Holiday books are one of my favorite parts of the season. I love reading next to my electric fire with a cup of tea.
The problem is, I hate romance novels. I hate those meet-cute stories where people hate each other and then fall predictably in love. And I hate that so many holiday books are just these fluffy, vapid meet-cutes with some strategically placed Christmas trees.
Hunting holiday books that aren’t romance has become a festive pastime. I’m sad to say, that if you read the last two installments of this series, I only have one new book that I’ve read. But, I do have three new books that have piqued my interest. So today, I thought I’d share with you my Christmas reading wishlist. These are books that I want to read. If you want to read them with me, I’d love to hear what you think about them.
This one I actually did read last year. And I was surprised to find out that the book came after the well-loved movies.
Just on the off chance you’ve never seen the movie, either the original from 1947 or the remake in 1994, Miracle on 34th Street is about an overworked single mom named Doris. She’s overseeing the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade when she realizes that the guy they have playing Santa is drunk. Fortunately, an elderly gentleman named Chris is there to save the day and take over the role. He does such a good job that Doris hires Chris to be Santa in the Macy’s store.
Chris is doing a great job until it comes to light that he thinks he really is Santa.
A soul as cold as frost by Jennifer Kropf
What if St. Nicholas was really a young, mad trickster and you had the one thing he wanted? What if the only person who agreed to protect you from him had a dark past of letting those he’s meant to protect die? What if one day you’re walking in the city and suddenly you can see a whole other world tucked into the cracks of your own?
That’s the description of this book from Amazon. I stumbled upon it while browsing Instagram. I can’t wait to read it. I love that several people have compared it to Chronicles of Narnia.
Hogfather by Terry Pratchett
This is literally a book about a bunch of gods getting together to bump off another god, Santa Claus. Oh, and for a while Death has to be Santa because he’s too important to not be around. What’s not to love about this?
Jacob T. Marleyby R. William Bennett
I started reading this book already, because it asks a very interesting question. Why did Jacob Marley get to come back and save his friend Ebenezer? And why didn’t he get the chance to be saved by the three spirits himself?
I can’t wait to find the answer. I also apparently can’t get enough of this story, short as it is.
As always, if you have a holiday book I should add to my TBR, please let me know. I’m always looking for new holiday tales. Happy holiday reading, everyone.
It’s official, the Christmas season has begun. Not the holiday season. As far as I’m concerned that started on October first. But everyone’s got their own opinion about what constitutes a holiday, I suppose.
But one way or another, here we are. Thanksgiving is behind us in the States, and today is traditionally Black Friday.
As a former retail worker, I hate everyone who’s shopping today.
But that’s not why we’re here today. If you haven’t guessed or if you’re new, this is my yearly holiday pep talk. Because the holidays are a fantastic magical time of the year, with a whole bunch of buts and unlesses.
But you have to see family you don’t want to see. But you might be missing people you can’t see. But you might be the person in your house who makes the holidays happen and that’s a lot of pressure.
Unless you find yourself alone. Unless you’re sick. Unless you have negative memories attached to the holiday. Unless you’re too broke to celebrate the way everyone else appears to be celebrating.
So here, as always, is my holiday pep talk. As always, I need this reminder as much as anyone else.
You deserve to enjoy your holidays
Now, I mean this in two ways. One, you deserve to enjoy whatever holidays you celebrate.
In my house, we celebrate Christmas and Yule. The darling husband has his birthday in December, so that’s a whole thing. And my best friend is Jewish, so I at least need to be aware of when that is and cheer on her celebration.
Whatever you’re celebrating, celebrate it. Celebrate it loud, and post pictures online. Especially if you celebrate something unusual, please tell us about it. There are like fourteen holidays this month spread out over cultures and religions. I want to hear about yours.
But when I say enjoy your holidays, I also mean that you should celebrate too. You’re probably spending a lot of time right now making the holidays perfect for the people you love. And I get it, I am too. But you deserve to enjoy yourself too. You deserve a nice holiday season. You deserve to get a gift you want, eat the holiday food you like, and take some time to reset. In short, don’t make it all about everyone else. Make it a little bit about you.
