Interview: Isabela Livino on Gothic Horror and An Immaculate Deception

Isabela Livino writes fiction with a dark, speculative twist. She studied philosophy at the University of Rochester before receiving a Master’s from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. When she is not writing, you can find her riding horses, designing apps, gardening, or watching horror films while cuddling with her fur babies. A native of Pernambuco, Brazil, she currently lives in Connecticut with her husband, their two Caribbean-born adopted coconut retrievers, and the river ducks. You can connect with her on Instagram – @isabelalivino – and her website – isabelalivino.com

Isabela Livino

Livino sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss her breakout novel, An Immaculate Deception, weird horror, the author’s early influences, and the exploration of human psychology in gothic fiction. Continue Reading

Review: An Immaculate Deception by Isabela Livino

An Immaculate Deception by Isabela Livino 
Dutton (September 2026) 
Reviewed by Haley Newlin 

I could come up with a dozen comp titles for Isabela Livino’s An Immaculate Deception, including Mexican Gothic, Rebecca, Rosemary’s Baby, The Hacienda, Psycho, Blood on Her Tongue, Carrie, and The Woman in Black. That doesn’t mean this story isn’t original; rather, there’s something here for every gothic fiction and horror fan. There’s black magic, ritualistic practices, the overbearing and controlling mother trope, and a box full of ghastly, bloody secrets. Continue Reading

Interview: Kelly McWilliams on American Nightmare, Hidden Figures and Historical Horrors

Kelly McWilliams is a mixed-race novelist whose work examines white passing, American history, and the uncanny. She is also the author of several acclaimed novels for young adults, including Mirror Girls, a Junior Library Guild Selection. American Nightmare is her adult fiction debut. She lives in Seattle with her family. You can connect with her on Instagram – @kellymmcwilliams.

Kelly McWilliams (photo credit: Bill Mullen)

McWilliams sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss American Nightmare, hidden figure, Walter F. White, and historical horrors. Continue Reading

Review: American Nightmare by Kelly McWilliams

American Nightmare by Kelly McWilliams 
Crown (September 15, 2026) 
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Kelly McWilliams has disrupted my prematurely curated list of top reads of the year. In fact, American Nightmare is in the running for the number-one spot, alongside Markus Redmond’s Blood Slaves, Tamika Thompson’s The Curse of Hester Gardens, and Del Sandeen’s These Walls Remember. Continue Reading

13 Halloween Book Recs From Your Favorite Horror Authors

13 Halloween Book Recs From Your Favorite Horror Authors

by Haley Newlin

It’s officially October and readers, myself included, are eagerly assembling their spooky season TBR. I scrolled Goodreads, Instagram, the usual, looking for recommendations but then thought, why not ask authors who have written some of the most terrifying and memorable horror stories I’ve ever read? So, dear readers, with your cravings for wickedry and menace, ghosts and vampires, grab a pen, because these recommendations, from the likes of Tananarive Due (author of Mazywood and The Reformatory), Daphne Fama (author of House of Monstrous Women), Nat Cassidy (author of When the Wolf Comes Home), Isabel Cañas (author of The Possession of Alba Díaz), and more, are not to be missed.

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Interview: Markus Redmond on Blood Rising, Historical Horror, and Vampires

Markus Redmond is an actor, director, screenwriter, and author of the Blood Saga. Known for his roles on Doogie Howser, MD, NYPD Blue, Murder One, Mad About You, Angel, and Fight Club, he wrote and starred alongside Whoopi Goldberg and Sharon Stone in the indie film If I Had Known I Was a Genius. He wrote, directed, and starred in the Amazon Prime thriller The 6th Degree, and has multiple screenplays in development. You can connect with him on Instagram @markusredmond.

Markus Redmond

Redmond sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss the recently released second installment in the Blood Saga— Blood Rising—historical horror, vampires, and themes of identity and retribution.Continue Reading

Review: Blood Rising (The Blood Saga #2) by Markus Redmond

Blood Rising (The Blood Saga #2) by Markus Redmond 
Dafina (August 2026) 
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

“If Blood Slaves is about the cost of freedom, Blood Rising is about the cost of power.”

Markus Redmond introduces both installments of the Blood Saga with a letter to the readers. In the Blood Slaves opening, Redmond describes wanting to write a “badass vampire book,” which was what he was in the middle of writing in May 2020, right before George Floyd was murdered. And while Floyd’s murder was tragic, Redmond reminds us that it was not a new or unique occurrence. This kind of violence, with little to no consequence, has been happening since slavery in colonial America. 

Feeling infuriated and powerless, Redmond returned to his vampire book, wishing he could be one, imagining how that kind of power could right so much wrong, unleash revenge, settle scores, and change culture, society, and history. That’s when the author’s vampire book became something more. That’s when it became Blood Slaves, and much to this reader’s delight, the Blood Saga.Continue Reading

Interview: Del Sandeen on These Walls Remember and Gothic and Historical Horror

Del Sandeen is the author of This Cursed House and her highly anticipated upcoming release, These Walls Remember. Sandeen is becoming a fan-favorite in the genre, praised for her expertly crafted, unputdownable gothic and historical horror stories. Her work has appeared in FIYAH: Speculative Literary Magazine, Uncanny Magazine, Nightlight Podcast, and Gay Magazine. She can be found on Instagram @DelSandeen.

