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Rounding the year out, the books that were released just a few days ago are still getting so much online buzz from readers on social media. I have seen OUR OWN UNIQUE AFFLICTION on TikTok and Bookstagram so much lately, it’s a very exciting time, DarkLit Press has an impressive marketing campaign. EVEN THE WORM WILL TURN by Hailey Piper is a sequel to the massive success of THE WORM AND HIS KINGS

You can watch this interview with Sadie Hartmann and Del Howison talking about The Survival of Margaret Thomas

RETURN OF THE WESTERN

Sadie Hartmann “Mother Horror”

April 14th, 2023

From bestselling author Alex Grecian comes a folk horror epic about a ragtag posse that must track down a witch through a wild west beset by demons and ghosts–and where death is always just around the bend.

Sadie Grace is wanted for witchcraft, dead (or alive). And every hired gun in Kansas is out to collect the bounty on her head, including bonafide witch hunter Old Tom and his mysterious, mute ward Rabbit. On the road to Burden County, they’re joined by two vagabond cowboys with a strong sense of adventure – but no sense of purpose – and a recently widowed schoolteacher with nothing left to lose. And as their posse grows, so too does the danger. Racing along the drought-stricken plains in a stolen red stagecoach, they encounter monsters more wicked than witches lurking along the dusty trail. But the crew is determined to get that witch or die trying. Written with the devilish cadence of Stephen Graham Jones and the pulse-pounding brutality of Nick Cutter, Red Rabbit is a supernatural adventure of luck and misfortune. PRE-ORDER

Sadie’s Recommendation: I freaking loved this. It’s weird, quirky, and heartwarming. Josh Rountree has chops. I hope everyone will fall in love with Charlie Fish as much as I did; definitely a new Rountree fan.

As always, Floyd Betts rides into town alone. He arrives for his father’s funeral, but he is returning to Galveston, Texas, with two orphaned siblings he has rescued. Nellie, who is descended from a long line of witches, has visions from other people’s minds. Hank, her impulsive younger brother, just wants to break out his outsized revolver. Along the way home, Floyd, Nellie, and Hank encounter a dubious traveling salesman, Professor Finn, and his henchman, Kentucky Jim. They are struggling to capture a fish man in order to put him on cruel display. When Nellie taps into the peril of the gentle Charlie Fish, Floyd’s makeshift family expands to include the lost, two-legged amphibian. With the circus charlatans in pursuit, ominous winds are picking up from an impending hurricane. Meanwhile, all Charlie Fish wants is to return to his home at sea. PRE- ORDER

HOT IRON AND COLD BLOOD An Anthology of the Old West

Desperados and yellow-bellies be warned: These ain’t your typical westerns … Herein find legendary masters of anomalous Western and Horror stories— along with a posse of budding word-slingers— who all bring you an electrifying and frightening collection of extraordinary tales set in the Old West and beyond…Within these pages, the improbable is made real: cowboys encounter a chimeric critter of the night; dinosaurs return as massive poltergeists; Chinese railroad workers are haunted by invisible frights; outlaws experience Cronenbergian body-horror; fallen-light stalks mother and daughter upon a wintry prairie; a headless horseman roams the badlands; otherworldly creatures hunt within our domain; screaming spectral birds nest within the damned; and gunslinging women with murderous skills annihilate foolish notions of a man’s world. These are just a handful of the offerings in this body of macabre lore. So, mount your saddle horse and join this gang of rogue authors for a ride down dark trails of terror and unsettling thoroughfares that lead deep into strange, nightmarish territory. Here you gallop through places where law has no dominion and Death constantly deals a grim hand— and where the iron is red-hot and the blood drips ice-cold. Featuring stories by Joe R. Lansdale, Edward Lee, David J. Schow, Jill Girardi, R.J. Jackson, Vivian Kasley, Owl Goinback, Kenzie Jennings, Jeff Strand, Wile E. Young, and more. Edited by Patrick R. McDonoughWith an Introduction by R.J. Joseph PRE-ORDER

Sadie’s Recommendation: READ MY BOOK RESPONSE

Adelaide Henry carries an enormous steamer trunk with her wherever she goes. It’s locked at all times. Because when the trunk opens, people around Adelaide start to disappear. 