Make it look how you want it to look
I am so sick of pink Christmas that I could just vomit on the next cotton candy-colored tree I find. So no, there’s not a single pink ornament in my house. There is also no tinsel. My tree is a hodgepodge of mismatched ornaments collected over the years. Some of them are homemade, some are store-bought. Being a Christian Witch, some of them are pagan. I’ve got a pentagram ornament right next to the Charlie Brown one.
My house is full of handmade decorations, mostly made out of wood and yarn, and that’s exactly how I like it.
Some people like that matchy holiday look. Some people want everything to have a theme. Some people still have all their grandmother’s ornaments. And some people do like the pink Christmas thing.
It doesn’t matter. Make your home look like the holidays to you. It doesn’t have to look like someone’s Instagram influencer fantasy. It just needs to look like your home, exactly how you want it to look.
Make it make sense to you
I am not the only person to ever say this but do not compare your holiday season to those online. Instagram is everyone’s highlight reel. And most of those shots aren’t realistic.
Your holiday needs to make sense to you. It needs to be realistic for the life you live. For instance, a lot of my breakable ornaments are staying in the box this year because we have a new kitten in the house. I work Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, so I’m not planning any big meals. We don’t do a lot of baking because the Darling Husband is diabetic and I don’t need to put away a batch of frosted gingerbread cookies myself.
More than once a year.
Make it make sense to you, your family, and your life. The holidays are supposed to be a celebration, not a burden.
You are not alone
Finally, remember that you’re not alone. Everyone is stressing out about the holidays. Everyone thinks they’re not doing enough, not decorating enough, not buying enough gifts, not sending enough cards.
You are doing enough. You’re probably doing too much. And no one feels half as confident about the holidays as they seem.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday season, no matter what you celebrate. I hope that you love every minute you have with your family and friends. I hope that you enjoy every meal you have and that you read a ton of good holiday stories. I hope you watch every special you want to watch and skip all the ones you hate.
Continuing in our back-to-basics series today, I wanted to touch on a difficult topic. It’s a question that I think a lot of creatives ask themselves. I’d like to say writers have been asking that question for longer than other artists, but that isn’t fair. Even so, I’m a writer, so I’ll just be talking to the writers today.
When we write, are we creating a piece of art or are we creating a product?
The maddening answer is that we’re doing both.
We are artists
Writing is an art, don’t let anyone ever tell you otherwise. And you are an artist, no matter what stage of your writing career you’re in. We are creating something new. Something that brings joy to people. We craft sentences with thought put into each word and each turn of phrase. We practice, read, and study to make our story the best, most original creative, and perfect story it can be.
We are marketers
But we are also selling a product. And I’m sorry if I’m the first to tell you this, but you’re probably going to have to do most of the selling of your book yourself. Even if you get picked up by one of the big publishing houses, you are probably going to do most of your marketing and promoting yourself.
If you’re an indie or hybrid writer, like me, you’ll be doing all of it yourself. And that requires you to think of your story like a product. A product that you have to market and sell.
A product that feels like a piece of your soul, surgically cut off from you and placed out in the world for people to abuse, tread upon, and spit on. No big deal.
How do we do both?
So, how do we do this? How do we craft a piece of art and still make money? How do we successfully make a living and not feel like a sell-out?
For me, it comes down to two rules. These two rules are vital, and set in stone.
The first of these rules is that you deserve to make money for your art. All artists deserve to make money for our art. Don’t ever feel bad or guilty about charging for your work.
Look, I give a lot of writing away for free. I post here weekly. I produced two seasons of a podcast that you do not have to pay to listen to. I post micro-fiction and short stories. And every time a new Station 86 book comes out, I post it here on Paper Beats World for free before publishing it.
But I charge for my books. I get paid for my reviews on Hauntedmtl. I leave links at the bottom of every post to my ko-fi account. I do not write for experience organizations, or to gain exposure. I deserve to get paid for my writing. You deserve to get paid for your writing.
The second rule is a little more nuanced. But it’s possibly more important.
Be clear about what activities are making art, and what activities are marketing.