Sandeen sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss her new gothic and historical horror novel, These Walls Remember, the haunted history of Savannah, Georgia, erasure efforts in U.S. history, and grief horror.

Del Sandeen

(Interview conducted by Haley Newlin) Continue Reading

Review: These Walls Remember by Del Sandeen

These Walls Remember by Del Sandeen 
Berkley (August 18, 2026) 
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Del Sandeen became a horror author to watch after her previous release, This Cursed House, which was a personal favorite of mine among 2024 horror book releases. With her new release, These Walls Remember, Sandeen has further established herself as a master of gothic horror. The way she utilizes historical details and settings to reflect grief and trauma is effective and evocative. Perhaps this is why I find her work so profound and unforgettable. Continue Reading

Interview: Cynthia Gómez on Muñeca and Gothic Horror

Cynthia Gómez is the author of the story collection The Nightmare Box and Other Stories, and a Tin House and VONA alumn whose short fiction has published in Fantasy Magazine, Strange Horizons, Pseudopod, Nightmare Magazine, and numerous anthologies.

Cynthia Gómez

Gómez’s new release, Muñeca, is a queer, Latine novel set in 1968 Oakland about a working-class witch who sets out to save a bespelled heiress and explores misogyny, racial hierarchy, classism, and the power of female friendship and community. 

Book Riot called Muñeca one of the best horror books of 2026 so far. It also appeared on lists such as “15 Books Our Critics Can’t Wait for This Summer” from NPR, and Buzzfeed’s “Best LGBTQ+ Books of 2026.”

Gómez sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss her new gothic horror release, Muñeca, the author’s early experiences reading classic gothic horror, additional influences such as Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Isabel Cañas, and the creepy doll trope. Continue Reading

Review: Slasher Summer by E.L. Chen

Slasher Summer by E.L. Chen 
Crown (June 2026)
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

Slasher Summer is a blood-soaked whodunnit made for fans of slasher horror films like Friday the 13th and Scream. E.L. Chen’s horror expertise, not just in references and nods to iconic horror flicks like Psycho and Get Out, but in the execution of tropes and rules of survival, rivals even the most die-hard fans and know-it-all characters we love, like Scream’s Randy Meeks.Continue Reading

Review: Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane

Burn Down Master’s House by Clay Cane 
Dafina (January 2026) 
Reviewed by Haley Newlin 

With recent reads like The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones and Blood Slaves by Markus Redmond, I have found that there is so much information and empathy to be gained from reading historical horror books. So, when I saw Clay Cane’s Burn Down Master’s House at a local bookstore, I knew that I had to read it. It’s a historical retelling of four individuals’ experiences in the Antebellum South. 

With an emphasis on collective opposition to oppression in Burn Down Master’s House, Cane offers an unforgettable look into so much American history that has been rewritten, falsified, or omitted entirely. This is one of the most important books you’ll ever read. Continue Reading

Review: She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang

She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang 
Poison Pen Press (May 2026) 
Reviewed by Haley Newlin

He came back from the dead, but he didn’t come alone. 

She Waits Where Shadows Gather is a haunted house story with spine-chilling Filipino folklore and lush gothic imagery that will appease fans of Mike Flanagan’s hit Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly Manor, as well as horror books such as Daphne Fama’s House of Monstrous Women and Amanda Jayatissa’s Island Witch. Continue Reading

Interview: Neena Viel on I’ll Watch Your Baby and Social Horror

Neena Viel is a Bram Stoker Award-nominated author of supernatural and social horror books, including her acclaimed debut Listen to Your Sister and her new release, I’ll Watch Your Baby.

Neena Viel

Viel sat down with Cemetery Dance to discuss I’ll Watch Your Baby, the author’s love of horror icon and scholar Tananarive Due, looking at horror through a social and historical lens, and crafting fiercely complex characters.Continue Reading

Review: I’ll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel

I’ll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel
St. Martin’s Press (May 2026)
Reviewed by Haley NewlinI'll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel. Supernatural + Historical Horror Novel

Somehow, I missed Neena Viel’s debut, and Bram Stoker-nominated novel, Listen To Your Sister. After reading Viel’s new supernatural and historical horror novel, I’ll Watch Your Baby, I can’t fathom being a horror fan and not experiencing her work. It’s sharp, poignant, and terrifically terrifying.

I’ll Watch Your Baby is an informative and evocative horror novel for fans of Tananarive Due, Catriona Ward, and Victor LaValle. It’s a thrilling reimagining of the story of Linda Taylor, aka the original “Welfare Queen,” whose media portrayal and extensive coverage affected generations of black women and fed an apathetic narrative that still exists today. In her new novel, Viel conjures a wicked and unforgettable plot of vengeance for this oppression.Continue Reading