So excited for the release of LITTLE MUTILATIONS, out today from Crystal Lake Publishing!

“The Night Belongs to Us” by Jess Landry: When Laura arrives in an unfamiliar city in search of her missing mother, Mary, the last thing she expects to find is trouble—but after countless trips to different places to bring her addict mother home, she should expect nothing less. After being attacked by a group of disfigured women, Laura discovers an unlikely saviour in Cee, a haunted woman that the residents of the city streets fear. Meeting Laura unlocks the softer side of Cee, and in Cee sparks a hope that she can escape her current arrangement—being the right-hand of a revered spectre who created a community of lost women called the Underground…a creature with the face of a woman lovingly referred to as Mother. As Laura and Cee come together to find Mary and get out of town, Mother catches wind of their plan and devises one of her own—to sway Laura in her favour. After Laura realizes that Mary is the Underground, and that Cee’s been lying to her, it doesn’t take long before the thought of becoming a resident of the Underground pulls Laura in. Can Cee save Laura before it’s too late? Or does Mother already have her claws in too deep?

“Acid Bath” by Sofia Ajram: Best friends Priya and Luca strike it lucky when they are both found eligible to be healthy human subjects in a high-paying clinical trial. It ain’t their first time at the rodeo, and sure, while this study might be more dangerous and unpredictable than those they’ve done before—the bigger they are, the better they pay, and no dish is ever seasoned without the spice of risk. While Priya aspires to make enough money in the trial to pay her way into a prestigious filmmaking program, finances mean nothing to Luca who only hopes the study can be the seed of his creative inspiration.
But as the weeks pass, bizarre side effects begin to kick in, and the two friends find themselves unable to reach the trial doctors. Worse yet, gruesome and deranged deaths are cropping up on the news featuring participants they recognize from the same trial. As rivalries and resentments bubble up, Priya and Luca must discover if there is something sinister lurking within the medication they’ve been taking that will tear their friendship apart before it all spirals out of control.

“Your Next Best American Girl” by Nadia Bulkin: All Veronica’s ever wanted is to be crowned Miss Americana. When she wakes up with three strange sores on her arm, she thinks it’s a problem for her dermatologist. But when the sores keep getting worse—deeper, bigger, all over—she realizes she’s being sabotaged. Now Veronica needs to figure out who’s responsible before she misses her shot at the crown or her body falls apart completely—whichever happens first.

This anthology of body horror novellas is perfect for fans of Cronenberg, Kathe Koja, Eric LaRocca, Hailey Piper, Gwendolyn Kiste, SP Miskowski, Gemma Files, Nadia Bulkin, Megan Abbott, Mona Awad, and Alissa Nutting. And of course dark social satire, flawed protagonists, and of course, horror books.

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing—Tales from the Darkest Depths.

Get your copy here, and leave us a review on Goodreads!

Happy to have been a guest on tonight’s House of Mystery Radio on NBC podcast! Had a great time chatting with Alan and David about my collection, THE NIGHT BELONGS TO US.

It airs tonight at 9 p.m. pacific time on 106.5 F.M. KCAA Los Angeles/1050 A.M. Palm Springs or the show streams live from https://live.kcaastreaming.com/

After the show airs on radio, it’ll be on Podcast Episodes | House of Mystery Radio Show and will also air on DARK MINDS: A Horror & Dark Fantasy Podcast

Chuffed to announce LITTLE MUTILATIONS (book seven in Crystal Lake Publishing’s Dark Tide series), which features my story “The Night Belongs to US,” will be released on April 28th!. This anthology contains three novellas including my own story, “Acid Bath” by Sofia Ajram, and “Your Next Best American Girl” by Nadia Bulkin. I couldn’t be happier to have contributed to this mini antho will two amazing writers!

Pre-order up your copy today!

Happy to announce that my fiction collection, THE NIGHT BELONGS TO US, is out now wherever books are sold. This is a re-release of last year’s THE MOTHER WOUND, but includes a brand-new story called “Goodnight, Sweet Sister,” a spiritual sequel to my Bram Stoker nominated story, “Bury Me in Tar and Twine.”

