January 2024 Reading List

JANUARY (11 books | 2,115 pgs)

01.) This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno (Novel, 258 pgs) | 5/5

02.) Gateways to Abomination by Matthew M. Bartlett (Stories, 145 pgs) | 2/5

03.) The Strange Thing We Became by Eric Larocca (Stories, 119 pgs) | 4/5 

04.) Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado (Stories, 241 pgs) | 5/5

05.) Anthony Bourdain Remembered (Nonfiction, 208 pgs) | 4/5

06.) Suicide: An Anthology (Nonfiction, 250 pgs) | 5/5

07.) Bauhaus by Magdalena Droste (Art Book/Nonfiction, 96 pgs) | 4/5

08.) From the Neck Up and Other Stories by Aliya Whitely (Stories, 320 pgs) | 4/5

09.) We Can Never Leave This Place by Eric Larocca (Novel, 104 pgs) | 3/5

10.) You've Lost a Lot of Blood by Eric Larocca (Stories, 236 pgs) | 4/5

11.) Contagion and Other Stories by Brian Evenson (Stories, 138 pgs) | 2.5/5

*    *    *

I released my third collection of stories, Under a Black Rainbow, on Christmas Eve. 

You can buy a copy HERE. 

I am phenomenally pleased with how it turned out. I'm currently waiting to hear back about whether the reviewers at Kirkus Reviews like it, but...I tend to hope most people enjoy the experience of it, regardless of how dark and weird it may get for most. 

Once you've read through it completely, leaving a review on either Goodreads or the Amazon product detail page does me a HUGE amount of good, so taking a few minutes to write out some of your honest thoughts on the book is sincerely very appreciated. Yes, even if you didn't like the book (which is perfectly okay!).

And please feel free to either follow my author page or send me a friend request on Goodreads. I wanna see what you're reading, too!

I've also secured a Meet the Author / Book Signing event at Afterword Tavern & Shelves here in Kansas City. It is one of my favorite bars because it is heavily literary-themed and the staff are always great. The vibe is perpetually lovely, so if you're in town on April 13th, maybe think about coming to the completely and totally free event. It is NOT a reading, but I'll be chatting customers up and talking about all things related to the book or my processes or whatever people want to chat about. 

*    *    *

Work on An Atlas of Bone & Sorrow has been coming swiftly since November. Hind-sight is providing some pretty great perspectives on the fiction, much of which began years ago and I'm only just returning to. Other unique aspects of the book have become fun jumpoff points for exploration while I've been fortunate to have completed four out of the thirteen proposed fictional stories. 

(DONE) "Sleep Dealer, Dream Stealer, Star Thief"

(DONE) "A Myth of the Second Skin"

(DONE) "Folie à Un"

(DONE) "In the Making"

(Over 1/2 Done) "Redmond Pays a Debt (Sugarhouse, 1967)"

(Over 1/2 Done)  "The Walk-In"

(Less Than 1/2 Done) "Dream Corrosion (Atlas of Bone & Sorrow)"

(Less Than 1/2 Done) "Epistolary"

(Less Than 1/2 Done) "The Coroner's Bell"

(Less Than 1/2 Done) "The Prison of a Thousand Steps"

(Less Than 1/2 Done) "A Mistrust of the Kingdom"

(Less Than 1/2 Done) "One Retelling of the Story"

(Less Than 1/2 Done) "How to Light a Tragedy"

The work has been satisfying, but it's also me intentionally putting myself through the emotional thresher a second time when I really didn't enjoy it the first time around. I'm hoping that pouring all of this out onto paper and releasing it out into the world will help to put it all in my rearview mirror and provide a little mental relief from all that it contains. 

I'm hoping this project becomes one of the final nails in this era's coffin because I need to stuff so much of these last several years into a box, place it on a boat, set it all on fire, push it out to sea, and never return to any of it ever again. 

Until next time. 

(9,674)