Yes, yes, that headline was an attempt at a Corey Hart pun… and I think I NAILED IT!!! Or failed.

Either way – today’s guest is one I think a lot of folks will be excited to read about. Stephanie Wytovich is a truly accomplished author and also one of the nicest folks out there. I was super honored when she agreed to do one of these ridiculous features!

So, please do welcome Stephanie!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try to write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Stephanie: My writing time is unstructured and chaos. Pure, absolute chaos. When I started out a decade or so ago, I was under the impression that you had to write every day, and so I tried that and I shot for a certain word count and everything and that was manageable because I was young and in graduate school and didn’t really have a whole lot of responsibility outside of myself. Plus, it kept me on a schedule, which is something I still find myself grasping for now and again. But! Fast forward to today when I have a house, a husband, a FT job, freelance responsibilities, two dogs, and a daughter under a year old, and well…every day when we all go to bed alive, clean, fed, and relatively happy is a win for me. So what does that mean for my writing? Honestly, it means I write when I can fit it in and when I feel energized to do so.

A couple years ago, I suffered from creative burnout. Bad. Writing stopped being fun for me and I promised myself that if that ever happened that I’d take a step back and evaluate myself and my goals. After doing that, I realized I wanted to keep writing—that I missed writing and that it was central to my identity as a person—but my approach to it had to change. I’m a lot kinder to myself these days. If I’m tired, I sleep rather than pulling all-nighters. If I don’t feel like writing, I don’t; no more forcing myself in the chair and losing nights and only having a couple hundred words to show for it. I no longer try to hit every submission opening under the sun. I pick and choose my projects carefully and with respect for myself as a person, not only as a writer. I know some of this all probably sounds counterintuitive to the question, especially because I do produce on a fairly steady and regular basis, but I guess what I’m saying is that I’m not as strict about it as I used to be. I try to find quiet moments in my day—when my daughter goes to sleep at night, early in the morning before everyone gets up, etc.—and I use those moments to write, edit, and brainstorm. Sometimes I take myself out on writing dates where I’ll sit in a coffee shop, have my morning coffee, and get some work done. Other times when I’m on deadline, I chat with my family and make sure that I have specific time blocks to create and work where I won’t be disturbed.

Something I do every day though without question is read. I read poetry, memoir, fiction, and true crime. I read nonfiction and books about business and PR and marketing. I subscribe to Poets and Writers, The Writer Magazine, Rue Morgue and Fangoria. I love reading what my peers have to say on LitHub, Medium, and LitReactor, and I often seek out stories and essays in Nightmare, The Dark, Vasterian, and Tor. Audiobooks have made it infinitely easier to consume stories and information, and I also listen to a bunch of podcasts, too, about books, horror, film, etc. I attribute this all to my writing process and my ability to do research as an instructor and a creative. Sometimes writing is actually not writing. Yes, you need to put your butt in the chair and produce words but thinking critically and asking questions and knowing how to seek answers and subvert what’s been done before is important, too.

Steve: If you could write a story for another author’s fictional world/series, which would it be and why?

Stephanie: This is a tough question, so I’m going to go with the first world that popped into my head, which is the Hellraiser universe (Clive Barker, The Hellbound Heart). Barker was a huge inspiration for me when I started writing, and his monsters and creatures and creations, to this day, have such a hold on my heart. If I could play with the cenobites and open the box, ah, that would be a dream—er, nightmare!—of the best kind. A close second would be Silent Hill.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Stephanie: I have some exciting stuff on the books for this year:

• My poem “Such Secrets, These Stones” will be published in Daughter of Sarpedon, a Medusa-themed anthology forthcoming from Brigids Gate Press.
• My poem “Dinner with Baba Yaga” will be included alongside my short story “A Trail of Feathers, a Trail of Blood” in the upcoming Black Spot Books anthology, Into the Forest, a collection of Baba Yaga tales.
• Lastly, my book Writing Poetry in the Dark will be out on October 18. Writing Poetry in the Darkis a craft book for speculative poets, by speculative poets, with a foreword by one of the genre’s most celebrated authors and creator of the Writing in the Dark brand, Tim Waggoner. This book meditates on craft, genre, style, and form as acclaimed SF/F/H poets come together to talk about their process, outlook, and approach to writing and incorporating the speculative into their poems.