When I’m writing a piece of fiction, I am creating art. I am not wondering if I’ll be able to sell this. I am just writing a story. Maybe it’s bad, maybe it’s good. But it’s the story that I want to tell. I’m having fun while I’m writing it.
In later drafts, I’ll polish it. Make sure the story is satisfying, and that it makes sense. That it’s fun to read. During all that I’m still not worrying about if it’s marketable. I’m not writing a main character that I think would be a cool Halloween costume or look good on a hoodie. I am writing a character that I want to trek through at least 50,000 words with. More if it’s a series. I didn’t write Sennett as a single mom and police officer because I considered her a marketable character. I wrote her that way because that’s the person who appeared in my head.
Later, when I was thinking about how to market Station 86, I sure as hell used the fact that she was a single mom cop. When I’m making a book cover, crafting social media posts about my book, making bookmarks and little video clips to share on Instagram, then I’m marketing a product. The artist part of me has given me a story. Now it’s up to the part of me that is a saleswoman to sell the hell out of it.
Render unto art what is art and marketing what is marketing.
I hope this post helps you today. Trying to balance the different aspects of a writing career is difficult. But always remember that your art is worth it. But no one’s going to see it if you don’t market it.
See you next week. And I hope you have a terrific Thanksgiving if you live in the States.
Welcome back to our fundamental series here on Paper Beats World. We’re slowly, over time, diving back into the basics of writing. We’re talking about the barebones standards of writing in a mundane way that is magical in practice. Today, I want to talk about something that has many answers, and none of them are wrong.
Do you write longhand, or do you type your writing?
No, let’s narrow that down a bit. Because there are just some parts of the writing process that are not going to work in one medium or the other. A second draft cannot be handwritten in my opinion. And while there can be a healthy debate about that, I don’t think anyone’s going to argue that by a third draft you should really be clacking keys. Though if you’ve got an argument for that please let me know in the comments because you are clearly a fascinating individual. Or you’re a time traveler from the past.
So let’s narrow this down to just the first few steps of your book. The brainstorming and rough draft steps. Now, I’ve written rough drafts on paper, and I’ve written them right into Word. Both have pros and cons, so let’s talk about them.
On paper
This is how I started, and how I think most writers my age or older stared. Writing a rough draft on anything else but paper. I think Stephen King wrote his rough drafts on an old typewriter. But he also says he wasn’t super prone to typos in his book, On Writing.
I am super prone to typos. And I didn’t have a typewriter. So I write in college ruled notebooks.
I still prefer to write my rough drafts in notebooks. There are several reasons for this.
One, of course, is the issue with typos. I know it doesn’t matter in a rough draft, but I can’t stop myself from going back and fixing them. Writing on paper allows me to ignore the mistakes and just keep on flowing.
Another is that I can take a notebook anywhere. And when I’m in the rough draft zone, I might well take the damn thing anywhere. Yes, I can do this with a laptop, but I don’t drive. And when you’re walking or riding the bus, a laptop can get heavy.
Or get broken.
Writing on paper has a lot of aesthetic benefits for me. There’s a reason I called my blog Paper Beats World. I love paper. I love watching pages stack up with story on them. I love filling a blank page with ink.
More than anything though, I write on paper because my brain works best when I do.
Likely from years of habit, my creativity comes out most on paper with pen. I can scribble, work out problems and figure out what’s going on in my mind when I have a pen in my hand. So, because this is what my muse works best with, it’s what I lean towards.
On PC
All that being said, I have written rough drafts on my computer. Well, on Dabble to be specific.
There are many good reasons to do this. For one, it costs no money. Well, for me it costs my Dabble subscription. But I’m going to keep paying that anyway. So it cost me no additional money. And you can always write on Google Docs or Libre Open Office.
There’s also the fact that my rough drafts written on pc are legible. Like, the whole way through. I have terrible handwriting, and it gets worse when I get excited and start writing fast. I have definitely gone through some handwritten rough drafts and just written big question marks on pages. I just had no idea what I’d written in a fit of creative passion.
Another thing that’s nice about writing your first draft on pc is that you’re not going to have to rewrite as much of it. Well, you might not have to rewrite as much of it. When I type my second draft, I have to literally type every word. When I write a rough draft on pc, I can just copy and paste anything worth keeping. If there’s anything worth keeping.