Here’s the full TOC:

“Masks”

“Mutter” (Bram Stoker Award winner)

“Scordatura”

“The Only Thing That Remains”

“Silt + Bone”

“Canary”

“Spare Parts”

“I Will Find You, Even in the Dark” (Bram Stoker and Shirley Jackson Award nominee)

“Gorgons”

“The Root”

“Mounds”

“Echoes”

“When the Wind Leaves a Whisper”

“Floating Ghosts”

“Bury Me in Tar and Twine” (Bram Stoker Award nominee)

“Harvey”

“At the End of Laurel Lane”

“The Night Belongs to Us” (Shirley Jackson Award nominee)

“Goodnight, Sweet Sister” (new story!)

Click here to pick up your copy!

From Deadline.com:

“The Hollywood Critics Association has unveiled its 2022 TV award nominations. NBC’s This Is Us and HBO’s Succession lead the broadcast network and cable nominations, and Apple TV+s Severance and Ted Lasso top the streaming awards noms.

This Is Us received 12 nominations, followed by Succession in second place with 11. For streaming, Ted Lasso and Severance tied with 12 nominations each.

The awards will be handed out over two nights in ceremonies at the Beverly Hilton. The broadcast network and cable TV awards ceremony will be held on August 13, followed by the streaming awards ceremony on August 14.”

Best Broadcast Network or Cable Live-Action TV Movie

A Clüsterfünke Christmas (Comedy Central)
List of a Lifetime (Lifetime)
Ray Donovan: The Movie (Showtime)
Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune (Lifetime)
The Survivor (HBO)
Vandal (Fuse)

Deadline is doing a free virtual screening of LIST OF A LIFETIME, a film that I wrote, on Monday, June 6th! To sign up, follow the link below, and enjoy!

REGISTER HERE!

Today’s the big day – ALIENS VS PREDATORS: ULTIMATE PREY is out now in paperback, e-book, and audiobook!

The first anthology of fifteen original short stories featuring the confluence of two iconic properties, as the Predators seek the ultimate prey, the Xenomorphs from Alien. Featuring Louis Ozawa, Scott Sigler, Maurice Broaddus, Mira Grant, Delilah S. Dawson, and many more!

Fifteen new and original stories for a first-of-its-kind anthology, set in the expanded Aliens vs. Predators Universe. 

Here the ultimate hunters, the Predators, pitted against their ultimate prey, the Xenomorphs from Alien, with humans caught in the middle! Taking place on Earth and in distant space, these tales have been crafted by a who’s who of today’s most talented authors of the fantastic:

David Barnett – Roshni “Rush” Bhatia – Curtist C. Chen – Delilah S. Dawson – Mira Grant – Susanne L. Lambdin – Jess Landry – Yvonne Navarro – E.C. Myers – Scott Sigler – Maurice Broaddus – Chris Ryall – Bryan Thomas Schmidt – Steven L. Sears – Jonathan Maberry and Louis Ozawa.

Inspired by the events of the original Aliens vs. Predators movies, graphic novels, and novels, these are the ultimate life-and-death struggles. Including a new story written by Jonathan Maberry and Louis Ozawa (“Hanzo” from the movie Predators) as Hanzo’s brother faces the eternal threats of both the Yautja and the Xenomorphs.

Available now at Amazon US, Amazon Canada, Chapters, Audible, and wherever books are sold!

The final ballot has been released, and THERE IS NO DEATH, THERE ARE NO DEAD, the anthology I co-edited with Aaron J. French, is officially nominated for a Bram Stoker Award. I couldn’t be more proud of the authors who contributed to this book — the only reason we’ve gotten this nom is because of them.

The awards will be handed out during StokerCon in Denver, CO this May. Fingers crossed until then, and good luck to all the other nominees!

Read more and see the full list here.

