A LONELY BROADCAST by @KelByronAuthor was a wild ride. Fun and snarky horror with original (very gross) monsters, solid humor, gore, and heart - which all good horror needs at its core. A radio tower in the woods as a main setting was really well done. Enjoyed this one.

SCARY MOVIE NIGHT by @MSmithBooks is a murder-mystery-who-done-it thriller with a side of love-letter-homage to Alfred Hitchcock. I was hoping for more horror, based on the description - but enjoyed this novel. Fun ride. Solid read.

88 Queries sent out on the novel I'm seeking representation for; 65 rejections; 4 requests by agents for the full manuscript; 2 of those fulls have been rejected; 2 agents are still considering the novel - that's a 4.55% request rate, which, apparently, ain't bad for the industry

MAPPING THE INTERIOR by Stephen Graham Jones was a gnarly short horror about a young boy exploring his house; discovering it is bigger than it should be. A story of loss, fatherhood, family; from a boy's perspective. Native American horror, no surprise there from SGJ. Fun read.

THE ELEMENTALS by Michael McDowell, best known for writing the screenplay for the film Beetlejuice, is a wonderful southern-gothic haunted-house horror novel. Excellent characters, particularly the father-daughter relationship. Unique setting. Quality horror story. Fantastic read

WARNING SIGNS by @tsierraauthor is a snowy father-son backcountry emotional thriller, incredibly well written. The core relationship was high emotion & high tension. Book jacket told of a "strange creature" lurking in the dark, which was a bit monster-misleading, IMO. Fun read.

Partial MS request & a full MS request last week on my horror novel from two solid agents - hope in the air! I'll take it. Now the fun in-between, silent waiting period. #amquerying #writingcommunity

THE FURY by @AlexMichaelides is a thrilling tale of murder on a Greek island. If you read THE SILENT PATIENT, you'd know this novel would have a twist or two. Fun narration you want to trust, but can't. Solid mystery, constantly unfolding. Good read.

Read PHANTOMS by @deankoontz in high school & knew bits of the story. Read it again & it was a nostalgic delight. Small town horror thriller with great characters & a wonderfully imaginative monster. Koontz's original monsters are why I gravitated to him so early on, safe to say.

Oh man - that green smile. Such a boon to the querying author. #amwriting #writingcommunity #querying

In THE BONE QUEEN by @WillShindler Jenna searches for her daughter who disappeared from their London home. Led to a mysterious village, she uncovers buried legends & learns of the bone queen & her victims; getting tangled in the dangerous & deadly lore along the way. Solid read.

THE FINAL GIRL SUPPORT GROUP by Grady Hendrix was a bit of a let down - maybe it was over hyped as one of his best. Think it was a swing & a miss, trying to do too much & be too clever with slasher connections. Characters ran together. Unlikeable, annoying protagonist. Scattered.

SPIDER TO THE FLY by @JamesMarkert is part cat-&-mouse-serial-killer-thriller and part crime-fiction-twisty-whodunit. Great read. Multiple POV done right with solid pacing, characters you care about, and a complex story the reader wants to stick with. Quality fiction right there.

BLOOD LIKE MINE by @stuartneville was a mother daughter on the run horror/thriller making sure it never said the word vampire (like in Midnight Mass). Quality characters you root for, even when they keep getting knocked down. Fun ride. Solid read.

THE ANXIOUS GENERATION - How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by @JonHaidt is a must read, especially if you're a parent. An, "investigation into the collapse of youth mental health in the era of smartphones, social media, and big tech..."

HORRORSTÖR by @grady_hendrix is a horror novel packaged and designed like an IKEA-esk catalogue, about a haunted furniture superstore. Insanely clever and inventive. Solid and satirical horror novel with fun characters, monsters, and mystery. Good read.

HELL HOUSE, published in 1971, is a haunted house novel by horror legend Richard Matheson - better known for I AM LEGEND, A STIR OF ECHOES, & his TWILIGHT ZONE episodes. Weird book, for true, but a horror classic. Fun read.

PLAY NICE by Rachel Harrison is 1/2 dysfunctional family drama, 1/2 haunted house horror novel- the characters driving the story. A woman confronts her murky past as she tries to flip an infamous haunted home her mother left to her, learning the claims might be true. Solid read.

I loved EXILES by @andrewpyper (writing under his pen name, Mason Coile). I'd read WILLIAM and enjoyed it, so was trusting the author for another ride. A legit sci-fi horror on Mars. Is there an alien monster on the planet? Have the Ai robots gone mad? Both? Neither? Great read.