Halloween is Almost Here: Why I Work So Hard To Help You-- Includes a Chance To Win a Free Book (and another fandom reference)

Did you know that Halloween is Saturday? I am sure you do, but have you remembered that I am running a 31 day blog-a-thon chock full of horror RA advice over on RA for All: Horror?

This year I have focused my attention on providing you, the library worker who helps adult leisure readers, with as many perspectives from horror fans and authors as possible. My goal was to expose you not only to those authors, but also, to their favorite authors. 

The result-- dozens of examples of WHY someone might like horror AND hundreds of authors and titles you can use to help patrons.

Why do you need this info?  Well first, the descriptions from authors as to why they love scary stories provides you with an example of a horror loving patron. Each post can be seen as a practice patron for you. A way to work out your genre muscles and prepare for the real live (or shuffling undead) patron who comes in to ask for a horror book. And second, the sheer list of authors I have provided this month can keep you stocked with horror suggestions all year long!

Yes, you will get horror requests outside of the 10th month of the year. Shocking, but true.

Although I was able to get some HUGE authors to participate in my blog-a-thon, and they mentioned many more authors, there are still more out there that your patrons may enjoy.  One resource where you can get more information this week is Goodreads where they have horror authors taking your questions all week.

Finally, to keep with the Fandom theme I have inadvertently taken on this week, I wanted to repost my giveaway that is going on over the horror blog. You still have time to enter...

Since October 19th, I have been running a giveaway of the soon to be released short story collection, The Gods of H.P. Lovecraft [another huge fandom].  I will end today’s post with a link [and repost] to my first post during the series. You can go visit RA for All Horror this week or any week all year long for horror help:

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Today I am beginning a smaller series within this 31 day horror fest.  In December, JournalStone is releasing a book that EVERY PUBLIC LIBRARY needs to buy.   

From the publisher:  

JournalStone Publishing (JSP) President, Christopher C. Payne is pleased to announce The Gods of H.P. Lovecraft, a brand new anthology that collects the twelve principal deities of the Lovecraftian Mythos and sets them loose within its pages. Featuring the biggest names in horror and dark fantasy, including many NY Times bestsellers, full of original fiction and artwork, and individual commentary on each of the deities by Donald Tyson, author of Grimoire of the Necronomicon and Alhazred.  

Lovecraft’s bestiary of gods has had a major influence on the horror scene from the time these sacred names were first evoked. Cthulhu, Azathoth, Nyarlathotep, Yog-Sothoth—this pantheon of the horrific calls to mind the very worst of cosmic nightmares and the very darkest signs of human nature. The Gods of H.P. Lovecraft brings together twelve all-new Mythos tales from:  

1. Cthulhu (Adam Nevill) 2. Yog-Sothoth (Martha Wells)3. Azathoth (Laird Barron) 4. Nyarlathotep (Bentley Little) 5. Shub-Niggurath (David Liss) 6. Tsathoggua (Brett Talley)7. The Mi-Go (Christopher Golden & James A. Moore)8. Nightgaunts (Jonathan Maberry) 9. Elder Things (Joe Lansdale)10. Great Race (Rachel Caine)11. Yig (Douglas Wynne)12. The Deep Ones (Seanan McGuire)This book is not coming out until December but I have seen an ARC and can give you multiple reasons as to why you should pre-order this book now. 

First, look at that list of authors. There are many NY Times bestselling authors there, and a few that are the biggest young names in dark fiction right now. 

Second, this collection serves as an excellent introduction to the Mythos for novices. Most readers interested in horror have read about Lovecraft, but I have found many of them haven’t found a good entry point to Lovecraft’s world for themselves.  They are overwhelmed by the breadth of the fandom, let alone the original works themselves. 

Well, here it is. 

Third, this collection is also great for Lovecraft fans. Even those who are well versed in the Mythos will enjoy seeing these Gods reinterpreted by many of the best of today’s horror writers. 

And fourth, the commentaries by Donald Tyson are enlightening in and of themselves. You can learn about each god and why he or she was important to the Mythos with or without having read the story in which that God was featured. 

I will have a full, more official review of the collection in a future edition of Booklist, but for now, I still have a few treats in relation to this book up my sleeve. 

Over 9 of the next 10 days I will be featuring 10 of the 12 authors in this collection. Each has answered a series of questions from me about their God, why they picked it, what their favorite scary books are, and more.  It’s very similar to the posts I have been running by authors all month, just with a Lovercraftian spin. Expect each day’s post to bring you a handful of new authors and titles to add to your arsenal of books you can suggest to patrons.  

As if that wasn’t a huge gift, JournalStone is also providing 2 free copies of The Gods of H.P. Lovecraft that I will give away here, on the blog.

So between now and 11:59 pm on 10/29, you can email me, 1 entry per person, at zombiegrl75 [at] gmail [dot] com to be eligible. I will have a reminder each day and draw the winners on 10/30. 

I hope this multi-day feature will not only introduce you to the world of Lovecraft, but also, allow you to see why some of today’s best horror writers love horror. And both of those things will make you better at helping your horror readers find their next good read.