We’re officially at the one month mark until my next novel, The Wild Fall, debuts and this is the FINAL COUNTDOWN! I can’t tell you how excited I am for this book to finally be released out into the world…and I’m also hella nervous. I fell in love with the characters in this series hard. I’ve been trying to convince myself over the last few months whether or not I’m really ready to let them go. The Wild Fall marks the final book in the main series of The Wild Oblivion, though I still have smaller books in the works for the rest of the series. (HALLOWED OBLIVION will be getting a sequel come October and Dan & Andy will get one next spring.) Though neither of those books feature Liz or Brody.

It all boils down to this: I love writing romantic grief horror. It’s one of my favorite genres to watch and write. Warning: we’re about to go off on a tangent.

A few nights ago I tortured myself trying to watch Outlander for the first time and you know what ended up happening? I stayed up until one a.m. sobbing because I was angry at how Frank, Claire’s husband, was treated through season 2 and how awful of an end he got in season 3. I got so invested in their love story from the first episode that I skipped around through the series wanting to know how the writers treated it when Claire eventually got back to her time and I was disappointed to say the least. *I’m not going to spoil anything!* But you know what? I also LIVED for that grief romance. It inspired me and made me want to write more. So, be on the look out for more grief romance horror from me in the future.

Moving on! Let’s take a brief look back at what happened in June:

I was a guest on the Inebri-ART podcast once more to talk all about The Wild Fall. Inebri-ART is sponsoring an event this summer in Plymouth, MA that I’ll be vending at called Pages & Pints: Small Press Expo. Sunday, August 20, 2023 - 12:00 PM 5:00 PM at Mayflower Brewing Co12 Resnik Road, Plymouth, MA, 02360. If you’re planning to be in the area then, you should stop by! Listen to my podcast interview here.

I got to hang out with Voices from the Mausoleum and Tali Reads to discuss the Underworld horror film franchise and how much we love it! A number of you don’t know that I wrote a vampire book series (which is what got me started professionally writing) and Underworld was a major influence in those books. Go watch our video and see how much fun we had here.

The Wild Dark audiobook launched last week! My narrator and producer, Lisa Roumain, brought this goliath book to life over a series of months and did such a beautiful job portraying the characters and the story. If you are a fan of audio books, do yourselves a favor and pick this one up. She did a phenomenal job! Pick up your copy on Amazon here or on Audible here.

If you’ve pre-ordered a special edition hardcover of The Wild Dark, there’s good news! The order is in to Ingram and the first box of books is on it’s way! Once they get here, I’ll be signing them and then sending them out to you all. Thank you for your patience. I’ll be posting an unboxing video when they come in and will post an update to keep you all in the know. If you haven’t ordered and you want one, there are still some left! 10 copies are still available to purchase. Get yours here.

It’s been a very slow reading month for me. I finally finished the audiobook of Devil’s Creek by Todd Keisling which was such a terrifying odyssey. Todd has such a way with creating memorable, diverse characters not to mention his ability to really creep you out with the story!

I’m currently reading Hailey Piper’s Queen of Teeth, which is unlike anything I’ve read before. I want to take my time with it and enjoy it, though I’d have liked to finish it for Pride Month. Speaking of which: if you can and have the ability, support LGBTQIA+ literature. Read books by queer authors, listen to audiobooks with queer narrators, support queer indie publishers. They need your support now more than ever.

In television and film, we watched Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves which was quite fun. I enjoy fantasy adventure films and while the story was a bit predictable, this is one I could easily watch again (and I hope they make a sequel). As we already know, I watched and became angry with Outlander. I also watched season 2 of FROM (which was epic!). We are currently watching Crime Scene Kitchen season 2 on Hulu, The Good Place on Netflix (Ted Danson is a god), and I’m watching Chapelwaite on MGM+.

I’m also replaying Alan Wake because…it’s SUCH a great game and it’s been forever since I played it. The revisit is just what I need right now.

Not going to lie, there’s SO much happening in the coming months, it’s not even funny. I’m recording 9 podcasts, am doing an Instagram live Q&A, have four in person events planned and more! Since I’m also the sole owner of Strange Wilds Press, I’ll be pushing the book pretty hard in my posts and will be sharing lots of links over the next several weeks. You’ve been warned, haha.

Want my full list of events for the coming months? You can find it here.

I’ll also be posting a new Nostalgic Horror film essay soon for the family film, Beethoven! Nostalgic Horror is a look back at the films I grew up with that may have had an influence on my love of horror or dark things. I’ve already done one for the film, Hook, which you can find in my previous posts.

I’ll also have a new Cooking Adventure up soon where I attempted Bacon Brownies. You read that correctly. This is for subscribed members only. Haven’t subscribed yet? You might want to.

Hallowed Oblivion is getting an audiobook! I’ve officially signed with a narrator (official announcement to come) and they are getting the first 15 minutes together for an initial assessment soon. I had over 20 auditions for this one and while it was a lot to comb through, I feel confident that I’ve found the absolute perfect voice to tell Hank and Gerard’s story. I’ll be rolling out more details on this soon.

Right now, all of the eBooks in The Wild Oblivion series are only 99¢ for a limited time! You can pick up The Wild Dark, Hallowed Oblivion, Orchards, Dan & Andy, AND pre-order The Wild Fall all for only 99 cents each. Talk about a hell of a deal… Aaaaaaand… if you pre-order the paperback of The Wild Fall before July 15th, you will be entered to win a mini hiking kit! Two people will win a micro pack towel, a carabiner, repair tape, an emergency candle, an emergency bivvy, and a surprise! Everyone who preorders will receive a signed copy of the book, stickers, and a bookmark. Send proof-of-purchase to [email protected]!

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Every month, I spotlight another horror author in the community that I feel like could use a bit more love. For July, it’s Anthony Rapino!

Anthony J. Rapino. resides in Northeastern Pennsylvania with his cats Luna and Poe. When he's not writing speculative fiction, Anthony can be found in the classroom teaching English or crouched in dark alleyways sculpting horrific autumnal creatures out of clay. His work has appeared in On Spec, Black Ink Horror, Madhouse, Liminal Spaces, and others. His novel, Soundtrack to the End of the World, and story collection, Greetings from Moon Hill, are both available now.

*Sometimes our greatest moments of enlightenment come from our worst mistakes.* When life supplies eleven-year-old Tommy Grant with some unfavorable circumstances intruding on his otherwise tranquil life in rural 1980's Ohio, he retreats into the spell-binding Order of Cosmic Champions. When he discovers that the largely successful animated program and toy line is holding a nationwide ''Create-A-Character'' contest where applicants submit their action figure designs, Tommy knows he has to enter as surely as he knows his own name. But when Tommy's character design fails to win the contest, he finds his world crumbling from all sides. And there is only one way he knows to fix it. What follows is a whirlwind coming-of-age adventure of righting wrongs, overcoming perilous obstacles, confronting our inner demons, and challenging the limits of reality. In this waxing nostalgic and imaginative fantasy, readers will discover what excitement lies waiting when you take risks and conquer your fears. Only one question remains: In the final hour when you heed the call, the courage to give your all, will you stand or fall?

That’s going to do it for this update! Stay tuned for more posts, watch my socials for news about all my upcoming Wild Fall-centric things and if you haven’t picked up the book yet, do it! Oh, and subscribe to my blog if you haven’t. That’s important, too!

Happy July, folks!

~Kat