Steve: Bonus Question! Do you have a cherished book?

Stephanie: Yes! We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. It’s my favorite book and it’s my comfort read. I reach for it often and I have several copies of it and have it on audio.

Fantastic! Thank you so much for doing this, Stephanie!

To find more of her work, please do check out the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Stephanie-M-Wytovich/e/B00DTKIN2K

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SWytovich

Website: https://www.stephaniemwytovich.com/

Today’s guest is one who I’ve long been a fan of and someone who I’ve been fortunate to work with as well. Not only did I get to write a foreword to an anthology Ross was putting together, but later I was also invited to be in an anthology through Storgy. And let’s not forget, Ross and Joseph Sale’s upstart small press published my novella ‘The Window in the Ground.’ Ross himself has shown just how talented of an author he is and I’m always excited to see what he has coming!

Please, welcome Ross!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
Ross: My writing time varies from book to book, which includes the time of day I write, the soundtracks I listen to and the work count (although I’m starting to not be too ridged on that last one). For instance, when I wrote ‘The Devil’s Pocketbook’ it was an evening book, between 7pm-9pm for about a month; I’d go to work and then when I’d come home I’d do all my dad responsibilities and then when the children went to bed, I’d settle down in the office and create. This book had the soundtrack to ‘Midnight Mass’ like I’d listen to the whole album on repeat, that even now when it comes on, certain tracks remind me exactly of what I was writing at the time. For ‘The Devil’s Pocketbook’ I wrote between 4k-5k a night, every night of the week, giving myself the luxury of weekends off.
For my latest book ‘I Died Too, But They Haven’t Buried Me Yet’ it was a morning book, I’d write first thing in the morning, and then adapting the Lansdale Technique (look it up its awesome) I’d then polish my words in the evening, getting myself ready for the next day’s session. Although writing this book I did have some annual leave to take and so I was writing each morning, at my desk, without fail. I was also writing this book alongside Josh Malerman (who was writing his own macabre tale – Incidents Around The House) and so I had to keep up, and writing a little, often, really helped keep the momentum going on this project. I was able to finish it in 25 writing sessions (so in essence 25 days – 98K). The soundtrack for this one was the works of Joseph Bishara (The Conjuring dude) which helped get me into the creepy mindset I needed for the feel of this book.
So, circling back to your point, each book drives the process – for ‘I Died Too…’ we (Josh and I) opted for about 2k a day, so at the end of the working week we’d have 10K and then we’d swap our manuscripts. This slowing down really helped to hone the words on the page, gave time to breath and really get into the story – big word counts for writing days are cool, don’t get me wrong, but slowing down really helps (as long as you keep moving – little and often wins the race).

Steve: You decide to host a writer’s retreat. One weekend in a luxury house on an island. What three other authors do you invite to come along?
Ross: We’ll that’s a tough one, but I’m going to have to go with people that I feel I’d vibe from and that we’d have a great time, talking shop and sharing stories; so I’d go with Stephen King, Josh Malerman and Chuck Palahniuk.
Chuck Palahniuk is one of the people I attribute to me starting this crazy dream of writing. I read ‘Fight Club’ before the film came out and it blew my tiny mind. I’d really struggled growing up and reading, like I couldn’t find books I wanted to read, and at school I had an English teacher that bullied me and put me off writing and reading. So, I discovered reading for pleasure late in life, but when I cracked open the spine of ‘Fight Club’ and devoured his words, I was like “Wow. Chuck, where have you been my whole life”.
Stephen King is Stephen King right? Like to sit and chat with the King of horror would be like panning a fountain of horrific knowledge and insight, just to speak with him about his books, his craft, where he gets his ideas, what he struggles with (endings I can hear people shouting already) and how he continually churns out books… like that is the dream. He’s also a huge hero of mine and so he’s on the list for sure.
Josh Malerman – I’ve had the joy to get to know Josh over the years as a friend and well, to meet that guy in person and to have some drinks, talk shop, discuss life, man that would be incredible – plus if we need some musical interlude or something, the man can do that too. Also, Josh’s work to date is incredible, no two books are the same, he’s a true chameleon and his ideas are so unique, so “why didn’t I think of that!”.
Just imagine that writing retreat – the minds in the room, the stories, the sheer brilliance waiting to explode; each in their own right such gifted raconteurs… and being at the centre of that – I’m in, where do I sign up?