I’m happy to see my fiction collection, THE MOTHER WOUND, and the anthology I co-edited with Aaron J. French, THERE IS NO DEATH, THERE ARE NO DEAD, on the Preliminary Ballot of the 2021 Bram Stoker Awards. Seriously, what an honour, and what a list full of other amazing talents. The full ballot is below. Good luck to everyone!

The 2021 Bram Stoker Awards® Preliminary Ballot

Superior Achievement in a Novel

Castro, V. – The Queen of the Cicadas (Flame Tree Press)

Demchuk, David – Red X (Strange Light)

Hendrix, Grady – The Final Girl Support Group (Berkley)

Jones, Stephen Graham – My Heart Is a Chainsaw (Gallery/Saga Press)

Knight, EV – Children of Demeter (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

McLeod Chapman, Clay – Whisper Down the Lane (Quirk Books)

Pelayo, Cynthia – Children of Chicago (Agora Books)

Starling, Caitlin – The Death of Jane Lawrence (St. Martin’s Press)

Stred, Steve – Incarnate (Black Void Publishing)

Wendig, Chuck – The Book of Accidents (Del Rey)

Superior Achievement in a First Novel

Desiree, Amanda – Smithy (Inkshares)

Fox, VK – Indie Saint (Aethon Books)

Jones, C.B. – TheRules of the Road (Ionosphere Press)

Martinez, S. Alessandro – Helminth (Omnium Gatherum)

McQueen, LaTanya – When the Reckoning Comes (Harper Perennial)

Miles, Terry – Rabbits (Del Rey)

Moreno, Gus – This Thing Between Us (MCD x FSG Originals)

Piper, Hailey – Queen of Teeth (Strangehouse Books)

Quigley, Lisa – The Forest (Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing)

Willson, Nicole – Tidepool (The Parliament House)

Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel

Ahmed, Saladin (author) and Kivelä, Sami (artist) – Abbott 1973 (BOOM! Studios)

Garcia, Kami (author); Suayan, Mico (artist); Badower, Jason (artist); and Mayhew, Mike (artist) – Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity (DC Comics)

Leong, Sloane (author) and Bowles, Anna (artist) – Graveneye (TKO Studios)

Manzetti, Alessandro (author) and Cardoselli, Stefano (artist) – The Inhabitant of the Lake (Independent Legions Publishing)

McCurdy, Bowen (author/artist) and Musto, Kaitlyn (author) – Specter Inspectors (BOOM! Box)

Morrison, Grant (author); Child, Alex (author); and Franquiz, Naomi (artist) – Proctor Valley Road (BOOM! Studios)

Moyer, Rich (author/artist) – Ham Helsing Vampire Hunter (Crown Books for Young Readers) 

Panosian, Dan (author) and Ignazzi, Marianna (artist) – An Unkindness of Ravens (BOOM! Studios)

Scott, Cavan (author) and Howell, Corin (artist) – Shadow Service: Dark Arts (Vault Comics)

Szym, Adam (author/artist) – A Cordial Invitation (Self-published)

Superior Achievement in a Young Adult Novel

Ames, Alison – To Break a Covenant (Page Street Kids)

Blake, Kendare – All These Bodies (Quill Tree Books)

Boyle, R.L. – The Book of the Baku (Titan Books)

Craig, Erin A. – Small Favors (Delacorte Press)

Gould, Courtney – The Dead and the Dark (Wednesday Books) 

Lewis, Jessica – Bad Witch Burning (Delacorte Press)

Marshall, Kate Alice – Our Last Echoes (Viking Books for Young Readers)

Polydoros, Aden – The City Beautiful (Inkyard Press)

Sutherland, Krystal – House of Hollow (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

Waters, Erica – The River Has Teeth (HarperTeen)

Superior Achievement in Long Fiction

Asman, Brian – Man, Fuck This House (Mutated Media)

Castro, V. – Goddess of Filth (Creature Publishing, LLC)

Deady, Tom – Of Men and Monsters (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Jeffery, Ross – Only The Stains Remain (Cemetery Gates Media)

Khaw, Cassandra – Nothing But Blackened Teeth (Tor Nightfire)

LaRocca, Eric – Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke (Weirdpunk Books)

