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Keith Rosson is our first guest to be personally recommended by Stephen King!

And the praise doesn’t stop there. Keith’s Fever House was one of the biggest hits of 2023, and now he’s back with the sequel, The Devil By Name, which takes the contained punk-rock fury of the first book in a whole different, nation-spanning direction.

This is an epic tale of occult magic, diabolical messages, punk rock, political machinations and, eventually, apocalypse. So there’s a lot to talk about. And I hope you enjoy the following. Especially the part where I crowbar Stevie Nicks into the conversation, because I’ve developed the world’s most belated obsession with her.

Enjoy.

Other books mentioned:

• Mercy of the Tide (2017), by Keith Rosson
• Spiral (1995), by Koji Suzuki
• The Stand (1990), by Stephen King
• Knockemstiff (2008), by Donald Ray Pollock
• The Low Desert: Gangster Stories (2021), by Scot Goldberg
• Controlled Burn: Stories of Prison, Crime, and Men (2005), by Scott Wolven

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Laird Barron is on the podcast. This feels like cause for celebration.

Not only is Laird Barron a phenomenal writer. Not only is it wonderful that he’s back to writing and talking about writing. Not only am I lucky to be able to speak to him…

We also talked about DOGS!

Granted, a cybernetic, immortal monster hound called Rex – but a dog nonetheless. That’s just one of the crazy concepts that make up the stories in Laird’s new collection, Not a Speck of Light… and I mean crazy. These stories involve evil fathers, strange invasions, billionaire bird-women and a disaster-addicted monster – and we talk about how Laird balances the bizarre and brutal, the cosmic and the cynical, the horrific and the hardboiled.

Plus a lot of info on a very exciting project he’s currently working hard on.

Let’s all just be happy, Laird Barron is back. He’s writing. And he’s Talking Scared.

Enjoy.

Join the Laird Barron Reddit Read-along

Other books mentioned:

• When Things Get Dark: Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson (2021), edited by Ellen Datlow
• The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All (2013), by Laird Barron
• Blood Standard (2018), by Laird Barron
• The Fisherman (2016), by John Langan
• “On Skua Island” – in Mr Gaunt and Other Uneasy Encounters (2009), by John Langan
• The Children of Old Leech: A Tribute to the Carnivorous Cosmos of Laird Barron (2014), edited by Ross E. Lockhart and Jason Steele
• The Delicate Prey, and Other Stories (1950), by Paul Bowles
• The Sheltering Sky (1949), by Paul Bowles

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Are you a Weenie? Don’t be offended. I am.

Weenies are the curious-but-nervous. Those of us who love horror, but who never feel safe from its power to ruin our sleep (and a week of our life). If that’s you, or if you know someone who suffers from Weenie-ism, then Emily Hughes is here!

Emily’s new book, Horror For Weenies: Everything You Need to Know About the Films You’re Too Scared to Watch is a public service for the scared. It will save relationships, help ease you into horror and hopefully teach you a thing or two about fear along the way.

In this conversation, we talk about how Emily came to write this most particular of books, and how she chose which films made the grade. We also hear about her own relationship with horror, from the film that haunted her as a child all the way to her grown-up reintroduction to scary movies.

And I finally try to back up my dislike for Hereditary.

Enjoy.

Other books mentioned:

• Birdbox (2014), by Josh Malerman
• Nightmare Fuel: The Science of Horror Films (2022), by Nina Nesseth
• Tampa (2013), by Alissa Nutting
• Come Closer (2003), by Sara Gran
• The Family Plot (2016) by Cherie Priest
• Camp Damascus (2023), by Chuck Tingle
• Cuckoo (2024), by Gretchen Felker-Martin
• Manhunt (2022), by Gretchen Felker-Martin

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Come talk books on Twitter @talkscaredpod, on Instagram, or email direct to talkingscaredpod@gmail.com

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