I don’t know how long this one will be, as I am currently enjoying what I have come to call The Afternoon Crash. It directly follows lunch time, outside time, and the One O’Clock Crazies. It’s actually kind of amusing to watch the afternoon playtime devolve into “I’m actually pretty tired and I should take a nap but I don’t want to so I’m going to go full on Tasmanian Devil mode.”

Our chief focus is still getting Quinn and Finn to realize that playing with/chewing on a toy is more fun than chewing on your sibling. At least, that is the point that I have been trying to get across. The two of them disagree. However, we have been making progress towards that end. For the past few days Finnegan has been coming inside and grabbing a toy before bum rushing his sister.

We had our first puppy class on Sunday. There are six other puppies in the class, most of them a little larger than our two. Quinn, usually the first one to chase after a leaf or explore a new noise, was absolutely terrified. I don’t know if it was being in a new location for so long, all of the other people, or what, but she was definitely overstimulated. She did a little work, but then kind of shut down and just sat on The Mrs’ lap. We have been working on all that we learned AND I plan on taking them out to the store tomorrow so hopefully this Sunday will be more comfortable for her.

We did have a long car ride yesterday and we have been increasing time in their crates, so things are progressing along nicely on those fronts.

Although I did go out and run errands yesterday, I did not spend any time outside of the house after the sun went down. I leave St. Pat’s and NYE for the amateur alcoholics and do my drinking indoors.

Listening To: And a Dog Called Fig by Helen Humphreys. This is the perfect book for me right now (and one that I put off reading after Tesla’s passing because I wasn’t in the right place for it). It combines tales of the author’s journey with a new puppy, stories of her previous dogs and the dogs of famous authors, and information on writing.

I did feel a little guilty playing it in the car with the puppies. “Is he insinuating that we are too nippy?”

Oh, and lots of classical music for the puppies, natch.

Currently Reading: I’m still working on the Godzilla book, but it’s way too big to take out of the house. I started an ARC of Thrall by Rebecca Mahoney while in the waiting room today.

Current Obsession: A Super S33k4it Project. More on that later in the year.

March is formatting time. We are actively working on the formatting of our next two releases, both of which fall into the sequel category! One is the third and final installment of a series of novels and the other the sequel to the oddest book of poetry we currently publish. Look for more information closer to release date.

We are also reading new material for possible publication later in the year. We have a number of exciting releases planned, so keep an eye our for those announcements.

We had a great time last Saturday at the double feature of Valley of the Dolls and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls at the Historic Howell Theater. For those who missed the show (shame on you!), Valley is a downer of a movie which follows four women as they battle everything that life and the Big City can throw at them. Beyond, which labels itself as not a sequel, is an absolutely mad fever dream of a film directed by the infamous Russ Meyer and written by some guy named Roger Ebert.

Tune in tomorrow (Thursday the 19th) for another edition of Dead on Movie Reviews. I watched a documentary on Shudder and…well let’s just say that I have opinions. You won’t want to miss this one.

We’re a little over a week away from Penguicon. My schedule can be found here.

Now I could make this completely self-serving and only mention the women published by Dragon’s Roost Press. Instead, I will have a little bit of dignity and just put the link to the ebook page right here.

I spent a good deal of time trying to figure out what I wanted to do with this spot this week. Should I provide a brief overview of the famous authors like Shelly and Jackson? Should I discuss various subgenera of horror? Should I just list my favorite authors? Books?

In an attempt to keep this from getting completely unwieldily and to have at least a little structure, I decided to focus on three authors whose works I have always enjoyed and who each have a new book out now or coming soon.

Unless you are absolutely brand new here (and if you are, welcome!), you knew that one of these choices was going to be Gwendolyn Kiste. Ever since I was first introduced to her work, I have been an enormous fan. As I have mentioned before, she is on both of my author related lists: the one whose books I will pick up without even having to know what they are about and the one of authors who came up with ideas that I wish I had thought of. I have yet to read anything by her that I have not enjoyed. Kiste’s work often encourages the reader to reexamine familiar scenes through a feminist and/or queer lens. I highly recommend starting with the novel The Rust Maidens. If you would rather dip your toe in with something shorter, grab the novella Pretty Marys All in a Row or the collection of short fiction And Her Smile Will Untether the Universe. She has another collection of short fiction coming out soon (see my review here) as well as a new novella coming out in the fall which is described as “a dark, queer mirror to The Great Gatsby in In These Gilded, Ghostly Hearts, a haunting exploration of the obsession and control at the edges of an American classic”.

Silvia Moreno-Garcia is not only currently producing amazing fiction, but much of her back catalogue has been re-released, allowing the reader access to previous works which were, until recently, difficult to find. She blends themes of family and obligation vs individuality with strong characters and intriguing plots. Most are familiar with her name due to the amazing Mexican Gothic. I also highly recommend Gods of Jade and Shadow and Certain Dark Things. Her story about witchcraft across generations entitled The Bewitching was released last year and The Intrigue (which promises another dive into the noir worlds the author excels at) is due in July.

Do you like vampires? How about werewolves? Haunted houses? Witches? Whatever your favorite genre character might be, Rachel Harrison has done an imaginative new take on it. Her characters are extremely believable, no matter what fantastic scenarios they find themselves in. Readers will encounter everyday people in extraordinary situations and come away the better for it. My favorites so far have been Such Sharp Teeth, Cackle, and the short story collection Bad Dolls. Look for her time looping tale of an attack by a masked killer at a wedding, Kiss, Slay, Replay, this September.