Author: Catherine Jordan

Articles / Reviews

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Epeolatry Book Review: Dancing in the Shadows: A Tribute to Anne Rice, ed. Elaine Pascale & Rebecca Rowland

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: Dancing in the Shadows: A Tribute to Anne Rice
Author:  Various, ed. Elaine Pascale & Rebecca Rowland
Publisher: Yuriko Publishing LLC
Genre: Gothic horror
Release Date: 22nd May, 2022

Synopsis: With her hauntingly beautiful reimagining of archetypal monsters from classic horror, Anne Rice was the undisputed queen of contemporary gothic literature. Her contribution to the movement first established by Shelley, Stoker, and Stevenson revitalized and continues to inspire dark fiction writers and readers. Dancing in the Shadows pays tribute to Rice’s legacy with tales from today’s most innovative authors, drawing from the darkness where vampires and witches, mummies and rougarous, spirits and demons move to the music of nightmares. 

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Epeolatry Book Review: We Can Never Leave This Place by Eric LaRocca

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: We Can Never Leave This Place
Editor: Eric LaRocca
Publisher: Trepidatio Publishing
Genre: Horror
Release Date: 24th June, 2022

Synopsis: “When you’re given a gift, something else gets taken away.”

A precocious young girl with an unusual imagination is sent on an odyssey into the depths of depravity. After her father dies violently, young Mara is surprised to find her mother welcoming a new guest into their home, claiming that he will protect them from the world of devastation and destruction outside their door.

A grotesque and thrilling dark fantasy, We Can Never Leave This Place is a harrowing portrait of inherited grief and familial trauma.

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StokerCon 2022: How Stoker Got His Con On

StokerCon 2022 ReviewI don’t want to rehash the StokerCon website, so this article stems from my personal point of view. FYI; StokerCon Pittsburgh 2023 Early Bird Registration is now open!

The Curtis Denver, voted one of Denver Colorado’s Best Hotels for its artistic vibrancy and attention to detail, hosted StokerCon Thursday May 12th through Sunday May 15th. 

Thursday’s reception kickoff brought lots of faces, some new (Jennifer McMahon, Michael Bailey and Shanna Heath, and a super fun woman I met while in line at the cocktail bar—I didn’t get her name!), some I’d only seen on social media or Zoom and wanted to meet face-to-face (Jim Chambers, Sumiko Saulson, Joe Donley, and Tim Waggoner), and others comfortably familiar like my Hive Writing Group. And cocktails.  

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Epeolatry Book Review: When Things Get Dark, ed. Ellen Datlow

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: When Things Get Dark, Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson
Author: Various, ed. Ellen Datlow
Genre: Horror
Publisher: Titan Books
Release Date: 28th September, 2021

Synopsis: A collection of new and exclusive short stories inspired by, and in tribute to, Shirley Jackson.
 
Shirley Jackson is a seminal writer of horror and mystery fiction, whose legacy resonates globally today. Chilling, human, poignant and strange, her stories have inspired a generation of writers and readers. This anthology, edited by legendary horror editor Ellen Datlow, will bring together today’s leading horror writers to offer their own personal tribute to the work of Shirley Jackson.

 
Featuring Joyce Carol Oates, Josh Malerman, Carmen Maria Machado, Paul Tremblay, Richard Kadrey, Stephen Graham Jones, Elizabeth Hand, Kelly Link, Cassandra Khaw, Karen Heuler, Benjamin Percy, John Langan, Laird Barron, Jeffrey Ford, M. Rickert, Seanan McGuire, Gemma Files, and Genevieve Valentine.

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Can Authors Write In Different Genres?

Diverse Disciplines: Fielding the Field

by Catherine Jordan 

Can authors write in different genres?

