Happy reading this weekend! Remember, you can order a print copy of IF YOU KNEW ME at your favorite bookstore, or from any book outlet online. Available in the beautiful trade paperback edition seen in these photos, also a modestly priced ebook, and an audiobook that's receiving rave reviews. ❤️

Here is the beautiful front cover for SUFFERING THE OTHER, art and design by RewX. See the loaded TOC here: bit.ly/4i03e3h (TOC is also in the alt-text here). Coming February 2026, pre-order open in December. Reminder, this is a benefit for @raicestexas.bsky.social and Transgender Law Center!

“The wine table was draped in ivory lace. It was the last pretty thing he would see. I used to wonder if that was a comfort or a bit of unkindness. I still don’t know.”

NEXT WEEK The legendary Nathan Ballingrud joins the show to talk about his new book CATHEDRAL OF THE DROWNED, and we dig into "Dread," one of Clive Barker's very best stories. Episode drops 11/5 at Noon Central!

'A Bram Stoker Award winning novel, The Fisherman is a masterpiece of cosmic horror that contains elements of Lovecraft, Moby Dick and the ghost stories of M.R. James.' #JohnLangan's The Fisherman is No 16 in The Quietus 25 best pieces of #Horror Fiction of the 21st Century so far buff.ly/C4B49ZM

"The clay dries fine and soft, in the late spring and summer. It climbs and billows with the breeze. Raises up in the midday air and spreads out over the whole county like a tent. Whips into small cyclones and settles indoors. The red dust is a given. We don’t fight it the way we used to."

Yes, writers steal from life. Avoid us. When my sister told me the same anecdote for the fourth time in three years, she said: "You should write a story about that!" I replied: "I did. It's in my collection." A book she loved. She didn't recognize herself because I made the character tall.

In fiction I often begin with a character, a being who looks like me but who does something that makes me ask, "Why the hell would anyone do that?" The book is an attempt to solve that mystery. There's no guarantee it will be solved. This rubs some readers the right way and others the wrong way. 🙂

"I don't let any fear of realism get in the way of the idea." -- Nathan Ballingrud, from his interview with Matthew Jackson. For context, this is when Nathan is talking about how he writes very grounded fantasy fiction, and this is EXACTLY the words I needed to hear right now. Excellent episode!

I spoke with @sgj.bsky.social about STATES OF GRACE and his other Fall reissue, ALL THE BEAUTIFUL SINNERS, on the latest episode of Chthonica: youtu.be/1-28zmlwaVo?...

The reissue of @sgj.bsky.social’s flash fiction collection STATES OF GRACE is now available for preorder! Contains 20 new pieces, 10 never before published! Drops 12/9. Order thru your local indie bookstore or @bookshop.org to support local shops 📚❤️ bookshop.org/p/books/stat...

Assumed this was the case, but now it's official: "Alien: Earth" has been renewed for a second season. #AlienEarth

In a world where one facial template makes all celebrity women look like the same woman, collagen injections are required for government job applicants, all broadcast newswomen wear false eyelashes, and all TV series feature ladies in stilettos screaming at their friends, I'm just Ken.

Macho reviewed my book publicity. "Hm," he said. "Take a few days off, lady."

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to feel no self-doubt? To believe absolutely in yourself and your one and only hero and your right to do whatever occurs to you? To step over anything or anyone in your path? Well, meet Ann Mason. She's dying to tell you her amazing story.

True words for writers to live by.

"The clay dries fine and soft, in the late spring and summer. It climbs and billows with the breeze. Raises up in the midday air and spreads out over the whole county like a tent. Whips into small cyclones and settles indoors. The red dust is a given. We don’t fight it the way we used to."

IF YOU KNEW ME is only $3.99 in the Kindle edition. Tell everyone you know. 😜 “The setup is killer… This is easily a strong candidate for a top ten book of the year.” — Dave Simms, Cemetery Dance Online “Dark and hip and funny. Highly recommended.” ―Polly Schattel, author of Shadowdays

Stop worrying about everything. "RAISE YOUR VIBRATION, FFS‼️ 2025", 24.8"x25", charcoal & graphite on paper

This is one of my favorite of my works. I'd love for you to check out AND OF COURSE, THERE WAS THE GIRL if you like mysteries. mybook.to/AndOfCourse

Thanks to Steven Craig Hickman!

It’s alive… alive!

