I am having a bad time.
I have not updated recently because life has been difficult. In short succession my husband's father died (sudden but not expected) and then my beloved dog died (sudden and very unexpected. He was not even a year old.)
Grief is bad enough, but the suddenness makes it so much worse. Grief is something that, when possible, should be sidled up to like an easily spooked horse. You can get used to the idea of loss over time. It doesn’t make you any less hard, but you can form a reasonable cushion of expectation.
But when the rug just gets yanked out from under you…it takes a long time to get back from something like that.
It's hard for me to pay attention to my writing because it is, in itself, so punishing. Every author, budding or otherwise, knows that writing is punishing. I am not trying to complain, it's just a fact. Trying to move forward for me means repeatedly throwing myself into a wall of rejection, and at the moment, I just can’t deal.
I have had time to read however. Reading has always been an excellent escape. Some people might think that reading a horror novel would be too grim for someone going through a hard time and maybe they are right– but for me I feel the escapism is worth it. Plus, horror novels– no matter how grim and terrifying– end. You don’t have to keep waking up and living them every day.
BEST RECENT HORROR NOVELS 2024
Here are some horror reccs for folks looking to get through a hard time with a good scary story. Hang in there, we are all gonna get through this.
The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
The Reformatory is raw, alive and wriggling. I suspect it is due to being based in history that is not as far behind us as we would like to believe. Tananarive Due has created an exquisitely written American Nightmare, too real for comfort. If you only read one new horror novel this year, make it this one.
Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery
I grew up in what was once the American colonies, so I was especially taken by this novel. But even if you aren’t a colonial nerd like me, you will love Brom’s story of supernatural revenge. Haven’t we all wished the literal devil could side with us and we could brutally destroy those who once cast us out, spit on us, did us wrong? No? Just me?
The Salt Grows Heavy– Cassandra Khaw
Wow, this is a weird one. I mean that in the best possible way– award winning novelist Cassandra Khaw wrote the strangest fairy tale I have ever read and I loved it. Genre bending, ancient and still somehow timeless, this is the story of a mermaid. She is a woman, a mother, and a monster. But she is a monster first, a monster always. She is underestimated the way that monsters who look like women often are.
