The Ghoulish Times | 04.27.24
Hello and welcome to the latest issue of The Ghoulish Times. My name is Max Booth III and this is my spooky newsletter.
Unfortunately, that is indeed my real name. I was not smart enough to use a pseudonym at the beginning of my career and now I am forever doomed. Everybody online lately has been discussing pen names and why folks might want to use them, what motives they might have, etc. Someone “problematic” apparently utilized a handful of them to deceive others. I don’t know all the details and I don’t care enough to research what’s going on. But I will say pen names are a good idea. There are far too many weirdos out there. Privacy is very important, and something I took for granted for many years (and, maybe, still do). If I could give any advice to a new writer, it would be to not publish under your legal name. Also, secure a PO box as soon as possible. Never give your personal information out. You never know who’s going to leech on to you in the future. I’ve encountered my share of creeps, and perhaps even one legit stalker (I go back and forth on whether that person qualified as one; I certainly know how he made me feel, though).
Unrelated, I just finished that Baby Reindeer show. I don’t think I loved it as much as everybody else, but I did appreciate some of its more unhinged bits. I wish it had leaned into that aspect more. I also understand it’s a true story, but reality is boring. Also, there is no such thing as a true story, if you really think about it. There are only stories. Interpretations. Most of the stuff I’ve written started with a bit of autobiography. It’s how we manipulate the truth that makes something interesting.
I feel like I have a thousand things to promote right now and truthfully I lack the energy to finish this sentence. Okay, I finished the sentence. I was clearly wrong. I guess I was exaggerating. Please do not send me an angry email. I exaggerate every single second of my life. That last sentence was also an exaggeration. Remember when everybody said “over-exaggerate”? Those were different times. Simpler times. Now the world is on fire and nothing makes sense.
Every time I try to promote anything I feel physically ill. I do not like doing it. But I know it is necessary. At least that is what everybody tells themselves, including me. It feels gross and annoying and I no longer know if it’s very productive. Social media promo is dead at this point. People with far more money than I’ll ever have made sure of that. Discord, this newsletter, physical events, they are about all we have left. Maybe I’ll launch a ghoulish subreddit. Would that be silly? Is any of this not silly? Undetermined.
Today is Independent Bookstore Day. It is also our retail shop’s one-year anniversary. To celebrate, we’re hosting a little party at the shop.
At 5pm, we’ll have 8 local authors perform live readings. I’m sure they’ll even sign some books if you ask them nicely. Free pizza will be provided, although we won’t have infinite pizza. Eventually we will run out. At 8pm, we’re screening a top secret horror movie. That’s all free. Everything is free. The books aren’t free, though. But they are 10% off, so at least that’s something, right?
If you’re not local, we’re also hosting an online sale on our webstore. Use discount code 1yearanniversary upon checkout for 10% off your order. Shop at www.Ghoulish.rip.
This last week saw the publication of Laurel Hightower’s The Day of the Door, a very much anticipated novel about family trauma and ghosts and other distressingly spooky stuff. Here’s some advance praise for the novel:
“The Day of the Door is psychological horror at its best! Unresolved trauma within a dysfunctional family takes a blood chilling supernatural turn. Keep your Jacob’s Ladder handy because this book is electrifying and terrifying.”
-N.J. Gallegos, author of The Broken Heart
“The Day of the Door by Laurel Hightower is a sparking crucible of family strife from its brutal opening scene to its shocking end. Three adult children, whose lives have been shattered by the trauma of their brother’s death, finally get to confront the person responsible: their mother Stella. But that isn’t the whole story, is it? The Day of the Door is a propulsive, often terrifying read that diced my nerve endings. Take a deep breath before you dive in because Hightower always holds you under.”
-Chris Panatier, author of The Redemption of Morgan Bright and The Phlebotomist
“An intense shard of trauma, poised to cut you. Hightower is a master at extracting the heart of a haunting and stuffing us into the claustrophobic hollow left behind. I will never get the séance out of my head.”
-Hailey Piper, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of Queen of Teeth and Cranberry Cove
Here’s a terrifying blacklight photo of the book courtesy of @robert_kluver on Twitter:
Ghouls can purchase The Day of the Door wherever books are sold. Paperbacks purchased from our webstore will come with signed author stickers while supplies last (we’ll update the product page once we sell out of them).
Webstore | Bookshop.org | B&N | Indiebound | Amazon
We have also recently revealed two front covers for future Ghoulish Books publications.
Over on the Night Worms blog, we revealed Matthew Revert’s front cover for Give Unto Us by Justin Lutz.
There's something about the river house that calls to Trevor Davis. Moving here will restore him, will fill the hole he can't fill with beer, work, children. But what he gives the land, it takes, and when he discovers a seemingly bottomless sand pit in the yard, his obsession grows to grisly proportions. Part possession story, part body horror, GIVE UNTO US addresses the hole growing deep within us all.
You can check out the post HERE and read an exclusive excerpt from the book. Also, please consider pre-ordering Give Unto Us directly from our webstore. If you’re a reviewer, ARCs are available via BookSirens.
Then, over on Dread Central, we revealed Matthew Revert’s artwork for Danger Slater’s Starlet, along with another exclusive excerpt.
Pre-order it from the GHOULISH webstore. If you’re a reviewer, snag an ARC via BookSirens.
As a reminder, you can use discount code 1yearanniversary while pre-ordering all of those books for 10% off (today, Saturday April 27th only).
I am sure I’m blanking on hundreds of other things I meant to plug in this newsletter, or discuss, but I’m way behind on several projects right now and I think it’s time I sent this off and get to work on something else.
I hope you are okay, and I hope your weekend is pleasant.
Thank you for being a ghoul.
—max