this month, made the September 2025 LibraryReads list, and I had a glowing review in the September issue of Booklist here. My three words that describe this book: cinematic, dark humor, health influencer horror.

This is a consciously meta slasher in the Scream style. McAuley delivers readers interesting and flawed but always sympathetic characters, cinematic storytelling, a brisk pace, a tone that combines the darkly humorous with introspection, and most importantly, kills that are creatively over-the-top. Your readers are going to love this. I am giving away the ARC I read for my review, so you cannot add this one to your collections, but you can absolutely use it for a Spooky Season giveaway. 

And last but certainly not least is a collection that you CANNOT miss. Order this for your libraries ASAP. It is Uncertain Son and Other Stories by Thomas Ha. It will be out next week from Undertow Publications, one of my favorite speculative small presses. And it is not just me. The press has won many awards and has published authors you know and whose books you own. I feel so strongly about the need for you to order this books for your library collection that I included it in my Horror Genre Preview in the July 2025 issue of LJ here. From the publisher:

Uncertain Sons is a startling and masterful collection exploring familial love and trauma; societal and technological anxieties; identity and class; and alternate near-future irrealities. Sharp, incisive, imaginative, and visionary, Thomas Ha's debut heralds the arrival of a vital new voice.

The winner of this title will receive an ARC but again, this book releases to the world next week! 

That is 3 books for 3 winners. I will give them out in the order they are listed here. But remember, everyone is a winner when you order these titles for your library so you and your patrons can enjoy them now and for years to come.

Enter now and you are entered going forward and forward is going to be fun because it is October and I have many books to give away and lots of fun posts planned. Stay tuned. And Good Luck!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: King Sorrow (ARC) and Who Is the Liar (Finished Copy)

Today I am giving away 2 books to one winner: 1 is a title that everyone is excited about and 1 that you would be excited about if only you knew more about it.  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.

Click here for the previous giveaway. Our winner was Ellen from CT. Now on to today's giveaway.

First up, the first Joe Hill novel in 9.5 years. Here is my post from when the review was published in Booklist:

STAR

King Sorrow
By Joe Hill
Oct. 2025. 896p. Morrow, $38  (9780062200600); e-book (9780062200624). 
First published August 2025 (Booklist).

Hill’s first stand alone novel in nearly ten years, taking inspiration from Tolkien, introduces readers to Arthur, Colin, Allison, Donna and Donvan (twins), students at a small Maine college 1989, and Gwen, a high school townie, whose mom works for Colin’s wealthy family. When Arthur falls into debt with local drug dealers, the group tries to summon a dragon to take care of the problem. When King Sorrow actually emerges on that winter evening, the friends are forced to pay by providing the name of a person to be sacrificed to the dragon each and every Easter. Set between 1989 and 2022, readers are brought back every 5 years, watching the unintended consequences of their choices reverberate through time and space. Real history overlaps with unsettling verisimilitude as the six friends bear this secretive, unshakable burden, one that is not easy to hide. Hill’s remarkably well-paced character-centered epic, blanketed in unrelenting dread, escalating to pure terror every Easter is perfectly suited for this moment. Pitting the computer age vs folktales this is a story that seriously contemplates the costs of power. However, the real horror may be that there are plenty of dragons to go around. For fans of terrifying tomes like The Wanderers Duology by Wendig, or Our Share of Night by Enríquez.

Three Words The Describe This Book: epic in length but moves well; blanketed in unrelenting dread; the horrific costs of power

That is a picture of me interviewing Joe Hill at ALA Annual on June 30th. 

This book is almost 900 pages but it is worth your time. I am sending that giant honker of a book which I read for my review to someone today. 

But wait! There's more!

The giveaway will be off the next two weeks while I am on vacation, so while you wait, I am adding a book by an author who is a legend in the Bizarro genre-- Laura Lee Bahr. The Wonderland Book Award is the highest honor in that genre. Click here to see a list of winners, which includes Gabino Iglesias and Bahr. Haunt, one of Bahr's award winning novels is consider a favorite Bizarro novel of all time by many readers and writers. 

Well she has a new mainstream novel that just released, Who Is the Liar:

An ingenious novel of suspense about sisterhood, innocence, murderous games, and how far we’ll go to protect the ones we love.

In a tight-knit town in the 1980s, a child-killer is on the loose. And Topaz’s parents are on edge. At ten years old, Topaz is so vulnerable. But she has nothing to worry about. Her eldest sister, Ruby, has made sure of that. Swearing Topaz to secrecy, Ruby reveals she has trapped the monster in their root cellar. 

Bound and bloodied in the cold space is kindly Brother Johnson from the Church. Pleading with Topaz to cut him loose, he says her reckless sister is a liar. Brother Johnson is right about that: Ruby does lie. She also likes to scare people. Still, even Ruby wouldn’t lie about this. Would she? The game—and the secret—is in her hands. But Topaz just wants to do the right thing.

Let Brother Johnson die in the cold space? Or try to set him free—and then see what happens next?