There is also the matter of speed. I can write pretty fast, but I can type almost as fast as words come to me. Even if you aren’t a fast typist, you probably still type faster than you write.
When you don’t have a ton of time, getting words down fast can be a necessity.
Built in spell checks don’t hurt either.
Finally, there is something incredibly satisfying in watching a word-count rise. Especially right now during Nanowrimo. I have been loving the little ticker at the right hand side of my screen. It makes my little Type A heart happy.
What’s worked best for me, after years of trying and testing, is a combination of the two. I write brainstorming and notes, then the rough draft, on paper. The second draft goes onto my pc, as do all other drafts that come after. And I, and my muse, are happy with this.
But now I want to hear what you think. Do you write your rough drafts on paper, do you start at your pc, or do you do something totally different? Let us know in the comments.
A long time ago, I wrote a blog post about living a more healthy lifestyle. At the time it was Summer, I was on a big healing kick, and very excited about a new app and dieting system I’d just started.
I’m not going to say the name of the app, because I don’t want to get sued. I also want to point out that my opinions are my own, and this is all based on my own experiences. If you’ve used that app and it helped you, that’s fantastic.
That being said, I am really sorry that I ever recommended that app, and I hope none of you downloaded it. First of all, it was way too expensive for what I was getting. Second, it turns out calorie counting is bad for you.
I actually stopped using the app shortly after writing this post. I kept some healthy habits, though I’m bad at keeping up with them. But I gained some healthy habits after getting rid of that app.
I ate until I was full, and didn’t worry about the calories.
I got rid of my scale and measured my health based on how I felt.
I hadn’t even thought about this for years until I started hearing about the damage done to people with eating disorders by this app.
And I honestly feel so bad. The last thing I’ve ever wanted to do was hurt someone with advice. As someone who’s never had a serious eating disorder, I had no idea how much this could negatively impact someone.
Yes, writers need to worry about our health. But, health means all your health, including emotional.
I am not the person to talk in-depth about this. I am a writer, not a therapist or a nutritionist. But here’s what I can tell you.
I feel a lot better since I’ve stopped counting calories and started eating what makes me feel good. I feel a lot better since I’ve thrown my scale away. I feel a lot better since I move my body in fun ways, like walking Oliver, instead of feeling like I have to do boring things I don’t want to do.
I planned this post for today for a very specific reason. We’re now smack dab in the holiday season. And that means food, less time, more activities, more family commitments, food, food, and more food.
It also means that some of us are going to be around people who want to give us their opinions on the food we are eating or not eating.
So this holiday season, I invite you to listen to your own body when it comes to food. Not your social media feed, not some app that tells you to only eat 1,500 calories. Not some judgemental mother-in-law. You are an adult. You know what food makes you feel good and what makes you feel sick. Honor yourself. You deserve to enjoy all of the lush, wonderful things the holidays offer. You deserve to eat when you’re hungry until you are full.
Music is a wonderful thing. I thrive on it. I’ve got playlists for different moods, seasons, days of the week. I use music to help me clean, calm me down, or pump me up. Recently I’ve fallen in love with lo-fi and ambient music for reading and, of course, writing.
This, of course, is our topic for today. What do you listen to when you write?
I can’t write in silence. It’s too loud. Neither can I write with any music that has lyrics. I’ve learned I can’t even listen to instrumental versions of songs that I know normally have lyrics, because I’ll just fit them in myself and get distracted by that.
I was not born knowing this information about myself. Nobody is. This is one of many reasons it’s important to understand ourselves as creatives and as people in general.
Understanding how you react to music, or just sounds, can help you be more productive, sleep better, and overall be happier throughout your day. So it’s worth taking some time to learn this about yourself.
To do this, I suggest three exercises.
Listen to music and journal how you feel
Yes, my answer to everything is journaling. But this is a fun exercise you can do just about anywhere. I’m not suggesting a long freewriting session, though some songs might inspire that. I’m saying to jot down a few words or sentences that come to mind.
