tw: suicide, depression, trauma, loss

Below is the Instagram post I shared last night. I was working on making it a blog post too so I figured I'd share it. It's been a rough week but I'm hanging in there. The death of Hayden Panettiere has hit me hard. I'm mourning by continuing to push myself to create and by having a movie marathon on and off this whole week of her work.

As of right now the only thing confirmed is cardiac arrest and a "possible overdose." As someone who struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts when something like this happens it can be a trigger. The Clancy case is another thing I am trying to keep up with but only in small doses. Living with depression and disabilities can be crushing some days. Today is one of them. Hope you all find some joy in something or someone today. <3

***

I had such an incredible day celebrating with my love. It made me realize the more time I spend being whimsical and nostalgic the happier I am.

I slipped into a few days of severe feelings of agoraphobia, anxiety, and depression but this trip really helped me feel hopeful instead of helpless. I took an inventory of how I spend my time, and this won't happen overnight, but I'll definitely be making some changes. I've already started by muting a lot of people so they're not in my feed.

More nostalgic and low energy posts and less posting overall.

Easy videos with voiceovers or captions or music.
Treating Instagram like MySpace (until it comes back!)

Less time online. More time reading and writing.
Less computer time. More movie marathons.
Turning my smartphone into a flip phone (deleting almost all apps).

That means not returning emails the same or even next day.

It means the BER months through the end of Yule EVERY YEAR moving forward I'll be on a semi sabbatical to enjoy the time of year I live for.

I appreciate all of you so much. I'll still be sharing book announcements and other necessary marketing. I'm just being intentional about it.

Less trying to figure out algorithms and more time just saying what's on my mind without trying to insert a keyword or hashtag.

I feel a lot like Peter in Office Space and damn it feels good to be a gangsta!

Hey wow congrats you got this far. 🤓 I'm Stephanie Rose. Horror author. House goblin, cat lady, Halloween queen and horror maven. I love watching movies especially horror. I'm currently living mostly like it's late 90s early 00s. 🖤🔪👻

Life is too short especially to someone that battles disabilities. 🖤🖤🖤

I am changing things up. I have a lot of random ideas, short stories, and of course work in progress. That's going to be what I start sharing for my exclusive post. I don't want to make new content just for the sake of it when I could be giving you a behind the scenes look at my writing process. Hope you enjoy! After finishing the outline weeks ago I took a break to get another idea out of my head (I Wish I Was a Vampire) now back to Werewolf Summer I have finished the first five chapters of the first draft so obviously anything I share will most likely change somewhat or who knows A LOT. Okay enough stalling. Here is part of Chapter 1!

