novel

Release day: No Gods for Drowning

Release day is here!

So excited to finally say this, but my second novel No Gods for Drowning has been unleashed by Polis Books! This book has been growing little by little inside me over decades; to have it out in the world at last feels like mountains have shifted within. Horror, noir, and dark fantasy collide in a story of sea monsters, killers, detectives, and blood gods. You can read more below, and check it out wherever books are sold!

Paperback: Bookshop.org, Target, Indiebound; Ebook/paperback: Barnes & Noble, Amazon

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IN THE BEGINNING, MAN WAS PREY. IN THE END, THEY’LL BE PREY AGAIN.
The old gods have fled, and the monsters they had kept at bay for centuries now threaten to drown the city of Valentine, hunting mankind as in ancient times. In the midst of the chaos, a serial killer has begun ritually sacrificing victims, their bodies strewn throughout the city.
Lilac Antonis wants to stop the impending destruction of her city by summoning her mother, a blood god—even if she has to slit a few throats to do it. But evading her lover Arcadia and her friends means sneaking, lying, and even spilling the blood of people she loves.
Alex and Cecil of Ace Investigations have been tasked with hunting down the killer, but as they close in—not knowing they’re hunting their close friend Lilac—the detectives realize the gods may not have left willingly.
As flooding drags this city of cars and neon screaming into the jaws of sea demons and Arcadia struggles to save the people as captain of the evacuation team, Lilac’s ritual killings at last bear fruit, only to reveal her as a small piece in a larger plan. The gods’ protection costs far more than anyone has ever known, and Alex and Cecil are running out of time to discover the true culprit behind the gods’ disappearance before an ancient divine murder plot destroys them all.
NO GODS FOR DROWNING is part hunt for a serial killer, part noir detective story, and unlike anything you’ve ever read before.

“Glorious and visceral, No Gods For Drowning drips with evocative prose and proves Hailey Piper to be a storyteller with wonderfully sharp teeth. This book sang to me, and if you let it, it will sing to you, too.” – Chuck Wendig, New York Times bestselling author of Wanderers and The Book of Accidents

“Wrathful gods, drowning cities, and an ancient, bloody mystery—Piper’s novel had me from the jump. No Gods For Drowning is a superior offering.” – Laird Barron, author of Swift to Chase

“Piper, a rising star in horror, is announcing her intentions to break through onto a larger stage with this confident and compelling tale that is as fun as it is thought-provoking.”Library Journal

“A roller coaster of tension! I was desperate to read on, yet terrified. A truly addictive read.” – Hannah Lynn, award-winning author of Athena’s Child

“Incredibly atmospheric detective horror. This mythology is now resident in my brain.” – Maya Deane, author of Wrath Goddess Sing
“Strange and wonderful … Look, if I have to put on a ceremonial robe and make a sacrifice to Hailey Piper to get more books like this, so be it.” – Dea Poirier, author of The Girls in the Fire

September podcasts – No Gods for Drowning

Two podcasts went up today where I had the pleasure of talking about my upcoming novel No Gods for Drowning!

Over at Queer Writers of Crime, we discussed the book against how horror and crime often walk the same roads and where they split. If you check the blog post there too, I give a little writing advice (or maybe anti-advice; you decide).

Over at Talking Scared, we explored some of the book’s themes, and then we chatted a little about Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing and its psychological space horror too.

Book announcement: A Light Most Hateful

I’m been on the verge of bursting to share this news, and now it’s finally out! I’m beyond thrilled to share that Titan Books will be publishing a new novel by me in 2023, A Light Most Hateful. It’s a tale of catastrophe striking a small town, testing the bonds of friendship, and straining at reality itself.

We have No Gods for Drowning releasing from Polis Books in about a month, and the next year is quite busy with Cruel Angels Past Sundown releasing in the first quarter, followed later by Even the Worm Will Turn (sequel to The Worm and His Kings) and now A Light Most Hateful. It’s going to be an exciting time, so keep an eye out for further updates!

Queen of Teeth audio news; LOHF Awards

Things have been true chaos of late, between novel edits and short story work and the world, so I’m a little behind on site news. Here’s a wonderful piece: after many, many requests, my Bram Stoker Award-winning novel Queen of Teeth will finally be coming to audio! Expect a production and release from Tantor Audio in the future, with the sci-fi horror romance vagina monster story of Yaya, Doc, and Magenta nipping at your ears.