You can also do this the opposite way. Write a list of songs that make you feel excited. Or that make you feel brave, nostalgic, or safe.
Freewrite while listening to different music
This is another fun one. Listen to some music and free write while you’re doing it. Then, see what you’ve written. Does lo-fi help you write romance? Does rock music bring out battle scenes? How does the soundtrack from Wicked work for you?
Try to free-write without judgment, and see what comes. You’ll probably find that some genres work better with some writing than others.
Try listening to something brand new
This is a great exercise if you’re feeling stuck with your writing. Find a genre or music style you’ve never listened to, and try to write with it. Or some other sort of background sound. Ambient noise videos abound on YouTube. You can listen to the sounds of a coffee shop, a library, or even a train station. I love fireplace videos. Recently I’ve been listening to videos of vintage music played in another room. Here’s a link if you don’t know what I’m talking about.
So that’s it for today. I hope these exercises help you learn a little about yourself and what kind of music makes your creative brain happiest. And for those of you participating in Nanowrimo next week, I wish you the best of luck. I’ll be right there with you.
It’s the last full week of October. This means that we’ve reached week four of Preptober.
This also means that next week is Halloween and the start of November which means any sitting down or breathing you plan to do you’d better get out of the way now.
Week four of Preptober is always my favorite week. Because it’s the week we start outlining our stories.
Hold your applause.
That’s right, we are outlining this week! Now, there are as many ways to outline as there are writers. But I thought it might help today to tell you the way I outline a rough draft. It might work for you, and it might not.
Step 1, Start with the big scenes
Whenever I start thinking about a story, some scenes just jump out at me. Or, if not a whole scene, an image. For the book I’m working on now, I have an image of an older woman in dress clothes, standing on a battlefield with a sword.
Start with the scenes you’re excited about. The scenes you know need to happen.
I like to write my scenes out on index cards. These can be moved around, erased, and thrown out if need be. This will be important later.
Step 2, Plot out the main storyline
Now that you’ve got the big scenes in place, we need to figure out how we’re getting to them. Figure out the plot points for the main story you want to tell.
Now, here’s where some people get caught in the weeds. And by some people, I mean me.
You don’t need to write down every single little that happens in this story when you’re outlining. For one thing, you probably don’t know everything that’s going to happen yet. That’s the joy of a rough draft. You’re still learning about the story. Just get down the points you’re pretty sure you want to hit.
Step 3, Layer in subplots by order of importance
Next, you’ll be outlining your subplots. I usually have too many of these, to be honest. But a good subplot adds to the main part of the story. It cannot generally be lifted out without requiring a change to the main storylines.
There’s no time or space here to go into the hows and whys and how nots of sub-plotting. But if you want, I could do a post about that at a later time. Let me know in the comments if that’s something you’re interested in. For now, it’s just important that your sub-plots come after your primary plot.
Step 4, Prepare for this to all go out the window when you start writing.
Writing a rough draft is a wonderful discovery process. You do not know everything you want to say in the book until you start writing the book. Which is, of course, the fun of writing a rough draft.
Yes, an outline is a great place to start, so you have some direction when you’re beginning your rough draft. But don’t get committed to it.
Give yourself the freedom to redo your entire outline. Let your story go off the rails if it seems better or more exciting. I usually redo my outline at least once before my rough draft is finished.
So that’s it for our Preptober series. I hope you’re eager to get into Nanowrimo next week, armed with a solid story foundation.
We are back to our back-to-basics series, after a bit of a delay. I did mention this was going to be a delayed series.
But, as they say, timing is everything.
With that awkward segue out of the way, we’re talking about time today. As in, when you write and how often you write.
I’ve never been a big fan of the advice to write every day. While it sounds terrific in theory, it’s unrealistic. We’re all adults here. However, if you’re not, you still have responsibilities.
We are writers. But we’re also humans trying to survive in late-stage capitalism. We have to fit writing in where we can when we can. And that’s just not going to happen every day.
Don’t despair, though. I manage to finish a book or podcast season a year, most years.
So today let’s consider when we can fit writing in, when the best time to do it is, and how we can make the most of the moments we have.