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Ross: So, my most recent release is ‘Beautiful Atrocities’ – its my debut short story collection and one that I’m pretty proud of, you’ll find no cryptids in my fiction, its straight up monsters of men and women, how brutality springs from the mind and destroys all it touches. I think that the horrors men and women do to each other is some of the scariest stuff on the planet, and so that’s what this collection focuses on. There’s something for everyone (unless you love cryptids – there not in there) and it features a foreword by Eric LaRocca which perfectly sums up the varied collection of my work.
If you’ve never read my work before, it’s a great little sampler for what you might get if you checked out my other work.

Steve: Bonus Question! You receive an invitation in the mail from one of these two people. The invitation invites you to have dinner and spend the night in their home. Do you accept the invitation from Victor Frankenstein or Dracula and why?
Ross: Neither, I don’t do cryptids (I thought I made myself clear above).
“OWWW… Steve that hurts. Stop. Twisting. My. Arm. It hurts, stop it… okay, okay… I’ll pick…”
Frankenstein – he’s much more the conversationalist, plus I hear he’s allergic to nuts (heheheh – dad humour strikes again).

Oh good grief… ha! Thanks so much Ross!

To find more of his work – check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Ross-Jeffery/e/B07RPBMQSD/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RossJeffery_

Website: https://rossjeffery.carrd.co/

Have I used that “believe in Miracles!” opener already? Yes? I can’t remember. Probably. Ah, the pleasures of getting old AND scheduling 100 3Q’s features haha!

Today’s guest lives just down the QEII from me and is a fellow member of the HWA Alberta Chapter!

Please, do welcome, Marcus!!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Marcus: I write usually at night and try to make it the same time every day just to establish some sort of routine. But the honest truth is that I do a lot of writing in between things, lunch breaks, appointments, in transit from one place to another, and so forth. Time that could easily be spent doing something mindless like staring at my phone I try to use for something a bit more purposeful wherever I can. And my word count is whatever I happen to get. Sometimes that’s 1000 words, sometimes 100. It all adds up.

Steve: If you could write a story for another author’s fictional world/series, which would it be and why?

Marcus: I’m a big Dracula fan so if anything it would probably be that. But I also love both Star Wars and Batman and would die a happy boy if I could ever do anything creatively for either of those franchises in an official capacity. (and I have ideas so hit me up, Del Rey/DC)

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Marcus: It’s called Acts of Violence and it’s a collection of previously published, but mostly unpublished, short stories. It’s got winter horror, religious horror, carnival horror, slasher, zombie, haunting, and more so there’s lots of variety.

Steve: Bonus Question! Do you have a cherished book?

Marcus: I’m fortunate enough to own a few that I cherish: first editions of Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles and a signed copy of Chuck Palahniuk’s Stranger Than Fiction. But the crown jewel for me would be an 1897 copy of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland that I was given by my grandmother.

Very cool!

Thank you so much, Marcus!

Check the links to find more of his work!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Marcus-Hawke/e/B08H81ZHVS

Website: https://www.marcushawke.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hawkehaus

Title: Ghostwritten

Author: Ronald Malfi

Release date: October 4th, 2022

Firstly, huge thanks to Netgalley, Ronald Malfi and Titan Books for approving me for a digital ARC!

