It’s Judgement Day for….Archie Comics?

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Since 2015, the iconic Archie Comics has delved deep into a dark new world with Archie Horror, including with their premium event Archie Comics: Judgment Day. Cemetery Dance spoke with editor Jamie Rotante about Judgment Day, how Archie works in the world of horror, and the character archetypes that allow them to be in different scenarios.Continue Reading

Night Time Logic with Paul Tremblay

Night Time Logic with Daniel Braum

“Texas Chainsaw. Alfred Hitchcock. And Horror Movie.”

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Paul Tremblay

Night Time Logic is the part of a story that is felt but not consciously processed. It is also the name of this interview series here at Cemetery Dance and over on my YouTube channel.

Through in-depth conversation with authors this column explores the night time part of stories, the strange and uncanny in horror and dark fiction, and more.

My short story collection with Cemetery Dance is titled The Night Marchers and Other Strange Tales in homage to Aickman and his kind of stories that operate this way. It can be found here.

I spoke with Paul Tremblay in August 2024 about his new novel Horror Movie. Our conversation is available on YouTube.

My conversation with Paul today begins with a question about the main character in Horror Movie….Continue Reading

Interview: Mikita Brottman’s GUILTY CREATURES

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Since her last talk with Cemetery Dance in 2017, Mikita Brottman has released three true crime books — An Unexplained Death, Couple Found Slain, and, most recently, Guilty Creatures. Brottman, whose many books tend to concentrate on the darker side, wants to bring more psychology and a wider view to her true crime books. She spoke with Cemetery Dance about how she does her research, why the case she portrays in Guilty Creatures caught her attention, and how being a literature professor and a psychoanalyst impacts her writing.Continue Reading

What Screams May Come: Come Out & Play by Patrick Tumblety

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Patrick Tumblety

Come Out & Play by Patrick Tumblety
Uncomfortably Dark (September 2024)

The Synopsis

Scott has not left his house since causing the accident that killed his mother. To keep himself from harming his remaining loved ones, he repeats daily rituals and abides by superstitious, compulsive, and intrusive thoughts. He is successful in the endeavor until the night of his eighteenth birthday when something comes to tear him from the physical and mental walls he has built against the world. 

Something that Scott fears has been sent by his mother to avenge her death.Continue Reading

Jeff P. Jones kicks off BLOODSHOT WORLD

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image of a hand clutching a heart from Bloodshot WorldWriter Jeff P. Jones is coming out with a graphic story collection titled Bloodshot World. Markosia Books is publishing it for readers in the UK, and a current Kickstarter campaign aims to bring the book to American readers. Jones spoke to Cemetery Dance about working with international artists, how this book compares to his previous ones, and the unique stories in Bloodshot World.Continue Reading

Cullen Bunn Reigns Over THE AUTUMN KINGDOM

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cover of The Autumn Kingdom #1
Cover by Daniel Vega

After The Sixth Gun and Invasive, Cullen Bunn is back with another horror comic. This time around it’s The Autumn Kingdom, which mixes horror and fantasy. The first issue drops on September 4 thanks to Oni Press, and Bunn spoke to Cemetery Dance about his similarities with the author in the comic, his combination of horror and fantasy, and what he enjoyed most about writing it.Continue Reading

Night Time Logic with Douglas Ford

Night Time Logic with Daniel Braum

“The Twilight Zone. The Infection Party. And the Heart of Darkness.”

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Douglas Ford

Night Time Logic is the part of a story that is felt but not consciously processed. It is also the name of this interview series here at Cemetery Dance online and over on my YouTube channel.

Through in-depth conversation with authors this column explores the night time part of stories, the strange and uncanny in horror and dark fiction, and more.

My short story collection with Cemetery Dance is titled The Night Marchers and Other Strange Tales in homage to Aickman and his kind of stories that operate this way. It can be found here

 I spoke with Douglas (along with author Jeffrey Ford) in April 2024 about their recent work. Our conversation is here on YouTube.

My conversation with Douglas today begins with question about author Charles Beaumont…Continue Reading

What Screams May Come: Red Inside by Bridgett Nelson

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Bridgett Nelson

Red Inside by Bridgett Nelson
Threat Pose Press (July 2024)

The Synopsis

From the morally corrupt, yet oddly sweet, mind of Bridgett Nelson, the Splatterpunk Award-winning author of A Bouquet of Viscera and What the Fuck Was That?, comes a brand new tale of blood-spattered horror.