The year is 1915, and Adelaide is in trouble. Her secret sin killed her parents, forcing her to flee California in a hellfire rush and make her way to Montana as a homesteader. Dragging the trunk with her at every stop, she will become one of the “lone women” taking advantage of the government’s offer of free land for those who can tame it–except that Adelaide isn’t alone. And the secret she’s tried so desperately to lock away might be the only thing that will help her survive the harsh territory. 

Crafted by a modern master of magical suspense, Lone Women blends shimmering prose, an unforgettable cast of adventurers who find horror and sisterhood in a brutal landscape, and a portrait of early-twentieth-century America like you’ve never seen. And at its heart is the gripping story of a woman desperate to bury her past–or redeem it. BUY NOW

Sadie’s Recommendation: I finished reading this book for the second time this morning and I’m even more impressed than I was before, which is really saying something because I fell hard for this book the first time. As soon as I hit publish on this post, I’m jumping into my review but the short of it is this: I am telling you with as loud of a voice as I can, this is it. This is the stuff right here. You read this for yourself and tell me I’m not right. BUY IT HERE

When George Miller is killed in the mines of Yellow Hill, his wife and children are left to try and piece their lives back together. Tabitha Miller, George’s widow, is thrown into deeper chaos when she discovers that George’s death had nothing to do with the cave’s collapse but was caused by some terrible predator deep within the earth. His death covered up by the mine’s Proprietor-Jeremiah Hart.

In nearby Big Spring, freed slave-turned-occult bounty hunter Gilbert Ptolemy arrives with his adopted son in search of a murderous vampire. New revelations in Yellow Hill draw the duo toward the struggling Miller family, the strange mine, and the horrors lurking within.

The Miller and Ptolemy families are pitted against mundane and supernatural forces in this Weird West adventure. Family struggles, heart-stopping gunfights, and nightmare creatures from dark realms abound in this award-winning novel from C.S. Humble.

“Humble writes with rare passion in the tradition of Robert E. Howard and a young Stephen King.” – Laird Barron, author of The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All

Read this guest post at HORROR DNA

A blurb for The Survival of Margaret Thomas from Clive Barker

Cover Artwork by Giordano Poloni

From Edgar Award winner Joe R. Lansdale comes a laugh out loud road novel full of outrageous wit, driven by the power of storytelling as only Lansdale can offer. 

Jobless, broke, and stuck in East Texas without wheels, Jane is desperate to attend her younger sister’s wedding in Boston out of spite. She answers a ride share ad placed by a body building, cookie baking woman named Henrietta (Henry), with a literal wandering eye and a penchant for violence. Henry needs someone to drive her northeast where she claims there’s a doctor who can fix her sight. In an unlikely alliance, Jane and Henry take to the road where they’ll encounter numerous characters, including an octogenarian crime boss, a rascal riding thief, and a washed up country singer named Cheryl. 

This incredible journey is a story of heart and quirky friendship at its finest.

Kindle– available now!

Pre-Order JANE GOES NORTH

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Not for the faint of heart or those who are easily offended. Joe Lansdale writes humanity at its unvarnished, unpredictable, unbeatable best.

— Bestselling author, Robin Hobb

Not exactly Thelma and Louise, these strong and independent women will share life-changing events and will come away changed in ways they never could have imagined.

— The Florida Times

Outrageous wit, memorably quirky characters, and comical situations elevate the story, which works best as a gratifying tale of friendship

— Publisher’s Weekly

Sometimes you need a rest from high-concept horror or high-stakes crime; sometimes you just need to dip into the lives of some interesting people and hang out with them for a while. Jane Goes North lets you do just that.

— Cemetery Dance, Reviewed by Blu Gilliand

The escapades of these two outspoken women couldn’t be any more outrageous.

— Library Journal

This is Lansdale hitting on all cylinders.

— Dave writes and Draws

No one mixes the outrageous with depth of heart as well as Joe, and he has rarely delivered as well as he does with Jane Goes North.