In more recent news, I’m honored to see Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy nominated for the Ladies of Horror Fiction Award for Best Collection 2021 and Queen of Teeth nominated for the Ladies of Horror Fiction Award for Best Debut 2021, in both cases alongside stunning company.

Audiobook: Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing; Tor Nightfire article

Narrated by Laura Lockwood

It’s early, but the audiobook for my new space horror novella Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing is out! Find it on Libro.FM + Audible + other sites! Laura Lockwood gives a stellar narration following the plight of Alto, Esme, and Zelany against the horrors on the M.G. Yellowjacket.

Proud to share that I’m not represented by Lane Heymont of The Tobias Literary Agency. I’m excited for what lies ahead!

Also, since I won a Stoker and lost a bet with my wife, I had to make a deleted scene from Queen of Teeth public. Thankfully Tor Nightfire was happy to host, so check out Yaya Betancourt Dreams of Teeth (Or, How to Kill a Toothy Darling).

Bram Stoker Award for Queen of Teeth

So something pretty cool happened this weekend:

At StokerCon 2022, members of the Horror Writers Association honored myself and Queen of Teeth with the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a First Novel. 2021 was an incredible year for horror, easy to tell both by the ballot and outside it, and every novel nominated beside this one was an outstanding piece of horror. I’m honored to have stood with them and to have received this beautiful award, and I’m grateful to every reader who’s let this weird love story wind its tentacles around them. Thank you.

I can confirm at last that the award is not made of chocolate.

I also have a new story out as of last week, “In Thrall to This Good Earth,” part of the absolutely gorgeous Howls from the Dark Ages anthology of medieval horror. It’s a stellar table of contents and I’m joyful to be part of it.

 

No Gods for Drowning cover reveal

This week LGBTQreads kindly revealed the cover art to my upcoming horror noir dark fantasy novel No Gods for Drowning, and they included a little from me talking about the book too!

This elegant artwork is by Mimi Bark, bearing the nine-pointed star of Logoi the Many-Headed.

No Gods for Drowning is my longest novel to date, a morally gray story of killers and detectives, of sea monsters and blood gods, and I can’t wait to share with you.

Paperback preorders are up on Barnes & Noble, Bookshop.org, Amazon, Target and eventually ebook and the like too!

No Gods for Drowning releases from Polis Books on September 20, 2022.

Stoker Award nominations, “Parasites of Silver and Gold” in Cosmic Horror Monthly

I’m proud to share that my debut novel Queen of Teeth and my 2021 novelette “Recitation of the First Feeding” have each been nominated for a Bram Stoker Award, in the categories First Novel and Long Fiction respectively!

Honored to appear with these incredible talents on the final ballot, and grateful to all my readers! I’m so very fortunate.

Also, there’s a new story out in the latest issue of Cosmic Horror Monthly! I’m so honored to be featured, with the stellar cover art pertaining to my post-apocalyptic cosmic horror tale, “Parasites of Silver and Gold.”

You can check it out from here!

“Blame, Pain, and Selfishness” in A Woman Built by a Man

First story of 2022! This one appears in the new Cemetery Gates Media anthology A Woman Built by a Man.  My story “Blame, Pain, and Selfishness” involves a fictional woman in a book written by a man, and how she’s unwilling to stay glued to the page. Check it out!

In other news, while the cover art is still forthcoming, paperback pre-orders are up for my late year noir/horror/dark fantasy novel No Gods for Drowning over at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Bookshop.org.

It releases September 20, 2022 from Polis Books!

Also check out this group interview with myself, Eve Harms, and Gretchen Felker-Martin with Lovecraft Arts & Sciences, Queer Art & Conventional Discomfort.

Lastly, Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy made an appearance on Tor Nightfire’s Best Horror Short Story Collections and Anthologies 2021 list among a stunning lineup of titles, with shout-outs to “Demons of Particular Taste” and “Aggressive Mimicry.”

Queen of Teeth and “Recitation of the First Feeding” make the Stoker Preliminary Ballot

I’m thrilled to share that my novel Queen of Teeth and “Recitation of the First Feeding” (from my collection Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy) have appeared on this year’s Bram Stoker Award Preliminary Ballot! Queen of Teeth appears in the Superior Achievement in a First Novel category, while “Recitation of the First Feeding” appears as a novelette in the Superior Achievement in Long Fiction category.

They appear with a feast of talents in every category, and I’m so proud to be among them. Voting will begin shortly to see which works make the final ballot and become Stoker nominees, but there’s more work to do between now and then, and a cool announcement to come this week. Keep an eye out!

Click here to read the full preliminary ballot!