Malfi struck gold with ‘Come With Me’ his novel that came out just last year, Summer 2021. Imagine our surprise when it was then announced that we would be getting not one, but two releases from him in 2022. First up was the fantastic ‘Black Mouth.’ And now, here we are with ‘Ghostwritten.’

‘Ghostwritten’ is a collection of four novellas that can either be digested individually, or read as four parts to a longer story all interconnected through the mysterious books that take center stage and the horrible events surrounding the books. Malfi covers a lot of ground in these ones and it shows just how solid and capable of a writer he is that none of them felt repetitive when held up in comparison to the other’s within here.

What I liked: We start off with a bang – ‘The Skin of her Teeth’ is both a straightforward story of a book that drives people to madness and death. Taken at face value, we follow as an agent desperately tries to save a huge deal between her client and a movie studio, as her client is tasked with writing the screenplay. It could also be taken as a metaphor to the writer’s grind of trying to make a deadline and feeling all consumed by a project.

Either way, Malfi gives us creeps and tension which all comes to a head and will leave you breathless.

Next up, we get ‘The Dark Brother’s Last Ride.’ This was a fun one, revolving around two hired goons tasked with transporting a briefcase and given some simple rules. Follow the map exactly. Don’t open the case. Don’t touch what’s inside. Ignore anyone asking about it. It made for really fun trip.

Third was ‘This Book Belongs to Olo.’ First – the cover of this collection relates to this story, which really heightens the insanity you’ll find within. Second – this was my favorite story within the collection. Almost a YA-Fantasy novella that has tinges of Tim Burton or Guillermo del Toro, Malfi introduces us to Olo, a lonely child who has no friends and lives in a mansion with his stepdad and mom. Both are preoccupied with their own careers to even care about Olo, so he decides to find a way to make friends. I almost wish this particular one was illustrated or maybe one day we get a stop-motion movie out of him akin to James and the Giant Peach. I can’t rave more about this one without going into spoiler territory, but really loved this one.

Lastly, we finish with ‘The Story,’ which goes in so many different directions. Malfi manages to hold it together and close out with a strong finish.

What I didn’t like: While I enjoyed them all, I did find ‘The Dark Brother’s Last Ride’ to be the one that didn’t click with me as much and I think a part of that is my own personal reasons. I’m not a huge fan of mob stories, gangsters etc and this starts off with that aspect and then goes from there. It is fun and solid, but not completely my cup of tea.

Why you should buy this: Malfi continues to deliver and showing why so many people rave about his work. Throughout we get solid storylines, great characters and horrifying events – all the while tied together thematically from start to finish. Really well done and definitely a place where new fans can dive in, while old fans will be more than happy with what they read.

4/5

Look at this! Another 3Q’s annnnddd another Canuck writer haha!

I’m excited to introduce you all to Madison!

Welcome, Madison!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try to write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Madison: I’m tempted to lie and say I have some intense gothic writing process, but alas, I’m a bit of a cliché. I like parking myself at picnic tables, coffee shops, and libraries; when writing at home, I tidy up my apartment so I’m not staring at too much clutter and set myself up with a record and a cup of tea. Sometimes scented candles, lava lamps, and/or essential oil dispensers are involved.

Music is probably the most important part of my set-up. I can’t get much done without a soundtrack and I make a big production of selecting songs, albums, and playlists that match the tone of whatever I happen to be writing. (For The Doom That Came to Mellonville, that meant listening to Richard Band’s Re-Animator score on repeat).

I often start writing with an idea for a vibe rather than a plot, and music feeds into that; my novelette The Forest Dreams With Teeth owes a lot to Robert E. Howard and The Wicker Man, but it probably wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t been walking in the woods in the ‘burbs while listening to Dio.

Steve: If you could write a story for another author’s fictional world/series, which would it be and why?