— Horror Drive in Written by Mark Sieber

Book Tour Schedule
Del Howison author of
THE SURVIVAL OF MARGARET THOMAS
..
LOS ANGELES VINTAGE PAPERBACK SHOW
March 19th | 9-4
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SOUTH JERSEY WRITER’S GROUP
April 6th | 7pm EST
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THE SANTA CLARITA COWBOY FESTIVAL
April 23th | 10-2
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DARK
DELICACIES
Apr 29th | 3 pm
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“This book is a winner.”
Melissa Mart New York Times bestselling author
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PANDIPRESS

We just wanted to give a big, warm, Pandi Press hug to the wonderful #bookstagram readers who helped make our Storygram Tour such a success.

March 5- @l.m.durand
March 6-@djreadsbooks
March 7-@nissa_the.bookworm
March 8- @SpaceOnTheBookcase
March 9- @bookshelf_by_britt
March 10- @busymomsreadtoo
March 11- @thereadingcornerforall

Follow all of these creative, avid readers and make sure to enter the giveaways for THE SURVIVAL OF MARGARET THOMAS by Del Howison

We feel it’s important to document important milestones in our publishing journey. In one year, we’ve come a long way to get to the point of holding a Pandi Press book in our hands and then actually shipping physical copies out to early readers.

Thank you for celebrating this milestone with us. We’re looking forward to sharing many more with you along the way.

-Pandi Press Team

Some things to be mindful of and intentional about this Black history month…and the other 11 months of the year:

• Celebrate all Black History
• Listen to and Learn from Black educators and creators
• Support Black-owned businesses + creators
• Amplify, listen, and center Black voices first

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Honoring the Black community every day of the year, but this February is a great time to be extra mindful of it and join the efforts of others to support unity. Check to see if your community/city is hosting any Black History Month events or programming and support them with attendance or financial gifts.

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Many Black educators and creators are putting out paid and free resources for Black history month. Support them on Patreon, buy their classes, and drop some funds in their Venmo or KoFi.

Here are some book recommendations from Sadie Hartmann, Mother Horror

“There were no hard rules, we agreed to riff off any of the words in the title: Place; Broken; Thing(s). The real magic is how the book flowed from us, as we allowed our imagination freedom to play, trusting the dark, surrealistic tales told would fit; and they did!” – Linda D. Addison

THE BETWEEN by Tananarive Due– “A banger debut novel! This book was released a year after I graduated from high school and I’m sad my young, horror-loving heart didn’t know about it then. I know it would have blown my mind.
But I’m fine with finishing it this weekend in my 40s because it still blew my mind, I just already knew it would.” –Sadie Hartmann

ROOTWORK Conjure Series Book 1 by Tracy Cross– “Rootwork fearlessly brings folk horror to the Deep South. Tracy Cross paints a dark portrait of Black family life with all the wisdom of our ancestors—their accomplishments, their sorrows, their unresolved hope and rage—and in doing so delivers uniquely American horror without pulling any punches. If you’re a fan of historical fiction and tales of the supernatural this book will resonate with you long after you’re done reading it.” John Edward Lawson

RING SHOUT by P. Djèlí Clark–

“The stakes are so high in this story and the evil is overwhelmingly powerful and scary. Clark moves this tale along at a breakneck pace with edge-of-your-seat suspense. Every chapter ends with a fresh urgency to continue. I want more for this universe. I hope P. Djèlí Clark has more Maryse Boudreaux stories to tell because, even though Ring Shout felt like a complete book and I was not found wanting, I could see the potential for Maryse’s journey to either continue into more quests/adventures or for the author to write some of the backstories to some of the unusual/unique characters. 

Even if we only get Ring Shout out of this universe, it truly is enough. I am enraptured by this book and can’t sing its praises loud enough or long enough. I’ll forever be recommending it as an all-time favorite.”- Sadie Hartmann

THE PUSSY DETECTIVE by DuVay Knox– “It absolutely doesn’t have to be anyone’s cup of tea but on the other hand, it doesn’t owe anybody anything. This is the kind of art that exists because people believe in its importance and readers can agree or disagree but reading it with an open mind is the requirement in order to communicate a valid opinion on the matter. This reader’s opinion is that I enjoyed my experience in Reverend Daddy Hoodoo’s world. I believe DuVay Knox is an important voice that deserves to be heard and I hope he gets to publish a series of Pussy Detective novels. I think Knox has a lot of stories to tell and only he can tell them so I’m glad the industry is giving him the space and the opportunity to do that because there is an audience ready to enjoy them.” -Sadie Hartmann for Cemetery Dance

