On this inaugural edition of the Horror From the High Desert "Book Club," Bram Stoker Award-winning author Christa Carmen ("The Daughters of Block Island," "Beneath the Poet's House") returns to the podcast to talk with Scotty about Tracy Sierra's superlative home-invasion thiller "Nightwatching" (2024, Pamela Dorman Books). They discuss the novel's unique horror elements, its disconcerting use of "unreality," Sierra's powerful command of subtle details to create suspense, and more.

WARNING: Spoilers begin at 20:25.

Christa can be found online at https://www.christacarmen.com

Tracy Sierra can be found online at https://www.tracysierraauthor.com

You can buy "Nightwatching at https://bookshop.org/p/books/nightwatching-tracy-sierra/20080533?ean=9780593654767

Other recommendations from Christa: • “A Little Life” by Hanya Yanagihara • “The Push” by Ashley Audrain • “The Girls” by Emma Cline • “Recursion” by Blake Crouch • “Florida” by Lauren Groff • “Hour of the Witch: A Novel” by Chris Bohjalian • “The School for Good Mothers” by Jessamine Chan • "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley

Be sure to tune in to Daniel Braum's YouTube series "Night Time Logic." The series focuses on the strange, weird, and wonderful side of dark fiction through readings and discussions with diverse authors from around the world. You can tune in on Daniel's You Tube Channel, which is his name DanielBraum or @danielbraum7838. https://www.facebook.com/groups/429777132474382 https://www.youtube.com/@danielbraum7838

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Time for another The Weirdest Thing crossover with special guest/cohost Amelia Ampuero. She joins Scotty this week to do a deep dive into AMC's adaptation/re-imagining of Anne Rice's classic novel "Interview With the Vampire" (which just finished its second season this summer). Need something to binge over the holidays? You could sure do a lot worse than this series.

WARNING: Spoilers begin at 42:05

Listen to Scotty's original Anne Rice appreciation episode of The Weirdest Thing, "What's Wrong With Suckling Eroticism?!?" (2/10/2022): https://open.spotify.com/episode/2ubCvv74PG6qll6atuOro3?si=42f87bccb5694fd8

Be sure to check out Daniel Braum's YouTube series "Night Time Logic." The series focuses on the strange, weird, and wonderful side of dark fiction through readings and discussions with diverse authors from around the world. You can tune in on Daniel's You Tube Channel, which is his name DanielBraum or @danielbraum7838. Author Laird Barron will appear live on December 19 at 7 p.m., EST: https://www.facebook.com/events/558650660357949

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Author Belicia Rhea comes onto the podcast to talk to Scotty about influences as diverse as Ray Bradbury, Bruno Schulz, and "House of Leaves," terrible elementary school teachers, amazing college professors, and establishing her own voice in the strange netherworld between surrealism, literary fiction, and horror. And they discuss her short fiction, as well as her debut novella "Voracious" (2024, Dark Matter Ink).

They also spend a few minutes talking about the acclaimed Persian-language indie rockabilly vampire/western "A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night" (2014), written and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour.

You can find Belicia online at https://www.beliciarhea.com

You can buy "Voracious" at https://darkmattermagazine.shop/products/voracious

You can read the short story "Victim 6" in the anthology "Human Monsters_,"_ which is available at https://darkmattermagazine.shop/products/dark-matter-presents-human-monsters

Be sure to check out Daniel Braum's YouTube series "Night Time Logic." The series focuses on the strange, weird, and wonderful side of dark fiction through readings and discussions with diverse authors from around the world. You can tune in on Daniel's You Tube Channel, which is his name DanielBraum or @danielbraum7838. Author Laird Barron will appear live on December 19 at 7 p.m., EST: https://www.facebook.com/events/558650660357949

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Author and filmmaker Joshua Hull comes onto the podcast to talk to Scotty about making microbudget horror films in Indiana, how his love of alternative movie posters lead to his first nonfiction book project "Underexposed! The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made" (2021, Abrams Books), finding the perfect collaborators in making the acclaimed comedy-horror film "Glorious" (2022, Shudder), the unexpected online conversation that sparked his debut novella "Mouth" (2024, Tenebrous Press), and more.

Check out Joshua on IMDB here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3852825/

Watch the trailer for "Glorious" here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esqxTzc3lgM

Buy a copy of "Underexposed! The 50 Greatest Movies Never Made" here: https://www.amazon.com/Underexposed-Greatest-Movies-Never-Made/dp/1419744690/

Buy a copy of "Mouth" here: https://www.amazon.com/Mouth-Joshua-Hull/dp/1959790021/

Be sure to tune in to Daniel Braum's YouTube series "Night Time Logic." The series focuses on the strange, weird, and wonderful side of dark fiction through readings and discussions with diverse authors from around the world. You can tune in on Daniel's You Tube Channel, which is his name DanielBraum or @danielbraum7838. https://www.facebook.com/groups/429777132474382 https://www.youtube.com/@danielbraum7838

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Two-time Bram Stoker Award-nominated author V. Castro comes onto the podcast to talk to Scotty about growing up in Texas, her early interest in horror , the inspiration she draws from Mexican culture and history, using her fiction to explore themes of grief and trauma while also creating space for joy, hope, and sexuality in her work, and more. They discuss her acclaimed, Stoker-nominated novella "Goddess of Filth" (2021, Creature Publishing), as well as her novels "The Haunting of Alejandra" (2023, Del Rey) and "Immortal Pleasures" (2024, Titan Books).