Marrs, Chris and O’Neill, Gene – “Entangled Soul” (Entangled Soul and Other Stories) (Omnium Gatherum)

Piper, Hailey – “Recitation of the First Feeding” (Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy) (The Seventh Terrace)

Strand, Jeff – “Twentieth Anniversary Screening” (Slice and Dice) (Independently published)

Tingle, Chuck – Straight (Self-published)

Superior Achievement in Short Fiction

Gwilym, Douglas – “Year Six” (LampLight Magazine, Volume 10, Issue 1) (Apokrupha)

Gyzander, Carol – “The Yellow Crown” (Under Twin Suns: Alternate Histories of the Yellow Sign) (Hippocampus Press)

Joseph, R.J. – “I Just Want to Be Free” (Paranormal Contact: A Quiet Horror Confessional) (Cemetery Gates Media)

Joseph, R.J. – “Soulmates” (Dark Dispatch Issue #2: Deadly Love) (Dark Dispatch)

Murray, Lee – “Permanent Damage” (Attack From the ‘80s) (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

O’Quinn, Cindy – “A Gathering at the Mountain” (The Bad Book) (Bleeding Edge Books)

Oreto, Frank J. – “The Care and Feeding of Household Gods” (Beyond the Veil) (Flame Tree Press)

Taborska, Anna -“Two Shakes Of A Dead Lamb’s Tail”(Terror Tales of the Scottish Lowlands) (Telos Publishing)

Ward, Kyla Lee – “A Whisper in the Death Pit” (Weirdbook #44) (Wildside Press)

Yates, Pauline – “The Best Medicine” (Midnight Echo Issue 16) (AHWA)

Superior Achievement in a Fiction Collection

Bailey, Michael – Psychotropic Dragon (Written Backwards)

Baxter, Alan – The Gulp (13th Dragon Books)

Files, Gemma – In That Endlessness, Our End (Grimscribe Press)

Fracassi, Philip – Beneath a Pale Sky (Lethe Press)

Landry, Jess – The Mother Wound (Independent Legions Publishing)

Maberry, Jonathan – Empty Graves: Tales of the Living Dead (WordFire Press LLC)

McCarthy, J.A.W. – Sometimes We’re Cruel and Other Stories (Cemetery Gates Media)

Tuttle, Lisa – The Dead Hours of Night (Valancourt Books)

Wise, A.C. – The Ghost Sequences (Undertow Publications)

Yap, Isabel – Never Have I Ever (Small Beer Press)

Superior Achievement in a Screenplay

Bailey-Bond, Prano and Fletcher, Anthony – Censor (Silver Salt Films)

Carolyn, Axelle – The Manor (Amazon Studios)

Chaisson, C. Henry; Antosca, Nick; and Cooper, Scott – Antlers (Searchlight Pictures)

Charles, Kathy; Steensland, Mark; and Stevens, Travis – Jakob’s Wife (AMP International)

Cushing, Aric and Thomas, Logan – There’s No Such Thing as Vampires (Ascent Releasing)

Dong-hyuk, Hwang – Squid Game, Season 1, Episode 1: “Red Light, Green Light” (Siren Pictures) 

Flanagan, Mike; Flanagan, James; and Howard, Jeff – Midnight Mass, Season 1, Episode 6: “Book VI: Acts of the Apostles” (Intrepid Pictures)

Graziadei, Phil and Janiak, Leigh – Fear Street: Part One – 1994 (Chernin Entertainment)

Peele, Jordan; Rosenfeld, Win; and DaCosta, Nia – Candyman (Universal Pictures)

Pisanthanakun, Banjong – The Medium (GDH 559)

Superior Achievement in a Poetry Collection

Garza, Alexander P. – notsleepyyet (Weasel Press)

Lansdale, Joe R. – Apache Witch and Other Poetic Observations (Independent Legions Publishing)

Manzetti, Alessandro – Dancing with Maria’s Ghost (Independent Legions Publishing)

McHugh, Jessica – Strange Nests (Apokrupha)

