Jazzed to see that my upcoming Splatter Western novel Cruel Angels Past Sundown in Paste Magazine’s hot article “The 15 Horror Books We Can’t Wait to Read In Summer 2023.”
There are a bunch of incredible books coming out, some I’ve read early, some I can’t wait to read! Check it out and these other books too!
Cruel Angels Past Sundown releases on July 25th from Death’s Head Press!
Award news: It’s an incredible honor to learn my noir horror dark fantasy novel No Gods for Drowning is a 2023 Locus Award Finalist.
No Gods for Drowning released last year from Polis Books, and it appears alongside fantastic novels by Sarah Gailey, Gabino Iglesias, Catriona Ward, Paul Tremblay, Richard Chizmar, Stephen King, Alma Katsu, Christopher Golden, Stephanie Feldman, T. Kingfisher, and Thomas Olde Heuvelt, all nominated for the Locus Award in Best Horror Novel from 2022.
Thank you to everyone who’s supported it! 2023 Locus Awards winners will be announced in mid-June (shortly after StokerCon).
In news a little further into the summer, my upcoming Splatter Western Cruel Angels Past Sundown has a release date: July 25, 2023! The book summary has been released too, and paperback pre-orders are up at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. There’s also a synopsis of the heaven and hell awaiting within:
New Mexico Territory, 1882: She comes to the Klein ranch at sunset, a strange naked pregnant woman dragging a cavalry saber. Annette Klein and her husband have built peace between their marriage and secret relations beyond, but their serenity dies in bloodshed tonight through a cannibalistic demon and a mad preacher.
Annette barely escapes the bloodbath to the nearby town of Low’ s Bend, where she might find safety with a shotgun-toting barkeep, two no-nonsense boarding room ladies, and the gunslinging bounty hunter who’ s captured Annette’ s heart.
But hell is at her heels. If she’ s going to survive until dawn, she’ ll have to forget everything she knows about peace and mercy, and face a hollow malevolence more ancient and ruthless than she’ s ever imagined.
It’s a cover reveal-loaded month!
Earlier this week, Rue Morgue revealed the covers to the next three upcoming books in the infamous Splatter Western series from Death’s Head Press, including Cruel Angels Past Sundown, my upcoming short novel entry.
The art is by series regular Justin T. Coons, who lovingly painted this magnificent, colorful display featuring some of the book’s primary characters and the harsh landscape in which they find themselves.
Cruel Angels Past Sundown will release this summer. Release date and pre-order info to come!
It’s cover reveal day! I’m pleased to share the cover art for my upcoming small-town survival horror novel A Light Most Hateful.
The striking art is by Julia Lloyd, with a lovely quote from Rachel Harrison, author of The Return and Such Sharp Teeth.
A Light Most Hateful will release from Titan Books on October 10th, 2023 and is up for pre-order at all major book retailers!
Out now from Dark Matter Ink, it’s Zero Dark Thirty, an anthology gathering 30 of the darkest stories from Dark Matter Magazine’s first year. The stories are dark sci-fi and horror, and among them you’ll find my medieval vampire tale “Queen of the Cloven Heart.”
Also in regal news, Queen of Teeth had the pleasure of appearing on Sara Tantlinger’s LitReactor horror romance article “Horrormance Titles for a Macabre Valentine’s Day,” and on Lindy Ryan’s LitReactor article “Eat Your Heart Out.”
Lastly, No Gods for Drowning had the honor of appearing on the Locus Recommended Reading List alongside a marvelous curation of speculative work from 2022.
Overjoyed to see Paste has included A Light Most Hateful in its “Most Anticipated Horror Books of 2023.” From the article:
“Hailey Piper might be the reigning queen of great horror titles, and now the author of Queen of Teeth and No Gods for Drowning is back with yet another instantly compelling new book.
Set in a quiet Pennsylvania town, A Light Most Hateful follows a young runaway who must reckon with her own past even as a massive storm washes a monster into her community, enslaving the locals and leaving her fighting to survive. A great title, a great concept, and Piper’s elegant prose all in one package. Sign us up.”
This year is going to be quite a beast for the genre. I’ve read a couple of the titles here already and they’re fantastic. A Light Most Hateful releases October 10, 2023 from Titan Books.