FALLING IN LOVE WITH HOMINIDS by Nalo Hopkinson– Support Nalo Hopkinson on Patreon

“Overall, this collection is rife with Caribbean folklore and influences and reimagines several tales in our collective literary imaginations. Hopkinson’s enchanting prose rippled with patois encourages us to read her stories aloud for full effect. While not all of her characters are fully human, you’ll leave this collection feeling more connected to the world around you, as well as to your chosen species.” –Black Lesbian Literary Collective

MY SISTER THE SERIAL KILLER by Oyinkan Braithwaite– “This book is so much fun; revealing its secrets a little at a time. The sisterly relationship between Korede and Ayoola is so complicated and layered–the author certainly keeps the reader on their toes with curiosity. How is this going to end? I kept thinking about how this story could have easily been told from Ayoola’s side too and how the reader would get to see so much more–those intimate moments between Ayoola and the men in her life…but it’s just enough, what we come to know from Korede’s POV. I loved the short, edge-of-your-seat chapters, the flashbacks, and the whole ‘style’ & tone. A new favorite book for sure. I’ll be recommending this one a lot.” – Sadie Hartmann

WE ARE HERE TO HURT EACH OTHER by Paula D. Ashe– “One of my favorite aspects of this collection is how the stories are so different in style and substance but also interconnected. 
A dark thread line through the whole book.
There are absolutely awful, horrible people in this book. I found nothing relatable, only cruelty after brutal cruelty, and yet, Paula D. Ashe’s prose is so lavish, so provocative, I can’t help but sing this book’s praises. Just don’t fault me for the depravity inside.
I honestly can’t recommend We Are Here to Hurt Each Other, enough. Immediately upon finishing, I sought more work out. Reader beware.” Sadie Hartmann reviewed for SCREAM Magazine

GHOST SUMMER by Tananarive Due- “As an emotional reader that gets overly invested in the lives of the fictional characters I fall in love with, Tananarive Due is an author that I can recklessly indulge in full well knowing that the subject matter of her stories could destroy me, while others will fill me with hope and optimism. I recommend this collection to any reader who enjoys, historical fiction horrors, strong female protagonists, and brave, curious children told by a voice with powerful convictions.” – Sadie Hartmann

FLOWERS FOR THE SEA by Zin E. Rocklyn– “Since this book is so short, there is a real risk of reviews giving too much of the reader’s discovery away. The comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale and Rosemary’s Baby are accurate but I think this is an experience best enjoyed by going in dark; no expectations. A powerful tale of the threats against female agency set against a dystopian dark fantasy backdrop at sea. A debut not to be missed.” -Sadie Hartmann 

A SPECTRAL HUE by Craig Laurance Gidney– “It’s challenging to try and pin any solid genre labels on this debut novel from Craig Laurance Gidney. There are elements of magical realism, fantasy, and horror. At its core, an ancestral ghost story but swirling around this core, intimate and lyrically expressed themes of queerness, race, identity, and this gravitational, historical beauty surrounding all of it known as the spectral hue.
Gidney gives a voice to so many underrepresented communities of people all woven together to create a cohesive work of art. Truly an inspired work of fiction.” -Sadie Hartmann

RAZORBLADE TEARS by S. A. Cosby– “Layered into the fast-paced storyline are the nuances of social commentary. Themes of racism, privilege, love, forgiveness, hate, revenge, and redemption ebb and flow–boil and simmer. As I mentioned, it’s quite an emotional journey–plenty of opportunity for the reader to run through an entire spectrum of emotions. S. A. Cosby is definitely on my list of authors who *always* deliver. I will read anything this author puts out into the world and will expect nothing less than the best.” -Sadie Hartmann

ZONE ONE by Colson Whitehead– “While Zone One is set in a very real feeling post-apocalyptic world, fear of the zombies is not the key motivator here.  This is a novel about trying to reclaim civilization. It is an interior novel; one that takes place mostly in our hero’s, Mark Spitz, head. The moments of pure pleasure in reading this novel come from his observations about how the world has changed, and from Whitehead’s amazingly realistic and chilling descriptions of the landscape in his created world.” –Becky Spratford (My review is being published somewhere else and is not available yet)

SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noir edited by Nicole Givens Kurtz–

“SLAY: Stories of the Vampire Noire is an anthology celebrating vampires of the African Diaspora. And since I enjoyed doing some research and educating myself on words and phrases that were new to me, I thought that I would pass on some of the information I learned without assuming every reader comes to a book fully informed on all things. (wink)
Diaspora: Historically, the word diaspora was used to refer to the involuntary mass dispersion of a population from its indigenous territories.

