Here’s a small selection of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week …
Out now from author Katherine Silva and Strange Wilds Press, Into the Darkening Dust
Janet thought she had left behind the legacy of her parents, Hugh and Amos. After bringing them back over and over into the bodies of dead animals, she knew it was time for them to rest and for her to start trying to live again in the Deadlands. After all, that’s what her new friend, Mark, thinks is best for her: to find the scraps of good still left in the world and make them worth living for. It’s hard when there are still men focused on bringing misery to those left behind, men who deserved what judgement came for them. Janet wants to be that judgement, still feeling that flame of retribution inside of her to enact a swift and painful justice. It’s who she is, who she’s made herself.
But when she discovers a lost journal belonging to Amos that tells her of his estranged brother and his ties to blood magic, Janet becomes enamored with the thought of finding someone like her again, finding someone who might understand what she’s been through. As the dust storms grow more violent around the land, Janet realizes the only way to find her lost kin is to dig into her own past in search of answers. That means revisiting old haunts, places she swore she’d never return. Not sure what she’ll find when she gets there, Janet knows that in leaving things behind, there’s a chance they will become lost to the dust as well. Available now in eBook, with other editions to follow, you can grab your copy here.
Available now from author Tracy Fahey and PS Publishing, Queens of the Crone Age
The mythic Hag of Béara reawakens to find older women now ignored and marginalised. Devotional talismans left at her altar unlock fourteen stories:
- a young doctor inherits a strange and troubling patient (‘What Happens At The End,’ winner of the Paul Cave Prize for Literature 2024)
- a pregnant woman becomes enmeshed in a fertility cult (‘Witchwalking,’ on US editor Ellen Datlow’s Recommended Reading List for 2024)
- a domestic abuse survivor finds refuge in water (‘The Women In The Water,’ shortlisted for the London Independent Story Prize 2024).
The Hag listens to these stories, and as she does, her own wounds reopen. Can the narrators – and the Hag herself – find liberation and healing?Ideal for fans of Sharon Blackie’s Hagitude, Kirsty Logan’s A Portable Shelter and Daisy Johnson’s A Retelling. Available both as a trade paperback and also in a signed hardcover, limited to just 100 copies, you can pick up your copy here.
Arriving 26 May from writer Erik Patterson and Adams Media, Write a Horror Novel
Create the novel of your nightmares with this horror writing workbook! Abandoned places! Final girl! Ghostly hitchhickers! Horror fans and writers-to-be can build their own worlds, craft their own characters, and spin their own gripping stories with these engaging and thought-provoking writing prompts, making writing your own horror story easier—and more thrilling—than ever!
It’s time to craft a haunting and heart-pounding story! Write a Horror Novel helps take the fear out of the writing process with 99 creative prompts, horror writing exercises, and tips for creating characters, settings, and plots like a pro.
First, you’ll get to know the rules of the genre and establish what your harrowing world will look like through immersive worldbuilding exercises. Then, you’ll dive into dozens of prompts that focus on each of the classic horror tropes, like Abandoned Places, Final Girl, Monster in the Dark, and more. All the while, you’ll get to know your characters (and villains!), build out their backstories, and make their stories leap off the page. Master the horror genre, conquer writer’s block, and spark new ideas. Available for pre-order now in eBook and paperback, you can guarantee your copy here.
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KEV HARRISON