Madison: Conan the Barbarian or Beastmaster. I love sword-and-sorcery and I don’t think its possible to create a better hero than Conan or Marc Singer’s Dar. Specifically, I want to write a prequel to Beastmaster III: The Eye of Braxus, which I’m sure there’d be a market for. And the Conan universe is just so swashbuckling and mysterious; I’d love to write a Howard-style throwback that really plays up the weird horror.

I also recently had an idea for a Hellraiser story focused on a vengeful Chatterer, which I might actually sit down and write.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Madison: My debut poetry chapbook Fringewood was released this summer by Alien Buddha Press. It’s a collection of 22 gothic, folk horror, and paranormal-inspired poems set in a strange little town that may or may not exist.

Content-wise, it’s a mix of monster mayhem and melancholy musings (and that’s my alliteration allotment for the day). When I was pitching the collection, I compared it to My Heart is a Chainsaw, Midsommar, and Welcome to Night Vale, as well as the works of The Misfits and Phoebe Bridgers, which seems a little presumptuous; but if you can’t carnival bark for your own stuff, no one else will.

Self-indulgently, I was very excited for this one because I drew the cover illustration (a first for me), and many of the poems are very personal. There’s also a lot of in-jokes – for instance, “Tunney’s Pasture,” which I portray as a muddy field that dissolves rubber soles and mutates livestock, is the name of a downtown Ottawa bus station I used to hate waiting at.

Check out Fringewood if you like witchcraft, cryptids, and sinister small towns.

Steve: Bonus Question! Do you have a cherished book?

Madison: In the dying days of Zellers, I picked the carcass of my local store and found a single copy of Clive Barker’s Cabal. The 1989 paperback edition with just a U.K. price on the back – I’m honestly not sure how it ended up in a Canadian Zellers in 2013. I was a high school senior and had never consumed any Barker before, but I was immediately drawn in by the beauty of the language and the vividly conjured characters (not to mention the feminist and queer themes). This particular book also had the most tantalizing back cover copy I’ve ever read.

Sadly, Barker’s planned trilogy never happened, so we may never learn the fate of the Nightbreed. But Cabal is still a small masterpiece and my all-time favourite book.

Great choice and that is crazy that it ended up at a Zellers! I love when people make crazy finds!

Thank you again, Madison!

To discover more of her work – click the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Madison-McSweeney/e/B0979N64R1

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MMcSw13

Website: https://madisonmcsweeney.com/

One thing that I’ve loved hearing back from people who read these and those who I’ve invited to be on the 3Q’s, is just how fun it is, but also how short and snappy it is. The reality is, while I love reading long interviews or watch long interviews, sometimes we just don’t have the time to fit it all in. So much content is being created and it’s getting harder to decide what to consume. 3Q’s was imagined as an interview feature for the social media age. 5-10 minutes of time to check it out, have a laugh, find a good book and ultimately learn just a little bit more about your favorite authors!

Today’s guest really doesn’t need an introduction. Josh Malerman is a force, having written numerous best sellers, hit singles with his band The High Strung, created sought after limited editions and been behind one of the biggest movies (and social media phenomenon’s) on Netflix with Birdbox. I was super grateful that he agreed to do one and was super excited to get his replies back so fast! So, naturally – here he is for a Special 3Q’s!

Please welcome Josh!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Josh: So, this is exclusive to each book. So far, each book has followed its own routine and has maintained the routine for the duration of the rough draft. Bird Box was written between 8AM and noon every day, an average of 4,300 words a day. The newest, Incidents Around the House, was written between about 8PM and midnight, at about 2,500 words a day. Ghoul n’ The Cape was 1,000 a day. Unbury Carol was 5,300 a day. So… within themselves, in and of themselves: routine. But no overarching routine heading into the first draft. The story kinda tells you, This is when you’re going to write me and this is about how much you’re gonna get out of me each day.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?
Josh: Ha. How about I read it first, then definitely share. I couldn’t live with the guilt. And who’d want to do that anyway? It’s an interesting question though. I wonder if a hardcore collector might want it for him/herself. Come to think of it, this is a good story idea. A hardcore collector discovers an unknown novel by a beloved author, keeps it for himself, suffers the horrifying consequences. Maybe the ghost of the author or the author’s family or something starts showing up around the house. (Steve – I would read that!)