The August issue of Booklist even had a glowing review here. An excerpt from that review:

Bahr’s twisted tale, told solely from Topaz’s point of view, is an unnerving walk in the shoes of an impressionable child who has no one to trust. At times a coming-of-age story and at times pure suspense, this dark and disquieting book will keep readers off balance all the way to the last page.

This book will have wide appeal for general library audiences. This is for fans of Zoje Stage, Catriona Ward, and Sarah Pinborough.

With a Booklist Review and my seal of approval, you should be able to order this for your collections. But one winner this week will get a finished copy to add to their collections in the same package as the Joe Hill ARC.

That's 2 books for 1 winner!

Enter once and you are entered going forward, and forward is full of great books. I have the giveaway set up for the rest of September already.

Good luck!

Oh and one last thing, if you have a moment, click on over to RA for All to watch the unboxing video for my book.

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: Veil by Jonathan Janz

Today I am giving away an ARC of a book that was part of the Booklist/LibraryReads Read N Rave at ALA Annual.  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.

Click here for the previous giveaway. Our winner was Kelsey from AZ. Now on to today's giveaway.

Jonathan Janz is an example of a midlist horror author who your patrons would love, if only you had books by him to hand out. He has a story in the Stand anthology-- The End of the World As We Know It--which is going to be a bestseller next week. Janz is always a great readalike for Stephen King. And in my book, Why I Love Horror, I suggest Janz for fans of Josh Malerman. When Josh was giving his essay a final once over and saw my suggestion of Janz for his readers, he emphatically gave me a "Hell Yeah!" for that comp. 

Janz has a book coming out September 16th from Blackstone Publishing entitled Veil. From the publisher's summary (with a blurb from Malerman):

“The voice in Veil is as present, strong, charming, singular, and desperate as any I’ve read. The story of a family man who will stop at nothing to protect those he loves. Even if those threats are beyond sanity, reason, and a once agreed upon reality. Janz has written another absolute gem of the genre.” —Josh Malerman, New York Times bestselling author of Bird Box

From beloved horror author Jonathan Janz, Veil is a heart-stopping story of one father who will stop at nothing to save his family.

It begins at night. People vanish from parks and city streets. Then in broad daylight, they’re dragged screaming into the woods, into the water, into the sky. People take refuge in their homes, but still the invisible creatures come, ripping people away from their horrorstruck loved ones. Spouses. Parents. Children. Nowhere is safe and no defense can stop them. Because nothing can save you from what you can’t see.

High school teacher John Calhoun loses his son the first night. A day later, they take his wife. For two months, he and his thirteen-year-old daughter manage to survive, but in the end, she is abducted too. In John’s darkest moment, he meets a motley group of survivors who have a a near-fatal car accident has given one of them the ability to detect what normal human eyesight cannot.

The survivors believe they can replicate the brain injury that will enable them to see the creatures. To discover how they’re invading our world. To fight them. Desperate to save his family, John volunteers. And after the veil of invisibility is lifted, he and his new friends will risk everything to achieve the enter an alien world and bring their loved ones back.

This is a book you need in your collections. It is an example of a book people would love if only they knew about it. 

Thank you to Blackstone for this ARC to giveaway to one of you.

Enter now and you are entered going forward. Click here for a preview of next week's giveaway. It's huge both literally and figuratively.

Good luck!

#HorrorForLibraries Giveaway: An ARC of My Book and a Virtual Appearance for All

Today I am giving away an ARC of my book. Literally the last ARC left. One I have saved solely for this purpose today. 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.

Click here for the previous giveaway. Our winner was Renée from WI. Now on to today's giveaway.

I am offering an ARC of my book, courtesy of Saga Press. From the starred review in Booklist magazine:

“Horror isn’t just a genre, it’s a calling,” writes Sadie Hartmann in her introduction to this fine collection of essays that delves deep into the appeal of the macabre. Spratford, well-known in the library world as a horror expert, has gathered the most important voices in the genre today—Brian Keene, Stephen Graham Jones, Tananarive Due, and more—and invited them to respond to the simple titular prompt. The results are illuminating, moving, and inspiring. Many of the authors were scared kids or faced trauma (Cynthia Pelayo’s harrowing tale comes to mind) and found comfort in the monstrous. Gabino Iglesias reflects on his grandmother’s belief in ghosts and spirits. Alma Katsu, who worked for “a few three-lettered government agencies,” talks about what historical horror can teach us about the present. Nuzo Onoh describes how horror helped her escape the real-life terrors of the Biafran War. Rachel Harrison masterfully relates the terror of low-fat yogurt. Each essay is put into context with an introduction by Spratford, who, like a good librarian, also provides read-alikes for each author. A treasure trove for readers of horror, this collection will also serve as a useful readers’ advisory tool and may convince the horror-curious to give the genre a try. — Susan Maguire

The book is out in just over 6 weeks and I have a lot of events lined up-- in person, virtual, and podcasts-- starting tomorrow. You can see all of those details including how you can participate and a bookstore that is currently offering personalized books via a pre-sale, on the main blog here. 

Head over to the main blog for more info, but first, enter for your chance to win an ARC of Why I Love Horror, the book that Daniel Kraus calls,"A celebration, an incantation, and a revelation."

Ever now and you are entered going forward.

Good luck!