CHAPTER 1

Jenna sits across from Winona in the radio station booth while Winona adjusts the levels and pushes a stack of papers out of the way. The desk is covered in CDs in and out of their cases, old flyers, coffee rings, and black pens.
Her mic is still muted, so she takes another breath and tries to calm down. It does not help much. Her hands are damp, her stomach is tight, and the first page of her notes is too neat. When she gets nervous, she overprepares, as if bullet points can somehow keep her from falling apart.
At the top of the page, she has written: First episode back. Below that: Charlie. Woods Bay. Why now? She hates seeing those three things together.
“You okay?” Winona asks, popping her head up like a meerkat from behind her computer screen.
“Yes?” Jenna says, but it sounds like a question even to her.
She looks out the window at the sheets of rain coming down on the historic downtown of Woods Bay. It’s been humid all afternoon, the kind of sticky summer weather that makes the air feel thick, and now the rain is hitting the pavement hard enough to turn everything outside soft and gray.
Winona waits.
“Fuck,” Jenna says, dragging the word out like a moan. “No, I’m not, but I will be.”
“That sounds more like it,” Winona says with a fake-it-till-you-make-it level of enthusiasm before giving Jenna a cheesy thumbs-up.
Jenna almost laughs, but it comes out more like a breath. “I want to do this. I do. It’s just a lot.”
“Then we don’t have to do it today. That’s what’s great about owning your own station,” Winona says.
She puts her feet up on her desk and leans back in her chair. As she goes to put her hands behind her head to really commit to the relaxed appearance, her face shifts from a smile to panic. A second later, she tumbles backward onto the floor.
“Yes we do you goofball. Are you okay?” Jenna asks between giggles.
Winona’s voice comes from the other side of the desk. “I’m fine. At least I got you to laugh. And no, we really don’t.”
Jenna looks down at her notes again. Charlie’s name is still there, like it is just another topic she can get through if she stays professional enough.
“We do,” Jenna says. “That’s how sponsors work. You produce content and then you get paid. It’s just the first time recording without her.”
Winona climbs back into her chair. Her face softens, but not in the careful way people use when they are afraid of saying the wrong thing. Jenna appreciates that. She hates being handled like she might break if someone speaks normally.
“I know,” Winona says with a sadness in her eyes that breaks Jenna’s heart a little.
Jenna knows she does. That is one of the reasons she agreed to record with her. Winona doesn’t know everything, but she knows enough. She knows Woods Bay. She is a member of one of the town’s founding families, which means she understands what it is like when something terrible happens and strangers decide they have a right to talk about it. Back home, people had been kind. Jenna cannot complain about that, but kindness was not enough.
In Woods Bay, people are strange and nosy, but they do not need Jenna to explain why she flinches at certain sounds or why the smell of chlorine still makes her throat close. They understand enough.
Winona slides a pair of headphones toward her. “Last chance to run dramatically into the rain.”
“Tempting,” Jenna says looking out the window as if really debating running out the door and getting soaked.
“I’d give you thirty seconds before I mocked you on air,” Winona says, smirking at her.
“How kind of you,” Jenna says.
“As Jacob would say, kind is my middle name,” Winona says.
Jenna who is middrink almost spits water all over.
“You did not just quote one of the Twilight movies,” Jenna says in between coughs. She slides her cat ear headphones on.
Across from her, Winona glances at the levels, then smiles back at Jenna.
“Damn straight I did and it got you distracted and laughing. Well after choking. Seriously though. You say the word and we stop,” Winona says. “Anytime.”
Jenna nods. Winona unmuted her mic first. The red light comes on.

This week was basically release day chaos: posts, interviews, reviews, rankings, emails, orders, and trying to remember the million tiny things that come with putting a book out.

It is still surreal that people are actually reading Jenna’s story and talking about Woods Bay like it is a real place. After spending so long with this book as a document on my computer, having it in the world is surreal.

I have also been doing a lot behind the scenes for Death by TBR Books. I am working on Twisted Tales to Tell in the Night: A Yuletide Horror Anthology, and trying to keep all of the production, formatting, PR, retailer listings, reviews, and future releases moving.

Also, I normally do an exclusive post for paid members, but I did not have the energy to finish one during Small Town Slasher release week. I would rather give you something actually worth reading than rush one just to get it up, so the exclusive post will be coming next week.

If you have read Small Town Slasher, please remember that reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, StoryGraph, and anywhere else you review books really do help.

So basically: Small Town Slasher is out, I survived release week, the press is still moving, and now I would like go hibernate now. Instead I went over the outline for Werewolf Summer and wrote the first chapter.

If you'd like to follow what I'm reading you can find me on Storygraph and for films on Letterboxd.

xoxo
Spooky Girl

This week was basically the final sprint (metaphorical I can't run haha) toward the Small Town Slasher release, which is now only a few days away! If you've read it please copy and paste your review on Amazon, Goodreads, Storygraph, and/or any other websites you use for reviews.

I signed, packed, and shipped every preorder that has come in so far. Seeing the full stack of books in my house was a little surreal, especially after spending so long working on this story when it only existed as a doc on my computer. I also filmed an unboxing where I showed the book, talked about the writing process, and explained why preorders matter so much to indie authors and small presses.