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Josh: Daphne (Del Rey) came out September 20th. We hosted a great theatrical reading: rented out a gymnasium, had fog and lights, scary music playing, and my fiancée Allison hit a fifteen-foot shot as I was narrating her making the shot. Incredible. Daphne, the seven-foot denim-clad whiskey and smoke smelling slasher, absolutely represents a panic attack. And the girls on the Samhattan High School basketball team must contend with her predilection for ballers. The more they think about Daphne? The closer she gets. So, just don’t think about her, right? Riiiight. Just like panic or anxiety, she’s coming. I’d been looking for an angle on anxiety, a prism, for years, and Daphne came to me fully formed.

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your super power?
Josh: Call me Optimo. And my power is that I’m the guy on the superpower team who says, “Hey, actually I think we can pull this off.” And then the people with the real powers say, “Hey, shit man, if Optimo thinks we can… maybe we can.”

Ha! Great answer. Love it.

Thanks so much, Josh, really appreciate it.

As always – check the links to find more of his work!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Josh-Malerman/e/B00K8R9C8Q

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JoshMalerman

Website: https://joshmalerman.com/

Truly, truly honored to have today’s guest join us.

Kevin J. Kennedy has been so very important in my writing career. Not only was he my first story acceptance, he was also my very first anthology invite! He’s always been super supportive to myself as well as a whole host of other writers!

Everyone – Kevin!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try to write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

KJK: Nope. I write whenever I can squeeze it in. I always have a pretty busy schedule so I just need to find time. I also never set myself a word count. I do what I can in each session and when my brain melts, I give up. I seem to be okay at hitting deadlines but that’s likely because I work well under pressure and work harder on the last few days before something is due and push other stuff aside. After I sub I go back to normal life for a bit.

Steve: If you started a series and for some reason had to have another author finish it, who would you choose? 

KJK: That’s a tough one. It would depend on the sub-genre I suppose. As things are going just now it would likely by Matt Clark (writes under Matthew A. Clarke). I’m doing more and more Bizarro stuff and I love Mark’s work. He never seems to stop working so I’m sure he could squeeze it in somewhere and we have similar tastes, so it could work well.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

KJK: My newest release is an anthology called The Horror Collection: Nightmare Edition. It contains stories by eighteen authors. I don’t have a story in this one. I just read the subbed stories, picked my favourites and then picked the story order. It may be the last book in the series which now has twelve books. It’s roughly three times the size of the other books in the series so it would be a good one to close with.

Steve: Bonus Question! If they made a movie about your life, what actor or actress would you suggest they get to play you?

KJK: Hmmm. That’s a tough one. Maybe Vin Diesel. We both have a shaved head and a really deep voice. Being fair, I think he hits the gym a bit more than me, but I seen a picture of him on a yacht with a beer belly at one point and that look would have been perfect for a movie about me. lol

Good choice! I reckon if he can play Groot so convincingly, he can play you!

Thanks again, Kevin!

To find more reads from Kevin, click the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Kevin-J-Kennedy/e/B016V0NA7M

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KevinJKennedy01

Title: This is Where We Talk Things Out

Author: Caitlin Marceau

Release date: September 22, 2022

Firstly, huge thanks to Caitlin, Andrew and DarkLit Press for sending me a digital copy to review!

I actually read this at the end of last week, casually starting it on the Thursday night, but became quickly engrossed and would’ve finished it that night if I hadn’t already read for 90 mins prior to starting this. I typically don’t post reviews on the weekends (some rare occasions based around release dates or special requests – and let’s face it, sometimes social media can be crickets on the weekends) but I wrote this up on my phone once done to post first thing this Monday morning.