V. Castro can be found online at https://vcastrostories.com

You can buy "Immortal Pleasures" at https://www.amazon.com/Immortal-Pleasures-V-Castro-ebook/dp/B0CCXQ4JWQ/

You can buy "The Haunting of Alejandra" at https://www.amazon.com/Haunting-Alejandra-Novel-V-Castro-ebook/dp/B0B6ZCXLFY/

You can buy "Goddess of Filth" at https://www.amazon.com/Goddess-Filth-V-Castro/dp/1951971035/

Be sure to tune in to Daniel Braum's YouTube series "Night Time Logic." The series focuses on the strange, weird, and wonderful side of dark fiction through readings and discussions with diverse authors from around the world. You can tune in on Daniel's You Tube Channel, which is his name DanielBraum or @danielbraum7838. https://www.facebook.com/groups/429777132474382 https://www.youtube.com/@danielbraum7838

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Author C.J. Leede returns to the podcast, this time to talk to Scotty about her new novel "American Rapture" (October 15, Tor Nightfire). They discuss the influence of her religious upbringing, her thoughts on purity culture, their mutual anxiety about the apocalypse, their shared love of American kitsch, and more.

They also talk about this year's surprise hit "The First Omen," and how it works as both a prequel to the 1976 classic and as a brilliant work of religious horror in its own right.

WARNING: There are moderate spoilers for "The First Omen" in this episode.

C.J. can be found online at https://cjleede.com

You can get your copy of "American Rapture" at https://bookshop.org/p/books/american-rapture-cj-leede/20998275

Find C.J. on tour! https://cjleede.com/events/

Be sure to tune in to Daniel Braum's YouTube series "Night Time Logic." The series focuses on the strange, weird, and wonderful side of dark fiction through readings and discussions with diverse authors from around the world. You can tune in on Daniel's You Tube Channel, which is his name DanielBraum or @danielbraum7838. https://www.facebook.com/groups/429777132474382 https://www.youtube.com/@danielbraum7838

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.

Author N.J. Gallegos returns to the podcast to talk to Scotty about her new novel "The Fatal Mind" (October 15, Winding Road Stories). They talk about N.J.'s day job as an ER doctor, and how that inspired the particular suspense in "The Fatal Mind." They also discuss concussions, moral gray areas, murky ethics, the rush that happens when saving a life...and the specific squick-factor inherent in the type of body horror you find in a medical setting.

They also dig into two classic episodes of the Netflix series "Black Mirror"--"The Entire History of You" (from season 1) and "Men Against Fire" (from season 3).

WARNING: Scotty and N.J. get into spoiler territory with "The Entire History of You" and "Men Against Fire."

You can find N.J. Gallegos online at https://njgallegos.bigcartel.com

Pre-order "The Fatal Mind" here: https://www.amazon.com/Fatal-Mind-N-J-Gallegos-ebook/dp/B0D14GNCZ1/

Be sure to tune in to Daniel Braum's YouTube series "Night Time Logic." The series focuses on the strange, weird, and wonderful side of dark fiction through readings and discussions with diverse authors from around the world. You can tune in on Daniel's You Tube Channel, which is his name DanielBraum or @danielbraum7838. Author Ian Rogers will appear live on October 15 at 7 p.m., EST: https://www.facebook.com/events/441169371875971

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This week Scotty talks to Bram Stoker Award-winning author/editor James Chambers about his upcoming anthology "Where the Silent Ones Watch" (Oct 6, Hippocampus Press). Featuring genre luminaries like John Langan, Nancy Holder, Lee Murray, Michael Cisco, and many more, this anthology is inspired by the work of famed weird fiction writer William Hope Hodgson — author of the classic novels "The Boats of the Glen Carrig" (1907), "The House on the Borderland" (1908), and "The Night Land" (1912), creator of the great ghost finder Thomas Carnacki, and envisioner of the epic (and terrifying) Sargasso Sea.

Scotty and James talk about Hodgson's work, singular creative vision, and short life (which ended tragically during World War I). They dive deep into the new anthology, discussing many of the stories and poems and talking about James' process in curating the book. They also spend a bit of time on James' earlier anthology "Under Twin Suns: Alternate Histories of the Yellow Sign" (2021, Hippocampus Press), a similar project inspired by the work of Robert W. Chambers.

You can find James online at www.jameschambersonline.com

Pre-order your copy of "Where the Silent Ones Watch" here:https://www.hippocampuspress.com/other-authors/fiction/where-the-silent-ones-watch-edited-by-james-chambers?zenid=ec43033qd3qs8u01haautju201

Buy "Under Twin Suns: Alternate Histories of the Yellow Sign here: https://www.hippocampuspress.com/other-authors/fiction/under-twin-suns-alternate-histories-of-the-yellow-sign?zenid=25dnat30ibjtqk1evjt3icubo1

Read William Hope Hodgson: https://www.amazon.com/Delphi-Complete-William-Hodgson-Illustrated-ebook/dp/B014N5J6SY/

Listen to Scotty's story about Hodgson vs. Houdini on "The Weirdest Thing" podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-weirdest-thing/id1534847356?i=1000658160165

Be sure to tune in to Daniel Braum's YouTube series "Night Time Logic." The series focuses on the strange, weird, and wonderful side of dark fiction through readings and discussions with diverse authors from around the world. You can tune in on Daniel's You Tube Channel, which is his name DanielBraum or @danielbraum7838. Author Ian Rogers will appear live on October 15 at 7 p.m., EST: https://www.facebook.com/events/441169371875971

This podcast is powered by Pinecast.