And somehow, Small Town Slasher made it into the top 100 in Amazon’s Slasher Horror category before it is even officially out (today it jumped to the top 50). That was absolutely not something I expected.

I also had the honor of being on a final girls panel as part of the TBRCon with Stephen Graham Jones. Yes, that Stephen Graham Jones. It was an honor to be part of a conversation about slashers and final girls with an author whose work has meant so much to me. I am still processing the fact that it actually happened.

Outside of book release chaos, I have been virtually attending Lollapalooza. Lorde and especially Charli xcx has been a huge part of my life.

Behind the scenes, I am still working on release posts, events, orders, emails, future books, and all the tiny last-minute tasks that apparently appear whenever I cross something else off the list. Small Town Slasher releases Tuesday, and I am excited, exhausted, proud, nervous, and probably forgetting something.

So this week was preorders, podcasts, final girls, Stephen Graham Jones, Amazon rankings, Lollapalooza, and the final countdown to Small Town Slasher.

Very calm. Completely normal. No screaming whatsoever.

BOOKS

The Reimagining of Thornwood House by Jaleigh Johnson
Did I Ever Tell You This by Sam Neill

Currently reading: Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier, and reading Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison (for the second time).

SHOWS AND FILMS

I have mostly been relying on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Owl House, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and my usual late 1990s and early 2000s comfort rewatches while I work. Also I've been watching Marriage at First Sight. I always have to have some kind of reality show going too.

For movies I've watched: The Devil's Mouth, Leviticus, and Monkey's Magic Merry Go Round and rewatched: Scream 7 and Twister. Also, I watched The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare, and some of the Lindsay Clancy trial and Lollapalooza!

That is all for this week. What is something that brought you joy this past week?

xoxo

Spooky Girl

This week was mostly Small Town Slasher release prep as the release date is a little over a week away!

The preorder stickers arrived, and I love them. There is something very satisfying about finally having a physical piece of the preorder campaign after spending so much time staring at files, listings, graphics, captions, and deadlines. If you have not preordered yet, there is still time.

I also finished editing the stories for Twisted Tales to Tell in the Night: A Yuletide Horror Anthology, which is a huge step forward. It is a little strange to be working on a summer slasher release and winter horror at the same time, but I love all horror so much.

We had a really fun book club this week too, which was nice. Not every book-related thing has to be a deadline, an email, a preorder reminder, or me trying to understand TikTok against my will. Sometimes it can just be people talking about books, which is still one of my favorite things AND next week I have two podcast appearances and you know that panel I mentioned that I'm on with STEPHEN GRAHAM JONES! Busy week!

I also watched some movies and listened to the new Charli xcx album. Behind the scenes, I am still working on release prep, website updates, social media, future events, and all the little tasks that somehow keep multiplying. I am excited for Small Town Slasher to be out in the world, but I am also very aware that release weeks are a lot, especially when there are already more books waiting behind it.

So this week was stickers, Yuletide edits, book club, movies, Charli xcx, and the ongoing countdown to Small Town Slasher.

Very normal. Very calm. Definitely not nerve-wracking at all.

BOOKS

Bodies of Work by Clay McLeod Chapman
The Creed Falls Massacres by Jon Cohn
Summer Never Ends by Judith Sonnet

Currently reading: The Reimagining of Thornwood House by Jaleigh Johnson, Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier, and reading Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison (for the second time).

SHOWS AND FILMS

I have mostly been relying on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Owl House, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and my usual late 1990s and early 2000s comfort rewatches while I work. Oh and I watched the first episode of the Lizzie McGuire show

For movies I watched the Tobey Maguire Spidermans and now I'm onto my rewatch of the Andrew Garfield ones. Also I watched Saltburn (it was...a lot but I loved it),

That is all for this week. What is something that brought you joy this past week?

xoxo

Spooky Girl

The night before my first in-person author event, I tried to stay as busy as possible. I worked, watched distracting shows, and made graphics for social media. Basically, anything that might keep me from thinking too hard about what I had agreed to do.