And glancing back to last year, it’s very cool to see space horror tale Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing on The Line-Up’s “Best Horror Novellas of 2022.” From the article:
“A spectacular story that delves deep into anxiety and isolation through sublime body horror while weaving an intense mystery that crawls under your skin and into your brain.”
As things move ahead with A Light Most Hateful, I’ve added a page for it including release date and plot details. I’ll add cover art once that’s been revealed, but for now I’m happy to share the release date!
A Light Most Hateful will release on October 10, 2023 from Titan Books! Pre-order in paperback/ebook at Barnes & Noble and Amazon
I’ll share more on that, and other upcoming 2023 releases (Cruel Angels Past Sundown and Even the Worm Will Turn) once they’re public.
And one more piece of news: my first novella The Possession of Natalie Glasgow went out of print last year. I’m delighted to share its new publisher has been announced. Rooster Republic will be re-releasing this tale of possession and witchcraft in 2024, as both a limited edition hardcover and later in paperback. It was a joy to work with them on Queen of Teeth and I couldn’t be happier we’re working together again. The hardcover pre-order should be up late this year, so stay tuned!
Final post for the year, and it’s to share a much-anticipated release: queer body horror love story Queen of Teeth, winner of the Bram Stoker Award, is at least an audiobook from Tantor Media!
Jenn Lee delivers a terrific performance bringing Yaya, Doc, Magenta, and the rest of this alt-present New Jersey monster tale together. You can find it on Libro.FM, Audible, and Barnes & Noble, and many other audiobook sellers!
“invigorating futuristic horror” – Autostraddle
“delightfully fucked-up and tremendously imaginative” – Vulture
“If there’s such a thing as defiant horror, Hailey Piper’s Queen of Teeth must be its gold standard. This bold, visceral story about the right to one’s own body is equal parts heartfelt and brilliant – and most importantly, razor-sharp.” – Nadia Bulkin, author of She Said Destroy
Within forty-eight hours, Yaya Betancourt will go from discovering teeth between her thighs to being hunted by one of the most powerful corporations in America.
She assumes the vagina dentata is a side effect of a rare genetic condition caused by AlphaBeta Pharmaceutical, decades ago, when she and several thousand others were still in the womb.
But, when ABP corporate goons upend her life, she realizes her secondary teeth might be evidence of a new experiment for which she’s the most advanced test tube … a situation worsened when Yaya’s condition sprouts horns, tentacles, and a mind of its own.
On the run and transforming, Yaya may be either ABP’s greatest success, or the deadliest failure science has ever created.
My final short story of 2022 is up!
The Arcanist is going on permanent hiatus. I’ve had the honor of appearing there four times in the past with stories Crones in Their Larval State, Demons of Particular Taste, Jormungander’s Dance, and The Mother Stitch, with the first three reprinted in my short story collection Unfortunate Elements of My Anatomy because I felt so strongly about them (and the fourth might have been there, but it came out after signing the collection with The Seventh Terrace).
So many final story of 2022 is also my final Arcanist story. I’m so glad I could be a part of its swan song with this weird post-post-apocalyptic weird familial flash fic, “Cross-Generational Cryptid Theory.” It’s free to read and listen to online, so enjoy.
In Queen of Teeth news, two items: the novel has been nominated for the This Is Horror Award for Novel of the Year 2021, so thank you everyone who voted for it. Also, the audiobook will be releasing from Tantor on December 27th, but it’s available for pre-order now.
Also exciting, No Gods for Drowning has officially made Vulture’s list of “The Best Horror Novels of 2022” alongside incredible work that came out this year. I’m honored to see my book among them.
It’s release day! Dreamscape Audio presents: No Gods for Drowning in audiobook!
Jodie Harris has done such a beautiful narration of this horror/noir/dark fantasy novel, and it’s a joy to hear her give voice to Lilac, Arcadia, Alex, Cecil, and everyone else scrambling in the flooding city of Valentine. It’s up on Libro, Barnes & Noble, Audible, and elsewhere too! I love that different places offer samples from different chapters.
And in mid-November, BookRiot kindly included my space horror novella Your Mind Is a Terrible Thing on their list “Science Fiction Trouble Feature: 10 of the Best Sci-Fi Horror Books.”