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October Reading List 2024

  OCTOBER  (5 books | 909 pgs) 94.)  The House of Slaughter, Vol. 4: Alabaster (Graphic Novel, 160pgs) |  5/5 95.) Critical Role | The Mighty Nein Origins: Beauregard Lionett (Graphic Novel, 56 pgs) | 5/5 96.) Critical Role | The Mighty Nein Origins: Cadeucus Clay (Graphic Novel, 56 pgs) | 5/5 97.) A Guest in the House by E.M. Carroll (Graphic Novel, 256 pgs) | 3/5 98.) Anthology of Emo, Vol. 1 by Tom Mullen (Nonfiction, 381 pgs) | 3/5 *     *     * August and September were super anemic on the writing front. Between being sick for much of August and then having so many events happening in September, I just never got back into the swing of things. Really tried to do more with October as I took the last week off for vacation, but other life stuff got in the way and I was forced to spend much of my free time handling that.  I remain in a creative rut, at least somewhat. There are little sparks here and there every so often, but the dam is sturdy and keeping the inspiration at bay the way
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Horror Movies for the Fall, Pt. III

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  Sorry this one's a little late y'all. I ended up getting sick for a couple weeks in September, which put me out of commission for a little bit. But, as promised, here's a follow-up to my last batch of horror movies for the fall. Some I saw earlier this year, but the majority are new for me. Some of the older classics may surprise you, even though they've been on my "to watch" list for a good long while. It's been difficult to watch a lot of long-form content the last few years, so this has been a fun endeavor. Hopefully you're finding some good stuff amongst these selections.  My aim is to do this weekly for as long as I'm able to watch enough content leading up to, and including, the week of Halloween. I'm open to recommendations if you've got'em! *     *     * Late Night with the Devil (2024) 3/5 [Shudder] The pacing, set design, and cinematography on this one were top-notch. The story gets marks for being interesting, as does the a
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Horror TV Series for the Fall, Pt. II

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Over the last decade or two, we've been absolutely blessed with an embarassment of riches in terms of great television to choose from. Granted, it's all stupid and spread out across various overpriced providers now, but at least the shows are there (for now...).  Here are a few of the full shows that I've enjoyed during that timeframe that make for good watching during the spooky season. Is it all of them? No. I haven't seen every great show out there; I simply don't have the time for that. There will be plenty of great options missing from this list, but feel free to leave a comment about those worth checking out so others might know what else is good to put on the tube.  Most of the titles mentioned below (save for the first one) are single seasons, and were meant to be, so you won't have any trouble enjoying them for what they are. They were written as is and all have solid conclusions that don't leave nasty cliffhangers to a second season that never got
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Horror Movies for the Fall, Pt. I

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I always say I'm going to watch a ton of horror during the year and there usually ends up being a few things that tickle my fancy, but rarely do any of the previews make me yearn for more. A few movies piqued my interest in the last few years, but I've also not been watching a ton of movie-length stuff recently.  I'm trying to change that.  So here are a few of the horror/suspense/terror movies I've had on my list to watch for awhile and have finally gotten around to watching. I'll try to do one of these a week purely so you can have good options leading up to Halloween.  *     *     * "Cuckoo" (2024) 3/5 [In Theaters] I wouldn't consider this pure folk horror, but it definitely leans pretty heavy toward that way. The trailer was good, the movie was...interesting. The pacing was good and, while there were some interesting concepts within, I left the theater feeling pretty 'meh' about the whole story. Some smoothing out of narrative heavy-handed
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August 2024 Reading List

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AUGUST  (0 books | 0 pgs) Obviously, I was unable to read as much as I have in prior months. September, however, is looking nice and ripe for some catching up on the books I meant to complete this month. If nothing else, I've already read 93 books and had planned on reading 80 for the entire year, so...not a bad time to take a break for a minute while life has its way with me.  August found me busy with two of the remaining four stops on the 2024 "Book Tour" I've tried to complete, with one event in Blue Springs netting me 16 book sales and my reading/signing event in St. Louis netting me 8 more book sales. I had the pleasure of meeting a ton of great people at the local event and can't wait to meet more at the Phantom Pages Festival on Saturday, October 5th .  I was inspired by several of the authors seen at the Blue Springs event, and decided to up my own self-promo game by buying a collapsible vinyl banner and creating some excerpted bookmarks.  I began helping
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Upcoming Literary Events | Kansas City & St. Louis (August, October, November)

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  While completing work on my latest book (which you can purchase HERE ), I made it a goal to have more readings and get involved with more literary events in the hopes of widening my reach and, hopefully, growing my audience outside of my normal circles.  I was fortunate to have my first book release party at Afterword Tavern & Shelves here in KC back in April. It was a fantastic event and I've never seen so many of my people in one place to help support my literary endeavors. Even the bartenders were shocked at the turnout.  I'm fortunate to, again, get to do a reading and signing at Subterranean Books in St. Louis this month. It's a great little store and I'm looking forward to a ton of my favorite STL people to show up (and snag dinner with afterward).  And now I've gotten to meet some great word nerds around town who are putting on regular events to hype local authors. Through Sarah Wakeman , the Karma Community Market, and others, I'm getting the cha
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July 2024 Reading List

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JULY (13 books | 5,733 pgs) 81.) SCP Redacted by G.D. Falksen (Stories, 211 pgs) | 2/5 82.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #15: The Mystery of the Flaming Footprints , by Nick West (Young Adult, 182 pgs) | 3/5 83.) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Young Adult / Novel, 768 pgs) | 5/5 84.) Corpsemouth and Other Autobiographies by John Langan (Stories, 304 pgs) | 1/5 85.) Growing Things and Other Stories by Paul Tremblay (Stories, 476 pgs) | 2/5 86.) Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Young Adult / Novel, 912 pgs) | 5/5 87.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #16: The Mystery of the Nervous Lion , by Nick West (Young Adult, 160 pgs) | 3/5  88.) The Fifty Year Sword by Mark Z. Danielewski (Novel, 285 pgs) | 3/5 89.) Alfred Hitchock & the Three Investigators #17: The Mystery of the Singing Serpent , by M.V. Carey (Young Adult, 146 pgs) | 3/5 90.) Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Young Adult / Novel, 688 pgs) | 5/5 91.) Harry Potter and the De
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