I took the muscle relaxer that usually helps me sleep, but I still tossed and turned. I felt like Owen Wilson in Armageddon when he says he is 98 percent excited and 2 percent scared, or maybe 2 percent excited and 98 percent scared. That was me. I knew both feelings were in there somewhere, but I could not have told you which one was winning.

Since I am nocturnal, I woke up around noon the next day. I was more nauseous than usual and immediately started trying to get everything ready: my outfit, makeup, nausea medication, books, pens, markers, and bookmarks. I checked everything more than once because my brain had apparently decided this was the moment to stop trusting itself.

My partner and I finally left for the bookstore. The drive was about forty minutes, so I put on a Charli xcx playlist and sang the entire way there. Singing is one of the best ways I have found to calm my nervous system, and I was going to need all the help I could get.

When we arrived, it felt like there was a bowling ball sitting in my stomach. I was already dragging, so I walked around the bookstore for a while and acquired an iced latte, which was probably not the most logical treatment for anxiety and nausea, but it felt necessary.

Then it was almost time for me to be introduced.

I waited backstage and peeked out at the audience. There were about ten people, and a few of them were cradling my book in their arms.

My book.

That part still does not feel real.

I had prepared several sections to read and practiced them ahead of time, but I had not actually timed any of it. We had promoted the event as a reading, signing, and Q&A, so I assumed people would have questions and that the conversation would fill the rest of the hour.

I came out, said hello, and told everyone I would begin with a reading.

For the first few minutes, I shakily read the opening paragraphs of Hiding Lies. I had somehow forgotten exactly how dark the beginning was, so I might reconsider starting with that section in the future.

As I sat there reading, terrified and sick to my stomach, one thought became very clear:

I never wanted to do another event again.

I finished the first section and tried asking if anyone had questions.

No one answered.

I read another passage, this time from Adam’s point of view. I had not prepared anything to say about it, but I started explaining what I had been thinking while writing the scene. That broke the silence a little, but when I looked at the time, it was only 7:20.

I had no idea what I was supposed to do next.

I asked again if anyone had questions.

Crickets.

Then my partner, bless his heart, called out, “Why don’t you talk about how you wrote it?”

Something immediately changed.

I began telling everyone about the life of Hiding Lies, how the story had developed, and everything that had gone into making the book. As I spoke, I saw people smiling and nodding. My nerves started to fall away.

Questions came. Then comments. Then more questions.

What followed was forty-five minutes of an intimate, incredible conversation with readers.

People told me that my book had made them feel seen and understood. One woman in particular shared that she had experienced feelings similar to the ones I had while writing it. It was incredibly brave of her to say that in a room full of people.

I have never experienced a connection like that before.

I definitely want to experience it again.

By the end of the night, I had gone from thinking I would never do another event to immediately understanding why authors keep doing them, even when they are difficult, exhausting, expensive, and terrifying.

I am going to keep trying to arrange events, beginning here in the Pacific Northwest, where I live. I would also love to do one larger event or small tour each year. My health and finances will always have to be a major part of those decisions, and I have to be realistic about what I can manage.

But I am so grateful that I was finally able to give Hiding Lies the event it deserved.

I got to talk openly about what the book means to me. I got to hear what it meant to readers. I got to nerd out about Small Town Slasher, slashers, horror, and writing with people who genuinely wanted to be there.

For the first twenty minutes, I thought the night was confirming every fear I had.

Instead, it became one of the most meaningful experiences I have had as an author.

This week has mostly been about the fact that Small Town Slasher releases in just over two weeks, which is both exciting and nervewrecking. I hope more preorders come in.

I received another incredible blurb for the book:

“Fast-paced and blood-soaked, this entertaining thrill ride is a must read for slasher fans.”