O’Brien, Brandon – Can You Sign My Tentacle? (Interstellar Flight Press)

Simon, Marge and Turzillo, Mary – Victims (Weasel Press)

Sng, Christina; Yuriko Smith, Angela; Murray, Lee; and Flynn, Geneve – Tortured Willows: Bent. Bowed. Unbroken. (Yuriko Publishing)

Snyder, Lucy A. – Exposed Nerves (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Walrath, Holly Lyn – The Smallest of Bones (CLASH Books)

Wolfe, Jezzy – Monstrum Poetica (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Superior Achievement in an Anthology

Chambers, James – Under Twin Suns: Alternate Histories of the Yellow Sign (Hippocampus Press)

Cluff, Michael and Becker, Willow – Humans are the Problem: A Monster’s Anthology (Weird Little Worlds)

Datlow, Ellen – When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson (Titan Books) 

French, Aaron J. and Landry, Jess – There is No Death, There are No Dead (Crystal Lake Publishing)

Guignard, Eric J. – Professor Charlatan Bardot’s Travel Anthology to the Most (Fictional) Haunted Buildings in the Weird, Wild World (Dark Moon Books)

HOWL Society – Howls From Hell (HOWL Society Press)

Johnson, Eugene – Attack From the ‘80s (Raw Dog Screaming Press)

Schlossberg, Josh – The Jewish Book of Horror (Denver Horror Collective) 

Showers, Brian J. – Uncertainties: Volume V (Swan River Press)

Thomas, Ben – Tales from Omnipark (House Blackwood)

Superior Achievement in Non-Fiction

Abbott, Stacey and Jowett, Lorna – Global TV Horror (University of Wales Press)

Decker, Lindsey – Transnationalism and Genre Hybridity in New British Horror Cinema (University of Wales Press)

Falvey, Eddie; Hickinbottom, Joe; and Wroot, Jonathan – New Blood: Critical Approaches to Contemporary Horror (University of Wales Press)

Olson, Danel – 9/11 Gothic: Decrypting Ghosts and Trauma in New York City’s Terrorism Novels (Lexington Books)

Knost, Michael – Writers Workshop of Horror 2 (Hydra Publications)

Lester, Catherine – Horror Films for Children: Fear and Pleasure in American Cinema (Bloomsbury Academic)

Potts, Jim – Defending a Serial Killer: The Right to Counsel (Vesuvian Books)

Wetmore Jr., Kevin J. – Eaters of the Dead: Myths and Realities of Cannibal Monsters (Reaktion Books)

Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew and Hansen, Regina M. – Giving the Devil His Due: Satan and 

Cinema (Fordham University Press)

Woofter, Kristopher – Shirley Jackson: A Companion (Peter Lang Publishing)

Superior Achievement in Short Non-Fiction

Clasen, Mathias – “Fear Not!” (Aeon)

Cowen, David E. – “Introduction” (Victims) (Weasel Press)

Ward, Kyla Lee – “Vampire Poetry” (Penumbra No. 2 (2021)) (Hippocampus Press)

Diak, Nicholas – “Cullzathro Fhtagn! Magnifying the Carnivalesque in Lovecraft Through the Comic Book Series Vinegar Teeth” (Academia Letters)

Ognjanović, Dejan – “The Three Paradigms of Horror” (Vastarien Vol. 4, Issue 2) (Grimscribe Press)

O’Quinn, Cindy – “One and Done” (Were Tales: A Shapeshifter Anthology) (Brigids Gate Press)

Tamásfi, László – “The Devil Flew Away”(Dracula’s Death)(Strangers from Nowhere)    

Verona, Emily Ruth – “A Horror Fan’s Guide to Surviving Womanhood” (thefinalgirls.co.uk)  

Wetmore, Kevin J. – “Devil’s Advocates: The Conjuring” (Auteur Publishing/Liverpool University Press)

Yuriko Smith, Angela – “Horror Writers: Architects of Hope” (The Sirens Call, Halloween 2021, Issue 55) (Sirens Call Publications)