As a writer, if you haven’t already tried your hand within other categories, you should—genre blending is on the rise. The mixture of themes and elements is not new. But as a horror writer, I’m seeing calls for horror comedies (I recently watched Netflix’s Le Manoir/The Mansion, a hysterically funny horror), historical horror (Alma Katsu’s disturbing, The Hunger, was based on the Donner Party), horror romance (Warm Bodies, a zombie romance by Isaac Marion), and horror mystery (Gillian Flynn’s Sharp Objects—the who-dun-it is horrific and features the most evil women on the planet). 
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Epeolatry Book Review: Cats of the Pacific Northwest by Joe Donley

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: Cats of the Pacific Northwest
Author: Joe Donley
Illustrator: Leo Corbett
Genre: Horror/Supernatural Thriller
Publisher: Dark Forest Press
Release Date: 20th July, 2021

Synopsis: David, an unsure young man, is trying to figure out how to be a “man” in the modern age. Well, at least what his girlfriend, Emma, expects of him. When she suggests a backpacking trip out on the Olympic Peninsula, he jumps at the opportunity to demonstrate his worth. But, once they get out into the wilderness, they are quickly lost. Now they are out of food and beginning to starve, when a strange couple of cats cross their path.

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Epeolatry Book Review: The Language of Shadows by Aaron White

Disclosure:

Our reviews may contain affiliate links. If you purchase something through the links in this article we may receive a small commission or referral fee. This happens without any additional cost to you.

Title: The Language of Shadows
Author: Aaron White
Genre: Horror/Short Stories
Publisher: Independent
Release Date: 31st Dec, 2020

Synopsis: A strange house and its equally strange occupant lurk in the middle of a forbidden stretch of woods near a small, superstitious village.On a cold wintery night, an unfortunate accident sends a young man to a nightmarish hospital where nothing is quite as it seems.A series of bizarre deaths leads a detective to the coast of a New England town where something sinister lurks deep in the ocean.An infamous artist creates one last frightening piece of work and unleashes it upon a prestigious gallery and its guests.A wealthy entrepreneur, having exhausted every earthly indulgence, seeks new experiences beyond the known universe using experimental and dangerous technology.These stories and more await you in THE LANGUAGE OF SHADOWS, a collection of short stories written and illustrated by award-winning artist Aaron White.

THE LANGUAGE OF SHADOWS, a collection of short stories written and illustrated by award-winning artist Aaron White, does not disappoint. 

Prime Time Terror, about a video portal to a nightmarish reality found amongst the MC’s father’s stuff, is reminiscent of the movie, Beyond the Gates. Although this story takes place in a darker place. 

Lonely Girl, in omniscient POV (which I like) left the MC reeling in confusion, and his predator unable to come to terms with her appetite.

Hell is for Children—the title calls to mind Pat Benatar, but the tale does NOT. The story takes place at haunted children’s asylum on mischief night, and it included the ever-trepidatious Ouija Board. I liked the journey, but had unresolved questions at the end. 

Happy Day Exile was my personal favorite. Aliens + clowns + space worms + cannibals = a Happy Day burger. 

I liked that most stories included a comeuppance, because I like to see perps get punished. To me, that’s a happy ending. 

Also a plus—the illustrations. My mind formed a picture of the evil-intent, but I preferred White’s renderings over my imagination. 

Hell, outer space, and other dark realms provided creepy settings. I think White gave just about every age group good space on the page. 

As writers, we all have our pet words. The only thing keeping me from giving this collection a ‘five’ is over usage of the word “some”. Horror, feelings, and eerie places need to be defined. I’m not scared of some things or some places. I’m scared of demos and dark hallways. 

Still, this is worthy of reading!  out of 5 ravens

Available from Amazon and Bookshop.

Articles

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Review Requests

Review Requests

Article by Catherine Jordan

 

As a review coordinator, I see a LOT of review request. Those requests are indicative of what I’m going to see in the book. Some are sloppy, most are professional. Please be professional. 

 

  1. Ask for the review
  2. Title
  3. Publisher and release date
  4. Where it’s available
  5. Page count and genre
  6. ISBN
  7. What’s it like? Compare to ??
  8. Blurb
  9. Bio
  10. Contact links

 

EG:
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