—Justine Pucella Winans, award-winning author of How to Survive a Slasher

I am incredibly grateful that authors I admire have taken the time to read and support this strange, bloody little book. Every time another person understands what I was trying to do with Small Town Slasher, it makes the long and often ridiculous publishing process feel a little more worthwhile.

A lot of this week was spent preparing for release. I worked on promotional graphics, captions, website updates, event pitches, and all the other pieces involved in ensuring that people are aware of a book's existence when it's released. It's really challenging wearing all of the hats. Thursday is 100 days until Halloween AND the one month anniversary of Twisted Tales to Tell in the Night: Another Halloween Horror Anthology. If you haven't purchase your copy today and please leave a review once you read it. <3

I made some significant changes to my author website, including updates to the homepage, book pages, events section, and contact page. My website has needed attention for a while, but it is difficult to stop working on the books long enough to work on the place where I am supposed to tell people about the books. It is finally doing a much better job of showing who I am, what I write, and what is coming next.

I also started making a more serious attempt at TikTok.

Video content does not come naturally to me, and I am still trying to understand how people find an audio, immediately know what to do with it, film something, edit it, add text, and post it. I did manage to post my first trend-based Small Town Slasher video, though, and I am working on more content for the release.

I Wish I Was a Vampire has been with beta readers and my editor. The beta reading window ended Friday, which means the next stage is my editor and I sorting through the feedback and beginning the final editing process.

The book releases September 15, so there is not much time between finishing Small Town Slasher release work and moving directly into final preparations for my middle grade debut.

I continued reaching out to bookstores and other venues about future events.I would love to do more in-person appearances, but the financial and accessibility side has to make sense. Excitement does not pay for transportation, lodging, or the recovery time that often follows an event.

I have also been exploring programming that goes beyond a standard reading and signing, including conversations about slashers, horror films, nostalgia, disability in horror, and the way movies influence my writing. I want events to feel like something people are genuinely excited to attend, not simply an author sitting behind a table hoping someone stops.

I am preparing for my TBRCon panel, “Problems with the Final Girl Trope.” I am especially interested in discussing final girls who move beyond the narrow version of the trope we have seen so many times, including disabled characters and stories that allow more than one woman to survive.

I also made sure to ask for the panel questions in advance. Virtual events may remove the travel, but that does not mean they are automatically accessible or easy. Knowing what I will be asked gives me time to organize my thoughts and helps me participate without spending the entire panel fighting through anxiety.

Because it is Disability Pride Month, I wrote about what it means to be a disabled author. Disability affects how I write, travel, attend events, meet readers, and run Death by TBR Books. It is also woven into the stories I tell.

I am proud of what I have accomplished, but I do not want to pretend that I accomplish it in the same way or at the same pace as someone who is not dealing with the same limitations. Even virtual events can be challenging. Even good days can require recovery afterward. Both things can be true: I can love this work, and it can be incredibly difficult for me to do it.

When I look at the individual days from this week, it can feel like I spent most of them answering emails, changing website text, fighting with captions, or moving the same tasks from one list to another.

But Small Town Slasher is nearly here.

I Wish I Was a Vampire is moving through beta reading and editing.

My website is substantially better.

I am learning an entirely new platform, preparing for a major panel, pitching events, running a bookstore and press, and continuing to make plans for books that will not be published until next year. My youngest, Sidney, has been keeping me company while I write and edit and work on social media.

BOOKS

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives by Barbara Truelove
The Lake of Lost Girls by Katherine Greene
Hot Girl Murder Club by Ashley Winstead

Currently reading: The Creed Falls Massacres by Jon Cohn and starting Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison tonight!

SHOWS AND FILMS

I have mostly been relying on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files, Law & Order: SVU, and my usual late 1990s and early 2000s comfort rewatches while I work.

