Into the Fall

Some New Books to Check Out and More...

Friends and Readers of the Macabre Mob, let’s jump to it with some of my favorite recent reads:

Books You Really Need to Check Out:

Stay on the Line by Clay McLeod Chapman - CMC does it again with top notch grief horror set in the aftermath of a major coastal storm. I love his work so much, but it ain’t because I am biased. Clay really is just that good. His words are an always read for me, and this novelette from Shortwave Publishing is a perfect example of why.

Silent Mine by CM Saunders - A new novella from a new indie publisher that blends old western tropes with the cosmically weird and horrifying. This is a fun read, and goes places I didn’t quite expect. I look forward to reading more from Saunders in the years to come.

Draw You In: Vol 1 by Jasper Bark - Crystal Lake Entertainment just published all 3 volumes of this genre mash-up set in the world of comics publishing. It’s a slasher, a conspiracy theory thriller, and weird in the best ways. I have the next two high up on my TBR for the fall.

Starlet by Danger Slater. Another of my favorite working writers at the top of his game. Small town actress moves to Hollywood and gets her big break. But things aren’t ever what they seem in Danger Slaters best entry to date.

The Worm and His Kings Saga by Hailey Piper - a Cosmic Horror roller coaster ride of a trilogy told through the different lenses of three entities there to witness what might be the end of the world, consumed by the Worm in all its glory. Gritty NYC sci-fi noir and reality bending cosmic weirdness baked to perfection in the dripping prose of one of today’s top writers.

The Medusa Psalms by Kyle Toucher - I’ve read a lot of Kyle’s stories as they come through the Shallow Waters of Crystal Lake’s monthly flash fiction contests. He brings the best of the world he’s created over the past few years and ties it all together in a primer that runs the gamut from laugh out loud funny to horrifyingly real and all the danger signs along the path. Fun stories all, to be sure, but the danger lurking beneath Walpurgis Peak is only just beginning to show itself, and I have Kyle Toucher’s next few books on my shortlist.

What I’ve Been Watching:

For All Mankind (Apple TV+): This show perfectly captures how to build and hold tension through a season of ten episodes. Each season ending climax presents an hour long rush of terror and anxiety, built around characters I’ve come to truly love watching and knowing (even if—especially if—they are all flawed in their own ways). I am at the end of season three, and this alternate history of the Space Race in the decades after the Soviet Union wins the race to the moon is nearly flawless.

What I’m Working On:

My First Novella!

Not much to say other than I am at work, pencils scribbling away at what will be my longest piece of fiction yet. I hope to have the first draft complete by the holidays, and ready to get to work editing and revising what I am calling The Right Kind of Leather for now. More surreal military horror, fed by combat trauma and supernatural weirdness coming your way sometime soon.

New to Read:

“You Ain’t Supposed to Die on a Saturday Night” - OnSpec Magazine #129. This story is inspired by “The ‘59 Sound,” a song by The Gaslight Anthem, one of my favorite rock bands, sitting somewhere between punk and Springsteen.

What happens when a band discovers one of their songs kills someone close to them every time it is played live? In the interim between the band’s break up and their reunion tour, the song has become a cult legend, and the fans are there for it. It is one of my favorite stories, and I hope you love it.

Thanks for reading, and let me know if there is anything you’d like to know or hear about from me!

JG