Hello! It’s been a wild last few weeks here and I’ve got to tell you guys all about it!

First off, let’s start with Undead Folk! Undead Folk released on May 1st on paperback and ebook and the response I’ve gotten for it has been tremendous. I never expected this little book to make such an impact in the horror community or with horror readers but wow, it has. I’m genuinely so appreciative of everyone who has taken time to leave reviews, to post photos on socials, and to reach out and talk to me about it.

As of now, we’ve sold over 125 copies in ebook, almost 115 in paperback, and we’re at 42 reviews on Goodreads! It’s nuts to me! Thank you all!

I’ve just recently opened up personalized paperback orders on my website for anyone interested in that. I’ll keep it open for the week and place my next order next weekend. Want a copy for yourself? Grab one here.

I’d love to talk to you about Undead Folk, about writing grief horror, about where I pull inspiration from, about what I’m working on. Character creation. World-building. Honestly, if you want to know, I’m up for it. Send me an email at [email protected].

The Maine Literary Awards are a highly competitive award given out once a year to books by Maine authors. I am one of two finalists in the speculative fiction category this year with my book, The Wild Fall, and I’m stoked. This will be my third Maine Literary Award finalist nod (the first was for Aequitas: Book 2 of The Monstrum Chronicles, the second for The Collection: A Novella). This one feels incredible, mainly because the release of The Wild Fall was fraught with a lot of difficulty due to printing issues, burn-out, and depression. The fact that a panel of well-regarded authors chose to recognize my work on this book as worthy enough to potentially win this award makes me feel good.

These two (and more) can be ordered via Ingram or for consignment through Strange Wilds Press. Feel free to send an email to [email protected].

My current WIP is Where The Soul Goes: a fusion of Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations mixed with Simon Stålenhag’s The Electric State. I’m about 40 pages in and am loving the characters and the alternative late 80’s setting so far. I’m hoping to finish this one up by the end of summer.

Author-Con was back in the middle of April. Without getting too into detail, it was so much fun to visit with friends, meet new authors, and have the chance to meet new readers as well. I had the supreme pleasure of sharing a reading with the amazing Ally Wilkes and being a part of a panel about Healing Through Horror with some incredible horror authors.

*Here’s something important I’d really like others to take note on: I’m not the type of person who enjoys reliving or talking about my personal trauma. I do enough of it in my own head half the time that I don’t want to air it out for others. I believe it’s possible to have a discussion about the topic of grief and trauma and how important its place is in horror without divulging personal anecdotes that can trigger things. Some people are able to discuss their own hardships without as much difficulty or without feeling like they are breaking any boundaries. It’s important for lecturers, moderators, and other authors to understand that these kinds of panels or conversations don’t necessarily need to breach the topic of personal experiences in order to have a worthwhile conversation. These topics can be approached from a purely educational interest without the need to unload about encounters you’re not comfortable sharing with people you don’t know.*

That being said, I also was a part of the digital Grief In Horror Panel for Stoker-Con this year. That will be available to watch at the end of the month during the titular convention in question.

Reading: I’m reading three giant books at the same time (which is probably not something I should be doing because it’s taking forever). But I’m enjoying them!

We got to go see Abigail in theaters which was SO GOOD! That will definitely be one of my favorite vampire films going forward. We are also in the middle of finishing up Shogun on Hulu and I’ve started rewatching Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations (for obvious reasons).

I’m currently replaying Lisa The Painful on Steam. A wonderfully comedic and sad dystopian RPG if you want to check it out.

That’s all from me for this month. I’ll check in again in June! Enjoy the rest of your spring!

~Kat