For movies watched The Bay (the new shark one) and it was pretty bad. I'm watching Obsession for the second time tonight and I've also started my rewatch of all of the Spiderman's. Also Backrooms was a wild one!

That is all for this week. Please share what you have been reading and watching!

xoxo

Spooky Girl

This week was my first in-person author event at Village Books. I was incredibly anxious leading up to it, but it turned out to be such a wonderful night. People came to hear me talk about Hiding Lies and Small Town Slasher, asked thoughtful questions, bought books, and reminded me why I keep doing this even when the behind-the-scenes parts feel impossible sometimes.

Village Books was so welcoming, and it still feels surreal that such a beautiful local bookstore hosted me. I’ve already reached out about possibly returning for an event after Small Town Slasher releases, even if it happens a few months later.

I finished up my round of edits for I Wish I Was a Vampire and now it's with beta readers and my editor is also working on it. Small Town Slasher releases August 4, which is now only a few weeks away. I’ve finished final formatting, the acknowledgments, and an Author’s Note. I also spent an unreasonable amount of time fighting with Amazon over an ISBN trapped inside a draft listing. This is the kind of publishing work nobody sees, but it can eat an entire day while making you question every decision that led you there.

There has been a lot of outreach happening behind the scenes too. I’ve been contacting bookstores throughout Washington and Oregon, pitching future author events andlooking into horror film and book programming. There have also been screener requests and attempts to get on the right PR lists.

Events are challenging for me because I’m disabled and never know exactly how I will feel when the date arrives. That uncertainty is always there, even when I’m excited about an opportunity. The Village Books event gave me a little more confidence that I can find ways to make these things work without pretending they are easy.

I also was invited to a TBRCon 2026 panel, “Problems with the Final Girl Trope.” I’ll get to talk about final girls who move beyond the usual stereotype, including disabled characters and stories that make room for more than one final girl. I’ve wanted to be part of TBRCon for a long time, so I’m very happy to be on this panel. I can't wait to share who I'm on the panel with. OMG! https://fanfiaddict.com/tbrcon2026/ It's free!

The first Death by TBR Books novella open call is now up. I’m looking for horror novellas that use journal entries, documents, or other forms of mixed media as part of the story. The summer slasher submission call for the fourth Twisted Tales to Tell in the Night anthology is still open too.

Work continues on the Yuletide horror anthology. The cover is looking incredible so far, but two invited contributors who had committed to the project had to withdraw. I’m disappointed, but there isn’t anything I can do except adjust and keep moving forward.

I write these updates for everyone following along, but I also write them because my gremlins have a way of looking at a week like this and insisting I didn’t accomplish enough.

That is obviously not true.

I held my first in-person author event. I worked on two upcoming books while running a bookstore and press. I handled outreach, publishing problems, client work, submission calls, and all the smaller tasks that never make it into an announcement.

BOOKS
Witch Season by Julia Bianco
The Divine Gardener's Handbook by Eli Snow
The Secret Lives of Zombie Wives by Barbara Truelove

Currently reading: Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison and The Creed Falls Massacres by Jon Cohn

SHOWS

NEW
Sharkfest

FILMS/DOCS - I'm on LetterBoxd - horrormaven13
Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea

Rewatches that I'm enjoying as I pretend to live in the late 90s/early 00s.

TV
Gravity Falls
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The X-Files
Law and Order: SVU
Owl House

FILMS
I Know What You Did Last Summer 2025
Independence Day
The Bay
Scream 4
Doctor Sleep

That's all for this week! Please share what you've been reading and watching!

xoxo

Spooky Girl

It’s been another full week over here, and by full I mean I keep opening one project and somehow finding five more hiding underneath it.

This week has been a lot of I Wish I Was a Vampire. I’ve been deep in edits for my middle grade Halloween horror book, and it still feels a little unreal that this is my middle grade debut. It’s spooky, funny, emotional, and very much for the kid who wanted to be scary instead of cute.