So right away, I encourage reviewers to read this book with minds and hearts open to hear unique and diverse voices. I love that there was a strong adherence to the theme represented in all of the stories. There’s intentionality among the authors to be united with one purpose but also remarkably unique. 
All of this being said, I want to highlight some of my favorite stories, amplifying the ones that stood out among the others but also making it clear that there was something special about every offering to the vampire noir genre as a whole.” Sadie Hartmann

THE BALLAD OF BLACK TOM by Victor LaValle– Book Blurb: “A modern classic, this book deserves to be on everyone’s shelves as the gold standard for Lovecraftian fiction. LaValle deals with Lovecraft’s racist, antiquated, xenophobic undertones by allowing a new generation of readers to see the imaginative mythos through the eyes of Tommy Tester. Genius.” -Sadie Hartmann

TELECOMMUTING by L. Marie Wood– “Wood takes her protagonist, a seemingly normal guy going through a breakup with a live-in partner or a divorce (I can’t remember), and plunges him down into a dark spiral of paranoia. It’s quite an unsettling and uncomfortable reading experience. Chris has normal, everyday interactions with his neighbors but somehow, they always get weird and twisted out of context in his mind. It becomes increasingly difficult to discern if our narrator is reliable or actually losing his mind.” -Sadie Hartmann

IF YOU DIED TOMORROW I WOULD EAT YOUR CORPSE– By Wrath James White– “

Let’s cut right to the chase: This is a sex book. Excuse me. Correction.
A brutal sex book. A collection of poetry for readers with a specific kink or curious readers who just enjoy peeking in on that lifestyle.

The author starts with an introduction in order to lay down some realistic expectations.
“These are expressions of raw, bleeding, passion. These are poems to make angry, rapturous, sensuous, violent love to.”
Not your typical love poems.
Consider the title, ‘If You Died Tomorrow I Would Eat Your Corpse.” A convincing indicator that the words on the pages contained within will not resemble your stereotypical sweet nothings whispered in one’s ear.”

WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING by Alyssa Cole- “

“I feel a little twinge of dread every time I see a new white person on the block. Who did they replace?”

WHEN NO ONE IS WATCHING is a thriller teetering on the edge of paranoia-horror that boasts a comparison to ‘GET OUT meets REAR WINDOW’. The mash-up of those two films sold me. GET OUT with its psychological horror tropes and heavy social commentary mixed with an Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece about spying on your suspicious neighbors?
Sounds almost too good to be true, did Alyssa Cole deliver?
Yes, I think so. But allow me to unpack the reasons.” FULL REVIEW by Sadie Hartmann on Goodreads

THE YEAR OF THE WITCHING by Alexis Henderson– “I think this book has enough dark subject matter and teeth to warrant a recommendation to read this book or at least keep an eye on this author. The social commentary of gender and race was given ample page time and didn’t feel overly wrought or heavy-handed; in the tradition of The Handmaid’s Tale as a horror-adjacent, dystopian fantasy. Definitely a must-have if you have an affinity for folk, cult horror, witches, rituals, and racial and sexual commentary with a strong historical fiction flavor. An eye-catching debut from Alexis Henderson.” -Sadie Hartmann

ON MY LIST OF BOOKS TO READ

THE SPITE HOUSE by Johnny Compton

ALL THE SINNERS BLEED by S. A. COSBY

THE REFORMATORY by Tananarive Due

LONE WOMEN by Victor LaValle

SWEEP OF STARS by Maurice Broaddus

WHITE IS FOR WITCHING by Helen Oyeyemi

FIND THESE BOOKS TO BUY HERE