The novella is quick, sharp and rubbles along like a freight train about to come off the tracks.

What I liked: The story follows an daughter and her mother who are tentatively trying to rebuild some of their estranged relationship following the death of the father. We quickly learn that the mother, Sylvie, doesn’t fully approve of her daughter, Miller’s life choices (she is engaged to another female and partakes in recreational substances) as well as the fact that Sylvie has always been a difficult parent, someone who makes statements and comments that are horrific and then gaslights Miller into apologizing for upsetting Sylvie when she’s called out.

This pattern continues, as Miller reluctantly agrees to visit with Sylvie for a weekend in a cabin she believes her mom has rented. Marceau does a great job of infuriating us with Sylvie’s constant overreactions and ability to turn everything around onto Miller. It works really well to exasperate the reader but also ramp up the tension between the two of them.

With a huge storm barreling in, Marceau adds in some unforeseen turn-of-events that works really well to isolate Miller and the cabin even more and the level of craziness that Sylvie exhibits goes off the charts.

The ending – which is expected – still works to add another layer of paleness over the preceding 100 pages and closes it off really nicely.

What I didn’t like: There are trigger warnings for some of what happens, but I will say, if you’ve ever dealt with a parent who exhibits any of the same traits as Sylvie, you’ll be furious reading this. True, it shows just how well of a job Marceau does bringing this character and their relationship to life, but holy man, I didn’t realize I was going to take some of this as personally as I did and how angry it made me in spots! So, be aware ha! Additionally, there’s a bit about the father that is made fairly obvious early on, which dampened some of that reveal.

Why you should buy this: It’s always exciting to me when a novella rips right out of the gate and holds you solidly until you finish it off and finally exhale. Marceau never once lets the pedal off the floor while steering us readers through thick and thin. So, if you’re looking for a really solid, fast-paced, family based piece, look no further. This one was really well done.

5/5

It’s always an exciting time when a star-studded anthology is about to be released!

And what’s even more exciting? When that anthology is about to be launched in the US, only a few short days after winning a British Fantasy Award for Best Non-Fiction!

Dan Coxon is a celebrated author and editor and today, I have the pleasure of welcoming Dan, just before the launch of his newest Anthology!

Welcome Dan!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try and write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?
Dan: I actually have so many things going on at the moment that – out of necessity – I’ve come to see writing as only one part of it. The way I’ve learned to look at it, the writing is simply part of the bigger project, which is being a writer. So while it may sometimes feel like I’ve wasted a day editing submissions to an anthology, or preparing a writing workshop, or even booking membership for conventions and arranging travel, that’s all still part of the bigger project. All this is a long way of saying that I’m not always writing, and that old adage of ‘make sure you write every day’ just doesn’t ring true for me. What I do instead is make sure I engage with writing every day – whether it’s as a reader, a writer, or an editor. That said, when I’m deep into a project – a novel manuscript, or a longer story – I tend to make sure that I’m coming to it every day and adding to it, so that the momentum and energy behind it don’t fizzle out.

Steve: You end up at an estate sale and discover an unpublished manuscript from an author you love. Do you keep it just for yourself or do you share it with the world?
Dan: I’d be straight on the phone to a few publishers I know! In all seriousness, I’ve always felt that it’s like trees falling in a distant forest – if the words aren’t being read, then it’s basically the same as if they didn’t exist. It’s why being published is so important not just to me, but to most writers – for some people it’s ego pure and simple, but I think for most of us we don’t feel like our work truly comes alive until it’s published somewhere. The reader brings your world into existence.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!
Dan: My latest release is actually an anthology. Isolation: The Horror Anthology is out now in the UK and the US from Titan Books, and as for why you should read it… well, I might as well reel off the contributors. We have stories by Joe R. Lansdale, Paul Tremblay, Tim Lebbon, M. R. Carey, Ken Liu, Laird Barron, Gwendolyn Kiste, Jonathan Maberry, Angela Slatter, Owl Goingback, Ramsey Campbell… the list goes on. I’m also really pleased with the way it all came together. There are a few pandemic stories in the mix – it’s one of the reasons why we decided to do the anthology in the first place – but isolation has a much longer history than that within the horror genre. From the abandoned cabin in the woods to the star freighter adrift in the vacuum of space, isolation is a cornerstone of so many horror stories, and it’s fascinating to see so many great writers approaching it from such different angles.
If you want to check out my own writing, I also have stories coming out in Mother: Tales of Love and Terror from Weird Little Worlds, and Great British Horror 7: Major Arcana from Black Shuck Books. It’s been a busy few months.

