Is It Summer Already?

Remember my recent post extolling the virtues of the sunroom and our new furniture? Funny thing about sunrooms — apparently they are full of stuff from the sun. You know, like light and heat.

It’s 9:30 am and it’s already approaching 80. Tesla and I are sitting in the TV room which only has one window (actually a skylight). More importantly, it has a door which can be closed to capture the cold air coming out of the wall unit. I suspect we may be in here for most of the day.

One benefit of the incredibly brief Michigan Spring (at least as far as temperature is concerned) is that it is finally warm enough to start the process of opening the pool. We had water delivered yesterday. We had water delivery our first year, then tried filling from the hose last year. It was way easier to balance the delivered water and we were able to start using the pool much quicker.

That being said, we are due to get storms for the next few days, but at least it will be ready for the hot days this weekend.

I also experienced something else new this week, one of my brews went nuts on me. I started two other meads, a repeat of the first one on a larger scale and a triple berry. When I went to add the yeast nutrients on day three it foamed over (and I mean all over). I rigged up a blow off tube using some material I had and some left by the previous house owners (thanks!) and it has been ok since then.

Listening To: I listened to the Audible Original The Big Fix, recorded as a radio drama. It was an interesting attempt at a classic noir tale with Jon Hamm nailing it as the voice of the private detective. Yesterday I started Bless Your Heart: A Novel by Lindy Ryan — the story of a family of funeral home owners whose clients occasionally rise from their coffins.

Currently Reading: I finished the second and hopefully final pass on Nightmerica: Corruptions of the American Dream. See below for more details.

Current Obsession: The Mrs and I recently binged the new season of FUBAR. We enjoy the quirky humor of Arnold and his family of CIA operatives. There are plenty of nods to the audience, so if you dislike that you may not enjoy it as much as we did. I’m wondering if they will get even more cast members from Kids in the Hall if there is a season three. Also, huge bonus points for having one couple’s song be Neneh Cherry’s “Buffalo Stance.”

It’s been a really big week here at the Dragon’s Roost, so buckle up!

In case you missed it when posted the other day, or if you just want to see it again, we revealed the cover for Nightmerica: Corruption of the American Dream.

Lynne Hansen (see more of her work here) did an amazing job and we couldn’t be happier with how it came out.

If you want to be among the first to get your hands on the anthology (due out on the Fourth of July), jump over to the Kickstarter page. Once there, be sure to share it all over.

As noted above, we have finished our second pass through the proof copy and plan on spending the next few days inputting all of the corrections and then uploading it to the various places which we publish through.

And speaking of publishing, we are please to announce the Some People I Have Killed, the new collection by Ken MacGregor, will be available in a few days. Those files have also been uploaded and are just waiting on approval.

This weekend (21 - 22 June), Dragon’s Roost Press will be at Curious at the Crossroads. Unless something changes in the next few days, we will be in the Mill Street Warehouse near the bar. Also attending as vendors will be our publishing partner Splatter Theatre Press, author Peggy Christie, and the Great Lakes Association of Horror Writers.

Next weekend (27 - 29 June) we will be in Harrisburg, PA for Horror on the Main.

We weren’t the only ones busy this weekend. Millions of people all over the country attended No Kings protests. It is very heartwarming to see so many different people assembling together to show their support for the preservation of our nation.

Apparently there was also some really lame, poorly attended parade too, but fuck that noise.

For the horror reader, writer, publisher, fan, et. al. this was also the weekend of the big convention hosted by the Horror Writer’s Association. Saturday night the Stoker Awards were presented to those who published exemplary work last year. Everyone is familiar with the phrase “it’s an honor just to be nominated,’ but in this case it is an honor to be long listed. Those whose work made the final ballot should be especially proud.

Unfortunately, we were not able to attend this year, but look forward to 2026 in Pittsburgh, PA.

As soon as the final ballots are announced, I usually rush out to make sure that I have read as many of the nominees as possible. This is especially true for the Superior Achievement in a Novel category. This year I had already read all of them. It should come as no surprise that they were all listed among my favorite books of the year.

Congratulations to Gwendolyn Kiste whose The Haunting of Velkwood took top honors in a very competitive group of novels.

We congratulate all of the winners and nominees and look forward to seeing everyone next year.

For a list of all of the nominees and winners, please visit the Horror Writers Association.