Let’s start with some questions to figure out where you are, time-wise. First, when is your best time of day, energy-wise? This is basic advice, yes, but it’s worth knowing about yourself.
Me, I’m a morning person. The later it gets to the day, the less likely I’m going to get anything done. So getting up early to write before I go to work works best for me.
If you would rather stick needles in your eyes than get up a minute earlier than you have to, this isn’t your best bet.
I wouldn’t spend a lot of time fighting your internal clock if you didn’t have to. I’ve tried to write in the afternoons, after work, and it just doesn’t work as well for me. I’m tired, I’m irritated, and this is the time of the day when my family needs the most from me. Dinner needs made, Oliver needs walking, the cats need attention. This is also the time the darling husband and I tell each other about our day and all the cool things we saw on social media. To think that I’d be able to write during all that is madness. To think that I’d want to write after all that is settled and dinner is done is also madness.
So know your internal timing and honor it as much as you can.
This brings me to our next step. Before you can decide when you’re going to write, you need a crystal clear understanding of when you cannot write.
You want to start with a blank weekly calendar. I like a Google calendar, but a paper one will work just as well.
I start by putting in my work schedule. Not because it’s the most important but because it’s the thing I can’t control. These hours I am working, and I cannot plan to do anything else.
Next, I put in my family time and self-care time. This includes when I need to sleep, cook, and clean my space up a little. I’m a pretty spiritual person, so I also like to add in times I’m going to spend doing rituals, spells, or studying.
This might feel like writing, my art, is coming in fourth place.
And sadly, it is. Writing is vital to me, but I have to make money to survive. I have to take care of myself and the people (pets) that I care about.
That being said, making time for my writing is a priority. And as such, I schedule time for it.
So what if you write out your schedule and you don’t think you’ve got any time at all for writing? I get that, schedules can get tight fast. But I am sure that everyone can find some time most days to write.
If you’re sure you don’t have time to write, start by tracking your time for a week or two. Myriad apps will help you with this, or you can just keep track on paper.
Keep track of how you spend your time, without judgment. There is no reason to beat yourself up. This is your time and you get to choose how to spend it.
Once you have an idea of how you spend your time, you can see where you can cut out some space for writing. Maybe you find that you’re puttering a lot in the morning, so streamlining your morning routine might help. Maybe you’re spending too much time cleaning at the end of the day.
This is the first place I’d start cutting, by the way. If you let them, household chores can consume every second of your free time. There is always another chore, another task, another project. Don’t let yourself get sucked in.
While you will likely find a few half hours or even hours that you can spend on writing, you’ll likely also find minutes.
Likely you won’t find these while mapping out your time, but by living out your day.
Waiting for other people’s doctor’s appointments are my most common times like this. But I also travel by bus, so there’s lots of time there.
But, you might ask, what can you possibly get done in these snatched moments? Well, not a lot individually. But when you count them all up a the end of the day, week, or month, you’ll be surprised how much you can accomplish.
Finally, I want to give you the best advice I’ve ever found.
Be firm and flexible.
Here’s what I mean by this. If you have looked at your schedule and you’ve found time to write, write then. Tell the people in your life that this is your writing time, and that you are not available to do anything else during that time.
Take it seriously, and require the people who love you to take it seriously.
But understand that God laughs when men make plans. You’re going to have days when that writing session isn’t going to happen, no matter how respectful anyone is about it. You’ll get sick, pets will get sick, kids will get sick. You’ll have to pick up overtime because your gas is about to be shut off. Your water heater will explode, or the septic system will start backing up into your basement.
On the flip side, make yourself ready for unexpected moments of writing time. Maybe you didn’t realize you were going to have to wait twenty minutes to see your doctor. You didn’t know your car was going to break down. In short, you now have time you didn’t
Be prepared! Take a notebook with you wherever you go. If you prefer to type, take a tablet or laptop with you.
Because we are artists. We are creatives. And sometimes to make our art happen, we have to get creative.
So that’s it for this week. I hope that you’re finding time to write right now, as we get closer to the holidays. Let us know in the comments when you write.
Now, it’s time to start casting characters. For me, characters are always the most interesting part of any story. I want to know about the people.