Bethany can’t wait for the end of her hospital shift — four glorious days of relaxation await. Secretly, she’s most excited about the fun-filled nights reveling in an unexpected flirtation with her co-worker, Michelle. Thoughts of her long, cozy weekend vanish, however, when Francisco Delgado is admitted to her floor from the emergency room. Delgado, a man who came into contact with an unknown arachnid species in South America, and who now has something…squirming…beneath his skin.Continue Reading

Rick Hipson and the Art of Reviewing Books

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cover of A Reviewer's Guide to Writing Book ReviewsEveryone’s a critic these days, but within the literary universe, the art of critiquing is no task for the meek. Dissecting the nuts-and-bolts of what makes a story work — or not — takes a trained eye. There are miles of distance between a one-star stinker and a five-star phenomenon, and recognizing those differences requires the work of the assertive; those unafraid to flay the flesh from characters and dig deep into the viscera of influences and motives, or to call out those narrative plot holes big enough to drive a truck through. It’s the business of Rick Hipson and the like, shored up by chops that take decades of commitment to develop. Or took decades — a time investment that Hipson’s latest release, A Reviewer’s Guide to Writing Book Reviews: And How to Get Paid for Them (Crystal Lake Publishing), is hoping to shave down as much as possible. Continue Reading

Steven S. DeKnight drives a Hard Bargain

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cover of Hard BargainSteven S. DeKnight, whose credentials include writing for Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel,  is coming out with his own comic Hard Bargain, with art from Leno Carvalho. Hard Bargain, which follows Frank Harding, P.I. and mixes noir with monsters, has been described by DeKnight as a dream thirty years in the making. DeKnight spoke to Cemetery Dance about his influences, how the dream came to fruition, and how writing comics compares to writing for TV. Continue Reading

Night Time Logic with Jonathan Janz

Night Time Logic with Daniel Braum

“Stephen King. Strange Things. And the Children of the Dark books.”

photo of author Jonathan Janz
Jonathan Janz

Night Time Logic is the part of a story that is felt but not consciously processed. It is also the name of this interview series here at Cemetery Dance Online and over on my YouTube channel.

Through in-depth conversation with authors, this column explores the night time part of stories, the strange and uncanny in horror and dark fiction, and more.

My short story collection with Cemetery Dance is titled The Night Marchers and Other Strange Tales in homage to Aickman and his kind of stories that operate this way. It can be found here.

 In June 2024 I spoke with Jonathan Janz about his Cemetery Dance Publications books Children of the Dark, Children of the Dark 2: The Night Flyers, and more. Our conversation is on YouTube.

We begin our conversation by talking about his favorite writer and his influences…Continue Reading

Hunter Gorinson brings EC Comics back to life

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cover of Epitaphs of the AbyssThe famous and infamous EC Comics — known for horror classics like Tales from the Crypt and Vault of Horror — is being revived by Oni Press in an alliance with William M. Gaines Agent, Inc. Oni Press Publisher Hunter Gorinson spoke to Cemetery Dance about the publisher’s new lineup with Epitaphs from the Abyss (July 2024) and Cruel Universe (August 2024), how Oni is bringing EC Comics into the 21st century, and what other comics they have that would interest Cemetery Dance readers. Continue Reading

What Screams May Come: Placerita by Lisa Morton and John Palisano

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Placerita by Lisa Morton and John Palisano
Cemetery Dance (June 2024)

cover of PlaceritaThe Synopsis

It’s 1928, and something strange is afoot in the desert town of Placerita just north of Los Angeles. When young biologist Alexis Crawford discovers an unidentifiable specimen washed up in the wake of a devastating flood, it begins a journey that will reveal the dark conspiracies at the heart of California and the secret known only to a few: that beneath the City of Angels is an ancient world of tunnels lined in gold, a world that is home to the legendary Lizard People.Continue Reading

James Aquilone kickstarts Kolchak…..again

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Bram Stoker Award-winning editor and writer James Aquilone and Monstrous Books have acquired the print rights to Jeff Rice’s novel Kolchack: The Night Stalker. Rice’s book was the basis for the cult TV favorite television series, which was released in 1972 — a year before the novel became available.

Now, Monstrous Books is planning a deluxe hardcover edition of Kolchack: The Night Stalker. The book will have a print run limited to 1,973 copies, and will feature essays and illustrations created specifically for this edition. You can help fund the book through its Kickstarter campaign.

Recently, Aquilone took time to discuss his love of all thing Kolchak, and the plans for this special new edition.Continue Reading

The Cemetery Dance Interview: The Haunting of Gwendolyn Kiste

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Author Gwendolyn Kiste
Gwendolyn Kiste

Gwendolyn Kiste is a three-time Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Haunting of VelkwoodThe Rust MaidensReluctant Mortals, and most recently, a short story called “Your Mother’s Love Is An Apocalypse” in the Mother Knows Best: Tales of Homemade Horror anthology, foreword by Sadie Hartmann, edited by Lindy Ryan. Kiste has also won the Lambda Literary Award and received the This is Horror award for Novel of the Year.

She doesn’t just tell any old ghost stories. Kiste’s books, like The Haunting of Velkwood, orbit themes of self-identity, complacency, and unbreakable bonds. To her, “Everyone’s life is like a haunted house.” Perhaps that’s why her books linger, giving readers a ghostly book hangover.

Kiste spoke to Cemetery Dance about The Haunting of Velkwood, gothic horror, themes of complacency and accountability in her latest novel, and, of course, ghost stories (her specialty).Continue Reading