Autumn Parker is eleven, obsessed with horror, and very tired of everyone trying to make her into something softer and sweeter than she feels. There are plastic vampire teeth, school costume problems, late 90s Halloween energy, trick-or-treating, and a girl who has to figure out what it means to be seen as herself. Here's the first line:

Autumn Parker came downstairs wearing purple pajama pants, a black cape, an oversized t-shirt that fell to her knees with a pop star she loved on it, and her favorite vampire chompers.

The schedule for this book is also starting to feel very real. I’m finishing my own edits, then it goes to my first reader, then beta readers. After that I’ll be working through beta feedback, and getting it ready for distribution. The release date is September 15th.

I’ve also been working on Small Town Slasher, which releases August 4th. IN ONE MONTH! I will be finishing up formatting in the next few days. Small Town Slasher has had a long, weird road. I pulled it from NetGalley, tore it apart, rebuilt it, and learned a lot from the process. Mostly that I will be outlining from now.

I’ve also been working on more outreach behind the scenes. School emails, bookstore emails, author visit possibilities, screener requests, PR box attempts, and event ideas but it's all challenging being disabled. I never know how I'm going to feel on the date of an event.

I’m still working on the Yuletide Horror anthology too with some good and bad news. The cover is incredible so far but I'm a little bummed still because two of the people invited that committed had to back out. It's frustrating but I can't do anything about it.

The next Death by TBR Books open call for a novella is coming later today! AND the summer slasher anthology submission call for the fourth Twisted Tales to Tell in the Night anthology is still open.

These updates are for you but also for me and remind me that I am doing a lot and should be proud even though imposter syndrome and past influences impede that sometimes.

BOOKS
It Could Have Been Her by Lisa Jewell
Helpless by Jessica Knoll
The Woman in White by Sarah Pekkanen

Currently reading: The Divine Gardener's Handbook by Eli Snow and The Secret Lives of Zombie Wives by Barbara Truelove

SHOWS

NEW
Elle

FILMS - I'm on LetterBoxd - horrormaven13
Obsession
The Devil Wears Prada 2
Summerween

Rewatches that I'm enjoying as I pretend to live in the late 90s/early 00s.

TV
Gravity Falls
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
The X-Files
Law and Order: SVU
Owl House

FILMS
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Weapons
Evil Dead Rises
Open Water 2
Jaws

That's all for this week! Please share what you've been reading and watching!

xoxo

Spooky Girl

So how do I choose books to promote or stock?

This was the focus chosen by members for this exclusive post, and honestly, the answer is: it’s a lot.

There are endless books. I’m sent titles from publishers big and small, indie presses, and self-published authors. I’m also seeing books from authors, bookstagrammers, readers, publicists, publisher imprints, and my own very haunted internet digging. For example, Tor Nightfire is an imprint of Macmillan, so even one publisher can have multiple imprints with their own titles, vibe, and focus.

A lot of bookstores have websites where you can search almost any book, kind of like Amazon. I decided not to do that with Death by TBR Books. That does mean the website won’t have every book. It also means the books listed there are chosen on purpose.

Death by TBR Books is curated. I wanted the freedom to focus on books I actually want to recommend, books I’m excited about, books I think horror readers will want to know about, and books recommended by people I trust. Sometimes that means a big publisher release. Sometimes that means a small press book. Sometimes it means a self-published author I think deserves more attention. Sometimes it means a book I haven’t stopped thinking about.

It’s not a perfect system, and I know there are always books missing. That’s the hard part of being curated instead of being a giant search engine. But it’s also the point.

I don’t want Death by TBR Books to just be a place where any title technically exists. I want it to feel like someone is actually behind it, choosing, reading, listening, paying attention, and trying to get the right books in front of the right readers. A virtual bookshop experience if you will. :)

And if there’s a horror book you think should be listed, especially from a small press or indie author, you can always send it my way.