I have for you two lists of questions. The first is for your main character or characters. I almost always have two main characters, but you can have just one or a full ensemble cast.
Main character questions
What is their full name and nickname?
What do they look like?
Why is this their story to tell?
What do they want at the start of the story?
What are they afraid of?
What don’t they like about themselves?
How are they going to change?
Do they fit into their world as it is?
How is the world going to change because of them?
Next, we’re going to consider our secondary characters and villains. A story’s main character shouldn’t be the only interesting person in the cast.
Your main character also shouldn’t have main character syndrome. Which is to say, they should be aware that the world doesn’t revolve around them. The rest of the cast should also be aware of this.
And don’t skip planning your villain. In fact, this might be the most important character. A good villain makes a story. Consider the Borg, Magnito, Ursula, Voldemort, The Other Mother, and Beetlejuice. These characters were way more interesting than their heroes.
Secondary characters and villains
What is their full name and nickname?
What do they look like?
Why are they the main characters in their own story?
What do they contribute to this story?
What do they want at the start of the story?
What are they afraid of?
What don’t they like about themselves?
How are they going to change?
Do they fit into their world as it is?
How is the world going to change because of them?
Join us again next week for week four of Preptober. And don’t forget, you can download the Preptober Planner now on my Ko-fi shop.
Happy spooky season! It’s October, and it’s Friday the 13, so that’s pretty awesome.
While I always love a good horror book, they’re the best this time of year. There’s nothing better this time of year than curling up with fresh sugar cookies, a fire video on the TV, and a book about someone getting their face mauled in a haunted house.
Today I’m sharing with you the eight best horror books I read this year so far. Sadly there are only eight because I am well behind on my reading list. It’s not that I’ve been in a reading slump. It’s just that editing a podcast takes time, and life takes time. Then I decided to start reading Needful Things, which maybe wasn’t the best idea when I’m trying to finish my Goodreads goal because it’s almost 700 pages long.
But here we are, and eight is better than none. And I can honestly say, that not a single horror book I read this year disappointed.
(Speaking of podcasts, the second season of AA is out now. You can listen to all of it and season one right now on Haunted MTL.)
Now, some of these books I’ve talked about before. Some of them I either have already reviewed on Haunted MTL or plan to. So I’m not going to go into a ton of detail here. But any of these stories would be an eerie addition to your Halloween season.
Hide by Kiersten White
A tantalizing offer of money and fame lures fourteen strangers to an abandoned theme park for a massive game of hide and seek. This is not the story I thought was going to tackle the deep theme of generational guilt, but boy did it. Watch for my full review on Haunted MTL.
How to sell a haunted house by Grady Hendrix
This review is out. I read this book in a day, and it has me on a serious Grady Hendrix kick.
This book has family drama, generational pain, and Southern charm. What else could you honestly ask for?
Delicate Condition by Danielle Valentine
Again, I have talked on and on about this book, its tie-in with American Horror Story, and how this was a whole thing for me.
It’s a great book, and it’s led to a great season of AHS so far. However, if you have any trauma related to miscarriage, birthing, or anything baby-related, this is your trigger warning.
Dread Nation andDeathless Divide by Justina Ireland
Again, I went into great detail about these books here and here. If you like historical fiction, you’ll love these. If you like zombies, you’ll love them.
I do need Ireland to write another one in this series, though. Like, today.
Silver Nitrate by Sylvia Moreno-Garcia
I love this author so much. And after being kind of disappointed in the last book of hers I read, this one was such a relief.
It’s got witchcraft, movie trivia, love affairs. Watch in late November for the review.
How to survive your murder by Danielle Valentine
Again, this was something I read because of American Horror Story. You can read the whole review here. But while I was expecting a light, fun slasher book, I instead got one that talked about some very disturbing questions.
Check out my whole review here.
The Roots GrowInto The Earth by Bert S. Lechner
What says Halloween more than a collection of Lovecraftian horror stories?
I got an arc of this book to review for Haunted MTL, but it’s out now. And it is well worth the read.
So now it’s your turn. What’s the best horror book you’ve read so far this year? Let us know in the comments.
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