BREAKING: Colorado voters approved a ballot measure that would raise state income taxes on higher-earning households to fund free meals for all public school students. Follow AP for live updates.

BREAKING: Zohran Mamdani wins the New York City mayoral race, NBC News projects. nbcnews.to/4nIzNUC

I'm at Simply Write w/ @pollycampbell.bsky.social talking about writing craft and career podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/3...

ICYMI: Halloween may be over but the chills keep coming...

great time at the Madwoman's Library Book Club over on IG, talking with Kristin Kreuk. not sure how long this stuff stays . . . up? clickable? but I think it's clickable now, here: www.instagram.com/reel/DQh4SZ7...

'Sibling rivalry' doesn't begin to cover the conflict between the Parker sisters. Maybe it started with the men who visited their mother, or the orchard she burned to the ground, or the violence clouding their lives like red dust devils on a dirt road. How will it end? In catastrophe, of course.

'The Future of Truth' might be thought of as a book about how people need to embrace what few remaining opportunities we have to act like mad penguins, before we all become like pigs stuck in quadrilateral sewers. defector.com/werner-herzo...

Hello, I write literary horror and surrealist trash. You can find links to all of my publications on my website, and a page devoted to free stories & audio online. I'd be immensely grateful if you'd buy my books or request them through your library to support my writing. horrorsong.blog/books/

My latest What to Read column at Ruadán is all about ghosts and haunted houses! ruadanbooks.com/what-to-read...

Thanks. And to you, as well!

"I wasn’t sold on reading, but I did like feeling smart, and 'Don Quixote' is like the Louis Vuitton bag of people with depth." www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/i-s...

One of my favorite "best of" anthology series. Steph Cha and S.A. Cosby chose some amazing stories for the 2024 volume. I'm reading the 2025 volume now (Don Winslow is guest editor). @stephcha.bsky.social @blacktopkid.bsky.social

The military in the city of Tal Sharnis is the City Guard, which deals with threats that approach from the surrounding wasteland. Unlike the city's internal police force (called the Monster Hunters), the City Guard are well-liked by the populace. #worldbuilding #urbanfantasy weirdluck.net/about/

@spmiskowski.bsky.social Daughters of Catastrophe showed up on the table today, courtesy of the great Grimscribe Press! This looks amazing and I am so excited to check it out!

😢

Extremely great mail day today! Can't wait to rewatch these, especially When Evil Lurks. All three are completely beautiful packages. Thank you for this @phillipescott.bsky.social !

Got to do my first reading from The Cold House yesterday at Read, Write, Publish: Hobart! I think it was not terrible?

HAUNTED NIGHTS - Sixteen chilling tales exploring every aspect of Halloween, edited by Ellen Datlow and Lisa Morton 🎃

In just over a week, I will be in upstate New York talking to @willhermes.bsky.social at @goldennotebkbooks.bsky.social. He is the author of the excellent Lou Reed biography King of New York. Please stop by! goldennotebook.com/e... Paperback out Nov 4 from @PublicAffairsBooks.

Usually I post about Story Hour during the day, but this one? This one wanted to wait until it was dark out.

I somehow missed that my 16th book came out on the 16th, so that's pretty neat, but anyway, happy one month of TEENAGE GIRLS CAN BE DEMONS! 😈 It's been immensely cool seeing everyone check out the stories, and meet or get reacquainted with Benny Rose the Cannibal King this Halloween season 🎃

Thank you @readbookpage.bsky.social for the review. I LOVE that library patrons will be able to find this book wirtten for them by a librarian. www.bookpage.com/reviews/why-...

Need something scary/suspenseful, creepy/funny, and ONLY $3.99 to read this weekend? Get over here...

Finally had a chance to crack open my copy of the @southwestreview.bsky.social horror issue and found my story illustrated by @lumierebelge.bsky.social whose work I've followed for a few years. I'm not sure if the editors knew this; if so, thanks! If not, amazing confluence of energies, thanks!

❤️

“…a glorious, heady rush of red clay dusted prose… Miskowski has created a story that will linger in the darkest rooms where you store your secrets.” – Kristi DeMeester, author of Dark Sisters

Canadian rural horror classic RITUALS (1977) is must-watch summer viewing. It's paced like an excellent novel by someone like Peter Straub, and follows a group of doctors, all lifelong friends, going on their annual trip into the remote Northern Ontario wilderness. Only this time, they're not alone.