Steve: Bonus Question! You wake up in a comic book. What is your comic book character and what is your super power?
Dan: I have two boys, aged 7 and 10, and this is something that frequently comes up in conversation! I think my favourite answer so far is ‘Imaginarium’, who has the ability to make anything he imagines come true. That pretty much covers most bases, since you can imagine other super powers. It also feels remarkably like being a writer, now I come to think about it…

That is really a fantastic answer and what a fun game to play with your boys!

Thank you so much for doing this, Dan!

To find more of Dan’s work – check the links!

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dan-Coxon/e/B0034PDEYM/

Website: http://www.dancoxon.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanCoxonAuthor

Big, big fan of today’s guest! Dan Soule is a tireless promoter of others, as well as a talented author and burgeoning cover designer.

Really excited to introduce you all to Dan!

Welcome Dan!

Steve: What does your writing time look like? Do you try to write at the same time each day? Do you have a word count you attempt to hit?

Dan: Routine isn’t something I have the luxury of. I learned a while ago to write around other areas of my life, like family, work, martial arts. I believe that ‘you are what you do consistently.’ but I didn’t want an ‘ideal’ routine to be a reason not to write. So, I write wherever and when ever I can. Mostly, I find myself a space with my laptop and go. It’s the summer holidays as I write this and I’m off with the kids while my wife is at work. I get up when she does and grab a couple of hours writing before the kids emerge, if I’m luckily. Basically, If I keep writing a book will emerge. I am a little bit more ordered than that, like I outline before I write, and I re-outline as I go along, and generally I have a pretty tight draft structurally speaking, by the end. An editing phase comes next. That’s about it. Sometimes I listen to music, sometimes not. It all depends. Just do the work. I’m not an artist and an artisan, blue collar writer. I don’t lie around waiting for my muse and aching over my unrecognized creative genius.

Steve: If you could write a story for another author’s fictional world/series, which would it be and why?

Dan: I’m not a big reader of series, but I love the first three Alien movies and read some of the spin-off books. It would be an honour to be asked to write in that world, assuming I didn’t have to follow the lore that Ridley Scott arsed up in the last two movies.

Steve: Tell me about your newest release (novel/story/poem/novella) and why someone should read it!

Dan: My newest release is a novella (quite a long one) called THE JAM. Perhaps you can tell from the title, it is either a horror about a nightmare English afternoon tea party OR an horrific traffic jam. Basically, I thought a traffic jam was an under-utilised setting for a horror story. As authors we are always looking for ways to trap out characters and those strange, in between type of places are always a little creepy by their very nature. Also, it’s a realistic contrivance for putting a diverse set of characters together, who ordinarily wouldn’t meet in real life. Thereafter, I can’t say much. It is all about what caused the jam and ultimately how and if they can get out of what’s coming. I hope I throw some curve balls to the reader and it isn’t what they think it is going to be. Like all my books, I tried to make it much more about the characters, and in this one particularly a teenage boy called Max and the less than ideal relationship with his mother and father. Max does just have to escape the terror outside his vehicle but inside it too.

Awesome! Thank you so much, Dan! I appreciate you doing this!

To discover more of Dan’s work, check the links!

Twitter: https://twitter.com/WriterDanSoule

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Daniel-Soule/e/B01N7WNQBQ

Website: https://dansoule.com/blog/